fine powers of construction and excellence
of design. The kneeling figure of the minister is a dignified statue and
well executed; the statues in bronze of Prudence, Peace, and Fidelity,
and the marble figures of Charity and Religion are each and all noble
works, and free to a remarkable degree from the mannerisms and faults of
his time.

NICOLAS COUSTOU (1658-1733) was a nephew and pupil of Coysevox. He took
the grand prize at Paris, and went to Rome to study when he was
twenty-three years old. He made many copies of the antique. After his
return to France he was much employed. His chief work was a colossal
representation of the Junction of the Seine and the Marne. He also made
for the city of Lyons a bronze statue representing the river Saone. Some
of his sculptures are in the Church of Notre Dame.

GUILLAUME COUSTOU (1678-1746), brother of Nicolas, also gained the grand
prize and went to Rome, and on his return made a fine reputation. Much
of his best work was for the gardens of Marly; he executed a bronze
statue of the Rhone at Lyons; a bas-relief of Christ with the Doctors,
at Versailles, and statues of Louis XIV. and Cardinal Dubois, in the
Museum of French Monuments.

JEAN BAPTISTE PIGALLE (1714-1785) is the last French sculptor of whom I
shall speak here. He was born in Paris, and gained his first fame by a
statue of Mercury; but his masterpiece was the tomb of Marshal Moritz of
Saxony, in the Church of St. Thomas, at Strasburg. The soldier is
represented in his own costume, just as he wore it in life, about to
enter a tomb, on one side of which stands a skeleton Death, and on the
other a mourning Hercules. A statue representing France tries to hold
him back, and a Genius attends on him with an inverted torch. There are
many accessories of military emblems and trophies. There have been
several engravings made from this tomb, the best part of which is the
figure of the Marshal.

Pigalle was a favorite with Mme. Pompadour, of whom he made a portrait
statue. She employed him to do many works for her. His best monument in
Paris is that of the Comte d'Harcourt, in the Church of Notre Dame.

In the Netherlands, as in Italy, the painting of the time had a great
effect upon sculpture, and it was full of energy, like the pictures of
the Rubens school; at the same time there remained traces of the
traditions of former days, and while a great change had come since the
days of Vischer, there was still a firm adherence