The manner of Taddeo was first pursued and afterwards meliorated, and greatly aggrandized by Domenico Bartoli, his nephew and disciple. Foreign connoisseurs behold with delight the various fresco pictures which he painted in the pilgrim's ward of the hospital, representing the circumstances of its foundation, and the exercises of christian charity bestowed upon the sick, the dying, and the indigent. On comparing these, one with another, the artist displays considerable improvement, and a greater freedom than usual from the old dryness: his design and perspective are better, his compositions more scientific; without taking into account the richness and variety of ideas, which he has in common with the artists of this school. From those pictures Raffaello and Pinturicchio, while painting at Siena, took many of their notions of national costume, and, perhaps, of some other particulars: for it is characteristic of great minds to derive advantage even from examples not above mediocrity. Thus the art was gradually advancing in the republic, when new opportunities were afforded for producing works on a grand scale; occasions in which genius is developed and invigorated. Siena gave Pius II. to the chair of S. Peter, who, to the most ardent love of his country, united a taste for magnificence; and during his residence in the city, it was embellished with architecture, and every kind of ornament. He would have been still more profuse, had he not, disgusted with the ingratitude of the people, turned his attention and beneficence to Rome. Among other advantages he conferred on the state of Siena, was that of adding to its territory the city of Corsignano, his native place; which from him was afterwards called Pienza. The new city received from him another form, and new edifices, among which was the cathedral. It was erected in 1462, and for its decoration he invited the best artists of Siena, Ansano and Lorenzo di Pietro, Giovanni di Paolo, and Matteo his son. Their style was laborious and minute; the universal character of that age: for the manner of painting was introduced and transferred from one country into another, without our being able to discover where it originated; but in the arts depending on design, as we have before remarked, when the path is once opened, the natural genius of each school will regulate its further progress. These four artists are mentioned in the catalogue of Sienese artists; and Ansano, or Sano, at one time enjoyed the highest reputation. About 1422 he had painted the beautiful fresco which still remains over the Roman gate; and which represents the Coronation of the Virgin: it is much in the style of Simone, and in some respects it surpasses him. A picture by this artist of inferior merit remains in the church of Pienza. Lorenzo di Pietro, surnamed Il Vecchietta, was eminent in sculpture and in casting in bronze; and he is noticed by Vasari. He was less successful in painting,