Contemporary with Moretto flourished Romanino, of Brescia, about the year 1540; the same who in S. Giustina at Padua subscribes his name _Hieronymus Rumanus_. He was the rival of Bonvicino, inferior to him in the opinion of Vasari, but his equal according to Ridolfi. And truly it would appear that he surpassed him in genius and boldness of hand; but could boast neither the same taste nor diligence, several of his works appearing to be executed with a hasty pencil. Still he in general displays the qualities of a great master, both in his altarpieces and his histories, to say nothing of his burlesque compositions. The same character he maintained at Verona, where he painted the martyrdom of the titular saint, at S. Giorgio, in four large pictures abounding with great variety of figures, some of the most spirited, and the most terrible, in the executioners, that I ever saw. The same richness of invention, accompanied even with more select forms, is displayed in his altarpiece of the Holy Virgin in Calcara, at Brescia, in which he represented the bishop, S. Apollonio, administering the Eucharist to the crowd. It is a work altogether charming, the splendour of the place, and of the sacred vessels; the religious aspect of the prelate, of the Levites, and of the people; the great variety of features and of rank; so many singular pictorial beauties are all placed within the limits of propriety and truth. Less full, but no less perfect, is his Descent of Christ from the Cross, at SS. Faustino and Giovita, a piece commended by Palma for its extreme resemblance to the Venetian style, most probably alluding to that of Titian, although in some other works he very strongly resembles Bassano. Titian, however, would appear to have been his model, to which he wholly devoted himself; whether he acquired so high a regard for him from his own master, Stefano Rizzi, an artist of mediocrity, or despairing of forming a new style, like his rival, he was in hopes of surpassing him by such means. And, in fact, he still retains admirers in those parts, who prefer him to Moretto, as well for grandeur of composition and energy of expression, as for a capacity of genius that embraced every variety of subject.