LEGENDS

OF

THE MADONNA, AS

REPRESENTED IN THE FINE ARTS. 

BY MRS. JAMESON. 

CORRECTED AND ENLARGED EDITION. 

BOSTON:HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY. The Riverside Press, Cambridge. 1881. 

NOTE BY THE PUBLISHERS. 

Some months since Mrs. Jameson kindly consented to prepare for thisEdition of her writings the series of _Sacred and Legendary Art_, butdying before she had time to fulfil her promise, the arrangement hasbeen intrusted to other hands. The text of the whole series will be anexact reprint of the last English Edition. 

TICKNOR & FIELDS. 

BOSTON, Oct. 1st, 1860. 

CONTENTS. 

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION-- Origin of the Worship of the Madonna. Earliest artistic Representations. Origin of the Group of the Virgin and Child in the Fifth Century. The First Council at Ephesus. The Iconoclasts. First Appearance of the Effigy of the Virgin on Coins. Period of Charlemagne. Period of the Crusades. Revival of Art in the Thirteenth Century. The Fourteenth Century. Influence of Dante. The Fifteenth Century. The Council of Constance and the Hussite Wars. The Sixteenth Century. The Luxury of Church Pictures. The Influence of Classical Literature on the Representations of the Virgin. The Seventeenth Century. Theological Art. Spanish Art. Influence of Jesuitism on Art. Authorities followed by Painters in the earliest Times. Legend of St. Luke. Character of the Virgin Mary as drawn in the Gospels. Early Descriptions of her Person; how far attended to by the Painters. Poetical Extracts descriptive of the Virgin Mary. 

SYMBOLS AND ATTRIBUTES OF THE VIRGIN. Proper Costume and Colours. 

DEVOTIONAL SUBJECTS AND HISTORICAL SUBJECTS. Altar-pieces. The Life of the Virgin Mary as treated in a Series. The Seven Joys and Seven Sorrows as a Series. Titles of the Virgin, as expressed in Pictures and Effigies. Churches dedicated to her. Conclusion. 

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

DEVOTIONAL SUBJECTS. 

PART I. 

THE VIRGIN WITHOUT THE CHILD. 

LA VERGINE GLORIOSA. Earliest Figures. The Mosaics. The Virgin of San Venanzio. The Virgin of Spoleto. 

The Enthroned Virgin without the Child, as type of heavenly Wisdom. Various Examples. 

L'INCORONATA, the Type of the Church triumphant. The Virgin crowned by her Son. Examples from the old Mosaics. Examples of the Coronation of the Virgin from various Painters. 

The VIRGIN OF MERCY, as she is represented in the Last Judgment. 

The Virgin, as Dispenser of Mercy on Earth. Various Examples. 

The MATER DOLOROSA seated and standing, with the Seven Swords. 

The _Stabat Mater_, the Ideal Pietà. The Votive Pieta by Guido. 

OUR LADY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Origin of the Subject. History of the Theological Dispute. The First Papal Decree touching the Immaculate Conception. The Bull of Paul V. The Popularity of the Subject in Spain. Pictures by Guido, by Roelas, Velasquez, Murillo. 

The Predestination of the Virgin. Curious Picture by Cotignola. 

PART II. 

THE VIRGIN AND CHILD. 

THE VIRGIN AND CHILD ENTHRONED. _Virgo Deipara_. The Virgin in her Maternal Character. Origin of the Group of the Mother and Child. Nestorian Controversy. 

The Enthroned Virgin in the old Mosaics. In early Italian Art The Virgin standing as _Regina Coeli_. 

_La Madre Pia_ enthroned. _Mater Sapientiæ_ with the Book. 

The Virgin and Child enthroned with attendant Figures; with Angels; with Prophets; with Apostles. 

With Saints: John the Baptist; St. Anna; St. Joachim; St. Joseph. 

With Martyrs and Patron Saints. 

_Various Examples of Arrangement_. With the Fathers of the Church; with St. Jerome and St. Catherine; with the Marriage of St. Catherine. The Virgin and Child between St. Catherine and St. Barbara; with Mary Magdalene; with St. Lucia. 

The Virgin and Child between St. George and St. Nicholas; with St. Christopher; with St. Leonard. The Virgin of Charity. 

The Madonnas of Florence; of Siena; of Venice and Lombardy. How attended. 

The Virgin attended by the Monastic Saints. Examples from various Painters. 

Votive Madonnas. For Mercies accorded; for Victory; for Deliverance from Pestilence; against Flood and Fire. 

Family Votive Madonnas, Examples. The Madonna of the Bentivoglio Family. The Madonna of the Sforza Family. The Madonna of the Moyer Family, The Madonna di Foligno. German Votive Madonna at Rouen. Madonna of Réné, Duke of Anjou; of the Pesaro Family at Venice. 

Half-length Enthroned Madonnas; first introduced by the Venetians. Various Examples. 

The MATER AMABILIS, Early Greek Examples. The infinite Variety given to this Subject. 

Virgin and Child with St. John. He takes the Cross

The MADRE PIA; the Virgin adores her Son. 

Pastoral Madonnas of the Venetian School. 

Conclusion of the Devotional Subjects. 

HISTORICAL SUBJECTS. 

PART I. 

THE LIFE OF THE VIRGIN FROM HER BIRTH TO HER MARRIAGE WITH JOSEPH. 

THE LEGEND OF JOACHIM AND ANNA. 

Joachim rejected from the Temple. Joachim herding his Sheep on the Mountain. The Altercation between Anna and her Maid Judith. The Meeting at the Golden Gate. 

THE NATIVITY OF THE VIRGIN. The Importance and Beauty of the Subject. How treated. 

THE PRESENTATION OF THE VIRGIN. A Subject of great Importance. General Arrangement and Treatment. Various Examples from celebrated Painters. 

The Virgin in the Temple. 

THE MARRIAGE OF THE VIRGIN. The Legend as followed by the Painters. 

Various Examples of the Marriage of the Virgin, as treated by Perugino, Raphael, and others. 

PART II. 

THE LIFE OF THE VIRGIN MARY FROM THE ANNUNCIATION TO THE RETURN FROMEGYPT. 

THE ANNUNCIATION, Its Beauty as a Subject. Treated as a Mystery and as an Event. As a Mystery; not earlier than the Eleventh Century. Its proper Place in architectural Decoration. On Altar-pieces. As an Allegory. The Annunciation as expressing the Incarnation. Ideally treated with Saints and Votaries. Examples by Simone Memmi, Fra Bartolomeo, Angelico, and others. 

The Annunciation as an Event. The appropriate Circumstances. The Time, the Locality, the Accessories. The Descent of the Angel; proper Costume; with the Lily, the Palm, the Olive. 

Proper Attitude and Occupation of Mary; Expression and Deportment. The Dove. Mistakes. Examples from various Painters. 

THE VISITATION. Character of Elizabeth. The Locality and Circumstances. Proper Accessories. Examples from various Painters. 

THE DREAM OF JOSEPH. He entreats Forgiveness of Mary. 

THE NATIVITY. The Prophecy of the Sibyl. _La Madonna del Parto_. The Nativity as a Mystery; with poetical Accessories; with Saints and Votaries. 

The Nativity as an Event. The Time; the Places; the proper Accessories and Circumstances; the angelic Choristers; Signification of the Ox and the Ass. 

THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS. 

THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI; they are supposed to have been Kings. Prophecy of Balaam. The Appearance of the Star. The Legend of the three Kings of Cologne. Proper Accessories. Examples from various Painters. The Land Surveyors, by Giorgione. 

THE PURIFICATION OF THE VIRGIN. The Prophecy of Simeon. Greek Legend of the _Nunc Dimittis_. Various Examples. 

THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT. The Massacre of the Innocents. The Preparation for the Journey. The Circumstances. The Legend of the Robbers; of the Palm. 

THE REPOSE OF THE HOLY FAMILY. The Subject often mistaken. Proper Treatment of the Group. The Repose at Matarea. The Ministry of Angels. 

THE LEGEND OF THE GYPSY. 

THE RETURN FROM EGYPT. 

PART III. 

THE LIFE OF THE VIRGIN FROM THE SOJOURN IN EGYPT TO THE CRUCIFIXION OFOUR LORD. 

THE HOLY FAMILY. Proper Treatment of the Domestic Group as distinguished from the Devotional. The simplest Form that of the Mother and Child. The Child fed from his Mother's Bosom. The Infant sleeps. 

Holy Family of three Figures; with the little St. John; with St. Joseph; with St. Anna. 

Holy Family of four Figures; with St. Elizabeth and others. 

The Holy Family of Five and Six Figures. 

The Family of the Virgin grouped together. 

Examples of Holy Family as treated by various Artists. 

The Carpenter's Shop. 

The Infant Christ learning to read. 

THE DISPUTE IN THE TEMPLE. The Virgin seeks her Son. 

THE DEATH OF JOSEPH. 

THE MARRIAGE AT CANA. Proper Treatment of the Virgin in this Subject; as treated by Luini and by Paul Veronese. 

The Virgin attends on the Ministry of Christ. Mystical Treatment by Fra Angelico. 

LO SPASIMO. Christ takes leave of his Mother. Women who are introduced into Scenes of the Passion of our Lord. 

The Procession to Calvary, _Lo Spasimo di Sicilia_. 

THE CRUCIFIXION. Proper Treatment of the Virgin in this Subject. The impropriety of placing her upon the ground. Her Fortitude. Christ recommends his Mother to St. John. 

THE DESCENT FROM THE CROSS. Proper Place and Action of the Virgin in this Subject. 

THE DEPOSITION. Proper Treatment of this Form of the _Mater Dolorosa_. Persons introduced. Various Examples. 

THE ENTOMBMENT. Treated as an historical Scene. As one of the Sorrows of the Rosary; attended by Saints. 

The _Mater Dolorosa_ attended by St. Peter. Attended by St. John and Mary Magdalene. 

PART IV. 

THE LIFE OF THE VIRGIN MARY FROM THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD TO THEASSUMPTION. 

THE APPARITION OF CHRIST TO HIS MOTHER. Beauty and Sentiment of the old Legend; how represented by the Artists. 

THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD. The proper Place of the Virgin Mary. 

THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST; Mary being one of the principal persons. 

THE APOSTLES TAKE LEAVE OF THE VIRGIN. 

THE DEATH AND ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN. The old Greek Legend. 

The Angel announces to Mary her approaching Death. 

The Death of the Virgin, an ancient and important Subject. As treated in the Greek School; in early German Art; in Italian Art. Various Examples. 

The Apostles carry the Body of the Virgin to the Tomb. 

The Entombment. 

THE ASSUMPTION. Distinction between the Assumption of the Body and the Assumption of the Soul of the Virgin. The Assumption as a Mystery; as an Event. 

LA MADONNA BELLA CINTOLA. The Legend of the Girdle; as painted in the Cathedral at Prato. 

Examples of the Assumption as represented by various Artists. 

THE CORONATION as distinguished from the _Incoronata_; how treated as an historical Subject. Conclusion. 

NOTE. 

The decease of Mrs. Jameson, the accomplished woman and popularwriter, at an advanced period of life, took place in March, 1860, after a brief illness. But the frame had long been worn out by pastyears of anxiety, and the fatigues of laborious literary occupationconscientiously undertaken and carried out. Having entered certainfields of research and enterprise, perhaps at first accidentally, Mrs. Jameson could not satisfy herself by anything less than the utmostthat minute collection and progressive study could do to sustain herpopularity. Distant and exhausting journeys, diligent examination offar-scattered examples of Art, voluminous and various reading, becameseemingly more and more necessary to her; and at the very time of lifewhen rest and slackened effort would have been natural, --not merelybecause her labours were in aid of others, but to satisfy her own highsense of what is demanded by Art and Literature, --did her hand andbrain work more and more perseveringly and thoughtfully, till at lastshe sank under her weariness; and passed away. 

The father of Miss Murphy was a miniature-painter of repute, attached, we believe, to the household of the Princess Charlotte. His daughterAnna was naturally taught by him the principles of his own art;but she had instincts for all, --taste for music, --a feeling forpoetry, --and a delicate appreciation of the drama. These gifts--inher youth rarer in combination than they are now (when the connectionof the arts is becoming understood, and the love of all increasinglydiffused)--were, during part of Mrs. Jameson's life, turned to theservice of education. --It was not till after her marriage, that aforeign tour led her into authorship, by the publication of "The Diaryof an Ennuyée, " somewhere about the year 1826. --It was impossible toavoid detecting in that record the presence of taste, thought, andfeeling, brought in an original fashion to bear on Art, Society, Morals. --The reception of the book was decisive. --It was followed, atintervals, by "The Loves of the Poets, " "Memoirs of Italian Painters, ""The Lives of Female Sovereigns, " "Characteristics of Women" (a seriesof Shakspeare studies; possibly its writer's most popular book). Afterthis, the Germanism so prevalent five-and-twenty years ago, and nowsomewhat gone by, possessed itself of the authoress, and she publishedher reminiscences of Munich, the imitative art of which was new, andesteemed as almost a revelation. To the list of Mrs. Jameson's booksmay be added her translation of the easy, if not vigorous Dramasby the Princess Amelia of Saxony, and her "Winter Studies andSummer Rambles"--recollections of a visit to Canada. This includedthe account of her strange and solitary canoe voyage, and herresidence among a tribe of Indians. From this time forward, socialquestions--especially those concerning the position of women in lifeand action--engrossed a large share of Mrs. Jameson's attention; andshe wrote on them occasionally, always in a large and enlightenedspirit, rarely without touches of delicacy and sentiment. --Even whenwe are unable to accept all Mrs. Jameson's conclusions, or to join herin the hero or heroine worship of this or the other favourite example, we have seldom a complaint to make of the manner of the authoress. Itwas always earnest, eloquent, and poetical. 

Besides a volume or two of collected essays, thoughts, notes on books, and on subjects of Art, we have left to mention the elaborate volumeson "Sacred and Legendary Art, " as the greatest literary labour of abusy life. Mrs. Jameson was putting the last finish to the concludingportion of her work, when she was bidden to cease forever. 

There is little more to be told, --save that, in the course of herindefatigable literary career, Mrs. Jameson drew round herself a largecircle of steady friends--these among the highest illustrators ofLiterature and Art in France, Germany, and Italy; and that, latterly, a pension from Government was added to her slender earnings. These, itmay be said without indelicacy, were liberally apportioned to the aidof others, --Mrs. Jameson being, for herself, simple, self-relying, and self-denying;--holding that high view of the duties belongingto pursuits of imagination which rendered meanness, or servility, ordishonourable dealing, or license glossed over with some convenientname, impossible to her. --She was a faithful friend, a devotedrelative, a gracefully-cultivated, and honest literary worker, whosemind was set on "the best and honourablest things. "

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Some months since Mrs. Jameson kindly consented to prepare for thisedition of her writings the "Legends of the Madonna, " "Sacred andLegendary Art, " and "Legends of the Monastic Orders;" but, dyingbefore she had time to fulfil her promise, the arrangement has beenintrusted to other hands. The text of this whole series will be anexact reprint of the last English Edition. 

 * * * * *

The portrait annexed to this volume is from a photograph taken inLondon only a short time before Mrs. Jameson's death. 

BOSTON, September, 1860. 

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

TO THE FIRST EDITION. 

In presenting to my friends and to the public this Series of theSacred and Legendary Art, few preparatory words will be required. 

If in the former volumes I felt diffident of my own powers to do anyjustice to my subject, I have yet been encouraged by the sympathy andapprobation of those who nave kindly accepted of what has been done, and yet more kindly excused deficiencies, errors, and oversights, which the wide range of subjects rendered almost unavoidable. 

With far more of doubt and diffidence, yet not less trust in thebenevolence and candour of my critics, do I present this volume to thepublic. I hope it will be distinctly understood, that the general planof the work is merely artistic; that it really aims at nothing morethan to render the various subjects intelligible. For this reasonit has been thought advisable to set aside, in a great measure, individual preferences, and all predilections for particular schoolsand particular periods of Art, --to take, in short, the widest possiblerange as regards examples, --and then to leave the reader, when thusguided to the meaning of what he sees, to select, compare, admire, according to his own discrimination, taste, and requirements. Thegreat difficulty has been to keep within reasonable limits. Thoughthe subject has a unity not found in the other volumes, it isreally boundless as regards variety and complexity. I may have beensuperficial from mere superabundance of materials; sometimes mistakenas to facts and dates; the tastes, the feelings, and the faith of myreaders may not always go along with me; but if attention and interesthave been exited--if the sphere of enjoyment in works of Art have beenenlarged and enlightened, I have done all I ever wished--all I everhoped, to do. 

With regard to a point of infinitely greater importance, I maybe allowed to plead, --that it has been impossible to treat of therepresentations of the Blessed Virgin without touching on doctrinessuch as constitute the principal differences between the creeds ofChristendom. I have had to ascend most perilous heights, to diveinto terribly obscure depths. Not for worlds would I be guilty of ascoffing allusion to any belief or any object held sacred by sincereand earnest hearts; but neither has it been possible for me to writein a tone of acquiescence, where I altogether differ in feelingand opinion. On this point I shall need, and feel sure that I shallobtain, the generous construction of readers of all persuasions. 

INTRODUCTION

I. ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE EFFIGIES OF THE MADONNA. 

Through all the most beautiful and precious productions of humangenius and human skill which the middle ages and the _renaissance_have bequeathed to us, we trace, more or less developed, more or lessapparent, present in shape before us, or suggested through inevitableassociations, one prevailing idea: it is that of an impersonation inthe feminine character of beneficence, purity, and power, standingbetween an offended Deity and poor, sinning, suffering humanity, andclothed in the visible form of Mary, the Mother of our Lord. 

To the Roman Catholics this idea remains an indisputable religioustruth of the highest import. Those of a different creed may think fitto dispose of the whole subject of the Madonna either as a form ofsuperstition or a form of Art. But merely as a form of Art, we cannotin these days confine ourselves to empty conventional criticism. Weare obliged to look further and deeper; and in this department ofLegendary Art, as in the others, we must take the higher ground, perilous though it be. We must seek to comprehend the dominant idealying behind and beyond the mere representation. For, after all, some consideration is due to facts which we must necessarily accept, whether we deal with antiquarian theology or artistic criticism;namely, that the worship of the Madonna did prevail through all theChristian and civilized world for nearly a thousand years; that, inspite of errors, exaggerations, abuses, this worship did comprehendcertain great elemental truths interwoven with our human nature, andto be evolved perhaps with our future destinies. Therefore did it workitself into the life and soul of man; therefore has it been worked_out_ in the manifestations of his genius; and therefore the multiformimagery in which it has been clothed, from the rudest imitations oflife, to the most exquisite creations of mind, may be resolved, as awhole, into one subject, and become one great monument in the historyof progressive thought and faith, as well as in the history ofprogressive art. 

Of the pictures in our galleries, public or private, --of thearchitectural adornments of those majestic edifices which sprung upin the middle ages (where they have not been despoiled or desecratedby a zeal as fervent as that which reared them), the largest and mostbeautiful portion have reference to the Madonna, --her character, her person, her history. It was a theme which never tired hervotaries, --whether, as in the hands of great and sincere artists, it became one of the noblest and loveliest, or, as in the handsof superficial, unbelieving, time-serving artists, one of the mostdegraded. All that human genius, inspired by faith, could achieve ofbest, all that fanaticism, sensualism, atheism, could perpetrate ofworst, do we find in the cycle of those representations which havebeen dedicated to the glory of the Virgin. And indeed the ethics ofthe Madonna worship, as evolved in art, might be not unaptly likenedto the ethics of human love: so long as the object of sense remainedin subjection to the moral idea--so long as the appeal was to thebest of our faculties and affections--so long was the image grand orrefined, and the influences to be ranked with those which have helpedto humanize and civilize our race; but so soon as the object becamea mere idol, then worship and worshippers, art and artists, weretogether degraded. 

It is not my intention to enter here on that disputed point, theorigin of the worship of the Madonna. Our present theme lies withinprescribed limits, --wide enough, however, to embrace an immensefield of thought: it seeks to trace the progressive influence ofthat worship on the fine arts for a thousand years or more, and tointerpret the forms in which it has been clothed. That the venerationpaid to Mary in the early Church was a very natural feeling in thosewho advocated the divinity of her Son, would be granted, I suppose, by all but the most bigoted reformers; that it led to unwise andwild extremes, confounding the creature with the Creator, would beadmitted, I suppose, by all but the most bigoted Roman Catholics. Howit extended from the East over the nations of the West, how it grewand spread, may be read in ecclesiastical histories. Everywhere itseems to have found in the human heart some deep sympathy--deeper farthan mere theological doctrine could reach--ready to accept it; and inevery land the ground prepared for it in some already dominant ideaof a mother-Goddess, chaste, beautiful, and benign. As, in the oldestHebrew rites and Pagan superstitions, men traced the promise of acoming Messiah, --as the deliverers and kings of the Old Testament, andeven the demigods of heathendom, became accepted types of the personof Christ, --so the Eve of the Mosaic history, the Astarte of theAssyrians--

 "The mooned Ashtaroth, queen and mother both, "--

the Isis nursing Horus of the Egyptians, the Demeter and theAphrodite of the Greeks, the Scythian Freya, have been consideredby some writers as types of a divine maternity, foreshadowing theVirgin-mother of Christ. Others will have it that these scattered, dim, mistaken--often gross and perverted--ideas which were afterwardsgathered into the pure, dignified, tender image of the Madonna, were but as the voice of a mighty prophecy, sounded through all thegenerations of men, even from the beginning of time, of the comingmoral regeneration, and complete and harmonious development of thewhole human race, by the establishment, on a higher basis, of whathas been called the "feminine element" in society. And let me at leastspeak for myself. In the perpetual iteration of that beautiful imageof THE WOMAN highly blessed--_there_, where others saw only picturesor statues, I have seen this great hope standing like a spirit besidethe visible form; in the fervent worship once universally given tothat gracious presence, I have beheld an acknowledgment of a higher aswell as gentler power than that of the strong hand and the might thatmakes the right, --and in every earnest votary one who, as he knelt, was in this sense pious beyond the reach of his own thought, and"devout beyond the meaning of his will. "

It is curious to observe, as the worship of the Virgin-mother expandedand gathered to itself the relics of many an ancient faith, howthe new and the old elements, some of them apparently the mostheterogeneous, became amalgamated, and were combined into the earlyforms of art;--how the Madonna, when she assumed the characteristicsof the great Diana of Ephesus, at once the type of Fertility, and theGoddess of Chastity, became, as the impersonation of motherhood, allbeauty, bounty and graciousness; and at the same time, by virtue ofher perpetual virginity, the patroness of single and ascetic life--theexample and the excuse for many of the wildest of the early monkishtheories. With Christianity, new ideas of the moral and religiousresponsibility of woman entered the world; and while these ideas wereyet struggling with the Hebrew and classical prejudices concerning thewhole sex, they seem to have produced some curious perplexity in theminds of the greatest doctors of the faith. Christ, as they assureus, was born of a woman only, and had no earthly father, that neithersex might despair; "for had he been born a man (which was necessary), yet not born of woman, the women might have despaired of themselves, recollecting the first offence, the first man having been deceived bya woman. Therefore we are to suppose that, for the exaltation of themale sex, Christ appeared on earth as a man; and, for the consolationof womankind, he was born of a woman only; as if it had been said, 'From henceforth no creature shall be base before God, unlessperverted by depravity. '" (Augustine, Opera Supt. 238, Serm. 63. )Such is the reasoning of St. Augustine, who, I must observe, had anespecial veneration for his mother Monica; and it is perhaps for hersake that he seems here desirous to prove that through the Virgin Maryall womankind were henceforth elevated in the scale of being. Andthis was the idea entertained of her subsequently: "Ennobler of thynature!" says Dante apostrophizing her, as if her perfections hadennobled not merely her own sex, but the whole human race. [1]

[Footnote 1: "Tu se' colei che l'umana natura Nobilitasti. "]

But also with Christianity came the want of a new type of womanlyperfection, combining all the attributes of the ancient femaledivinities with others altogether new. Christ, as the model-man, united the virtues of the two sexes, till the idea that there areessentially masculine and feminine virtues intruded itself on thehigher Christian conception, and seems to have necessitated thefemale type. 

The first historical mention of a direct worship paid to the VirginMary, occurs in a passage in the works of St. Epiphanius, who diedin 403. In enumerating the heresies (eighty-four in number) which hadsprung up in the early Church, he mentions a sect of women, who hademigrated from Thrace into Arabia, with whom it was customary tooffer cakes of meal and honey to the Virgin Mary, as if she had been adivinity, transferring to her, in fact, the worship paid to Ceres. Thevery first instance which occurs in written history of an invocationto Mary, is in the life of St. Justina, as related by GregoryNazianzen. Justina calls on the Virgin-mother to protect her againstthe seducer and sorcerer, Cyprian; and does not call in vain. (Sacredand Legendary Art. ) These passages, however, do not prove thatpreviously to the fourth century there had been no worship orinvocation of the Virgin, but rather the contrary. However this maybe, it is to the same period--the fourth century--we refer the mostancient representations of the Virgin in art. The earliest figuresextant are those on the Christian sarcophagi; but neither in the earlysculpture nor in the mosaics of St. Maria Maggiore do we find anyfigure of the Virgin standing alone; she forms part of a group ofthe Nativity or the Adoration of the Magi. There is no attempt atindividuality or portraiture. St. Augustine says expressly, that thereexisted in his time no _authentic_ portrait of the Virgin; but itis inferred from his account that, authentic or not, such picturesdid then exist, since there were already disputes concerning theirauthenticity. There were at this period received symbols of the personand character of Christ, as the lamb, the vine, the fish, &c. , butnot, as far as I can learn, any such accepted symbols of the VirginMary. Further, it is the opinion of the learned in ecclesiasticalantiquities that, previous to the first Council of Ephesus, it was thecustom to represent the figure of the Virgin alone without the Child;but that none of these original effigies remain to us, only supposedcopies of a later date. [1] And this is all I have been able todiscover relative to her in connection with the sacred imagery of thefirst four centuries of our era. 

[Footnote 1: Vide "_Memorie dell' Immagine di M. V. Dell' Imprunela_. "Florence, 1714. ]

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The condemnation of Nestorius by the Council of Ephesus, in the year431, forms a most important epoch in the history of religious art. I have given further on a sketch of this celebrated schism, and itsimmediate and progressive results. It may be thus summed up here. TheNestorians maintained, that in Christ the two natures of God and manremained separate, and that Mary, his human mother, was parent ofthe man, but not of the God; consequently the title which, duringthe previous century, had been popularly applied to her, "Theotokos"(Mother of God), was improper and profane. The party opposed toNestorius, the Monophysite, maintained that in Christ the divine andhuman were blended in one incarnate nature, and that consequently Marywas indeed the Mother of God. By the decree of the first Councilof Ephesus, Nestorius and his party were condemned as heretics; andhenceforth the representation of that beautiful group, since popularlyknown as the "Madonna and Child, " became the expression of theorthodox faith. Every one who wished to prove his hatred of thearch-heretic exhibited the image of the maternal Virgin holding inher arms the Infant Godhead, either in his house as a picture, orembroidered on his garments, or on his furniture, on his personalornaments--in short, wherever it could be introduced. It is worthremarking, that Cyril, who was so influential in fixing the orthodoxgroup, had passed the greater part of his life in Egypt, and must navebeen familiar with the Egyptian type of Isis nursing Horus. Nor, as Iconceive, is there any irreverence in supposing that a time-honouredintelligible symbol should be chosen to embody and formalize a creed. For it must be remembered that the group of the Mother and Child wasnot at first a representation, but merely a theological symbol set upin the orthodox churches, and adopted by the orthodox Christians. 

It is just after the Council of Ephesus that history first makesmention of a supposed authentic portrait of the Virgin Mary. TheEmpress Eudocia, when travelling in the Holy Land, sent home sucha picture of the Virgin holding the Child to her sister-in-lawPulcheria, who placed it in a church at Constantinople. It was at thattime regarded, as of very high antiquity, and supposed to have beenpainted from the life. It is certain that a picture, traditionallysaid to be the same which Eudocia had sent to Pulcheria, did existat Constantinople, and was so much venerated by the people as to beregarded as a sort of palladium, and borne in a superb litter or carin the midst of the imperial host, when the emperor led the army inperson. The fate of this relic is not certainly known. It is said tohave been taken by the Turks in 1453, and dragged through the mire;but others deny this as utterly derogatory to the majesty of the Queenof Heaven, who never would have suffered such an indignity to havebeen put on her sacred image. According to the Venetian legend, it wasthis identical effigy which was taken by the blind old Dandolo, whenhe besieged and took Constantinople in 1204, and brought in triumphto Venice, where it has ever since been preserved in the church of St. Mark, and held in _somma venerazione_. No mention is made of St. Lukein the earliest account of this picture, though like all the antiqueeffigies of uncertain origin, it was in after times attributed to him. 

The history of the next three hundred years testifies to the triumphof orthodoxy, the extension and popularity of the worship of theVirgin, and the consequent multiplication of her image in every formand material, through the whole of Christendom. 

Then followed the schism of the Iconoclasts, which distractedthe Church for more than one hundred years, under Leo III. , theIsaurian, and his immediate successors. Such were the extravagancesof superstition to which the image-worship had led the excitableOrientals, that, if Leo had been a wise and temperate reformer, hemight have done much good in checking its excesses; but he was himselfan ignorant, merciless barbarian. The persecution by which he soughtto exterminate the sacred pictures of the Madonna, and the crueltiesexercised on her unhappy votaries, produced a general destructionof the most curious and precious remains of antique art. In otherrespects, the immediate result was naturally enough a reaction, whichnot only reinstated pictures in the veneration of the people, butgreatly increased their influence over the imagination; for it is atthis time that we first hear of a miraculous picture. Among thosewho most strongly defended the use of sacred images in the churches, was St. John Damascene, one of the great lights of the OrientalChurch. According to the Greek legend, he was condemned to lose hisright hand, which was accordingly cut off; but he, full of faith, prostrating himself before a picture of the Virgin, stretched out thebleeding stump, and with it touched her lips, and immediately a newhand sprung forth "like a branch from a tree. " Hence, among the Greekeffigies of the Virgin, there is one peculiarly commemorative of thismiracle, styled "the Virgin with three hands. " (Didron, Manuel, p. 462. ) In the west of Europe, where the abuses of the image-worship hadnever yet reached the wild superstition of the Oriental Christians, the fury of the Iconoclasts excited horror and consternation. Thetemperate and eloquent apology for sacred pictures, addressed byGregory II. To the Emperor Leo, had the effect of mitigating thepersecution in Italy, where the work of destruction could not becarried out to the same extent as in the Byzantine provinces. Hence itis in Italy only that any important remains of sacred art anterior tothe Iconoclast dynasty have been preserved. [1]

[Footnote 1: It appears, from one of these letters from Gregory II, that it was the custom at that time (725) to employ religious picturesas a means of instruction in the schools. He says, that if Lee wereto enter a school in Italy, and to say that he prohibited pictures, the children would infallibly throw their hornbooks (_Ta volexxe delalfabeto_) at his head. --v. _Bosio_, p. 567. ]

The second Council of Nice, under the Empress Irene in 787, condemnedthe Iconoclasts, and restored the use of the sacred pictures in thechurches. Nevertheless, the controversy still raged till after thedeath of Theophilus, the last and the most cruel of the Iconoclasts, in 842. His widow Theodora achieved the final triumph of the orthodoxparty, and restored the Virgin to her throne. We must observe, however, that only pictures were allowed; all sculptured imagerywas still prohibited, and has never since been allowed in the GreekChurch, except in very low relief. The flatter the surface, the moreorthodox. 

It is, I think, about 886, that we first find the effigy of the Virginon the coins of the Greek empire. On a gold coin of Leo VI. , thePhilosopher, she stands veiled, and draped, with a noble head, noglory, and the arms outspread, just as she appears in the old mosaics. On a coin of Romanus the Younger, she crowns the emperor, havingherself the nimbus; she is draped and veiled. On a coin of NicephorusPhocus (who had great pretensions to piety), the Virgin stands, presenting a cross to the emperor, with the inscription, "Theotokos, be propitious. " On a gold coin of John Zimisces, 975, we first findthe Virgin and Child, --the symbol merely: she holds against her bosoma circular glory, within which is the head of the Infant Christ. Inthe successive reigns of the next two centuries, she almost constantlyappears as crowning the emperor. 

Returning to the West, we find that in the succeeding period, fromCharlemagne to the first crusade, the popular devotion to the Virgin, and the multiplication of sacred pictures, continued steadily toincrease; yet in the tenth and eleventh centuries art was at itslowest ebb. At this time, the subjects relative to the Virgin wereprincipally the Madonna and Child, represented according to the Greekform; and those scenes from the Gospel in which she is introduced, asthe Annunciation, the Nativity, and the Worship of the Magi. 

Towards the end of the tenth century the custom of adding the angelicsalutation, the "_Ave Maria_, " to the Lord's prayer, was firstintroduced; and by the end of the following century, it had beenadopted in the offices of the Church. This was, at first, intended asa perpetual reminder of the mystery of the Incarnation, as announcedby the angel. It must have had the effect of keeping the idea ofMary as united with that of her Son, and as the instrument of theIncarnation, continually in the minds of the people. 

The pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and the crusades in the eleventh andthe twelfth centuries, had a most striking effect on religious art, though this effect was not fully evolved till a century later. Moreparticularly did this returning wave of Oriental influences modify therepresentations of the Virgin. Fragments of the apocryphal gospelsand legends of Palestine and Egypt were now introduced, worked upinto ballads, stories, and dramas, and gradually incorporated with theteaching of the Church. A great variety of subjects derived from theGreek artists, and from particular localities and traditions of theEast, became naturalized in Western Europe, Among these were thelegends of Joachim and Anna; and the death, the assumption, and thecoronation of the Virgin. 

Then came the thirteenth century, an era notable in the historyof mind, more especially notable in the history of art. The seedscattered hither and thither, during the stormy and warlike period ofthe crusades, now sprung up and flourished, bearing diverse fruit. A more contemplative enthusiasm, a superstition tinged with a morbidmelancholy, fermented into life and form. In that general "fit of_compunction_, " which we are told seized all Italy at this time, thepassionate devotion for the benign Madonna mingled the poetry ofpity with that of pain; and assuredly this state of feeling, with itsmental and moral requirements, must have assisted in emancipating artfrom the rigid formalism of the degenerate Greek school. Men's hearts, throbbing with a more feeling, more pensive life, demanded somethingmore _like_ life, --and produced it. It is curious to trace in theMadonnas of contemporary, but far distant and unconnected schools ofpainting, the simultaneous dawning of a sympathetic sentiment--for thefirst time something in the faces of the divine beings responsive tothe feeling of the worshippers. It was this, perhaps, which causedthe enthusiasm excited by Cimabue's great Madonna, and made the peopleshout and dance for joy when it was uncovered before them. Comparedwith the spectral rigidity, the hard monotony, of the conventionalByzantines, the more animated eyes, the little touch of sweetness inthe still, mild face, must have been like a smile out of heaven. Aswe trace the same softer influence in the earliest Siena and Colognepictures of about the same period, we may fairly regard it as animpress of the spirit of the time, rather than that of an individualmind. 

In the succeeding century these elements of poetic art, expanded andanimated by an awakened observation of nature, and a sympathy withher external manifestations, were most especially directed by theincreasing influence of the worship of the Virgin, a worship at oncereligious and chivalrous. The title of "Our Lady"[1] came first intogeneral use in the days of chivalry, for she was the lady "of allhearts, " whose colours all were proud to wear. Never had her votariesso abounded. Hundreds upon hundreds had enrolled themselves inbrotherhoods, vowed to her especial service;[2] or devoted to acts ofcharity, to be performed in her name. [3] Already the great religiouscommunities, which at this time comprehended all the enthusiasm, learning, and influence of the Church, had placed themselves solemnlyand especially under her protection. The Cistercians wore white inhonour of her purity; the Servi wore black in respect to her sorrows;the Franciscans had enrolled themselves as champions of the ImmaculateConception; and the Dominicans introduced the rosary. All these richlyendowed communities vied with each other in multiplying churches, chapels, and pictures, in honour of their patroness, and expressive ofher several attributes. The devout painter, kneeling before his easel, addressed himself to the task of portraying those heavenly lineamentswhich had visited him perhaps in dreams. Many of the professed monksand friars became themselves accomplished artists. [4]

[Footnote 1: _Fr. _ Notre Dame. _Ital. _ La Madonna. _Ger. _ Unser liebeFrau. ]

[Footnote 2: As the Serviti, who were called in France, _les esclavesde Marie_. ]

[Footnote 3: As the order of "Our Lady of Mercy, " for the deliveranceof captives. --_Vide_ Legends of the Monastic Orders. ]

[Footnote 4: A very curious and startling example of the theologicalcharacter of the Virgin in the thirteenth century is figured in MissTwining's work, "_The Symbols of early Christian Art_;" certainly themost complete and useful book of the kind which I know of. Here theMadonna and Child are seated side by side with the Trinity; the HolySpirit resting on her crowned head. ]

At this time, Jacopo di Voragine compiled the "Golden Legend, " acollection of sacred stories, some already current, some new, orin a new form. This famous book added many themes to those alreadyadmitted, and became the authority and storehouse for the earlypainters in their groups and dramatic compositions. The increasingenthusiasm for the Virgin naturally caused an increasing demand forthe subjects taken from her personal history, and led, consequently, to a more exact study of those natural objects and effects which wererequired as accessories, to greater skill in grouping the figures, andto a higher development of historic art. 

But of all the influences on Italian art in that wonderful fourteenthcentury, Dante was the greatest. He was the intimate friend of Giotto. Through the communion of mind, not less than through his writings, he infused into religious art that mingled theology, poetry, andmysticism, which ruled in the Giottesque school during the followingcentury, and went hand in hand with the development of the power andpractice of imitation. Now, the theology of Dante was the theology ofhis age. His ideas respecting the Virgin Mary were precisely thoseto which the writings of St. Bernard, St. Bonaventura, and St. ThomasAquinas had already lent all the persuasive power of eloquence, andthe Church all the weight of her authority. Dante rendered thesedoctrines into poetry, and Giotto and his followers rendered theminto form. In the Paradise of Dante, the glorification of Mary, as the "Mystic Rose" (_Roxa Mystica_) and Queen of Heaven, --withthe attendant angels, circle within circle, floating round her inadoration, and singing the Regina Coeli, and saints and patriarchsstretching forth their hands towards her, --is all a splendid, butstill indefinite vision of dazzling light crossed by shadowy forms. The painters of the fourteenth century, in translating these gloriesinto a definite shape, had to deal with imperfect knowledge andimperfect means; they failed in the power to realize either their ownor the poet's conception; and yet--thanks to the divine poet!--thatearly conception of some of the most beautiful of the Madonnasubjects--for instance, the _Coronation_ and the _Sposalizio_--hasnever, as a religious and poetical conception, been surpassed by laterartists, in spite of all the appliances of colour, and mastery oflight and shade, and marvellous efficiency of hand since attained. 

Every reader of Dante will remember the sublime hymn towards the closeof the Paradiso:--

 "Vergine Madre, figlia del tuo figlio! Umile ed alta più che creatura, Terrains fisso d'eterno consiglio;

 Tu se' colei che l'umana natura Nobilitasti si, che 'l suo fattore Non disdegno di farsi sua fattura;

 Nel ventre tuo si raccese l'amore Per lo cui caldo nell' eterna pace Cosi è germinato questo fiore;

 Qui se' a noi meridiana face Di caritade, e giuso intra mortali Se' di speranza fontana vivace:

 Donna, se' tanto grande e tanto vali, Che qual vuol grazia e a te non ricorre Sua disianza vuol volar senz' ali;

 La tua benignita noa pur soccorre A chi dimanda, ma molte fiate Liberamente al dimandar precorre;

 In te misericordia, in te pietate, In te magnificenza, in te s' aduna Quantunque in creatura è di bontate!"

To render the splendour, the terseness, the harmony, of thismagnificent hymn seems impossible. Cary's translation has, however, the merit of fidelity to the sense:--

 "Oh, Virgin-Mother, daughter of thy Son! Created beings all in lowliness Surpassing, as in height above them all; Term by the eternal counsel preordain'd; Ennobler of thy nature, so advanc'd In thee, that its great Maker did not scorn To make himself his own creation; For in thy womb, rekindling, shone the love Reveal'd, whose genial influence makes now This flower to germin in eternal peace: Here thou, to us, of charity and love Art as the noon-day torch; and art beneath, To mortal men, of hope a living spring. So mighty art thou, Lady, and so great, That he who grace desireth, and comes not To thee for aidance, fain would have desire Fly without wings. Not only him who asks, Thy bounty succours; but doth freely oft Forerun the asking. Whatsoe'er may be Of excellence in creature, pity mild, Relenting mercy, large munificence, Are all combin'd in thee!"

It is interesting to turn to the corresponding stanzas in Chaucer. The invocation to the Virgin with which he commences the story of St. Cecilia is rendered almost word for word from Dante:--

 "Thou Maid and Mother, daughter of thy Son! Thou wel of mercy, sinful soules cure!"

The last stanza of the invocation is his own, and as characteristic ofthe practical Chaucer, as it would have been contrary to the genius ofDante:--

 "And for that faith is dead withouten workis, So for to worken give me wit and grace! That I be quit from thence that most dark is; O thou that art so fair and full of grace, Be thou mine advocate in that high place, There, as withouten end is sung Hozanne, Thou Christes mother, daughter dear of Anne!"

Still more beautiful and more his own is the invocation in the"Prioress's Tale. " I give the stanzas as modernized by Wordsworth:--

 "O Mother Maid! O Maid and Mother free! O bush unburnt, burning in Moses' sight! That down didst ravish from the Deity, Through humbleness, the Spirit that that did alight Upon thy heart, whence, through that glory's might Conceived was the Father's sapience, Help me to tell it in thy reverence!

 "Lady, thy goodness, thy magnificence, Thy virtue, and thy great humility, Surpass all science and all utterance; For sometimes, Lady! ere men pray to thee, Thou go'st before in thy benignity, The light to us vouchsafing of thy prayer, To be our guide unto thy Son so dear. 

 "My knowledge is so weak, O blissful Queen, To tell abroad thy mighty worthiness, That I the weight of it may not sustain; But as a child of twelve months old, or less, That laboureth his language to express, Even so fare I; and therefore, I thee pray, Guide thou my song, which I of thee shall say. "

And again, we may turn to Petrarch's hymn to the Virgin, whereinhe prays to be delivered from his love and everlasting regrets forLaura:--

 "Vergine bella, che di sol vestita, Coronata di stelle, al sommo Sole Piacesti sì, che'n te sua luce ascose. 

 "Vergine pura, d'ogni parte intera, Del tuo parto gentil figliuola e madre!

 "Vergine sola al mondo senza esempio, Che 'l ciel di tue bellezze innamorasti. "

The fancy of the theologians of the middle ages played ratherdangerously, as it appears to me, for the uninitiated anduninstructed, with the perplexity of these divine relationships. It isimpossible not to feel that in their admiration for the divine beautyof Mary, in borrowing the amatory language and luxuriant allegoriesof the Canticles, which represent her as an object of delight to theSupreme Being, theologians, poets, and artists had wrought themselvesup to a wild pitch of enthusiasm. In such passages as those I havequoted above, and in the grand old Church hymns, we find the bestcommentary and interpretation of the sacred pictures of the fourteenthand fifteenth centuries. Yet during the thirteenth century there wasa purity in the spirit of the worship which at once inspired andregulated the forms in which it was manifested. The Annunciations andNativities were still distinguished by a chaste and sacred simplicity. The features of the Madonna herself, even where they were not what wecall beautiful, had yet a touch of that divine and contemplative gracewhich the theologians and the poets had associated with the queenly, maternal, and bridal character of Mary. 

Thus the impulses given in the early part of the fourteenth centurycontinued in progressive development through the fifteenth; thespiritual for some time in advance of the material influences; themoral idea emanating as it were _from_ the soul, and the influencesof external nature flowing _into_ it; the comprehensive power of fancyusing more and more the apprehensive power of imitation, and bothworking together till their "blended might" achieved its full fruitionin the works of Raphael. 

 * * * * *

Early in the fifteenth century, the Council of Constance (A. D. 1414), and the condemnation of Huss, gave a new impulse to the worship of theVirgin. The Hussite wars, and the sacrilegious indignity with whichher sacred images had been treated in the north, filled her orthodoxvotaries of the south, of Europe with a consternation and horrorlike that excited by the Iconoclasts of the eighth century, and werefollowed by a similar reaction. The Church was called upon to assertmore strongly than ever its orthodox veneration for her, and, as anatural consequence, votive pictures multiplied, the works of theexcelling artists of the fifteenth century testify to the zeal of thevotaries, and the kindred spirit in which the painters worked. 

Gerson, a celebrated French priest, and chancellor of the universityof Paris, distinguished himself in the Council of Constance by theeloquence with which he pleaded for the Immaculate Conception, and theenthusiasm with which he preached in favour of instituting a festivalin honour of this mystery, as well as another in honour of Joseph, the husband of the Virgin. In both he was unsuccessful during hislifetime; but for both eventually his writings prepared the way. He also composed a Latin poem of three thousand lines in praise ofJoseph, which was among the first works published after the inventionof printing. Together with St. Joseph, the parents of the Virgin, St. Anna more particularly, became objects, of popular veneration, andall were at length exalted to the rank of patron saints, by havingfestivals instituted in their honour. It is towards the end of thefifteenth century, or rather a little later, that we first meet withthat charming domestic group, called the "Holy Family, " afterwardsso popular, so widely diffused, and treated with such an infinitevariety. 

 * * * * *

Towards the end of this century sprung up a new influence, --therevival of classical learning, a passionate enthusiasm for the poetryand mythology of the Greeks, and a taste for the remains of antiqueart. This influence on the representations of the Virgin, as far asit was merely external, was good. An added dignity and grace, a morefree and correct drawing, a truer feeling for harmony of proportionand all that constitutes elegance, were gradually infused into theforms and attitudes. But dangerous became the craving for merebeauty, --dangerous the study of the classical and heathen literature. This was the commencement of that thoroughly pagan taste which inthe following century demoralized Christian art. There was now anattempt at varying the arrangement of the sacred groups which led toirreverence, or at best to a sort of superficial mannered grandeur;and from this period we date the first introduction of the portraitVirgins. An early, and most scandalous example remains to us in oneof the frescoes in the Vatican, which represents Giulia Farnese in thecharacter of the Madonna, and Pope Alexander VI. (the infamous Borgia)kneeling at her feet in the character of a votary. Under the influenceof the Medici the churches of Florence were filled with pictures ofthe Virgin, in which the only thing aimed at was an alluring andeven meretricious beauty. Savonarola thundered from his pulpit in thegarden of San Marco against these impieties. He exclaimed againstthe profaneness of those who represented the meek mother of Christ ingorgeous apparel, with head unveiled, and under the features of womentoo well and publicly known. He emphatically declared that if thepainters knew as well as he did the influence of such pictures inperverting simple minds, they would hold their own works in horror anddetestation. Savonarola yielded to none in orthodox reverence for theMadonna; but he desired that she should be represented in an orthodoxmanner. He perished at the stake, but not till after he had madea bonfire in the Piazza at Florence of the offensive effigies; heperished--persecuted to death by the Borgia family. But his influenceon the greatest Florentine artists of his time is apparent in theVirgins of Botticelli, Lorenzo di Credi, and Fra Bartolomeo, all ofwhom had been his friends, admirers, and disciples: and all, differingfrom each other, were alike in this, that, whether it be the dignifiedseverity of Botticelli, or the chaste simplicity of Lorenzo di Credi, or the noble tenderness of Fra Bartolomeo, we feel that each of themhad aimed to portray worthily the sacred character of the Mother ofthe Redeemer. And to these, as I think, we might add Raphael himself, who visited Florence but a short time after the horrible executionof Savonarola, and must have learned through his friend Bartolomeo tomourn the fate and revere the memory of that remarkable man, whom heplaced afterwards in the grand fresco of the "Theologia, " among thedoctors and teachers of the Church. (Rome, Vatican. ) Of the numerousVirgins painted by Raphael in after times, not one is supposed to havebeen a portrait: he says himself, in a letter to Count Castiglione, that he painted from an idea in his own mind, "mi servo d' una certaidea che mi viene in mente;" while in the contemporary works of Andreadel Sarto, we have the features of his handsome but vulgar wife inevery Madonna he painted. [1]

[Footnote 1: The tendency to portraiture, in early Florentine andGerman art, is observable from an early period. The historical sacredsubjects of Masaccio, Ghirlandajo, and Van Eyck, are crowded withportraits of living personages. Their introduction into devotionalsubjects, in the character of sacred persons, is far less excusable. ]

In the beginning of the sixteenth century, the constellation of livinggenius in every department of art, the riches of the Church, theluxurious habits and classical studies of the churchmen, the declineof religious conviction, and the ascendency of religious controversy, had combined to multiply church pictures, particularly those of alarge and decorative character. But, instead of the reign of faith, we had now the reign of taste. There was an absolute passion forpicturesque grouping; and, as the assembled figures were to be asvaried as possible in action and attitude, the artistic treatment, inorder to prevent the lines of form and the colours of the draperiesfrom interfering with each other, required great skill and profoundstudy: some of these scenic groups have become, in the hands of greatpainters, such as Titian, Paul Veronese, and Annibale Caracci, somagnificent, that we are inclined to forgive their splendid errors. The influence of Sanazzaro, and of his famous Latin poem on theNativity ("_De Partu Virginis_"), on the artists of the middle of thesixteenth century, and on the choice and treatment of the subjectspertaining to the Madonna, can hardly be calculated; it was like thatof Dante in the fourteenth century, but in its nature and result howdifferent! The grand materialism of Michael Angelo is supposed to havebeen allied to the genius of Dante; but would Dante have acknowledgedthe group of the Holy Family in the Florentine Gallery, to my feeling, one of the most profane and offensive of the so-called _religious_pictures, in conception and execution, which ever proceeded fromthe mind or hand of a great painter? No doubt some of the sculpturalVirgins of Michael Angelo are magnificent and stately in attitude andexpression, but too austere and mannered as religious conceptions: norcan we wonder if the predilection for the treatment of mere form ledhis followers and imitators into every species of exaggeration andaffectation. In the middle of the sixteenth century, the same artistwho painted a Leda, or a Psyche, or a Venus one day, painted for thesame patron a Virgin of Mercy, or a "Mater Purissima" on the morrow. _Here_, the votary told his beads, and recited his Aves, beforethe blessed Mother of the Redeemer; _there_, she was invoked inthe purest Latin by titles which the classical mythology had farotherwise consecrated. I know nothing more disgusting in art than thelong-limbed, studied, inflated Madonnas, looking grand with all theirmight, of this period; luckily they have fallen into such disreputethat we seldom see them. The "Madonna dell' lungo Collo" of Parmigianomight be cited as a favourable example of this mistaken and whollyartificial grace. (Florence, Pitti Pal. )

But in the midst of these paganized and degenerate influences, thereform in the discipline of the Roman Catholic Church was preparinga revolution in religious art. The Council of Trent had severelydenounced the impropriety of certain pictures admitted into churches:at the same time, in the conflict of creed which now dividedChristendom, the agencies of art could not safely be neglected by thatChurch which had used them with such signal success. Spiritual artwas indeed no more. It was dead: it could never be revived withouta return to those modes of thought and belief which had at firstinspired it. Instead of religious art, appeared what I must call_theological_ art. Among the events of this age, which had greatinfluence on the worship and the representations of the Madonna, I must place the battle of Lepanto, in 1571, in which the combinedfleets of Christendom, led by Don Juan of Austria, achieved amemorable victory over the Turks. This victory was attributed by PopePius V. To the especial interposition of the Blessed Virgin. A newinvocation was now added to her Litany, under the title of _AuxiliumChristianorum_; a new festival, that of the Rosary, was now added tothose already held in her honour; and all the artistic genius whichexisted in Italy, and all the piety of orthodox Christendom, were nowlaid under contribution to incase in marble sculpture, to enrich withcountless offerings, that miraculous house, which the angels hadborne over land and sea, and set down at Loretto; and that miraculous, bejewelled, and brocaded Madonna, enshrined within it. 

 * * * * *

In the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Caracci school gavea new impetus to religious, or rather, as it has been styled incontradistinction, sacerdotal or theological art. If these greatpainters had been remarkable merely for the application of newartistic methods, for the success with which they combined the aims ofvarious schools--

 "Di Michel Angiol la terribil via E 'l vero natural di Tiziano, "

the study of the antique with the observation of real life, --theirworks undoubtedly would never have taken such a hold on the minds oftheir contemporaries, nor kept it so long. Everything to live musthave an infusion of truth within it, and this "patchwork ideal, " asit has been well styled, was held together by such a principle. Thefounders of the Caracci school, and their immediate followers, feltthe influences of the time, and worked them out. They were devoutbelievers in their Church, and most sincere worshippers of theMadonna. Guido, in particular, was so distinguished by his passionateenthusiasm for her, that he was supposed to have been favoured by aparticular vision, which enabled him more worthily to represent herdivine beauty. 

It is curious that, hand in hand with this development of taste andfeeling in the appreciation of natural sentiment and beauty, andthis tendency to realism, we find the associations of a peculiar andspecific sanctity remaining with the old Byzantine type. This arosefrom the fact, always to be borne in mind, that the most ancientartistic figure of the Madonna was a purely theological symbol;apparently the moral type was too nearly allied to the human andthe real to satisfy faith. It is the ugly, dark-coloured, ancientGreek Madonnas, such as this, which had all along the credit ofbeing miraculous; and "to this day, " says Kugler, "the Neapolitanlemonade-seller will allow no other than a formal Greek Madonna, witholive-green complexion and veiled head, to be set up in his booth. " Itis the same in Russia. Such pictures, in which there is no attemptat representation, real or ideal, and which merely have a sort ofimaginary sanctity and power, are not so much idols as they are mere_Fetishes_. The most lovely Madonna by Raphael or Titian would nothave the same effect. Guido, who himself painted lovely Virgins, went every Saturday to pray before the little black _Madonna dellaGuardia_, and, as we are assured, held this old Eastern relic indevout veneration. 

In the pictures of the Madonna, produced by the most eminent paintersof the seventeenth century, is embodied the theology of the time. The Virgin Mary is not, like the Madonna di San Sisto, "a singleprojection of the artist's mind, " but, as far as he could put hisstudies together, she is "a compound of every creature's best, "sometimes majestic, sometimes graceful, often full of sentiment, elegance, and refinement, but wanting wholly in the spiritual element. If the Madonna did really sit to Guido in person, (see Malvasia, "Felsina Pittrice, ") we fancy she must have revealed her loveliness, but veiled her divinity. 

Without doubt the finest Madonnas of the seventeenth century arethose produced by the Spanish school; not because they more realizeour spiritual conception of the Virgin--quite the contrary: for herethe expression of life through sensation and emotion prevails overabstract mind, grandeur, and grace;--but because the intensely humanand sympathetic character given to the Madonna appeals most stronglyto our human nature. The appeal is to the faith through the feelings, rather than through the imagination. Morales and Ribera excelledin the Mater Dolorosa; and who has surpassed Murilio in the tenderexultation of maternity?[1] There is a freshness and a depth offeeling in the best Madonnas of the late Spanish school, which puts toshame the mannerism of the Italians, and the naturalism of the Flemishpainters of the same period: and this because the Spaniards wereintense and enthusiastic believers, not mere thinkers, in art as inreligion. 

[Footnote 1: See in the Handbook to the Private Galleries of Art someremarks on the tendencies of the Spanish School, p, 172. ]

As in the sixth century, the favourite dogma of the time (the unionof the divine and human nature in Christ, and the dignity of Maryas parent of both) had been embodied in the group of the Virginand Child, so now, in the seventeenth, the doctrine of the eternalsanctification and predestination of Mary was, after a longcontroversy, triumphant, and took form in the "Immaculate Conception;"that beautiful subject in which Guido and Murilio excelled, and whichbecame the darling theme of the later schools of art. It is worthyof remark, that while in the sixth century, and for a thousand yearsafterwards, the Virgin, in all devotional subjects, was associated insome visible manner with her divine Son, in this she appears withoutthe Infant in her arms. The maternal character is set aside, andshe stands alone, absolute in herself, and complete in her ownperfections. This is a very significant characteristic of theprevalent theology of the time. 

I forbear to say much of the productions of a school of art whichsprung up simultaneously with that of the Caracci, and in the endoverpowered its higher aspirations. The _Naturalisti_, as they werecalled, imitated nature without selection, and produced some charmingpainters. But their religious pictures are almost all intolerable, and their Madonnas are almost all portraits. Rubens and Albano paintedtheir wives; Allori and Vandyck their mistresses; Domenichino hisdaughter. Salvator Rosa, in his Satires, exclaims against this generalprofaneness in terms not less strong than those of Savonarola in hisSermons; but the corruption was by this time beyond the reach of cure;the sin could neither be preached nor chided away. Striking effects oflight and shade, peculiar attitudes, scenic groups, the perpetual anddramatic introduction of legendary scenes and personages, of visionsand miracles of the Madonna vouchsafed to her votaries, characterizethe productions of the seventeenth century. As "they who are wholeneed not a physician, but they who are sick, " so in proportion tothe decline of faith were the excitements to faith, or rather tocredulity: just in proportion as men were less inclined to believewere the wonders multiplied which they were called on to believe. 

I have not spoken of the influence of Jesuitism on art. This Orderkept alive that devotion for the Madonna which their great founderLoyola had so ardently professed when he chose for the "Lady" ofhis thoughts, "no princess, no duchess, but one far greater, morepeerless. " The learning of the Jesuits supplied some themes nothitherto in use, principally of a fanciful and allegorical kind, andnever had the meek Mary been so decked out with earthly ornamentas in their church pictures. If the sanctification of simplicity, gentleness, maternal love, and heroic fortitude, were calculatedto elevate the popular mind, the sanctification of mere glitter andornament, embroidered robes, and jewelled crowns, must have tendedto degrade it. It is surely an unworthy and a foolish excuse that, inthus desecrating with the vainest and most vulgar finery the beautifulideal of the Virgin, an appeal was made to the awe and admirationof vulgar and ignorant minds; for this is precisely what, in allreligious imagery, should be avoided. As, however, this sacrilegiousmillinery does not come within the province of the fine arts, I maypass it over here. 

Among the Jesuit prints of the seventeenth century, I remember onewhich represents the Virgin and Child in the centre, and around arethe most famous heretics of all ages, lying prostrate, or hanging bythe neck. Julian the Apostate; Leo the Isaurian; his son, ConstantineCapronymus; Arius; Nestorius; Manicheus; Luther; Calvin:--verycharacteristic of the age of controversy which had succeeded to theage of faith, when, instead of solemn saints and grateful votaries, wehave dead or dying heretics surrounding the Mother of Mercy!

