ANTONIO BEGARELLI (1499-1565), called also ANTONIO DA MODENA, from the
place of his birth, was a celebrated modeller in clay. It is said that
when Michael Angelo visited Modena in 1529 he saw Begarelli and his
works, and exclaimed, "Alas for the statues of the ancients, if this
clay were changed to marble!" Begarelli had a school for teaching design
and modelling, and he greatly influenced the manner of the Lombard
school of painting. Its foreshortening, its relief and grace are largely
due to him and his teaching.

Begarelli and Correggio were fast friends, and resembled each other in
their conception of the grand and beautiful. When Correggio was
decorating the cupola of the Cathedral of Parma, Begarelli was at work
in the same place, and made many models from which Correggio painted his
floating figures. Some works by Begarelli may be seen in the Berlin
Museum. His Descent from the Cross, in the Church of San Francesco, at
Modena, is one of his best works. He was also employed in the Church of
San Benedetto, in Mantua, and in San Giovanni, at Parma.

During the sixteenth century the works at the Certosa at Pavia and in
various edifices in Milan were constantly carried on. Frequently the
same sculptors worked in both cities, but there is no one artist of
great excellence among them of whom we can give an account. The same is
true of the works in Venice and in Southern Italy. The traveller sees
many pieces of sculpture belonging to this period, but there are no
great and interesting men whose story we can tell in connection with
them, and I shall now pass to an account of the great Florentine.

MICHAEL ANGELO BUONARROTI (1475-1564) was born in the Castle of Caprese,
where his father, Ludovico Buonarroti, was stationed at that time,
holding the office of Podesta, or Governor, of the towns of Caprese and
Chiusi. The Buonarroti family held good rank in Florence, and the mother
of the great artist was also a woman of good position. When his father
returned to Florence the child Michael was left at Settignano upon an
estate of the family, and was in the care of the wife of a stone-mason.
As soon as the boy could use his hands he drew pictures everywhere that
it was possible, and his nurse could show many of these childish
drawings with which he adorned the walls of her house.

At a proper time Michael Angelo was removed to Florence and placed in a
school, where he became intimate with Francesco Granacci, who was a
pupil