He executed many works, assisted by scholars of mediocrity; a thing which ought to be avoided by every good master. In Casale I heard a Giorgio Alberino enumerated among his best scholars; and on the relation of P. della Valle I may add to them Sacchi, also of Casale, as his companion in Moncalvo; who possessed a more energetic pencil perhaps, and more learning than Caccia. He painted in S. Francesco a Drawing of Lots for Marriage Portions; in which is seen a great assemblage of fathers, mothers, and young daughters; and in the latter the sentiments are most vividly expressed, so that we read the fate of each in her countenance; the face of one beaming with delight at the mention of her name, while another stands wishful, yet fearing to hear herself called. And at S. Agostino di Casale is a standard, with the Virgin and saints, and certain portraits of the Gonzaghi princes; a picture ascribed to Moncalvo: but if we consult the style and the mode of colouring, I should rather attribute it to Sacchi. Caccia taught, and was assisted in his labours by two daughters, who may be called the Gentilesche, or the Fontane of Monferrato, where they painted not only cabinet pictures but more altar-pieces than perhaps any other females. The contours of their figures are exactly copied from their father, but they are not so animated. It is said that their manner was so similar, that, in order to distinguish them, the younger, Francesca, adopted the symbol of a small bird; and Ursula, who founded the convent of Ursulines in Moncalvo, that of a flower. Of the latter her church and Casale also have some altar-pieces, and not a few cabinet pictures with landscapes touched in the style of Bril, and ornamented with flowers. A Holy Family by her in this style is in the rich collection of the Palazzo Natta. Lastly I may record the name of Niccolò Musso, the boast of Casalmonferrato, where he lived, and left works which possess an originality of style. He is said by Orlandi to have been the scholar of Caravaggio for ten years in Rome; and there is a tradition in his native place that he studied under the Caracci in Bologna. Musso leans to Caravaggio, but his chiaroscuro is more delicate and more transparent; he is very select in his figures and in expression; and is one of those admirable painters almost unknown to Italy itself. He did not live long, and generally painted for private individuals. He left however some works in public, and more than one in the church of S. Francis, representing that saint at the feet of Christ crucified, and angels partaking his lamentations and devotions. The portrait of this artist, painted by himself, is also in Casale, in the possession of the Marchese Mossi; and some memoirs of him were published by the Canonico de' Giovanni, as I read in P. M. della Valle.[74] Footnote 74: Pref. al tomo xi. del Vasari, p. 20. SCHOOL OF PIEDMONT AND THE ADJACENT TERRITORY. EPOCH II.