 * * * * *

After this rapid sketch of the influences which modified in a generalway the pictures of the Madonna, we may array before us, and learn tocompare, the types which distinguished in a more particular manner theseparate schools, caught from some more local or individual impulses. Thus we have the stern, awful quietude of the old Mosaics; the hardlifelessness of the degenerate Greek; the pensive sentiment ofthe Siena, and stately elegance of the Florentine Madonnas; theintellectual Milanese, with their large foreheads and thoughtful eyes;the tender, refined mysticism of the Umbrian; the sumptuous lovelinessof the Venetian; the quaint, characteristic simplicity of the earlyGerman, so stamped with their nationality, that I never looked roundme in a room full of German girls without thinking of Albert Durer'sVirgins; the intense life-like feeling of the Spanish; the prosaic, portrait-like nature of the Flemish schools, and so on. But here anobvious question suggests itself. In the midst of all this diversity, these ever-changing influences, was there no characteristic typeuniversally accepted, suggested by common religious associations, ifnot defined by ecclesiastical authority, to which the artist was boundto conform? How is it that the impersonation of the Virgin fluctuated, not only with the fluctuating tendencies of successive ages, but evenwith the caprices of the individual artist?

This leads us back to reconsider the sources from which the artistdrew his inspiration. 

The legend which represents St. Luke the Evangelist as a painterappears to be of Eastern origin, and quite unknown in Western Europebefore the first crusade. It crept in then, and was accepted with manyother oriental superstitions and traditions. It may have originatedin the real existence of a Greek painter named Luca--a saint, too, he may have been; for the Greeks have a whole calendar of canonizedartists, --painters, poets, and musicians; and this Greek San Luca mayhave been a painter of those Madonnas imported from the ateliers ofMount Athos into the West by merchants and pilgrims; and the West, which knew but of one St. Luke, may have easily confounded the painterand the evangelist. 

But we must also remember, that St. Luke the Evangelist was earlyregarded as the great authority with respect to the few Scriptureparticulars relating to the character and life of Mary; so that, in the figurative sense, he may be said to have _painted_ thatportrait of her which has been since received as the perfect typeof womanhood:--1. Her noble, trustful humility, when she receivesthe salutation of the angel (Luke i. 38); the complete and femininesurrender of her whole being to the higher, holier will--"Be it untome according to thy word. " 2. Then, the decision and prudence ofcharacter, shown in her visit to Elizabeth, her older relative; herjourney in haste over the hills to consult with her cousin, whichjourney it is otherwise difficult to accord with the oriental customsof the time, unless Mary, young as she was, had possessed unusualpromptitude and energy of disposition. (Luke i. 39, 40. ) 3. The proofof her intellectual power in the beautiful hymn she has left us, "_Mysoul doth magnify the Lord. _" (Luke i. 46. ) The commentators arenot agreed as to whether this effusion was poured forth by immediateinspiration, or composed and written down, because the same words, "and Mary said, " may be interpreted in either sense; but we can nomore doubt her being the authoress, than we can doubt of any otherparticulars recorded in the same Gospel: it proves that she must havebeen, for her time and country, most rarely gifted in mind, and deeplyread in the Scriptures. 4. She was of a contemplative, reflecting, rather silent disposition. "She kept all these sayings, and ponderedthem in her heart. " (Luke ii. 51. ) She made no boast of that wondrousand most blessed destiny to which she was called; she thought upon itin silence. It is inferred that as many of these sayings and eventscould be known to herself alone, St. Luke the Evangelist could havelearned them only from her own lips. 5. Next her truly maternaldevotion to her divine Son, whom she attended humbly through his wholeministry;[1] 6. And lastly, the sublime fortitude and faith with whichshe followed her Son to the death scene, stood beside the cross tillall was finished, and then went home, and _lived_ (Luke xxiii. ); forshe was to be to us an example of all that a woman could endure, aswell as all that a woman could be and act out in her earthly life. (John xix. 25. ) Such was the character of Mary; such the _portrait_really _painted_ by St. Luke; and, as it seems to me, these scattered, artless, unintentional notices of conduct and character converge intothe most perfect moral type of the intellectual, tender, simple, andheroic woman that ever was placed before us for our edification andexample. 

[Footnote 1: Milton places in the mouth of our Saviour an allusion tothe influence of his Mother in early life:--

 "These growing thoughts my mother soon perceiving By words at times cast forth, duly rejoiced, And said to me apart, 'High are thy thoughts, O Son; but nourish them, and let them soar To what height sacred virtue and true worth Can raise them, though above example high. '"]

But in the Church traditions and enactments, another characterwas, from the fifth century, assigned to her, out of which grew thetheological type, very beautiful and exalted, but absorbing to a greatdegree the scriptural and moral type, and substituting for the merelyhuman attributes others borrowed from her relation to the greatscheme of redemption; for it was contended that, as the mother of_the Divine_, she could not be herself less than divine; consequentlyabove the angels, and first of all created beings. According to thedoctrine of the Immaculate Conception, her tender woman's wisdombecame supernatural gifts; the beautiful humility was changed into aknowledge of her own predestined glory; and, being raised bodily intoimmortality, and placed beside her Son, in all "the sacred splendourof beneficence, " she came to be regarded as our intercessor beforethat divine Son, who could refuse nothing to his mother. The relativeposition of the Mother and Son being spiritual and indestructible wascontinued in heaven; and thus step by step the woman was transmutedinto the divinity. 

But, like her Son, Mary had walked in human form upon earth, and inform must have resembled her Son; for, as it is argued, Christ had noearthly father, therefore could only have derived his human lineamentsfrom his mother. All the old legends assume that the resemblancebetween the Son and the Mother must have been perfect. Dante alludesto this belief:

 "Riguarda ormai nella faccia ch' a Christo Piu s' assomiglia. "

 "Now raise thy view Unto the visage most resembling Christ. "

The accepted type of the head of Christ was to be taken as a model inits mild, intellectual majesty, for that of the Virgin-mother, as faras difference of sex would allow. 

In the ecclesiastical history of Nicephorus Gallixtus, he has inserteda description of the person of Mary, which he declares to have beengiven by Epiphanius, who lived in the fourth century, and by himderived from a more ancient source. It must be confessed, that thetype of person here assigned to the Virgin is more energetic for awoman than that which has been assigned to our Saviour as a man. "Shewas of middle stature; her face oval; her eyes brilliant, and of anolive tint; her eyebrows arched and black; her hair was of a palebrown; her complexion fair as wheat. She spoke little, but she spokefreely and affably; she was not troubled in her speech, but grave, courteous, tranquil. Her dress was without ornament, and in herdeportment was nothing lax or feeble. " To this ancient descriptionof her person and manners, we are to add the scriptural and popularportrait of her mind; the gentleness, the purity, the intellect, power, and fortitude; the gifts of the poetess and prophetess; thehumility in which she exceeded all womankind. Lastly, we are toengraft on these personal and moral qualities, the theologicalattributes which the Church, from early times, had assigned toher, the supernatural endowments which lifted her above angelsand men:--all these were to be combined into one glorious type ofperfection. Where shall we seek this highest, holiest impersonation!Where has it been attained, or even approached? Not, certainly, in themere woman, nor yet in the mere idol; not in those lovely creationswhich awaken a sympathetic throb of tenderness; nor in those stern, motionless types, --which embody a dogma; not in the classic featuresof marble goddesses, borrowed as models; nor in the painted imageswhich stare upon us from tawdry altars in flaxen wigs and embroideredpetticoats. But where?

Of course we each form to ourselves some notion of what we require;and these requirements will be as diverse as our natures and ourhabits of thought. For myself, I have seen my own ideal once, and onlyonce, attained: _there_, where Raphael--inspired if ever painter wasinspired--projected on the space before him that wonderful creationwhich we style the _Madonna di San Sisto_ (Dresden Gal. ); for thereshe stands--the transfigured woman, at once completely human andcompletely divine, an abstraction of power, purity, and love, poisedon the empurpled air, and requiring no other support; looking out, with her melancholy, loving mouth, her slightly dilated, sibyllineeyes, quite through the universe, to the end and consummation of allthings;--sad, as if she beheld afar off the visionary sword thatwas to reach her heart through HIM, now resting as enthroned onthat heart; yet already exalted through the homage of the redeemedgenerations who were to salute her as Blessed. Six times have Ivisited the city made glorious by the possession of this treasure, andas often, when again at a distance, with recollections disturbed byfeeble copies and prints, I have begun to think, "Is it so indeed? isshe indeed so divine? or does not rather the imagination encircleher with a halo of religion and poetry, and lend a grace which is notreally there?" and as often, when returned, I have stood before it andconfessed that there is more in that form and face than I had everyet conceived. I cannot here talk the language of critics, and speakof this picture merely as a picture, for to me it was a revelation. In the same gallery is the lovely Madonna of the Meyer family:inexpressibly touching and perfect in its way, but conveying only oneof the attributes of Mary, her benign pity; while the Madonna di SanSisto is an abstract of _all_. [1]

[Footnote 1: Expression is the great and characteristic excellence ofRaphael more especially in his Madonnas. It is precisely this whichall copies and engravings render at best most imperfectly; and inpoint of expression the most successful engraving of the Madonna diSan Sisto is certainly that of Steinla. ]

 * * * * *

The poets are ever the best commentators on the painters. I havealready given from the great "singers of high poems" in the fourteenthcentury _their_ exposition of the theological type of the Madonna. Now, in some striking passages of our modern poets, we may find a mostbeautiful commentary on what I have termed the _moral_ type. 

The first is from Wordsworth, and may be recited before the Madonna diSan Sisto:--

 "Mother! whose virgin bosom was uncrost With the least shade of thought to sin allied! Woman! above all women glorified; Out tainted nature's solitary boast; Purer than foam on central ocean tost; Brighter than eastern skies at daybreak strewn With fancied roses, than the unblemish'd moon Before her wane begins on heaven's blue coast, Thy Image falls to earth. Yet some I ween, Not unforgiven, the suppliant knee might bend, As to a visible Power, in which did blend All that was mix'd and reconcil'd in thee, Of mother's love with maiden purity, Of high with low, celestial with terrene. "

The next, from Shelley, reads like a hymn in honour of the ImmaculateConception:--

 Seraph of Heaven! too gentle to be human, Veiling beneath that radiant form of woman All that is insupportable in thee Of light, and love, and immortality! Sweet Benediction in the eternal curse! Veil'd Glory of this lampless Universe! Thou Moon beyond the clouds! Thou living Form Among the Dead! Thou Star above the storm! Thou Wonder, and thou Beauty, and thou Terror! Thou Harmony of Nature's art! Thou Mirror In whom, as in the splendour of the Sun, All shapes look glorious which thou gazest on!"

 "See where she stands! a mortal shape endued With love, and life, and light, and deity; The motion which may change but cannot die, An image of some bright eternity; A shadow of some golden dream; a splendour Leaving the third sphere pilotless. "

I do not know whether intentionally or not, but we have here assembledsome of the favourite symbols of the Virgin--the moon, the star, the"_terribilis ut castrorum acies_" (Cant. Vi. 10), and the mirror. 

The third is a passage from Robert Browning, which appears to me tosum up the moral ideal:--

 "There is a vision in the heart of each, Of justice, mercy, wisdom, tenderness To wrong and pain, and knowledge of their cure; And these embodied in a woman's form That best transmits them pure as first received From God above her to mankind below!"

II. SYMBOLS AND ATTRIBUTES OF THE VIRGIN. 

That which the genius of the greatest of painters only once expressed, we must not look to find in his predecessors, who saw only partialglimpses of the union of the divine and human in the feminine form;still less in his degenerate successors, who never beheld it at all. 

The difficulty of fully expressing this complex ideal, and theallegorical spirit of the time, first suggested the expedient ofplacing round the figure of the glorified Virgin certain accessorysymbols, which should assist the artist to express, and the observerto comprehend, what seemed beyond the power of art to portray;--alanguage of metaphor then understood, and which we also mustunderstand if we would seize the complete theological idea intendedto be conveyed. 

I shall begin with those symbols which are borrowed from the Litaniesof the Virgin, and from certain texts of the Canticles, in all agesof the Church applied to her; symbols which, in the fifteenth andsixteenth centuries, frequently accompany those representationswhich set forth her Glorification or Predestination; and, in theseventeenth, are introduced into the "Immaculate Conception. "

1. The Sun and the Moon. --"Electa ut Sol, pulchra ut Luna, " is oneof the texts of the Canticles applied to Mary; and also in a passageof the Revelation, "_A woman clothed with the sun, having the moonunder her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. _" Hence theradiance of the sun above her head, and the crescent moon beneath herfeet. From inevitable association the crescent moon suggests theidea of her perpetual chastity; but in this sense it would be a paganrather than a Christian attribute. 

2. The STAR. --This attribute, often embroidered in front of the veilof the Virgin or on the right shoulder of her blue mantle, has becomealmost as a badge from which several well-known pictures derivetheir title, "La Madonna della Stella. " It is in the first placean attribute alluding to the most beautiful and expressive of hermany titles:--"_Stella Maris_" Star of the Sea, [1] which is oneinterpretation of her Jewish name, _Miriam_: but she is also "_StellaJacobi_, " the Star of Jacob; "_Stella Matutina_, " the Morning Star;"_Stella non Erratica_, " the Fixed Star. When, instead of the singlestar on her veil or mantle, she has the crown of twelve stars, theallusion is to the text of the Apocalypse already quoted, and thenumber of stars is in allusion to the number of the Apostles. [2]

[Footnote 1: "Ave Maris Stella Dei Mater alma!" &c. ]

[Footnote 2: "In capite inquit ejus corona stellarum duodecim; quidnicoronent sidera quam sol vestit?"--_St. Bernard_. ]

3. The LILY. --"_I am the rose of Sharon, and lily of the valleys. _"(Cant. Ii. 1, 2. ) As the general emblem of purity, the lily isintroduced into the Annunciation, where it ought to be withoutstamens: and in the enthroned Madonnas it is frequently placed inthe hands of attendant angels, more particularly in the FlorentineMadonnas; the lily, as the emblem of their patroness, being chosenby the citizens as the _device_ of the city. For the same reason itbecame that of the French monarchy. Thorns are sometimes interlacedwith the lily, to express the "_Lilium inter Spinas_. " (Cant. Ii. 2. )

4. The ROSE. --She is the rose of Sharon, as well as the lily of thevalley; and as an emblem of love and beauty, the rose is especiallydedicated to her. The plantation or garden of roses[1] is oftenintroduced; sometimes it forms the background of the picture. Thereis a most beautiful example in a Madonna by Cesare di Sesto (Milan, Brera); and another, "the Madonna of the Rose Bush, " by Martin Schoen. (Cathedral, Colmar. )

[Footnote 1: Quasi plantatio rosæ in Jericho. ]

5. The ENCLOSED GARDEN (_Hortus conclusus_) is an image borrowed, like many others, from the Song of Solomon. (Cant. Iv. 12. ) I haveseen this enclosed garden very significantly placed in the backgroundof the Annunciation, and in pictures of the Immaculate Conception. Sometimes the enclosure is formed of a treillage or hedge of roses, asin a beautiful Virgin by Francia. [1] Sometimes it is merely formed ofstakes or palisades, as In some of the prints by Albert Durer. 

[Footnote 1: Munich Gal. ; another by Antonio da Negroponte in theSan Francesco della Vigna at Venice, is also an instance of thissignificant background. ]

The WELL always full; the FOUNTAIN forever sealed; the TOWER of David;the TEMPLE of Solomon; the CITY of David (_Civitas sancti_), (Cant iv. 4. 12, 15); all these are attributes borrowed from the Canticles, andare introduced into pictures and stained glass. 

6. The PORTA CLAITSA, the Closed Gate, is another metaphor, taken fromthe prophecy of Ezekiel (xliv. 4). 

7. The CEDAR of Lebanon (_Cedrus exaliata_, "exalted as a cedar inLebanon"), because of its height, its incorruptible substance, its perfume, and the healing virtues attributed to it in the East, expresses the greatness, the beauty, the goodness of Mary. 

The victorious PALM, the Plantain "far spreading, " and the Cypresspointing to heaven, are also emblems of the Virgin. 

The OLIVE, as a sign of peace, hope, and abundance, is also a fittingemblem of the graces of Mary. [1]

[Footnote 1: Quasi oliva speciosa in campis. ]

8. The Stem of Jesse (Isa. Xi. 1), figured as a green branch entwinedwith flowers, is also very significant. 

9. The MIRROR (_Specula sine macula_) is a metaphor borrowed from theBook of Wisdom (vii, 25). We meet with it in some of the late picturesof the Immaculate Conception. 

10. The SEALED BOOK is also a symbol often placed in the hands of theVirgin in a mystical Annunciation, and sufficiently significant. Theallusion is to the text, "In that book were all my members written;"and also to the text in Isaiah (xxix. 11, 12), in which he describesthe vision of the book that was sealed, and could be read neither bythe learned nor the unlearned. 

11. "The Bush which burned and was not consumed, " is introduced, witha mystical significance, into an Annunciation by Titian. 

 * * * * *

Besides these symbols, which have a mystic and sacred significance, and are applicable to the Virgin only, certain attributes andaccessories are introduced into pictures of the Madonna and Child, which are capable of a more general interpretation. 

1. The GLOBE, as the emblem of sovereignty, was very early placed inthe hand of the divine Child. When the globe is under the feet ofthe Madonna and encircled by a serpent, as in some later pictures, it figures our Redemption; her triumph over a fallen world--fallenthrough sin. 

2. The SERPENT is the general emblem of Sin or Satan; but under thefeet of the Virgin it has a peculiar significance. She has generallyher foot on the head of the reptile. "SHE shall bruise thy head, " asit is interpreted in the Roman Catholic Church. [1]

[Footnote 1: _Ipsa_ conteret caput tuum. ]

3. The APPLE, which of all the attributes is the most common, signifies the fall of man, which made Redemption necessary. It issometimes placed in the hands of the Child; but when in the hand ofthe Mother, she is then designated as the second Eve. [1]

[Footnote 1: Mors per Evam: vita per Mariam. ]

4. The POMEGRANATE, with the seeds displayed, was the ancient emblemof hope, and more particularly of religious hope. It is often placedin the hands of the Child, who sometimes presents it to his Mother. 

Other fruits and flowers, always beautiful accessories, are frequentlyintroduced according to the taste of the artist. But fruits in ageneral sense signified "the fruits of the Spirit--joy, peace, love;"and flowers were consecrated to the Virgin: hence we yet see themplaced before her as offerings. 

5. EARS OF WHEAT in the hand of the Infant (as in a lovely littleMadonna by Ludovico Caracci)[1] figured the bread in the Eucharist, and GRAPES the wine. 

[Footnote 1: Lansdowne Collection. There was another exactly similarin the collection of Mr. Rogers. ]

6. The BOOK. --In the hand of the Infant Christ, the book is the Gospelin a general sense, or it is the Book of Wisdom. In the hand of theMadonna, it may have one of two meanings. When open, or when she hasher finger between the leaves, or when the Child is turning over thepages, then it is the Book of Wisdom, and is always supposed to beopen at the seventh chapter. When the book is clasped or sealed, it isa mystical symbol of the Virgin herself, as I have already explained. 

7. The DOVE, as the received emblem of the Holy Spirit, is properlyplaced above, as hovering over the Virgin. There is an exception tothis rule in a very interesting picture in the Louvre, where theHoly Dove (with the _nimbus_) is placed at the feet of the Child. [1]This is so unusual, and so contrary to all the received proprietiesof religious art, that I think the _nimbus_ may have been addedafterwards. 

[Footnote 1: The Virgin has the air of a gipsy. (Louvre, 515. )]

The seven doves round the head of the Virgin signify the seven giftsof the Spirit. These characterize her as personified Wisdom--the MaterSapientiæ. 

Doves placed near Mary when she is reading, or at work in the temple, are expressive of her gentleness and tenderness. 

8. BIRDS. --The bird in the Egyptian hieroglyphics signified the soulof man. In the very ancient pictures there can be no doubt, I think, that the bird in the hand of Christ figured the soul, or the spiritualas opposed to the material. But, in the later pictures, the originalmeaning being lost, birds became mere ornamental accessories, orplaythings. Sometimes it is a parrot from the East, sometimes apartridge (the partridge is frequent in the Venetian pictures):sometimes a goldfinch, as in Raphael's Madonna _del Cardellino_. In aMadonna by Guercino, the Mother holds a bird perched on her hand, andthe Child, with a most _naïve_ infantine expression, shrinks back fromit. [1] In a picture by Baroccio, he holds it up before a cat (Nat. Gal. 29), so completely were the original symbolism and all thereligious proprieties of art at this time set aside. 

[Footnote 1: It was in the collection of Mr. Rogers. ]

Other animals are occasionally introduced. Extremely offensive arethe apes when admitted into devotional pictures. We have associationswith the animal as a mockery of the human, which render it a verydisagreeable accessory. It appears that, in the sixteenth century, it became the fashion to keep apes as pets, and every reader ofVasari will remember the frequent mention of these animals as petsand favourites of the artists. Thus only can I account for theintroduction of the ape, particularly in the Ferrarese pictures. Bassano's dog, Baroccio's cat, are often introduced. In a famouspicture by Titian, "La Vierge au Lapin, " we have the rabbit. (Louvre. )The introduction of these and other animals marks the decline ofreligious art. 

Certain women of the Old Testament are regarded as especial types ofthe Virgin. 

EVE. Mary is regarded as the second Eve, because, through her, camethe promised Redemption. She bruised the head of the Serpent. The Treeof Life, the Fall, or Eve holding the Apple, are constantly introducedallusively in the Madonna pictures, as ornaments of her throne, oron the predella of an altar-piece, representing the Annunciation, theNativity, or the Coronation. 

RACHEL figures as the ideal of contemplative life. 

RUTH, as the ancestress of David. 

ABISHAG, as "the Virgin who was brought to the King. " (I Kings i. 1. )

BATHSHEBA, because she sat upon a throne on the right hand of her Son. 

JUDITH and ESTHER, as having redeemed their people, and broughtdeliverance to Israel. It is because of their typical character, asemblems of the Virgin, that these Jewish heroines so often figure inthe religious pictures. [1]

[Footnote 1: The artistic treatment of these characters as types ofthe Virgin, will be found in the fourth series of "Legendary Art. "]

In his "Paradiso" (c. Xxxii. ), Dante represents Eve, Rachel, Sara, Ruth, Judith, as seated at the feet of the Virgin Mary, beneath herthrone in heaven; and next to Rachel, by a refinement of spiritual andpoetical gallantry, he has placed his Beatrice. 

In the beautiful frescoes of the church of St. Apollinaris at Remagen, these Hebrew women stand together in a group below the throne of theVirgin. 

Of the Prophets and the Sibyls who attend on Christ in his characterof the Messiah or Redeemer, I shall have much to say, when describingthe artistic treatment of the history and character of Our Lord. Those of the prophets who are supposed to refer more particularly tothe Incarnation, properly attend on the Virgin and Child; but in theancient altar-pieces, they are not placed within the same frame, norare they grouped immediately round her throne, but form the outeraccessories, or are treated separately as symbolical. 

First, MOSES, because he beheld the burning bush, "which burned andwas not consumed. " He is generally in the act of removing his sandals. 

AARON, because his rod blossomed miraculously. 

GIDEON, on whose fleece descended the dew of heaven, while all wasdry around. 

DANIEL, who beheld the stone which was cut out without hands, andbecame a great mountain, filling the earth. (ch. Ii. 45. )

DAVID, as prophet and ancestor. "Listen, O daughter, and incline thineear. "

ISAIAH, "Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son. "

EZEKIEL, "This gate shall be shut. " (ch. Xliv. 2. )

Certain of these personages, Moses, Aaron, Gideon, Daniel, Ezekiel, are not merely accessories and attendant figures, but in a mannerattributes, as expressing the character of the Virgin. Thus in manyinstances, we find the prophetical personages altogether omitted, andwe have simply the attribute figuring the prophecy itself, the burningbush, the rod, the dewy fleece, &c. 

The Sibyls are sometimes introduced alternately with the Prophets. Ingeneral, if there be only two, they are the Tiburtina, who showed thevision to Augustus, and the Cumean Sibyl who foretold the birth of ourSaviour. The Sibyls were much the fashion in the classic times of thesixteenth century; Michael Angelo and Raphael have left us consummateexamples. 

But I must repeat that the full consideration of the Prophets andSibyls as accessories belongs to another department of sacred art, andthey will find their place there. 

The Evangelists frequently, and sometimes one or more of theTwelve Apostles, appear as accessories which assist the theologicalconception. When other figures are introduced, they are generallyeither the protecting saints of the country or locality, or the saintsof the Religious Order to whom the edifice belongs: or, where thepicture or window is an _ex-voto_, we find the patron saints of theconfraternity, or of the donor or votary who has dedicated it. 

Angels seated at the feet of the Madonna and playing on musicalinstruments, are most lovely and appropriate accessories, for thechoral angels are always around her in heaven, and on earth she isthe especial patroness of music and minstrelsy. [1] Her delegateCecilia patronized _sacred_ music; but _all_ music and musicians, all minstrels, and all who plied the "gaye science, " were under theprotection of Mary. When the angels are singing from their musicbooks, and others are accompanying them with lutes and viols, thesong is not always supposed to be the same. In a Nativity they singthe "Gloria in excelsis Deo;" in a Coronation, the "Regina Coeli;"in an enthroned Madonna with votaries, the "Salve Regina, MaterMisericordiæ!" in a pastoral Madonna and Child it may be the "AlmaMater Redemptoris. "

[Footnote 1: The picture by Lo Spagna, lately added to our NationalGallery, is a beautiful example. ]

 * * * * *

In all the most ancient devotional effigies (those in the catacombsand the old mosaics), the Virgin appears as a majestic woman of matureage. In those subjects taken from her history which precede her returnfrom Egypt, and in the Holy Families, she should appear as a youngmaiden from fifteen to seventeen years old. 

In the subjects taken from her history which follow the baptism of ourLord, she should appear as a matron between forty and fifty, but stillof a sweet and gracious aspect. When Michael Angelo was reproachedwith representing his Mater Dolorosa much too young, he replied thatthe perfect virtue and serenity of the character of Mary would havepreserved her beauty and youthful appearance long beyond the usualperiod. [1]

[Footnote 1: The group in St. Peter's, Rome. ]

Because some of the Greek pictures and carved images had become blackthrough extreme age, it was argued by certain devout writers, that theVirgin herself must have been of a very dark complexion; and in favourof this idea they quoted this text from the Canticles, "I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem. " But others say that hercomplexion had become black only during her sojourn in Egypt. At allevents, though the blackness of these antique images was supposed toenhance their sanctity, it has never been imitated in the fine arts, and it is quite contrary to the description of Nicephorus, which isthe most ancient authority, and that which is followed in the Greekschool. 

The proper dress of the Virgin is a close red tunic, with longsleeves;[1] and over this a blue robe or mantle. In the earlypictures, the colours are pale and delicate. Her head ought to beveiled. The fathers of the primeval Church, particularly Tertullian, attach great importance to the decent veil worn by Christian maidens;and in all the early pictures the Virgin is veiled. The enthronedVirgin, unveiled, with long tresses falling down on either side, was an innovation introduced about the end of the fifteenth century;commencing, I think, with the Milanese, and thence adopted in theGerman schools and those of Northern Italy. The German Madonnas ofAlbert Durer's time have often magnificent and luxuriant hair, curlingin ringlets, or descending to the waist in rich waves, and alwaysfair. Dark-haired Madonnas appear first in the Spanish and laterItalian schools. 

[Footnote 1: In a famous Pietà by Raphael, engraved by Marc Antonio, the Virgin, standing by the dead form of her Son, has the right armapparently bare; in the repetition of the subject it is clothed witha full sleeve, the impropriety being corrected. The first is, however, the most perfect and most precious as a work of art. --_Bartsch_, xiv. 34, 35. ]

In the historical pictures, her dress is very simple; but in thosedevotional figures which represent her as queen of heaven, she wears asplendid crown, sometimes of jewels interwoven with lilies and roses. The crown is often the sovereign crown of the country in which thepicture is placed: thus, in the Papal States, she often wears thetriple tiara: in Austria, the imperial diadem. Her blue tunic isrichly embroidered with gold and gems, or lined with ermine, or stuffof various colours, in accordance with a text of Scripture: "TheKing's daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is of wroughtgold. She shall be brought unto the King in a vesture of needlework. "(Ps. Xlv. 13. ) In the Immaculate Conception, and in the Assumption, her tunic should be plain white, or white spangled with golden stars. In the subjects relating to the Passion, and after the Crucifixion, the dress of the Virgin should be violet or gray. These proprieties, however, are not always attended to. 

In the early pictures which represent her as nursing the divine Infant(the subject called the _Vergine Lattante_), the utmost care is takento veil the bust as much as possible. In the Spanish school the mostvigilant censorship was exercised over all sacred pictures, and, withregard to the figures of the Virgin, the utmost decorum was required. "What, " says Pacheco, "can be more foreign to the respect which we oweto our Lady the Virgin, than to paint her sitting down with one of herknees placed over the other, and often with her sacred feet uncoveredand naked? Let thanks be given to the Holy Inquisition, which commandsthat this liberty should be corrected. " For this reason, perhaps, weseldom see the feet of the Virgin in Spanish pictures. [1] Carduchospeaks more particularly on the impropriety of painting the Virginunshod, "since it is manifest that, our Lady was in the habit ofwearing shoes, as is proved by the much venerated relic of one of themfrom her divine feet at Burgos. "

[Footnote 1: Or in any of the old pictures till the seventeenthcentury "Tandis que Dieu est toujours montré pieds nus, lui qui estdescendu à terre et a pris notre humanité, Marie au contraire estconstamment représentée les pieds perdus dans les plis trainants, nombreux et légers de sa robe virginale; elle, qui est elevée audessus de la terre et rapprochée de Dieu par sa pureté. Dieu montrepar ses pieds nus qu'il a pris le corps de l'homme; Marie faitcomprendre en les cachant qu'elle participe de la spiritualité deDieu. "]

The Child in her arms is always, in the Greek and early pictures, clothed in a little tunic, generally white. In the fifteenth centuryhe first appears partly, and then wholly, undraped. Joseph, as theearthly _sposo_, wears the saffron-coloured mantle over a gray tunic. In the later schools of art these significant colours are oftenvaried, and sometimes wholly dispensed with. 

III. DEVOTIONAL AND HISTORICAL REPRESENTATIONS. 

In this volume, as in the former ones, I have adhered to thedistinction between the devotional and the historical representations. 

I class as devotional, all those which express a dogma merely; all theenthroned Madonnas, alone or surrounded by significant accessoriesor attendant saints; all the Mystical Coronations and ImmaculateConceptions; all the Holy Families with saints, and those completelyideal and votive groups, in which the appeal is made to the faith andpiety of the observer. I shall give the characteristic details, inparticular instances, further on. 

The altar-pieces in a Roman Catholic church are always either strictlydevotional objects, or it may be, historical subjects (such as theNativity) treated in a devotional sense. They are sometimes in severalpieces or compartments. A Diptych is an altar-piece composed of twodivisions or leaves which are united by hinges, and close like a book. Portable altar-pieces of a small size are generally in this form; andamong the most valuable and curious remains of early religious art arethe Greek and Byzantine Diptychs, sometimes painted, sometimes carvedin ivory[1]. A Triptych is an altar-piece in three parts; the twoouter divisions or wings often closing as shutters over the centralcompartment. 

[Footnote 1: Among the "Casts from Ancient Ivory Carvings", published by the Arundel Society, will be found some interesting andillustrative examples, particularly Class III. Diptych _b_, Class VIIDiptych _c_ and Triptych _f_, Class IX. Triptych _k_. ]

On the outside of the shutters or doors the Annunciation wasgenerally painted, as the mystery which opened the gates of salvation;occasionally, also, the portraits of the votaries or donors. 

Complete examples of devotional representation occur in the complexand elaborate altar-pieces and windows of stained glass, which oftencomprehend a very significant scheme of theology. [1]. I give hereplans of two of these old altar-pieces, which will assist the readerin elucidating the meaning of others. 

[Footnote 1: Still more important examples occur in the porches andexterior decoration of the old cathedrals, French and English whichhave escaped mutilation. These will be found explained at length inthe Fourth Series of Sacred and Legendary Art. ]

The first is the altar-piece in the Rinuccini Chapel in the churchof the Santa Croco of Florence. It is necessary to premise thatthe chapel was founded in honour of the Virgin and Mary Magdalene;while the church is dedicated to the Holy Cross, and belongs to theFranciscans. 

[Illustration: Altar-piece]

The compartments are separated by wood-work most richly carvedand gilt in the Gothic style, with twisted columns, pinnacles, andscrolls. The subjects are thus distributed. 

A. The Virgin and Child enthroned. She has the sun on her breast, themoon under her feet, the twelve stars over her head, and is attendedby angels bearing the attributes of the cardinal virtues. B. St. John the Baptist. C. St. Francis. D. St. John Evangelist. E. MaryMagdalene. 1. The Crucifixion, with the Virgin and St. John. 2, 3, 4, 5. The four Evangelists with their books: half length. 6, 7. St. Peterand St. Paul: half length. 8, 9, 10, 11. St. Thomas, St. Philip, St. James, and St. Andrew: half length. PP. The Predella. 12. The Nativityand Adoration of Magi. 13. St. Francis receives the Stigmata. 14. Baptism of Christ. 15. The Vision of St. John in Patmos. 16. MaryMagdalene borne up by angels. Between the altar-piece and the predellaruns the inscription in Gothic letters, AVE DELICISSIMIS VIRGO MARIA, SUCCURRE NOBIS MATER PIA. MCCCLXXVIII. 

The second example is sketched from an altar-piece painted for thesuppressed convent of Santa Chiara, at Venice. It is six feet high, and eight feet wide, and the ornamental caning in which the subjectsare enclosed particularly splendid and elaborate. 

[Illustration: Altar-piece]

A. The Coronation of the Virgin, treated as a religious mystery, withchoral angels. B. The Nativity of our Lord. C. The Baptism. D. TheLast Supper. E. The Betrayal of Christ. F. The Procession to Calvary, in which the Virgin is rudely pushed aside by the soldiers. G. TheCrucifixion, as an event: John sustains the Virgin at the foot of thecross. H. The Resurrection and the _Noli me tangere_. I. Ascension. 1. Half-figure of Christ, with the hand extended in benediction; inthe other hand the Gospel. 2. David. 3. Isaiah. 4, 5, 6, 7. Thefour Evangelists standing. 8. 9, 11, 12. Scenes from the Life of St. Francis and St. Clara. 10. The Descent of the Holy Ghost. 13. The LastJudgment. 

It is to be regretted that so many of these altar-pieces have beenbroken up, and the detached parts sold as separate pictures: so thatwe may find one compartment of an altar in a church at Rome, andanother hanging in a drawing-room in London; the upper part at Ghent, the lower half at Paris; one wing at Berlin, another at Florence. Butwhere they exist as a whole, how solemn, significant, and instructivethe arrangement! It may be read as we read a poem. Compare these withthe groups round the enthroned Virgin in the later altar-pieces, where the saints elbow each other in attitudes, where mortal men sitwith unseemly familiarity close to personages recognized as divine. As I have remarked further on, it is one of the most interestingspeculations connected with the study of art, to trace this declinefrom reverence to irreverence, from the most rigid formula to the mostfantastic caprice. The gradual disappearance of the personages of theOld Testament, the increasing importance given to the family of theBlessed Virgin, the multiplication of legendary subjects, and all thevariety of adventitious, unmeaning, or merely ornamental accessories, strike us just in proportion as a learned theology replaced theunreflecting, undoubting piety of an earlier age. 

 * * * * *

The historical subjects comprise the events from the Life of theVirgin, when treated in a dramatic form; and all those groups whichexhibit her in her merely domestic relations, occupied by cares forher divine Child, and surrounded by her parents and kindred, subjectswhich assume a pastoral and poetical rather than an historical form. 

All these may be divided into Scriptural and Legendaryrepresentations. The Scriptural scenes in which the Virgin Mary is achief or important personage, are the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Purification, the Adoration of the Magi, the Flightinto Egypt, the Marriage at Cana, the Procession to Calvary, theCrucifixion (as related by St. John), and the Descent of the HolyGhost. The Traditional and Legendary scenes are those taken fromthe apocryphal Scriptures, some of which have existed from the thirdcentury. The Legend of Joachim and Anna, the parents of the Virgin, with the account of her early life, and her Marriage with Joseph, down to the Massacre of the Innocents, are taken from the Gospel ofMary and the Protevangelion. The scenes of the Flight into Egypt, the Repose on the Journey, and the Sojourn of the Holy Family atHieropolis or Matarea, are taken from the Gospel of Infancy. Thevarious scenes attending the Death and Assumption of the Virgin arederived from a Greek legendary poem, once attributed to St. John theEvangelist, but the work, as it is supposed, of a certain Greek, namedMeliton, who lived in the ninth century, and who has merely dressedup in a more fanciful form ancient traditions of the Church. Manyof these historical scenes have been treated in a devotional style, expressing not the action, but the event, taken in the light of areligious mystery; a distinction which I have fully explained in thefollowing pages, where I have given in detail the legends on whichthese scenes are founded, and the religious significance conveyed bythe treatment. 

A complete series of the History of the Virgin begins with therejection of her father Joachim from the temple, and ends with theassumption and coronation, including most of the events in the Historyof our Lord (as for example, the series painted by Giotto, in thechapel of the Arena, at Padua); but there are many instances in whichcertain important evens relating to the Virgin only, as the principalperson, are treated as a devotional series; and such are generallyfound in the chapels and oratories especially dedicated to her. Abeautiful instance is that of the Death of the Virgin, treated ina succession of scenes, as an event apart, and painted by TaddeoBarrolo, in the Chapel of the Palazzo Publico, at Siena. This smallchapel was dedicated to the Virgin soon after the terrible plague of1848 had ceased, as it was believed, by her intercession; so thatthis municipal chapel was at once an expression of thanksgiving, anda memorial of death, of suffering, of bereavement, and of hope inthe resurrection. The frescoes cover one wall of the chapel, and arearranged in four scenes. 

1. Mary is reclining in her last sickness, and around her are theApostles, who, according to the beautiful legend, were _miraculously_assembled to witness her departure. To express this, one of them isfloating in as if borne on the air. St. John kneels at her feet, andshe takes, with an expression exquisitely tender and maternal, his twohands in hers. This action is peculiar to the Siena school. [1]

[Footnote 1: On each side of the principal door of the Cathedral atSiena, which is dedicated to "Beata Virgine Assunta, " and just withinthe entrance, is a magnificent pilaster, of white marble, completelycovered from the base to the capital with the most luxuriant carving, arabesques, foliage, &c. , in an admirable and finished style. On thebases of these two pilasters are subjects from the Life of the Virgin, three on each side, and arranged, each subject on one side having itspendant on the other. 

1. The meeting of Joachim and Anna. 2. The Nativity of Mary. 3. Hersickness and last farewell to the Apostles; bending towards St. John, she takes his hands in hers with the same tender expression as inthe fresco by Taddeo Bartola. 4. She lies dead on her couch. 5. TheAssumption. 6. The Coronation. 

The figures are about a foot in height, delicately carved, full ofthat sentiment which is especially Sienese, and treated with a trulysculptural simplicity. ]

2. She lies extended on her couch, surrounded by the weepingApostles, and Christ behind receives the parting soul, --the usualrepresentation, but treated with the utmost sentiment. 

3. She is borne to the grave by the Apostles; in the background, thewalls of the city of Jerusalem. Here the Greek legend of St. Michaelprotecting her remains from the sacrilegious Jew is omitted, and apeculiar sentiment of solemnity pervades the whole scene. 

4. The resurrection of the Virgin, when she rises from the tombsustained by hovering angels, and is received by Christ. 

When I first saw these beautiful frescoes, in 1847, they were in avery ruined state; they have since been restored in a very good style, and with a reverent attention to the details and expression. 

In general, however, the cycle commences either with the legend ofJoachim and Anna, or with the Nativity of the Virgin, and ends withthe assumption and coronation. A most interesting early example is theseries painted in fresco by Taddeo Gaddi, in the Baroncelli Chapelat Florence. The subjects are arranged on two walls. The first on theright hand, and the second, opposite to us as we enter. 

1. Joachim is rejected from the Temple. 

2. He is consoled by the Angel. 

3. The meeting of Joachim and Anna. 

4. The Birth of the Virgin. 

5. The Presentation of the Virgin. She is here a child of about fiveyears old; and having ascended five steps (of the fifteen) she turnsas if to bid farewell to her parents and companions, who stand below;while on the summit the High Priest, Anna the prophetess, and themaidens of the Temple come forward to receive her. 

6. The Marriage to Joseph, and the rage and disappointment of theother suitors. 

The second wall is divided by a large window of the richest stainedglass, on each side of which the subjects are arranged. 

7. The Annunciation. This is peculiar. Mary, not throned or standing, but seated on the ground, with her hands clasped, and an expressionbeautiful for devotion and humility, looks upwards to the descendingangel. 

8. The Meeting of Mary and Elizabeth. 

9. The Annunciation to the Shepherds. 

10. The Nativity. 

11. The Wise Men behold the Star in the Form of a Child. 

12. They approach to Worship. Under the window is the altar, no longerused as such; and behind it a small but beautiful triptych of theCoronation of the Virgin, by Giotto, containing at least a hundredheads of saints, angels, &c. ; and on the wall opposite is the largefresco of the Assumption, by Mainardi, in which St. Thomas receivesthe girdle, the other Apostles being omitted. This is of much laterdate, being painted about 1495. 

The series of five subjects in the Rinuccini Chapel (in the sacristyof the same church) has been generally attributed to Taddeo Gaddi, but I agree with those who gave it to a different painter of the sameperiod. 

The subjects are thus arranged:--1. The Rejection of Joachim, whichfills the whole arch at the top, and is rather peculiarly treated. On the right of the altar advances a company of grave-looking Elders, each with his offering. On the left, a procession of the matrons andwidows "who had been fruitful in Israel, " each with her lamb. In thecentre, Joachim, with his lamb in his arms and an affrighted look, is hurrying down the steps. 2. The Lamentation of Joachim on theMountain, and the Meeting of Joachim and Anna. 3. The Birth of theVirgin. 4. The Presentation in the Temple. 5. The Sposalizio of theVirgin, with which the series concludes; every event referring to herdivine Son, even the Annunciation, being omitted. On comparing thesefrescoes with those in the neighbouring chapel of the Baroncelli, thedifference in _feeling_ will be immediately felt; but they are very_naïve_ and elegant. 

About a hundred years later than these two examples we have thecelebrated series painted by Ghirlandajo, in the choir of S. MariaNovella at Florence. There are three walls. On the principal wall, facing us as we enter, is the window; and around it the Annunciation(as a mystery), then the principal saints of the Order to whom thechurch belongs, --St. Dominic and St. Peter Martyr, and the protectingsaints of Florence. 

On the left hand (i. E. The right as we face the high altar) is theHistory of the Virgin; on the opposite side, the History of St. Johnthe Baptist. The various cycles relating to St. John as patron ofFlorence will be fully treated in the last volume of Legendary Art; atpresent I shall confine myself to the beautiful set of subjects whichrelate the history of the Virgin, and which the engravings of Lasinio(see the "Ancient Florentine Masters") have rendered well known tothe lovers of art. They cover the whole wall and are thus arranged, beginning from the lowest on the left hand. 

1. Joachim is driven from the Temple. 

2. The Birth of the Virgin. 

3. The Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple. 

4. The Marriage of Joseph and Mary. 

5. The Adoration of the Magi (this is very much ruined). 

6. The Massacre of the Innocents. (This also is much ruined. ) Vasarisays it was the finest of all. It is very unusual to make thisterrible and pathetic scene part of the life of the Virgin. 

7. In the highest and largest compartment, the Death and Assumption ofthe Virgin. 

Nearly contemporary with this fine series is that by Pinturicchio inthe Church of S. Maria del Popolo, at Rome (in the third chapel on theright). It is comprised in five lunettes round the ceiling, beginningwith the Birth of the Virgin, and is remarkable for its elegance. 

About forty years after this series was completed the people of Siena, who had always bees remarkable for their devotion to the Virgin, dedicated to Her honour the beautiful little chapel called the Oratoryof San Bernardino (v. Legends of the Monastic Orders), near the churchof San Francesco, and belonging to the same Order, the Franciscans. This chapel is an exact parallelogram and the frescoes which coverthe four walls are thus arranged above the wainscot, which rises abouteight feet from the ground. 

1. Opposite the door as we enter, the Birth of the Virgin. The usualvisitor to St. Anna is here a grand female figure, in voluminousdrapery. The delight and exultation of those who minister to thenew-born infant are expressed with the most graceful _naïveté_. Thisbeautiful composition should be compared with those of Ghirlandajoand Andrea del Sarto in the Annunziata at Florence;[1] it yields toneither as a conception and is wholly different. It is the work of aSienese painter little known--Girolamo del Pacchio. 

[Footnote 1: This series, painted by Andrea and his scholars andcompanions, Franciabigio and Pontormo, is very remarkable as a work ofart, but presents nothing new in regard to the choice and treatment ofthe subjects. ]

2. The Presentation in the Temple, by G. A. Razzi. The principal sceneis placed in the background, and the little Madonna, as she ascendsthe steps, is received by the High Priest and Anna the prophetess. Her father and mother and groups of spectators fill the foreground;here, too, is a very noble female figure on the right; but the wholecomposition is mannered, and wants repose and religious feeling. 

3. The Sposalizio, by Beccafumi. The ceremony takes place after themanner of the Jews, outside the Temple. In a mannered, artificialstyle. 

4, 5. On one side of the altar, the Angel Gabriel floating in--verymajestic and angelic; on the other side the Virgin Annunziata, withthat attitude and expression so characteristic of the Siena School, as if shrinking from the apparition. These also are by Girolamo delPacchio, and extremely fine. 

6. The enthroned Virgin and Child, by Beccafumi. The Virgin is veryfine and majestic; around her throne stand and kneel the guardiansaints of Siena and the Franciscan Order; St. Francis, St. Antony ofPadua, St. Bernardino, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Ansano, St. JohnB. , St. Louis. (St. Catherine, as patroness of Siena, takes here theplace usually given to St. Clara in the Franciscan pictures. )

7. The Visitation. Very fine and rather peculiar; for here Elizabethbends over Mary as welcoming her, while the other inclines her head asaccepting hospitality. By Razzi. 

8. The Death of the Virgin. Fourteen figures, among which are fourfemales lamenting, and St. John bearing the palm. The attitude andexpression of Mary, composed in death, are very fine; and Christ, instead of standing, as usual, by the couch, with her parting soul inhis arms, comes rushing down from above with arms outspread to receiveit. 

9. The Assumption. Mary, attired all in white, rises majestically. The tomb is seen beneath, out of which grow two tall lilies amid whiteroses; the Apostles surround it, and St. Thomas receives the girdle. This is one of the finest works of Razzi, and one of the purest inpoint of sentiment. 

10. The Coronation, covering the whole wall which faces the altar, isby Razzi; it is very peculiar and characteristic. The Virgin, all inwhite, and extremely fine, bending gracefully, receives her crown; theother figures have that vulgarity of expression which belonged to theartist, and is often so oddly mingled with the sentiment and grandeurof his school and time. On the right of the principal group standsSt. John B. ; on the left, Adam and Eve; and behind the Virgin, hermother, St. Anna, which is quite peculiar, and the only instance I canremember. 

 * * * * *

It appears therefore that the Life of the Virgin Mary, whether treatedas a devotional or historical series, forms a kind of pictured dramain successive scenes; sometimes comprising only six or eight of theprincipal events of her individual life, as her birth, dedication, marriage, death, and assumption: sometimes extending to forty or fiftysubjects, and combining her history with that of her divine Son. Imay now direct the attention of the reader to a few other instancesremarkable for their beauty and celebrity. 

Giotto, 1320. In the chapel at Padua styled _la Capella dell' Arena_. One of the finest and most complete examples extant, combining theLife of the Virgin with that of her Son. This series is of the highestvalue, a number of scenes and situations suggested by the Scripturesbeing here either expressed for the first time, or in a form unknownin the Greek school. [1]

[Footnote 1: _Vide_ Kugler's Handbook, p. 129. He observes, that "theintroduction of the maid-servant spinning, in the story of St. Anna, oversteps the limits of the higher ecclesiastical style. " For anexplanation I must refer to the story as I have given it at p 249. See, for the distribution of the subjects in this chapel, LordLindsay's "Christian Art, " vol. Ii. A set of the subjects has sincebeen published by the Arundel Society. ]

Angiolo Gaddi, 1380. The series in the cathedral at Prato. Thesecomprise the history of the Holy Girdle. 

Andrea Orcagna, 1373. The beautiful series of bas-reliefs on theshrine in Or-San-Michele, at Florence. 

Nicolò da Modena, 1450. Perhaps the earliest engraved example:very remarkable for the elegance of the _motifs_ and the imperfectexecution, engraving on copper being then a new art. 

Albert Durer. The beautiful and well-known set of twenty-fivewood-cuts, published in 1510. A perfect example of the Germantreatment. 

Bernardino Luini, 1515. A series of frescoes of the highest beauty, painted for the monastery Della Pace. Unhappily we have only thefragments which are preserved in the Brera. 

The series of bas-reliefs on the outer shrine of the Casa di Loretto, by Sansovino, and others of the greatest sculptors of the beginning ofthe sixteenth century. 

The series of bas-reliefs round the choir at Milan: seventeensubjects. 

 * * * * *

We often find the Seven Joys and the Seven Sorrows of the Virgintreated as a series. 

The Seven Joys are, the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi, the Presentation in the Temple, Christfound by his Mother, the Assumption and Coronation. 

The Seven Sorrows are, the Prophecy of Simeon, the Flight into Egypt, Christ lost by his Mother, the Betrayal of Christ, the Crucifixion(with St. John and the Virgin only present), the Deposition from theCross, the Ascension when the Virgin is left on earth. 

The Seven Joys and Sorrows are frequently found in altar-pieces andreligions prints, arranged in separate compartments, round the Madonnain the centre. Or they are combined in various groups into one largecomposition, as in a famous picture by Hans Hemling, wonderful for thepoetry, expression, and finished execution. [1]

[Footnote 1: Altogether, on a careful consideration of this picture, I do not consider the title by which it is generally known asappropriate. It contains man groups which would not enter into themystic joys or sorrows; for instance, the Massacre of the Innocents, Christ at Emmaus, the _Noli me tangere_, and others. ]

Another cycle of subjects consists of the fifteen Mysteries of theRosary. 

The five Joyful Mysteries, are the Annunciation, the Visitation, theNativity, the Purification, and Christ found in the Temple. 

The five Dolorous or Sorrowful Mysteries are, our Lord in theGarden of Olives, the Flagellation, Christ crowned with Thorns, theProcession to Calvary, the Crucifixion. 

The five Glorious Mysteries are, the Resurrection, the Ascension, theDescent of the Holy Ghost, the Assumption, the Coronation. 

A series of subjects thus arranged cannot be called strictlyhistorical, but partakes of the mystical and devotional character. The purpose being to excite devout meditation, requires a particularsentiment, frequently distinguished from the merely dramatic andhistorical treatment in being accompanied by saints, votaries, and circumstances purely ideal; as where the Wise Men bring theirofferings, while St. Luke sits in a corner painting the portraitof the Virgin, and St. Dominick kneels in adoration of the Mystery(Mabuse, Munich Gal. );--and in a hundred other examples. 

IV. TITLES OF THE VIRGIN MARY. 

Of the various titles given to the Virgin Mary, and thence to certaineffigies and pictures of her, some appear to me very touching, asexpressive of the wants, the aspirations, the infirmities and sorrows, which are common to poor suffering humanity, or of those divineattributes from which they hoped to find aid and consolation. Thus wehave--

Santa Maria "del buon Consilio. " Our Lady of good Counsel. 

S. M. "del Soccorso. " Our Lady of Succour. Our Lady of the Forsaken. 

S. M. "del buon Core. " Our Lady of good Heart. 

S. M. "della Grazia. " Our Lady of Grace. 

S. M. "di Misericordia. " Our Lady of Mercy. 

S. M. "Auxilium Afflictorum. " Help of the Afflicted. 

S. M. "Refugium Peccatorum. " Refuge of Sinners. 

S. M. "del Pianto, " "del Dolore. " Our Lady of Lamentation, or Sorrow. 

S. M. "Consolatrice, " "della Consolazione, " or "del Conforte. " Our Ladyof Consolation. 

S. M. "della Speranza. " Our Lady of Hope. 

Under these and similar titles she is invoked by the afflicted, andoften represented with her ample robe outspread and upheld by angels, with votaries and suppliants congregated beneath its folds. In Spain, _Nuestra Señora de la Merced_ is the patroness of the Order of Mercy;and in this character she often holds in her hand small tabletsbearing the badge of the Order. (Legends of the Monastic Orders, 2dedit. )

S. M. "della Liberta, " or "Liberatrice, " Our Lady of Liberty; and S. M. "della Catena, " Our Lady of Fetters. In this character she is invokedby prisoners and captives. 

S. M. "del Parto, " Our Lady of Good Delivery, invoked by women intravail. [1]

[Footnote 1: Dante alludes to her in this character:--

 "E per ventura udi 'Dolce Maria!' Dinanzi a noi chiamar cosi nel pianto Come fa donna che 'n partorir sia. "--_Purg. _ c. 20. ]

S. M. "del Popolo. " Our Lady of the People. 

S. M. "della Vittoria. " Our Lady of Victory. 

S. M. "della Pace. " Our Lady of Peace. 

S. M. "della Sapienza, " Our Lady of Wisdom; and S. M. "dellaPerseveranza, " Our Lady of Perseverance. (Sometimes placed incolleges, with a book in her hand, as patroness of students. )

S. M. "della Salute. " Our Lady of Health or Salvation. Under this titlepictures and churches have been dedicated after the cessation of aplague, or any other public calamity. [1]

[Footnote 1: There is also somewhere in France a chapel dedicated to_Notre Dame de la Haine_. ]

Other titles are derived from particular circumstances andaccessories, as--

S. M. "del Presepio, " Our Lady of the Cradle; generally a Nativity, orwhen she is adoring her Child. 

S. M. "della Scodella"--with the cup or porringer, where she is takingwater from a fountain; generally a Riposo. 

S. M. "dell' Libro, " where she holds the Book of Wisdom. 

S. M. "della Cintola, " Our Lady of the Girdle, where she is eithergiving the Girdle to St. Thomas, or where the Child holds it in hishand. 

S. M. "della Lettera. " Our Lady of the Letter. This is the title givento Our Lady as protectress of the city of Messina. According to theSicilian legend, she honoured the people of Messina by writing aletter to them, dated from Jerusalem, "in the year of her Son, 42. " Inthe effigies of the "Madonna della Lettera, " she holds this letter inher hand. 

S. M. "della Rosa. " Our Lady of the Rose. A title given to severalpictures, in which the rose, which is consecrated to her, is placedeither in her hand, or in that of the Child. 

S. M. "della Stella. " Our Lady of the Star. She wears the star as oneof her attributes embroidered on her mantle. 

S. M. "del Fiore. " Our Lady of the Flower. She has this titleespecially as protectress of Florence. 

S. M. "della Spina. " She holds in her hand the crown of thorns, andunder this title is the protectress of Pisa. 

S. M. "del Rosario. " Our Lady of the Rosary, with the mystic string ofbeads. I do not remember any instance of the Rosary placed in the handof the Virgin or the Child till after the battle of Lepanto (1571), and the institution of the Festival of the Rosary, as an act ofthanksgiving. After this time pictures of the Madonna "del Rosario"abound, and may generally be found in the Dominican churches. There isa famous example by Guido in the Bologna Gallery, and a very beautifulone by Murillo in the Dulwich Gallery. 

S. M. "del Carmine. " Our Lady of Mount Carmel. She is protectress ofthe Order of the Carmelites, and is often represented holding in herhand small tablets, on which is the effigy of herself with the Child. 

S. M. "de Belem. " Our Lady of Bethlehem. Under this title she is thepatroness of the Jeronymites, principally in Spain and Portugal. 

S. M. "della Neve. " Our Lady of the Snow. In Spain, S. Maria la Blanca. To this legend of the snow the magnificent church of S. M. Maggiore atRome is said to owe its origin. A certain Roman patrician, whose namewas John (Giovanni Patricie), being childless, prayed of the Virgin todirect him how best to bestow his worldly wealth. She appeared to himin a dream on the night of the fifth of August, 352, and commanded himto build a church in her honour, on a spot where snow would be foundthe next morning. The same vision having appeared to his wife and thereigning pope, Liberius, they repaired in procession the next morningto the summit of Mount Esquiline, where, notwithstanding the heat ofthe weather, a large patch of ground was miraculously covered withsnow, and on it Liberius traced out with his crosier the plan of thechurch. This story has been often represented in art, and is easilyrecognized; but it is curious that the two most beautiful picturesconsecrated to the honour of the Madonna della Neve are Spanish andnot Roman, and were painted by Murillo about the time that PhilipIV. Of Spain sent rich offerings to the church of S. M. Maggiore, thusgiving a kind of popularity to the legend. The picture representsthe patrician John and his wife asleep, and the Vision of the Virgin(one of the loveliest ever painted by Murillo) breaking upon them insplendour through the darkness of the night; while in the dim distanceis seen the Esquiline (or what is meant for it) covered with snow. Inthe second picture, John and his wife are kneeling before the pope, "a grand old ecclesiastic, like one of Titian's pontiffs. " Thesepictures, after being carried off by the French from the little churchof S. M. La Blanca at Seville, are now in the royal gallery at Madrid. 

S. Maria "di Loretto. " Our Lady of Loretto. The origin of this titleis the famous legend of the Santa Casa, the house at Nazareth, whichwas the birthplace of the Virgin, and the scene of the Annunciation. During the incursions of the Saracens, the Santa Casa being threatenedwith profanation, if not destruction, was taken up by the angelsand conveyed over land and sea till it was set down on the coast ofDalmatia; but not being safe there, the angels again took it up, and, bearing it over the Adriatic, set it down in a grove near Loretto. Butcertain wicked brigands having disturbed its sacred quietude by strifeand murder, the house again changed its place, and was at length setdown on the spot where it now stands. The date of this miracle isplaced in 1295. 

The Madonna di Loretto is usually represented as seated with thedivine Child on the roof of a house, which is sustained at the cornersby four angels, and thus borne over sea and land. From the celebrityof Loretto as a place of pilgrimage this representation becamepopular, and is often found in chapels dedicated to our Lady ofLoretto. Another effigy of our Lady of Loretto is merely a copy ofa very old Greek "Virgin and Child, " which is enshrined in the SantaCasa. 

S. M. "del Pillar, " Our Lady of the Pillar, is protectress ofSaragossa. According to the Legend, she descended from heaven standingon an alabaster pillar, and thus appeared to St. James (Santiago)when he was preaching the gospel in Spain. The miraculous pillaris preserved in the cathedral of Saragossa, and the legend appearsfrequently in Spanish art. Also in a very interior picture by NicoloPoussin, now in the Louvre. 

