MORTUUS EN JACEO, MORTE EXTINGUUNTUR HONORES;
AT VIRTUS MORTIS NESGIA MORTE VIRET.
Immediately behind the cardinals are figures of patron saints; a centre
tablet represents St. George and the Dragon; above are the apostles;
below, the seven cardinal virtues. The execution of these is
particularly admired, especially that of the figure of Prudence; but a
row of still smaller figures, in devotional attitudes, carved upon the
pilasters between the virtues, are in higher taste. Various arabesques
in basso-relievo, of great beauty, and completely in the style of the
_Loggie_ of Raphael, adorn the other parts of this sumptuous tomb.--As a
whole it is unquestionably grand, and it is yet farther valuable as an
illustration of the gorgeous taste that prevailed at the end of the
fifteenth century; but the mixture of black and white marble and gilding
has by no means a good effect, and every part is overloaded with
ornaments[85]. These, however, are the faults of the times: its merits
are its own.
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