revolution in taste was taking place in Italy, at the end of the fifteenth
and the commencement of the following century, and carved woodwork
followed the new direction.

[Illustration: Reproduction of Decoration By Raffaelle. In the Loggie of
the Vatican. Period: Italian Renaissance.]

[Illustration: A Sixteenth Century Room. Reproduced from the "Magazine of
Art" (By Permission)]

[Illustration: Salon of M. Edmond Bonnaffe, Decorated and Furnished in
the Renaissance Style.]

Leo X. was Pope in 1513. The period of peace which then ensued after war,
which for so many decades had disturbed Italy, as France or Germany had in
turn striven to acquire her fertile soil, gave the princes and nobles
leisure to rebuild and adorn their palaces; and the excavations which were
then made brought to light many of the works of art which had remained
buried since the time when Rome was mistress of the world. Leo was a
member of that remarkable and powerful family the Medicis, the very
mention of whom is to suggest the Renaissance, and under his patronage,
and with the co-operation of the reigning dukes and princes of the
different Italian states, artists were given encouragement and scope for
the employment of their talents. Michael Angelo, Titian, Raffaele Sanzio,
Andrea del Sarto, Correggio, and many other great artists were raising up
monuments of everlasting fame; Palladio was rebuilding the palaces of
Italy, which were then the wonder of the world; Benvenuto Cellini and
Lorenzo Ghiberti were designing those marvellous chef d'oeuvres in gold,
silver, and bronze which are now so rare; and a host of illustrious
artists were producing work which has made the sixteenth century famous
for all time.

[Illustration: Chair in Carved Walnut. Found in the house of Michael
Angelo.]

The circumstances of the Italian noble caused him to be very amenable to
Art influence. Living chiefly out of doors, his climate rendered him less
dependent on the comforts of small rooms, to which more northern people
were attached, and his ideas would naturally aspire to pomp and elegance,
rather than to home life and utility. Instead of the warm chimney corner
and the comfortable seat, he preferred furniture of a more palatial
character for the adornment of the lofty and spacious saloons of his
palace, and therefore we find the buffet elaborately carved, with a free
treatment of the classic antique which marks the time; it was frequently
"garnished" with