 * * * * *

Some celebrated pictures are individually distinguished by titlesderived from some particular object in the composition, as Raphael's_Madonna de Impannata_, so called from the window in the background being partly shaded with a piece of linen (in the PittiPal. , Florence); Correggio's _Vierge au Panier_, so called from thework-basket which stands beside her (in our Nat Gal. ); Murillo's_Virgen de la Servilleta_, the Virgin of the Napkin, in allusion tothe dinner napkin on which it was painted. [1] Others are denominatedfrom certain localities, as the _Madonna di Foligno_ (now in theVatican); others from the names of families to whom they havebelonged, as _La Madonna della Famiglia Staffa_, at Perugia. 

[Footnote 1: There is a beautiful engraving in Stirling's "Annals ofthe Artists of Spain. "]

 * * * * *

Those visions and miracles with which the Virgin Mary favoured manyof the saints, as St. Luke (who was her secretary and painter), St. Catherine, St. Francis, St. Herman, and others, have already beenrelated in the former volumes, and need not be repeated here. 

With regard to the churches dedicated to the Virgin, I shall notattempt to enumerate even the most remarkable, as almost every townin Christian Europe contains one or more bearing her name. The mostancient of which tradition speaks, was a chapel beyond the Tiber, atRome, which is said to have been founded in 217, on the site where S. Maria _in Trastevere_ now stands. But there are one or two which carrytheir pretensions much higher; for the cathedral at Toledo and thecathedral at Chartres both claim the honour of having been dedicatedto the Virgin while she was yet alive. [1]

[Footnote 1: In England we have 2, 120 churches dedicated in herhonour; and one of the largest and most important of the Londonparishes bears her name--"St. Marie-la-bonne"]

 * * * * *

Brief and inadequate as are these introductory notices, they will, Ihope, facilitate the comprehension of the critical details into whichit has been necessary to enter in the following pages, and lend somenew interest to the subjects described. I have heard the artistictreatment of the Madonna styled a monotonous theme; and to those whosee only the perpetual iteration of the same groups on the walls ofchurches and galleries, varied as they may suppose only by the fancyof the painter, it may seem so. But beyond the visible forms, therelies much that is suggestive to a thinking mind--to the lover of Arta higher significance, a deeper beauty, a more various interest, thancould at first be imagined. 

In fact, the greatest mistakes in point of _taste_ arise in generalfrom not knowing what we ought to demand of the artist, not only inregard to the subject expressed, but with reference to the times inwhich he lived, and his own individuality. An axiom which I have heardconfidently set forth, that a picture is worth nothing unless "he whoruns may read, " has inundated the world with frivolous and pedanticcriticism. A picture or any other work of Art, is worth nothing exceptin so far as it has emanated from mind, and is addressed to mind. Itshould, indeed, be _read_ like a book. Pictures, as it has been wellsaid, are the books of the unlettered, but then we must at leastunderstand the language in which they are written. And further, --if, in the old times, it was a species of idolatry to regard thesebeautiful representations as endued with a specific sanctity andpower; so, in these days, it is a sort of atheism to look upon themreckless of their significance, regardless of the influences throughwhich they were produced, without acknowledgment of the mind whichcalled them into being, without reference to the intention of theartist in his own creation. 

 * * * * *

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES TO THE SECOND EDITION. 

I. 

In the first edition of this work, only a passing allusion was made tothose female effigies, by some styled "_la donna orante_" (the PrayingWoman) and by others supposed to represent Mary the Mother of ourLord, of which so many examples exist in the Catacombs and in thesculptured groups on the ancient Christian sarcophagi. I know it haslong been a disputed, or at least an unsettled and doubtful point, asto whether certain female figures existing on the earliest Christianmonuments were or were not intended to represent the Virgin Mary. The Protestants, on the one hand, as if still inspired by thatsuperstition against superstition which led to the violent and vulgardestruction of so many beautiful works of art, and the Catholics onthe other, jealous to maintain the authenticity of these figures as atestimony to the ancient worship of the Virgin, both appear to me tohave taken an exaggerated and prejudiced view of a subject which oughtto be considered dispassionately on purely antiquarian and criticalgrounds. Having had the opportunity, during a late residence inItaly, of reconsidering and comparing a great number of these antiquerepresentations, and having heard the opinions of antiquarians, theologians, and artists, who had given their attention to thesubject, and who occasionally differed from each other as to theweight of evidence, I have arrived at the conviction, that some ofthese effigies represent the Virgin Mary, and others do not. I confessI do not believe in any authentic representation of the Virgin holdingthe Divine Child older than the sixth century, except when introducedinto the groups of the Nativity and the Worship of the Magi. Previousto the Nestorian controversy, these maternal effigies, as objects ofdevotion, were, I still believe, unknown, but I cannot understandwhy there should exist among Protestants, so strong a disposition todiscredit every representation of Mary the Mother of our Lord to whicha high antiquity had been assigned by the Roman Catholics. We knowthat as early as the second century, not only symbolical figures ofour Lord, but figures of certain personages of holy life, as St. Peterand St. Paul, Agnes the Roman, and Euphemia the Greek, martyr, didcertainly exist. The critical and historical testimony I have givenelsewhere. (Sacred and Legendary Art. ) Why therefore should there nothave existed effigies of the Mother of Christ, of the "Woman highlyblessed, " the subject of so many prophecies, and naturally the objectof a tender and just veneration among the early Christians? It seamsto me that nothing could be more likely, and that such representationsought to have a deep interest for all Christians, no matter of whatdenomination--for _all_, in truth, who believe that the Saviour ofthe world had a good Mother, His only earthly parent, who brought Himforth, nurtured and loved Him. That it should be considered a pointof faith with Protestants to treat such memorials with incredulityand even derision, appears to me most inconsistent and unaccountable, though I confess that between these simple primitive memorials and thesumptuous tasteless column and image recently erected at Rome there isa very wide margin of disputable ground, of which I shall say no morein this place. But to return to the antique conception of the "Donnaorante" or so-called Virgin Mother, I will mention here only the moatremarkable examples; for to enter fully into the subject would occupya volume in itself. 

There is a figure often met with in the Catacombs and on thesarcophagi of a majestic woman standing with outspread arms (theancient attitude of prayer), or holding a book or scroll in her hand. When this figure stands alone and unaccompanied by any attribute, Ithink the signification doubtful: but in the Catacomb of St. Ciriacothere is a painted figure of a woman, with arms outspread andsustained on each aide by figures, evidently St. Peter and St. Paul;on the sarcophagi the same figure frequently occurs; and there areother examples certainly not later than the third and fourth century. That these represent Mary the Mother of Christ I have not the leastdoubt; I think it has been fully demonstrated that no other Christianwoman could have been so represented, considering the manners andhabits of the Christian community at that period. Then the attitudeand type are precisely similar to those of the ancient ByzantineMadonnas and the Italian mosaics of Eastern workmanship, proving, asI think, that there existed a common traditional original for thisfigure, the idea of which has been preserved and transmitted in theseearly copies. 

Further:--there exist in the Roman museums many fragments of ancientglass found in the Christian tombs, on which are rudely pictured incolours figures exactly similar, and having the name MARIA inscribedabove them. On one of these fragments I found the same female figurebetween two male figures, with the names inscribed over them, MARIA. PETRVS. PAVLVS. , generally in the rudest and most imperfect style, asif issuing from some coarse manufacture; but showing that they havehad a common origin with those far superior figures in the Catacombsand on the sarcophagi, while the inscribed names leave no doubt as tothe significance. 

On the other hand, there are similar fragments of coarse glass foundin the Catacombs--either lamps or small vases, bearing the same femalein the attitude of prayer, and superscribed in rude letters, DULCISANIMA PIE ZESES VIVAS. (ZESES instead of JESUS. ) Such may, possibly, represent, not the Virgin Mary, but the Christian matron or martyrburied in the tomb; at least, I consider them as doubtful. 

The Cavaliere Rossi, whose celebrity as an antiquarian is not merelyItalian, but European, and whose impartiality can hardly be doubted, told me that a Christian sarcophagus had lately been discovered atSaint-Maxime, in the south of France, on which there is the same groupof the female figure praying, and over it the name MARIA. 

I ought to add, that on one of these sarcophagi, bearing the oftrepeated subject of the good Shepherd feeding His sheep, I found, asthe companion group, a female figure in the act of feeding birds whichare fluttering to her feet. It is not doubted that the good Shepherdis the symbol of the beneficent Christ; whether the female figurerepresent the Virgin-mother, or is to be regarded merely as a generalsymbol of female beneficence, placed on a par with that of Christ(in His human character), I will not pretend to decide. It is equallytouching and beautiful in either significance. 

Three examples of these figures occur to me. 

The first is from a Christian sarcophagus of early date, and in a goodstyle of art, probably of the third century--it is a noble figure, in the attitude of prayer, and separated from the other groups by apalm-tree on each side--at her feet is a bird (perhaps a dove, theancient symbol of the released soul), and scrolls which representthe gospel. I regard this figure as doubtful; it may possibly be theeffigy of a Christian matron, who was interred in the sarcophagus. 

The second example is also from a sarcophagus. It is a figure holdinga scroll of the gospel, and standing between St. Peter and St. Paul; on each side (in the original) there are groups expressing thebeneficent miracles of our Lord. This figure, I believe, representsthe Virgin Mary. 

In the third example, the conspicuous female figure is combined withthe series of groups on each side. She stands with hands outspread, inthe attitude of prayer, between the two apostles, who seem to sustainher arms. On one side is the miracle of the water changed into wine;on the other side, Christ healing the woman who touched His garment;both of perpetual recurrence in these sculptures. Of these groups ofthe miracles and actions of Christ on the early Christian sarcophagi, I shall give a full account in the "History of our Lord, asillustrated in the fine arts;" at present I confine myself to thefemale figure which takes this conspicuous place, while other femalefigures are prostrate, or of a diminutive size, to express theirhumility or inferiority; and I have no doubt that thus situated itis intended to represent the woman who was highly honoured as well ashighly blessed--the Mother of our Saviour. 

I have come therefore to the conclusion, that while many of thesefigures have a certain significance, others are uncertain. Wherethe figure is isolated, or placed within a frame or border, like thememorial busts and effigies on the Pagan sarcophagi, I think it maybe regarded as probably commemorating the Christian martyr or matronentombed in the sarcophagus; but when there is no division, where thefigure forms part of a continuous series of groups, expressing thecharacter and miracles of Christ, I believe that it represents Hismother. 

II. 

The BORGHESE CHAPEL, in the church, of St. Maria Maggiore at Rome, wasdedicated to the honour of the Virgin Mary by Paul V. (Borghese), in1611--the same Pope who in 1615 promulgated the famous Bull relativeto the Immaculate Conception. The scheme of decoration in thisgorgeous chapel is very remarkable, as testifying to the developmentwhich the theological idea of the Virgin, as the Sposa or personifiedChurch, had attained at this period, and because it is not, as inother examples, either historical or devotional, but purely doctrinal. 

As we enter, the profusion of ornament, the splendour of colour, marbles, gilding, from the pavement under our feet to the summit ofthe lofty dome, are really dazzling. First, and elevated above all, we have the "Madonna della Concezione, " Our Lady of the ImmaculateConception, in a glory of light, sustained and surrounded by angels, having the crescent under her feet, according to the approvedtreatment. Beneath, round the dome, we read in conspicuous lettersthe text from the Revelations:--SIGNUM. MAGNUM. APPARAVlT. IN COELO. MULIER. AMICTA. SOLE. ET. LUNA. SUB. PEDIBUS. EJUS. ET. IN CAPITE. EJUS, CORONA. STELLARUM. DUODECIM. (Rev. Xii. 1. ) Lower down is asecond inscription, expressing the dedication. MARIÆ. CHRISTI. MATRI. SEMPER. VIRGINI. PAULUS. QUINTUS. P. M. The decorations beneath thecornice consist of eighteen large frescoes, and six statues in marble, above life size. Beginning with the frescoes, we have the subjectsarranged in the following order:--

1. The four great prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, in their usual place in the four pendentives of the dome. (v. TheIntroduction. )

2. Two large frescoes. In the first, the Vision of St. GregoryThaumaturgus, [1] and Heretics bitten by Serpents. In the second, St. John Damascene and St. Ildefonso miraculously rewarded for defendingthe Majesty of the Virgin. (Sacred and Legendary Art. )

[Footnote 1: St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, Bishop of Pontus in the thirdcentury, was favoured by a vision of the Trinity, which enabled him toconfute and utterly subdue the Sabellian heretics--the Unitarians ofhis time. ]

3. A large fresco, representing the four Doctors of the Church who hadespecially written in honour of the Virgin: viz. Ireneus and Cyprian, Ignatius and Theophilus, grouped two and two. 

4. St. Luke, who painted the Virgin, and whose gospel contains thebest account of her. 

5. As spiritual conquerors in the name of the Virgin, St. Dominic andSt. Francis, each attended by two companions of his Order. 

6. As military conquerors in the name of the Virgin, the EmperorHeraclius, and Narses, the general against the Arians. 

7. A group of three female figures, representing the three famoussaintly princesses who in marriage preserved their virginity, Pulcheria, Edeltruda (our famous queen Ethelreda), and Cunegunda. (Forthe legends of Cunegunda and Ethelreda, see Legends of the MonasticOrders. )

8. A group of three learned Bishops, who had especially defended theimmaculate purity of the Virgin, St. Cyril, St. Anselm, and St. Denis(?). 

9. The miserable ends of those who were opposed to the honour of theVirgin. 1. The death of Julian the Apostate, very oddly represented;he lies on an altar, transfixed by an arrow, as a victim; St. Mercurius in the air. (For this legend see Sacred and Legendary Art. )2. The death of Leo IV. , who destroyed the effigies of the Virgin. 3. The death of Constantine IV. , also a famous iconoclast. 

The statues which are placed in niches are--

1, 2. St. Joseph, as the nominal husband, and St. John the Evangelist, as the nominal son of the Virgin; the latter, also, as prophet andpoet, with reference to the passage in the Revelation, c. Xii. 1. 

3, 4. Aaron, as priestly ancestor (because his wand blossomed), andDavid, as kingly ancestor of the Virgin. 

5, 6. St. Dionysius the Areopagite, who was present at the death ofthe Virgin, and St. Bernard, who composed the famous "Salve Regina" inher honour. 

Such is this grand systematic scheme of decoration, which, to thosewho regard it cursorily, is merely a sumptuous confusion of coloursand forms, or at best, "a fine example of the Guido school andBernino. " It is altogether a very complete and magnificent specimenof the prevalent style of art, and a very comprehensive and suggestiveexpression of the prevalent tendency of thought, in the RomanCatholic Church from the beginning of the seventeenth century. In nodescription of this chapel have I ever seen the names and subjectsaccurately given: the style of art belongs to the _decadence_, and thetaste being worse than, questionable, the pervading _doctrinal_ ideahas been neglected, or never understood. 

III. 

Those pictures which represent the Virgin Mary kneeling before thecelestial throne, while the PADRE ETERNO or the MESSIAH extends hishand or his sceptre towards her, are generally misunderstood. Theydo not represent, the Assumption, nor yet the reception of Mary inHeaven, as is usually supposed; but the election or predestination ofMary as the immaculate vehicle or tabernacle of human redemption--theearthly parent of the divine Saviour. I have described such a pictureby Dosso Dossi, and another by Cottignola. A third example may becited in a yet more beautiful and celebrated picture by Francia, nowin the Church at San Frediano at Lucca. Above, in the glory of Heaven, the Virgin kneels before the throne of the Creator; she is clad inregal attire of purple and crimson and gold; and she bends her faircrowned head, and folds her hands upon her bosom with an expressionof meek yet dignified resignation--"_Behold the handmaid of theLord!_"--accepting, as woman, that highest glory, as mother, thatextremest grief, to which the Divine will, as spoken by the prophetsof old, had called her. Below, on the earth and to the right hand, stand David and Solomon, as prophets and kingly ancestors: on the lefthand, St. Augustine and St. Anselm in their episcopal robes. (I havementioned, with regard to the office in honour of the ImmaculateConception, that the idea is said to have originated in England. Ishould also have added, that Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, wasits strenuous advocate. ) Each of these personages holds a scroll. Onthat of David the reference is to the 4th and 5th verses of Psalmxxvii. --"_In the secret of his tabernacle he shall hide me_. " Onthat of Solomon is the text from his Song, ch. Iv. 7. On that of St. Augustine, a quotation, I presume, from his works, but difficultto make out; it seems to be, "_In coelo qualis est Pater, talis estFilms; qualis est Filius, talis est Mater_. " On that of St. Anselm thesame inscription which is on the picture of Cottignola quoted before, "_non puto vere esse_. " &c. , which is, I suppose, taken from hisworks. In the centre, St. Anthony of Padua kneels beside the sepulchrefull of lilies and roses; showing the picture to have been paintedfor, or under the influence of, the Franciscan Order; and, like otherpictures of the same class, "an attempt to express in a visible formthe idea or promise of the redemption of the human race, as existingin the Sovereign Eternal Mind before the beginning of the world. " Thisaltar-piece has no date, but appears to have been painted about thesame time as the picture in our National Gallery (No. 179. ), whichcame from the same church. As a work of art it is most wonderfullybeautiful. The editors of the last excellent edition of Vasari speakof it with just enthusiasm as "_Opera veramente stupenda in ogniparte_!" The predella beneath, painted in chiaro-oscuro, is also ofexquisite beauty; and let us hope that we shall never see it separatedfrom the great subject, like a page or a paragraph torn out of a bookby ignorant and childish collectors. 

IV. 

Although the Nativity of the Virgin Mary is one of the great festivalsof the Roman Catholic Church, I have seldom seen it treated asa separate subject and an altar-piece. There is, however, a veryremarkable example in the Belle Arti at Siena. It is a triptychenclosed in a framework elaborately carved and gilt, in theGothic style. In the centre compartment, St. Anna lies on a richcouch covered with crimson drapery; a graceful female presents anembroidered napkin, others enter, bringing refreshments, as usual. In front, three attendants minister to the Infant: one of them is inan attitude of admiration; on the right, Joachim seated, with whitehair and beard, receives the congratulations of a young man who seemsto envy his paternity. In the compartment on the right stand St. James Major and St. Catherine; on the left, St. Bartholomew and St. Elizabeth of Hungary (?). This picture is in the hard primitive styleof the fourteenth century, by an unknown painter, who must have lived, before Giovanni di Paolo, but vividly coloured, exquisitely finished, and full of sentiment and dramatic feeling. 

DEVOTIONAL SUBJECTS. 

PART I. 

THE VIRGIN WITHOUT THE CHILD. 

1. LA VERGINE GLORIOSA. 2. L'INCORONATA. 3. LA MADONNA DI MISERICORDIA. 4. LA MADREDOLOROSA. 5. LA CONCEZIONE. 

THE VIRGIN MARY. 

_Lat. _ 1. Virgo Gloriosa. 2. Virgo Sponsa Dei. 3. Virgo Potens 4. Virgo Veneranda. 5. Virgo Prædicanda. 6. Virgo Clemens. 7. VirgoSapientissima. 8. Sancta Virgo Virginum. _Ital. _ La Vergine Gloriosa. La Gran Vergine delle Vergini. _Fr. _ La Grande Vierge. 

There are representations of the Virgin, and among them some of theearliest in existence, which place her before us as an object ofreligious veneration, but in which the predominant idea is not thatof her maternity. No doubt it was as the mother of the Saviour Christthat she was originally venerated; but in the most ancient monumentsof the Christian faith, the sarcophagi, the rude paintings in thecatacombs, and the mosaics executed before the seventh century, she appears simply as a veiled female figure, not in any respectcharacterized. She stands, in a subordinate position, on one side ofChrist; St. Peter or St. John the Baptist on the other. 

When the worship of the Virgin came to us from the East, with it camethe Greek type--and for ages we had no other--the Greek classicaltype, with something of the Oriental or Egyptian character. When thusshe stands before us without her Son, and the apostles or saints oneach side taking the subordinate position, then we are to regard hernot only as the mother of Christ, but as the second Eve, the mother ofall suffering humanity; THE WOMAN of the primeval prophecy whose issuewas to bruise the head of the Serpent; the Virgin predestined fromthe beginning of the world who was to bring forth the Redeemer of theworld; the mystical Spouse of the Canticles; the glorified Bride ofa celestial Bridegroom; the received Type of the Church of Christ, afflicted on earth, triumphant and crowned in heaven; the mostglorious, most pure, most pious, most clement, most sacred Queen andMother, Virgin of Virgins. 

The form under which we find this grand and mysterious idea ofglorified womanhood originally embodied, is wonderfully majesticand simple. A female figure of colossal dimensions, far exceedingin proportion all the attendant personages and accessories, standsimmediately beneath some figure or emblem representing almighty power:either it is the omnipotent hand stretched out above her, holding thecrown of immortality; or it is the mystic dove which hovers over her;or it is the half-form of Christ, in the act of benediction. 

She stands with arms raised and extended wide, the ancient attitude ofprayer; or with hands merely stretched forth, expressing admiration, humility, and devout love. She is attired in an ample tunic ofblue or white, with a white veil over her head, thrown a littleback, and displaying an oval face with regular features, mild, dignified--sometimes, in the figures of the ruder ages, rather sternand melancholy, from the inability of the artist to express beauty;but when least beautiful, and most formal and motionless, alwaysretaining something of the original conception, and often expressiblystriking and majestic. 

The earliest figure of this character to which I can refer is themosaic in the oratory of San Venanzio, in the Lateran, the work ofGreek artists under the popes John IV. And Theodorus, both Greeks bybirth, and who presided over the Church from 640 to 649. In the vaultof the tribune, over the altar, we have first, at the summit, a figureof Christ half-length, with his hand extended in benediction; on eachside, a worshipping angel; below, in the centre, the figure of theVirgin according to the ancient type, standing with extended arms, ina violet or rather dark-blue tunic and white veil, with a small crosspendant on her bosom. On her right hand stands St. Paul, on her leftSt. Peter; beyond St. Peter and St. Paul, St. John the Baptist holdinga cross, and St. John the Evangelist holding a book; and beyond theseagain, St. Domino and St. Venantius, two martyred saints, who perishedin Dalmatia, and whose relics were brought out of that country by thefounder of the chapel, John IV. , himself a Dalmatian by birth. At theextremities of this group, or rather line of figures, stand the twopopes, John IV. And Theodorus, under whom the chapel was founded anddedicated. Although this ancient mosaic has been many times restored, the original composition remains. 

Similar, but of later date, is the effigy of the Virgin over the altarof the archiepiscopal chapel at Ravenna. This mosaic, with others ofGreek work, was brought from the old tribune of the cathedral, whenit was altered and repaired, and the ancient decorations removed ordestroyed. 

Another instance, also, at Ravenna, is the basso-relievo inGreek marble, and evidently of Greek workmanship, which is saidto have existed from the earliest ages, in the church of S. Maria-in-Porto-Fuori, and is now preserved in the S. Maria-in-Porto, where I saw it in 1847. It is probably as old as the sixth or seventhcentury. 

In St. Mark's at Venice, in the grand old basilica at Torcello, inSan Donate at Murano, at Monreale, near Palermo, and in most of theold churches in the East of Europe, we find similar figures, eitherByzantine in origin, or in imitation of the Byzantine style. 

But about the middle of the thirteenth century, and contemporary withCimabue, we find the first indication of a departure, even in themosaics, from the lifeless, formal type of Byzantine art. The earliestexample of a more animated treatment is, perhaps, the figure in theapsis of St. John Lateran. (Rome. ) In the centre is an immense cross, emblem of salvation; the four rivers of Paradise (the four Gospels)flow from its base; and the faithful, figured by the hart and thesheep, drink from these streams. Below the cross is represented, ofa small size, the New Jerusalem guarded by an archangel. On the rightstands the Virgin, of colossal dimensions. She places one hand on thehead of a diminutive kneeling figure, Pope Nicholas IV. , [1] by whomthe mosaic was dedicated about 1290; the other hand, stretched forth, seems to recommend the votary to the mercy of Christ. 

[Footnote 1: For a minute reduction of the whole composition, seeKugler's Handbook, p. 113. ]

Full-length effigies of the Virgin seated on a throne, or glorified asqueen of heaven, or queen of angels, without her divine Infant in herarms, are exceedingly rare in every age; now and then to be met within the early pictures and illuminations, but never, that I know of, in the later schools of art. A signal example is the fine enthronedMadonna in the Campo Santo, who receives St. Ranieri when presentedby St. Peter and St. Paul. 

On the Dalmatica (or Deacon's robe) preserved in the sacristy ofSt. Peter's at Rome (which Lord Lindsay well describes as a perfectexample of the highest style of Byzantine art) (Christian Art, i. 136), the embroidery on the front represents Christ in a golden circleor glory, robed in white, with the youthful and beardless face, hiseyes looking into yours. He sits on the rainbow; his left hand holdsan open book, inscribed, "Come, ye blessed of my Father!" whilethe right is raised in benediction. The Virgin stands on the rightentirely _within_ the glory; "she is sweet in feature and gracefulin attitude, in her long white robe. " The Baptist stands on the left_outside_ the glory. 

In pictures representing the glory of heaven, Paradise, or the LastJudgment, we have this idea constantly repeated--of the Virgin on theright hand of her Son, but not on the same throne with him, unless itbe a "Coronation, " which is a subject apart. 

In the great altar-piece of the brothers Van Eyck, the upper partcontains three compartments;[1] in the centre is Christ, wearing thetriple tiara, and carrying the globe, as King, as Priest, as Judge--oneach side, as usual, but in separate compartments, the Virgin and St. John the Baptist. The Virgin, a noble queenly figure, full of serenedignity and grace, is seated on a throne, and wears a superb crown, formed of lilies, roses, and gems, over her long fair hair. Sheis reading intently in a book--The Book of Wisdom. She is here the_Sponsa Dei_, and the _Virgo Sapientissima_, the most wise Virgin. This is the only example I can recollect of the Virgin seated on theright hand of her Son in glory, and _holding a book_. In every otherinstance she is standing or seated with her hands joined or crossedover her bosom, and her eyes turned towards him. 

[Footnote 1: It is well known that the different parts of this greatwork have been dispersed. The three compartments mentioned here are atBerlin. ]

Among innumerable examples, I will cite only one, perhaps the mostcelebrated of all, and familiar, it may be presumed, to most of myreaders, though perhaps they may not have regarded it with referenceto the character and position given to the Virgin. It is one of thefour great frescoes of the Camera della Segnatura, in the Vatican, exhibiting the four highest objects of mental culture--Theology, Poetry, Philosophy, and Jurisprudence. In the first of these, commonly, but erroneously, called _La Disputa dell' Sacramento_, Raphael has combined into one great scene the whole system oftheology, as set forth by the Catholic Church; it is a sort ofconcordance between heaven and earth--between the celestial andterrestrial witnesses of the truth. The central group above shows usthe Redeemer of the world, seated with extended arms, having on theright the Virgin in her usual place, and on the left, also in hisaccustomed place, St. John the Baptist; both seated, and nearly ona level with Christ. The Baptist is here in his character of thePrecursor "sent to bear witness to the light, that through him allmen might believe. " (John i. 7. ) The Virgin is exhibited, not merelyas the Mother, the Sposa, the Church, but as HEAVENLY WISDOM, for inthis character the Catholic Church has applied to her the magnificentpassage in Proverbs: "The Lord possessed me in the beginning of Hisway, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from thebeginning, or ever the earth was. " "Then I was by Him as one broughtup with Him, and I was daily His delight, rejoicing alway before Him. "(Prov. Viii, 12-36, and Eccles. Xxiv. 15, 16. )

Nothing can be more beautiful than the serene grace and the mingledmajesty and humility in the figure of the Virgin, and in hercountenance, as she looks up adoring to the Fountain of _all_ light, _all_ wisdom, and _all_ goodness. Above the principal group, is theemblematical image of the FATHER; below is the holy Dove, in the actof descending to the earth. [1]

[Footnote 1: For a detailed description of this fresco, seePassavant's Raphael, i. 140, and Kugler's Handbook, 2d edit. , where aminute and beautiful reduction of the whole composition will give andidea of the general design. ]

The Virgin alone, separate from her Son, standing or enthroned beforeus, simply as the _Virgine Dea_ or _Regina Coeli_, is rarely met within modern art, either in sculpture or painting. I will give, however, one signal example. 

In an altar-piece painted by Cosimo Rosselli, for the Serviti atFlorence, she stands alone, and in a majestic attitude, on a raisedpedestal. She holds a book, and looks upward, to the Holy Dove, hovering over her head; she is here again the _Virgo Sapientiæ_. (Fl. Gal. ) On one side is St. John the Evangelist and St. Antonino ofFlorence (see Legends of the Monastic Orders); on the other, St. Peterand St. Philip Benozzi; in front kneel St. Margaret and St. Catherine:all appear to contemplate with rapturous devotion the vision of theMadonna. The heads and attitudes in this picture have that characterof elegance which distinguished the Florentine school at this period, without any of those extravagances and peculiarities into which Pierooften fell; for the man had evidently a touch of madness, and was aseccentric in his works as in his life and conversation. The orderof the Serviti, for whom he painted this picture, was institutedin honour of the Virgin, and for her particular service, which willaccount for the unusual treatment. 

 * * * * *

The numerous--often most beautiful--heads and half-length figureswhich represent the Virgin alone, looking up with a devout or tenderexpression, or with the head declined, and the hands joined in prayer, or crossed over the bosom with virginal humility and modesty, belongto this class of representations. In the ancient heads, most of whichare imitations of the old Greek effigies ascribed to St. Luke, thereis often great simplicity and beauty. When she wears the crown overher veil, or bears a sceptre in her hand, she figures as the queen ofheaven (_Regina Coeli_). When such effigies are attended by adoringangels, she is the queen of angels (_Regina Angelorum_). When she isweeping or holding the crown of thorns, she is Our Lady of Sorrow, the_Mater Dolorosa_. When she is merely veiled, with folded hands, andin her features all the beauty, maiden purity, and sweetness which theartist could render, she is simply the Blessed Virgin, the Madonna, the _Santa Maria Vergine_. Such heads are very rare in the earlierschools of art, which seldom represented the Virgin without herChild, but became favourite studies of the later painters, andwere multiplied and varied to infinitude from the beginning of theseventeenth century. From these every trace of the mystical and solemnconception of antiquity gradually disappeared; till, for the majesticideal of womanhood, we have merely inane prettiness, or rustic, oreven meretricious grace, the borrowed charms of some earthly model. 

L'INCORONATA. 

The Coronation of the Virgin. _Lat. _ Coronatio Beatæ Mariæ Virginis. _Ital. _ Maria coronata dal divin suo Figlio. _Fr. _ Le Couronnement dela Sainte Vierge. _Ger. _ Die Krönung Mariä. 

The usual type of the Church triumphant is the CORONATION OF THEVIRGIN properly so called, Christ in the act of crowning his Mother;one of the most popular, significant, and beautiful subjects in thewhole range of mediæval art. 

When in a series of subjects from the life of the Virgin, so oftenmet with in religious prints and in the Roman Catholic churches, wefind her death and her assumption followed by her coronation; whenthe bier or sarcophagus and the twelve apostles appear below, whileheaven opens upon us above; then the representation assumes a kindof dramatic character: it is the last and most glorious event of herhistory. The Mother, dying on earth, is received into glory by her Sonwho had gone before her, and who thus celebrates the consummation ofhis victory and hers. 

But when the scene is treated apart as a single subject; when, insteadof the apostles gazing up to heaven, or looking with amazement intothe tomb from which she had risen, we find the lower part of thecomposition occupied by votaries, patron saints, or choral angels;then the subject must be regarded as absolutely devotional andtypical. It is not a scene or an action; it is a great mystery. Itis consecrated to the honour of the Virgin as a type of the spiritualChurch. The Espoused is received into glory and crowned with the crownof everlasting life, exalted above angels, spirits, and men. In thissense we must understand the subject when we find it in ecclesiasticalsculpture, over the doors of places of worship, in the decorativecarving of church utensils, in stained glass. In many of the Italianchurches there is a chapel especially dedicated to the Virgin in thischaracter, called _la Capella dell' Incoronata_; and both in Germanyand Italy it is a frequent subject as an altar-piece. 

In all the most ancient examples, it is Christ only who places thecrown on the head of his Mother, seated on the same throne, and placedat his right hand. Sometimes we have the two figures only; sometimesthe _Padre Eterno_ looks down, and the Holy Spirit in the form of thedove hovers above or between them. In some later examples the Virginis seated between the Father and the Son, both in human form: theyplace the crown on her head each holding it with one hand, the HolySpirit hovering above. In other representations the Virgin _kneels_ atthe feet of Christ; and he places the crown on her head, while two ormore rejoicing and adoring angels make heavenly music, or all Paradiseopens to the view; and there are examples where not only the choirof attendant angels, but a vast assembly of patriarchs, saints, martyrs, fathers of the Church--the whole company of the blessedspirits--assist at this great ceremony. 

I will now give some celebrated examples of the various styles oftreatment. 

There is a group in mosaic, which I believe to be singular in itskind, where the Virgin is enthroned, with Christ. She is seated at hisright hand, at the same elevation, and altogether as his equal. Hisright arm embraces her, and his hand rests on her shoulder. She wearsa gorgeous crown, which her Son has placed on her brow Christ has onlythe cruciform nimbus; in his left hand is an open book, on which isinscribed, "_Veni, Electa mea_" &c. "Come, my chosen one, and I willplace thee upon my throne. " The Virgin holds a tablet, on which arethe words "His right hand should be under my head, and his left handshould embrace me. " (Cant. Viii. 3. ) The omnipotent Hand is stretchedforth in benediction above. Here the Virgin is the type of the Churchtriumphant and glorified, having overcome the world; and the solemnsignificance of the whole representation is to be found in the Book ofRevelations: "To him that overcometh will I grant _to sit with me inmy throne_, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father inhis throne. " (Rev. Iii. 21. )

This mosaic, in which, be it observed, the Virgin is enthroned withChrist, and _embraced_, not crowned, by him, is, I believe, uniqueeither as a picture or a church decoration. It is not older thanthe twelfth century, is very ill executed, but is curious from thepeculiarity of the treatment. (Rome. S. Maria in Trastevere. )

 * * * * *

In the mosaic in the tribune of S. Maria-Maggiore at Rome, perhapsthe earliest example extant of the Coronation, properly so called, thesubject is treated with a grand and solemn simplicity. Christ and theVirgin, colossal figures, are seated on the same regal throne withina circular glory. The background is blue studded with golden stars. He places the crown on her head with his right hand; in the left heholds an open book, with the usual text, "_Veni, Electa mea, et ponamte in thronum meum_, " &c. She bends slightly forward, and her handsare lifted in adoration. Above and around the circular glory theemblematical vine twines in arabesque form; among the branches andleaves sit peacocks and other birds; the peacock being the old emblemof immortality, as birds in general are emblems of spirituality. Oneach side of the glory are nine adoring angels, representing the ninechoirs of the heavenly hierarchy; beyond these on the right stand St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Francis; on the left, St. John the Baptist, St. John the Evangelist, and St. Antony of Padua; all these figures beingvery small in proportion to those of Christ and the Virgin. Smallerstill, and quite diminutive in comparison, are the kneeling figures ofPope Nicholas IV. And Cardinal Giacomo Colonna, under whose auspicesthe mosaic was executed by Jacopo della Turrita, a Franciscan friar, about 1288. In front flows the river Jordan, symbol of baptism andregeneration; on its shore stands the hart, the emblem of religionsaspiration. Underneath the central group is the inscription, --

 MARIA VIRGO ASSUMPTA AD ETHERIUM THALAMUM IN QUO REX REGUM STELLATO SEDET SOLIO. 

The whole of this vast and poetical composition is admirably executed, and it is the more curious as being, perhaps, one of the earliestexamples of the glorification of St. Francis and St. Antony of Padua(Monastic Orders), who were canonized about thirty or forty yearsbefore. 

The mosaic, by Gaddo Gaddi (Florence, A. D. 1330), over the great doorin the cathedral at Florence, is somewhat different. Christ, whileplacing the crown on the head of his Mother with his _left_ hand, blesses her with his right hand, and he appears to have laid asidehis own crown, which lies near him. The attitude of the Virgin is alsopeculiar. [1]

[Footnote 1: In the same cathedral (which is dedicated to the VirginMary) the circular window of the choir opposite to the mosaic exhibitsthe Coronation. The design, by Donatello, is eminently fine andclassical. ]

In a small altar-piece by Giotto (Florence, S. Croce), Christ and theVirgin are seated together on a throne. He places the jewelled crownon her head with _both_ hands, while she bends forward with her handscrossed in her lap, and the softest expression in her beautiful face, as if she as meekly resigned herself to this honour, as heretofore tothe angelic salutation which pronounced her "Blessed:" angels kneelbefore the throne with censers and offerings. In another, by Giotto, Christ wearing a coronet of gems is seated on a throne: the Virgin_kneels_ before him with hands joined: twenty angels with musicalinstruments attend around. In a "Coronation, " by Piero Laurati, the figures of Christ and the Virgin, seated together, resemble insentiment and expression those of Giotto. The angels are arranged ina glory around, and the treatment is wholly typical. 

One of the most beautiful and celebrated of the pictures of Angelicoda Fiesole is the "Coronation" now in the Louvre; formerly it stoodover the high altar of the Church of St. Dominick at Fiesole, whereAngelico had been nurtured, and made his profession as monk. Thecomposition is conceived as a grand regal ceremony, but the beings whofigure in it are touched with a truly celestial grace. The Redeemer, crowned himself, and wearing the ermine mantle of an earthly monarch, is seated on a magnificent throne, under a Gothic canopy, to whichthere is an ascent of nine steps. He holds the crown, which he is inthe act of placing, with both hands, on the head of the Virgin, whokneels before him, with features of the softest and most delicatebeauty, and an expression of divine humility. Her face, seen inprofile, is partly shaded by a long transparent veil, flowing overher ample robe of a delicate crimson, beneath which is a blue tunic. On each side a choir of lovely angels, clothed from head to foot inspangled tunics of azure and rose-colour, with shining wings, makecelestial music, while they gaze with looks of joy and adorationtowards the principal group. Lower down on the right of the throneare eighteen, and on the left twenty-two, of the principal patriarchs, apostles, saints, and martyrs, among whom the worthies of Angelico'sown community, St. Dominick and St. Peter Martyr, are of courseconspicuous. At the foot of the throne kneel on one side St. Augustine, St. Benedict, St. Charlemagne, the royal saint; St. Nicholas; and St. Thomas Aquinas holding a pen (the great literarysaint of the Dominican order, and author of the Office of the Virgin);on the left we have a group of virgins, St. Agnes, St. Catherine withher wheel, St. Catherine of Siena, her habit spangled with stars;St. Cecilia crowned with her roses, and Mary Magdalene, with herlong golden hair. [1] Beneath this great composition runs a border orpredella, in seven compartments, containing in the centre a Pietà, andon each side three small subjects from the history of St. Dominick, to whom the church, whence it was taken, is dedicated. The spiritualbeauty of the heads, the delicate tints of the colouring, an ineffablecharm of mingled brightness and repose shed over the whole, give tothis lovely picture an effect like that of a church hymn, sung atsome high festival by voices tuned in harmony--"blest voices, utteringjoy!"

[Footnote 1: See "Legends of the Monastic Orders, " and "Sacred andLegendary Art, " for an account of all these personages. ]

In strong contrast with the graceful Italian conception, is the German"Coronation, " now in the Wallerstein collection. (Kensington Pal. )It is supposed to have been painted for Philip the Good, Duke ofBurgundy, either by Hans Hemling, or a painter not inferior to him. Here the Virgin is crowned by the Trinity. She kneels, with an air ofmajestic humility, and hands meekly folded on her bosom, attired insimple blue drapery, before a semicircular throne, on which are seatedthe Father and the Son, between them, with outspread wings, touchingtheir mouths, the Holy Dove. The Father a venerable figure, wears thetriple tiara, and holds the sceptre; Christ, with an expression ofsuffering, holds in his left hand a crystal cross; and they sustainbetween them a crown which they are about to place on the head of theVirgin. Their golden throne is adorned with gems, and over it is aglory of seraphim, with hair, faces, and plumage, all of a glowingred. The lower part of this picture and the compartments on each sideare filled with a vast assemblage of saints, and martyrs, and holyconfessors: conspicuous among them we find the saints most popularin Flanders and Burgundy--St. Adrian, St. George, St. Sebastian, St. Maurice, clad in coats of mail and crowned with laurel, with otherkingly and warlike personages; St. Philip, the patron of Philip theGood; St. Andrew, in whose honour he instituted the order of theGolden Fleece: and a figure in a blue mantle with a ducal crown, oneof the three kings of Cologne, is supposed to represent Duke Philiphimself. It is, impossible by any description to do justice to thiswonderful picture, as remarkable for its elaborate workmanship, themysticism of the conception, the quaint elegance of the details, and portrait-like reality of the faces, as that of Angelico for itsspiritual, tender, imaginative grace. 

There is a "Coronation" by Vivarini (Acad. Venice), which may besaid to comprise in itself a whole system of theology. It is onevast composition, not divided by compartments. In the centre is amagnificent carved throne sustained by six pillars, which stand ona lofty richly ornamented pedestal. On the throne are seated Christand the Virgin; he is crowned, and places with both hands a crown onher head. Between them hovers the celestial Dove, and above them isseen the Heavenly Father in likeness of "the Ancient of Days, " whopaternally lays a hand on the shoulder of each. Around his head andover the throne, are the nine choirs of angels, in separate groups. First and nearest, hover the glowing seraphim and cherubim, winged, but otherwise formless. Above these, the Thrones, holding the globeof sovereignty; to the right, the Dominations, Virtues, and Powers; tothe left, the Princedoms, Archangels, and Angels. Below these, on eachside of the throne, the prophets and patriarchs of the Old Testament, holding each a scroll. Below these the apostles on twelve thrones, sixon each side, each holding the Gospel. Below these, on each side, thesaints and martyrs. Below these, again, the virgins and holy women. Under the throne, in the space formed by the pillars, is seen agroup of beautiful children (not angels), representing, I think, themartyred Innocents. They bear the instruments of Christ's passion--thecross, nails, spear, crown of thorns, &c. On the step below thepedestal, and immediately in front, are seated the Evangelists anddoctors of the Church; on the right St. Matthew and St. Luke, andbehind them St. Ambrose and St. Augustine; on the left St. Mark andSt. John, and behind them St. Jerome and St. Gregory. (See "Sacred andLegendary Art") Every part of this curious picture is painted with theutmost care and delicacy: the children are exquisite, and the heads, of which there are at least seventy without counting the angels, arefinished like miniatures. 

This simple, and altogether typical representation of the Virgincrowned by the Trinity in human form, is in a French carving of thefifteenth century, and though ill drawn, there is considerable naïvetéin the treatment. The Eternal Father wears, as is usual, the tripletiara, the Son has the cross and the crown of thorns, and the HolyGhost is distinguished by the dove on his hand. All three sustain thecrown over the head of the kneeling Virgin, whose train is supportedby two angels. 

In a bas-relief over a door of the cathedral at Treves, the subject isvery simply treated; both Christ and the Virgin are standing, whichis unusual, and behind each is an angel, also standing and holding acrown. 

Where not more than five or six saints are introduced as attendantsand accessories, they are usually the patron saints of the locality orcommunity, which may be readily distinguished. Thus, 1. In a "Coronation" by Sandro Botticelli, we find below, St. John theEvangelist, St. Augustine, St. John Gualberto, St. Bernardo Cardinale. It was painted for the Vallombrosian monks. (Fl. Gal. )

2. In a very fine example by Ghirlandajo, St. Dominick and St. PeterMartyr are conspicuous: painted, of course, for the Dominicans. (Paris, Louvre. )

3. In another, by Pinturicchio, St. Francis is a principal figure, with St. Bonaventura and St. Louis of Toulouse; painted for theFranciscans, or at least for a Franciscan pope, Sixtus IV. (Rome, Vatican. )

4. In another, by Guido, the treatment differs from the early style. The coronation above is small and seen as a vision; the saints below, St. Bernard and St. Catherine, are life-size. It was painted for acommunity of Bernardines, the monks of Monte Oliveto. (Bologna, Gal. )

5. In a beautiful little altar-piece by Lorenzo di Credi[1], theVirgin is kneeling above, while Christ, seated, places the crown onher head. A glory of red seraphim surround the two figures. Below arethe famous patron saints of Central Italy, St. Nicholas of Bari andSt. Julian of Rimini, St. Barbara and St. Christina. The St. Francisand St. Antony, in the predella, show it to have been painted for aFranciscan church or chapel, probably for the same church at Cestellofor which Lorenzo painted the St. Julian and St. Nicholas now in theLouvre. 

[Footnote 1: Once in the collection of Mr. Rogers; _v_. "Sacred andLegendary Art. "]

The "Coronation of the Virgin" by Annibale Carracci is in a spiritaltogether different, magnificently studied. [1] On high, upon a loftythrone which extends across the whole picture from side to side, theVirgin, a noble majestic creature, in the true Carracci style, isseated in the midst as the principal figure, her hands folded on herbosom. On the right hand sits the Father, on the left the Son; theyhold a heavenly crown surmounted by stars above her head. The localityis the Empyreum. The audience consists of angels only, who circlewithin circle, filling the whole space, and melting into an abyss oflight, chant hymns of rejoicing and touch celestial instruments ofmusic. This picture shows how deeply Annibale Carracci had studiedCorreggio, in the magical chiaro-oscuro, and the lofty but somewhatmannered grace of the figures. 

[Footnote 1: This was also in the collection of Mr. Rogers. ]

One of the latest examples I can point to is also one of the mostsimple and grand in conception. (Madrid Gal. ) It is that by Velasquez, the finest perhaps of the very few devotional subjects painted byhim. We have here the three figures only, as large as life, fillingthe region of glory, without angels, witnesses, or accessories of anykind, except the small cherubim beneath; and the symmetrical treatmentgives to the whole a sort of sublime effect. But the heads have theair of portraits: Christ has a dark, earnest, altogether Spanishphysiognomy; the Virgin has dark hair; and the _Padre Eterno_, witha long beard, has a bald head, --a gross fault in taste and propriety;because, though the loose beard and flowing white hair may serve totypify the "Ancient of Days, " baldness expresses not merely age, butthe infirmity of age. 

Rubens, also, painted a "Coronation" with all his own lavishmagnificence of style for the Jesuits at Brussels. After the timeof Velasquez and Rubens, the "Immaculate Conception" superseded the"Coronation. "

 * * * * *

To enter further into the endless variations of this charming andcomplex subject would lead us through all the schools of art fromGiotto to Guido. I have said enough to render it intelligibleand interesting, and must content myself with one or two closing_memoranda_. 

1. The dress of the Virgin in a "Coronation" is generally splendid, too like the coronation robes of an earthly queen, --it is a "raimentof needlework, "--"a vesture of gold wrought about with diverscolours"--generally blue, crimson, and white, adorned with gold, gems, and even ermine. In the "Coronation" by Filippo Lippi, at Spoleto, shewears a white robe embroidered with golden suns. In a beautiful little"Coronation" in the Wallerstein collection (Kensington Pal. ) she wearsa white robe embroidered with suns and moons, the former red withgolden rays, the latter blue with coloured rays, --perhaps in allusionto the text so often applied in reference to her, "a woman clothedwith the _sun_, " &c. (Rev. Xii. 1, or Cant. Vi. 10. )

2. In the set of cartoons for the tapestries of the Sistine Chapel(Kugler's Handbook, ii. 394), as originally prepared by Raphael, we have the foundation, the heaven-bestowed powers, the trials andsufferings of the early Church, exhibited in the calling of St. Peter, the conversion of St. Paul, the acts and miracles of the apostles, themartyrdom of St. Stephen; and the series closed with the Coronationof the Virgin, placed over the altar, as typical of the final triumphof the Church, the completion and fulfilment of all the promises madeto man, set forth in the exaltation and union of the mortal with theimmortal, when the human Mother and her divine Son are reunited andseated on the same throne. Raphael placed on one side of the celestialgroup, St. John the Baptist, representing sanctification through therite of baptism; and on the other, St. Jerome, the general symbol ofsanctification through faith and repentance. The cartoon of this grandsymbolical composition, in which all the figures were colossal, isunhappily lost; the tapestry is missing from the Vatican collection;two old engravings, however, exist, from which some idea may be formedof the original group. (Passavant's Rafael, ii. 258. )

3. It will be interesting to remember that the earliest existingimpression taken from an engraved metal plate, is a "Coronation of theVirgin. " Maso Finiguerra, a skilful goldsmith and worker in niello, living at Florence in 1434, was employed to execute a pix (the smallcasket in which the consecrated wafer of the sacrament is deposited), and he decorated it with a representation of the Coronation inpresence of saints and angels, in all about thirty figures, minutelyand exquisitely engraved on the silver face. Whether Finiguerra wasthe first worker in niello to whom it occurred to fill up the linescut in the silver with a black fluid, and then by laying on it a pieceof damp paper, and forcibly rubbing it, take off the fac-simile of hisdesign and try its effect before the final process, --this we can notascertain; we only know that the impression of his "Coronation" isthe earliest specimen known to exist, and gave rise to the practiceof cutting designs on plates of copper (instead of silver), for thepurpose of multiplying impressions of them. The pix finished by Masoin 1452 is now in the Florence Gallery in the "Salle des Bronzes. " Theinvaluable print, first of its species, exists in the National Libraryat Paris. There is a very exact fac-simile of it in Otley's "Historyof Engraving, " Christ and the Virgin are here seated together ona lofty architectural throne: her hands are crossed on her bosom, and she bends her meek veiled head to receive the crown, which herSon, who wears a triple tiara, places on her brow. The saints mostconspicuous are St. John the Baptist, patron of Florence and of thechurch for which the pix was executed, and a female saint, I believeSt. Reparata, both standing; kneeling in front are St. Cosmo and St. Damian, the patrons of the Medici family, then paramount at Florence. (Sacred and Legendary Art. )

4. In an illuminated "Office of the Virgin, " I found a version ofthis subject which must be rare, and probably confined to miniatures. Christ is seated on a throne and the Virgin kneels before him; hebends forwards, and tenderly takes her clasped hands in both his own. An empty throne is at the right hand of Christ, over which hoversan angel bearing a crown. This is the moment which _precedes_the Coronation, as the group already described in the S. Maria-in-Trastevere exhibits the moment which _follows_ theCoronation. 

5. Finally, we must bear in mind that those effigies in which theMadonna is holding her Child, while angels place a crown upon herhead, do not represent THE CORONATION properly so called, but merelythe Virgin honoured as Mother of Christ and Queen of Heaven (_MaterChristi, Regina Coeli_); and that those representations of theCoronation which conclude a series of the life of the Virgin, andsurmount her death-bed or her tomb, are historical and dramatic ratherthan devotional and typical. Of this historical treatment there arebeautiful examples from Cimabue down to Raphael, which will be noticedhereafter in their proper place. 

THE VIRGIN OF MERCY. 

Our Lady of Succour. _Ital. _ La Madonna di Misericordia. _Fr. _ NôtreDame de Miséricorde. _Ger. _ Maria Mutter des Erbarmens. _Sp. _ NuestraSeñora de Grazia. 

When once the Virgin had been exalted and glorified in the celestialparadise, the next and the most natural result was, that she should beregarded as being in heaven the most powerful of intercessors, and onearth a most benign and ever-present protectress. In the mediæval ideaof Christ, there was often something stern; the Lamb of God who diedfor the sins of the world, is also the inexorable Judge of the quickand the dead. When he shows his wounds, it is as if a vindictivefeeling was supposed to exist; as if he were called upon to rememberin judgment the agonies and the degradation to which he had beenexposed below for the sake of wicked ungrateful men. In a Greek "Dayof Judgment, " cited by Didron, Moses holds up a scroll, on which iswritten, "Behold Him whom ye crucified, " while the Jews are draggedinto everlasting fire. Everywhere is the sentiment of vengeance;Christ himself is less a judge than an avenger. Not so the Virgin;she is represented as all mercy, sympathy, and benignity. In some ofthe old pictures of the Day of Judgment, she is seated by the sideof Christ, on an equality with him, and often in an attitude ofdeprecation, as if adjuring him, to relent: or her eyes are turned onthe redeemed souls, and she looks away from the condemned as if unableto endure the sight of their doom. In other pictures she is lower thanChrist, but always on his right hand, and generally seated; while St. John the Baptist, who is usually placed opposite to her on the leftof Christ, invariably stands or kneels. Instead of the Baptist, it issometimes, but rarely, John the Evangelist, who is the pendant of theVirgin. 

In the Greek representations of the Last Judgment, a river of fireflows from under the throne of Christ to devour and burn up thewicked. [1] In western art the idea is less formidable, --Christ isnot at once judge and executioner; but the sentiment is alwayssufficiently terrible; "the angels and all the powers of heaventremble before him. " In the midst of these terrors, the Virgin, whether kneeling, or seated, or standing, always appears as a gentlemediator, a, supplicant for mercy. In the "Day of Judgment, " asrepresented in the "Hortus Deliciarum, " [2] we read inscribed underher figure the words "_Maria, Filio suo pro Ecclesia supplicat_. "In a very fine picture by Martin Schoen (Schleissheim Gal. ), it isthe Father, who, with a sword and three javelins in his hand, sitsas the avenging judge; near him Christ; while the Virgin stands inthe foreground, looking up to her Son with an expression of tendersupplication, and interceding, as it appears, for the sinners kneelinground her, and whose imploring looks are directed to _her_. In thewell-known fresco by Andrea Ortagna (Pisa, Campo Santo), Christ andthe Virgin sit throned above, each in a separate aureole, but equallyglorified. Christ, pointing with one hand to the wound in his side, raises the other in a threatening attitude, and his attention isdirected to the wicked, whom he hurls into perdition. The Virgin, with one hand pressed to her bosom, looks to him with an air ofsupplication. Both figures are regally attired, and wear radiantcrowns; and the twelve apostles attend them, seated on each side. 

[Footnote 1: Didron, "Iconographie Chrétienne;" and in the mosaic ofthe Last Judgment, executed by Byzantine artists, in the cathedral atTorcello. ]

[Footnote 2: A celebrated illuminated MS. (date about 1159 to 1175), preserved in the Library at Strasburg. ]

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In the centre group of Michael Angelo's "Last Judgment, " we have thesame leading _motif_, but treated in a very different feeling. Christstands before us in figure and mien like a half-naked athlete; hisleft hand rejects, his right hand threatens, and his whole attitudeis as utterly devoid of dignity as of grace. I have often wonderedas I have looked at this grand and celebrated work, what could beMichael Angelo's idea of Christ. He who was so good, so religious, so pure-minded, and so high-minded, was deficient in humility andsympathy; if his morals escaped, his imagination was corrupted by theprofane and pagan influences of his time. His conception of Christ ishere most unchristian, and his conception of the Virgin is not muchbetter. She is grand in form, but the expression is too passive. She looks down and seems to shrink; but the significance of theattitude, --the hand pressed to the maternal bosom, --given to her bythe old painters, is lost. 

In a "Last Judgment" by Rubens, painted for the Jesuits of Brussels(Brussels; Musée), the Virgin extends her robe over the world, as ifto shield mankind from the wrath of her Son; pointing, at the sametime, significantly to her bosom, whence He derived his earthly life. The daring bad taste, and the dramatic power of this representation, are characteristic alike of the painter, the time, and the communityfor which the picture was painted. 

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More beautiful and more acceptable to our feelings are those gracefulrepresentations of the Virgin as dispenser of mercy on earth; asprotectress and patroness either of all Christendom, or of someparticular locality, country, or community. In such pictures shestands with outstretched arms, crowned with a diadem, or in someinstances simply veiled, her ample robe, extended on each side, isheld up by angels, while under its protecting folds are gatheredworshippers and votaries of all ranks and ages--men, women, children, --kings, nobles, ecclesiastics, --the poor, the lame, thesick. Or if the picture be less universal in its significance, dedicated perhaps by some religious order or charitable brotherhood, we see beneath her robe an assemblage of monks and nuns, or a troop ofyoung orphans or redeemed prisoners. Such a representation is styled a_Misericordia_. 

In a picture by Fra Filippo Lippi (Berlin Gal. ), the Madonna of Mercyextends her protecting mantle over thirty-five kneeling figures, the faces like portraits, none elevated or beautiful, but the wholepicture as an example of the subject most striking. 

A very beautiful and singular representation of the Virgin of Mercywithout the Child, I found in the collection of Herr v. Quandt, ofDresden. She stands with hands folded over her bosom, and wrapped inample white drapery, without ornament of any kind; over her head, aveil of transparent gauze of a brown colour, such as, from variousportraits of the time, appears to have been then a fashion. Theexpression of the face is tender and contemplative, almost sad; andthe whole figure, which is life-size, is inexpressibly refined anddignified. The following inscription is on the dark background to theright of the Virgin:--

 IMAGO BEATÆ MARIÆ VIRGINIS QUÆ MENS. AUGUST. MDXXXIII. APPARUIT MIRACULOR. OPERATIONE CONCURSU POP. CELEBERRIM. 

This beautiful picture was brought from Brescia to Vienna by apicture-dealer, and purchased by Herr v. Quandt. It was painted byMoretto of Brescia, of whom Lanzi truly says that his sacred subjectsexpress _la compunzione, la pietà, la carità istessa_; and thispicture is an instance. But by whom dedicated, for what especialmercy, or in what church, I could not ascertain. [1]

[Footnote 1: I possess a charming drawing of the head by FrauleinLouise Seidler of Weimar, whose feeling for early religious art isshown in her own works, as well as in the beautiful copies she hasmade of others. ]

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It is seldom that the Madonna di Misericordia appears without theChild in her arms; her maternity is supposed to be one element in hersympathy with suffering humanity. I will add, however, to the examplesalready given, one very celebrated instance. 

The picture entitled the "Misericordia di Lucca" is famous in thehistory of art. (Lucca. S. Romano. ) It is the most important workof Fra Bartolomeo, and is dated 1515, two years before his death. The Virgin, a grand and beautiful figure, stands alone on a raisedplatform, with her arms extended, and looking up to heaven. The amplefolds of her robe are held open by two angels. Beneath and round herfeet are various groups in attitudes of supplication, who look up toher, as she looks up to heaven. On one side the donor of the pictureis presented by St. Dominick. Above, in a glory, is the figure ofChrist surrounded by angels, and seeming to bend towards his mother. The expression in the heads, the dignified beneficence of the Virgin, the dramatic feeling in the groups, particularly the women andchildren, justify the fame of this picture as one of the greatest ofthe productions of mind. [1]

[Footnote 1: According to the account in Murray's "Handbook, "this picture was dedicated by the noble family of Montecanini, andrepresents the Virgin interceding for the Lucchesi during the warswith Florence. But I confess I am doubtful of this interpretation, andrather think it refers to the pestilence, which, about 1512, desolatedthe whole of the north of Italy. Wilkie, who saw this picture in 1825, speaks of the workmanship with the enthusiasm of a workman. ]

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There is yet another version of this subject, which deserves noticefrom the fantastic grace of the conception. As in early Christian Art, our Saviour was frequently portrayed as the Good Shepherd, so, amongthe later Spanish fancies, we find his Mother represented as theDivine Shepherdess. In a picture painted by Alonzo Miguel de Tobar(Madrid Gal. 226), about the beginning of the eighteenth century, we find the Virgin Mary seated under a tree, in guise of an Arcadianpastorella, wearing a broad-brimmed hat, encircled by a glory, a crookin her hand, while she feeds her flock with the mystical roses. Thebeauty of expression in the head of the Virgin is such as almost toredeem the quaintness of the religious conceit; the whole picture isdescribed as worthy of Murillo. It was painted for a Franciscan churchat Madrid, and the idea became so popular, that we find it multipliedand varied in French and German prints of the last century; theoriginal picture remains unequalled for its pensive poetical grace;but it must be allowed that the idea, which at first view strikes fromits singularity, is worse than questionable in point of taste, andwill hardly bear repetition. 

