[Gilfillan, George], a critic and essayist, born at Comrie, minister of a Dissenting congregation in Dundee from 1836 to his death; a writer with a perfervid style; author of "Gallery of Literary Portraits," "Bards of the Bible," etc., and editor of Nichol's "British Poets," which extended to 48 vols. (1817-1878).
[Gillespie, George], a celebrated Scotch divine, born at Kirkcaldy; trained at St. Andrews, and ordained to a charge at Wemyss; in 1642 he was called to Edinburgh, and in the following year appointed one of a deputation of four to represent Scotland at the Westminster Assembly; his chief work is "Aaron's Rod Blossoming," a vigorous statement and vindication of his Presbyterianism; in 1648 he was Moderator of the General Assembly (1613-1648).
[Gilpin, John], a London citizen, on an adventure of whose life Cowper has written a humorous poem.
[Gilpin, William, of Boldre], an English author, who by his series of "Picturesque Tours" exercised an influence on English literature similar to that of White's "Selborne," at the same time (1724-1804).
[Gilray, James], English caricaturist, born in Chelsea; distinguished for his broad humour and keen satire; his works were numerous and highly popular; died insane (1757-1815).
[Gioberti, Vincenzo], an Italian philosophical and political writer, born at Turin; in 1825 he was appointed to the chair of Theology in his native city, and in 1831 chaplain to the Court of Charles Albert of Sardinia; two years later was exiled on a charge of complicity in the plots of the Young Italy party, and till 1847 remained abroad, chiefly in Brussels, busy with his pen on literary, philosophical, and political subjects; in 1848 he was welcomed back to Italy, and shortly afterwards rose to be Prime Minister of a short-lived government; his later years were spent in diplomatic work at Paris; in philosophy he reveals Platonic tendencies, while his political ideal was a confederated Italy, with the Pope at the head and the king of Sardinia as military guardian (1801-1852).
[Giordano, Luca], Italian painter, born at Naples; studied under various celebrated masters at Naples, Rome, Lombardy, and other places, finally returning to Naples; in 1692 he received a commission from Charles II. of Spain to adorn the Escurial, and in the execution of this work remained at Madrid till 1700, when he again settled in his native city; he was famous in his day for marvellous rapidity of workmanship, but this fluency combined with a too slavish adherence to the methods of the great masters has somewhat robbed his work of individuality; his frescoes in the Escurial at Madrid and others in Florence and Rome are esteemed his finest work (1632-1705).
[Giorgione] (i. e. Great George), the sobriquet given to Giorgio Barbarella, one of the early masters of the Venetian school, born near Castelfranco, in the NE. of Italy; at Venice he studied under Giovanni Bellini, and had Titian as a fellow-pupil; his portraits are among the finest of the Italian school, and exhibit a freshness of colour and conception and a firmness of touch unsurpassed in his day; his works deal chiefly with scriptural and pastoral scenes, and include a "Holy Family" in the Louvre, "Virgin and Child" in Venice, and "Moses Rescued" (1447-1511).
[Giotto], a great Italian painter, born at a village near Florence; was a shepherd's boy, and at 10 years of age, while tending his flock and drawing pictures of them, was discovered by Cimabue, who took him home and made a pupil of him; "never," says Ruskin, "checked the boy from the first day he found him, showed him all he knew, talked with him of many things he himself felt unable to paint; made him a workman and a gentleman, above all, a Christian, yet left him a shepherd.... His special character among the great painters of Italy was that he was a practical person; what others dreamt of he did; he could work in mosaic, could work in marble, and paint; could build ... built the Campanile of the Duomo, because he was then the best master of sculpture, painting, and architecture in Florence, and supposed in such business to be without a superior in the world.... Dante was his friend and Titian copied him.... His rules in art were: You shall see things as they are; and the least with the greatest, because God made them; and the greatest with the least, because God made you, and gave you eyes and a heart; he threw aside all glitter and conventionality, and the most significant thing in all his work is his choice of moments." Cimabue still painted the Holy Family in the old conventional style, "but Giotto came into the field, and saw with his simple eyes a lowlier worth; and he painted the Madonna, St. Joseph, and the Christ,—yes, by all means if you choose to call them so, but essentially—Mamma, Papa, and the Baby; and all Italy threw up its cap" (1276-1336). See Ruskin's "Mornings in Florence."
[Giotto's O], a perfectly round O, such as Giotto is said to have sent the Pope in evidence of his ability to do some decorative work for his Holiness.