PAINTERS AND ENGRAVERS.
1752. There is a 'Dead Christ' by him in the
Brussels Gallery.
CODRTOIS, Gdillaume, commonly known as GUGLIELMO CoETESE, and also called Bodrguignon, (or II Bobgognone.) was the brother of Jacques Courtois, and was bom at St. Hippolyte in 1628. He went to Rome whilst he was young, and became a scholar of Pietro da Cortona. He did not how- ever follow the style of that master, but appears to have preferred that of Carlo Maratti, in his com- positions and the expression of his heads. He sometimes seems to have wished to resemble Guercino in the strength of his relief, and his azure backgrounds. His works most deserving of notice are a ' Madonna, and several Saints,' in the Triniti di Pellegrini ; ' Joshua's great Battle,' in the palace of the Quirinal, in which he was assisted by his brother ; and the ' Crucifixion of St. Andrew,' in Sanf Andrea a Monte Cavallo, Rome. The 'Offering of Isaac' by him is in the Dresden Gallery, and a picture of 'The Burial of the Dead during the Plague in Rome' in the Brussels Gallery. He died at Rome in 1679. His engravings are now become excessively rare. They are not so highly finished as those of his brother Jacquea We have by him the following plates :
A Burial during the Plague. The Presentation in the Temple. The Resurrection of Lazarus.
COURTOIS, Jacques, commonly called by the Italians GiACOMO Cortese, and II Borgognone, also known as BonBGUiGNON, was bom at St. Hippolyte, in rranche-Comt6, in 1621. He was the son of an obscure painter, Jean Courtois, who taught him the rudiments of design. At the age of fifteen he went to Milan, where he formed an intimacy with a French officer, who prevailed on him to enter the army, which he followed for some time ; designing on every occasion the marches, the attacks, and skirmishes of which he was a witness. After three years' service he quitted the military profession and returned to painting. At Bologna he became acquainted with Guido and Albani, and his inti- macy with those distinguished artists was of great advantage to his progress. He at length visited Rome, where his first attempts were some historical works, amongst which were 'The Magdalen at the feet of Christ,' in the church of Santa Maria ; and in the Gesi», the ' Murder of the Innocents ' and the 'Adoration of the Magi.' The natural bent of his genius discovered itself on his seeing the admirable 'Battle of Constantine' by Giulio Romano, in the Vatican ; and from that time he devoted himself to a branch of the art which he carried to a perfection unknown before or after him. Michelangelo delle Battaglie, having seen some of his works, with a liberality not always found in a rival, was one of the most zealous pubhshers of his fame. Whilst he was in full posses.sion of popular esteem, a cir- cumstance occurred which occasioned his retirement from the world. His wife, with whom he had not lived on the best terms, died suddenly ; and malevolence suspected and accused him of having poisoned her. This cruel accusation determined him to abandon society, and he took refuge with the Jesuits, of which body he soon afterwards became a member. But neither the gloom of a monastery, nor the affliction of his mind, could subdue his ardour or impoverish his talent, which he continued to exercise till hia death, which occurred at Rome in 1676.
The battle-pieces of Borgognone are composed with a fire and painted with a vigour peculiar to himself. His touch is admirable and of extra- ordinary facility, his figures and horses are drawn with all the spirit requisite in the attacks of the fiercest combatants fighting for honour and for life ; and (as Lanzi expresses it) " in beholding his pictures we seem to hear the shouts of war, the neighing of the horses, and the cries of the wounded." It is to be lamented that many of his works have blackened since they were painted. The following are some of the best of his works which are frequently met with in public galleries :
Augsburg. Gallery. Battle-pieces. Berlin. Museum. Rocky Landscape (formerly assigned to Salvator Rosa). Cassel. Gallery. Battle-pieces. Dresden. Gallery. Battle-pieces (four). Battle-pieces (three). Edinburgh. Gallery. Florence. Uffizi. Portrait of himself. ,, „ Battle-pieces (four). Fitti Pal. Battle-piece. Hague. Gallery. Cavalry Combat. Muuich. Pinakothek . A Battle-field after the fight. A Battle-piece. Madrid. Gallery. Battle-pieces (txco). Paris. Louvrt. Cavalry Combat near a Bridge. „ „ Troops marching. 5, n Cavalry combat. Cavalry encounter. »» Cuirassiers and Turkish Cavalry. Petersburg Hermitagt . Studies for Battle-pieces. Vienna. Gallery. Battle-pieces (three).
We have by this artist some etchings of battles, executed with uncommon spirit, and with a masterly effect of light and shadow. They are described in Robert-Dumesnil's ' Peintre-Graveur,' vol. {., and among them are the following: A set of Eight Battles ; Giac. Cortese fee. A set of Four Battles ; J. C.
COURTOIS, Jean. See Codbteys.
COURTOIS, Marie, a French miniature painter of considerable ability, was a pupil of Le Bnm. She was born about the year 1655, married in 1675 Marc Nattier, the portrait painter, and died in Paris in 1703.
COURTOIS, Pierre Franijois, was a French engraver, who was born in Paris in 1736. He engraved two plates from the designs of Saint- Aubin, but died at Rochefort in 1763.
COUSE, J., was an artist who, if not a native of England, at least resided here about the year 1750. He engraved a view of Berkeley Castle, from a drawing by the Countess of Berkeley, and some other prints, which are neatly executed, and possess considerable merit.
COUSEN, Charles, a younger brother of John Cousen, and also a line engraver, worked chiefly for the ' Art Journal,' for which he executed up- wards of fifty plates. In early life he painted a few pictures, and exhibited once, in 1848, at the Society of British Artists. He, however, devoted his attention to engraving, and produced his first important plates for the Vernon and Turner Gal- leries. He continued his work to an advanced age, his last engraving, ' Catching a Mermaid,' after J. C. Hook, appearing a _year before his death, which took place in November 1689. The follow- ing are h's principal plates:
The Opening of the Walhalla. ' Bacchus and Ariadne. {After Turner: for the The Loretto Necklace. f Turner Gallery. Abingdon. / A Fete ChampStre ; after T. Stothard. ) For the Verrum The Bathers ; after the same. j Gallery.
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