There are some ex-voto pictures of the Madonna of Mercy, which recordindividual acts of gratitude. One, for instance, by Nicolò Alunno(Rome, Pal. Colonna), in which the Virgin, a benign and dignifiedcreature, stretches forth her sceptre from above, and rebukes the uglyfiend of Sin, about to seize a boy. The mother kneels on one side, with eyes uplifted, in faith and trembling supplication. The same ideaI have seen repeated in a picture by Lanfranco. 

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The innumerable votive pictures which represent the Madonna diMisericordia with the Child in her arms, I shall notice hereafter. They are in Catholic countries the usual ornaments of charitableInstitutions and convents of the Order of Mercy; and have, as I cannotbut think, a very touching significance. 

THE MATER DOLOROSA. 

_Ital. _ La Madre di Dolore. L' Addolorata. _Fr. _ Nôtre Dame da Pitié. La Vierge de Douleur. _Sp_. Nuestra Señora de Dolores _Ger. _ DieSchmerzhafte Mutter. 

One of the most important of these devotional subjects proper to theMadonna is the "Mourning Mother, " the _Mater Dolorosa_, in which hercharacter is that of the mother of the crucified Redeemer; the motherof the atoning Sacrifice; the queen of martyrs; the woman whose bosomwas pierced with a sharp sword; through whose sorrow the world wassaved, whose anguish was our joy, and to whom the Roman CatholicChristians address their prayers as consoler of the afflicted, becauseshe had herself tasted of the bitterest of all earthly sorrow, thepang of the agonized mother for the loss of her child. 

In this character we have three distinct representations of theMadonna. 

MATER DOLOROSA. In the first she appears alone, a seated or standingfigure, often the head or half length only; the hands clasped, thehead bowed in sorrow, tears streaming from the heavy eyes, and thewhole expression intensely mournful. The features are properlythose of a woman in middle age; but in later times the sentiment ofbeauty predominated over that of the mother's agony; and I have seenthe sublime Mater Dolorosa transformed into a merely beautiful andyouthful maiden, with such an air of sentimental grief as might servefor the loss of a sparrow. 

Not so with the older heads; even those of the Carracci and theSpanish school have often a wonderful depth of feeling. 

It is common in such representations to represent the Virgin with asword in her bosom, and even with _seven_ swords in allusion tothe _seven_ sorrows. This very material and palpable version of theallegorical prophecy (Luke ii, 35) has been found extremely effectiveas an appeal to the popular feelings, so that there are few RomanCatholic churches without such a painful and literal interpretationof the text. It occurs perpetually in prints, and there is a fineexample after Vandyck; sometimes the swords are placed round her head;but there is no instance of such a figure from the best period ofreligious art, and it must be considered as anything but artistic: inthis case, the more materialized and the more matter of fact, the more_unreal_. 

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STABAT MATER. A second representation of the _Madre di Dolore_ is thatfigure of the Virgin which, from the very earliest times, was placedon the right of the Crucifix, St. John the Evangelist being invariablyon the left. I am speaking here of the _crucifix_ as a wholly idealand mystical emblem of our faith in a crucified Saviour; not ofthe _crucifixion_ as an event, in which the Virgin is an actor andspectator, and is usually fainting in the arms of her attendants. Inthe ideal subject she is merely an ideal figure, at once the motherof Christ, and the personified Church. This, I think, is evident fromthose very ancient carvings, and examples in stained glass, in whichthe Virgin, as the Church, stands on one side of the cross, tramplingon a female figure which personifies Judaism or the synagogue. Evenwhen the allegory is less palpable, we feel that the treatment iswholly religious and poetical. 

The usual attitude of the _Mater Dolorosa_ by the crucifix is that ofintense but resigned sorrow; the hands clasped, the head declined andshaded by a veil, the figure closely wrapped in a dark blue or violetmantle. In some instances a more generally religious and ideal cast isgiven to the figure; she stands with outspread arms, and looking up;not weeping, but in her still beautiful face a mingled expression offaith and anguish. This is the true conception of the sublime hymn, "Stabat Mater Dolorosa Juxta crucem lachrymosa Dum pendebat filius. "

LA PIETÀ. The third, and it is the most important and most beautifulof all as far as the Virgin is concerned, is the group called thePIETÀ, which, when strictly devotional, consists only of the Virginwith her dead Son in her arms, or on her lap, or lying at her feet;in some instances with lamenting angels, but no other personages. This group has been varied in a thousand ways; no doubt the two mostperfect conceptions are those of Michael Angelo and Raphael; the firstexcelling in sublimity, the latter in pathos. The celebrated marblegroup by Michael Angelo stands in the Vatican in a chapel to theright as we enter. The Virgin is seated; the dead Saviour lies acrossthe knees of his mother; she looks down on him in mingled sorrowand resignation, but the majestic resignation predominates. Thecomposition of Raphael exists only as a print; but the flimsy paper, consecrated through its unspeakable beauty, is likely to be as lastingas the marble. It represents the Virgin, standing with outstretchedarms, and looking up with an appealing agonized expression towardsheaven; before her, on the earth, lies extended the form of theSaviour. In tenderness, dignity, simplicity, and tragic pathos, nothing can exceed this production; the head of the Virgin inparticular is regarded as a masterpiece, so far exceeding in delicacyof execution every other work of Marc Antonio, that some have thoughtthat Raphael himself took the burin from his hand, and touched himselfthat face of quiet woe. 

Another example of wonderful beauty is the Pietà by Francia, inour National Gallery. The form of Christ lies extended before hismother; a lamenting angel sustains the head, another is at the feet:the Virgin, with eyes red and heavy with weeping, looks out of thepicture. There needs no visible sword in her bosom to tell whatanguish has pierced that maternal heart. 

There is another Pietà, by Michael Angelo, quite a differentconception. The Virgin sits at the foot of the cross; before her, andhalf-sustained by her knees, lies the form of the dead Saviour, seenin front; his arms are held up by two angels (unwinged, as is usualwith Michael Angelo). The Virgin looks up to heaven with an appealingexpression; and in one engraving of this composition the cross isinscribed with the words, "Tu non pensi quanta sangue costa. " There isno painting by Michael Angelo himself, but many copies and engravingsof the drawing. A beautiful small copy, by Marcello Venusti, is in theQueen's Gallery. 

There is yet another version of the Pietà, quite mystical anddevotional in its significance, --but, to my feeling, more painful andmaterial than poetical. It is variously treated; for example:--1. The dead Redeemer is seen half-length within the tomb; his hands areextended to show his wounds; his eyes are closed, his head declined, his bleeding brow encircled by thorns. On one side is the Virgin, onthe other St. John the Evangelist, in attitudes of profound griefand commiseration. 2. The dead form, half emerging from the tomb, issustained in the arms of the Mater Dolorosa. St. John the Evangeliston the other side. There are sometimes angels. 

The Pietà thus conceived as a purely religious and ideal impersonationof the atoning Sacrifice, is commonly placed over the altar ofthe sacrament, and in many altar-pieces it forms the centre of thepredella, just in front where the mass is celebrated, or on the doorof the tabernacle, where the Host is deposited. 

When, with the Mater Dolorosa and St. John, Mary Magdalene isintroduced with her dishevelled hair, the group ceases to be properlya Pietà, and becomes a representation rather than a symbol. 

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There are also examples of a yet more complex but still perfectlyideal and devotional treatment, in which the Mourning Mother isattended by saints. 

A most celebrated instance of this treatment is the Pietà by Guido. (Bologna Gal. ) In the upper part of the composition, the figure of thedead Redeemer lies extended on a white shroud; behind him stands theVirgin-mother, with her eyes raised to heaven, and sad appealing face, touched with so divine a sorrow--so much of dignity in the midst ofinfinite anguish, that I know nothing finer in its way. Her handsare resignedly folded in each other, not raised, not clasped, butlanguidly drooping. An angel stands at the feet of Christ looking onwith a tender adoring commiseration; another, at his head, turns awayweeping. A kind of curtain divides this group from the lower partof the picture, where, assembled on a platform, stand or kneel theguardian saints of Bologna: in the centre, the benevolent St. CharlesBorromeo, who just about that time had been canonized and added tothe list of the patrons of Bologna by a decree of the senate; on theright, St. Dominick and St. Petronius; on the left, St. Proculusand St. Francis. These sainted personages look up as if adjuring theVirgin, even by her own deep anguish, to intercede for the city; sheis here at once our Lady of Pity, of Succour, and of Sorrow. Thiswonderful picture was dedicated, as an act of penance and piety, bythe magistrates of Bologna, in 1616, and placed in their chapel in thechurch of the "Mendicanti, " otherwise S. Maria-della-Pietà. It hungthere for two centuries, for the consolation of the afflicted; itis now placed in the Academy of Bologna for the admiration ofconnoisseurs. 

OUR LADY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 

_Ital. _ La Madonna Purissima. _Lat. _ Regina sine labe originaliconcepta. _Spa. _ Nuestra Señora sin peccado concepida. La Concepcion. _Fr. _ La Conception de la Vierge Marie. _Ger. _ Das Geheimniss derunbefleckten Empfängniss Mariä. Dec. 8. 

The last and the latest subject in which the Virgin appears alonewithout the Child, is that entitled the "Immaculate Conception of theBlessed Virgin;" and sometimes merely "THE CONCEPTION. " There is noinstance of its treatment in the earlier schools of art; but as one ofthe most popular subjects of the Italian and Spanish painters of theseventeenth century, and one very frequently misunderstood, it isnecessary to go into the history of its origin. 

In the early ages of Christianity, it was usual to celebrate, asfestivals of the Church, the Conception of Jesus Christ, and theConception of his kinsman and precursor John the Baptist; the latteras miraculous, the former as being at once divine and miraculous. Inthe eleventh century it was proposed to celebrate the Conception ofthe Virgin Mother of the Redeemer. 

From the time that the heresy of Nestorius had been condemned, andthat the dignity of the Virgin as mother of the _Divinity_ had becomea point of doctrine, it was not enough to advocate her excellingvirtue and stainless purity as a mere human being. It was contended, that having been predestined from the beginning as the Woman, throughwhom the divine nature was made manifest on earth, she must bepresumed to be exempt from all sin, even from that original taintinherited from Adam. Through the first Eve, we had all died; throughthe second Eve, we had all been "made alive. " It was argued thatGod had never suffered his earthly temple to be profaned; had evenpromulgated in person severe ordinances to preserve its sanctuaryinviolate. How much more to him was that temple, that _tabernacle_built by no human hands, in which he had condescended to dwell. Nothing was impossible to God; it lay, therefore, in his power tocause his Mother to come absolutely pure and immaculate into theworld: being in his power, could any earnest worshipper of the Virgindoubt for a moment that for one so favoured it would not be done? Suchwas the reasoning of our forefathers; and the premises granted, whoshall call it illogical or irreverent?

For three or four centuries, from the seventh to the eleventh, theseideas had been gaining ground. St. Ildefonso of Seville distinguishedhimself by his writings on this subject; and how the Virginrecompensed his zeal, Murillo has shown us, and I have related inthe life of that saint. (Legends of the Monastic Orders. ) But thefirst mention of a festival, or solemn celebration of the Mystery ofthe Immaculate Conception, may be traced to an English monk of theeleventh century, whose name is not recorded, (v. Baillet, vol. Xii. )When, however, it was proposed to give the papal sanction to thisdoctrine as an article of belief, and to institute a church office forthe purpose of celebrating the Conception of Mary, there arose strongopposition. What is singular, St. Bernard, so celebrated for hisenthusiastic devotion to the Virgin, was most strenuous and eloquentin his disapprobation. He pronounced no judgment against those whoreceived the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, he rather leanedtowards it; but he opposed the institution of the festival as aninnovation not countenanced by the early fathers of the Church. Afterthe death of St. Bernard, for about a hundred years, the disputeslept; but the doctrine gained ground. The thirteenth century, soremarkable for the manifestation of religious enthusiasm in all itsforms, beheld the revival of this celebrated controversy. A certainFranciscan friar, Duns Scotus (John Scott of Dunse), entered the listsas champion for the Virgin. He was opposed by the Dominicans and theircelebrated polemic Thomas Aquinas, who, like St. Bernard, was knownfor his enthusiastic reverence for the Virgin; but, like him, and onthe same grounds, objected to the introduction of new forms. Thus thetheological schools were divided. 

During the next two hundred years the belief became more and moregeneral, the doctrine more and more popular; still the Church, whileit tolerated both, refused to ratify either. All this time we findno particular representation of the favourite dogma in art, for untilratified by the authority of the Church, it could not properly enterinto ecclesiastical decoration. We find, however, that the growingbelief in the pure Conception and miraculous sanctification ofthe Virgin multiplied the representations of her coronation andglorification, as the only permitted expression of the popularenthusiasm on this point. For the powerful Order of the Franciscans, who were at this time and for a century afterwards the most ardentchampions of the Immaculate Conception, were painted most of thepictures of the Coronation produced during the fourteenth century. 

The first papal decree touching the "Immaculate Conception" as anarticle of faith, was promulgated in the reign of Sixtus IV. , whohad been a Franciscan friar, and he took the earliest opportunity ofgiving the solemn sanction of the Church to what had ever been thefavourite dogma of his Order; but the celebration of the festival, never actually forbidden, had by this time become so usual, thatthe papal ordinance merely sanctioned without however rendering itobligatory. An office was composed for the festival, and in 1496the Sorbonne declared in favour of it Still it remained a point ofdispute; still there were dissentient voices, principally among theDominican theologians; and from 1500 to 1600 we find this controversyoccupying the pens of the ecclesiastics, and exciting the interest andthe imagination of the people. In Spain the "Immaculate Conceptionof the Virgin, " owing perhaps to the popularity and power of theFranciscans in that country, had long been "the darling dogma of theSpanish Church. " Villegas, in the "Flos Sanctorum, " while admittingthe modern origin of the opinion, and the silence of the Church, contended that, had this great fact been made manifest earlier andin less enlightened times, it might possibly have led to the error ofworshipping the Virgin as an actual goddess. (Stirling's Artists ofSpain, p. 905. ) To those who are conversant with Spanish theologyand art, it may seem that the distinction drawn in theory is not verydefinite or perceptible in practice. 

At length, in July, 1615, Paul V. Formally instituted the officecommemorating the Immaculate Conception, and in 1617 issued a bullforbidding any one to teach or preach a contrary opinion. "On thepublication of this bull, Seville flew into a frenzy of religiousjoy. " The archbishop performed a solemn service in the Cathedral. Cannon roared, and bull fights, tournaments, and banquets celebratedthis triumph of the votaries of the Virgin. Spain and its dependencieswere solemnly placed under the protection of the "ImmaculateConception, " thus personifying an abstract idea; and to this day, aSpaniard salutes his neighbour with the angelic "Ave Maria purissima!"and he responds "Sin peccado concepida!"[1]

[Footnote 1: In our own days we have seen this curious controversyrevived. One of the latest, if not the last, writer on the subject wasCardinal Lambruschini; and the last papal ordinance was promulgated byPio Mono, and dated from Gaeta, 1849. ]

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I cannot find the date of the earliest picture of the ImmaculateConception; but the first writer on the art who makes allusion to thesubject, and lays down specific rules from ecclesiastical authorityfor its proper treatment, is the Spaniard Pacheco, who must have beenabout forty years of age when the bull was published at Seville in1618. It is soon after this time that we first hear of pictures of theImmaculate Conception. Pacheco subsequently became a familiar of theInquisition, and wielded the authority of the holy office as inspectorof sacred pictures; and in his "Arte de la Pintura, " published in1649, he laid down those rules for the representation which had beengenerally, though not always, exactly followed. 

It is evident that the idea is taken from the woman in the Apocalypse, "clothed with the sun, having the moon under her feet, and on her heada crown of twelve stars. " The Virgin is to be portrayed in the firstspring and bloom of youth as a maiden of about twelve or thirteenyears of age; with "grave sweet eyes;" her hair golden; her features"with all the beauty painting can express;" her hands are to be foldedon her bosom or joined in prayer. The sun is to be expressed by aflood of light around her. The moon under her feet is to have thehorns pointing downwards, because illuminated from above, and thetwelve stars are to form a crown over her head. The robe must beof spotless white; the mantle or scarf blue. Round her are to hovercherubim bearing roses, palms, and lilies; the head of the bruised andvanquished dragon is to be under her feet. She ought to have the cordof St. Francis as a girdle, because in this guise she appeared toBeatriz de Silva, a noble Franciscan nun, who was favoured by acelestial vision of the Madonna in her beatitude. Perhaps the goodservices of the Franciscans as champions of the Immaculate Conceptionprocured them the honour of being thus commemorated. 

All these accessories are not absolutely and rigidly required;and Murillo, who is entitled _par excellence_ the painter of theConception, sometimes departed from the letter of the law withoutbeing considered as less orthodox. With him the crescent moon, issometimes the full moon, or when a crescent the horns point upwardsinstead of downwards. He usually omits the starry crown, and, in spiteof his predilection for the Capuchin Order, the cord of St. Francisis in most instances dispensed with. He is exact with regard to thecolours of the drapery, but not always in the colour of the hair. Onthe other hand, the beauty and expression of the face and attitude, the mingled loveliness, dignity, and purity, are given with exquisitefeeling; and we are never, as in his other representations of theMadonna, reminded of commonplace homely, often peasant, portraiture;here all is spotless grace, ethereal delicacy, benignity, refinement, repose, --the very apotheosis of womanhood. 

I must go back to observe, that previous to the promulgation ofthe famous bull of Pope Paul V. , the popular ideas concerning theImmaculate Conception had left their impress on art. Before thesubject had taken an express and authorized form, we find pictureswhich, if they do not represent it, relate to it, I remember two whichcannot be otherwise interpreted, and there are probably others. 

The first Is a curious picture of the early Florentine School. (BerlinGal. ) In the centre is original sin, represented by Eve and theSerpent; on the right stand St. Ambrose, St. Hilarius, St. Anselm, and St. Bernard; on the left St. Cyril, Origen, St. Augustine, and St. Cyprian; and below are inscribed passages from the writings of thesefathers relating to the immaculate Conception of the Virgin: all ofthem had given to her in their works the title of Immaculate, mostpure; but they differed as to the period of her sanctification, as towhether it was in the moment of conception or at the moment of birth. 

The other picture is in the Dresden Gallery, and one of the finestproductions of that extraordinary Ferrarese painter Dosso Dossi. Inthe lower part of the picture are the four Latin Fathers, turning overtheir great books, or in deep meditation; behind them, the FranciscanBernardino of Siena. Above, in a glory of light, the Virgin, clothed, not in spotless white, but a richly embroidered regal mantle, "wroughtabout with divers colours, " kneels at the feet of the Almighty, whoextends his hand in benediction. I find no account in the cataloguewhence this picture was taken, but it was evidently painted for theFranciscans. 

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In 1617, when the Bull of Paul V. Was formally expedited, Guido wasattached to the papal court in quality of painter and an especialfavourite with his Holiness. Among the earliest accredited pictures ofthe Immaculate Conception, are four of his finest works. 

1. The cupola of the private chapel of the Quirinal represents theAlmighty meditating the great miracle of the Immaculate Conception, and near him, within the same glory of light, is the Virgin in herwhite tunic, and in an attitude of adoration. This was painted about1610 or 1611, when Pope Paul V. Was meditating the promulgation of hisfamous ordinance. 

2. The great picture, also painted for Paul V. , represents thedoctors of the Church arguing and consulting their great books for theauthorities on the subject of the Conception. [1] Above, the Virgin isseated in glory, arrayed in spotless white, her hands crossed over herbosom, and her eyes turned towards the celestial fountain of light. Below are six doctors, consulting their books; they are not wellcharacterized, being merely so many ideal heads in a mannered style;but I believe they represent the four Latin Fathers, with St. JohnDamascene and St. Ildefonso, who were especial defenders of thedoctrine. 

[Footnote 1: Petersburg Imp. Gal. There is a fine engraving. ]

3. The next in point of date was painted for the Infanta of Spain, which I believe to be the same now in the possession of LordEllesmere. The figure of the Virgin, crowned with the twelve stars, and relieved from a background of golden light, is standing on acrescent sustained by three cherubs beneath; she seems to floatbetween heaven and earth; on either side is a seraph, with handsfolded and looks upraised in adoration. The whole painted in hissilvery tone, with such an extreme delicacy and transparencyof effect, that it might be styled "a vision of the ImmaculateConception. "

4. The fourth was painted for the chapel of the Immaculate Conception, in the church of San Biagio, at Forli, and is there still. 

 * * * * *

Just as the Italian schools of painting were on the decline, theSpanish school of art arose in all its glory, and the "Conception"became, from the popularity of the dogma, not merely anecclesiastical, but a popular subject. Not only every church, butalmost every private house, contained the effigy either painted orcarved, or both, of our Lady "_sin peccado concepida_;" and when theacademy of painting was founded at Seville, in 1660, every candidatefor admission had to declare his orthodox belief in _the most pureConception of our Lady_. 

The finest Spanish "Conception" before the time of Murillo, is byRoelas, who died in 1625; it is in the academy at Seville, and ismentioned by Mr. Ford as "equal to Guido. "[1]

[Footnote 1: Handbook of Spain. A very fine picture of this subject, by Roelas, was sold out of the Soult Collection. ]

One of the most beautiful and characteristic, as well as earliest, examples of this subject I have seen, is a picture in the EsterhazyGallery at Vienna. The Virgin is in the first bloom of girlhood; shelooks not more than nine or ten years old, with dark hair, Spanishfeatures, and a charming expression of childlike simplicity anddevotion. She stands amid clouds, with her hands joined, and theproper white and blue drapery: there are no accessories. This pictureis attributed to an obscure painter, Lazaro Tavarone, of whom I canlearn nothing more than that he was employed in the Escurial about1590. 

The beautiful small "Conception" by Velasquez, in the possessionof Mr. Frere, is a departure from the rules laid down by Pacheco inregard to costume; therefore, as I presume, painted before he enteredthe studio of the artist-inquisitor, whose son-in-law he became beforehe was three and twenty. Here the Virgin is arrayed in a pale violetrobe, with a dark blue mantle. Her hands are joined, and she looksdown. The solemnity and depth of expression in the sweet girlish faceis very striking; the more so, that it is not a beautiful face, andhas the air of a portrait. Her long hair flows over her shoulders. Thefigure is relieved against a bright sun, with fleecy clouds around;and the twelve stars are over her head. She stands on the round moon, of which the upper half is illumined. Below, on earth, and throughthe deep shadow, are seen several of the emblems of the Virgin--thefountain, the temple, the olive, the cypress, and the garden enclosedin a treillage of roses. [1] This picture is very remarkable; it is inthe earliest manner of Velasquez, painted in the bold free style ofhis first master, Herrara, whose school he quitted when he was aboutseventeen or eighteen, just at the period when the Pope's ordinancewas proclaimed at Seville. 

[Footnote 1: v. Introduction: "The Symbols and Attributes of theVirgin. "]

 * * * * *

Of twenty-five pictures of this subject, painted by Murillo, there arenot two exactly alike; and they are of all sizes, from the colossalfigure called the "Great Conception of Seville, " to the exquisiteminiature representation in the possession of Lord Overston, not morethan fifteen inches in height. Lord Lansdowne has also a beautifulsmall "Conception, " very simply treated. In those which have darkhair, Murillo is said to have taken his daughter Francisca as a model. The number of attendant angels varies from one or two, to thirty. Theybear the palm, the olive, the rose, the lily, the mirror; sometimesa sceptre and crown. I remember but few instances in which he hasintroduced the dragon-fiend, an omission which Pacheco is willing toforgive; "for, " as he observes, "no man ever painted the devil withgood-will. "

In the Louvre picture (No. 1124), the Virgin is adored by threeecclesiastics. In another example, quoted by Mr. Stirling (Artistsof Spain, p. 839), a friar is seen writing at her feet: this figureprobably represents her champion, the friar Duns Scotus. There isat Hampton Court a picture, by Spagnoletto, of this same Duns Scotuswriting his defence of the Immaculate Conception. Spagnoletto waspainting at Naples, when, in 1618, "the Viceroy solemnly swore, inpresence of the assembled multitude, to defend with his life thedoctrine of the Immaculate Conception;" and this picture, curiousand striking in its way, was painted about the same time. 

 * * * * *

In Italy, the decline of Art in the seventeenth century is nowheremore apparent, nor more offensive, than in this subject. A finishedexample of the most execrable taste is the mosaic in St. Peter's, after Pietro Bianchi. There exists, somewhere, a picture of theConception, by Le Brun, in which the Virgin has no other draperythan a thin, transparent gauze, and has the air of a Venus Meretrix. In some old French prints, the Virgin is surrounded by a number ofangels, defending her with shield and buckler against demons who aretaking aim at her with fiery arrows. Such, and even worse, vagariesand perversities, are to be found in the innumerable pictures of thisfavourite subject, which inundated the churches between 1640 and 1720. Of these I shall say no more. The pictures of Guido and Murillo, andthe carved figures of Alonzo Cano, Montanez, and Hernandez, maybe regarded as authorized effigies of "Our Lady of the most pureConception;" in other words, as embodying, in the most attractive, decorous, and intelligible form, an abstract theological dogma, whichis in itself one of the most curious, and, in its results, one of themost important of the religions phenomena connected with the artisticrepresentations of the Virgin. [1]

[Footnote 1: We often find on pictures and prints of the ImmaculateConception, certain scriptural texts which the theologians of theRoman Church have applied to the Blessed Virgin; for instance, fromPs. Xliv. _Omnis gloria ejus filiæ regis ab intus_--"The king'sdaughter is all glorious within;" or from the Canticles, iv. 7, _Totapulchra es amica mea, et macula non est in te_, --"Thou art all fair, my love, there is no spot in thee. " I have also seen the texts, Ps. Xxii. 10, and Prov. Viii. 22, 28, xxxi. 29, thus applied, as well asother passages from the very poetical office of the Virgin _In FestoImmaculatæ Conceptionis_. ]

We must be careful to discriminate between the Conception, sostyled by ecclesiastical authority, and that singular and mysticalrepresentation which is sometimes called the "Predestination of Mary, "and sometimes the "Litanies of the Virgin. " Collectors and writerson art must bear in mind, that the former, as a subject, dates onlyfrom the beginning of the seventeenth century, the latter fromthe beginning of the sixteenth. Although, as representations, sovery similar, yet the intention and meaning are different. In theConception it is the sinless Virgin in her personal character, whois held up to reverence, as the purest, wisest, holiest, of createdbeings. The earlier theme involves a yet more recondite signification. It is, undoubtedly, to be regarded as an attempt on the part of theartist to express, in a visible form, the idea or promise of theredemption of the human race, as existing in the Sovereign Mind beforethe beginning of things. They do not personify this idea under theimage of Christ, --for they conceived that, as the second person of theTrinity, he could not be his own instrument, --but by the image of Marysurrounded by those attributes which were afterwards introduced intothe pictures of the Conception: or setting her foot, as second Eve, onthe head of the prostrate serpent. Not seldom, in a series of subjectsfrom the Old Testament, the _pendant_ to Eve holding the apple is Marycrushing the head of the fiend; and thus the "bane and antidote areboth before us. " This is the proper interpretation of those effigies, so prevalent in every form of art during the sixteenth century, andwhich are often, but erroneously, styled the Immaculate Conception. 

The numerous heads of the Virgin which proceeded from the laterschools of Italy and Spain, wherein she appears neither veiled norcrowned, but very young, and with flowing hair and white vesture, areintended to embody the popular idea of the _Madonna purissima_, of"the Virgin most pure, conceived without sin, " in an abridged form. There is one by Murillo, in the collection of Mr. Holford; and anotherby Guido, which will give an idea of the treatment. 

Before quitting the subject of the Immaculate Conception. I mustrefer to a very curious picture[1] called an Assumption, but certainlypainted at least one hundred years before the Immaculate Conceptionwas authorized as a Church subject. 

[Footnote 1: Once in the collection of Mr. Solly, and now in thepossession of Mr. Bromley of Wootten. ]

From the year 1496, when Sixtus IV. Promulgated his Bull, and theSorbonne put forth their famous decree, --at a time when there wasless of faith and religious feeling in Italy than ever before, --thisabstract dogma became a sort of watchword with theological disputants;not ecclesiastics only, the literati and the reigning powers tookan interest in the controversy, and were arrayed on one side or theother. The Borgias, for instance, were opposed to it. Just at thisperiod, the singular picture I allude to was painted by Girolamo daCotignola. It is mentioned by Lanzi, but his account of it is notquite correct. 

Above, in glory, is seen the _Padre Eterno_, surrounded by cherubimbearing a scroll, on which is inscribed, "_Non enim pro te sed proomnibus hec lex constitutura est. _"[1] Lower down the Virgin standson clouds, with hands joined, and attired in a white tunic embroideredwith gold, a blue mantle lined with red, and, which is quite singularand unorthodox, _black shoes_. Below, on the earth, and to theright, stands a bishop without a glory, holding a scroll, on whichis inscribed, "_Non puto verè esse amatorem Virginis qui respuitcelebrare Festum suæ Conceptionis_;" on the left is St. Jerome. Inthe centre are three kneeling figures: on one side St. Catherine (orperhaps Caterina Sforza in the character of St. Catherine, for thehead looks like a portrait); on the other an elderly woman, GinevraTiepolo, widow of Giovanni Sforza, last prince of Pesaro; [2] betweenthem the little Costanzo Sforza, looking up with a charming devoutexpression. [3] Underneath is Inscribed, "JUNIPERA SFOSTIA PATRIAA MARITO RECEPTA. EXVOTO MCCCCCXII. " Giovanni Sforza had beendispossessed of his dominions by the Borgias, after his divorce fromLucrezia, and died in 1501. The Borgias ceased to reign in 1512; andGinevra, apparently restored to her country, dedicated this picture, at once a memorial of her gratitude and of her faith. It remained overthe high-altar of the Church of the Serviti, at Pesaro, till acquiredby Mr. Solly, from whom it was purchased by Mr. Bromley. [4]

[Footnote 1: From the Office of the Blessed Virgin. ]

[Footnote 2: This Giovanni was the first husband of Lucrezia Borgia. ]

[Footnote 3: Lanzi calls this child Costanzo II. , prince of Pesaro. Very interesting memoirs of all the personages here referred to may befound in Mr. Dennistoun's "Dukes of Urbino. "]

[Footnote 4: Girolamo Marchesi da Cotignola, was a painter of theFrancia school, whose works date from about 1508 to 1550. Those ofhis pictures which I have seen are of very unequal merit, and, withmuch feeling and expression in the heads, are often mannered andfantastic as compositions. This agrees with what Vasari says, that hisexcellence lay in portraiture, for which reason he was summoned, afterthe battle of Ravenna, to paint the portrait of Caston de Foix, ashe lay dead. (See Vasari, _Vita di Bagnacavallo_; and in the Englishtrans. , vol. Iii. 331. ) The picture above described, which has a sortof historical interest, is perhaps the same mentioned in Murray'sHandbook (Central Italy, p. 110. ) as an _enthroned_ Madonna, dated1513, and as being in 1843 in its original place over the altar in theServiti at Pesaro; if so, it is there no longer. ]

DEVOTIONAL SUBJECTS. 

PART II. 

THE VIRGIN AND CHILD. 

1. LA VERGINE MADRE DI DIO. 2. LA MA DRE AMABILE. 

THE VIRGIN AND CHILD ENTHRONED. 

_Lat. _ Sancta Dei Genitrix. Virgo Deipara. _Ital. _ La SantissimaVergine, Madre di Dio. _Fr. _ La Sainte Vierge, Mère de Dieu. _Ger. _Die Heilige Mutter Gottes. 

The Virgin in her maternal character opens upon us so wide a fieldof illustration, that I scarce know where to begin or how to find myway, amid the crowd of associations which press upon me. A motherholding her child in her arms is no very complex subject; but like avery simple air constructed on a few expressive notes, which, whenharmonized, is susceptible of a thousand modulations, and variations, and accompaniments, while the original _motif_ never loses its powerto speak to the heart; so it is with the MADONNA AND CHILD;--asubject so consecrated by its antiquity, so hallowed by its profoundsignificance, so endeared by its associations with the softest anddeepest of our human sympathies, that the mind has never wearied ofits repetition, nor the eye become satiated with its beauty. Those whorefuse to give it the honour due to a religious representation, yetregard it with a tender half-unwilling homage; and when the glorifiedtype of what is purest, loftiest, holiest in womanhood, stands beforeus, arrayed in all the majesty and beauty that accomplished Art, inspired by faith and love, could lend her, and bearing her divineSon, rather enthroned than sustained on her maternal bosom, "we look, and the heart is in heaven!" and it is difficult, very difficult, torefrain from an _Ora pro Nobis_. But before we attempt to classifythese lovely and popular effigies, in all their infinite variety, from the enthroned grandeur of the Queen of Heaven, the SANCTADEI GENITRIX, down to the peasant mother, swaddling or sucklingher infant; or to interpret the innumerable shades of significanceconveyed by the attendant accessories, we must endeavour to trace therepresentation itself to its origin. 

This is difficult. There exists no proof, I believe, that the effigiesof the Virgin with the infant Christ in her arms, which existed beforethe end of the fifth century, were placed before Christian worshippersas objects of veneration. They appear to have been merely groupsrepresenting a particular incident of the New Testament, namely, the adoration of the Magi; for I find no other in which the motheris seated with the infant Christ, and this is an historical subjectof which we shall have to speak hereafter. From the beginning ofthe fourth century, that is, from the time of Constantine and thecondemnation of Arius, the popular reverence for the Virgin, theMother of Christ, had been gaining ground; and at the same time theintroduction of images and pictures into the places of worship andinto the houses of Christians, as ornaments on glass vessels and evenembroidered on garments and curtains, became more and more diffused, (v. Neander's Church History. )

The earliest effigies of the Virgin and Child may be tracedto Alexandria, and to Egyptian influences; and it is as easilyconceivable that the time-consecrated Egyptian myth of Isis andHorus may have suggested the original type, the outward form and thearrangement of the maternal group, as that the classical Greek typesof the Orpheus and Apollo should have furnished the early symbols ofthe Redeemer as the Good Shepherd; a fact which does not rest uponsupposition, but of which the proofs remain to us in the antiqueChristian sculptures and the paintings in the catacombs. 

The most ancient Greek figures of the Virgin and Child have perished;but, as far as I can learn, there is no evidence that these effigieswere recognized by the Church as sacred before the beginning of thesixth century. It was the Nestorian schism which first gave to thegroup of the Mother bearing her divine Son that religious importanceand significance which it has ever since retained in Catholiccountries. 

The divinity of Christ and his miraculous conception, once establishedas articles of belief, naturally imparted to Mary, his mother, adignity beyond that of other mothers her Son was God; therefore thetitle of MOTHER OF GOD was assigned to her. When or by whom firstbrought into use, does not appear; but about the year 400 it becamea popular designation. 

Nestorias, patriarch of Constantinople in 428, had begun bypersecuting the Arians; but while he insisted that in Jesus werecombined two persons and two natures, he insisted that the Virgin Marywas the mother of Christ considered as _man_, but not the mother ofChrist considered as _God_; and that, consequently, all those who gaveher the title of _Dei Genitrix_, _Deipara_, [1] were in error. Therewere many who adopted these opinions, but by a large portion of theChurch they were repudiated with horror, as utterly subverting thedoctrine of the mystery of the Incarnation. Cyril of Alexandriaopposed Nestorius and his followers, and defended with zealousenthusiasm the claims of the Virgin to all the reverence andworship due to her; for, as he argued, the two natures being one andindivisible from the moment of the miraculous conception, it followedthat Mary did indeed bring forth God, --was, in fact, the mother ofGod; and, all who took away from her this dignity and title were inerror, and to be condemned as heretics. 

[Footnote 1: The inscription on the Greek and Byzantine pictures isactually [Greek: MAeR ThU] ([Greek: Mhaetaer Theos]). ]

I hope I shall not be considered irreverent in thus plainly and simplystating the grounds of this celebrated schism, with reference to itsinfluence on Art; an influence incalculable, not only at the time, but ever since that time; of which the manifold results, tracedfrom century to century down to the present hour, would remain quiteunintelligible, unless we clearly understood the origin and the issueof the controversy. 

Cyril, who was as enthusiastic and indomitable as Nestorius, and hadthe advantage of taking the positive against the negative side of thequestion, anathematized the doctrines of his opponent, in a synod heldat Alexandria in 430, to which Pope Celestine II gave the sanction ofhis authority. The emperor Theodosius II then called a general councilat Ephesus in 431, before which Nestorius refused to appear, and wasdeposed from his dignity of patriarch by the suffrages of 200 bishops. But this did not put an end to the controversy; the streets of Ephesuswere disturbed by the brawls and the pavement of the cathedral wasliterally stained with the blood of the contending parties Theodosiusarrested both the patriarchs; but after the lapse of only a few days, Cyril triumphed over his adversary: with him triumphed the cause ofthe Virgin. Nestorius was deposed and exiled; his writings condemnedto the flames; but still the opinions he had advocated were adopted bynumbers, who were regarded as heretics by those who called themselves"the Catholic Church. "

The long continuance of this controversy, the obstinacy of theNestorians, the passionate zeal of those who held the oppositedoctrines, and their ultimate triumph when the Western Churches ofRome and Carthage declared in their favour, all tended to multiply anddisseminate far and wide throughout Christendom those images of theVirgin which exhibited her as Mother of the Godhead. At length theecclesiastical authorities, headed by Pope Gregory the Great, stampedthem as orthodox: and as the cross had been the primeval symbol whichdistinguished the Christian from the Pagan, so the image of the VirginMother with her Child now became the symbol which distinguished theCatholic Christian from the Nestorian Dissenter. 

Thus it appears that if the first religious representations of theVirgin and Child were not a consequence of the Nestorian schism, yetthe consecration of such effigies as the visible form of a theologicaldogma to the purposes of worship and ecclesiastical decorationmust date from the Council of Ephesus in 431; and their popularityand general diffusion throughout the western Churches, from thepontificate of Gregory in the beginning of the seventh century. 

In the most ancient of these effigies which remain, we have clearlyonly a symbol; a half figure, veiled, with hands outspread, andthe half figure of a child placed against her bosom, without anysentiment, without even the action of sustaining him. Such was theformal but quite intelligible sign; but it soon became more, it becamea representation. As it was in the East that the cause of the Virginfirst triumphed, we might naturally expect to find the earliestexamples in the old Greek churches; but these must have perishedin the furious onslaught made by the Iconoclasts on all the sacredimages. The controversy between the image-worshippers and theimage-breakers, which distracted the East for more than a century(that is, from 726 to 840), did not, however, extend to the west ofEurope. We find the primeval Byzantine type, or at least the exactreproduction of it, in the most ancient western churches, andpreserved to us in the mosaics of Rome, Ravenna, and Capua. Theseremains are nearly all of the same date, much later than the singlefigures of Christ as Redeemer, and belonging unfortunately to a lowerperiod and style of art. The true significance of the representationis not, however, left doubtful; for all the earliest traditions andinscriptions are in this agreed, that such effigies were intended asa confession of faith; an acknowledgment of the dignity of the VirginMary, as the "SANCTA DEI GENITRIX;" as a visible refutation of "theinfamous, iniquitous, and sacrilegious doctrines of Nestorius theHeresiarch. "[1]

[Footnote 1: _Mostrando quod ipsa Deipara esset contra impiam NestoriiHeresium quam talem esse iste Heresiareo negabat_ Vide Ciampini, andMunter's "Sinnbilder. "]

 * * * * *

As these ancient mosaic figures of the Virgin, enthroned with herinfant Son, were the precursors and models of all that was afterwardsconceived and executed in art, we must examine them in detail beforeproceeding further. 

The mosaic of the cathedral of Capua represents in the highest placethe half figure of Christ in the act of benediction. In one of thespandrels, to the right, is the prophet Isaiah, bearing a scroll, onwhich is inscribed, _Ecce Dominus in fortitudine veniet, et brachiumejus dominibatur_, --"The Lord God will come with strong hand, and hisarm shall rule for him. " (Isaiah, ch. Xl. V. 10. ) On the left standsJeremiah, also with a scroll and the words, _Fortissime, magne, etpatens Dominus exercituum nomen tibi_, --"The great, the mighty God, the Lord of hosts is his name. " (Jeremiah, ch. Xxxii. V. 18. ) In thecentre of the vault beneath, the Virgin is seated on a rich throne, a footstool under her feet; she wears a crown over her veil. Christ, seated on her knee, and clothed, holds a cross in his left hand; theright is raised is benediction. On one side of the throne stand St. Peter and St. Stephen; on the other St. Paul and St. Agatha, to whomthe church is dedicated. The Greek monogram of the Virgin is inscribedbelow the throne. 

The next in date which remains visible, is the group in the apsis ofS. Maria-della-Navicella (Rome), executed about 820, in the time ofPaschal I, a pontiff who was very remarkable for the zeal with whichhe rebuilt and adorned the then half-ruined churches of Rome. TheVirgin, of colossal size, is seated on a throne; her robe and veilare blue; the infant Christ, in a gold-coloured vest, is seated in herlap, and raises his hand to bless the worshippers. On each side of theVirgin is a group of adoring angels; at her feet kneels the diminutivefigure of Pope Paschal. 

In the Santa Maria-Nova (called also, "Santa Francesca, " Rome), theVirgin is seated on a throne wearing a rich crown, as queen of heaven. The infant Christ stands upon her knee; she has one hand on her bosomand sustains him with the other. 

On the façade of the portico of the S. Maria-in-Trastevere at Rome, the Virgin is enthroned, and crowned, and giving her breast to theChild. This mosaic is of later date than that in the apsis, but isone of the oldest examples of a representation which was evidentlydirected against the heretical doubts of the Nestorians: "How, " saidthey, pleading before the council of Ephesus, "can we call him Godwho is only two or three months old; or suppose the Logos to havebeen _suckled_ and to increase in wisdom?" The Virgin in the actof suckling her Child, is a _motif_ often since repeated when theoriginal significance was forgotten. 

In the chapel of San Zeno (Rome), the Virgin is enthroned; the Childis seated on her knee. He holds a scroll, on which are the words_Ego sum lux mundi_, "I am the light of the world;" the right hand israised in benediction. Above is the monogram [Greek: M-R ThU], MARIAMATER DEI. In the mosaics, from the eighth to the eleventh century, we find Art at a very low ebb. The background is flat gold, not a blueheaves with its golden stars, as in the early mosaics of the fifth andsixth centuries. The figures are ill-proportioned; the faces consistof lines without any attempt at form or expression. The draperies, however, have a certain amplitude; "and the character of a fewaccessories, for example, the crown on the Virgin's heads instead ofthe invariable Byzantine veil, betrays, " says Kugler, "a northern andprobably a Frankish influence. " The attendant saints, generally St. Peter and St. Paul, stand, stiff and upright on each side. 

But with all their faults, these grand, formal, significant groups--orrather not groups, for there was as yet no attempt either atgrouping or variety of action, for that would have been consideredirreverent--but these rows of figures, were the models of the earlyItalian painters and mosaic-workers in their large architecturalmosaics and altar-pieces set up in the churches during the revivalof Art, from the period of Cimabue and Andrea Tafi down to thelatter half of the thirteenth century: all partook of this lifeless, motionless character, and were, at the same time, touched withthe same solemn religious feeling. And long afterwards, when thearrangement became less formal and conventional, their influence maystill be traced in those noble enthroned Madonnas, which representthe Virgin as queen of heaven and of angels, either alone, or withattendant saints, and martyrs, and venerable confessors waiting roundher state. 

The general disposition of the two figures varies but little in theearliest examples which exist for us in painting, and which are, infact, very much alike. The Madonna seated on a throne, wearing a redtunic and a blue mantle, part of which is drawn as a veil over herhead, holds the infant Christ, clothed in a red or blue tunic. Shelooks straight out of the picture with her head a little declined toone side. Christ has the right hand raised in benediction, and theother extended. Such were the simple, majestic, and decorous effigies, the legitimate successors of the old architectural mosaics, andusually placed over the high altar of a church or chapel. The earliestexamples which have been preserved are for that reason celebrated inthe history of Art. 

The first is the enthroned Virgin of Guido da Siena, who precededCimabue by twenty or thirty years. In this picture, the Byzantineconception and style of execution are adhered to, yet with a softenedsentiment, a touch of more natural, life-like feeling, particularlyin the head of the Child. The expression in the face of the Virginstruck me as very gentle and attractive; but it has been, I am afraid, retouched, so that we cannot be quite sure that we have the originalfeatures. Fortunately Guido has placed a date on his work, MCCXXI. , and also inscribed on it a distich, which shows that he felt, withsome consciousness and self-complacency, his superiority to hisByzantine models;--

 "Me Guido de Senis diebus depinxit amoenis Quem Christus lenis nullis velit angere poenis. "[1]

Next we may refer to the two colossal Madonnas by Cimabue, preservedat Florence. The first, which was painted for the Vallombrosian monksof the S. Trinità, is now in the gallery of the academy. It has allthe stiffness and coldness of the Byzantine manner. There are threeadoring angels on each side, disposed one above another, and fourprophets are placed below in separate niches, half figures, holdingin their hands their prophetic scrolls, as in the old mosaic at Capua, already described. The second is preserved in the Ruccellai chapel, inthe S. Maria Novella, in its original place. In spite of its colossalsize, and formal attitude, and severe style, the face of this Madonnais very striking, and has been well described as "sweet and unearthly, reminding you of a sibyl. " The infant Christ is also very fine. Thereare three angels on each side, who seem to sustain the carved chair orthrone on which the Madonna is seated; and the prophets, instead, ofbeing below, are painted in small circular medallions down each sideof the frame. The throne and the background are covered with gold. Vasari gives a very graphic and animated account of the estimationin which this picture was held when first executed. Its colossaldimensions, though familiar in the great mosaics, were hithertounknown in painting; and not less astonishing appeared the deviation, though slight, from ugliness and lifelessness into grace and nature. "And thus, " he says, "it happened that this work was an object ofso much admiration to the people of that day, they having never seenanything better, that it was carried in solemn procession, with thesound of trumpets and other festal demonstrations, from the house ofCimabue to the church, he himself being highly rewarded and honouredfor it. It is further reported, and may be read in certain recordsof old painters, that, whilst Cimabue was painting this picture, in agarden near the gate of San Pietro, King Charles the Elder, of Anjou, passed through Florence, and the authorities of the city, among othermarks of respect, conducted him to see the picture of Cimabue. Whenthis work was thus shown to the King it had not before been seenby any one; wherefore all the men and women of Florence hastened incrowds to admire it, making all possible demonstrations of delight. The inhabitants of the neighbourhood, rejoicing in this occurrence, ever afterwards called that place _Borgo Allegri_; and this nameit has ever since retained, although in process of time it becameenclosed within the walls of the city. "

[Footnote 1: The meaning, for it is not easy to translate literally, is "_Me, hath painted, in pleasant days, Guido of Siena, Upon whosesoul may Christ deign to have mercy!_"]

 * * * * *

In the strictly devotional representations of the Virgin and Child, she is invariably seated, till the end of the thirteenth century: andfor the next hundred years the innovation of a standing figure wasconfined to sculpture. An early example is the beautiful statue byNiccolà Pisano, in the Capella della Spina at Pisa; and others will befound in Cicognara'a work (Storia della Scultura Moderna). The Gothiccathedrals, of the thirteenth century, also exhibit some most gracefulexamples of the Madonna in sculpture, standing on a pedestal, crownedor veiled, sustaining on her left arm the divine Child, while inher right she holds a sceptre or perhaps a flower. Such crowned orsceptred effigies of the Virgin were placed on the central pillarwhich usually divided the great door of a church into two equal parts;in reference to the text, "I am the DOOR; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved. " In Roman Catholic countries we find such effigiesset up at the corners of streets, over the doors of houses, and thegates of gardens, sometimes rude and coarse, sometimes exceedinglygraceful, according to the period of art and skill of the localartist. Here the Virgin appears in her character of Protectress--ourLady of Grace, or our Lady of Succour. 

 * * * * *

In pictures, we rarely find the Virgin standing, before the end ofthe fourteenth century. An almost singular example is to be foundin an old Greek Madonna, venerated as miraculous, in the Cathedralof Orvieto, under the title of _La Madonna di San Brizio_, and towhich is attributed a fabulous antiquity. I may be mistaken, but myimpression, on seeing it, was, that it could not be older than the endof the thirteenth century. The crowns worn by the Virgin and Christare even more modern, and out of character with the rest of thepainting. In Italy the pupils of Giotto first began to representthe Virgin standing on a raised dais. There is an example by PuccioCapanna, engraved in d'Agincourt's work; but such figures are veryuncommon. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries they occur morefrequently in the northern than in the Italian schools. 

In the simple enthroned Madonna, variations of attitude and sentimentwere gradually introduced. The Virgin, instead of supporting herSon with both hands, embraces him with one hand, and with the otherpoints to him; or raises her right hand to bless the worshipper. Thenthe Child caresses his mother, --a charming and natural idea, but adeviation from the solemnity of the purely religious significance;better imagined, however, to convey the relation between the motherand child, than the Virgin suckling her infant, to which I havealready alluded in its early religious, or rather controversialmeaning. It is not often that the enthroned Virgin is thus occupied. Mr. Rogers had in his collection an exquisite example where theVirgin, seated in state on a magnificent throne under a Gothic canopyand crowned as queen of heaven, offers her breast to the divine InfantThen the Mother adores her Child. This is properly the _Madre Pia_afterwards so beautifully varied. He lies extended on her knee, andshe looks down upon him with hands folded in prayer: or she placesher hand under his foot, an attitude which originally implied heracknowledgment of his sovereignty and superiority, but was continuedas a natural _motif_ when the figurative and religious meaning was nolonger considered. Sometimes the Child looks up in his mother's facewith his finger on his lip, expressing the _Verbum sum_, "I am theWord. " Sometimes the Child, bending forwards from his mother's knee, looks down benignly on the worshippers, who are _supposed_ to bekneeling at the foot of the altar. Sometimes, but very rarely hesleeps; never in the earliest examples; for to exhibit the youngRedeemer asleep, where he is an object of worship, was then a speciesof solecism. 

When the enthroned Virgin is represented holding a book, or reading, while the infant Christ, perhaps, lays his hand upon it--a variationin the first simple treatment not earlier than the end of thefourteenth century, and very significant--she is then the _VirgoSapientissima_, the most Wise Virgin; or the Mother of Wisdom, _MaterSapientiæ_; and the book she holds is the Book of Wisdom. [1] This isthe proper interpretation, where the Virgin is seated on her throne. In a most beautiful picture by Granacci (Berlin Gal. ), she is thusenthroned, and reading intently; while John the Baptist and St. Michael stand on each side. 

[Footnote 1: L'Abbé Crosnier, "Iconographie Chrétienne;" but the bookas an attribute had another meaning, for which, see the Introduction. ]

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With regard to costume, the colours in which the enthronedVirgin-Mother was arrayed scarcely ever varied from the establishedrule: her tunic was to be red, her mantle blue; red, the colour oflove, and religious aspiration; blue, the colour of constancy andheavenly purity. In the pictures of the thirteenth and fourteenthcenturies, and down to the early part of the fifteenth, these coloursare of a soft and delicate tint, --rose and pale azure; but afterwards, when powerful effects of colour became a study, we have the intensecrimson, and the dark blue verging on purple. Sometimes the bluemantle is brought over her head, sometimes she wears a white veil, inother instances the queenly crown. Sometimes (but very rarely when sheis throned as the _Regina Coeli_) she has no covering or ornament onher head; and her fair hair parted on her brow, flows down on eitherside in long luxuriant tresses. 

In the Venetian and German pictures, she is often most gorgeouslyarrayed; her crown studded with jewels, her robe covered withembroidery, or bordered with gold and pearls. The ornamental parts ofher dress and throne were sometimes, to increase the magnificence ofthe effect, raised in relief and gilt. To the early German painters, we might too often apply the sarcasm of Apelles, who said of hisrival, that, "not being able to make Venus _beautiful_ he had madeher _fine_;" but some of the Venetian Madonnas are lovely as well assplendid. Gold was often used, and in great profusion, in some of theLombard pictures even of a late date; for instance, by Carlo Crivelli:before the middle of the sixteenth century, this was consideredbarbaric. The best Italian painters gave the Virgin ample, welldisposed drapery, but dispensed with ornament. The star embroidered onher shoulder, so often retained when all other ornament was banished, expresses her title "Stella Maris. " I have seen some old pictures, inwhich she wears a ring on the third finger. This expresses her dignityas the _Sposa_ as well as the Mother. 

With regard to the divine Infant, he is, in the early pictures, invariably draped, and it is not till the beginning of the fifteenthcentury that we find him first partially and then wholly undraped. In the old representations, he wears a long tunic with full sleeves, fastened with a girdle. It is sometimes of gold stuff embroidered, sometimes white, crimson, or blue. This almost regal robe wasafterwards exchanged for a little semi-transparent shirt withoutsleeves. In pictures of the throned Madonna painted expressly fornunneries, the Child is, I believe, always clothed, or the Motherpartly infolds him in her own drapery. In the Umbrian pictures of thefifteenth century, the Infant often wears a coral necklace, then andnow worn by children in that district, as a charm against the evileye. In the Venetian pictures he has sometimes a coronal of pearls. Inthe carved and painted images set up in churches, he wears, like hismother, a rich crown over a curled wig, and is hung round with jewels;but such images must be considered as out of the pale of legitimateart. 

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Of the various objects placed in the hand of the Child as emblems Ihave already spoken, and of their sacred significance as such, --theglobe, the book, the bird, the flower, &c. In the works of theignorant secular artists of later times, these symbols of power, ordivinity, or wisdom, became mere playthings; and when they had becomefamiliar, and required by custom, and the old sacred associationsutterly forgotten, we find them most profanely applied and misused. To give one example:--the bird was originally placed in the hand ofChrist as the emblem of the soul, or of the spiritual as opposed tothe earthly nature; in a picture by Baroccio, he holds it up beforea cat, to be frightened and tormented. [1] But to proceed. 

[Footnote 1: In the "History of Our Lord, as illustrated in theFine Arts, " the devotional and characteristic effigies of the infantChrist, and the accompanying attributes, will be treated at length. ]

The throne on which the Virgin is seated, is, in very early pictures, merely an embroidered cushion on a sort of stool, or a carved Gothicchair, such as we see in the thrones and stalls of cathedrals. Itis afterwards converted into a rich architectural throne, mostelaborately adorned, according to the taste and skill of the artist. Sometimes, as in the early Venetian pictures, it is hung with garlandsof fruits and flowers, most fancifully disposed. Sometimes thearabesque ornaments are raised in relief and gilt. Sometimes thethrone is curiously painted to imitate various marbles, and adornedwith medallions and bas-reliefs from those subjects of the OldTestament which have a reference to the character of the Virgin andthe mission of her divine Child; the commonest of all being the Fall, which rendered a Redeemer necessary. Moses striking the rock (thewaters of life)--the elevation of the brazen serpent--the gatheringof the manna--or Moses holding the broken tablets of the old law, --alltypes of redemption, are often thus introduced as ornaments. In thesixteenth century, when the purely religious sentiment had declined, and a classical and profane taste had infected every department ofart and literature, we find the throne of the Virgin adorned withclassical ornaments and bas-reliefs from the antique remains; as, forinstance, the hunt of Theseus and Hippolyta. We must then supposeher throned on the ruins of paganism, an idea suggested by the oldlegends, which represent the temples and statues of the heathen godsas falling into ruin on the approach of the Virgin and her Child; anda more picturesque application of this idea afterwards became commonin other subjects. In Garofalo's picture the throne is adorned withSphinxes--_à l'antique_. Andrea del Sarto has placed harpies at thecorner of the pedestal of the throne, in his famous Madonna di SanFrancesco (Florence Gal. ), --a gross fault in that otherwise grandand faultless picture; one of those desecrations of a religioustheme which Andrea, as devoid of religious feeling as he was weak anddishonest, was in the habit of committing. 

But whatever the material or style of the throne, whether simple orgorgeous, it is supposed to be a heavenly throne. It is not of theearth, nor on the earth; and at first it was alone and unapproachable. The Virgin-mother, thus seated in her majesty, apart from all humanbeings, and in communion only with the Infant Godhead on her knee, orthe living worshippers who come to lay down their cares and sorrowsat the foot of her throne and breathe a devout "Salve Regina!"--is, through its very simplicity and concentrated interest, a sublimeconception. The effect of these figures, in their divine quietude andloveliness, can never be appreciated when hung in a gallery or roomwith other pictures, for admiration, or criticism, or comparison. Iremember well suddenly discovering such a Madonna, in a retired chapelin S. Francesco della Vigna at Venice, --a picture I had never heardof, by a painter then quite unknown to me, Fra Antonio da Negroponte, a Franciscan friar who lived in the fifteenth century. The calmdignity of the attitude, the sweetness, the adoring love in the faceof the queenly mother as with folded hands she looked down on thedivine Infant reclining on her knee, so struck upon my heart, that Iremained for minutes quite motionless. In this picture, nothing canexceed the gorgeous splendor of the Virgin's throne and apparel:she wears a jewelled crown; the Child a coronal of pearls; while thebackground is composed entirely of the mystical roses twined in a sortof _treillage_. 

I remember, too, a picture by Carlo Crivelli, in which the Virgin isseated on a throne, adorned, in the artist's usual style, with richfestoons of fruit and flowers. She is most sumptuously crowned andapparelled; and the beautiful Child on her knee, grasping her hand asif to support himself, with the most _naïve_ and graceful action bendsforward and looks dawn benignly on the worshippers _supposed_ to bekneeling below. 

When human personages were admitted within the same compartment, thethrone was generally raised by several steps, or placed on a loftypedestal, and till the middle of the fifteenth century it was alwaysin the centre of the composition fronting the spectator. It was aVenetian innovation to place the throne at one side of the picture, and show the Virgin in profile or in the act of turning round. This more scenic disposition became afterwards, in the passion forvariety and effect, too palpably artificial, and at length forced andtheatrical. 

