him to the grave. His works are not very numerous. He generally
painted in a small size, although there are a few pictures by him as
large as life. He died in Florence in January 1686, leaving a daughter
(Agnese), who arrived at some degree of excellence in copying the works
of her father.

Carlo Dolci holds somewhat the same rank in the Florentine that
Sassoferrato does in the Roman school. Without the possession of much
genius, invention or elevation of type, both these artists produced
highly wrought pictures, extremely attractive to some tastes. The works
of Dolci are easily distinguishable by the delicacy of the composition,
and by an agreeable tint of colour, improved by judicious management of
the chiaroscuro, which gives his figures a striking relief; he affected
the use of ultramarine, much loaded in tint. "His pencil," says
Pilkington, "was tender, his touch inexpressibly neat, and his colouring
transparent; though he has often been censured for the excessive labour
bestowed on his pictures, and also for giving his carnations more of the
appearance of ivory than the look of flesh." All his best productions
are of a devout description; they frequently represent the patient
suffering of Christ or the sorrows of the Mater Dolorosa. Dolci was, in
fact, from early youth, exceedingly pious; it is said that during
passion week every year he painted a half-figure of the Saviour. His
sacred heads are marked with pathetic or at least strongly sentimental
emotion. There is a want of character in his pictures, and his grouping
lacks harmonious unison, but the general tone accords with the idea of
the passion portrayed. Among the best works of this master are the "St
Sebastian"; the "Four Evangelists," at Florence; "Christ Breaking the
Bread," in the marquess of Exeter's collection at Burleigh; the "St
Cecilia" in Dresden; an "Adoration of the Magi"; and in especial "St
Andrew praying before his Crucifixion," in the Pitti gallery, his most
important composition, painted in 1646; also several smaller pictures,
which are highly valued, and occupy honourable places in the richest
galleries. (W. M. R.)

DOLDRUMS (a slang term, _dol_ = dull; cf. tantrum), the region of calms
near the equator where the trade-winds die away, a region of constant
precipitation in which the weather is close, hot, vaporous and extremely
dispiriting. In the old days of sailing vessels, a becalmed ship
sometimes lay helpless for weeks. A le