es. The Olivetans practised
this art extensively, and, much as some monasteries had scriptoria
for the production of books, so others had carpenter's shops and
studios where, according to Michele Caffi, they showed "great talent
for working in wood, succeeding to the heirship of the art of tarsia
in coloured woods, which they got from Tuscany." One of the more
important of the Olivetan Monasteries was St. Michele in Bosco, where
the noted worker in tarsia, Fra Raffaello da Brescia, made some
magnificent choir stalls. In 1521 these were finished, but they were
largely destroyed by the mob in the suppression of the convents in
the eighteenth century. In 1812 eighteen of the stalls were saved,
bought by the Marquis Malvezzi, and placed in St. Petronio. He tried
also to save the canopies, but these had been sold for firewood at
about twopence each!

The stalls of St. Domenico at Bologna are by Fra Damiano of Bergamo;
it is said of him that his woods were coloured so marvellously
that the art of tarsia was by him raised to the rank of that of
painting! He was a Dominican monk in Bologna most of his life.
When Charles V. visited the choir of St. Domenico, and saw these
stalls, he would not believe that the work was accomplished by
inlay, and actually cut a piece out with his sword by way of
investigation.

Castiglione the Courtier expresses himself with much admiration
of the work of Fra Damiano, "rather divine than human." Of the
technical perfection of the workmanship he adds: "Though these
works are executed with inlaid pieces, the eye cannot even by the
greatest exertion detect the joints.... I think, indeed, I am certain,
that it will be called the eighth wonder of the world." (Count
Castiglione did not perhaps realize what a wonderful world he lived
in!) But at any rate there is no objection to subscribing to his
eulogy: "All that I could say would be little enough of his rare and
singular virtue, and on the goodness of his religious and holy life."
Another frate who wrote about that time alluded to Fra Damiano as
"putting together woods with so much art that they appear as pictures
painted with the brush."

In Germany there was some interesting intarsia made by the Elfen
Brothers, of St. Michael's in Hildesheim, who produced beautiful
chancel furniture. Hans Stengel of Nueremberg, too, was renowned
in this art.

After the Renaissance marquetry ran riot in France, but that is
out of the province of our present st