The Italians distinguish between the _Madonna in Trono_ and the_Madonna in Gloria_. When human beings, however sainted and exaltedwere admitted within the margin of the picture, the divine dignityof the Virgin as _Madre di Dio_, was often expressed by elevating herwholly above the earth, and placing her "in regions mild of calm andserene air, " with the crescent or the rainbow under her feet. This isstyled a "Madonna in Gloria. " It is, in fact, a return to the antiqueconception of the enthroned Redeemer, seated on a rainbow, sustainedby the "curled clouds, " and encircled by a glory of cherubim. Theaureole of light, within which the glorified Madonna and her Childwhen in a standing position are often placed, is of an oblong form, called from its shape the _mandorla_, "the almond;"[1] but in generalshe is seated above in a sort of ethereal exaltation, while theattendant saints stand on the earth below. This beautiful arrangement, though often very sublimely treated, has not the simple austeredignity of the throne of state, and when the Virgin and Child, as inthe works of the late Spanish and Flemish painters, are formed out ofearth's most coarse and commonplace materials, the aërial throne offloating fantastic clouds suggests a disagreeable discord, a fear lestthe occupants of heaven should fall on the heads of their worshippersbelow. Not so the Virgins of the old Italians; for they look sodivinely ethereal that they seem uplifted by their own spirituality:not even the air-borne clouds are needed to sustain them. They have notouch of earth or earth's material beyond the human form; their properplace is the seventh heaven; and there they repose, a presence and apower--a personification of infinite mercy sublimated by innocence andpurity; and thence they look down on their worshippers and attendants, while these gaze upwards "with looks commercing with the skies. "

[Footnote 1: Or the "Vescica Pisces, " by Lord Lindsay and others. ]

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And now of these angelic and sainted accessories, however placed, wemust speak at length; for much of the sentiment and majesty of theMadonna effigies depend on the proper treatment of the attendantfigures, and on the meaning they convey to the observer. 

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The Virgin is entitled, by authority of the Church, queen of angels, of prophets, of apostles, of martyrs, of virgins, and of confessors;and from among these her attendants are selected. 

ANGELS were first admitted, waiting Immediately round her chairof state. A signal instance is the group of the enthroned Madonna, attended by the four archangels, as we find it in the very ancientmosaic in Sant-Apollinare-Novo, at Ravenna. As the belief in thesuperior power and sanctity of the Blessed Virgin grew and spread, the angels no longer attended her as princes of the heavenly host, guardians, or councillors; they became, in the early pictures, adoring angels, sustaining her throne on each side, or holding upthe embroidered curtain which forms the background. In the Madonna byCimabue, which, if it be not the earliest after the revival of art, was one of the first in which the Byzantine manner was softened andItalianized, we have six grand, solemn-looking angels, three on eachside of the throne, arranged perpendicularly one above another. The Virgin herself is of colossal proportions, far exceeding themin size, and looking out of her frame, "large as a goddess of theantique world. " In the other Madonna in the gallery of the academy, we have the same arrangement of the angels. Giotto diversified thisarrangement. He placed the angels kneeling at the foot of the throne, making music, and waiting on their divine Mistress as her celestialchoristers, --a service the more fitting because she was not only queenof angels, but patroness of music and minstrelsy, in which charactershe has St. Cecilia as her deputy and delegate. This accompanimentof the choral angels was one of the earliest of the accessories, andcontinued down to the latest times. They are most particularly lovelyin the pictures of the fifteenth century. They kneel and strike theirgolden lutes, or stand and sound their silver clarions, or sit likebeautiful winged children on the steps of the throne, and pipe andsing as if their spirits were overflowing with harmony as well as loveand adoration. [1] In a curious picture of the enthroned Madonna andChild (Berlin Gal. ), by Gentil Fabriano, a tree rises on each sideof the throne, on which little red seraphim are perched like birds, singing and playing on musical instruments. In later times, they playand sing for the solace of the divine Infant, not merely adoring, butministering: but these angels ministrant belong to another class ofpictures. Adoration, not service, was required by the divine Childand his mother, when they were represented simply in theirdivine character, and placed far beyond earthly wants and earthlyassociations. 

[Footnote 1: As in the picture by Lo Spagna in our National Gallery, No. 282. ]

There are examples where the angels in attendance bear, not harpsor lutes, but the attributes of the Cardinal Virtues, as in analtar-piece by Taddeo Gaddi at Florence. (Santa Croce, RinucciniChapel. )

The patriarchs, prophets, and sibyls, all the personages, in fact, wholived under the old law, when forming, in a picture or altar-piece, part, of the _cortège_ of the throned Virgin, as types, or prophets, or harbingers of the Incarnation, are on the _outside_ of that sacredcompartment wherein she is seated with her Child. This was the casewith _all_ the human personages down to the end of the thirteenthcentury; and after that time, I find the characters of the OldTestament still excluded from the groups immediately round her throne. Their place was elsewhere allotted, at a more respectful distance. Theonly exceptions I can remember, are King David and the patriarchJob; and these only in late pictures, where David does not appear asprophet, but as the ancestor of the Redeemer; and Job, only at Venice, where he is a patron saint. 

The four evangelists and the twelve apostles are, in their collectivecharacter in relation to the Virgin, treated like the prophets, and placed around the altar-piece. Where we find one or more of theevangelists introduced into the group of attendant "Sanctities" oneach side of her throne, it is not in their character of evangelists, but rather as patron saints. Thus St. Mark appears constantly in theVenetian pictures; but it is as the patron and protector of Venice. St. John the Evangelist, a favourite attendant on the Virgin, is nearher in virtue of his peculiar relation to her and to Christ; and he isalso a popular patron saint. St. Luke and St. Matthew, unless they bepatrons of the particular locality, or of the votary who presentsthe picture, never appear. It is the same with the apostles in theircollective character as such; we find them constantly, as statues, ranged on each side of the Virgin, or as separate figures. Thus theystand over the screen of St. Mark's, at Venice, and also on the carvedframes of the altar-pieces; but either from their number, or someother cause, they are seldom grouped round the enthroned Virgin. 

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It is ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST who, next to the angels, seems to havebeen the first admitted to a propinquity with the divine persons. InGreek art, he is himself an angel, a messenger, and often representedwith wings. He was especially venerated in the Greek Church inhis character of precursor of the Redeemer, and, as such, almostindispensable in every sacred group; and it is, perhaps, to theearly influence of Greek art on the selection and arrangement of theaccessory personages, that we owe the preëminence of John the Baptist. One of the most graceful, and appropriate, and familiar of all theaccessory figures grouped with the Virgin and Child, is that of theyoung St. John (called in Italian _San Giovannino_, and in Spanish_San Juanito_. ) When first introduced, we find him taking the placeof the singing or piping angels in front of the throne. He generallystands, "clad in his raiment of camel's hair, having a girdle roundhis loins, " and in his hand a reed cross, round which is bound ascroll with the words "_Ecce Agnus Dei_" ("Behold the Lamb of God"), while with his finger he points up to the enthroned group above him, expressing the text from St. Luke (c. Ii. ), "And thou, CHILD shaltbe called the Prophet of the Highest, " as in Francia's picture in ourNational Gallery. Sometimes he bears a lamb in his arms, the _EcceAgnus Dei_ in form instead of words. 

The introduction of the young St. John becomes more and more usualfrom the beginning of the sixteenth century. In later pictures, atouch of the dramatic is thrown into the arrangement: instead of beingat the foot of the throne, he is placed beside it; as where the Virginis throned on a lofty pedestal, and she lays one hand on the head ofthe little St. John, while with the other she strains her Child to herbosom; or where the infant Christ and St. John, standing at her knee, embrace each other--a graceful incident in a Holy Family, but in theenthroned Madonna it impairs the religious conception; it places St. John too much on a level with the Saviour, who is here in that divinecharacter to which St. John bore witness, but which he did not share. It is very unusual to see John the Baptist in his childish characterglorified in heaven among the celestial beings: I remember but oneinstance, in a beautiful picture by Bonifazio. (Acad. Venice. ) TheVirgin is seated in glory, with her Infant on her knee, and encircledby cherubim; on one side an angel approaches with a basket of flowerson his head, and she is in act to take these flowers and scatterthem on the saints below, --a new and graceful _motif_: on the otherside sits John the Baptist as a boy about twelve years of age. Theattendant saints below are St. Peter, St. Andrew, St. Thomas holdingthe girdle, [1] St. Francis, and St. Clara, all looking up withecstatic devotion, except St. Clara, who looks down with a charmingmodesty. 

[Footnote 1: St. Thomas is called in the catalogue, James, king ofArragon. ]

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In early pictures, ST. ANNA, the mother of the Virgin, is very seldomintroduced, because in such sublime and mystical representations ofthe _Vergine Dea_, whatever connected her with realities, or with herearthly genealogy, is suppressed. But from the middle of the fifteenthcentury, St. Anna became, from the current legends of the historyof the Virgin, an important saint, and when introduced into thedevotional groups, which, however, is seldom, it seems to haveembarrassed the painters how to dispose of her. She could not well beplaced below her daughter; she could not be placed above her. It is acurious proof of the predominance of the feminine element throughoutthese representations, that while ST. JOACHIM the father and ST. JOSEPH the husband of the Virgin, are either omitted altogether, orare admitted only in a subordinate and inferior position, St. Anna, when she does appear, is on an equality with her daughter. There isa beautiful example, and apt for illustration, in the picture byFrancia, in our National Gallery, where St. Anna and the Virgin areseated together on the same throne, and the former presents the appleto her divine Grandson. I remember, too, a most graceful instancewhere St. Anna stands behind and a little above the throne, with herhands placed affectionately on the shoulders of the Virgin, and raisesher eyes to heaven as if in thanksgiving to God, who through her hadbrought salvation into the world. Where the Virgin is seated on theknees of St. Anna, it is a still later innovation. There is such agroup in a picture in the Louvre, after a famous cartoon by Leonardoda Vinci, which, in spite of its celebrity, has always appeared to mevery fantastic and irreverent in treatment. There is also a fine printby Carraglio, in which the Virgin and Child are sustained on theknees of St. Anna: under her feet lies the dragon. St. Roch and St. Sebastian on each side, and the dead dragon, show that this is avotive subject, an expression of thanksgiving after the cessation ofa plague. The Germans, who were fond of this group, imparted, even tothe most religious treatment, a domestic sentiment. 

The earliest instance I can point to of the enthroned Virgin attendedby both her parents, is by Vivarini (Acad. Venice): St. Anna is on theright of the throne; St. Joachim, in the act of reverently removinghis cap, stands on the left; more in front is a group of Franciscansaints. 

The introduction of St. Anna into a Holy Family, as part of thedomestic group, is very appropriate and graceful; but this of courseadmits, and indeed requires, a wholly different sentiment. The sameremark applies to St. Joseph, who, in the earlier representationsof the enthroned Virgin, is carefully excluded; he appears, I think, first in the Venetian pictures. There is an example in a splendidcomposition by Paul Veronese. (Acad. Venice. ) The Virgin, on a loftythrone, holds the Child; both look down on the worshippers; St. Joseph is partly seen behind leaning on his crutch. Round the thronestand St. John the Baptist, St. Justina, as patroness of Venice, andSt. George; St. Jerome is on the other side in deep meditation. Amagnificent picture, quite sumptuous in colour and arrangement, andyet so solemn and so calm![1]

[Footnote 1: There is another example by Paul Veronese, similar incharacter and treatment, in which St. John and St. Joseph are on thethrone with the Virgin and child, and St. Catherine and St. Antonybelow. ]

The composition by Michael Angelo, styled a "Holy Family, " is, though singular in treatment, certainly devotional in character, and an enthroned Virgin. She is seated in the centre, on a raisedarchitectural seat, holding a book; the infant Christ slumbers, --bookscan teach him nothing, and to make him reading is unorthodox. In thebackground on one side, St. Joseph leans over a balustrade, as if indevout contemplation; a young St. John the Baptist leans on the otherside. The grand, mannered, symmetrical treatment is very remarkableand characteristic. There are many engravings of this celebratedcomposition. In one of them, the book held by the Virgin bears on oneside the text in Latin, "_Blessed art thou among women, and blessed isthe fruit of thy womb. _" On the opposite page, "_Blessed be God, whohas regarded the low estate of his hand-maiden. For, behold, fromhenceforth all generations shall call me blessed. _"

While the young St. John is admitted into' such close companionshipwith the enthroned Madonna, his mother Elizabeth, so commonly andbeautifully introduced into the Holy Families, is almost uniformlyexcluded. 

Next in order, as accessory figures, appear some one or two or more ofthe martyrs, confessors, and virgin patronesses, with their respectiveattributes, either placed in separate niches and compartments on eachside, or, when admitted within the sacred precincts where sits theQueenly Virgin Mother and her divine Son, standing, in the mannerof councillors and officers of state on solemn occasions, round anearthly sovereign, all reverently calm and still; till gradually thissolemn formality, this isolation of the principal characters, gave wayto some sentiment which placed them in nearer relation to each other, and to the divine personages. Occasional variations of attitude andaction were introduced--at first, a rare innovation; ere long, acustom, a fashion. For instance;--the doctors turn over the leavesof their great books as if seeking for the written testimonies to thetruth of the mysterious Incarnation made visible in the persons of theMother and Child; the confessors contemplate the radiant group withrapture, and seem ready to burst forth in hymns of praise; the martyrskneel in adoration; the virgins gracefully offer their victoriouspalms: and thus the painters of the best periods of art contrived toanimate their sacred groups without rendering them too dramatic andtoo secular. 

Such, then, was the general arrangement of that religious subjectwhich is technically styled "The Madonna enthroned and attended bySaints. " The selection and the relative position of these angelic andsaintly accessories were not, as I have already observed, matters ofmere taste or caprice; and an attentive observation of the choice anddisposition of the attendant figures will often throw light on theoriginal significance of such pictures, and the circumstances underwhich they wore painted. 

Shall I attempt a rapid classification and interpretation of theseinfinitely varied groups? It is a theme which might well occupyvolumes rather than pages, and which requires far more antiquarianlearning and historical research than I can pretend to; still bygiving the result of my own observations in some few instances, it maybe possible so to excite the attention and fancy of the reader, asto lead him further on the same path than I have myself been able toventure. 

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We can trace, in a large class of these pictures, a generalreligious significance, common to all periods, all localities, allcircumstances; while in another class, the interest is not onlyparticular and local, but sometimes even personal. 

To the first class belongs the antique and beautiful group of theVirgin and Child, enthroned between the two great archangels, St. Michael and St. Gabriel. It is probably the most ancient of thesecombinations: we find it in the earliest Greek art, in the carvedivory diptychs of the eighth and ninth centuries, in the oldGreco-Italian pictures, in the ecclesiastical sculpture and stainedglass of from the twelfth to the fifteenth century. In the mostancient examples, the two angels are seen standing on each side ofthe Madonna, not worshipping, but with their sceptres and attributes, as princes of the heavenly host, attending on her who is queen ofangels; St. Gabriel as the angel of birth and life, St. Michael asthe angel of Death, that is, in the Christian sense, of deliveranceand immortality. There is an instance of this antique treatment in asmall Greek picture in the Wallerstein collection. (Now at KensingtonPalace. )

In later pictures, St. Gabriel seldom appears except as the _AngelaAnnunziatore_; but St. Michael very frequently. Sometimes, asconqueror over sin and representative of the Church militant, he stands with his foot on the dragon with a triumphant air; or, kneeling, he presents to the infant Christ the scales of eternaljustice, as in a famous picture by Leonardo da Vinci. It is not onlybecause of his popularity as a patron saint, and of the number ofchurches dedicated to him, that he is so frequently introduced intothe Madonna pictures; according to the legend, he was by Divineappointment the guardian of the Virgin and her Son while theysojourned on earth. The angel Raphael leading Tobias always expressesprotection, and especially protection to the young. Tobias with hisfish was an early type of baptism. There are many beautiful examples. In Raphael's "Madonna dell' Pesce" (Madrid Gal. ) he is introduced asthe patron saint of the painter, but not without a reference to moresacred meaning, that of the guardian spirit of all humanity. Thewarlike figure of St. Michael, and the benign St. Raphael, arethus represented as celestial guardians in the beautiful picture byPerugino now in our National Gallery. (No. 288. )

There are instances of the three archangels all standing togetherbelow the glorified Virgin: St. Michael in the centre with his footon the prostrate fiend; St. Gabriel on the right presents his lily;and, on the left, the protecting angel presents his human charge, andpoints up to the source of salvation. (In an engraving after GiulioRomano. )

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The Virgin between St. Peter and St. Paul is also an extremely ancientand significant group. It appears in the old mosaics. As chiefs of theapostles and joint founders of the Church, St. Peter and St. Paul areprominent figures in many groups and combinations, particularly inthe altar-pieces of the Roman churches, and those painted for theBenedictine communities. 

The Virgin, when supported on each side by St. Peter and St. Paul, must be understood to represent the personified Church between hertwo great founders and defenders; and this relation is expressed, in a very poetical manner, when St. Peter, kneeling, receives theallegorical keys from the hand of the infant Saviour. There are somecurious and beautiful instances of this combination of a significantaction with the utmost solemnity of treatment; for example, inthat very extraordinary Franciscan altar-piece, by Carlo Crivelli, lately purchased by Lord Ward, where St. Peter, having deposited hispapal tiara at the foot of the throne, kneeling receives the greatsymbolical keys. And again, in a fine picture by Andrea Meldula, wherethe Virgin and Child are enthroned, and the infant Christ deliversthe keys to Peter, who stands, but with a most reverential air; on theother side of the throne is St. Paul with his book and the sword heldupright. There are also two attendant angels. On the border of themantle of the Virgin is inscribed "_Ave Maria gratia plena_. "[1]

[Footnote 1: In the collection of Mr. Bromley, of Wootton. Thispicture is otherwise remarkable as the only authenticated work of avery rare painter. It bears his signature, and the style indicates theend of the fifteenth century as the probable date. ]

I do not recollect any instance in which the four evangelists as such, or the twelve apostles in their collective character, wait round thethrone of the Virgin and Child, though one or more of the evangelistsand one or more of the apostles perpetually occur. 

The Virgin between St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, is also a very significant and beautiful combination, and one veryfrequently met with. Though both these saints were as childrencontemporary with the child Christ, and so represented in the HolyFamilies, in these solemn ideal groups they are always men. The firstSt. John expresses regeneration by the rite of baptism the second St. John, distinguished as _Theologus_, "the Divine, " stands with hissacramental cup, expressing regeneration by faith. The former was theprecursor of the Saviour, the first who proclaimed him to the world assuch; the latter beheld the vision in Patmos, of the Woman in travailpursued by the dragon, which is interpreted in reference to theVirgin and her Child. The group thus brought into relation is fullof meaning, and, from the variety and contrast of character, full ofpoetical and artistic capabilities. St. John the Baptist is usuallya man about thirty, with wild shaggy hair and meagre form, so drapedthat his vest of camel's hair is always visible; he holds his reedcross. St. John the Evangelist is generally the young and gracefuldisciple; but in some instances he is the venerable seer of Patmos, "Whose beard descending sweeps his aged breast. "

There is an example in one of the finest pictures by Perugino. TheVirgin is throned above, and surrounded by a glory of seraphim, withmany-coloured wings. The Child stands on her knee. In the landscapebelow are St. Michael, St. Catherine, St. Apollonia, and. St. Johnthe Evangelist as the aged prophet with white flowing beard. (BolognaAcad. )

 * * * * *

The Fathers of the Church, as interpreters and defenders of themystery of the Incarnation, are very significantly placed near thethrone of the Virgin and Child. In Western art, the Latin doctors, St. Jerome, St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, and St. Gregory, have of coursethe preëminence. (v Sacred and Legend. Art. )

The effect produced by these aged, venerable, bearded dignitaries, with their gorgeous robes and mitres and flowing beards, in contrastwith the soft simplicity of the divine Mother and her Infant, is, in the hands of really great artists, wonderfully fine. There is asplendid example, by Vivarini (Venice Acad. ); the old doctors standtwo on each side of the throne, where, under a canopy upborne byangels, sits the Virgin, sumptuously crowned and attired, and lookingmost serene and goddess-like; while the divine Child, standing onher knee, extends his little hand in the act of benediction. Of thispicture I have already given a very detailed description. (Sacred andLegend. Art. ) Another example, a grand picture by Moretto, now in theMuseum at Frankfort, I have also described. There is here a touch ofthe dramatic sentiment;--the Virgin is tenderly caressing her Child, while two of the old doctors, St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, standreverently on each side of her lofty throne; St. Gregory sits on thestep below, reading, and St. Jerome bends over and points to a page inhis book. The Virgin is not sufficiently dignified; she has too muchthe air of a portrait; and the action of the Child is, also, thoughtender, rather unsuited to the significance of the rest of the group;but the picture is, on the whole, magnificent. There is another fineexample of the four doctors attending on the Virgin, in the MilanGallery. [1]

[Footnote 1: In a native picture of the Milanese School, dedicated byLudovico Sforza _Il Moro_. ]

Sometimes not four, but two only of these Fathers, appear incombination with other figures, and the choice would depend on thelocality and other circumstances. But, on the whole, we rarely finda group of personages assembled round the throne of the Virgin whichdoes not include one or more of these venerable pillars of the Church. St. Ambrose appears most frequently in the Milanese pictures: St. Augustine and St. Jerome, as patriarchs of monastic orders, arevery popular: St. Gregory, I think, is more seldom met with than theothers. 

 * * * * *

The Virgin, with St. Jerome and St. Catherine, the patron saintsof theological learning, is a frequent group in all monasteries, but particularly in the churches and houses of the Jeronimites. Abeautiful example is the Madonna, by Francia. (Borghese Palace. Rome. ) St. Jerome, with Mary Magdalene, also a frequent combination, expresses theological learning in union with religious penitence andhumility. Correggio's famous picture is an example, where St. Jeromeon one side presents his works in defence of the Church, and histranslation of the Scriptures; while, on the other, Mary Magdalene, bending down devoutly, kisses the feet of the infant Christ. (Parma. )

Of all the attendants on the Virgin and Child, the most popular is, perhaps, St. Catherine; and the "Marriage of St. Catherine, " as areligious mystery, is made to combine with the most solemn and formalarrangement of the other attendant figures. The enthroned Virginpresides over the mystical rite. This was, for intelligible reasons, a favourite subject in nunneries. [1]

[Footnote 1: For a detailed account of the legendary marriage of St. Catherine and examples of treatment, see Sacred and Legendary Art. ]

In a picture by Garofalo, the Child, bending from his mother's knee, places a golden crown on the head of St. Catherine as _Sposa_; on eachside stand St. Agnes and St. Jerome. 

In a picture by Carlo Maratti, the nuptials take place in heaven, theVirgin and Child being throned in clouds. 

If the kneeling _Sposa_ be St. Catherine of Siena, the nun, and notSt. Catherine of Alexandria, or if the two are introduced, then we maybe sure that the picture was painted for a nunnery of the Dominicanorder. [1]

[Footnote 1: See Legends of the Monastic Orders. A fine example ofthis group "the Spozulizio of St. Catherine of Siena, " has lately beenadded to our National Gallery; (Lorenzo di San Severino, No. 249. )]

The great Madonna _in Trono_ by the Dominican Fra Bartolomeo, whereinthe queenly St. Catherine of Alexandria witnesses the mysticalmarriage of her sister saint, the nun of Siena, will occur to everyone who has been at Florence; and there is a smaller picture by thesame painter in the Louvre;--a different version of the same subject. I must content myself with merely referring to these well-knownpictures which have been often engraved, and dwell more in detailon another, not so well known, and, to my feeling, as preëminentlybeautiful and poetical, but in the early Flemish, not the Italianstyle--a poem in a language less smooth and sonorous, but still a_poem_. 

This is the altar-piece painted by Hemmelinck for the charitablesisterhood of St. John's Hospital at Bruges. The Virgin is seatedunder a porch, and her throne decorated with rich tapestry; twograceful angels hold a crown over her head. On the right, St. Catherine, superbly arrayed as a princess, kneels at her side, andthe beautiful infant Christ bends forward and places the bridal ringon her finger. Behind her a charming angel, playing on the organ, celebrates the espousals with hymns of joy; beyond him stands St. John the Baptist with his lamb. On the left of the Virgin kneels St. Barbara, reading intently; behind her an angel with a book; beyond himstands St. John the Evangelist, youthful, mild, and pensive. Throughthe arcades of the porch is seen a landscape background, withincidents picturesquely treated from the lives of the Baptist andthe Evangelist. Such is the central composition. The two wingsrepresent--on one side, the beheading of St. John the Baptist; onthe other, St. John the Evangelist, in Patmos, and the vision of theApocalypse. In this great work there is a unity and harmony of designwhich blends the whole into an impressive poem. The object was to dohonour to the patrons of the hospital, the two St. Johns, and, atthe same time, to express the piety of the Charitable Sisters, who, like St. Catherine (the type of contemplative studious piety), wereconsecrated and espoused to Christ, and, like St. Barbara (the type ofactive piety), were dedicated to good works. It is a tradition, thatHemmelinck painted this altar-piece as a votive offering in gratitudeto the good Sisters, who had taken him in and nursed him whendangerously wounded: and surely if this tradition be true, never wascharity more magnificently recompensed. 

In a very beautiful picture by Ambrogio Borgognone (Dresden, collection of M. Grahl) the Virgin is seated on a splendid throne;on the right kneels St. Catherine of Alexandria, on the left St. Catherine of Siena: the Virgin holds a hand of each, which shepresents to the divine Child seated on her knee, and to each hepresents a ring. 

 * * * * *

The Virgin and Child between St. Catherine and St. Barbara is one ofthe most popular, as well as one of the most beautiful and expressive, of these combinations; signifying active and contemplative life, or the two powers between which the social state was divided in themiddle ages, namely, the ecclesiastical and the military, learning andarms (Sacred and Legend. Art); St. Catherine being the patron of thefirst, and St. Barbara of the last. When the original significance hadceased to be understood or appreciated, the group continued to be afavourite one, particularly in Germany; and examples are infinite. 

The Virgin between St. Mary Magdalene and St. Barbara, the former asthe type of penance, humility, and meditative piety, the latter as thetype of fortitude and courage, is also very common. When between St. Mary Magdalene and St. Catherine, the idea suggested is learning, withpenitence and humility; this is a most popular group. So is St. Luciawith one of these or both: St. Lucia with her _lamp_ or her _eyes_, isalways expressive of _light_, the light of divine wisdom. 

 * * * * *

The Virgin between St. Nicholas and St. George is a very expressivegroup; the former as the patron saint of merchants, tradesmen, andseamen, the popular saint of the bourgeoisie; the latter as the patronof soldiers, the chosen saint of the aristocracy. These two saintswith St. Catherine are pre-eminent in the Venetian pictures; for allthree, in addition to their poetical significance, were venerated asespecial protectors of Venice. 

 * * * * *

St. George and St. Christopher both stand by the throne of the Virginof Succour as protectors and deliverers in danger. The attribute ofSt. Christopher is the little Christ on his shoulder; and there areinstances in which Christ appears on the lap of his mother, and alsoon the shoulder of the attendant St. Christopher. This blunder, if itmay be so called, has been avoided, very cleverly I should think inhis own opinion, by a painter who makes St. Christopher kneel, whilethe Virgin places the little Christ on his shoulders; a _concetto_quite inadmissible in a really religious group. 

 * * * * *

In pictures dedicated by charitable communities, we often findSt. Nicholas and St. Leonard as the patron saints of prisoners andcaptives. Wherever St. Leonard appears he expresses deliverancefrom captivity. St. Omobuono, St. Martin, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Roch, or other beneficent saints, waiting round the Virgin withkneeling beggars, or the blind, the lame, the sick, at their feet, always expressed the Virgin as the mother of mercy, the _Consolatrixafflictorum_. Such pictures were commonly found in hospitals, andthe chapels and churches of the Order of Mercy, and other charitableinstitutions. The examples are numerous. I remember one, a strikingpicture, by Bartolomeo Montagna, where the Virgin and Child areenthroned in the centre as usual. On her right the good St. Omobuono, dressed as a burgher, in a red gown and fur cap, gives alms to a poorbeggar; on the left, St. Francis presents a celebrated friar of hisOrder, Bernardino da Feltri, the first founder of a _mont-de-piété_, who kneels, holding the emblem of his institution, a little greenmountain with a cross at the top. 

 * * * * *

Besides these saints, who have a _general_ religious character andsignificance, we have the national and local saints, whose presencevery often marks the country or school of art which produced thepicture. 

A genuine Florentine Madonna is distinguished by a certain eleganceand stateliness, and well becomes her throne. As patroness ofFlorence, in her own right, the Virgin bears the title of Santa Mariadel Fiore, and in this character she holds a flower, generally a rose, or is in the act of presenting it to the Child. She is often attendedby St. John the Baptist, as patron of Florence; but he is everywherea saint of such power and importance as an attendant on the divinepersonages, that his appearance in a picture does not stamp it asFlorentine. St. Cosmo and St. Damian are Florentine, as the protectorsof the Medici family; but as patrons of the healing art, they havea significance which renders them common in the Venetian and otherpictures. It may, however, be determined, that if St. John theBaptist, St. Cosmo and St. Damian, with St. Laurence (the patron ofLorenzo the Magnificent), appear together in attendance on the Virgin, that picture is of the Florentine school. The presence of St. Zenobio, or of St. Antonino, the patron archbishops of Florence, will set thematter at rest, for these are exclusively Florentine. In a picture byGiotto, angels attend on the Virgin bearing vases of lilies in theirhands. (Lilies are at once the emblem of the Virgin and the _device_of Florence. ) On each side kneel St. John the Baptist and St. Zenobio. [1]

[Footnote 1: We now possess in our National Gallery a very interestingexample of a Florentine enthroned Madonna, attended by St. John theBaptist and St. Zenobio as patrons of Florence. ]

A Siena Madonna would naturally be attended by St. Bernardino and St. Catherine of Siena; if they seldom appear together, it is because theybelong to different religious orders. 

In the Venetian pictures we find a crowd of guardian saints; firstamong them, St. Mark, then St. Catherine, St. George, St. Nicholas, and St. Justina: wherever these appear together, that picture issurely from the Venetian school. 

All through Lombardy and Piedmont, St. Ambrose of Milan and St. Maurice of Savoy are favourite attendants on the Virgin. 

 * * * * *

In Spanish and Flemish art, the usual attendants on the queenlyMadonna are monks and nuns, which brings us to the consideration ofa large and interesting class of pictures, those dedicated by thevarious religious orders. When we remember that the institution ofsome of the most influential of these communities was coeval with therevival of art; that for three or four centuries, art in all its formshad no more powerful or more munificent patrons; that they countedamong their various brotherhoods some of the greatest artists theworld has seen; we can easily imagine how the beatified members ofthese orders have become so conspicuous as attendants on the celestialpersonages. To those who are accustomed to read the significance ofa work of art, a single glance is often sufficient to decide for whatorder it has been executed. 

St. Paul is a favourite saint of the Benedictine communities; andthere are few great pictures painted for them in which he doesnot appear. When in companionship with St. Benedict, either in theoriginal black habit or the white habit of the reformed orders, withSt. Scholastica bearing her dove, with St. Bernard, St. Romualdo, or other worthies of this venerable community, the interpretation iseasy. 

Here are some examples by Domenico Puligo. The Virgin not seated, butstanding on a lofty pedestal, looks down on her worshippers; the Childin her arms extends the right hand in benediction; with his left hepoints to himself, "I am the Resurrection and the Life. " Around aresix saints, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. John the Baptist as protector ofFlorence, St. Matthew, St. Catherine; and St. Bernard, in his amplewhite habit, with his keen intellectual face, is about to write in agreat book, and looking up to the Virgin for inspiration. The picturewas originally painted for the Cistercians. [1]

[Footnote 1: It is now in the S. Maria-Maddalena de' Pazzi atFlorence. Engraved in the "Etruria Pittrice, " xxxv. ]

The Virgin and Child enthroned between St. Augustine and his motherSt. Monica, as in a fine picture by Florigerio (Venice Acad. ), wouldshow the picture to be painted for one of the numerous branches of theAugustine Order. St. Antony the abbot is a favourite saint in picturespainted for the Augustine hermits. 

In the "Madonna del Baldachino" of Raphael, the beardless saintwho stands in a white habit on one side of the throne is usuallystyled St. Bruno; an evident mistake. It is not a Carthusian, buta Cistercian monk, and I think St. Bernard, the general patron ofmonastic learning. The other attendant saints are St. Peter, St. James, and St. Augustine. The picture was originally painted for thechurch of San Spirito at Florence, belonging to the Augustines. 

But St. Augustine is also the patriarch of the Franciscans andDominicans, and frequently takes an influential place in theirpictures, as the companion either of St. Francis or of St. Dominick, as in a picture by Fra Angelico. (Florence Gal. )

Among the votive Madonnas of the mendicant orders, I will mention afew conspicuous for beauty and interest, which will serve as a key toothers. 

1. The Virgin and Child enthroned between Antony of Padua and St. Clara of Assisi, as in a small elegant picture by Pellegrino, musthave been dedicated in a church of the Franciscans. (Sutherland Gal. )

2. The Virgin blesses St. Francis, who looks up adoring: behind himSt. Antony of Padua; on the other side, John the Baptist as a man, andSt. Catherine. A celebrated but not an agreeable picture, painted byCorreggio for the Franciscan church at Parma. (Dresden Gal. )

3. The Virgin is seated in glory; on one side St. Francis, on theother St. Antony of Padua, both placed in heaven, and almost onan equality with the celestial personages. Around are seven femalefigures, representing the seven cardinal virtues, bearing theirrespective attributes. Below are seen the worthies of the FranciscanOrder; to the right of the Virgin, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Louisof France, St. Bonaventura; to the left, St. Ives of Bretagne, St. Eleazar, and St. Louis of Toulouse. [1] Painted for the Franciscans byMorone and Paolo Cavazzolo of Verona. This is a picture of wonderfulbeauty, and quite poetical in the sentiment and arrangement, and themingling of the celestial, the allegorical, and the real personages, with a certain solemnity and gracefulness quite indescribable. The virtues, for instance, are not so much allegorical persons asspiritual appearances, and the whole of the ripper part of the pictureis like a vision. 

[Footnote 1: For these Franciscan saints, v. Legends of the MonasticOrders. ]

4. The Virgin, standing on the tree of Site, holds the Infant: raysof glory proceed from them on every side. St. Francis, kneeling at thefoot of the tree, looks up in an ecstasy of devotion, while a snakewith a wounded and bleeding head is crawling away. This strangepicture, painted for the Franciscans, by Carducho, about 1625, is arepresentation of an abstract dogma (redemption from original sin), in the most real, most animated form--all over life, earthly breathinglife--and made me start back: in the mingling of mysticism andmaterialism, it is quite Spanish. [1]

[Footnote 1: Esterhazy Gal. , Vienna. Mr. Stirling tells us that theFranciscan friars of Valladolid possessed two pictures of the Virginby Mateo de Cerezo "in one of which she was represented sitting in acherry-tree and adored by St. Francis. This unusual throne may perhapshave been introduced by Cerezo as a symbol of his own devout feelings, his patronymic being the Castilian word for cherry-tree. "--_Stirling'sArtists of Spain_, p. 1033. There are, however, many prints andpictures of the Virgin and Child seated in a tree. It was one of thefantastic conceptions of an unhealthy period of religion and art. ]

5. The Virgin and Child enthroned. On the right of the Virgin, St. John the Baptist and St. Zenobio, the two protectors of Florence. Thelatter wears his episcopal cope richly embroidered with figures. Onthe left stand St. Peter and St. Dominick, protectors of the companyfor whom the picture was painted. In front kneel St. Jerome and St. Francis. This picture was originally placed in San Marco, a churchbelonging to the Dominicans. [1]

[Footnote 1: I saw and admired this fine and valuable picture inthe Rinuccini Palace at Florence in 1847; it was purchased for ourNational Gallery in 1855. ]

6. When the Virgin or the Child holds the Rosary, it is then a_Madonna del Rosario_, and painted for the Dominicans. The Madonna byMurillo, in the Dulwich Gallery, is an example. There is an instancein which the Madonna and Child enthroned are distributing rosaries tothe worshippers, and attended by St. Dominick and St. Peter Martyr, the two great saints of the Order. (Caravaggio, Belvedere Gal. , Vienna. )

 * * * * *

7. Very important in pictures is the Madonna as more particularly thepatroness of the Carmelites, under her well-known title of "Our Ladyof Mount Carmel, " or _La Madonna del Carmine_. The members of thisOrder received from Pope Honorius III. The privilege of stylingthemselves the "Family of the Blessed Virgin, " and their churches areall dedicated to her under the title of _S. Maria del Carmine_. Sheis generally represented holding the infant Christ, with her robeoutspread, and beneath its folds the Carmelite brethren and theirchief saints. [1] There is an example in a picture by Pordenone whichonce belonged to Canova. (Acad. Venice. ) The Madonna del Carmine isalso portrayed as distributing to her votaries small tablets on whichis a picture of herself. 

[Footnote 1: v. Legends of the Monastic Orders, "The Carmelites". ]

8. The Virgin, as patroness of the Order of Mercy, also distributestablets, but they bear the badge of the Order, and this distinguishes"Our Lady of Mercy, " so popular in Spanish, art, from "Our Lady ofMount Carmel. " (v. Monastic Orders. )

A large class of these Madonna pictures are votive offerings forpublic or private mercies. They present some most interestingvarieties of character and arrangement. 

A votive Mater Misericordiæ, with the Child, in her arms, is oftenstanding with her wide ample robe extended, and held up on each sideby angels. Kneeling at her feet are the votaries who have consecratedthe picture, generally some community or brotherhood instituted forcharitable purposes, who, as they kneel, present the objects oftheir charity--widows, orphans, prisoners, or the sick and infirm. The Child, in her arms, bends forward, with the hand raised inbenediction. I have already spoken of the Mater Misericordiæ _without_the Child. The sentiment is yet more beautiful and complete wherethe Mother of Mercy holds the infant Redeemer, the representative andpledge of God's infinite mercy, in her arms. 

There is a "Virgin of Mercy, " by Salvator Rosa, which is singular andrather poetical in the conception. She is seated in heavenly glory;the infant Christ, on her knee, bends benignly forward. Tutelaryangels are represented as pleading for mercy, with eager outstretchedarms; other angels, lower down, are liberating the souls of repentantsinners from torment. The expression in some of the heads, thecontrast between the angelic pitying spirits and the anxious haggardfeatures of the "_Anime del Purgatorio_" are very fine and animated. Here the Virgin is the "Refuge of Sinners, " _Refugium Peccatorum_. Such pictures are commonly met with in chapels dedicated to servicesfor the dead. 

 * * * * *

Another class of votive pictures are especial acts ofthanksgiving:--1st. For victory, as _La Madonna della Vittoria, NotreDame des Victoires. _ The Virgin, on her throne, is then attendedby one or more of the warrior saints, together with the patron orpatroness of the victors. She is then our Lady of Victory. A veryperfect example of these victorious Madonnas exists in a celebratedpicture by Andrea Mantegna. The Virgin is seated on a lofty throne, embowered by garlands of fruit, leaves, and flowers, and branchesof coral, fancifully disposed as a sort of canopy over her head. The Child stands on her knee, and raises his hand in the act ofbenediction. On the right of the Virgin appear the warlike saints, St. Michael and St. Maurice; they recommend to her protection the Marquisof Mantua, Giovan Francesco Gonzaga, who kneels in complete armour. [1]On the left stand St. Andrew and St. Longinus, the guardian saintsof Mantua; on the step of the throne, the young St. John the Baptist, patron of the Marquis; and more in front, a female figure, seenhalf-length, which some have supposed to be St. Elizabeth, the motherof the Baptist, and others, with more reason, the wife of the Marquis, the accomplished Isabella d'Este. [2] This picture was dedicated incelebration of the victory gained by Gonzaga over the French, nearFornone, in 1495. [3] There is something exceedingly grand, and, atthe same time, exceedingly fantastic and poetical, in the wholearrangement; and besides its beauty and historical importance, it isthe most important work of Andrea Mantegna. Gonzaga, who is the heroof the picture, was a poet as well as a soldier. Isabella d'Esteshines conspicuously, both for virtue and talent, in the history ofthe revival of art during the fifteenth century. She was one of thefirst who collected gems, antiques, pictures, and made them availablefor the study and improvement of the learned. Altogether, the pictureis most interesting in every point of view. It was carried off by theFrench from Milan in 1797; and considering the occasion on which itwas painted, they must have had a special pleasure in placing it intheir Louvre, where it still remains. 

[Footnote 1: "Qui rend grâces du _prétendu_ succès obtenu sur CharlesVIII. à la bataille de Fornone, " as the French catalogue expressesit. ]

[Footnote 2: Both, however, may be right; for St. Elizabeth wasthe patron saint of the Marchesana: the head has quite the air of aportrait, and may be Isabella in likeness of a saint. ]

[Footnote 3: "Si les soldats avaient mieux secondé la bravoure deleur chef, l'armie de Charles VIII. était perdue sans ressource--Ilsse disperserent pour piller et laissèrent aux Français le temps decontinuer leur route. "]

There is a very curious and much more ancient Madonna of this classpreserved at Siena, and styled the "Madonna del Voto. " The Sienesebeing at war with Florence, placed their city under the protection ofthe Virgin, and made a solemn vow that, if victorious, they would makeover their whole territory to her as a perpetual possession, and holdit from her as her loyal vassals. After the victory of Arbia, whichplaced Florence itself for a time in such imminent danger, a picturewas dedicated by Siena to the Virgin _della Vittoria_. She isenthroned and crowned, and the infant Christ, standing on her knee, holds in his hand the deed of gift. 

 * * * * *

2dly. For deliverance from plague and pestilence, those scourges ofthe middle ages. In such pictures the Virgin is generally attended bySt. Sebastian, with St. Roch or St. George; sometimes, also, by St. Cosmo and St. Damian, all of them protectors and healers in time ofsickness and calamity. These intercessors are often accompanied by thepatrons of the church or locality. 

There is a remarkable picture of this class by Matteo di Giovanni(Siena Acad. ), in which the Virgin and Child are throned between St. Sebastian and St. George, while St. Cosmo and St. Damian, dressed asphysicians, and holding their palms, kneel before the throne. 

In a very famous picture by Titian. (Rome, Vatican), the Virgin andChild are seated in heavenly glory. She has a smiling and graciousexpression, and the Child holds a garland, while angels scatterflowers. Below stand St. Sebastian, St. _Nicholas_, St. Catherine, St. Peter, and St. _Francis_. The picture was an offering to the Virgin, after the cessation of a pestilence at Venice, and consecrated in achurch of the _Franciscans_ dedicated to St. _Nicholas_. [1]

[Footnote 1: San Nicolo de' Frari, since destroyed, and the picturehas been transferred to the Vatican. ]

Another celebrated votive picture against pestilence is Correggio's"Madonna di San Sebastiano. " (Dresden Gal. ) She is seated in heavenlyglory, with little angels, not so much adoring as sporting andhovering round her; below are St. Sebastian and St. Roch, the latterasleep. (There would be an impropriety in exhibiting St. Roch sleepingbut for the reference to the legend, that, while he slept, an angelhealed him, which lends the circumstance a kind of poetical beauty. )St. Sebastian, bound, looks up on the other side. The introduction ofSt. Geminiano, the patron of Modena, shows the picture to have beenpainted for that city, which had been desolated by pestilence in 1512. The date of the picture is 1515. 

We may then take it for granted, that wherever the Virgin and Childappear attended by St. Sebastian and St. Roch, the picture has been avotive offering against the plague; and there is something touching inthe number of such memorials which exist in the Italian churches. (v. Sacred and Legendary Art. ) The brotherhoods instituted in most of thetowns of Italy and Germany, for attending the sick and plague-strickenin times of public calamity, were placed under the protection ofthe Virgin of Mercy, St. Sebastian, and St. Roch; and many of thesepictures were dedicated by such communities, or by the municipalauthorities of the city or locality. There is a memorable example in apicture by Guido, painted, by command of the Senate of Bologna, afterthe cessation of the plague, which desolated the city in 1830. (Acad. Bologna. ) The benign Virgin, with her Child, is seated in the skies:the rainbow, symbol of peace and reconciliation, is under her feet. The infant Christ, lovely and gracious, raises his right hand inthe act of blessing; in the other he holds a branch of olive: angelsscatter flowers around. Below stand the guardian saints, the "_SantiProtettori_" of Bologna;--St. Petronius, St. Francis, St. Dominick;the warrior-martyrs, St. Proculus and St. Florian, in complete armour;with St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier. Below these is seen, asif through a dark cloud and diminished, the city of Bologna, wherethe dead are borne away in carts and on biers. The upper part ofthis famous picture is most charming for the gracious beauty of theexpression, the freshness and delicacy of the colour. The lower partis less happy, though the head of St. Francis, which is the portraitof Guido's intimate friend and executor, Saulo Guidotti, can hardlybe exceeded for intense and life-like truth. The other figures aredeficient in expression and the execution hurried, so that on thewhole it is inferior to the votive Pietà already described. Guido, itis said, had no time to prepare a canvas or cartoons, and painted thewhole on a piece of white silk. It was carried in grand procession, and solemnly dedicated by the Senate, whence it obtained the title bywhich it is celebrated in the history of art, "Il Pallione del Voto. "

3dly. Against inundations, flood, and fire, St. George is the greatprotector. This saint and St. Barbara, who is patroness againstthunder and tempest, express deliverance from such calamities, when incompanionship. 

The "Madonna di San Giorgio" of Correggio (Dresden Gal. ) is a votivealtar-piece dedicated on the occasion of a great inundation of theriver Secchia. She is seated on her throne, and the Child looksdown on the worshippers and votaries. St. George stands in frontvictorious, his foot on the head of the dragon. The introduction ofSt. Geminiano tells us that the picture was painted for the city ofModena; the presence of St. John the Baptist and St. Peter Martyr showthat it was dedicated by the Dominicans, in their church of St. John. (See Legends of the Monastic Orders. )

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Not less interesting are those votive Madonnas dedicated by the pietyof families and individuals. In the family altar-pieces, the votary isoften presented on one side by his patron saint, and his wife by herpatron on the other. Not seldom a troop of hopeful sons attend thefather, and a train of gentle, demure-looking daughters kneel behindthe mother. Such memorials of domestic affection and grateful pietyare often very charming; they are pieces of family biography:[1] wehave celebrated examples both in German and Italian art. 

[Footnote 1: Several are engraved, as illustrations, in Litta's greatHistory of the Italian Families. ]

1. The "Madonna della Famiglia Bentivoglio" was painted by LorenzoCosta, for Giovanni II. , lord or tyrant of Bologna from 1462 to 1506, The history of this Giovanni is mixed up in an interesting manner withthe revival of art and letters; he was a great patron of both, andamong the painters in his service were Francesco Francia and LorenzoCosta. The latter painted for him his family chapel in the church ofSan Giacomo at Bologna; and, while the Bentivogli have long since beenchased from their native territory, their family altar still remainsuntouched, unviolated. The Virgin, as usual, is seated on a loftythrone bearing her divine Child; she is veiled, no hair seen, andsimply draped; she bends forward with mild benignity. To the right ofthe throne kneels Giovanni with his four sons; on the left his wife, attended by six daughters: all are portraits, admirable studies forcharacter and costume. Behind the daughters, the head of an old womanis just visible, --according to tradition the old nurse of the family. 

2. Another most interesting family Madonna is that of Ludovico Sforzail Moro, painted for the church of Sant' Ambrogio at Milan. [1] TheVirgin sits enthroned, richly dressed, with long fair hair hangingdown, and no veil or ornament; two angels hold a crown over her head. The Child lies extended on her knee. Round her throne are the fourfathers, St. Ambrose, St. Gregory, St. Jerome, and St. Augustine. Infront of the throne kneels Ludovico il Moro, Duke of Milan, in a richdress and unarmed; Ambrose, as protector of Milan, lays his hand uponhis shoulder. At his side kneels a boy about five years old. Oppositeto him is the duchess, Beatrice d'Este, also kneeling; and near hera little baby in swaddling clothes, holding up its tiny hands insupplication, kneels on a cushion. The age of the children shows thepicture to have been painted about 1496. The fate of Ludovico ilMoro is well known: perhaps the blessed Virgin deemed a traitor andan assassin unworthy of her protection. He died in the frightfulprison of Loches after twelve years of captivity; and both his sons, Maximilian and Francesco, were unfortunate. With them the family ofSforza and the independence of Milan were extinguished together in1535. 

[Footnote 1: By an unknown painter of the school of Lionardo, and nowin the gallery, of the Brera. ]

3. Another celebrated and most precious picture of this class is theVirgin of the Meyer family, painted by Holbein for the burgomasterJacob Meyer of Basle. [1] According to a family tradition, the youngestson of the burgomaster was sick even to death, and, through themerciful intercession of the Virgin, was restored to his parents, who, in gratitude, dedicated this offering. She stands on a pedestal in arichly ornamented niche; over her long fair hair, which falls downher shoulders to her waist, she wears a superb crown; and her robeof a dark greenish blue is confined by a crimson girdle. In purity, dignity, humility, and intellectual grace, this exquisite Madonna hasnever been surpassed; not even by Raphael; the face, once seen, hauntsthe memory. The Child in her arms is generally supposed to be theinfant Christ. I have fancied, as I look on the picture, that it maybe the poor sick child recommended to her mercy, for the face is verypathetic, the limbs not merely delicate but attenuated, while, oncomparing it with the robust child who stands below, the resemblanceand the contrast are both striking. To the right of the Virginkneels the burgomaster Meyer with two of his sons, one of whom holdsthe little brother who is restored to health, and seems to presenthim to the people. On the left kneel four females--the mother, thegrandmother, and two daughters. All these are portraits, touchedwith that homely, vigorous truth, and finished with that consummatedelicacy, which characterized Holbein in his happiest efforts; and, with their earnest but rather ugly and earthly faces, contrasting withthe divinely compassionate and refined being who looks down on themwith an air so human, so maternal, and yet so unearthly. 

[Footnote 1: Dresden Gal. The engraving by Steinle is justlycelebrated. ]

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Sometimes it is a single votary who kneels before the Madonna. In theold times he expressed his humility by placing himself in a corner andmaking himself so diminutive as to be scarce visible afterwards, thehead of the votary or donor is seen life-size, with hands joined inprayer, just above the margin at the foot of the throne; care beingtaken to remove him from all juxtaposition with the attendant saints. But, as the religious feeling in art declined, the living votariesare mingled with the spiritual patrons--the "human mortals" with the"human immortals, "--with a disregard to time and place, which, ifit be not so lowly in spirit, can be rendered by a great artiststrikingly poetical and significant. 

1. The renowned "Madonna di Foligno, " one of Raphael's masterpieces, is a votive picture of this class. It was dedicated by Sigismund Contiof Foligno; private secretary to Pope Julius II. , and a distinguishedman in other respects, a writer and a patron of learning. Itappears that Sigismund having been in great danger from a meteoror thunderbolt, vowed an offering to the blessed Virgin, to whom heattributed his safety, and in fulfilment of his vow consecrated thisprecious picture. In the upper part of the composition sits the Virginin heavenly glory; by her side the infant Christ, partly sustainedby his mother's veil, which is drawn round his body: both look downbenignly on the votary Sigismund Conti, who, kneeling below, gazes upwith an expression of the most intense gratitude and devotion. It isa portrait from the life, and certainly one of the finest and mostlife-like that exists in painting. Behind him stands St. Jerome, who, placing his hand upon the head of the votary, seems to present himto his celestial protectress. On the opposite side John the Baptist, the meagre wild-looking prophet of the desert, points upward to theRedeemer. More in front kneels St. Francis, who, while he looks upto heaven with trusting and imploring love, extends his right handtowards the worshippers, supposed to be assembled in the church, recommending them also to the protecting grace of the Virgin. In thecentre of the picture, dividing these two groups, stands a lovelyangel-boy holding in his hand a tablet, one of the most charmingfigures of this kind Raphael ever painted; the head, looking up, hasthat sublime, yet perfectly childish grace, which strikes us in thoseawful angel-boys in the "Madonna di San Sisto. " The background is alandscape, in which appears the city of Foligno at a distance; it isovershadowed by a storm-cloud, and a meteor is seen falling; but abovethese bends a rainbow, pledge of peace and safety. The whole pictureglows throughout with life and beauty, hallowed by that profoundreligious sentiment which suggested the offering, and which thesympathetic artist seems to have caught from the grateful donor. Itwas dedicated in the church of the Ara-Coeli at Rome, which belongsto the Franciscans; hence St. Francis is one of the principal figures. When I was asked, at Rome, why St. Jerome had been introduced into thepicture, I thought it might be thus accounted for:--The patron saintof the donor, St. Sigismund, was a king and a warrior, and Contimight possibly think that it did not accord with his profession, asan humble ecclesiastic, to introduce him here. The most celebratedconvent of the Jeronimites in Italy is that of St. Sigismund nearCremona, placed under the special protection of St. Jerome, whois also in a general sense the patron of all ecclesiastics; hence, perhaps, he figures here as the protector of Sigismund Conti. Thepicture was painted, and placed over the high altar of the Ara-Coeliin 1511, when Raphael was in his twenty-eighth year. Conti diedin 1512, and in 1565 his grandniece, Suora Anna Conti, obtainedpermission to remove it to her convent at Foligno, whence it wascarried off by the French in 1792. Since the restoration of the worksof art in Italy, in 1815, it has been placed among the treasures ofthe Vatican. 

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2. Another perfect specimen of a votive picture of this kind, in avery different style, I saw in the museum at Rouen, attributed thereto Van Eyck. It is, probably, a fine work by a later master of theschool, perhaps Hemmelinck. In the centre, the Virgin is enthroned;the Child, seated on her knee, holds a bunch of grapes, symbol ofthe eucharist. On the right of the Virgin is St. Apollonia; then twolovely angels in white raiment, with lutes in their hands; and thena female head, seen looking from behind, evidently a family portrait. More in front, St. Agnes, splendidly dressed in green and sable, herlamb at her feet, turns with a questioning air to St. Catherine, who, in queenly garb of crimson and ermine seems to consult her book. Behind her another member of the family, a man with a very fine face;and more in front St. Dorothea, with a charming expression of modesty, looks down on her basket of roses. On the left of the Virgin is St. Agatha; then two angels in white with viols; then St. Cecilia; andnear her a female head, another family portrait; next St. Barbarawearing a beautiful head-dress, in front of which is worked her tower, framed like an ornamental jewel in gold and pearls; she has a missalin her lap. St. Lucia next appears; then another female portrait. All the heads are about one fourth of the size of life. I stood inadmiration before this picture--such miraculous finish in all thedetails, such life, such spirit, such delicacy in the heads and hands, such brilliant colour in the draperies! Of its history I could learnnothing, nor what family had thus introduced themselves into celestialcompanionship. The portraits seemed to me to represent a father, amother, and two daughters. 

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I must mention some other instances of votive Madonnas, interestingeither from their beauty or their singularity. 

3. Réné, Duke of Anjou, and King of Sicily and Jerusalem, the fatherof our Amazonian queen, Margaret of Anjou, dedicated, in the churchof the Carmelites, at Aix, the capital of his dominions, a votivepicture, which is still to be seen there. It is not only a monumentof his piety, but of his skill; for, according to the tradition of thecountry, he painted it himself. The good King Réné was no contemptibleartist; but though he may have suggested the subject, the hand of apractised and accomplished painter is too apparent for us to supposeit his own work. 

This altar-piece in a triptychon, and when the doors are closedit measures twelve feet in height, and seven feet in width. On theoutside of the doors is the Annunciation: to the left, the angelstanding on a pedestal, under a Gothic canopy; to the right, theVirgin standing with her book, under a similar canopy: both gracefulfigures. On opening the doors, the central compartment exhibits theVirgin and her Child enthroned in a burning bush; the bush whichburned with fire, and was not consumed, being a favourite type of theimmaculate purity of the Virgin. Lower down, in front, Moses appearssurrounded by his flocks, and at the command of an angel is about totake off his sandals. The angel is most richly dressed, and on theclasp of his mantle is painted in miniature Adam and Eve temptedby the serpent. Underneath this compartment, is the inscription, "_Rubum quem viderat Moyses, incombustum, conservatam agnovimus tuamlaudabilem Virginitatem, Sancta Dei Genitrix[1]_. " On the door tothe right of the Virgin kneels King Réné himself before an altar, onwhich lies an open book and his kingly crown. He is dressed in a robetrimmed with ermine, and wears a black velvet cap. Behind him, MaryMagdalene (the patroness of Provence), St. Antony, and St. Maurice. On the other door, Jeanne de Laval, the second wife of Réné, kneelsbefore an open book; she is young and beautiful, and richly attired;and behind her stand St. John (her patron saint), St. Catherine(very noble and elegant), and St. Nicholas. I saw this curious andinteresting picture in 1846. It is very well preserved, and paintedwith great finish and delicacy in the manner of the early Flemishschool. 

[Footnote 1: For the relation of Moses to the Virgin (as attribute) v. The Introduction. ]

4. In a beautiful little picture by Van Eyck (Louvre, No. 162. EcoleAllemande), the Virgin is seated on a throne, holding in her arms theinfant Christ, who has a globe in his left hand, and extends the rightin the act of benediction. The Virgin is attired as a queen, in amagnificent robe falling in ample folds around her, and trimmed withjewels; an angel, hovering with outspread wings, holds a crown overher head. On the left of the picture, a votary, in the dress of aFlemish burgomaster, kneels before a Prie-Dieu, on which is an openbook, and with clasped hands adores the Mother and her Child. Thelocality represents a gallery or portico paved with marble, andsustained by pillars in a fantastic Moorish style. The whole pictureis quite exquisite for the delicacy of colour and execution. In thecatalogue of the Louvre, this picture, is entitled "St. Joseph adoringthe Infant Christ, "--an obvious mistake, if we consider the style ofthe treatment and the customs of the time. 

