Encyclopedia of the Renaissance and the Reformation

(Bozica Vekic) #1

“Ballad of Agincourt” (c. 1605) and he devoted many
years to his principal work, the topographical epic Poly-
Olbion (1622), written in hexameter couplets and divided
into 30 “Songs” celebrating British landscape and history.
Numerous editions of his poems appeared throughout the
early 1600s and the Muses Elizium (1630) is the latest ex-
pression of the Elizabethan pastoral tradition.


Drebbel, Cornelis (1572–1633) Dutch inventor and
alchemist
A native of Alkmaar, Drebbel trained as an engraver under
his brother-in-law Hendrick GOLTZIUS, but subsequently
turned his hand to hydraulic engineering. In the early
1600s he migrated to England, where he tried to attract
James I’s patronage by presenting him with a supposed
perpetuum mobile. Drebbel was later involved in plans to
drain fenland in East Anglia and was famous as the inven-
tor of a scarlet dye which he and his sons-in-law exploited
at their dyeworks in Bow, London. Among his many in-
ventions was a submarine, which he demonstrated in the
River Thames, apparently having found means of supply-
ing the rowers with fresh air while the craft was under
water.


dress See COSTUME


Dryander, Francis See ENZINAS, FRANCISCO DE


Du Bartas, Guillaume de Salluste, Seigneur
(1544–1590) French poet
A Huguenot gentleman born at Montfort, near Auch, Du
Bartas entered the service of Henry of Navarre, for whom
he accomplished a number of diplomatic missions, in-
cluding a visit to the court of King James VI of Scotland.
His poetry was influenced in style by the techniques de-
veloped by the PLÉIADEand in content by his Protestant
faith; early works include the epics Judith and Le Triomphe
de la foi (1574). Du Bartas’s most significant achievement
was La Semaine ou la Création du monde (1578), a didactic
account of the creation of the world in seven cantos,
which was highly acclaimed in France on publication but
was subsequently criticized on stylistic grounds; it was
well received in England, however, in translation (see
SYLVESTER, JOSHUA). The Seconde Semaine, a continuation
of the Old Testament story leading to a complete history
of mankind, remained unfinished at Du Bartas’s death.


Du Bellay, Joachim (1522–1560) French poet
Born at Liré of noble parentage, Du Bellay was the cousin
of the cardinal and diplomat Jean Du Bellay (c. 1493–
1560) and the general and writer Guillaume Du Bellay
(1491–1543). After studying law at Poitiers he went to
Paris, where he made the acquaintance of RONSARDand
joined him at the Còllege de Coqueret. He became a mem-
ber of the PLÉIADE, and his early sonnets, notably L’Olive


(1549), the first French sonnet sequence, were heavily in-
fluenced by PETRARCH; the Pléiade’s manifesto, La Défense
et illustration de la langue française (1549; translated as De-
fence and Illustration of the French Language, 1939), was
his other major work of this period. In 1553 Du Bellay ac-
companied his cousin Jean on a mission to Rome, a four-
year exile that was to inspire some of his finest poetry: Les
Antiquités de Rome (1558) is a melancholy contemplation
of the grandeur and decadence of the ancient city; Les Re-
grets (1558) reflects his disillusionment with life at the
Vatican and his homesickness for France. Du Bellay’s other
works include a collection of Latin poems and Divers jeux
rustiques, both also published in 1558, after the poet’s re-
turn to his native country.

Dubroeucq, Jacques (1500/10–1584) Flemish sculptor
and architect
Dubroeucq, who was born near Mons, became acquainted
with the ideals of the Italian Renaissance while traveling
in Italy sometime before 1535; there he studied the works
of Ghiberti, Michelangelo, Sansovino, and others. He exe-
cuted his best works, a series of carvings for the cathedral
of Ste. Waldetrude at Mons (1535–48), after his return to
the Netherlands—although much of this decoration was
destroyed during the French Revolution. In 1545 he was
honored by the appellation of “master artist of the em-
peror” (Charles V) and for Charles’s sister MARY OF HUN-
GARY, regent of the Netherlands, he built and decorated
the castles of Binche and Mariemont. Dubroeucq was also
notable as the teacher of the sculptor GIAMBOLOGNA.

Dubrovnik See RAGUSA

Duccio di Buoninsegna (c. 1260–c. 1318) Italian
painter
As the first great Sienese artist Duccio’s influence in Siena
is comparable with GIOTTO’s in Florence. Whereas Giotto’s
art was revolutionary in its pursuit ofnaturalism, Duccio
kept his ritualistic art within the Byzantine framework, yet
brought to it a new narrative power in his use of facial ex-
pression, his rich and subtle colors, and dramatic arrange-
ment of scenery. Little is known of his life except that,
despite several probably political clashes with the Sienese
government, Duccio achieved a position of wealth and in-
fluence. His first known commission (1285) was a
Madonna for the Florentine church of Sta. Maria Novella.
It is generally agreed that this is the imposing Rucellai
Madonna (Uffizi, Florence).
The only work that can certainly be attributed to Duc-
cio, however, is the double-sided Maestà, which he was
commissioned to paint in 1308 for the high altar of Siena
cathedral. It was completed and carried there in proces-
sion in 1311, but was dismembered in 1771 and while
much remains in the Museo dell’ Opera in Siena, other
panels are scattered abroad or lost. The Madonna and

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