50G BELLINI BELLMAN have perished; one supposed to he authentic is in the Manfrini palace at Venice, and repre- sents the portraits of Petrarch and Laura. II. Gentile, son of the preceding, horn in 1421, died in 1507. He was employed by the Vene- tian government on an equal footing with his brother in decorating the hall of the grand council in the doge's palace, and was also cele- brated for his portraits. His fame attracted the notice of Mohammed II., conqueror of Constantinople, and Bellini visited the grand seignior. He painted a number of pictures for Mohammed, and also struck a medal for him, the sultan presenting him with a gold chain and 3,000 ducats. III. Giovanni, second son of Jacopo, and generally regarded as the founder of the Venetian school, born in 1426, died in 1516 (according to some, a few years ear- lier). Some of his earliest works were por- traits, among them that of the doge Lore- dano. He was employed by the republic to decorate the great hafl of the council with a series of historical paintings, covering the entire walls. These were destroyed by fire in 1577. He also painted a picture of the Virgin Mary surrounded by saints, for the church of San Zaccaria in Venice. One of his last works was a Bacchanal ; this he left incomplete, and it was finished by Titian. BELLINI, Lanrentlo, an Italian anatomist, born in Florence, Sept. 3, 1643, died Jan. 8, 1704. He was instructed in mechanics by Borelli, and at the age of 22 attained the chair of phi- losophy and theoretical medicine, and contin- ued a brilliant career in this position for nearly 30 years. When 50 years of age he abandoned his professorship, and returned to Florence. BELLINI, Vincenzo, an Italian composer, born in Catania, Sicily, Nov. 1 or 3, 1802, died at Puteaux, near Paris, Sept. 24, 1835. His father and grandfather were musicians of in- different reputation, and he was educated in the conservatory of Naples at the expense of his native town. An opera entitled Sianca e Fernando, produced before he was 24 years old, became so fashionable, thanks to the favor of the court, that he was immediately engaged to write another for La Scala at Milan. This was II Pirata (1827), the extraordinary success of which was owing in part to the singing of Eubini. La St/raniera followed in 1828, with Tamburini and Madame Meric-Lalande, and 7 Capuleti ed i Montecchi in 1830 ; both were well received, but it became customary to sub- stitute for the third act of the latter work an act from Vaccai's more vigorous Borneo e Giu- lietta. The next productions of Bellini, La Sonnambula and Norma, both brought out at Milan in 1831, showed a decided advance. They were written for Madame Pasta, but Malibran probably did more for Norma than any other artist. Beatrice di Tenda (Venice, 1833) was too tragic for the genius of Bellini, though it contains some admirable numbers. The composer now visited England to superin- tend the production of one of his works, and thence went to Paris, where he had been engag- ed to write an opera for the Thfiatre Italien. The fruit of this contract was his last and best work, / Puritani, produced with Grisi, Rubi- ni, Tamburini, and Lablache in the cast, and received with the utmost enthusiasm. He had made an agreement for another work for Paris, when he died after a few days' sickness. Bellini had slight knowledge of counterpoint ; his scores are weak, and his accompaniments commonplace; but he excelled as a fresh, graceful, and fertile melodist, and surpassed all other Italian composers in the sympathetic character of his music. In private life he was estimable, refined, and agreeable. I! I I.I.I N/OV (Ger. ellenz), a town of Switz- erland, capital of a district of the same name, and alternately with Lugano and Locarno the capital of the canton of Ticino, on the left bank of the Ticino, 50 m. N. by E. of Milan ; pop. about 2,200; of the district, 12,000. It is situated between two rocky heights on the Italian slope of the Alps, at the union of the roads from the St. Gothard and San Bernardino, and Lakes Maggiore and Lugano. The Ticino is here crossed by a bridge of 14 arches and restrained by a long stone dam. It is the key of the Italian-German boundary, and the partly ruined castles on the Giori rocks, Castello di Mezzo and Castello Corbario, which overhang the town, have been strengthened by additional fortifications. On an isolated rock stands a third castle, the Castello Grande, which is used as an arsenal and prison.' The church of St. Peter and St. Stephen, with 11 marble altars and a high cupola, is the finest in the canton. The convent of the Augustinians is used as a government house. The inhabitants are farmers and cattle drivers, and many of them seek employment in neighboring Italian towns, leaving the women at home to .till the land. There is an active transit trade. The town long belonged to the dukes of Milan, and has been often a bone of contention, chiefly between Swiss, Italians, and Germans; the Swiss ruling it almost uninterruptedly since the end of the 15th century. The language spoken is an Italian dialect. BELLMAN, Karl MIekel, a Swedish poet, called the Anacreon of Sweden, born at Stockholm, Feb. 15, 1740, died Feb. 11, 1795. He publish- ed religious poems and a translation of the fa- bles of Gellert, but acquired renown only by the songs which he was accustomed to impro- vise at banquet tables. His songs and idyls, which he published under the title of " Letters of Fredman," are peculiarly naive, tender, and charming. His longest poem, " The Temple of Bacchus," is of an elegiac character, and mark- ed by depth and brilliancy of thought. In 1829 a monument was erected at Stockholm in his honor, and a society named after him, the "Bellman," celebrates there an an- nual festival in his memory. His collected works were published at Gothenburg in 5 vols., 1836-'8.