5. All who have visited the church of the Frari at Venice willremember--for once seen, they never can forget--the ex-votoaltar-piece which adorns the chapel of the Pesaro family. Thebeautiful Virgin is seated on a lofty throne to the right of thepicture, and presses to her bosom the _Dio Bambinetto_, who turns fromher to bless the votary presented by St. Peter. The saint stands onthe steps of the throne, one hand on a book; and behind him kneels oneof the Pesaro family, who was at once bishop of Paphos and commanderof the Pope's galleys: he approaches to consecrate to the Madonnathe standards taken from the Turks, which are borne by St. George, aspatron of Venice. On the other side appear St. Francis and St. Antonyof Padua, as patrons of the church in which the picture is dedicated. Lower down, kneeling on one side of the throne, is a group of variousmembers of the Pesaro family, three of whom are habited in crimsonrobes, as _Cavalieri di San Marco_; the other, a youth about fifteen, looks out of the picture, astonishingly _alive_, and yet sufficientlyidealized to harmonize with the rest. This picture is very remarkablefor several reasons. It is a piece of family history, curiouslyillustrative of the manners of the time. The Pesaro here commemoratedwas an ecclesiastic, but appointed by Alexander VI. To command thegalleys with which he joined the Venetian forces against the Turks in1503. It is for this reason that St. Peter--as representative here ofthe Roman pontiff--introduces him to the Madonna, while St. George, as patron of Venice, attends him. The picture is a monument of thevictory gained by Pesaro, and the gratitude and pride of his family. It is also one of the finest works of Titian; one of the earliestinstances in which a really grand religious composition assumes almosta dramatic and scenic form, yet retains a certain dignity and symmetryworthy of its solemn destination. [1]

[Footnote 1: We find in the catalogue of pictures which belonged toour Charles I. One which represented "a pope preferring a general ofhis navy to St. Peter. " It is Pope Alexander VI. Presenting this veryPesaro to St. Peter; that is, in plain unpictorial prose, giving himthe appointment of admiral of the galleys of the Roman states. Thisinteresting picture, after many vicissitudes, is now in the Museum atAntwerp. (See the _Handbook to the Royal Galleries_, p. 201. )]

6. I will give one more instance. There is in our National Gallerya Venetian picture which is striking from its peculiar andcharacteristic treatment. On one side, the Virgin with her Infant isseated on a throne; a cavalier, wearing armour and a turban, who looksas if he had just returned from the eastern wars, prostrates himselfbefore her: in the background, a page (said to be the portrait of thepainter) holds the horse of the votary. The figures are life-size, or nearly so, as well as I can remember, and the sentimental dramatictreatment is quite Venetian. It is supposed to represent a certainDuccio Constanzo of Treviso, and was once attributed to Giorgione: itis certainly of the school of Bellini. (Nat. Gal. Catalogue, 234. )

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As these enthroned and votive Virgins multiplied, as it became moreand more a fashion to dedicate them as offerings in churches, wantof space, and perhaps, also, regard to expense, suggested the idea ofrepresenting the figures half-length. The Venetians, from early timethe best face painters in the world, appear to have been the firstto cut off the lower part of the figure, leaving the arrangementotherwise much the same. The Virgin is still a queenly and majesticcreature, sitting there to be adored. A curtain or part of a carvedchair represents her throne. The attendant saints are placed to theright and to the left; or sometimes the throne occupies one side ofthe picture, and the saints are ranged on the other. From the shapeand diminished size of these votive pictures the personages, seenhalf-length, are necessarily placed very near to each other, and theheads nearly on a level with that of the Virgin, who is generallyseen to the knees, while the Child is always full-length. In suchcompositions we miss the grandeur of the entire forms, and theconsequent diversity of character and attitude; but sometimesthe beauty and individuality of the heads atone for all otherdeficiencies. 

 * * * * *

In the earlier Venetian examples, those of Gian Bellini particularly, there is a solemn quiet elevation which renders them little inferior, in religious sentiment, to the most majestic of the enthroned andenskied Madonnas. 

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There is a sacred group by Bellini, in the possession of Sir CharlesEastlake, which has always appeared to me a very perfect specimen ofthis class of pictures. It is also the earliest I know of. The Virgin, pensive, sedate, and sweet, like all Bellini's Virgins, is seated inthe centre, and seen in front. The Child, on her knee, blesses withhis right hand, and the Virgin places hers on the head of a votary, who just appears above the edge of the picture, with hands joined inprayer; he is a fine young man with an elevated and elegant profile. On the right are St. John the Baptist pointing to the Saviour, andSt. Catherine; on the left, St. George with his banner, and St. Peterholding his book. A similar picture, with Mary Magdalene and St. Jerome on the right, St. Peter and St. Martha on the left, is in theLeuchtenberg Gallery at Munich. Another of exquisite beauty is in theVenice Academy, in which the lovely St. Catherine wears a crown ofmyrtle. 

Once introduced, these half-length enthroned Madonnas became verycommon, spreading from the Venetian states through the north of Italy;and we find innumerable examples from the best schools of art inItaly and Germany, from the middle of the fifteenth to the middle ofthe sixteenth century. I shall particularize a few of these, whichwill be sufficient to guide the attention of the observer; and wemust carefully discriminate between the sentiment proper to thesehalf-length enthroned Madonnas, and the pastoral or domestic sacredgroups and Holy Families, of which I shall have to treat hereafter. 

Raphael's well-known Madonna _della Seggiola_ and Madonna _dellaCandelabra_, are both enthroned Virgins in the grand style, thoughseen half-length. In fact, the air of the head ought, in the higherschools of art, at once to distinguish a Madonna, _in trono_, evenwhere only the head is visible. 

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In a Milanese picture, the Virgin and Child appear between St. Laurence and St. John. The mannered and somewhat affected treatmentis contrasted with the quiet, solemn simplicity of a group by Francia, where the Virgin and Child appear as objects of worship between St. Dominick and St. Barbara. 

The Child, standing or seated on a table or balustrade in front, enabled the painter to vary the attitude, to take the infantChrist out of the arms of the Mother, and to render his figure moreprominent. It was a favourite arrangement with the Venetians; andthere is an instance in a pretty picture in our National Gallery, attributed to Perugino. 

Sometimes, even where the throne and the attendant saints and angelsshow the group to be wholly devotional and exalted, we find thesentiment varied by a touch of the dramatic, --by the introductionof an action; but it must be one of a wholly religious significance, suggestive of a religious feeling, or the subject ceases to beproperly _devotional_ in character. 

There is a picture by Botticelli, before which, in walking up thecorridor of the Florence Gallery, I used, day after day, to make aninvoluntary pause of admiration. The Virgin, seated in a chair ofstate, but seen only to the knees, sustains her divine Son with onearm; four angels are in attendance, one of whom presents an inkhorn, another holds before her an open book, and she is in the act ofwriting the Magnificat, "My soul doth magnify the Lord!" The head ofthe figure behind the Virgin is the portrait of Lorenzo de' Mediciwhen a boy. There is absolutely no beauty of feature, either inthe Madonna, or the Child, or the angels, yet every face is full ofdignity and character. 

In a beautiful picture by Titian (Bel. Gal. , Vienna. Louvre, No. 458), the Virgin is enthroned on the left, and on the right appear St. George and St. Laurence as listening, while St. Jerome reads from hisgreat book. A small copy of this picture is at Windsor. 

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The old German and Flemish painters, in treating the enthronedMadonna, sometimes introduced accessories which no painter of theearly Italian school would have descended to; and which tinge with ahomely sentiment their most exalted conceptions. Thus, I have seena German Madonna seated on a superb throne, and most elaboratelyand gorgeously arrayed, pressing her Child to her bosom with a trulymaternal air; while beside her, on a table, is a honeycomb, somebutter, a dish of fruit, and a glass of water. (Bel. Gal. , Vienna. )It is possible that in this case, as in the Virgin suckling her Child, there may be a religious allusion:--"_Butter and honey shall he eat_, "&c. 

THE MATER AMABILIS. 

_Ital. _ La Madonna col Bambino. La Madonna col celeste suo figlio. _Fr. _ La Vierge et l'enfant Jesus. _Ger. _ Maria mit dem Kind. 

There is yet another treatment of the Madonna and Child, in which theVirgin no longer retains the lofty goddess-like exaltation given toher in the old time. She is brought nearer to our sympathies. Sheis not seated in a chair of state with the accompaniments of earthlypower; she is not enthroned on clouds, nor glorified and star-crownedin heaven; she is no longer so exclusively the VERGINE DEA, nor theVIRGO DEI GENITRIX; but she is still the ALMA MATER REDEMPTORIS, theyoung, and lovely, and most pure mother of a divine Christ. She isnot sustained in mid-air by angels; she dwells lowly on earth; butthe angels leave their celestial home to wait upon her. Such effigies, when conceived in a strictly ideal and devotional sense, I shalldesignate as the MATER AMABILIS. 

The first and simplest form of this beautiful and familiar subject, wefind in those innumerable half-length figures of the Madonna, holdingher Child in her arms, painted chiefly for oratories, private orway-side chapels, and for the studies, libraries, and retired chambersof the devout, as an excitement to religious feeling, and a memorialof the mystery of the Incarnation, where large or grander subjects, or more expensive pictures, would be misplaced. Though unimportant incomparison with the comprehensive and magnificent church altar-piecesalready described, there is no class of pictures so popular and soattractive, none on which the character of the time and the painteris stamped more clearly and intelligibly, than on these simplerepresentations. 

The Virgin is not here the dispenser of mercy; she is simply themother of the Redeemer. She is occupied only by her divine Son. Shecaresses him, or she gazes on him fondly. She presents him to theworshipper. She holds him forth with a pensive joy as the predestinedoffering. If the profound religious sentiment of the early masters wasafterwards obliterated by the unbelief and conventionalism of laterart, still this favourite subject could not be so wholly profaned bydegrading sentiments and associations, as the mere portrait heads ofthe Virgin alone. No matter what the model for the Madonna, mighthave been, --a wife, a mistress, a _contadina_ of Frascati, a Venetian_Zitella_, a _Madchen_ of Nuremberg, a buxom Flemish _Frau_, --for theChild was there; the baby innocence in her arms consecrated her intothat "holiest thing alive, " a mother. The theme, however inadequatelytreated as regarded its religious significance, was sanctified initself beyond the reach of a profane thought. Miserable beyond thereach of hope, dark below despair, that moral atmosphere which thepresence of sinless unconscious infancy cannot for a moment purifyor hallow!

Among the most ancient and most venerable of the effigies of theMadonna, we find the old Greek pictures of the _Mater Amabilis_, ifthat epithet can be properly applied to the dark-coloured, sad-visagedMadonnas generally attributed to St. Luke, or transcripts of thosesaid to be painted by him, which exist in so many churches, and are, or were, supposed by the people to possess a peculiar sanctity. Theseare almost all of oriental origin, or painted to imitate the picturesbrought from the East in the tenth or twelfth century. There are a fewstriking and genuine examples of these ancient Greek Madonnas in theFlorentine Gallery, and, nearer at hand, in the Wallerstein collectionat Kensington Palace. They much resemble each other in the generaltreatment. 

The infinite variety which painters have given to this most simple_motif_, the Mother and the Child only, without accessories oraccompaniments of any kind, exceeds all possibility of classification, either as to attitude or sentiment. Here Raphael shone supreme:the simplicity, the tenderness, the halo of purity and virginaldignity, which he threw round the _Mater Amabilis_ have, never beensurpassed--in his best pictures, never equalled. The "Madonna delGran-Duca, " where the Virgin holds the Child seated on her arm; the"Madonna Tempi, " where she so fondly presses her check to his, --areperhaps the most remarkable for simplicity. The Madonna of theBridgewater Gallery, where the Infant lies on her knees, and theMother and Son look into each other's eyes; the little "MadonnaConestabile, " where she holds the book, and the infant Christ, witha serious yet perfectly childish grace, bends to turn over theleaf, --are the most remarkable for sentiment. 

Other Madonnas by Raphael, containing three or more figures, do notbelong to this class of pictures. They are not strictly devotional, but are properly Holy Families, groups and scenes from the domesticlife of the Virgin. 

With regard, to other painters before or since his time, the examplesof the _Mater Amabilis_ so abound la public and private galleries, andhave been so multiplied in prints, that comparison is within the reachof every observer. I will content myself with noticing a few of themost remarkable for beauty or characteristic treatment. Two painters, who eminently excelled in simplicity and purity of sentiment, are GianBellini of Venice, and Bernardino Luini of Milan. Squarcione, thoughoften fantastic, has painted one or two of these Madonnas, remarkablefor simplicity and dignity, as also his pupil Mantegna; though inboth the style of execution is somewhat hard and cold. In the one byFra Bartolomeo, there is such a depth of maternal tenderness in theexpression and attitude, we wonder where the good monk found hismodel. In his own heart? in his dreams? A _Mater Amabilis_ by one ofthe Caracci or by Vandyck is generally more elegant and dignified thantender. The Madonna, for instance, by Annibal, has something of themajestic sentiment of an enthroned Madonna. Murillo excelled in thissubject; although most of his Virgins have a portrait air of commonlife, they are redeemed by the expression. In one of these, theChild, looking out of the picture with extended arms and eyes fullof divinity, seems about to spring forth to fulfil his mission. Inanother he folds his little hands, and looks up to Heaven, as ifdevoting himself to his appointed suffering, while the Mother looksdown upon him with a tender resignation. (Leuchtenberg Gal. ) In anoble Madonna by Vandyck (Bridgewater Gal. ), it is she herself whodevotes him to do his Father's will; and I still remember a pictureof this class, by Carlo Cignani (Belvedere Gal. , Vienna), which mademe start, with the intense expression: the Mother presses to her theChild, who holds a cross in his baby hand; she looks up to heaven withan appealing look of love and anguish, --almost of reproach. Guidodid not excel so much in children, as in the Virgin alone. Poussin, Carlo Dolce, Sasso Ferrato, and, in general, all the painters of theseventeenth century, give us pretty women and pretty children. We maypass them over. 

A second version of the Mater Amabilis, representing the Virginand Child full-length, but without accessories, has been also verybeautifully treated. She is usually seated in a landscape, andfrequently within the mystical enclosure (_Hortus clausus_), which issometimes in the German pictures a mere palisade of stakes or boughs. 

Andrea Mantegna, though a fantastic painter, had generally somemeaning in his fancies. There is a fine picture of his in which theVirgin and Child are seated in a landscape, and in the background isa stone-quarry, where a number of figures are seen busily at work;perhaps hewing the stone to build the new temple of which our Saviourwas the corner-stone. (Florence Gal. ) In a group by Cristofano Allori, the Child places a wreath of flowers on the brow of his Mother, holding in his other hand his own crown of thorns: one of the_fancies_ of the later schools of art. 

The introduction of the little St. John into the group of the Virginand Child lends it a charming significance and variety, and is verypopular; we must, however, discriminate between the familiarity ofthe domestic subject and the purely religious treatment. When theGiovannino adores with folded hands, as acknowledging in Christ asuperior power, or kisses his feet humbly, or points to him exulting, then it is evident that we have the two Children in their spiritualcharacter, the Child, Priest and King, and the Child, Prophet. 

In a picture by Lionardo da Vinci (Coll. Of the Earl of Suffolk), the Madonna, serious and beautiful, without either crown or veil, andadorned only by her long fair hair, is seated on a rock. On one side, the little Christ, supported in the arms of an angel, raises his handin benediction; on the other side, the young St. John, presented bythe Virgin, kneels in adoration. 

Where the Children are merely embracing each other, or sporting atthe feet of the Virgin, or playing with the cross, or with a bird, orwith the lamb, or with flowers, we might call the treatment domesticor poetical; but where St. John is taking the cross from the hand ofChrist, it is clear, from the perpetual repetition of the theme, thatit is intended to express a religious allegory. It is the mission ofSt. John as Baptist and Prophet. He receives the symbol of faith erehe goes forth to preach and to convert, or as it has been interpreted, he, in the sense used by our Lord, "takes up the cross of our Lord. "The first is, I think, the meaning when the cross is enwreathed withthe _Ecce Agnus Dei_; the latter, when it is a simple cross. 

In Raphael's "Madonna della Famiglia Alva, " (now in the Imp. Gal. , St. Petersburg), and in his Madonna of the Vienna Gallery, Christ givesthe cross to St. John. In a picture of the Lionardo school in theLouvre we have the same action; and again in a graceful group byGuido, which, in the engraving, bears this inscription, "_Qui nonaccipit crucem suam non est me dignus_. " (Matt. X. 38. ) This, ofcourse, fixes the signification. 

Another, and, as I think, a wholly fanciful interpretation, has beengiven to this favourite group by Treck and by Monckton Milnes. TheChildren contend for the cross. The little St. John begs to have it. 

 "Give me the cross, I pray you, dearest Jesus. O if you knew how much I wish to have it, You would not hold it in your hand so tightly. Something has told me, something in my breast here, Which I am sure is true, that if you keep it, If you will let no other take it from you, Terrible things I cannot bear to think of Must fall upon you. Show me that you love me: Am I not here to be your little servant, Follow your steps, and wait upon your wishes?"

But Christ refuses to yield the terrible plaything, and claims hisprivilege to be the elder "in the heritage of pain. "

In a picture by Carlo Maratti, I think this action is evident--Christtakes the cross, and St. John yields it with reluctance. 

A beautiful version of the Mater Amabilis is the MADRE PIA, where theVirgin in her divine Infant acknowledges and adores the Godhead. Wemust be careful to distinguish this subject from the Nativity, forit is common, in the scene of the birth of the Saviour at Bethlehem, to represent the Virgin adoring her new-born Child. The presence ofJoseph--the ruined shed or manger--the ox and ass, --these express the_event_. But in the MADRE PIA properly so called, the locality, andthe accessories, if any, are purely ideal and poetical, and haveno reference to time or place. The early Florentines, particularlyLorenzo di Credi, excelled in this charming subject. 

There is a picture by Filippino Lippi, which appears to me eminentlybeautiful and poetical. Here the mystical garden is formed of abalustrade, beyond which is seen a hedge all in a blush with roses. The Virgin kneels in the midst, and adores her Infant, who has hisfinger on his lip (_Verbum sum!_); an angel scatters rose-leavesover him, while the little St. John also kneels, and four angels, in attitudes of adoration, complete the group. 

But a more perfect example is the Madonna by Francia in the MunichGallery, where the divine Infant lies on the flowery turf; and themother, standing before him and looking down on him, seems on thepoint of sinking on her knees in a transport of tenderness anddevotion. This, to my feeling, is one of the most perfect pictures inthe world; it leaves nothing to be desired. With all the simplicity ofthe treatment it is strictly devotional. The Mother and her Child areplaced within the mystical garden enclosed in a treillage of roses, alone with each other, and apart from all earthly associations, allearthly communion. 

The beautiful altar-piece by Perugino in our National Gallery isproperly a Madre Pia; the child seated on a cushion is sustained by anangel, the mother kneels before him. 

The famous Correggio in the Florentine Gallery is also a Madre Pia. It is very tender, sweet, and maternal. The Child lying on part ofhis mother's blue mantle, so arranged that while she kneels and bendsover him, she cannot change her attitude without disturbing him, isa _concetto_ admired by critics in sentiment and Art; but it appearsto me very inferior and commonplace in comparison to the Francia atMunich. 

In a group by Botticelli, angels sustain the Infant, while the mother, seated, with folded hands, adores him: and in a favourite compositionby Guido he sleeps. 

And, lastly, we have the Mater Amabilis in a more complex, andpicturesque, though still devotional, form. The Virgin, seen at fulllength, reclines on a verdant bank, or is seated under a tree. Sheis not alone with her Child. Holy personages, admitted to a communionwith her, attend around her, rather sympathizing than adoring. Thelove of varied nature, the love of life under all its aspects, becamemingled with the religious conception. Instead of carefully avoidingwhatever may remind us of her earthly relationship, the members of herfamily always form a part of her _cortège_. This pastoral and dramatictreatment began with the Venetian and Paduan schools, and extended tothe early German schools, which were allied to them in feeling, thoughcontrasted with them in form and execution. 

The perpetual introduction of St. Joseph, St. Elizabeth, and otherrelatives of the Virgin (always avoided in a Madonna dell Trono), would compose what is called a Holy Family, but that the presenceof sainted personages whose existence and history belong to awholly different era--St. Catherine, St. George, St. Francis, orSt. Dominick--takes the composition out of the merely domestic andhistorical, and lifts it at once into the ideal and devotional lineof art. Such a group cannot well be styled a _Sacra Famiglia_; it is a_Sacra Conversazione_ treated in the pastoral and lyrical rather thanthe lofty epic style. 

In this subject the Venetians, who first introduced it, excel allother painters. There is no example by Raphael. The German and Flemishpainters who adopted this treatment were often coarse and familiar;the later Italians became flippant and fantastic. The Venetians aloneknew how to combine the truest feeling for nature with a sort ofElysian grace. 

I shall give a few examples. 

1. In a picture by Titian (Dresden Gal. ), the Virgin is seated ona green bank enamelled with flowers. She is simply dressed like a_contadina_, in a crimson tunic, and a white veil half shading herfair hair. She holds in her arms her lovely Infant, who raises hislittle hand in benediction. St. Catherine kneels before him on oneside; on the other, St. Barbara. St. John the Baptist, not as a child, and the contemporary of our Saviour, but in likeness of an Arcadianshepherd, kneels with his cross and his lamb--the _Ecce Agnus Dei_, expressed, not in words, but in form. St. George stands by as aguardian warrior. And St. Joseph, leaning on his stick behind, contemplates the group with an air of dignified complacency. 

2. There is another instance also from Titian. In a most luxuriantlandscape thick with embowering trees, and the mountains of Cadore inthe background, the Virgin is seated on a verdant bank; St. Catherinehas thrown herself on her knees, and stretches out her arms to thedivine Child in an ecstasy of adoration, in which there is nothingunseemly or familiar. At a distance St. John the Baptist approacheswith his Lamb. 

3. In another very similar group, the action of St. Catherine israther too familiar, --it is that of an eider sister or a nurse: theyoung St. John kneels in worship. 

4. Wonderfully fine is a picture of this class by Palma, now in theDresden Gallery. The noble, serious, sumptuous loveliness of theVirgin; the exquisite Child, so thoughtful, yet so infantine; themanly beauty of the St. John; the charming humility of the St. Catherine as she presents her palm, form one of the most perfectgroups in the world. Childhood, motherhood, maidenhood, manhood, were never, I think, combined in so sweet a spirit of humanity. [1]

[Footnote 1: When I was at Dresden, in 1860, I found Steinle, socelebrated for his engravings of the Madonna di San Sisto and theHolbein Madonna, employed on this picture; and, as far as hisart could go, transferring to his copper all the fervour and the_morbidezza_ of the original. ]

5. In another picture by Palma, in the same gallery, we have the samepicturesque arrangement of the Virgin and Child, while the _little_St. John adores with folded hands, and St. Catherine sits by in tendercontemplation. 

This Arcadian sentiment is carried as far as could well be allowed ina picture by Titian (Louvre, 459), known as the _Vierge au Lapin_. TheVirgin holds a white rabbit, towards which the infant Christ, in thearms of St. Catherine, eagerly stretches his hand. In a picture byParis Bordone it is carried, I think, too far. The Virgin reclinesunder a tree with a book in her hand; opposite to her sits St. Josephholding an apple; between them, St. John the Baptist, as a beardedman, holds in his arms the infant Christ, who caressingly puts one armround his neck, and with the other clings to the rough hairy raimentof his friend. 

 * * * * *

It will be observed, that in these Venetian examples St. Catherine, the beloved protectress of Venice, is seldom omitted. She is nothere the learned princess who confounded tyrants and convertedphilosophers, but a bright-haired, full-formed Venetian maiden, glowing with love and life, yet touched with a serious grace, inexpressibly charming. 

St. Dorothea is also a favourite saint in these sacred pastorals. There is an instance in which she is seated by the Virgin with herbasket of fruits and flowers; and St. Jerome, no longer beatinghis breast in penance, but in likeness of a fond old grandfather, stretches out his arms to the Child. Much finer is a picture now inthe possession of Sir Charles Eastlake. The lovely Virgin is seatedunder a tree: on one side appears the angel Raphael, presenting Tobit;on the other, St. Dorothea, kneeling, holds up her basket of celestialfruit, gathered for her in paradise. [1]

[Footnote 1: See Sacred and legendary Art, for the beautiful Legend ofSt. Dorothea]

When St. Ursula, with her standard, appears in these Venetianpastorals, we may suppose the picture to have been painted for thefamous brotherhood (_Scuola di Sant' Orsola_) which bears her name. Thus, in a charming picture by Palma, she appears before the Virgin, accompanied by St. Mark a protector of Venice. (Vienna, BelvedereGal. )

Ex-voto pictures in this style are very interesting, and the votary, without any striking impropriety, makes one of the Arcadian group. Very appropriate, too, is the marriage of St. Catherine, often treatedin this poetical style. In a picture by Titian, the family of theVirgin attend the mystical rite, and St. Anna places the hand of St. Catherine in that of the Child. 

In a group by Signorelli, Christ appears as if teaching St. Catherine;he dictates, and she, the patroness of "divine philosophy, " writesdown his words. 

When the later painters in their great altar-pieces imitated thisidyllic treatment, the graceful Venetian conception became in theirhands heavy, mannered, tasteless, --and sometimes worse. The monasticsaints or mitred dignitaries, introduced into familiar and irreverentcommunion with the sacred and ideal personages, in spite of thegrand scenery, strike us as at once prosaic and fantastic "we marvelhow they got there. " Parmigiano, when he fled from the sack of Romein 1527, painted at Bologna, for the nuns of Santa Margherita, analtar-piece which has been greatly celebrated. The Madonna, holdingher Child, is seated in a landscape under a tree, and turns her headto the Bishop St. Petronius, protector of Bologna. St. Margaret, kneeling and attended by her great dragon, places one hand, with afree and easy air, on the knee of the Virgin, and with the other seemsto be about to chuck the infant Christ under the chin. In a largepicture by Giacomo Francia, the Virgin, walking in a flowery meadowwith the infant Christ and St. John, and attended by St. Agnes andMary Magdalene, meets St. Francis and St. Dominick, also, apparently, taking a walk. (Berlin Gal. No. 281. ) And again;--the Madonna and St. Elizabeth meet with their children in a landscape, while St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. Benedict stand behind in attitudes of attentionand admiration. Now, such pictures may be excellently well painted, greatly praised by connoisseurs, and held in "_somma venerazione_, "but they are offensive as regards the religious feeling, and, are, inpoint of taste, mannered, fantastic, and secular. 

 * * * * *

Here we must end our discourse concerning the Virgin and Child asa devotional subject. Very easily and delightfully to the writer, perhaps not painfully to the reader, we might have gone on to the endof the volume; but my object was not to exhaust the subject, to pointout every interesting variety of treatment, but to lead the loverof art, wandering through a church or gallery, to new sources ofpleasure; to show him what infinite shades of feeling and charactermay still be traced in a subject which, with all its beauty andattractiveness, might seem to have lost its significant interest, and become trite from endless repetition; to lead the mind to someperception of the intention of the artist in his work, --under whataspect he had himself contemplated and placed before the worshipperthe image of the mother of Christ, --whether crowned and enthroned asthe sovereign lady of Christendom; or exalted as the glorious empressof heaven and all the spiritual world; or bending benignly over us, the impersonation of sympathizing womanhood, the emblem of relentinglove, the solace of suffering humanity, the maid and mother, dear andundefiled--

 "Created beings all in lowliness Surpassing, as in height above them all. "

It is time to change the scene, --to contemplate the Virgin, as shehas been exhibited to us in the relations of earthly life, as the merewoman, acting and suffering, loving, living, dying, fulfilling thehighest destinies in the humblest state, in the meekest spirit. Sowe begin her history as the ancient artists have placed it before us, with that mingled _naïveté_ and reverence, that vivid dramatic power, which only faith, and love, and genius united, could impart. 

HISTORICAL SUBJECTS

PART I. 

THE LIFE OF THE VIRGIN MARY FROM HER BIRTH TO HER MARRIAGE WITHJOSEPH. 

 1. THE LEGEND OF JOACHIM AND ANNA. 2. THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 3. THE DEDICATION IN THE TEMPLE. 4. THE MARRIAGE WITH JOSEPH. 

THE LEGEND OF JOACHIM AND ANNA. 

_Ital. _ La Leggenda di Sant' Anna Madre della Gloriosa Vergine Maria, e di San Gioacchino. 

Of the sources whence are derived the popular legends of the life ofthe Virgin Mary, which, mixed up with the few notices in Scripture, formed one continuous narrative, authorized by the priesthood, andaccepted and believed in by the people, I have spoken at length in theIntroduction. We have now to consider more particularly the scenes andcharacters associated with her history; to show how the artists of theMiddle Ages, under the guidance and by the authority of the Church, treated in detail these favourite themes in ecclesiastical decoration. 

In early art, that is, up to the end of the fifteenth century, Joachimand Anna, the parents of the Virgin, never appear except in the seriesof subjects from her life. In the devotional groups and altar-pieces, they are omitted. St. Bernard, the great theological authority ofthose times, objects to the invocation of any saints who had livedbefore the birth of Christ, consequently to their introductioninto ecclesiastical edifices in any other light than as historicalpersonages. Hence, perhaps, there were scruples relative to therepresentations of St. Anna, which, from the thirteenth to thefifteenth century, placed the artists under certain restrictions. 

Under the name of Anna, the Church has honoured, from remote times, the memory of the mother of the Virgin. The Hebrew name, signifying_Grace_, or _the Gracious_, and all the traditions concerning her, came to us from the East, where she was so early venerated as asaint, that a church was dedicated to her by the Emperor Justinian, in 550. Several other churches were subsequently dedicated to her inConstantinople during the sixth and seventh centuries, and her remainsare said to have been deposited there in 710. In the West, she firstbecame known in the reign of Charlemagne; and the Greek apocryphalgospels, or at least stories and extracts from them, began to becirculated about the same period. From these are derived the historicscenes and legendary subjects relating to Joachim and Anna whichappear in early art. It was about 1500, in the beginning of thesixteenth century, that the increasing veneration for the Virgin Marygave to her parents, more especially to St. Anna, increased celebrityas patron saints; and they became, thenceforward, more frequentcharacters in the sacred groups. The feast of St. Anna was alreadygeneral and popular throughout Europe long before it was renderedobligatory in 1584. [1] The growing enthusiasm for the doctrine ofthe Immaculate Conception gave, of course, additional splendour andimportance to her character. Still, it is only in later times that wefind the effigy of St. Anna separated from that of the Virgin. Thereis a curious picture by Cesi (Bologna Gal. ), in which St. Anna kneelsbefore a vision of her daughter before she is born--the Virgin of theImmaculate Conception. A fine model of a bearded man was now sometimesconverted into a St. Joachim reading or meditating, instead of aSt. Peter or a St. Jerome, as heretofore. In the Munich Gallery aretwo fine ancient-looking figures of St. Joachim the father, and St. Joseph the husband, of the Virgin, standing together; but all theseas separate representations, are very uncommon; and, of those whichexhibit St. Anna devotionally, as enthroned with the Virgin and Child, I have already spoken. Like St. Elizabeth, she should be an elderly, but not a _very_ old woman. Joachim, in such pictures, never appearsbut as an attendant saint, and then very rarely; always very old, andsometimes in the dress of a priest, which however, is a mistake on thepart of the artist. 

[Footnote 1: In England we have twenty-eight churches dedicated in thename of St. Anna. ]

 * * * * *

A complete series of the history of the Blessed Virgin, as imagedforth by the early artists, always begins with the legend of Joachimand Anna, which is thus related. 

"There was a man of Nazareth, whose name was Joachim, and he had forhis wife a woman of Bethlehem, whose name was Anna, and both were ofthe royal race of David. Their lives were pure and righteous, and theyserved the Lord with singleness of heart. And being rich, they dividedtheir substance into three portions, one for the service of thetemple, one for the poor and the strangers, and the third for theirhousehold. On a certain feast day, Joachim brought double offerings tothe Lord according to his custom, for he said, 'Out of my superfluitywill I give for the whole people, that I may find favour in the sightof the Lord, and forgiveness for my sins. ' And when the children ofIsrael brought their gifts, Joachim also brought his; but the highpriest Issachar stood over against him and opposed him, saying, 'It isnot lawful for thee to bring thine offering, seeing that thou hast notbegot issue in Israel. ' And Joachim was exceeding sorrowful, and wentdown to his house; and he searched through all the registers of thetwelve tribes to discover if he alone had been childless in Israel. And he found that all the righteous men, and the patriarchs who hadlived before him, had been the fathers of sons and daughters. And hecalled to mind his father Abraham, to whom in his old age had beengranted a son, even Isaac. 

"And Joachim was more and more sorrowful; and he would not be seen byhis wife, but avoided her, and went away into the pastures where werethe shepherds and the sheep-cotes. And he built himself a hut, andfasted forty days and forty nights; for he said 'Until the Lord Godlook upon me mercifully, prayer shall be my meat and my drink. '

"But his wife Anna remained lonely in her house, and mourned with atwofold sorrow, for her widowhood and for her barrenness. 

"Then drew near the last day of the feast of the Lord; and Judithher handmaid said to Anna, 'How long wilt thou thus afflict thy soul?Behold the feast of the Lord is come, and it is not lawful for theethus to mourn. Take this silken fillet, which was bestowed on me byone of high degree whom I formerly served, and bind it round thy head, for it is not fit that I who am thy handmaid should wear it, but it isfitting for thee, whose brow is as the brow of a crowned queen. ' AndAnna replied, 'Begone! such things are not for me, for the Lord hathhumbled me. As for this fillet, some wicked person hath given it tothee; and art thou come to make me a partaker in thy sin?' And Judithher maid answered, 'What evil shall I wish thee since thou wilt nothearken to my voice? for worse I cannot wish thee than that with whichthe Lord hath afflicted thee, seeing that he hath shut up thy womb, that thou shouldst not be a mother in Israel. '

"And Anna hearing these words was sorely troubled. And she laid asideher mourning garments, and she adorned her head, and put on her bridalattire; and at the ninth hour she went forth into her garden, andsat down under a laurel tree and prayed earnestly. And looking up toheaven, she saw within the laurel bush a sparrow's nest; and mourningwithin herself she said, 'Alas! and woe is me! who hath begotten me?who hath brought me forth? that I should be accursed in the sight ofIsrael, and scorned and shamed before my people, and cast out of thetemple of the Lord! Woe is me! to what shall I be likened? I cannot belikened to the fowls of heaven, for the fowls of heaven are fruitfulin thy sight, O Lord! Woe is me! to what shall I be likened? Not tothe unreasoning beasts of the earth, for they are fruitful in thysight, O Lord! Woe is me! to what shall I be likened? Not to thesewaters, for they are fruitful in thy sight, O Lord! Woe is me! to whatshall I be likened? Not unto the earth, for the earth bringeth forthher fruit in due season, and praiseth thee, O Lord!'

"And behold an angel of the Lord stood by her and said, 'Anna, thyprayer is heard, thou shalt bring forth, and thy child shall beblessed throughout the whole world. ' And Anna said, 'As the Lordliveth, whatever I shall bring forth, be it a man-child or a maid, I will present it an offering to the Lord. ' And behold another angelcame and said to her, 'See, thy husband Joachim is coming with hisshepherds;' for an angel had spoken to him also, and had comforted himwith promises. And Anna went forth to meet her husband, and Joachimcame from the pasture with his herds, and they met at the golden gate;and Anna ran and embraced her husband, and hung upon his neck, saying, 'Now know I that the Lord hath blessed me. I who was a widow am nolonger a widow; I who was barren shall become a joyful mother. '

"And they returned home together. 

"And when her time was come, Anna brought forth a daughter; and shesaid, 'This day my soul magnifieth the Lord. ' And she laid herselfdown in her bed; and she called, the name of her child Mary, whichin the Hebrew is Miriam. "

 * * * * *

With the scenes of this beautiful pastoral begins the life of theVirgin. 

1. We have first Joachim rejected from the temple. He stands on thesteps before the altar holding a lamb; and the high priest oppositeto him, with arm upraised, appears to refuse his offering. Such isthe usual _motif_; but the incident has been variously treated--inthe earlier and ruder examples, with a ludicrous want of dignity; forJoachim is almost tumbling down the steps of the temple to avoid thebox on the ear which Issachar the priest is in the act of bestowing ina most energetic fashion. On the other hand, the group by Taddeo Gaddi(Florence, Baroncelli Chapel, S. Croce), though so early in date, has not since been excelled either in the grace or the dramaticsignificance of the treatment. Joachim turns away, with his lambin his arms, repulsed, but gently, by the priest. To the right arethree personages who bring offerings, one of whom, prostrate on hisknees, yet looks up at Joachim with a sneering expression--a finerepresentation of the pharisaical piety of one of the elect, rejoicingin the humiliation of a brother. On the other side are three personswho appear to be commenting on the scene. In the more elaboratecomposition by Ghirlandajo (Florence, S. Maria Novella), there isa grand view into the interior of the temple, with arches richlysculptured. Joachim is thrust forth by one of the attendants, while inthe background the high priest accepts the offering of a more favouredvotary. On each side are groups looking on, who express the contemptand hatred they feel for one, who, not having children, presumes toapproach the altar. All these, according to the custom of Ghirlandajo, are portraits of distinguished persons. The first figure on the rightrepresents the painter Baldovinetti; next to him, with his hand onhis side, Ghirlandajo himself; the third, with long black hair, is Bastiano Mainardi, who painted the Assumption in the BaroncelliChapel, in the Santa Croce; and the fourth, turning his back, is DavidGhirlandajo. These real personages are so managed, that, while theyare not themselves actors, they do not interfere with the main action, but rather embellish and illustrate it, like the chorus in a Greektragedy. Every single figure in this fine fresco is a study for manlycharacter, dignified attitude, and easy grand drapery. 

In the same scene by Albert Durer, [1] the high priest, standing behinda table, rejects the offering of the lamb, and his attendant pushesaway the doves. Joachim makes a gesture of despair, and severalpersons who bring offerings look at him with disdain or with sympathy. 

[Footnote 1: In the set of wood-cuts of the Life of the Virgin. ]

The same scene by Luini (Milan, Brera) is conceived with much patheticas well as dramatic effect. But as I have said enough to reader thesubject easily recognized, we proceed. 

 * * * * *

2. "Joachim herding his sheep on the mountain, and surrounded by hisshepherds, receives the message of the angel. " This subject may sonearly resemble the Annunciation to the Shepherds in St. Luke's Gospel, that we must be careful to distinguish them, as, indeed, the best ofthe old painters have done with great taste and feeling. 

Is the fresco by Taddeo Gaddi (in the Baroncelli Chapel), Joachimis seated on a rocky mountain, at the base of which his sheep arefeeding, and turns round to listen to the voice of the angel. In thefresco by Giotto in the Arena at Padua, the treatment is nearly thesame. [1] In the series by Luini, a stream runs down the centre ofthe picture: on one side is Joachim listening to the angel, on theother, Anna is walking in her garden. This incident is omitted byGhirlandajo. In Albert Durer's composition, Joachim is seen in theforeground kneeling, and looking up at an angel, who holds out inboth hands a sort of parchment roll looking like a diploma with sealsappended, and which we may suppose to contain the message from onhigh (if it be not rather the emblem of the _sealed book_, so oftenintroduced, particularly by the German masters). A companion ofJoachim also looks up with amazement, and farther in the distance aresheep and shepherds. 

[Footnote 1: The subject will be found in the set of wood-cutspublished by the Arundel Society. ]

The Annunciation to St. Anna may be easily mistaken for theAnnunciation to the Virgin Mary;--we must therefore be careful todiscriminate, by an attention to the accessories. Didron observes thatin Western art the annunciation to St. Anna usually takes place in achamber. In the East it takes place in a garden, because there "_onvit feu dans les maisons et beaucoup en plein air_;" but, accordingto the legend, the locality ought to be a garden, and under a laureltree, which is not always attended to. 

3. The altercation between St. Anna and her maid Judith I have nevermet with but once, in the series by Luini, where the disconsolatefigure and expression of St. Anna are given with infinite grace andsentiment. (Milan, Brera. )

 * * * * *

4. "The meeting of Joachim and Anna before the golden gate. " This isone of the most important subjects. It has been treated by the veryearly artists with much _naïveté_, and in the later examples withinfinite beauty and sentiment; and, which is curious, it has beenidealized into a devotional subject, and treated apart. The action isin itself extremely simple. The husband and wife affectionately andjoyfully embrace each other. In the background is seen a gate, richlyornamented. Groups of spectators and attendants are sometimes, notalways, introduced. 

In the composition of Albert Durer nothing can be more homely, hearty, and conjugal. A burly fat man, who looks on with a sort of wonderingamusement in his face, appears to be a true and animated transcriptfrom nature, as true as Ghirlandajo's attendant figures--but howdifferent! what a contrast between the Florentine citizen and theGerman burgher! In the simpler composition by Taddeo Gaddi, St. Annais attended by three women, among whom the maid Judith is conspicuous, and behind Joachim is one of his shepherds[1]. 

[Footnote 1: In two compartments of a small altar-piece (whichprobably represented in the centre the Nativity of the Virgin), Ifound on one side the story of St. Joachim, on the other the story ofSt. Anna. --_Collection of Lord Northwick, No. 513, in his Catalogue_. ]

The Franciscans, those enthusiastic defenders of the ImmaculateConception, were the authors of a fantastic idea, that the birth ofthe Virgin was not only _immaculate_, but altogether _miraculous_, andthat she owed her being to the joyful kiss which Joachim gave his wifewhen they met at the gate. Of course the Church gave no countenance tothis strange poetical fiction, but it certainly modified some of therepresentations; for example, there is a picture by Vittore Carpaccio, wherein St. Joachim and Anna tenderly embrace. On one side standsSt. Louis of Toulouse as bishop; on the other St. Ursula with herstandard, whose presence turns the incident into a religious mystery. In another picture, painted by Ridolfo Ghirlandajo, we have a stillmore singular and altogether mystical treatment. In the centre St. Joachim and St. Anna embrace; behind St. Joachim stands St. Josephwith his lily wand and a book; behind St. Anna, the Virgin Mary (thusrepresented as existing before she was born[1]), and beyond her St. Laurence; in the corner is seen the head of the votary, a Servitemonk; above all, the Padre Eterno holds an open book with the _Alpha_and _Omega_. This singular picture was dedicated and placed over thehigh altar of the Conception in the church of the Servi, who, underthe title of _Serviti di Maria_, were dedicated to the especialservice of the Virgin Mary. (v. Legends of the Monastic Orders. )

[Footnote 1: Prov. Viii 22, 23. These texts are applied to theMadonna. ]

THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

_Ital. _ La Nascità della B. Vergine. _Fr. _ La Naissance de la S. Vierge. _Ger. _ Die Geburt Maria. 

This is, of course, a very important subject. It is sometimes treatedapart as a separate scene; and a series of pictures dedicated to thehonour of the Virgin, and comprising only a few of the most eventfulscenes in her history, generally begins with her Nativity. Theprimitive treatment is Greek, and, though varied in the details andthe sentiment, it has never deviated much from the original _motif_. 

St. Anna reclines on a couch covered with drapery, and a pillow underher head; two handmaids sustain her; a third fans her, or presentsrefreshments; more in front a group of women are busied about thenew-born child. It has been the custom, I know not on what authority, to introduce neighbours and friends, who come to congratulate theparents. The whole scene thus treated is sure to come home to thebosom of the observer. The most important event in the life of awoman, her most common and yet most awful experience, is here sotreated as to be at once ennobled by its significance and endearedby its thoroughly domestic character. 

I will give some examples. 1. The first is by an unknown master of theGreco-Italian school, and referred by d'Agincourt to the thirteenthcentury, but it is evidently later, and quite in the style of theGaddi. 

2. There is both dignity and simplicity in the fresco by TaddeoGaddi. (Florence, Baroncelli Chapel. ) St. Anna is sitting up in bed;an attendant pours water over her hands. In front, two women areaffectionately occupied with the child a lovely infant with a gloryround its head. Three other attendants are at the foot of the bed. 

3. We have next in date, the elegant composition by Ghirlandajo. AsJoachim and Anna were "exceedingly rich, " he has surrounded them withall the luxuries of life. The scene is a chamber richly decorated; afrieze of angelic boys ornaments the alcove; St. Anna lies on a couch. Vasari says "certain women are ministering to her. " but in Lasinio'sengraving they are not to be found. In front a female attendant pourswater into a vase; two others seated hold the infant. A noble lady, habited in the elegant Florentine costume of the fifteenth century, enters with four others--all portraits, and, as is usual withGhirlandajo, looking on without taking any part in the action. Thelady in front is traditionally said to be Ginevra Benci, celebratedfor her beauty. 

4. The composition by Albert Durer[1] gives us an exact transcriptof antique German life, quite wonderful for the homely truth of thedelineation, but equally without the simplicity of a scriptural orthe dignity of an historical scene. In an old-fashioned German chamberlies St. Anna in an old-fashioned canopied bedstead. Two women bringher a soup and something to drink, while the midwife, tired with herexertions, leans her head on the bedside and has sank to sleep. Acrowd of women fill up the foreground, one of whom attends to thenew-born child: others, who appear to have watched through the night, as we may suppose from the nearly extinguished candles, are intent ongood cheer; they congratulate each other; they eat, drink, and reposethemselves. It would be merely a scene of German _commérage_, fullof nature and reality, if an angel hovering above, and swinging acenser, did not remind us of the sacred importance of the incidentrepresented. 

[Footnote 1: In the set of wood-cuts of the "Life of the VirginMary. "]

5. In the strongest possible contrast to the homely but animatedconception of Albert Durer, is the grand fresco by Andrea del Sarto, in the church of the Nunziata at Florence. The incidents are nearlythe same: we have St. Anna reclining in her bed and attended by herwomen; the nurses waiting on the lovely new-born child; the visitorswho enter to congratulate; but all, down to the handmaidens who bringrefreshments, are noble and dignified, and draped in that magnificenttaste which distinguished Andrea, Angels scatter flowers from aboveand, which is very uncommon, Joachim is seen, after the anxious nightreposing on a couch. Nothing in fresco can exceed the harmony andbrilliancy of the colouring, and the softness of the execution. Itappeared to me a masterpiece as a picture. Like Ghirlandajo, Andreahas introduced portraits; and in the Florentine lady who stands in theforeground we recognize the features of his worthless wife Lucrezia, the original model of so many of his female figures that the ignoblebeauty of her face has become quite familiar. 

THE PRESENTATION OF THE VIRGIN. 

_Ital. _ La Presentazione, ove nostra Signora piccioletta sale i gradidel Tempio. _Ger. _ Joachim und Anna weihen ihre Tochter Maria imTempel. Die Vorstellung der Jungfrau im Tempel. Nov. 21. 

In the interval between the birth of Mary and her consecration in thetemple, there is no incident which I can remember as being importantor popular as a subject of art. 

It is recorded with what tenderness her mother Anna watched overher, "how she made of her bedchamber a holy place, allowing nothingthat was common or unclean to enter in;" and called to her "certaindaughters of Israel, pure and gentle, " whom she appointed to attendon her. In some of the early miniature illustrations of the Offices ofthe Virgin, St. Anna thus ministers to her child; for instance, in abeautiful Greek MS. In the Vatican, she is tenderly putting her intoa little bed or cradle and covering her up. (It is engraved ind'Agincourt. )

It is not said anywhere that St. Anna instructed her daughter. It haseven been regarded as unorthodox to suppose that the Virgin, enrichedfrom her birth, and before her birth, with all the gifts of the HolySpirit, required instruction from any one. Nevertheless, the subjectof the "Education of the Virgin" has been often represented in latertimes. There is a beautiful example by Murillo; while Anna teaches herchild to read, angels hover over them with wreaths of roses. (MadridGal. ) Another by Rubens, in which, as it is said, he represented hisyoung wife, Helena Forman. (Musée, Antwerp. ) There is also a picturein which St. Anna ministers to her daughter, and is intent on braidingand adorning her long golden hair, while the angels look on withdevout admiration. (Vienna, Lichtenstein Gal. ) In all these examplesMary is represented as a girl of ten or twelve years old. Now, as thelegend expressly relates that she was three years old when she becamean inmate of the temple, such representations must be considered asincorrect. 

 * * * * *

The narrative thus proceeds:--

"And when the child was _three years old_, Joachim said, 'Let usinvite the daughters of Israel, and they shall take each a taper ora lamp, and attend on her, that the child may not turn back from thetemple of the Lord. ' And being come to the temple, they placed her onthe first step, and she ascended alone all the steps to the altar:and the high priest received her there, kissed her, and blessed her, saying, 'Mary, the Lord hath magnified thy name to all generations, and in thee shall be made known the redemption of the children ofIsrael. ' And being placed before the altar, she danced with her feet, so that all the house of Israel rejoiced with her, and loved her. Thenher parents returned home, blessing God because the maiden had notturned back from the temple. "

 * * * * *

Such is the incident, which, in artistic representation, is sometimesstyled the "Dedication, " but more generally "THE PRESENTATION OF THEVIRGIN. "

It is a subject of great importance, not only as a principal incidentin a series of the Life of the Virgin, but because this consecrationof Mary to the service of the temple being taken in a general sense, it has often been given in a separate form, particularly for thenunneries. Hence it has happened that we find "The Presentation of theVirgin" among some of the most precious examples of ancient and modernart. 

The _motif_ does not vary. The child Mary, sometimes in a blue, butoftener in a white vesture, with long golden hair, ascends the stepswhich lead to the porch of the temple, which steps are always fifteenin number. She ought to be an infant of three years of age; but inmany pictures she is represented older, veiled, and with a taper inher hand instead of a lamp, like a young nun; but this is a fault. The"fifteen steps" rest on a passage in Josephus, who says, "between thewall which separated the men from the women, and the great porch ofthe temple, were fifteen steps;" and these are the steps which Maryis supposed to ascend. 

1. It is sometimes treated with great simplicity; for instance, inthe bas-relief by Andrea Orcagna, there are only three principalfigures--the Virgin in the centre (too old, however), and Joachim andAnna stand on each side. (Florence, Or San Michele. )

2. In the fresco by Taddeo Gaddi we have the same artless grace, thesame dramatic grouping, and the same faults of drawing and perspectiveas in the other compartments of the series. (Florence, BaroncelliChapel. )

3. The scene is represented by Ghirlandajo with his usual luxury ofaccessories and accompaniments. (Florence, S. Maria Novella. ) Thelocality is the court of the temple; on the right a magnificent porch;the Virgin, a young girl of about nine or ten years old, is seenascending the steps with a book in her hand; the priest stretches outhis arms to receive her; behind him is another priest; and "the youngvirgins who were to be her companions" are advancing joyously toreceive her. (Adducentur Regi Virgines post eam. Ps. Xlv. ) At thefoot of the steps are St. Anna and St. Joachim, and farther off agroup of women and spectators, who watch the event in attitudes ofthanksgiving and joyful sympathy. Two venerable, grand-looking Jews, and two beautiful boys fill the foreground; and the figure of thepilgrim resting on the steps is memorable in art as one of theearliest examples of an undraped figure, accurately and gracefullydrawn. The whole composition is full of life and character, and thatsort of _elegance_ peculiar to Ghirlandajo. 

4. In the composition of Albert Durer we see the entrance of thetemple on the left, and the child Mary with flowing hair ascending thesteps; behind her stand her parents and other personages, and in frontare venders of provisions, doves, &c. , which are brought as offerings. 

5. The scene, as given by Carpaccio, appears to me exceedinglygraceful. The perfectly childish figure of Mary with her lightflowing tresses, the grace with which she kneels on the steps, and thedisposition of the attendant figures, are all beautifully conceived. Conspicuous in front is a page holding a unicorn, the ancient emblemof chastity, and often introduced significantly into pictures of theVirgin. (Venice Academy. )

6. But the most celebrated example is the Presentation by Titian, in the academy at Venice, originally painted for the church of thebrotherhood of charity (_Scuola della Carità_), and still to be seenthere--the Carità being now the academy of art. 

In the general arrangement, Titian seems to have been indebted toCarpaccio; but all that is simple and poetical in the latter becomesin Titian's version sumptuous and dramatic. Here Mary does notkneel, but, holding up her light-blue drapery, ascends the steps withchildish grace and alacrity. The number of portrait-heads adds to thevalue and interest of the picture. Titian himself is looking up, andnear him stands his friend, Andrea de' Franceschi, grand-chancellorof Venice, [1] robed as a _Cavaliero di San Marco_. In the finebearded head of the priest, who stands behind the high-priest, we mayrecognize, I think, the likeness of Cardinal Bembo. In the foreground, instead of the poetical symbol of the unicorn, we have an old womanselling eggs and fowls, as in Albert Durer's print, which must havebeen well known to Titian. Albert Durer published his Life of theVirgin in 1520, and Titian painted his picture about 1550. (VeniceAcademy. )

[Footnote 1: "_Amorevolissime del Pittare_, " says Ridolfi. It is thesame person whom Titian introduced, with himself, in the picture atWindsor; there, by a truly unpardonable mistake, called "Titian andAretino. "]

 * * * * *

From the life of the Virgin in the temple, we have several beautifulpictures. As she was to be placed before women as an example of everyvirtue, so she was skilled in all feminine accomplishments; she wasas studious, as learned, as wise, as she was industrious, chaste, andtemperate. 

She is seen surrounded by her young companions, the maidens who werebrought up in the temple with her, in a picture by Agnolo Gaddi. (Florence, Carmine. ) She is instructing her companions, in a charmingpicture by Luini: here she appears as a girl of seven or eight yearsold, seated on a sort of throne, dressed in a simple light-blue tunic, with long golden hair; while the children around her look up andlisten with devout faces. (Milan, Brera. )

 * * * * *

Some other scenes of her early life, which, in the Protevangelion, areplaced after her marriage with Joseph, in pictures usually precede it. Thus, she is chosen by lot to spin the fine purple for the temple, to weave and embroider it. Didron mentions a fine antique tapestry atRheims, in which Mary is seated at her embroidery, while two unicornscrouching on each side look up in her face. 

 * * * * *

I remember a fine drawing, in which the Virgin is seated at a largetapestry frame. Behind her are two maidens, one of whom is reading;the other, holding a distaff, lays her hand on the shoulder of theVirgin, as if about to speak. The scene represents the interior of thetemple with rich architecture. (Vienna, Col. Of Archduke Charles. )

In a small but very pretty picture by Guido, the Virgin, as a younggirl, sits embroidering a _yellow_ robe. (Lord Ellesmere's Gal. ) Sheis attended by four angels, one of whom draws aside a curtain It isalso related that among the companions of Mary in the temple wasAnna the prophetess; and that this aged and holy woman, knowing byinspiration of the Holy Spirit the peculiar grace vouchsafed to Mary, and her high destiny, beheld her with equal love and veneration;and, notwithstanding the disparity of age, they become true and dearfriends. 

In an old illumination, the Virgin is seated spinning, with an angelby her side. (Office of the Virgin, 1408. Oxford, Bodleian. )

 * * * * *

It is recorded that the angels daily ministered to her, and fed herwith celestial food. Hence in some early specimens of art an angelbrings her a loaf of bread and a pitcher of water, --the _bread oflife_ and the _water of life_ from Paradise. In this subject, as wefind it carved on the stalls of the cathedral of Amiens, Mary holds abook, and several books are ranged on a shelf in the background: thereis, besides, a clock, such as was in use in the fifteenth century, toindicate the studious and regular life led by Mary in the temple. 

 * * * * *

St. Evode, patriarch of Antioch, and St. Germanus, assert asan indubitable tradition of the Greek Church, that Mary had theprivilege--never granted to one of her sex before or since--ofentering the Holy of Holies, and praying before the ark of thecovenant. Hence, in some of the scenes from her early life, the ark isplaced in the background. We must also bear in mind that the ark wasone of the received types of her who bore the Logos within her bosom. 

 * * * * *

In her fourteenth year, Mary was informed by the high priest that itwas proper that she should be married; but she modestly replied thather parents had dedicated her to the service of the Lord, and that, therefore, she could not comply. But the high-priest, who had receiveda revelation from an angel concerning the destiny of Mary, informedher thereof, and she with all humility submitted herself to the divinewill. This scene between Mary and the high-priest has been painted byLuini, and it is the only example with which I am acquainted. 

Pictures of the Virgin in her girlhood, reading intently the Book ofWisdom, while angels watch over her, are often of great beauty. 

THE MARRIAGE OF THE VIRGIN

_Ital. _ Il Sposalizio. _Fr. _ Le Mariage de la Vierge. _Ger. _ DieTrauung Mariä. Jan. 23. 

This, as an artistic subject, is of great consequence, from the beautyand celebrity of some of the representations, which, however, areunintelligible without the accompanying legends. And it is worthremarking, that while the incident is avoided in early Greek art, it became very popular with the Italian and German painters from thefourteenth century. 

In the East, the prevalence of the monastic spirit, from the fourthcentury, had brought marriage into disrepute; by many of the asceticwriters of the West it was considered almost in the light of anecessary evil. This idea, that the primal and most sacred ordinanceof God and nature was incompatible with the sanctity and purityacceptable to God, was the origin of the singular legends of theMarriage of the Virgin. One sees very clearly that, if possible, itwould have been denied that Mary had ever been married at all; but, as the testimony of the Gospel was too direct and absolute to beset aside, it became necessary, in the narrative, to give to thisdistasteful marriage the most recondite motives, and in art, tosurround it with the most poetical and even miraculous accessories. 

But before we enter on the treatment of the subject, it is necessaryto say a few words on the character of Joseph, wonderfully selected tobe the husband and guardian of the consecrated mother of Christ, andfoster-father of the Redeemer; and so often introduced into all thepictures which refer to the childhood of our Lord. 

From the Gospels we learn nothing of him but that he was of the tribeof Judah and the lineage of David; that he was a _just_ man; that hefollowed the trade of a carpenter, and dwelt in the little city ofNazareth. We infer from his conduct towards Mary, that he was a mild, and tender, and pure-hearted, as well as an upright man. Of his ageand personal appearance nothing is said. These are the points on whichthe Church has not decided, and on which artists, left to their owndevices, and led by various opinions, have differed considerably. 

The very early painters deemed it right to represent Joseph as veryold, almost decrepit with age, and supported by a crutch. Accordingto some of the monkish authorities, he was a widower, and eighty-fouryears old when he was espoused to Mary. On the other hand, it wasargued, that such a marriage would have been quite contrary to thecustom of the Jews; and that to defend Mary, and to provide for hercelestial Offspring, it was necessary that her husband should be aman of mature age, but still strong and robust, and able to workat his trade; and thus, with more propriety and better taste, thelater painters have represented him. In the best Italian and Spanishpictures of the Holy Family, he is a man of about forty or fifty, with a mild, benevolent countenance, brown hair, and a short, curledbeard: the crutch, or stick, however, is seldom omitted; it became aconventional attribute. 

In the German pictures, Joseph is not only old, but appears almost ina state of dotage, like a lean, wrinkled mendicant, with a bald head, a white beard, a feeble frame, and a sleepy or stupid countenance. Then, again, the later Italian painters have erred as much on theother side; for I have seen pictures in which St. Joseph is not only ayoung man not more than thirty, but bears a strong resemblance to thereceived heads of our Saviour. 

It is in the sixteenth century that we first find Joseph advanced tothe dignity of a saint in his own right; and in the seventeenth hebecame very popular, especially in Spain, where St. Theresa had chosenhim for her patron saint, and had placed her powerful order of thereformed Carmelites under his protection. Hence the number of picturesof that time, which represent Joseph, as the foster-father of Christ, carrying the Infant on his arm and caressing him, while in the otherhand he bears a lily, to express the sanctity and purity of hisrelations with the Virgin. 

