ANNA

anna, baldasarre, a painter who flourished during part of the 16th and 17th centuries. he was born at venice, probably about 1560, and is said to have been of flemish descent. the date of his death is uncertain, but he seems to have been alive in 1639. for a number of years he studied under leonardo corona, and on the death of that painter completed several works left unfinished by him. his own activity seems to have been confined to the production of pieces for several of the churches and a few private houses in venice, and the old guide-books and descriptions of the city notice a considerable number of paintings by him. scarcely any of these, however, have survived. anna (hindustani _ana_), an indian penny, the sixteenth part of a rupee. the term belongs to the mahommedan monetary system (see rupee). there is no coin of one anna, but there are half-annas of copper and two-anna pieces of silver. the term anna is frequently used to express a fraction. thus an anglo-indian speaks of two annas of dark blood (an octoroon), a four-anna (quarter) crop, an eight-anna (half) gallop. anna amalia (1739-1807), duchess of saxe-weimar, daughter of charles i., duke of brunswick-wolfenbuttel, was born at wolfenbuttel on the 24th of october 1739, and married ernest, duke of saxe-weimar, 1756. her husband died in 1758, leaving her regent for their infant son, charles augustus. during the protracted minority she administered the affairs of the duchy with the greatest prudence, strengthening its resources and improving its position in spite of the troubles of the seven years' war. she was a patroness of art and literature, and attracted to weimar many of the most eminent men in germany. wieland was appointed tutor to her son; and the names of herder, goethe and schiller shed an undying lustre on her court. in 1775 she retired into private life, her son having attained his majority. in 1788 she set out on a lengthened tour through italy, accompanied by goethe. she died on the 10th of april 1807. a memorial of the duchess is included in goethe's works under the title _zum andenken der furstin anna-amalia._ see f. bornhak, _anna amalia herzogin von saxe-weimar-eisenach_ (berlin. 1892).