and the painting of this period had little permanent value, in comparison
with that of preceding centuries.

Italian women, especially in the second half of the century, were
professors in universities, lectured to large audiences, and were
respectfully consulted by men of science and learning in the various
branches of scholarship to which they were devoted. Unusual honors were
paid them, as in the case of Maria Portia Vignoli, to whom a statue was
erected in the public square of Viterbo to commemorate her great learning
in natural science.

An artist, Matilda Festa, held a professorship in the Academy of St. Luke
in Rome, and Maria Maratti, daughter of the Roman painter Carlo Maratti,
made a good reputation both as an artist and a poetess.

In Northern Italy many women were famous in sculpture, painting, and
engraving. At least forty could be named, artists of good repute, whose
lives were lacking in any unusual interest, and whose works are in
private collections. One of these was a princess of Parma, who married
the Archduke Joseph of Austria, and was elected to the Academy of Vienna
in 1789.

* * * * *

In France, in the beginning of this century Watteau, 1684-1721, painted
his interesting pictures of _La Belle Société_, reproducing the court
life, costumes, and manners of the reign of Louis XIV. with fidelity,
grace, and vivacity. Later in the century, Greuze, 1725-1805, with his
attractive, refined, and somewhat mannered style, had a certain
influence. Claude Vernet, 1714-1789, and David, 1748-1825, each great in