 * * * * *

The legend of "the Marriage of Joseph and Mary" is thus given in theProtevangelion and the History of Joseph the Carpenter:--

 "When Mary was fourteen years old, the priest Zacharias (or Abiathar, as he is elsewhere called) inquired of the Lord concerning her, what was right to be done; and an angel came to him and said, 'Go forth, and call together all the widowers among the people, and let each bring his rod (or wand) in his hand, and he to whom the Lord shall show a sign, let him be the husband of Mary. And Zacharias did as the angel commanded, and made proclamation accordingly. And Joseph the carpenter, a righteous man, throwing down his axe, and taking his staff in his hand, ran out with the rest. When he appeared before the priest, and presented his rod, lo! a dove issued out of it--a dove dazzling white as the snow, --and after settling on his head, flew towards heaven. Then the high priest said to him, 'Thou art the person chosen to take the Virgin of the Lord, and to keep her for him. ' And Joseph was at first afraid, and drew back, but afterwards he took her home to his house, and said to her, 'Behold, I have taken thee from the temple of the Lord, and now I will leave thee in my house, for I must go and follow my trade of building. I will return to thee, and meanwhile the Lord be with thee and watch over thee. ' So Joseph left her, and Mary remained in her house. "

There is nothing said of any marriage ceremony, some have evenaffirmed that Mary was only betrothed to Joseph, but for conclusivereasons it remains an article of faith that she was married to him. 

I must mention here an old tradition cited by St. Jerome, and whichhas been used as a text by the painters. The various suitors whoaspired to the honour of marrying the consecrated "Virgin of theLord, " among whom was the son of the high-priest, deposited theirwands in the temple over night, [1] and next morning the rod of Josephwas found, like the rod of Aaron, to have budded forth into leavesand flowers. The other suitors thereupon broke their wands in rage anddespair; and one among them, a youth of noble lineage, whose name wasAgabus, fled to Mount Carmel, and became an anchorite, that is to say, a Carmelite friar. 

[Footnote 1: The suitors kneeling with their wands before the altar inthe Temple, is one of the series by Giotto in the Arena at Padua. ]

According to the Abbé Orsini, who gives a long description of theespousals of Mary and Joseph, they returned after the marriageceremony to Nazareth, and dwelt in the house of St. Anna. 

 * * * * *

Now, with regard to the representations, we find that many of theearly painters, and particularly the Italians, have carefully attendedto the fact, that, among the Jews, marriage was a civil contract, not a religious rite. The ceremony takes place in the open air, in agarden, or in a landscape, or in front of the temple. Mary, as a meekand beautiful maiden of about fifteen, attended by a train of virgins, stands on the right; Joseph, behind whom are seen the disappointedsuitors, is on the left. The priest joins their hands, or Joseph isin the act of placing the ring on the finger of the bride. This is thetraditional arrangement from Giotto down to Raphael. In the series byGiotto, in the Arena at Padua, we have three scenes from the marriagelegend. 1. St. Joseph and the other suitors present their wands to thehigh-priest. 2. They kneel before the altar, on which their wands aredeposited, waiting for the promised miracle. 3. The marriage ceremony. It takes place before an altar, in the _interior_ of the temple. TheVirgin, a most graceful figure, but rather too old, stands attendedby her maidens; St. Joseph holds his wand with the flower and the holyDove resting on it: one of the disappointed suitors is about to strikehim; another breaks his wand against his knee. Taddeo Gaddi, Angelico, Ghirlandajo, Perugino, all followed this traditional conception of thesubject, except that they omit the altar, and place the locality inthe open air, or under a portico. Among the relics venerated in theCathedral of Perugia, is the nuptial ring of the blessed Virgin; andfor the altar of the sacrament there, Perugino painted the appropriatesubject of the Marriage of the Virgin. [1] Here the ceremony takesplace under the portico of the temple, and Joseph of course puts thering on her finger. It is a beautiful composition, which has beenimitated more or less by the painters of the Perugino school, andoften repeated in the general arrangement. 

[Footnote 1: It was carried off from the church by the French, sold inFrance, and is now to be seen in the Musée at Caen. ]

But in this subject, Raphael, while yet a youth, excelled hismaster and all who had gone before him. Every one knows the famous"SPOSALIZIO of the Brera. "[1] It was painted by Raphael in histwenty-first year, for the church of S. Francesco, in Città diCastello; and though he has closely followed the conception ofhis master, it is modified by that ethereal grace which even thendistinguished him. Here Mary and Joseph stand in front of the temple, the high-priest joins their hands, and Joseph places the ring on thefinger of the bride; he is a man of about thirty, and holds his wand, which has blossomed into a lily, but there is no Dove upon it. BehindMary is a group of the virgins of the temple; behind Joseph the groupof disappointed suitors; one of whom, in the act of breaking his wandagainst his knee, a singularly graceful figure, seen more in frontand richly dressed, is perhaps the despairing youth mentioned in thelegend. [2] With something of the formality of the elder schools, thefigures are noble and dignified; the countenances of the principalpersonages have a characteristic refinement and beauty, and asoft, tender, enthusiastic melancholy, which lends a peculiar andappropriate charm to the subject. In fact, the whole scene is hereidealized; It is like a lyric poem, (Kugler's Handbook, 2d edit. )

[Footnote 1: At Milan. The fine engraving by Longhi is well known. ]

[Footnote 2: In the series by Giotto at Padua, we have the youthbreaking his wand across his knee. ]

In Ghirlandajo's composition (Florence, S. Maria Novella), Josephis an old man with a bald head; the architecture is splendid; theaccessory figures, as is usual with Ghirlandajo, are numerous andfull of grace. In the background are musicians playing on the pipeand tabor, an incident which I do not recollect to have seen in otherpictures. 

The Sposalizio by Girolamo da Cotignola (Bologna Gal. ), painted forthe church of St. Joseph, is treated quite in a mystical style. Maryand Joseph stand before an altar, on the steps of which are seated, onone side a prophet, on the other a sibyl. 

 * * * * *

By the German painters the scene is represented with a characteristichomely neglect of all historic propriety. The temple is a Gothicchurch; the altar has a Gothic altar-piece; Joseph looks like an oldburgher arrayed in furs and an embroidered gown; and the Virgin isrichly dressed in the costume of the fifteenth century. The suitorsare often knights and cavaliers with spurs and tight hose. 

 * * * * *

It is not said anywhere that St. Anna and St. Joachim were present atthe marriage of their daughter; hence they are supposed to have beendead before it took place. This has not prevented some of the oldGerman artists from introducing them, because, according to theirideas of domestic propriety, they _ought_ to have been present. 

 * * * * *

I observe that the later painters who treated the subject, Rubens andPoussin for instance, omit the disappointed suitors. 

 * * * * *

After the marriage, or betrothal, Joseph conducts his wife to hishouse. The group of the returning procession has been beautifullytreated in Giotto's series at Padua;[1] still more beautifully byLuigi in the fragment of fresco now in the Brera at Milan. Here Josephand Mary walk together hand in hand. He looks at her, just touchingher fingers with an air of tender veneration; she looks down, serenelymodest. Thus they return together to their humble home; and with thisscene closes the first part of the life of the Virgin Mary. 

[Footnote 1: Cappella dell' Arena, engraved for the Arundel Society. ]

HISTORICAL SUBJECTS

PART II

THE LIFE OF THE VIRGIN MARY FROM THE ANNUNCIATION TO THE RETURN FROMEGYPT. 

1. THE ANNUNCIATION. 2. THE SALUTATION OF ELIZABETH. 3. THE JOUBNEY TOBETHLEHEM. 4. THE NATIVITY. 6. THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS. 6. THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI. 7. THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE. 8. THEFLIGHT INTO EGYPT. 9. THE RIPOSO. 10. THE RETURN FROM EGYPT. 

THE ANNUNCIATION. 

_Ital. _ L' Annunciazione. La B. Vergine Annunziata. _Fr. _L'Annonciation. La Salutation Angélique. _Ger. _ Die Verkündi gung. DerEnglische Gruss. March 25. 

The second part of the life of the Virgin Mary begins with theAnnunciation and ends with the Crucifixion, comprising all thosescriptural incidents which connect her history with that of her divineSon. 

But to the scenes narrated in the Gospels the painters did not confinethemselves. Not only were the simple scripture histories colouredthroughout by the predominant and enthusiastic veneration paid to theVirgin--till the life of Christ was absolutely merged in that of Hismother, and its various incidents became "the seven joys and the sevensorrows of Mary, "--but we find the artistic representations of herlife curiously embroidered and variegated by the introduction oftraditional and apocryphal circumstances, in most cases sanctionedby the Church authorities of the time. However doubtful or repulsivesome of these scenes and incidents, we cannot call them absolutelyunmeaning or absurd; on the contrary, what was _supposed_ grew up verynaturally, in the vivid and excited imaginations of the people, out ofwhat was _recorded_; nor did they distinguish accurately between whatthey were allowed and what they were commanded to believe. Neither canit be denied that the traditional incidents--those at least which wefind artistically treated--are often singularly beautiful, poetical, and instructive. In the hands of the great religions artists, whoworked in their vocation with faith and simplicity, objects and scenesthe most familiar and commonplace became sanctified and glorified byassociation with what we deem most holy and most venerable. In thehands of the later painters the result was just the reverse--whatwas most spiritual, most hallowed, most elevated, became secularized, materialized, and shockingly degraded. 

No subject has been more profoundly felt and more beautifully handledby the old painters, nor more vilely mishandled by the moderns, thanthe ANNUNCIATION, of all the scenes in the life of Mary the mostimportant and the most commonly met with. Considered merely as anartistic subject, it is surely eminently beautiful: it places beforeus the two most graceful forms which the hand of man was ever calledon to delineate;--the winged spirit fresh from paradise; the womannot less pure, and even more highly blessed--the chosen vessel ofredemption, and the personification of all female loveliness, allfemale excellence, all wisdom, and all purity. 

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We find the Annunciation, like many other scriptural incidents, treated in two ways--as a mystery, and as an event. Taken in theformer sense, it became the expressive symbol of a momentous articleof faith, _The Incarnation of the Deity_. Taken in the latter sense, it represented the announcement of salvation to mankind, through thedirect interposition of miraculous power. In one sense or the other, it enters into every scheme of ecclesiastical decoration; butchiefly it is set before us as a great and awful mystery, of whichthe two figures of Gabriel, the angel-messenger, and Mary the"highly-favoured, " placed in relation to each other, became theuniversally accepted symbol, rather than the representation. 

THE ANNUNCIATION AS A MYSTERY. 

Considering the importance given to the Annunciation in its mysticalsense, it is strange that we do not find it among the very ancientsymbolical subjects adopted in the first ages of Christian art. Itdoes not appear on the sarcophagi, nor in the early Greek carvings anddiptychs, nor in the early mosaics--except once, and then as a part ofthe history of Christ, not as a symbol; nor can we trace the mysticaltreatment of this subject higher than the eleventh century, whenit first appears in the Gothic sculpture and stained glass. In thethirteenth, and thenceforward, the Annunciation appears beforeus, as the expression in form of a theological dogma, everywhereconspicuous. It became a primal element in every combination of sacredrepresentations; the corner-stone, as it were, of every architecturalsystem of religious decoration. It formed a part of every altar-piece, either in sculpture or painting. Sometimes the Virgin stands onone side of the altar, the angel on the other, carved in marble oralabaster, or of wood richly painted and gilt; or even, as I haveseen in some instances, of solid silver. Not seldom, we find the twofigures placed in niches against the pillars, or on pedestals at theentrance of the choir. It was not necessary, when thus symbolicallytreated, to place the two figures in proximity to signify theirrelation to each other; they are often divided by the whole breadthof the chancel. 

Whatever the subject of the altar-piece--whether the Nativity, or theEnthroned Madonna, or the Coronation, or the Crucifixion, or theLast Supper, --the Annunciation almost invariably formed part of thedecoration, inserted either into the spandrels of the arches above, orin the predella below; or, which is very common, painted or carved onthe doors of a tabernacle or triptychon. 

If the figures are full-length, a certain symmetry being required, they are either both standing or both kneeling; it is only in latertimes that the Virgin sits, and the angel kneels. When disposed incircles or semicircles, they are often merely busts, or half-lengthfigures, separated perhaps by a framework of tracery, or set on eachside of the principal subject, whatever that may be. Hence it isthat we so often find in galleries and collections, pictures of theAnnunciation in two separate parts, the angel in one frame, theVirgin in another; and perhaps the two pictures, thus disunited, may have found their way into different countries and differentcollections, --the Virgin being in Italy and the angel in England. 

Sometimes the Annunciation--still as a mystical subject--forms analtar-piece of itself. In many Roman Catholic churches there isa chapel or an altar dedicated expressly to the mystery of theAnnunciation, the subject forming of course the principal decoration. At Florence there is a church--one of the most splendid andinteresting of its many beautiful edifices--dedicated to theAnnunciation, or rather to the Virgin in her especial character anddignity, as the Instrument of the Incarnation, and thence styledthe church _della Santissima Nunziata_. The fine mosaic of theAnnunciation by Ghirlandajo is placed over the principal entrance. Ofthis church, and of the order of the Servi, to whom it belongs, I havealready spoken at length. Here, in the first chapel on the left, aswe enter, is to be found the miraculous picture of the Annunciation, formerly held in such veneration, not merely by all Florence, butall Christendom:--found, but not seen--for it is still concealed fromprofane eyes, and exhibited to the devout only on great occasions. Thename of the painter is disputed; but, according to tradition, it isthe work of a certain Bartolomeo; who, while he sat meditating on thevarious excellences and perfections of our Lady, and most especiallyon her divine beauty, and thinking, with humility, how inadequate werehis own powers to represent her worthily, fell asleep; and on awaking, found the head of the Virgin had been wondrously completed, either bythe hand of an angel, or by that of St. Luke, who had descended fromheaven on purpose. Though this curious relic has been frequentlyrestored, no one has presumed to touch the features of the Virgin, which are, I am told--for I have never been blessed with a sightof the original picture--marvellously sweet and beautiful. It isconcealed by a veil, on which is painted a fine head of the Redeemer, by Andrea del Sarto; and forty-two lamps of silver burn continuallyround it. There is a copy in the Pitti Palace, by Carlo Dolce. 

It is evident that the Annunciation, as a mystery, admits of a styleof treatment which would not be allowable in the representation ofan event. In the former case, the artist is emancipated from allconsiderations of locality or circumstance. Whether the backgroundbe of gold, or of blue, or star-bespangled sky, --a mere curtain, or atemple of gorgeous architecture; whether the accessories be the mostsimple or the most elaborate, the most real or the most ideal; allthis is of little moment, and might be left to the imagination of theartist, or might be modified according to the conditions imposed bythe purpose of the representation and the material employed, so longas the chief object is fulfilled--the significant expression of anabstract dogma, appealing to the faith, not to the senses or theunderstanding, of the observer. 

To this class, then, belong all those church images and pictures ofthe Annunciation, either confined to the two personages, with justsufficient of attitude and expression to place them in relation toeach other, or with such accompaniments as served to carry out themystical idea, still keeping it as far as possible removed from theregion of earthly possibilities. In the fifteenth century--that age ofmysticism--we find the Annunciation, not merely treated as an abstractreligious emblem, but as a sort of divine allegory or poem, whichin old French and Flemish art is clothed in the quaintest, the mostcurious forms. I recollect going into a church at Breslau, andfinding over one of the altars a most elaborate carving in wood ofthe Annunciation. Mary is seated within a Gothic porch of open tracerywork; a unicorn takes refuge in her bosom: outside, a kneeling angelwinds a hunting horn; three or four dogs are crouching near him. Ilooked and wondered. At first I could make nothing of this singularallegory; but afterwards found the explanation, in a learned Frenchwork on the "Stalles d'Amiens. " I give the original passage, for itwill assist the reader to the comprehension of many curious works ofart; but I do not venture to translate it. 

"On sait qu'an XVI siècle, le mystère de l'Incarnation étoit souventreprésenté par une allegorie ainsi conçue: Une licorne se réfugiantau sein d'une vierge pure, quatre lévriers la pressant d'une courserapide, un veneur ailé sonnant de la trompette. La science de lazoologie mystique du temps aide à en trouver l'explication; lefabuleux animal dont l'unique corne ne blessait que pour purger detout venin l'endroit du corps qu'elle avoit touché, figuroit JésusChrist, médecin et sauveur des âmes; on donnait aux lévriers agilesles noms de Misericordia, Veritas, Justitia, Pax, les quatre raisonsqui ont pressé le Verbe éternel de sortir de son repos mais commec'étoit par la Vierge Marie qu'il avoit voulu descendre parmi leshommes et se mettre en leur puissance, on croyoit ne pouvoir mieuxfaire que de choisir dans la fable, le fait d'une pucelle pouvantseule servir de piége à la licorne, en l'attirant par le charmeet le parfum de son sein virginal qu'elle lui présentoit; enfinl'ange Gabriel concourant au mystère étoit bien reconnoissable sousles traits du venenr ailé lançant les lévriers et embouchant latrompette. "

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It appears that this was an accepted religious allegory, as familiarin the sixteenth century as those of Spenser's "Fairy Queen" or the"Pilgrim's Progress" are to us. I have since found it frequentlyreproduced in the old French and German prints: there is a specimenin the British Museum; and there is a picture similarly treated in theMusée at Amiens. I have never seen it in an Italian picture or print;unless a print after Guido, wherein a beautiful maiden is seated undera tree, and a unicorn has sought refuge in her lap, be intended toconvey the same far-fetched allegory. 

Very common, however, in Italian art, is a less fantastic, but stillwholly poetical version of the Annunciation, representing, in fact, not the Annunciation, but the Incarnation. Thus, in a picture byGiovanni Sanzio (the father of Raphael) (Brera, Milan), Mary standsunder a splendid portico; she appears as if just risen from her seather hands are meekly folded over her bosom; her head declined. Theangel kneels outside the portico, holding forth his lily; while above, in the heavens, the Padre Eterno sends forth the Redeemer, who, inform of the infant Christ bearing his cross, floats downwards towardsthe earth, preceded by the mystic Dove. This manner of representingthe Incarnation is strongly disapproved of by the Abbé Méry (v. Théologie des Peintres), as not only an error, but a heresy: yet itwas frequently repeated in the sixteenth century. 

The Annunciation is also a mystery when certain emblems are introducedconveying a certain signification; as when Mary is seated on a throne, wearing a radiant crown of mingled gems and flowers, and receives themessage of the angel with all the majesty that could be expressed bythe painter; or is seated, in a garden enclosed by a hedge of roses(the _Hortus clausus_ or _conclusus_ of the Canticles); or where theangel holds in his hands the sealed book, as in the famous altar-pieceat Cologne. 

In a picture by Simone Memmi, the Virgin seated on a Gothic thronereceives, as the higher and superior being, yet with a shrinkingtimidity, the salutation of the angel, who comes as the messengerof peace, olive-crowned, and bearing a branch of olive in his hand. (Florence Gal. ) This poetical version is very characteristic of theearly Siena school, in which we often find a certain fanciful andoriginal way of treating well known subjects. Taddeo Bartoli, anotherSienese, and Martin Schoen, the most poetical of the early Germans, also adopted the olive-symbol; and we find it also in the tabernacleof King Réné, already described. 

The treatment is clearly devotional and ideal where attendantsaints and votaries stand or kneel around, contemplating with devoutgratitude or ecstatic wonder the divine mystery. Thus, in a remarkableand most beautiful picture by Fra Bartolomeo, the Virgin is seated onher throne; the angel descends from on high bearing his lily: aroundthe throne attend St. John the Baptist and St. Francis, St. Jerome, St. Paul, and St. Margaret. (Bologna Gal. ) Again, in a very beautifulpicture by Francia, Mary stands in the midst of an open landscape; herhands, folded over each other, press to her bosom a book closed andclasped: St. Jerome stands on the right, John the Baptist on the left;both look up with a devout expression to the angel descending fromabove. In both these examples Mary is very nobly and expressivelyrepresented as the chosen and predestined vehicle of human redemption. It is not here the Annunciation, but the "_Sacratissima Annunziata_"we see before us. In a curious picture by Francesco da Cotignola, Mary stands on a sculptured pedestal, in the midst of an architecturaldecoration of many-coloured marbles, most elaborately painted: throughan opening is seen a distant landscape, and the blue sky; on herright stands St. John the Baptist, pointing upwards; on her left St. Francis, adoring; the votary kneels in front. (Berlin Gal. ) Votivepictures of the Annunciation were frequently expressive offerings fromthose who desired, or those who had received, the blessing of an heir;and this I take to be an instance. 

In the following example, the picture is votive in another sense, and altogether poetical. The Virgin Mary receives the message of theangel, as usual; but before her, at a little distance, kneels theCardinal Torrecremata, who presents three young girls, also kneeling, to one of whom the Virgin gives a purse of money. This curious andbeautiful picture becomes intelligible, when we find that it waspainted for a charitable community, instituted by Torrecremata, for educating and endowing poor orphan girls, and styled the"_Confraternità dell' Annunziatà_. "[1]

[Footnote 1: Benozzo Gozzoli, in S. Maria sopra Minerva, Rome. ]

In the charming Annunciation by Angelico, the scene is in the cloisterof his own convent of St. Mark. A Dominican (St. Peter Martyr)stands in the background with hands folded in prayer. I might addmany beautiful examples from Fra Bartolomeo, and in sculpture fromBenedetto Maiano, Luca della Robbia, and others, but have said enoughto enable the observer to judge of the intention of the artist. TheAnnunciation by Sansovino among the bas-reliefs, which cover thechapel at Loretto is of great elegance. 

I must, however, notice one more picture. Of six Annunciationspainted by Rubens, five represent the event; the sixth is one of hismagnificent and most palpable allegories, all glowing with life andreality. Here Mary kneels on the summit of a flight of steps; a dove, encompassed by cherubim, hovers over her head. Before her kneelsthe celestial messenger; behind him Moses and Aaron, with David andother patriarchal ancestors of Christ. In the clouds above is seenthe heavenly Father; on his right are two female figures, Peace andReconciliation; on his left, angels bear the ark of the covenant. Inthe lower part of the picture, stand Isaiah and Jeremiah, with foursibyls:--thus connecting the prophecies of the Old Testament, andthe promises made to the Gentile nations through the sibyls, with thefulfilment of both in the message from on high. 

THE ANNUNCIATION AS AN EVENT. 

Had the Annunciation to Mary been merely mentioned as an awful andincomprehensible vision, it would have been better to have adhered tothe mystical style of treatment, or left it alone altogether; but theScripture history, by giving the whole narration as a simple fact, areal event, left it free for representation as such; and, as such, thefancy of the artist was to be controlled and limited only by the wordsof Scripture as commonly understood and interpreted, and by thoseproprieties of time, place, and circumstance, which would be requiredin the representation of any other historical incident or action. 

When all the accompaniments show that nothing more was in the mindof the artist than the aim to exhibit an incident in the life of theVirgin, or an introduction to that of our Lord, the representation isno longer mystical and devotional, but historical. The story was to betold with all the fidelity, or at least all the likelihood, that waspossible; and it is clear that, in this case, the subject admitted, and even required, a more dramatic treatment, with such accessoriesand accompaniments as might bring the scene within the sphere of theactual. In this sense it is not to be mistaken. Although the action isof itself so very simple, and the actors confined to two persons, itis astonishing to note the infinite variations of which this favouritetheme has been found susceptible. Whether all these be equallyappropriate and laudable, is quite another question; and in how farthe painters have truly interpreted the Scriptural narration, is nowto be considered. 

And first, with regard to the time, which is not especially mentioned. It was presumed by the Fathers and early commentators on Scripture, that the Annunciation must have taken place in early spring-time, ateventide, soon after sunset, the hour since consecrated as the "AveMaria, " as the bell which announces it is called the "Angelus;"[1]but other authorities say that it was rather at midnight, becausethe nativity of our Lord took place at the corresponding hour in thefollowing December. This we find exactly attended to by many of theold painters, and indicated either by the moon and stars in the sky, or by a taper or a lamp burning near. 

[Footnote 1: So Lord Byron:--

 "Ave Maria! blessed be the hour! The time, the clime, the spot, where I so oft Have felt that moment in its fullest power Sink o'er the earth so beautiful and soft, While swung the deep bell in the distant tower, Or the faint dying day-hymn stole aloft, And not a breath crept through the rosy air, And yet the forest leaves seem'd stirr'd with prayer"]

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With regard to the locality, we are told by St. Luke that the angelGabriel was sent from God, and that "he came _in_ to Mary" (Luke i. 28), which seems to express that she was _within_ her house. 

In describing the actual scene of the interview between the angel andMary, the legendary story of the Virgin adheres very closely to thescriptural text. But it also relates, that Mary went forth at eveningto draw water from the fountain; that she heard a voice which said, "Hail thou that art full of grace!" and thereupon being troubled, shelooked to the right and to the left, and seeing no one, returned toher _house_, and sat down to her work, (Protevangelion, ix. 7. ) Hadany exact attention been paid to oriental customs, Mary might havebeen working or reading or meditating on the roof of her house; butthis has not suggested itself in any instance that I can remember. Wehave, as the scene of the interview, an interior which is sometimeslike an oratory, sometimes a portico with open arcades; but moregenerally a bedroom. The poverty of Joseph and Mary, and their humblecondition in life, are sometimes attended to, but not always; for, according to one tradition, the house at Nazareth was that which Maryhad inherited from her parents, Joachim and Anna, who were people ofsubstance. Hence, the painters had an excuse for making the chamberrichly furnished, the portico sustained by marble pillars, ordecorated with sculpture. In the German and Flemish pictures, theartist, true to the national characteristic of _naïve_ and literalillustration, gives us a German or a Gothic chamber, with a latticewindow of small panes of glass, and a couch with pillows, or acomfortable four-post bedstead, furnished with draperies, thusimparting to the whole scene an air of the most vivid homely reality. 

As for the accessories, the most usual, almost indispensable, is thepot of lilies, the symbolical _Fleur de Marie_, which I have alreadyexplained at length. There is also a basket containing needle work andimplements of female industry, as scissors, &c. ; not merely to expressMary's habitual industry, but because it is related that when shereturned to her house, "she took the purple linen, and sat down towork it. " The work-basket is therefore seldom omitted. Sometimes adistaff lies at her feet, as in Raphael's Annunciation. In old Germanpictures we have often a spinning-wheel. To these emblems of industryis often added a basket, or a dish, containing fruit; and near it apitcher of water to express the temperance of the blessed Virgin. 

There is grace and meaning in the introduction of birds, alwaysemblems of the spiritual. Titian places a tame partridge at the feetof Mary, which expresses her tenderness; but the introduction of acat, as in Barroccio's picture, is insufferable. 

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The archangel Gabriel, "one of those who stand continually in thepresence of God, " having received his mission, descends to earth. In the very earliest representation of the Annunciation, as an event(Mosaic, S. Maria Maggiore), we have this descent of the winged spiritfrom on high; and I have seen other instances. There is a small andbeautiful sketch by Garofalo (Alton Towers), in which, from amidsta flood of light, and a choir of celestial spirits, such as Miltondescribes as adoring the "divine sacrifice" proclaimed for sinful man(Par. Lost, b. Iii. ), the archangel spreads his lucid wings, and seemsjust about to take his flight to Nazareth. He was accompanied, saysthe Italian legend, by a train of lower angels, anxious to beholdand reverence their Queen; these remained, however, at the door, or"before the gate, " while Gabriel entered. 

The old German masters are fond of representing him as entering bya door in the background, while the serene Virgin, seated in front, seems aware of his presence without seeing him. 

In some of the old pictures, he comes in flying from above, or he isupborne by an effulgent cloud, and surrounded by a glory which lightsthe whole picture, --a really _celestial_ messenger, as in a frescoby Spinello Aretino. In others, he comes gliding in, "smooth slidingwithout step;" sometimes he enters like a heavenly ambassador, andlittle angels hold up his train. In a picture by Tintoretto, he comesrushing in as upon a whirlwind, followed by a legion of lesser angels;while on the outside of the building, Joseph the carpenter is seenquietly at his work. (Venice, School of S. Rocco. )

But, whether walking or flying, Gabriel bears, of course, theconventional angelic form, that of the human creature, winged, beautiful, and radiant with eternal youth, yet with a grave andserious mien, in the later pictures, the drapery given to the angel isoffensively scanty; his sandals, and bare arms, and fluttering robe, too much _à l'antique_; he comes in the attitude of a flying Mercury, or a dancer in a ballet. But in the early Italian pictures his dressis arranged with a kind of solemn propriety: it is that of an acolyte, white and full, and falling in large folds over his arms, and ingeneral concealing his feet. In the German pictures, he often wearsthe priestly robe, richly embroidered, and clasped in front by ajewel. His ambrosial curls fall over this cope in "hyacinthineflow. " The wings are essential, and never omitted. They are white, ormany-coloured, eyed like the peacock's train, or bedropped with gold. He usually bears the lily in his hand, but not always. Sometimes it isthe sceptre, the ancient attribute of a herald; and this has a scrollaround it, with the words, "Ave Maria gratia plena!" The sceptre orwand is, occasionally surmounted by a cross. 

In general, the palm is given to the angel who announces the death ofMary. In one or two instances only I have seen the palm given to theangel Gabriel, as in a predella by Angelico; for which, however, thepainter had the authority of Dante, or Dante some authority earlierstill. He says of Gabriel, "That he bore the _palm_ Down unto Mary when the Son of God Vouchsafed to clothe him in terrestrial weeds. "

The olive-bough has a mystical sense wherever adopted: it is thesymbol of _peace_ on earth. Often the angel bears neither lily, norsceptre, nor palm, nor olive. His hands are folded on his bosom; or, with one hand stretched forth, and the other pointing upwards, hedeclares his mission from on high. 

In the old Greek pictures, and in the most ancient Italian examples, the angel stands; as in the picture by Cimabue, wherein the Greekmodel is very exactly followed. According to the Roman Catholicbelief, Mary is Queen of heaven, and of angels--the superior being;consequently, there is propriety in making the angel deliver hismessage kneeling: but even according to the Protestant belief theattitude would not be unbecoming, for the angel, having utteredhis salutation, might well prostrate himself as witness of thetranscending miracle, and beneath the overshadowing presence ofthe Holy Spirit. 

Now, as to the attitude and occupation of Mary at the moment theangel entered, authorities are not agreed. It is usual to exhibit heras kneeling in prayer, or reading with a large book open on a deskbefore her. St. Bernard says that she was studying the book of theprophet Isaiah, and as she recited the verse, "Behold, a Virgin shallconceive, and bear a son, " she thought within her heart, in her greathumility, "How blessed the woman of whom these words are written!Would I might be but her handmaid to serve her, and allowed, to kissher feet!"--when, in the same instant, the wondrous vision burstupon her, and the holy prophecy was realized in herself. (Il perfettoLegendario. )

I think it is a manifest fault to disturb the sublime tenor of thescene by representing Mary as starting up in alarm; for, in the firstplace, she was accustomed, as we have seen, to the perpetual ministryof angels, who daily and hourly attended on her. It is, indeed, saidthat Mary was troubled; but it was not the presence, but the "saying"of the angel which troubled her--it was the question "how this shouldbe?" (Luke i. 29. ) The attitude, therefore, which some painters havegiven to her, as if she had started from her seat, not only in terror, but in indignation, is altogether misplaced. A signal instance isthe statue of the Virgin by Mocchi in the choir of the cathedral atOrvieto, so grand in itself, and yet so offensive as a devotionalfigure. Misplaced is also, I think, the sort of timid shrinkingsurprise which is the expression in some pictures. The moment ismuch too awful, the expectance much too sublime, for any such human, girlish emotions. If the painter intend to express the moment in whichthe angel appears and utters the salutation, "Hail!" then Mary may bestanding, and her looks directed towards him, as in a fine majesticAnnunciation of Andrea del Sarto. Standing was the antique attitudeof prayer; so that if we suppose her to have been interrupted in herdevotions, the attitude is still appropriate. But if that momentbe chosen in which she expressed her submission to the divine will, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord! let it be unto me according to thyword!" then she might surely kneel with bowed bead, and folded hands, and "downcast eyes beneath th' almighty Dove. " No attitude could betoo humble to express that response; and Dante has given us, as themost perfect illustration of the virtue of humility, the sentiment andattitude of Mary when submitting herself to the divine will. (Purg. X. , Cary's Trans. )

 "The angel (who came down to earth With tidings of the peace to many years Wept for in vain, that op'd the heavenly gates From their long interdict) before us seem'd In a sweet act so sculptur'd to the life, He look'd no silent image. One had sworn He had said 'Hail!' for SHE was imag'd there, By whom the key did open to God's love; And in her act as sensibly imprest That word, 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord, ' As figure seal'd on wax. "

And very beautifully has Flaxman transferred the sculpture "divinelywrought upon the rock of marble white" to earthly form. 

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The presence of the Holy Spirit in the historical Annunciations is tobe accounted for by the words of St. Luke, and the visible form of theDove is conventional and authorized. In many pictures, the celestialDove enters by the open casement. Sometimes it seems to broodimmediately over the head of the Virgin; sometimes it hovers towardsher bosom. As for the perpetual introduction of the emblem of thePadre Eterno, seen above the sky, under the usual half-figure of akingly ancient man, surrounded by a glory of cherubim, and sendingforth upon a beam of light the immaculate Dove, there is nothing tobe said but the usual excuse for the mediæval artists, that certainlythere was no _conscious_ irreverence. The old painters, great as theywere in art, lived in ignorant but zealous times--in times whenfaith was so fixed, so much a part of the life and soul, that it wasnot easily shocked or shaken; as it was not founded in knowledge orreason, so nothing that startled the reason could impair it. Religion, which now speaks to us through words, then spoke to the people throughvisible forms universally accepted; and, in the fine arts, we acceptsuch forms according to the feeling which _then_ existed in men'sminds, and which, in its sincerity, demands our respect, though now wemight not, could not, tolerate the repetition. We must also rememberthat it was not in the ages of ignorance and faith that we findthe grossest materialism in art. It was in the learned, half-pagansixteenth and the polished seventeenth century, that this materializedtheology became most offensive. Of all the artists who have sinnedin the Annunciation--and they are many--Nicolò Poussin is perhapsthe worst. Yet he was a good, a pious man, as well as a learned andaccomplished painter. All through the history of the art, the Frenchshow themselves as the most signal violators of good taste, and whatthey have invented a word for--_bienséance_. They are worse than theold Germans; worse than the modern Spaniards--and that is saying much. 

In Raphael's Annunciation, Mary is seated in a reclining attitude, leaning against the side of her couch, and holding a book. The angel, whose attitude expresses a graceful _empressement_, kneels at somedistance, holding the lily. 

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Michael Angelo gives us a most majestic Virgin standing on the stepsof a prie-Dieu, and turning with hands upraised towards the angel, whoappears to have entered by the open door; his figure is most clumsyand material, and his attitude unmeaning and ungraceful. It is, Ithink, the only instance in which Michael Angelo has given wings toan angelic being: for here they could not be dispensed with. 

In a beautiful Annunciation by Johan Van Eyck (Munich Gal. , Cabinetiii. 35), the Virgin kneels at a desk with a book before her. She haslong fair hair, and a noble intellectual brow. Gabriel, holding hissceptre, stands in the door-way. The Dove enters by the lattice. Abed is in the background, and in front a pot of lilies. In anotherAnnunciation by Van Eyck, painted on the Ghent altar-piece, we havethe mystic, not the historical, representation, and a very beautifuleffect is produced by clothing both the angel and Mary in robes ofpure white. (Berlin Gal. , 520, 521. )

In an engraving after Rembrandt, the Virgin kneels by a fountain, and the angel kneels on the opposite side. This seems to express thelegendary scene. 

These few observations on the general arrangement of the theme, whether mystical or historical, will, I hope, assist the observer indiscriminating for himself. I must not venture further, for we have awide range of subjects before us. 

THE VISITATION. 

_Ital. _ La Visitazione di Maria. _Fr. _ La Visitation de la Vierge_Ger. _ Die Heimsuchung Mariä. July 2. 

After the Annunciation of the angel, the Scripture goes on to relatehow "Mary arose and went up into the hill country with haste, tothe house of her cousin Elizabeth, and saluted her. " This meetingof the two kinswomen is the subject styled in art the "Visitation, "and sometimes the "Salutation of Elizabeth. " It is of considerableimportance, in a series of the life of the Virgin, as an event; andalso, when taken separately in its religious significance, as beingthe first recognition of the character of the Messiah. "Whence is thisto me, " exclaims Elizabeth, "that the mother of my Lord should come tome?" (Luke i. 43); and as she spoke this through the influence of theHoly Spirit, and not through knowledge, she is considered in the lightof a prophetess. 

Of Elizabeth I must premise a few words, because in manyrepresentations relating to the life of the Virgin, and particularlyin those domestic groups, the Holy Families properly so called, sheis a personage of great importance, and we ought to be able, by somepreconceived idea of her bearing and character, to test the proprietyof that impersonation usually adopted by the artists. We must rememberthat she was much older than her cousin, a woman "well strickenin years;" but it is a, great mistake to represent her as old, aswrinkled and decrepit, as some painters have done. We are told thatshe was righteous before the Lord, "walking in all his commandmentsblameless:" the manner in which she received the visit of Mary, acknowledging with a glad humility the higher destinies of her youngrelative, show her to have been free from all envy and jealousy. Therefore all pictures of Elizabeth should exhibit her as an elderly, but not an aged matron; a dignified, mild, and gracious creature; oneselected to high honour by the Searcher of hearts, who, looking downon hers, had beheld it pure from any secret taint of selfishness, evenas her conduct had been blameless before man. [1]

[Footnote 1: For a full account of the legends relating to Elizabeth, the mother of the Baptist, see the fourth series of Sacred andLegendary Art. ]

 * * * * *

Such a woman as we believe Mary to have been must have loved andhonoured such a woman as Elizabeth. Wherefore, having heard thatElizabeth had been exalted to a miraculous motherhood, she made hasteto visit her, not to ask her advice, --for being graced with all goodgifts of the Holy Spirit, and herself the mother of Wisdom, she couldnot need advice, --but to sympathize with her cousin and reveal whathad happened to herself. 

Thus then they met, "these two mothers of two great princes, of whomone was pronounced the greatest born of woman, and the other was hisLord:" happiest and most exalted of all womankind before or since, "needs must they have discoursed like seraphim and the most ecstasiedorder of Intelligences!" Such was the blessed encounter represented inthe Visitation. 

 * * * * *

The number of the figures, the locality and circumstances, varygreatly. Sometimes we have only the two women, without accessoriesof any kind, and nothing interferes with the high solemnity of thatmoment in which Elizabeth confesses the mother of her Lord. The betterto express this willing homage, this momentous prophecy, she is oftenkneeling. Other figures are frequently introduced, because it couldnot be supposed that Mary made the journey from Nazareth to thedwelling of Zacharias near Jerusalem, a distance of fifty miles, alone. Whether her husband Joseph accompanied her, is doubtful;and while many artists have introduced him, others have omitted himaltogether. According to the ancient Greek formula laid down for thereligious painters, Mary is accompanied by a servant or a boy, whocarries a stick across his shoulder, and a basket slung to it. The oldItalians who followed the Byzantine models seldom omit this attendant, but in some instances (as in the magnificent composition of MichaelAngelo, in the possession of Mr. Bromley, of Wootten) a handmaidbearing a basket on her head is substituted for the boy. In manyinstances Joseph, attired as a traveller, appears behind the Virgin, and Zacharias, in his priestly turban and costume, behind Elizabeth. 

The locality is often an open porch or a garden in front of a house;and this garden of Zacharias is celebrated in Eastern tradition. It isrelated that the blessed Virgin, during her residence with her cousinElizabeth, frequently recreated herself by walking in the gardenof Zacharias, while she meditated on the strange and lofty destinyto which she was appointed; and farther, that happening one day totouch a certain flower, which grew there, with her most blessed hand, from being inodorous before, it became from that moment deliciouslyfragrant. The garden therefore was a fit place for the meeting. 

 * * * * *

1. The earliest representation of the Visitation to which I can referis a rude but not ungraceful drawing, in the Catacombs at Rome, of twowomen embracing. It is not of very high antiquity, perhaps the seventhor eighth century, but there can be so doubt about the subject. (Cemetery of Julius, v. Bosio, Roma sotterana. )

2. Cimabue has followed the Greek formula, and his simple groupappears to me to have great feeling and simplicity. 

3. More modern instances, from the date of the revival of art, aboundin every form. Almost every painter who has treated subjects from thelife of the Virgin has treated the Visitation. In the composition byRaphael (Madrid Gal. ) there are the two figures only; and I shouldobject to this otherwise perfect picture, the bashful conscious lookof the Virgin Mary. The heads are, however, eminently beautiful anddignified. In the far background is seen the Baptism of Christ--veryhappily and significantly introduced, not merely as expressing thename of the votary who dedicated the picture, _Giovan-Battista_Branconio, but also as expressing the relation between the two unbornChildren--the Christ and his Prophet. 

4. The group by Sebastian del Piombo is singularly grand, showing inevery part the influence of Michael Angelo, but richly coloured inSebastian's best manner. The figures are seen only to the knees. Inthe background, Zacharias is seen hurrying down some steps to receivethe Virgin. [1]

[Footnote 1: Louvre, 1224. There is, in the Louvre, another Visitationof singular and characteristic beauty by D. Ghirlandajo. ]

5. The group by Pinturicchio, with the attendant angels, is remarkablefor its poetic grace; and that by Lucas v. Leyden is equallyremarkable for affectionate sentiment. 

6. Still more beautiful, and more dramatic and varied, is anothercomposition by Pinturicchio in the Sala Borgia. (Vatican, Rome. ) TheVirgin and St. Elizabeth, in the centre, take each other's hands. Behind the Virgin is St. Joseph, a maiden with a basket on her head, and other attendants. Behind St. Elizabeth, we have a view into theinterior of her house, through arcades richly sculptured; and within, Zacharias is reading, and the handmaids of Elizabeth, are spinning andsewing. This elegant fresco was painted for Alexander VI. 

7. There is a fine picture of this subject, by Andrea Sabattini ofSalerno, the history of which is rather curious. "It was painted atthe request of the Sanseverini, princes of Salerno, to be presented toa nunnery, in which one of that noble family had taken the veil. Underthe form of the blessed Virgin, Andrea represented the last princessof Salerno, who was of the family of Villa Marina; under that of St. Joseph, the prince her husband; an old servant of the family figuresas St. Elizabeth; and in the features of Zacharias we recognize thoseof Bernardo Tasso, the father of Torquato Tasso, and then secretaryto the prince of Salerno. After remaining for many years over the highaltar of the church, it was removed through the scruples of one ofthe Neapolitan archbishops, who was scandalized by the impropriety ofplacing the portraits of well-known personages in such a situation. "The picture, once removed from its place, disappeared, and by somemeans found its way to the Louvre. Andrea, who was one of the mostdistinguished of the scholars of Raphael, died in 1545. [1]

[Footnote 1: This picture is thus described in the old catalogues ofthe Louvre (No. 1207); but is not to be found in that of Villot. ]

8. The composition by Rubens has all that scenic effect and dramaticmovement which was characteristic of the painter. The meeting takesplace on a flight of steps leading to the house of Zacharias. TheVirgin wears a hat, as one just arrived from a journey; Josephand Zacharias greet each other; a maiden with a basket on her headfollows; and in the foreground a man unloads the ass. 

I will mention two other example, each perfect in its way, in two mostopposite styles of treatment. 

9. The first is the simple majestic composition of Albertinelli. (Florence Gal. ) The two women, standing alone under a richlysculptured arch, and relieved against the bright azure sky, embraceeach other. There are no accessories. Mary is attired in dark-bluedrapery, and Elizabeth wears an ample robe of a saffron or ratheramber colour. The mingled grandeur, power, and grace, and depth ofexpression in these two figures, are quite extraordinary; they looklike what they are, and worthy to be mothers of the greatest of kingsand the greatest of prophets. Albertinelli has here emulated hisfriend Bartolomeo--his friend, whom he so loved, that when, after thehorrible execution of Savonarola, Bartolomeo, broken-hearted, threwhimself into the convent of St. Mark, Albertinelli became almostdistracted and desperate. He would certainly, says Vasari, have goneinto the same convent, but for the hatred be bore the monks, "of whomhe was always saying the most injurious things. "

Through some hidden influence of intense sympathy, Albertinelli, though in point of character the very antipodes of his friend, oftenpainted so like him, that his pictures--and this noble picture moreparticularly--might be mistaken for the work of the Frate. 

 * * * * *

10. We will now turn to a conception altogether different, and equallya masterpiece; it is the small but exquisitely finished compositionby Rembrandt. (Grosvenor Gal. ) The scene is the garden in front ofthe house of Zacharias; Elizabeth is descending the steps in hasteto receive and embrace with outstretched arms the Virgin Mary, whoappears to have just alighted from her journey. The aged Zacharias, supported by a youth, is seen following Elizabeth to welcome theirguest. Behind Mary stands a black female attendant, in the act ofremoving a mantle from her shoulders; in the background a servant, or (as I think) Joseph, holds the ass on which Mary has journeyed; apeacock with a gem-like train, and a hen with a brood of chickens (thelatter the emblem of maternity), are in the foreground. Though therepresentation thus conceived appears like a scene of every-day life, nothing can be more poetical than the treatment, more intensely trueand noble than the expression of the diminutive figures, more masterlyand finished than the execution, more magical and lustrous than theeffect of the whole. The work of Albertinelli, in its large and solemnbeauty and religious significance, is worthy of being placed over analtar, on which we might offer up the work of Rembrandt as men offerincense, gems, and gold. 

As the Visitation is not easily mistaken, I have said enough of ithere; and we pass to the next subject, --The Dream of Joseph. 

 * * * * *

Although the feast of the Visitation is fixed for the 2d of July, itwas, and is, a received opinion, that Mary began her journey to thehill country but a short time, even a few days, after the Annunciationof the angel. It was the sixth month with Elizabeth, and Marysojourned with her three months. Hence it is supposed, by manycommentators, that Mary must have been present at the birth of Johnthe Baptist. It may seem surprising that the early painters should nothave made use of this supposition. I am not aware that there existsamong the numerous representations of the birth of St. John, anyinstance of the Virgin being introduced; it should seem that the loftyideas entertained of the Mater Dei rendered it impossible to place herin a scene where she would necessarily take a subordinate position:this I think sufficiently accounts for her absence. [1] Mary thenreturned to her own dwelling at Nazareth; and when Joseph (who inthese legendary stories is constantly represented as a house-carpenterand builder, and travelling about to exercise his trade in variousplaces) also came back to his home, and beheld his wife, thesuspicion entered his mind that she was about to become a mother, and very naturally his mind was troubled "with sorrow and insecureapprehensions; but being a just man, that is, according to theScriptures and other wise writers, a good, a charitable man, he wouldnot openly disgrace her, for he found it more agreeable to justice totreat an offending person with the easiest sentence, than to renderher desperate, and without remedy, and provoked by the suffering ofthe worst of what she could fear. No obligation to justice can forcea man to be cruel; pity, and forbearance, and long-suffering, andfair interpretation, and excusing our brother" (and our sister), "andtaking things in the best sense, and passing the gentlest sentence, are as certainly our duty, and owing to every person who _does_ offendand _can_ repent, as calling men to account can be owing to the law. "(v. Bishop Taylor's Life of Christ. ) Thus says the good Bishop Taylor, praising Joseph, that he was too truly just to call furiously forjustice, and that, waiving the killing letter of the law, he was"minded to dismiss his wife privily;" and in this he emulated themercy of his divine foster-Son, who did not cruelly condemn the womanwhom he knew to be guilty, but dismissed her "to repent and sin nomore. " But while Joseph was pondering thus in his heart, the angelof the Lord, the prince of angels, even Gabriel, appeared to him in adream, saying, "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto theeMary thy wife!" and he awoke and obeyed that divine voice. 

[Footnote 1: There is, however, in the Liverpool Museum, a veryexquisite miniature of the birth of St. John the Baptist, in which thefemale figure standing near represents, I think, the Virgin Mary. Itwas cut out of a choral book of the Siena school. ]

This first vision of the angel is not in works of art easilydistinguished from the second vision but there is a charming fresco byLuini, which can bear no other interpretation. Joseph is seated by thecarpenter's bench, and leans his head on his hand slumbering. (Milan, Brera. ) An angel stands by him pointing to Mary who is seen at awindow above, busied with needlework. 

On waking from this vision, Joseph, says the legend, "entreatedforgiveness of Mary for having wronged her even in thought. " This isa subject quite unknown, I believe, before the fifteenth century, andnot commonly met with since, but there are some instances. On one ofthe carved stalls of the Cathedral of Amiens it is very poeticallytreated. (Stalles d'Amiens, p. 205. ) Mary is seated on a throne undera magnificent canopy; Joseph, kneeling before her and presented by twoangels, pleads for pardon. She extends one hand to him; in the otheris the volume of the Holy Scriptures. There is a similar version ofthe text in sculpture over one of the doors of Notre-Dame at Paris. There is also a picture by Alessandro Tiarini (Le repentir de SaintJoseph, Louvre, 416), and reckoned by Malvasia, his finest work, wherein Joseph kneels before the Virgin, who stands with a dignifiedair, and, while she raises him with one hand, points with the otherup to heaven. Behind is seen the angel Gabriel with his finger onhis lip, as commanding silence, and two other angels. The figures arelife-size, the execution and colour very fine; the whole conception inthe grand but mannered style of the Guido school. 

THE NATIVITY. 

_Ital. _ Il Presepio. Il Nascimento del Nostro Signore. _Fr. _ LaNativité. _Ger. _ Die Geburt Christi. Dec. 25. 

The birth of our Saviour is related with characteristic simplicityand brevity in the Gospels; but in the early Christian traditions thisgreat event is preceded and accompanied by several circumstanceswhich have assumed a certain importance and interest in the artisticrepresentations. 

According to an ancient legend, the Emperor Augustus Cæsar repairedto the sibyl Tiburtina, to inquire whether he should consent to allowhimself to be worshipped with divine honours, which the Senate haddecreed to him. The sibyl, after some days of meditation, took theEmperor apart, and showed him an altar; and above the altar, in theopening heavens, and in a glory of light, he beheld a beautiful Virginholding an Infant in her arms, and at the same time a voice was heardsaying, "This is the altar of the Son of the living God;" whereuponAugustus caused an altar to be erected on the Capitoline Hill, withthis inscription, _Ara primogeniti Dei_; and on the same spot, inlater times, was built the church called the _Ara-Coeli_, well known, with its flight of one hundred and twenty-four marble steps, to allwho have visited Rome. 

Of the sibyls, generally, in their relation to sacred art, I havealready spoken. [1] This particular prophecy of the Tiburtine sibylto Augustus rests on some very antique traditions, pagan as well asChristian. It is supposed to have suggested the "Pollio" of Virgil, which suggested the "Messiah" of Pope. It is mentioned by writers ofthe third and fourth centuries, and our own divines have not whollyrejected it, for Bishop Taylor mentions the sibyl's prophecy among"the great and glorious accidents happening about the birth of Jesus. "(Life of Jesus Christ, sec. 4. )

[Footnote 1: Introduction. The personal character and history of theSibyls will be treated in detail in the fourth series of Sacred andLegendary Art. ]

A very rude but curious bas-relief preserved in the church of theAra-Coeli is perhaps the oldest representation extant. The Churchlegend assigns to it a fabulous antiquity; but it must be older thanthe twelfth century, as it is alluded to by writers of that period. Here the Emperor Augustus kneels before the Madonna and Child and athis side is the sibyl, Tiburtina, pointing upwards. 

Since the revival of art, the incident has been frequently treated. Itwas painted by Cavallini, about 1340, on the vault of the choir ofthe Ara-Coeli. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it becamea favourite subject. It admitted of those classical forms, and thatmingling of the heathen and the Christian in style and costume, whichwere calculated to please the churchmen and artists of the time, andthe examples are innumerable. 

The most celebrated, I believe, is the fresco by Baldassare Peruzzi, in which the figure of the sibyl is certainly very majestic, butthe rest of the group utterly vulgar and commonplace. (Siena, FonteGiusta. ) Less famous, but on the whole preferable in point of taste, is the group by Garofalo, in the palace of the Quirinal; and thereis another by Titian, in which the scene is laid in a fine landscapeafter his manner. Vasari mentions a cartoon of this subject, paintedby Rosso for Francis I. , "among the best things Rosso ever produced, "and introducing the King and Queen of France, their guards, and aconcourse of people, as spectators of the scene. In some instances thelocality is a temple, with an altar, before which kneels the Emperor, having laid upon it his sceptre and laurel crown: the sibyl points tothe vision seen through a window above. I think it is so representedin a large picture at Hampton Court, by Pietro da Cortona. 

 * * * * *

The sibylline prophecy is supposed to have occurred a short tunebefore the Nativity, about the same period when the decree went forth"that all the world should be taxed. " Joseph, therefore, arose andsaddled his ass, and set his wife upon it, and went up from Nazarethto Bethlehem. The way was long, and steep, and weary; "and when Josephlooked back, he saw the face of Mary that it was sorrowful, as of onein pain; but when he looked back again, she smiled. And when they, were come to Bethlehem, there was no room for them in the inn, becauseof the great concourse of people. And Mary said to Joseph, "Take medown for I suffer. " (Protevangelion. )

The journey to Bethlehem, and the grief and perplexity of Joseph, havebeen often represented. 1. There exists a very ancient Greek carvingin ivory, wherein Mary is seated on the ass, with an expression ofsuffering, and Joseph tenderly sustains her; she has one arm round hisneck, leaning on him: an angel leads the ass, lighting the way witha torch. It is supposed that this curious relic formed part of theornaments of the ivory throne of the Exarch of Ravenna, and that it isat least as old as the sixth century. [1] 2. There is an instance moredramatic in an engraving after a master of the seventeenth century. Mary, seated on the ass, and holding the bridle, raises her eyes toheaven with an expression of resignation; Joseph, cap in hand, humblyexpostulates with the master of the inn, who points towards thestable; the innkeeper's wife looks up at the Virgin with a strongexpression of pity and sympathy. 3. I remember another print of thesame subject, where, in the background, angels are seen preparing thecradle in a cave. 

[Footnote 1: It is engraved in Gori's "Thesaurus, " and described inMünter's "Sinnbilder. "]

I may as well add that the Virgin, in this character of mysterious, and religious, and most pure maternity, is venerated under the titleof _La Madonna del Parto_. [1]

[Footnote 1: Every one who has visited Naples will remember thechurch on the Mergellina, dedicated to the _Madonna del Parto_, wherelies, beneath his pagan tomb, the poet Sannazzaro. Mr. Hallam, ina beautiful passage of his "History of the Literature of Europe, "has pointed out the influence of the genius of Tasso on the wholeschool of Bolognese painters of that time. Not less striking was theinfluence of Sannazzaro and his famous poem on the Nativity (_De PartûVirginis_), on the contemporary productions of Italian art, and moreparticularly as regards the subject under consideration: I can traceit through all the schools of art, from Milan to Naples, during thelatter half of the sixteenth century. Of Sannazzaro's poem, Mr. Hallam says, that "it would be difficult to find its equal for purity, elegance, and harmony of versification. " It is not the less true, thateven its greatest merits as a Latin poem exercised the most perverseinfluence on the religious art of that period. It was, indeed, only_one_ of the many influences which may be said to have demoralized theartists of the sixteenth century, but it was one of the greatest. ]

The Nativity of our Saviour, like the Annunciation, has been treatedin two ways, as a mystery and as an event, and we must be careful todiscriminate between them. 

THE NATIVITY AS A MYSTERY. 

In the first sense the artist has intended simply to express theadvent of the Divinity on earth in the form of an Infant, and the_motif_ is clearly taken from a text in the Office of the Virgin, _Virgo quem genuit, adoravit. _ In the beautiful words of JeremyTaylor, "She blessed him, she worshipped him, and she thanked him thathe would be born of her;" as, indeed, many a young mother has donebefore and since, when she has hung in adoration over the cradle ofher first-born child;--but _here_ the child was to be a descendedGod; and nothing, as it seems to me, can be more graceful and moreprofoundly suggestive than the manner in which some of the earlyItalian artists have expressed this idea. When, in such pictures, thelocality is marked by the poor stable, or the rough rocky cave, itbecomes "a temple full of religion, full of glory, where angels arethe ministers, the holy Virgin the worshipper, and Christ the Deity. "Very few accessories are admitted, merely such as serve to denote thatthe subject is "a Nativity, " properly so called, and not the "MadrePia, " as already described. The divine Infant lies in the centre ofthe picture, sometimes on a white napkin, sometimes with no otherbed than the flowery turf; sometimes his head rests on a wheat-sheaf, always here interpreted as "the bread of life. " He places his fingeron his lip, which expresses the _Verbum sum_ (or, _Vere Verbum hocest abbreviatum_), "I am the word, " or "I am the bread of life" (_Egosum panis ille vitæ. _ John vi. 48), and fixes his eyes on the heavensabove, where the angels are singing the _Gloria in excelsis. _ Inone instance, I remember, an angel holds up the cross before him; inanother, he grasps it in his hand; or it is a nail, or the crown ofthorns, anticipative of his earthly destiny. The Virgin kneels on oneside; St. Joseph, when introduced, kneels on the other; and frequentlyangels unite with them in the act of adoration, or sustain thenew-born Child. In this poetical version of the subject, Lorenzodi Credi, Perugino, Francia, and Bellini, excelled all others[1]. Lorenzo, in particular, became quite renowned for the manner in whichhe treated it, and a number of beautiful compositions from his handexist in the Florentine and other galleries. 

[Footnote 1: There are also most charming examples in sculpture byLuca della Robbia, Donatello, and other masters of the Florentineschool. ]

There are instances in which attendant saints and votaries areintroduced as beholding and adoring this great mystery. 1. Forinstance, in a picture by Cima, Tobit and the angel are introducedon one side, and St. Helena and St. Catherine on the other. 2. In apicture by Francia (Bologna Gal. ), the Infant, reclining upon a whitenapkin, is adored by the kneeling Virgin, by St. Augustine, and by twoangels also kneeling. The votary, Antonio Galeazzo Bentivoglio, forwhom the picture was painted, kneels in the habit of a pilgrim. [1] Hehad lately returned from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Bethlehem, thuspoetically expressed in the scene of the Nativity, and the picture wasdedicated as an act of thanksgiving as well as of faith. St. Josephand St. Francis stand on one side; on the other is a shepherd crownedwith laurel. Francia, according to tradition, painted his own portraitas St. Francis; and his friend the poet, Girolamo Casio de' Medici, as the shepherd. 3. In a large and famous Nativity by Giulio Romano(Louvre, 293), which once belonged to our Charles I. , St. John theEvangelist, and St. Longinus (who pierced our Saviour's side with hislance), are standing on each side as two witnesses to the divinity ofChrist;--here strangely enough placed on a par: but we are remindedthat Longinus had lately been inaugurated as patron of Mantua, (v. Sacred and Legendary Art. )

[Footnote 1: "An excellent likeness, " says Vasari. It is engraved assuch in Litta's Memorials of the Bentivogli. Girolamo Casio receivedthe laurel crown from the hand of Clement VII. In 1523. A beautifulvotive Madonna, dedicated by Girolamo Casio and his son Giacomo, andpainted by Beltraffio, is in the Louvre. ]

In a triptych by Hans Hemling (Berlin Gal. ) we have in the centre theChild, adored, as usual, by the Virgin mother and attending angels, the votary also kneeling: in the compartment on the right, we find themanifestation of the Redeemer to the _west_ exhibited in the prophecyof the sibyl to Augustus; on the left, the manifestation of theRedeemer to the _east_ is expressed by the journey of the Magi, andthe miraculous star--"we have seen his star _in the east_. "

But of all these ideal Nativities, the most striking is one by SandroBotticelli, which is indeed a comprehensive poem, a kind of hymn onthe Nativity, and might be set to music. In the centre is a shed, beneath which the Virgin, kneeling, adores the Child, who hashis finger on his lip. Joseph is seen a little behind, as if inmeditation. On the right hand, the angel presents three figures(probably the shepherds) crowned with olive; on the left is a similargroup. On the roof of the shed, three angels, with olive-branches intheir hands, sing the _Gloria in excelsis_. Above these are twelveangels dancing or floating round in a circle, holding olive-branchesbetween them. In the foreground, in the margin of the picture, three figures rising out of the flames of purgatory are received andembraced by angels. With all its quaint fantastic grace and dryness ofexecution, the whole conception is full of meaning, religious as wellas poetical. The introduction of the olive, and the redeemed, souls, may express "peace on earth, good will towards men;" or the olive maylikewise refer to that period of universal peace in which the _Princeof Peace_ was born into the world. [1]

[Footnote 1: This singular picture, formerly in the Ottley collection, was, when I saw it, in the possession of Mr. Fuller Maitland, ofStensted Park. ]

I must mention one more instance for its extreme beauty. In a pictureby Lorenzo di Credi (Florence, Pal. Pitti) the Infant Christ lies onthe ground on a part of the veil of the Virgin, and holds in his handa bird. In the background, the miraculous star sheds on the earth aperpendicular blaze of light, and farther off are the shepherds. Onthe other side, St. Jerome, introduced, perhaps, because he made hisabode at Bethlehem, is seated beside his lion. 

