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Abravanel, Judah

(Encyclopedia)Abravanel or Abarbanel, Judah, c.1460–c.1523, Jewish philosopher, physician, and poet, son of Isaac Abravanel, b. Lisbon; he is also known as Leone Ebreo. He fled (1483) from Portugal to Spain with ...

bronze sculpture

(Encyclopedia)bronze sculpture. Bronze is ideal for casting art works; it flows into all crevices of a mold, thus perfectly reproducing every detail of the most delicately modeled sculpture. It is malleable beneath...

Pius IX

(Encyclopedia)Pius IX, 1792–1878, pope (1846–78), an Italian named Giovanni M. Mastai-Ferretti, b. Senigallia; successor of Gregory XVI. He was cardinal and bishop of Imola when elected pope. For two years he p...

Montessori, Maria

(Encyclopedia)Montessori, Maria märēˈä mōntās-sôˈrē [key], 1870–1952, Italian educator and physician. She was the originator of the Montessori method of education for young children and was the first wom...

Donatello

(Encyclopedia)Donatello dŏnətĕlˈō, Ital. dōnätĕlˈlō [key], c.1386–1466, Italian sculptor, major innovator in Renaissance art, b. Florence. His full name was Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi. In his for...

Francis, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Francis, Saint, or Saint Francis of Assisi əsēˈzē [key], 1182?–1226, founder of the Franciscans, one of the greatest Christian saints, b. Assisi, Umbria, Italy. Two years before his death (122...

Giorgione

(Encyclopedia)Giorgione jōrjôˈnā [key], c.1478–1510, Venetian painter, b. Castelfranco Veneto; fellow student of Titian under Giovanni Bellini in Venice. Giorgione was known also as Zorgo or Zorgi da Castelfr...

Baldwin, James

(Encyclopedia)Baldwin, James, 1924–87, American author, b. New York City. He spent an impoverished boyhood in Harlem, became a Pentecostal preacher at 14, and left the church three years later. He moved to Paris ...

Medici, Cosimo de'

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Cosimo de' dā mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], 1389–1464, Italian merchant prince, first of the Medici family to rule Florence. He is often called Cosimo the Elder. After the death ...

Dumas, Alexandre (Dumas père), 1802–70, French novelist and dramatist

(Encyclopedia)Dumas, Alexandre pĕr [key], 1802–70, French novelist and dramatist. His father, Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, was a general in the Revolution. Dumas delighted many generations of readers with his highly ...