PAINTEES AND ENGRAVERS.
BIGORDI, RiDOLFo (di Domekico) — called Ghir-
LANDAio— who was bom at Florence in 1483, lost
his father Domenico when he was still a child,
and was taken under the protection of his uncle
Davide. He afterwards studied under Cosimo Eosselli and Fra Bartolomraeo, and had so far profited
by the instruction of these masters, that when
Raphael visited Florence, he was so satisfied of his
ability, that he entrusted him to finish a picture of
the 'Virgin and Infant' he had commenced, for
one of the churches at Siena. So highly' did Ra-
phael esteem Ridolf o's talents, that on his return to
Rome he invited him to assist him in his great
works in the Vatican. Unfortunately for his fame,
Ridolfo refused the invitation of Raphael, for, if
he had accepted it, he would probably have participated in the glory of that illustrious painter in
an equal degree with Giulio Romano. He possessed
an acute and vivacious imagination, with an elegance
and *aste in his forms that have a near affinity to the
style of that master. In some of his first productions, in San Jacopo at Ripoli, and in San Girolamo
at Florence,though there is something of the dryness
of Pietro Perugino, they bear a great resemblance
to the juvenile works of Raphael. He approaches
nearer to the better time of that master in his two
pictures of subjects from the Life of St. Zanobio,
originally painted for the Academy at Florence, but
afterwards placed in the Ducal Gallery. He died
at Florence in 1561. The print of the ' Procession
to Calvary' (plate 125 of Rosini) will give an idea
of his style of composition and delmeation of char-
acter; but it does not bear much of the impress of
Fra Bartolommeo or Giulio Romano. The follow-
ing are some of his most important pictures :
Berlin. Jfi/stum. Adoration of the lafaot Christ. BudaTestl:. Ga/Zery. Xatirity. Florence. J'. I 'ecchio. Holy lYinity. „ „ Annunciation. 1514, „ Acadtmy. Panels with three Saints each. „ Vfizi. St. Zanobio restoring a child to life. „ I'ltti. Two Portraits. London. .at. Gall. Procession to Calvary. Vsto^d,,S.PietroMagWii
adored by Saints.
Keigate. I'riory. Portrait of an old nun.
BIJK, De. See De Hue.
BIJLAERT, Jas Jacob, a Dutch painter, was born at Rotterdam in 1734. His paintings, some of which are at Cassel and Brunswick, mostly represent girls, and are weak in colouring. He sometimes worked for churches. He died at Leyden in 1809.
BILCOY, Maris Marc Antoine, was born in Paris in 1755. He painted a number of genre subjects, and was received into the Academy in 1789. He died in Paris in 1838.
BILFELDT, Jean Joseph, a French miniature painter, was born at Avignon in 793. He studied under Raspaj-, and devoted himself chiefly to miniatures and portraits, some of which are at Versailles. He died in Paris about the year 1849.
BILIVERT, Jax, (or Belliveet,) who was born at Maestricht in 1576, was brought up in the achool of Lodovico Cardi, in Italy, where he was called Giovanni Biliverti, He completed some of the works left unfinished at the death of his in- structor, to whose style be endeavoured to unite the expression of Santo di Titi, and something of the splendour of Paolo Veronese. He died at Florence in 1644, Amongst his best works may be mentioned :
Florence. Pitti Pal. Tobias and the Angel. „ Uffizi. Joseph and Potiph.ir's Wife. Petersburg, HermUage. Hagar in the Desert. Vienna. Belvedere. Chnst and the Woman of Samaria.
BILLINGTON, Horace W., landscape painter, was the brother of the celebrated singer. A land- scape by him was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1802. He died in London, November 17, 1812.
BILLMARK, Carl Johann, who was born at Stockhol* in 1804, was a landscape painter ; he visited Dalecariia, St. Petersburg, and Paris, where he studied under Deroy. From 1828 to 1830 he published 100 lithographic landscape studies, and in 1833, whilst in Paris, he produced 29 works, representing the scenery of his native cotmtry ; and later on 24 plates of views on the Rhine, and also 100 plates in a work entitled, ' Journey from Stockholm to Naples.' He was a member of the Academy of Stockholm, and received the decoration of the Wasa order. He died in Paris in 1870.
BILLONI, Giambattista, a painter of Padua, was born in 1676, and died in 1636. He painted landscapes and portraits, and sometimes attempted history ; but liis reputation is now confined to his portraits.
BILLOTTE, Ren6, bom at Tarbes (Hautes Pj-ren^es) June 24, 1846. A pupil of Eugfene Fromentin. Exhibited yearly since 1878 at the Siilon des Cliamps Elysees, and since 1890 at the Champs de Mars. He chiefly painted Dutch land- scapes and views around Paris. His ' La Neige ' la Porte d'Asniferes' (Musde du Luxembourg) and ' Le Soir i I'Avenue de Villiers ' (Mus^e de Dijon) are well known. He also painted a decorative panel for the Hotel de Ville, ' La Seine au Quai d'Oisay.' He gained the silver medal at the Exposition Universelle of '89. He was secretary of the National Society of Beaux Arts, and member of the Pastel Society, and Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. A collection of his works was shown at the Goupil Gallery in London in 1897. p. p,
BILLWILLER, Johann Lorexz Jacob, born'at St. Gallen, Switzerland, in 1780, etched the por- traits of Fliger, Maurer, Schmutzer, Fischer, and himself, and painted genre pieces after Kobell and J. Seelos. He committed suicide at Vienna in 1810,
BILLY, Niccol6 and Aktoxio, (or Billi,) two Italian engravers, who flourished about the year 1734, engraved several portraits and historical subjects, executed with the graver in rather a stiff, dry manner, Niccol6 engraved some plates for the Museum Flo.entinum. Fredericus Zuccharus, Haus Holbein ; se ipse pinx. Pietro Leoue Ghezzi ; se ipse del. Giovanni Morandi ; se ipse del. Cardinal Pompeo Aldrovaudi ; G. BerU pins. Cardinal Spinelli ; Dom. Dupra pinx. The Infant Jesus sleeping ; oval, St. Philip Neri kneeUug before the Virgin ; after S. Conca. The Holy Family ; after Carracci ; half-length figures. The Flight mto Egypt ; aftei- Guido.
BILTIUS, Jacob, See Van der Bilt, Jacob.
BIMBI, Baetolommeo, a Florentine artist, who was bom in 1648, studied under Lorenzo Lippi, and after painting historical pieces for a short time, became an excellent painter of fruit and flowers ; he was considered the Mario of his school. He died in 1725.
BIMEL, See BuilSL.
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