THE NATIVITY AS AN EVENT. 

We now come to the Nativity historically treated, in which time, place, and circumstance, have to be considered as in any other actualevent. 

The time was the depth of winter, at midnight; the place a poorstable. According to some authorities, this stable was the interiorof a cavern, still shown at Bethlehem as the scene of the Nativity, infront of which was a ruined house, once inhabited by Jesse, the fatherof David, and near the spot where David pastured his sheep: but thehouse was now a shed partly thatched, and open at that bitter mason toall the winds of heaven. Here it was that the Blessed Virgin "broughtforth her first-born Son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laidhim in a manger. "

We find in the early Greek representations, and in the early Italianpainters who imitated the Byzantine models, that in the arrangementa certain pattern was followed: the locality is a sort ofcave--literally a hole in a rock; the Virgin Mother reclines on acouch; near her lies the new-born Infant wrapped in swaddling clothes. In one very ancient example (a miniature of the ninth century in aGreek Menologium), an attendant is washing the Child. 

But from the fourteenth century we find this treatment discontinued. It gave just offence. The greatest theologians insisted that the birthof the Infant Christ was as pure and miraculous as his conception; andit was considered little less than heretical to portray Mary recliningon a couch as one exhausted by the pangs of childbirth (Isaiah lxvi. 7), or to exhibit assistants as washing the heavenly Infant. "To heralone, " says St. Bernard, "did not the punishment of Eve extend. " "Notin sorrow, " says Bishop Taylor, "not in pain, but in the posture andguise of worshippers (that is, kneeling), and in the midst of gloriousthoughts and speculations, did Mary bring her Son into the world. "

We must seek for the accessories and circumstances usually introducedby the painters in the old legendary traditions then accepted andbelieved. (Protevangelion, xiv. ) Thus one legend relates thatJoseph went to seek a midwife, and met a woman coming down from themountains, with whom he returned to the stable. But when they enteredit was filled with light greater than the sun at noonday; and as thelight decreased and they were able to open their eyes, they beheldMary sitting there with her Infant at her bosom. And the Hebrew womanbeing amazed said, "Can this be true?" and Mary answered, "It is true;as there is no child like unto my son, so there is no woman like untohis mother. "

 * * * * *

These circumstances we find in some of the early representations, more or less modified by the taste of the artist. I have seen, forinstance, an old German print, in which the Virgin "in the postureand guise of worshippers, " kneels before her Child as usual; while thebackground exhibits a hilly country, and Joseph with a lantern in hishand is helping a woman over a stile. Sometimes there are two women, and then the second is always Mary Salome, who, according to a passagein the same popular authority, visited the mother in her hour oftravail. 

The angelic choristers in the sky, or upon the roof of the stable, sing the _Gloria in excelsis Deo_; they are never, I believe, omitted, and in early pictures are always three in number; but in laterpictures, the mystic _three_ become a chorus of musicians Joseph isgenerally sitting by, leaning on his staff in profound meditation, orasleep as one overcome by fatigue; or with a taper or a lantern in hishand, to express the night-time. 

Among the accessories, the ox and the ass are indispensable. Theintroduction of these animals rests on an antique tradition mentionedby St. Jerome, and also on two texts of prophecy: "The ox knoweth hisowner, and the ass his master's crib" (Isaiah i. 3); and Habakkuk iii. 4, is rendered, in the Vulgate, "He shall lie down between the ox andthe ass. " From the sixth century, which is the supposed date ofthe earliest extant, to the sixteenth century, there was never anyrepresentation of the Nativity without these two animals; thus in theold carol so often quoted--

 "Agnovit bos et asinus Quod Puer erat Dominus!"

In some of the earliest pictures the animals kneel, "confessing theLord. " (Isaiah xliii. 20. ) In some instances they stare into themanger with a most _naïve_ expression of amazement at what they findthere. One of the old Latin hymns, _De Nativitate Domini_, describesthem, in that wintry night, as warming the new-born Infant with theirbreath; and they have always been interpreted as symbols, the ox asemblem of the Jews, the ass of the Gentiles. 

I wonder if it has ever occurred to those who have studied theinner life and meaning of these old representations, --owed to them, perhaps, homilies of wisdom, as well as visions of poetry, --that theintroduction of the ox and the ass, those symbols of animal servitudeand inferiority, might be otherwise translated;--that their patheticdumb recognition of the Saviour of the world might be interpretedas extending to them also a participation in his mission of love andmercy;--that since to the lower creatures it was not denied to bepresent at that great manifestation, they are thus brought nearer tothe sympathies of our humanity, as we are, thereby, lifted to a nearercommunion with the universal spirit of love;--but this is "consideringtoo deeply, " perhaps, for the occasion. Return we to our pictures. Certainly we are not in danger of being led into any profound orfanciful speculations by the ignorant painters of the later schools ofart. In their "Nativities, " the ox and ass are not, indeed, omitted;they must be present by religious and prescriptive usage; but theyare to be made picturesque, as if they were in the stable by right, and as if it were only a stable, not a temple hallowed to a divinersignificance. The ass, instead of looking devoutly into the cradle, stretches out his lazy length in the foreground; the ox winks his eyeswith a more than bovine stupidity. In some of the old German pictures, while the Hebrew ox is quietly chewing the cud, the Gentile ass "liftsup his voice" and brays with open mouth, as if in triumph. 

One version of this subject, by Agnolo Gaddi, is conceived with muchsimplicity and originality. The Virgin and Joseph are seen togetherwithin a rude and otherwise solitary building. She points expressivelyto the manger where lies the divine Infant, while Joseph leans on hisstaff and appears lost in thought. 

Correggio has been much admired for representing in his famousNativity the whole picture as lighted by the glory which proceeds fromthe divine Infant, as if the idea had been new and original. ("_LaNotte_, " Dresden Gal. ) It occurs frequently before and since his time, and is founded on the legendary story quoted above, which describesthe cave or stable filled with a dazzling and supernatural light. 

 * * * * *

It is not often we find the Nativity represented as an historicalevent without the presence of the shepherds; nor is the supernaturalannouncement to the shepherds often treated as a separate subject: itgenerally forms part of the background of the Nativity; but there aresome striking examples. 

In a print by Rembrandt, he has emulated, in picturesque and poeticaltreatment, his famous Vision of Jacob, in the Dulwich Gallery. Theangel (always supposed to be Gabriel) appears in a burst of radiancethrough the black wintry midnight, surrounded by a multitude of theheavenly host. The shepherds fall prostrate, as men amazed and "soreafraid;" the cattle flee different ways in terror (Luke ii. 9. ) I donot say that this is the most elevated way of expressing the scene;but, as an example of characteristic style, it is perfect. 

THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS. 

_Ital. _ L' Adorazione del Pastori. _Fr. _ L'Adoration des Bergers. _Ger. _ Die Anbetung der Hirten. 

The story thus proceeds:--When the angels were gone away into heaven, the shepherds came with haste, "and found Mary, and Joseph, and theyoung Child lying in a manger. "

Being come, they present their pastoral offerings--a lamb, or doves, or fruits (but these, considering the season, are misplaced); theytake off their hats with reverence, and worship in rustic fashion. In Raphael's composition, the shepherds, as we might expect from him, look as if they had lived in Arcadia. In some of the later Italianpictures, they pipe and sing. It is the well-known custom in Italyfor the shepherds of the Campagna, and of Calabria, to pipe before theMadonna and Child at Christmas time; and these _Piffereri_, with theirsheepskin jackets, ragged hats, bagpipes, and tabors, were evidentlythe models reproduced in some of the finest pictures of the Bologneseschool; for instance, in the famous Nativity by Annibale Caracci, where a picturesque figure in the corner is blowing into the bagpipeswith might and main. In the Venetian pictures of the Nativity, theshepherds are accompanied by their women, their sheep, and even theirdogs. According to an old legend, Simon and Jude, afterwards apostles, were among these shepherds. 

When the angels scatter flowers, as in compositions by Raphael andLudovico Caracci, we must suppose that they were not gathered onearth, but in heaven. 

The Infant is sometimes asleep:--so Milton sings--

 "But see the Virgin blest Hath laid her Babe to rest!"

In a drawing by Raphael, the Child slumbers, and Joseph raises thecoverlid, to show him to a shepherd. We have the same idea in severalother instances. In a graceful composition by Titian, it is the VirginMother who raises the veil from the face of the sleeping Child. 

 * * * * *

From the number of figures and accessories, the Nativity thus treatedas an historical subject becomes capable of almost endless variety;but as it is one not to be mistaken, and has a universal meaning andinterest, I may now leave it to the fancy and discrimination of theobserver. 

THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI. 

_Ital. _ L' Adorazione de' Magi. L' Epifania. _Fr. _ L'Adoration desRois Mages. _Ger. _ Die Anbetung der Weisen aus dem Morgenland. Dieheiligen drei Könige. Jan. 6. 

This, the most extraordinary incident in the early life of ourSaviour, rests on the authority of one evangelist only. It isrelated by St. Matthew so briefly, as to present many historical andphilosophical difficulties. I must give some idea of the manner inwhich these difficulties were elucidated by the early commentators, and of the notions which prevailed in the middle ages relative to thecountry of the Three Kings, before it will be possible to understandor to appreciate the subject as it has been set before us in everystyle of art, in every form, in every material, from the third centuryto the present time. 

In the first place, who were these Magi, or these kings, as they aresometimes styled? "To suppose, " says the antique legend, "that theywere called Magi because they were addicted to magic, or exercisedunholy or forbidden arts, would be, heaven save us! a rank heresy. "No! Magi, in the Persian tongue, signifies "wise men. " They were, in their own country, kings or princes, as it is averred by all theancient fathers; and we are not to be offended at the assertion, that they were at once princes and _wise_ men, --"Car à l'usage de cetemps-là les princes et les rois etoient très sages!"[1]

[Footnote 1: Quoted literally from the legend in the old Frenchversion of the _Flos Sanctorum_. ]

They came from the eastern country, but from what country is notsaid; whether from the land of the Arabians, or the Chaldeans, or thePersians, or the Parthians. 

It is written in the Book of Numbers, that when Balaam, the son ofBeor, was called upon to curse the children of Israel, he, by divineinspiration, uttered a blessing instead of a curse. And he took upthis parable, and said, "I shall see him, but not now: I shall beholdhim, but not nigh: there shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptreshall rise out of Israel. " And the people of that country, thoughthey were Gentiles, kept this prophecy as a tradition among them, andwaited with faith and hope for its fulfilment. When, therefore, theirprinces and wise men beheld a star different in its appearance andmovement from those which they had been accustomed to study (for theywere great astronomers), they at once knew its import, and hastenedto follow its guidance. According to an ancient commentary on St. Matthew, this star, on its first appearance, had the form of a radiantchild bearing a sceptre or cross. In a fresco by Taddeo Gaddi, it isthus figured; and this is the only instance I can remember. But toproceed with our story. 

When the eastern sages beheld this wondrous and long-expected star, they rejoiced greatly; and they arose, and taking leave of their landsand their vassals, their relations and their friends, set forth ontheir long and perilous journey across vast deserts and mountains, and broad rivers, the star going before them, and arrived at length atJerusalem, with a great and splendid train of attendants. Being comethere, they asked at once, "Where is he who is born king of the Jews?"On hearing this question, King Herod was troubled, and all the citywith him; and he inquired of the chief priests where Christ shouldbe born. And they said to him, "in Bethlehem of Judea. " Then Herodprivately called the wise men, and desired they would go to Bethlehem, and search for the young child (he was careful not to call him_King_), saying, "When ye have found him, bring me word, that I maycome and worship him also. " So the Magi departed, and the star whichthey had seen in the east went before them, until it stood over theplace where the young child was--he who was born King of kings. Theyhad travelled many a long and weary mile; "and what had they come forto see?" Instead of a sumptuous palace, a mean and lowly dwelling; inplace of a monarch surrounded by his guards and ministers and all theterrors of his state, an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and laidupon his mother's knee, between the ox and the ass. They had come, perhaps, from some far-distant savage land, or from some nationcalling itself civilized, where innocence had never been accountedsacred, where society had as yet taken no heed of the defencelesswoman, no care for the helpless child; where the one was enslaved, and the other perverted: and here, under the form of womanhoodand childhood, they were called upon to worship the promise ofthat brighter future, when peace should inherit the earth, andrighteousness prevail over deceit, and gentleness with wisdom reignfor ever and ever! How must they have been amazed! How must they havewondered in their souls at such a revelation!--yet such was the faithof these wise men and excellent kings, that they at once prostratedthemselves, confessing in the glorious Innocent who smiled upon themfrom his mother's knee, a greater than themselves--the image of atruer divinity than they had ever yet acknowledged. And having bowedthemselves down--first, as was most fit, offering _themselves_, --theymade offering of their treasure, as it had been written in ancienttimes, "The kings of Tarshish and the isles shall bring presents, and the kings of Sheba shall offer gifts. " And what were these gifts?Gold, frankincense, and myrrh; by which symbolical oblation theyprotested a threefold faith;--by gold, that he was king; by incense, that he was God; by myrrh, that he was man, and doomed to death. Inreturn for their gifts, the Saviour bestowed upon them others of morematchless price. For their gold he gave them charity and spiritualriches; for their incense, perfect faith; and for their myrrh, perfecttruth and meekness: and the Virgin, his mother, also bestowed on thema precious gift and memorial, namely, one of those linen bands inwhich she had wrapped the Saviour, for which they thanked her withgreat humility, and laid it up amongst their treasures. When they hadperformed their devotions and made their offerings, being warned in adream to avoid Herod, they turned back again to their own dominions;and the star which had formerly guided them to the west, now wentbefore them towards the east, and led them safely home. When they werearrived there, they laid down their earthly state; and in emulation ofthe poverty and humility in which they had found the Lord of all powerand might, they distributed their goods and possessions to the poor, and went about in mean attire, preaching to their people the new kingof heaven and earth, the CHILD-KING, the Prince of Peace. We are nottold what was the success of their mission; neither is it anywhererecorded, that from that time forth, every child, as it sat onits mother's knee, was, even for the sake of that Prince of Peace, regarded as sacred--as the heir of a divine nature--as one whose tinylimbs enfolded a spirit which was to expand into the man, the king, the God. Such a result was, perhaps, reserved for other times, whenthe whole mission of that divine Child should be better understoodthan it was then, or is _now_. But there is an ancient orientaltradition, that about forty years later, when St. Thomas the apostletravelled into the Indies, he found these Wise Men there, and didadminister to them the rite of baptism; and that afterwards, incarrying the light of truth into the far East, they fell amongbarbarous Gentiles, and were put to death; thus each of them receivingin return for the earthly crowns they had cast at the feet of theSaviour, the heavenly crown of martyrdom and of everlasting life. 

Their remains, long afterwards discovered, were brought toConstantinople by the Empress Helena; thence in the time of the firstCrusade they were transported to Milan, whence they were carried offby the Emperor Barbarossa, and deposited in the cathedral at Cologne, where they remain to this day, laid in a shrine of gold and gems; andhave performed divers great and glorious miracles. 

 * * * * *

Such, in few words, is the church legend of the Magi of the East, the "three Kings of Cologne, " as founded on the mysterious Gospelincident. Statesmen and philosophers, not less than ecclesiastics, have, as yet, missed the whole sense and large interpretation of themythic as well as the scriptural story; but well have the artistsavailed themselves of its picturesque capabilities! In their handsit has gradually expanded from a mere symbol into a scene of themost dramatic and varied effect and the most gorgeous splendour. As asubject it is one of the most ancient in the whole range of Christianart. Taken in the early religions sense, it signified the callingof the Gentiles; and as such we find it carved in bas-relief onthe Christian sarcophagi of the third and fourth centuries, andrepresented with extreme simplicity. The Virgin mother is seated on achair, and holds the Infant upright on her knee. The Wise Men, alwaysthree in number, and all alike, approach in attitudes of adoration. In some instances they wear Phrygian caps, and their camels' headsare seen behind them, serving to express the land whence they came, the land of the East, as well as their long journey; as on one of thesarcophagi in the Christian Museum of the Vatican. The star in theseantique sculptures is generally omitted; but in one or two instancesit stands immediately over the chair of the Virgin. On a sarcophagusnear the entrance of the tomb of Galla Placidia, at Ravenna, they arethus represented. 

The mosaic in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore at Rome, is somewhatlater in date than these sarcophagi (A. D. 440), and the representationis very peculiar and interesting. Here the Child is seated alone on akind of square pedestal, with his hand raised in benediction; behindthe throne stand two figures, supposed to be the Virgin and Joseph; oneach side, two angels. The kings approach, dressed as Roman warriors, with helmets on their heads. 

In the mosaic in the church of Sant' Appollinare-Novo, at Ravenna(A. D. 534), the Virgin receives them seated on a throne, attendedby the archangels; they approach, wearing crowns on their heads, and bending in attitudes of reverence: all three figures are exactlyalike, and rather less in proportion than the divine group. 

 * * * * *

Immediately on the revival of art we find the Adoration of the Kingstreated in the Byzantine style, with few accessories. Very soon, however, in the early Florentine school, the artists began to availthemselves of that picturesque variety of groups of which the storyadmitted. 

In the legends of the fourteenth century, the kings had becomedistinct personages, under the names of Caspar (or Jasper), Melchior, and Balthasar: the first being always a very aged man, with a longwhite beard; the second, a middle-aged man; the third is young, andfrequently he is a Moor or Negro, to express the King of Ethiopiaor Nubia, and also to indicate that when the Gentiles were calledto salvation, all the continents and races of the earth, of whatevercomplexion, were included. The difference of ages is indicated inthe Greek formula; but the difference of complexion is a moderninnovation, and more frequently found in the German than in theItalian schools. In the old legend of the Three Kings, as inserted inWright's "Chester Mysteries, " Jasper, or Caspar, is King of Tarsus, the land of merchants; he makes the offering of gold. Melchior, theKing of Arabia and Nubia, offers frankincense; and Balthasar, King ofSaba, --"the land of spices and all manner of precious gums, "--offersmyrrh. [1]

[Footnote 1: The names of the Three Kings appear for the first time ina piece of rude sculpture over the door of Sant' Andrea at Pistoia, towhich is assigned the date 1166. (_Vide_ D'Agincourt, _Scultura_, pl. Xxvii. )]

It is very usual to find, in the Adoration of the Magi, the angelicannouncement to the shepherds introduced into the background; or, morepoetically, the Magi approaching on one side, and the shepherds on theother. The intention is then to express a double signification; it isat once the manifestation to the Jews, and the manifestation to theGentiles. 

The attitude of the Child varies. In the best pictures he raises hislittle hand in benediction. The objection that he was then only aninfant of a few days old is futile: for he was from his birth theCHRIST. It is also in accordance with the beautiful and significantlegend which describes him as dispensing to the old wise men thespiritual blessings of love, meekness, and perfect faith, in returnfor their gifts and their homage. It appears to me bad taste, verging on profanity, to represent him plunging his little hand intothe coffer of gold, or eagerly grasping one of the gold pieces. Neither should he be wrapped up in swaddling clothes, nor in anyway a subordinate figure in the group; for it is the Epiphany, theManifestation of a divine humanity to Jews and Gentiles, which isto be expressed; and there is meaning as well as beauty in thosecompositions which represent the Virgin at lifting a veil and showinghim to the Wise Man. 

The kingly character of the adorers, which became in the thirteenthcentury a point of faith, is expressed by giving them all theparaphernalia and pomp of royalty according to the customs of thetime in which the artist lived. They are followed by a vast trainof attendants, guards, pages, grooms, falconers with hawks; and, ina picture by Gaudenzio Ferrari, we have the court-dwarf, and, in apicture by Titian, the court-fool, both indispensable appendages ofroyal state in those times. The Kings themselves wear embroideredrobes, crowns, and glittering weapons, and are booted and spurred asif just alighted from a long journey; even on one of the sarcophagithey are seen in spurs. 

The early Florentine and Venetian painters profited by the commercialrelations of their countries with the Levant, and introduced all kindsof outlandish and oriental accessories to express the far countryfrom which the strangers had arrived; thus we have among the presents, apes, peacocks, pheasants, and parrots. The traditions of the crusadesalso came in aid, and hence we have, the plumed and jewelled turbans, the armlets and the scymitars, and, in the later pictures, evenumbrellas and elephants. I remember, in an old Italian print of thissubject, a pair of hunting leopards or _chetas_. 

It is a question whether Joseph was present--whether he _ought_ tohave been present: in one of the early legends, it is asserted thathe hid himself and would not appear, out of his great humility, andbecause it should not be supposed that he arrogated any relationshipto the divine Child. But this version of the scene is quiteinconsistent with the extreme veneration afterwards paid to Joseph;and in later times, that is, from the fifteenth century, he is seldomomitted. Sometimes he is seen behind the chair of the Virgin, leaningon his stick, and contemplating the scene with a quiet admiration. Sometimes he receives the gifts offered to the Child, acting the partof a treasurer or chamberlain. In a picture by Angelico one of theMagi grasps his hand as if in congratulation. In a composition byParmigiano one of the Magi embraces him. 

It was not uncommon for pious votaries to have themselves paintedin likeness of one of the adoring Kings. In a picture by SandroBotticelli, Cosmo de' Medici is thus introduced; and in a large andbeautifully arranged composition by Leonardo da Vinci, which unhappilyremains as a sketch only, the three Medici of that time, Cosmo, Lorenzo, and Giuliano, are figured as the three Kings. (Both thesepictures are in the Florence Gal. )

A very remarkable altar-piece, by Jean Van Eyck, represents theworship of the Magi. In the centre, Mary and her Child are seatedwithin a ruined temple; the eldest of the three Kings kneeling, doeshomage by kissing the hand of the Child: it is the portrait of Philipthe Good, Duke of Burgundy. The second, prostrate behind him with agolden beaker in his hand, is supposed to be one of the great officersof his household. The third King exhibits the characteristic portraitof Charles the Bold; there is no expression of humility or devotioneither in his countenance or attitude; he stands upright, with a loftydisdainful air, as if he were yet unresolved whether he would kneelor not. On the right of the Virgin, a little in the foreground, standsJoseph in a plain red dress, holding his hat in his hand, and lookingwith as air of simple astonishment at his magnificent guests. All theaccessories in this picture, the gold and silver vessels, the dressesof the three Kings sparking with jewels and pearls, the velvets, silks, and costly furs, are painted with the most exquisite finish anddelicacy, and exhibit to us the riches of the court of Burgundy, inwhich Van Eyck then resided. (Munich Gal, 45. )

In Raphael's composition, the worshippers wear the classical, not theoriental costume; but an elephant with a monkey on his back is seenin the distance, which at once reminds us of the far East. (Rome, Vatican. )

Ghirlandajo frequently painted the Adoration of the Magi, and showsin his management of the accessories much taste and symmetry. In oneof his compositions, the shed forms a canopy in the centre; two ofthe Kings kneel in front. The country of the Ethiopian King is notexpressed by making him of a black complexion, but by giving hima Negro page, who is in the act of removing his master's crown. (Florence, Pitti Pal. )

A very complete example of artificial and elaborate composition may befound in the drawing by Baldassare Peruzzi in our National Gallery. It contains at least fifty figures; in the centre, a magnificentarchitectural design; and wonderful studies of perspective to theright and left, in the long lines of receding groups. On the whole, it is a most skilful piece of work; but to my taste much like atheatrical decoration, --pompous without being animated. 

A beautiful composition by Francia I must not pass over. [1] Here, tothe left of the picture, the Virgin is seated on the steps of a ruinedtemple, against which grows a fig-tree, which, though it be December, is in full leaf. Joseph kneels at her side, and behind her are twoArcadian shepherds, with the ox and the ass. The Virgin, who hasa charming air of modesty and sweetness, presents her Child to theadoration of the Wise Men: the first of these kneels with joinedhands; the second, also kneeling, is about to present a golden vase;the Negro King, standing, has taken off his cap, and holds a censerin his hand; and the divine infant raises his hand in benediction. Behind the Kings are three figures on foot, one a beautiful youth inan attitude of adoration. Beyond these are five or six figures onhorseback, and a long train upon horses and camels is seen approachingin the background. The landscape is very beautiful and cheerful: thewhole picture much in the style of Francia's master, Lorenzo Costa. Ishould at the first glance have supposed it to be his, but the head ofthe Virgin is unmistakably Francia. 

[Footnote 1: Dresden Gal. Arnold, the well-known print-seller atDresden, has lately published a very beautiful and finished engravingof this fine picture; the more valuable, because engravings afterFrancia are very rare. ]

There are instances of this subject idealized into a mystery; forexample, in a picture by Palma Vecchio (Milan, Brera), St. Helenastands behind the Virgin, in allusion to the legend which connectsher with the history of the Kings. In a picture by Garofalo, the starshining above is attended by angels bearing the instruments of thePassion, while St. Bartholomew, holding his skin, stands near theVirgin and Child: it was painted for the abbey of St. Bartholomew, atFerrara. 

Among the German examples, the picture by Albert Durer, in the tribuneof the Florence Gallery; and that of Mabuse, in the collection of LordCarlisle, are perhaps the most perfect of their kind. 

In the last-named picture the Virgin, seated, in a plain dark-bluemantle, with the German physiognomy, but large browed, and with a veryserious, sweet expression, holds the Child. The eldest of the Kings, as usual, offers a vase of gold, out of which Christ has taken apiece, which be holds in his hand. The name of the King, JASPER, isinscribed on the vase; a younger King behind holds a cup. The blackEthiopian king, Balthasar, is conspicuous on the left; he stands, crowned and arrayed in gorgeous drapery, and, as if more fully to markthe equality of the races--at least in spiritual privileges--his trainis borne by a white page. An exquisite landscape is seen through thearch behind, and the shepherds are approaching in the middle distance. On the whole, this is one of the most splendid pictures of the earlyFlemish school I have ever seen; for variety of character, glow ofcolour, and finished execution, quite unsurpassed. 

In a very rich composition by Lucas van Leyden, Herod is seen in thebackground, standing in the balcony of his palace, and pointing outthe scene to his attendants. 

As we might easily imagine, the ornamental painters of the Venetianand Flemish schools delighted in this subject, which allowed them fullscope for their gorgeous colouring, and all their scenic and dramaticpower. Here Paul Veronese revelled unreproved in Asiatic magnificence:here his brocaded robes and jewelled diadems harmonized with hissubject; and his grand, old, bearded, Venetian senators figured, not unsuitably, as Eastern Kings. Here Rubens lavished his ermineand crimson draperies, his vases, and ewers, and censers of flaminggold;--here poured over his canvas the wealth "of Ormuz and of Ind. "Of fifteen pictures of this subject, which he painted at differenttimes, the finest undoubtedly is that in the Madrid Gallery. Another, also very fine, is in the collection of the Marquis of Westminster. In both these, the Virgin, contrary to all former precedent, isnot seated, but _standing_, as she holds up her Child for worship. Afterwards we find the same position of the Virgin in pictures byVandyck, Poussin, and other painters of the seventeenth century. It isquite an innovation on the old religious arrangement; but in the utterabsence of all religious feeling, the mere arrangement of the figures, except in an artistic point of view, is of little consequence. 

As a scene of oriental pomp, heightened by mysterious shadows andflashing lights, I know nothing equal to the Rembrandt in theQueen's Gallery; the procession of attendants seen emerging from thebackground through the transparent gloom is quite awful; but in thismiraculous picture, the lovely Virgin Mother is metamorphosed into acoarse Dutch _vrow_, and the divine Child looks like a changeling imp. 

In chapels dedicated to the Nativity or the Epiphany, we frequentlyfind the journey of the Wise Men painted round the walls. Theyare seen mounted on horseback, or on camels, with a long train ofattendants, here ascending a mountain, there crossing a river; herewinding through a defile, there emerging from a forest; while themiraculous star shines above, pointing out the way. Sometimes we havethe approach of the Wise Men on one side of the chapel, and theirreturn to their own country on the other. On their homeward journeythey are, in some few instances, embarking in a ship: this occurs ina fresco by Lorenzo Costa, and in a bas-relief in the cathedral ofAmiens. The allusion is to a curious legend mentioned by Arnobius theYounger, in his commentary on the Psalms (fifth century). He says, in reference to the 48th Psalm, that when Herod found that the threeKings had escaped from him "in ships of Tarsus, " in his wrath heburned all the vessels in the port. 

There is a beautiful fresco of the journey of the Magi in the RiccardiChapel at Florence, painted by Benozzo Gozzoli for the old Cosmo de'Medici. 

"The Baptism of the Magi by St. Thomas, " is one of the compartmentsof the Life of the Virgin, painted by Taddeo Gaddi, in the BaroncelliChapel at Florence, and this is the only instance I can refer to. 

 * * * * *

Before I quit this subject--one of the most interesting in the wholerange of art--I must mention a picture by Giorgione in the BelvedereGallery, well known as one of the few undoubted productions of thatrare and fascinating painter, and often referred to because of itsbeauty. Its signification has hitherto escaped all writers on art, asfar as I am acquainted with them, and has been dismissed as one of hisenigmatical allegories. It is called in German, _Die Feldmässer_ (theLand Surveyors), and sometimes styled in English the _Geometricians_, or the _Philosophers_, or the _Astrologers_. It represents a wild, rocky landscape, in which are three men. The first, very aged, in asoriental costume, with a long gray beard, stands holding in his handan astronomical table; the next, a man in the prime of life, seemslistening to him; the third, a youth, seated and looking upwards, holds a compass. I have myself no doubt that this beautiful picturerepresents the "three wise men of the East, " watching on the Chaldeanhills the appearance of the miraculous star, and that the lightbreaking in the far horizon, called in the German description therising sun, is intended to express the rising of the star of Jacob. [1]In the sumptuous landscape, and colour, and the picturesque ratherthan religious treatment, this picture is quite Venetian. Theinterpretation here suggested I leave to the consideration of theobserver; and without allowing myself to be tempted on to furtherillustration, will only add, in conclusion, that I do not rememberany Spanish picture of this subject remarkable either for beauty ororiginality. [2]

[Footnote 1: There is also a print by Giulio Bonasoni, which appearsto represent the wise men watching for the star. (_Bartsch_, xv. 156. )]

[Footnote 2: In the last edition of the Vienna Catalogue, this picturehas received its proper title. ]

THE PURIFICATION OF THE VIRGIN, THE PRESENTATION, AND THE CIRCUMCISIONOF CHRIST. 

_Ital. _ La Purificazione della B. Vergine. _Ger. _ Die Darbringung imTempel. Die Beschneidung Christi. 

After the birth of her Son, Mary was careful to fulfil all theceremonies of the Mosaic law. As a first-born son, he was to beredeemed by the offering of five shekels, or a pair of young pigeons(in memory of the first-born of Egypt). But previously, being bornof the children of Abraham, the infant Christ was submitted to thesanguinary rite which sealed the covenant of Abraham, and receivedthe name of JESUS--"that name before which every knee was to bow, which was to be set above the powers of magic, the mighty ritesof sorcerers, the secrets of Memphis, the drugs of Thessaly, thesilent and mysterious murmurs of the wise Chaldees, and the spellsof Zoroaster; that name which we should engrave on our hearts, andpronounce with our most harmonious accents, and rest our faith on, andplace our hopes in, and love with the overflowing of charity, joy, andadoration. " (v. Bishop Taylor's Life of Christ. )

The circumcision and the naming of Christ have many times been paintedto express the first of the sorrows of the Virgin, being the first ofthe pangs which her Son was to suffer on earth. But the Presentationin the Temple has been selected with better taste for the samepurpose; and the prophecy of Simeon, "Yea, a sword shall piercethrough thy own soul also, " becomes the first of the Seven Sorrows. It is an undecided point whether the Adoration of the Magi tookplace thirteen days, or one year and thirteen days after the birth ofChrist. In a series of subjects artistically arranged, the Epiphanyalways precedes, in order of time, that scene in the temple whichis sometimes styled the Purification, sometimes the Presentation andsometimes the _Nunc Dimitis_. They are three distinct incidents; but, as far as I can judge, neither the painters themselves, nor those whohave named pictures, have been careful to discriminate between them. On a careful examination of various compositions, some of specialcelebrity, which are styled, in a general way, the Presentation inthe Temple, it will appear, I think, that the idea uppermost in thepainter's mind has been to represent the prophecy of Simeon. 

No doubt, in later times, the whole scene, as a subject of art, wasconsidered in reference chiefly to the Virgin, and the intention wasto express the first of her Seven Sorrows. But in ancient art, andespecially in Greek art, the character of Simeon assumed a singularsignificance and importance, which so long as modern art wasinfluenced by the traditional Byzantine types, modified, in somedegree, the arrangement and sentiment of this favourite subject. 

It is related that when Ptolemy Philadelphus about 260 years beforeChrist, resolved to have the Hebrew Scriptures translated intoGreek, for the purpose of placing them in his far-famed library, he despatched messengers to Eleazar, the High Priest of the Jews, requiring him to send scribes and interpreters learned in the Jewishlaw to his court at Alexandria. Thereupon Eleazar selected six ofthe most learned Rabbis from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, seventy-two persons in all, and sent them to Egypt, in obedience tothe commands of King Ptolemy, and among these was Simeon, a priest, and a man full of learning. And it fell to the lot of Simeon totranslate the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he came to thatverse where it is written, "Behold a Virgin shall conceive and beara son, " he began to misdoubt, in his own mind, how this could bepossible; and, after long meditation, fearing to give scandal andoffence to the Greeks, he rendered the Hebrew word _Virgin_ by a Greekword which signifies merely a _young woman_; but when he had writtenit down, behold an angel effaced it, and substituted the right word. Thereupon he wrote it again and again; and the same thing happenedthree times; and he remained astonished and confounded. And while hewondered what this should mean, a ray of divine light penetrated hissoul; it was revealed to him that the miracle which, in his humanwisdom he had presumed to doubt, was not only possible, but that he, Simeon, "should not see death till he had seen the Lord's Christ. "Therefore he tarried on earth, by the divine will, for nearly threecenturies, till that which he had disbelieved had come to pass. He wasled by the Spirit to the temple on the very day when Mary came thereto present her Son, and to make her offering, and immediately, takingthe Child in his arms, he exclaimed, "Lord, _now_ lettest thou thyservant depart in peace, according to thy word. " And of the VirginMother, also, he prophesied sad and glorious things. 

Anna the Prophetess, who was standing by, also testified to thepresence of the theocratic King: but she did not take him in her arms, as did Simeon. (Luke ii. 82. ) Hence, she was early regarded as atype of the synagogue, which prophesied great things of the Messiah, but, nevertheless, did not embrace him when he appeared, as did theGentiles. 

That these curious legends relative to Simeon and Anna, and theirsymbolical interpretation, were well known to the old painters, therecan be no doubt; and both were perhaps in the mind of Bishop Taylorwhen he wrote his eloquent chapter on the Presentation. "There besome, " he says, "who wear the name of Christ on their heads, to makea show to the world; and there be some who have it always in theirmouths; and there be some who carry Christ on their shoulders, asif he were a burthen too heavy to bear; and there be some--who isme!--who trample him under their feet, but _he_ is the true Christianwho, _like Simeon_, embraces Christ, and takes him to his heart. "

Now, it seems to me that it is distinctly the acknowledgment ofChrist by Simeon, --that is, Christ received by the Gentiles, --whichis intended to be placed before us in the very early pictures of thePresentation, or the _Nunc dimittis_, as it is always styled in Greekart. The appearance of an attendant, bearing the two turtle-doves, shows it to be also the so-called Purification of the Virgin. Inan antique formal Greek version we have the Presentation exactlyaccording to the pattern described by Didron. The great gold censer isthere; the cupola, at top; Joseph carrying the two young pigeons, andAnna behind Simeon. 

 * * * * *

In a celebrated composition by Fra Bartolomeo, there is the samedisposition of the personages, but an additional female figure. Thisis not Anna, the mother of the Virgin (as I have heard it said), butprobably Mary Salome, who had always attended on the Virgin ever sincethe Nativity at Bethlehem. 

The subject is treated with exquisite simplicity by Francia; we havejust the same personages as in the rude Greek model, but disposed withconsummate grace. Still, to represent the Child as completely undrapedhas been considered as a solecism. He ought to stretch out his handsto his mother and to look as if he understood the portentous wordswhich foretold his destiny. Sometimes the imagination is assisted bythe choice of the accessories; thus Fra Bartolomeo has given us, inthe background of his group, Moses holding the _broken_ table of theold law; and Francia represents in the same manner the sacrificeof Abraham; for thus did Mary bring her Son as an offering. In manypictures Simeon raises his eyes to heaven in gratitude; but thosepainters who wished to express the presence of the Divinity in theperson of Christ, made Simeon looking at the Child, and addressing_him_ as "Lord. "

THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT. 

_Ital. _ La Fuga in Egitto. _Fr. _ La Fuite de la Sainte Famille enEgypte. _Ger. _ Die Flucht nach Ægypten. 

The wrath of Herod against the Magi of the East who had escaped fromhis power, enhanced by his fears of the divine and kingly Infant, occasioned the massacre of the Innocents, which led to the flightof the Holy Family into Egypt. Of the martyred children, in theircharacter of martyrs, I have already spoken, and of their proper placein a scheme of ecclesiastical decoration. There is surely somethingvery pathetic in that feeling which exalted these infant victims intoobjects of religious veneration, making them the cherished companionsin heavenly glory of the Saviour for whose sake they were sacrificedon earth. He had said, "Suffer little children to come unto me;"and to these were granted the prerogatives of pain, as well as theprivileges of innocence. If, in the day of retribution, they sit atthe feet of the Redeemer, surely they will appeal against us, then andthere;--against us who, in these days, through our reckless neglect, slay, body and soul, legions of innocents, --poor little unblestcreatures, "martyrs by the pang without the palm, "--yet dare to callourselves Christians. 

 * * * * *

The Massacre of the Innocents, as an event, belongs properly to thelife of Christ: it is not included in a series of the life of theVirgin, perhaps from a feeling that the contrast between the mostblessed of women and mothers, and those who wept distracted for theirchildren, was too painful, and did not harmonize with the generalsubject. In pictures of the Flight into Egypt, I have seen itintroduced allusively into the background; and in the architecturaldecoration of churches dedicated to the Virgin Mother, as Notre Damede Chartres, it finds a place, but not often a conspicuous place;[1]it is rather indicated than represented. I should pass over thesubject altogether, best pleased to be spared the theme, butthat there are some circumstances connected with it which requireelucidation, because we find them introduced incidentally intopictures of the Flight and the _Riposo_. 

[Footnote 1: It is conspicuous and elegantly treated over the door ofthe Lorenz Kirche at Nuremberg. ]

Thus, it is related that among the children whom Herod was bent ondestroying, was St. John the Baptist; but his mother Elizabeth fledwith him to a desert place, and being pursued by the murderers, "therock opened by a miracle, and close upon Elizabeth and her child;"which means, as we may presume, that they took refuge in a cavern, and were concealed within it until the danger was over. Zacharias, refusing to betray his son, was slain "between the temple and thealtar, " (Matt, xxiii. 35. ) Both these legends are to be met within the Greek pictures, and in the miniatures of the thirteenth andfourteenth centuries. [1]

[Footnote 1: They will be found treated at length in the artisticsubjects connected with St. John the Baptist. ]

From the butchery which made so many mothers childless, the divineInfant and his mother were miraculously saved; for an angel spoke toJoseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, and take the young child and hismother, and flee into Egypt. " This is the second of the four angelicvisions which are recorded of Joseph. It is not a frequent subjectin early art, but is often met with in pictures of the later schools. Joseph is asleep in his chair, the angel stands before him, and, witha significant gesture, points forward--"arise and flee!"

There is an exquisite little composition by Titian, called a _Riposo_, which may possibly represent the preparation for the Flight. Here Maryis seated under a tree nursing her Infant, while in the background isa sort of rude stable, in which Joseph is seen saddling the ass, whilethe ox is on the outside. 

In a composition by Tiarini, we see Joseph holding the Infant, whileMary, leaning one hand on his shoulder, is about to mount the ass. 

In a composition by Poussin, Mary, who has just seated herself on theass, takes the Child from the arms of Joseph. Two angels lead the ass, a third kneels in homage, and two others are seen above with a curtainto pitch a tent. 

 * * * * *

I must notice here a tradition that both the ox and the ass who stoodover the manger at Bethlehem, accompanied the Holy Family into Egypt. In Albert Durer's print, the ox and the ass walk side by side. It isalso related that the Virgin was accompanied by Salome, and Joseph bythree of his sons. This version of the story is generally rejectedby the painters; but in the series by Giotto in the Arena at Padua, Salome and the three youths attend on Mary and Joseph; and I rememberanother instance, a little picture by Lorenzo Monaco, in which Salome, who had vowed to attend on Christ and his mother as long as she lived, is seen following the ass, veiled, and supporting her steps with astaff. 

But this is a rare exception. The general treatment confines the groupto Joseph, the mother, and the Child. To Joseph was granted, in thosehours of distress and danger, the high privilege of providing forthe safety of the Holy Infant--a circumstance much enlarged upon inthe old legends, and to express this more vividly, he is sometimesrepresented in early Greek art as carrying the Child in his arms, oron his shoulder, while Mary follows on the ass. He is so figuredon the sculptured doors of the cathedral of Beneventum, and in thecathedral of Monreale, both executed by Greek artists. [1] But we arenot to suppose that the Holy Family was left defenceless on the longjourney. The angels who had charge concerning them were sent to guidethem by day, to watch over them by night, to pitch their tent beforethem, and to refresh them with celestial fruit and flowers. By theintroduction of these heavenly ministers the group is beautifullyvaried. 

[Footnote 1: 11th century. Also at Città di Castello; same date. ]

Joseph, says the Gospel story, "arose by night;" hence there is bothmeaning and propriety in those pictures which represent the Flightas a night-scene, illuminated by the moon and stars, though I believethis has been done more to exhibit the painter's mastery over effectsof dubious light, than as a matter of biblical accuracy. Sometimes anangel goes before, carrying a torch or lantern, to light them on theway; sometimes it is Joseph who carries the lantern. 

In a picture by Nicolo Poussin, Mary walks before, carrying theInfant; Joseph follows, leading the ass; and an angel guides them. 

The journey did not, however, comprise one night only. There is, indeed, an antique tradition, that space and time were, on thisoccasion, miraculously shortened to secure a life of so muchimportance; still, we are allowed to believe that the journey extendedover many days and nights; consequently it lay within the choice ofthe artist to exhibit the scene of the Flight either by night or byday. 

In many representations of the Flight into Egypt, we find in thebackground men sowing or cutting corn. This is in allusion to thefollowing legend:--

When it was discovered that the Holy Family had fled from Bethlehem, Herod sent his officers in pursuit of them. And it happened that whenthe Holy Family had travelled some distance, they came to a fieldwhere a man was sowing wheat. And the Virgin said to the husbandman, "If any shall ask you whether we have passed this way, ye shallanswer, 'Such persons passed this way when I was sowing this corn. '"For the holy Virgin was too wise and too good to save her Son byinstructing the man to tell a falsehood. But behold, a miracle! Forby the power of the Infant Saviour, in the space of a single night, the seed sprung up into stalk, blade, and ear, fit for the sickle. And next morning the officers of Herod came up, and inquired of thehusbandman, saying, "Have you seen an old man with a woman and a Childtravelling this way?" And the man, who was reaping his wheat, in greatwonder and admiration, replied "Yes. " And they asked again, "How longis it since?" And he answered. "When I was sowing this wheat. " Thenthe officers of Herod turned back, and left off pursuing the HolyFamily. 

A very remarkable example of the introduction of this legend occursin a celebrated picture by Hans Hemling (Munich Gal. , Cabinet iv. 69), known as "Die Sieben Freuden Mariä. " In the background, on the left, is the Flight into Egypt; the men cutting and reaping corn, and theofficers of Herod in pursuit of the Holy Family. By those unacquaintedwith the old legend, the introduction of the cornfield and reapersis supposed to be merely a decorative landscape, without any peculiarsignificance. 

 * * * * *

In a very beautiful fresco by Pinturicchio, (Rome, St. Onofrio), theHoly Family are taking their departure from Bethlehem. The city, with the massacre of the Innocents, is seen in the background. In themiddle distance, the husbandman cutting corn; and nearer, the palmtree bending down. 

 * * * * *

It is supposed by commentators that Joseph travelled from Bethlehemacross the hilly country of Judea, taking the road to Joppa, and thenpursuing the way along the coast. Nothing is said in the Gospel of theevents of this long and perilous journey of at least 400 miles, which, in the natural order of things, must have occupied five or six weeks;and the legendary traditions are very few. Such as they are, however, the painters have not failed to take advantage of them. 

We are told that on descending from the mountains, they came downupon a beautiful plain enamelled with flowers, watered by murmuringstreams, and shaded by fruit trees. In such a lovely landscape havethe painters delighted to place some of the scenes of the Flight intoEgypt. On another occasion, they entered a thick forest, a wildernessof trees, in which they must have lost their way, had they not beenguided by an angel. Here we encounter a legend which has hithertoescaped, because, indeed, it defied, the art of the painter. As theHoly Family entered this forest, all the trees bowed themselves downin reverence to the Infant God; only the aspen, in her exceeding prideand arrogance, refused to acknowledge him, and stood upright. Then theInfant Christ pronounced a curse against her, as he afterwards cursedthe barren fig tree; and at the sound of his words the aspen began totremble through all her leaves, and has not ceased to tremble even tothis day. 

We know from Josephus the historian, that about this time Palestinewas infested by bands of robbers. There is an ancient tradition, thatwhen the Holy Family travelling through hidden paths and solitarydefiles, had passed Jerusalem, and were descending into the plains ofSyria, they encountered certain thieves who fell upon them; and oneof them would have maltreated and plundered them, but his comradeinterfered, and said, "Suffer them, I beseech thee, to go in peace, and I will give thee forty groats, and likewise my girdle;" whichoffer being accepted, the merciful robber led the Holy Travellersto his stronghold on the rock, and gave them lodging for the night. (Gospel of Infancy, ch. Viii. ) And Mary said to him, "The Lord Godwill receive thee to his right hand, and grant thee pardon of thysins!" And it was so: for in after times these two thieves werecrucified with Christ, one on the right hand, and one on the left;and the merciful thief went with the Saviour into Paradise. 

The scene of this encounter with the robbers, near Ramla, is stillpointed out to travellers, and still in evil repute as the haunt ofbanditti. The crusaders visited the spot as a place of pilgrimage;and the Abbé Orsini considers the first part of the story asauthenticated; but the legend concerning the good thief he admitsto be doubtful. (Vie de la Ste. Vierge. )

As an artistic subject this scene has been seldom treated. I have seentwo pictures which represent it. One is a fresco by Giovanni di SanGiovanni, which, having been cut from the wail of some suppressedconvent, is now in the academy at Florence. The other is a compositionby Zuccaro. 

One of the most popular legends concerning the Flight into Egypt isthat of the palm or date tree, which at the command of Jesus boweddown its branches to shade and refresh his mother; hence, in the sceneof the Flight, a palm tree became a usual accessory. In a picture byAntonello Mellone, the Child stretches out his little hand and layshold of the branch: sometimes the branch is bent down by angel hands. Sozomenes relates, that when the Holy Family reached the term oftheir journey, and approached the city of Heliopolis in Egypt, a treewhich grew before the gates of the city, and was regarded with greatveneration as the seat of a god, bowed down its branches at theapproach of the Infant Christ. Likewise it is related (not in legendsmerely, but by grave religious authorities) that all the idols of theEgyptians fell with their faces to the earth. I have seen pictures ofthe Flight into Egypt, in which broken idols lie by the wayside. 

 * * * * *

In the course of the journey the Holy Travellers had to cross riversand lakes; hence the later painters, to vary the subject, representedthem as embarking in a boat, sometimes steered by an angel. The first, as I have reason to believe, who ventured on this innovation, wasAnnibale Caracci. In a picture by Poussin, the Holy Family are aboutto embark. In a picture by Giordano, an angel with one knee bent, assists Mary to enter the boat. In a pretty little picture by Teniers, the Holy Family and the ass are seen in a boat crossing a ferry bymoonlight; sometimes they are crossing a bridge. 

I must notice here a little picture by Adrian Vander Werff, in whichthe Virgin, carrying her Child, holds by the hand the old decrepitJoseph, who is helping her, or rather is helped by her, to pass atorrent on some stepping-stones. This is quite contrary to the feelingof the old authorities, which represent Joseph as the vigilant andcapable guardian of the Mother and her Child: but it appears to havehere a rather particular and touching significance; it was painted byVander Werff for his daughter in his old age, and intended to expressher filial duty and his paternal care. 

The most beautiful Flight into Egypt I have ever seen, is acomposition by Gaudenzio Ferrari. The Virgin is seated and sustainedon the ass with a quite peculiar elegance. The Infant, standing on herknee, seems to point out the way; an angel leads the ass, and Josephfollows with the staff and wallet. In the background the palm treeinclines its branches. (At Varallo, in the church of the Minorites. )

Claude has introduced the Flight of the Holy Family as a landscapegroup into nine different pictures. 

THE REPOSE OF THE HOLY FAMILY. 

_Ital. _ Il Riposo. _Fr. _ Le Repos de la Sainte Famille. _Ger. _ DieRuhe in Ægypten. 

The subject generally styled a "Riposo" is one of the most gracefuland most attractive in the whole range of Christian art. It is not, however, an ancient subject, for I cannot recall an instance earlierthan the sixteenth century; it had in its accessories that romanticand pastoral character which recommended it to the Venetians and tothe landscape-painters of the seventeenth century, and among these wemust look for the most successful and beautiful examples. 

I must begin by observing that it is a subject not only easilymistaken by those who have studied pictures; but perpetuallymisconceived and misrepresented by the painters themselves. Somepictures which erroneously bear this title, were never intended todo so. Others, intended to represent the scene, are disfiguredand perplexed by mistakes arising either from the ignorance or thecarelessness of the artist. 

We must bear in mind that the Riposo, properly so called, is notmerely the Holy Family seated in a landscape; it is an episode ofthe Flight into Egypt, and is either the rest on the journey, or atthe close of the journey; quite different scenes, though all go bythe same name. It is not an ideal religious group, but a reality, apossible and actual scene; and it is clear that the painter, if hethought at all, and did not merely set himself to fabricate a prettycomposition, was restricted within the limits of the actual andpossible, at least according to the histories and traditions of thetime. Some of the accessories introduced would stamp the intention atonce; as the date tree, and Joseph gathering dates; the ass feeding inthe distance; the wallet and pilgrim's staff laid beside Joseph; thefallen idols; the Virgin scooping water from a fountain; for all theseare incidents which properly belong to the Riposo. 

It is nowhere recorded; either in Scripture or in the legendarystories, that Mary and Joseph in their flight were accompanied byElizabeth and the little St. John; therefore, where either of theseare introduced, the subject is not properly a _Riposo_, whatever theintention of the painter may have been: the personages ought to berestricted to the Virgin, her Infant, and St. Joseph, with attendantangels. An old woman is sometimes introduced, the same who istraditionally supposed to have accompanied them in their flight. Ifthis old woman be manifestly St. Anna or St. Elizabeth, then it is nota _Riposo_, but merely a _Holy Family_. 

It is related that the Holy Family finally rested, after their longjourney, in the village of Matarea, beyond the city of Hermopolis (orHeliopolis), and took up their residence in a grove of sycamores, acircumstance which gave the sycamore tree a sort of religions interestin early Christian times. The crusaders imported it into Europe; andpoor Mary Stuart may have had this idea, or this feeling when shebrought from France, and planted in her garden, the first sycamoreswhich grew in Scotland. 

Near to this village of Matarea, a fountain miraculously sprung upfor the refreshment of the Holy Family. It still exists, as weare informed by travellers, and is still styled by the Arabs, "TheFountain of Mary. "[1] This fountain is frequently represented, as inthe well-known Riposo by Correggio, where the Virgin is dipping a bowlinto the gushing stream, hence called the "Madonna _della Scodella_"(Parma): in another by Baroccio (Grosvenor Gal. ), and another byDomenichino (Louvre, 491). 

[Footnote 1: The site of this fountain is about four miles N. E. OfCairo. ]

In this fountain, says another legend, Mary washed the linen of theChild. There are several pictures which represent the Virgin washinglinen in a fountain; for example, one by Lucio Massari, where, in acharming landscape, the little Christ takes the linen out of a basket, and Joseph hangs it on a line to dry. (Florence Gal. )

The ministry of the angels is here not only allowable, but beautifullyappropriate; and never has it been more felicitously and moregracefully expressed than in a little composition by Lucas Cranach, where the Virgin and her Child repose under a tree, while the angelsdance in a circle round them. The cause of the Flight--the Massacreof the Innocents--is figuratively expressed by two winged boys, who, seated on a bough of the tree, are seen robbing a nest, and wringingthe necks of the nestlings, while the parent-birds scream and flutterover their heads: in point of taste, this significant allegory hadbeen better omitted; it spoils the harmony of composition. Thereis another similar group, quite as graceful, by David Hopfer. Vandyck seems to have had both in his memory when he designed thevery beautiful Riposo so often copied and engraved (Coll. Of LordAshburton); here the Virgin is seated under a tree, in an openlandscape, and holds her divine Child; Joseph, behind, seems asleep;in front of the Virgin, eight lovely angels dance in a round, whileothers, seated in the sky, make heavenly music. 

In another singular and charming Riposo by Lucas Cranach, the Virginand Child are seated under a tree; to the left of the group is afountain, where a number of little angels appear to be washing linen;to the right, Joseph approaches leading the ass, and in the act ofreverently removing his cap. 

There is a Riposo by Albert Durer which I cannot pass over. It istouched with all that homely domestic feeling, and at the same timeall that fertility of fancy, which are so characteristic of thatextraordinary man. We are told that when Joseph took up his residenceat Matarea in Egypt, he provided for his wife and Child by exercisinghis trade as a carpenter. In this composition he appears in theforeground dressed as an artisan with an apron on, and with an axe inhis hand is shaping a plank of wood. Mary sits on one side spinningwith her distaff, and watching her Infant slumbering in its cradle. Around this domestic group we have a crowd of ministering angels; someof these little winged spirits are assisting Joseph, sweeping up thechips and gathering them into baskets; others are merely "sporting attheir own sweet will. " Several more dignified-looking angels, havingthe air of guardian spirits, stand or kneel round the cradle, bendingover it with folded hands. [1]

[Footnote 1: In the famous set of wood cuts of the Life of the VirginMary. ]

In a Riposo by Titian, the Infant lies on a pillow on the ground, andthe Virgin is kneeling before him, while Joseph leans on his pilgrim'sstaff, to which is suspended a wallet. In another, two angels, kneeling, offer fruits in a basket; in the distance, a little angelwaters the ass at a stream. (All these are engraved. )

The angels, according to the legend, not only ministered to the HolyFamily, but pitched a tent nightly, in which they were sheltered. Poussin, in an exquisite picture, has represented the Virgin and Childreposing under a curtain suspended from the branches of a tree andpartly sustained by angels, while others, kneeling, offer fruit. (Grosvenor Gal. )

Poussin is the only painter who has attempted to express the locality. In one of his pictures the Holy Family reposes on the steps of anEgyptian temple; a sphinx and a pyramid are visible in the background. In another Riposo by the same master, an Ethiopian boy presents fruitsto the Infant Christ. Joseph is frequently asleep, which is hardlyconsonant with the spirit of the older legends. It is, however, abeautiful idea to make the Child and Joseph both reposing, while theVirgin Mother, with eyes upraised to heaven, wakes and watches, asin a picture by Mola (Louvre, 269); but a yet more beautiful idea torepresent the Virgin and Joseph sunk in sleep, while the divine Infantlying in his mother's arms wakes and watches for both, with his littlehands joined in prayer, and his eyes fixed on the hovering angels orthe opening skies above. 

In a Riposo by Rembrandt, the Holy Family rest by night, and areilluminated only by a lantern suspended on the bough of a tree, thewhole group having much the air of a gypsy encampment. But one ofRembrandt's imitators has in his own way improved on this fancy; theVirgin sleeps on a bank with the Child on her bosom; Joseph, who looksextremely like an old tinker, is doubling his fist at the ass, whichhas opened its mouth to bray. 

 * * * * *

Before quitting the subject of the Riposo, I must mention a verypretty and poetical legend, which I have met with in one picture only;a description of it may, however, lead to the recognition of others. 

There is, in the collection of Lord Shrewsbury, at Alton Towers, aRiposo attributed to Giorgione, remarkable equally for the beauty andthe singularity of the treatment. The Holy Family are seated in themidst of a wild but rich landscape, quite in the Venetian style;Joseph is asleep; the two children are playing with a lamb. TheVirgin, seated holds a book, and turns round, with an expression ofsurprise and alarm, to a female figure who stands on the right. Thiswoman has a dark physiognomy, ample flowing drapery of red and white, a white turban twisted round her head, and stretches out her hand withthe air of a sibyl. The explanation of this striking group I foundin an old ballad-legend. Every one who has studied the moral as wellas the technical character of the various schools of art, must haveremarked how often the Venetians (and Giorgione more especially)painted groups from the popular fictions and ballads of the time; andit has often been regretted that many of these pictures are becomingunintelligible to us from our having lost the key to them, in losingall trace of the fugitive poems or tales which suggested them. 

The religious ballad I allude to must have been popular in thesixteenth century; it exists in the Provençal dialect, in German, and in Italian; and, like the wild ballad of St. John Chrysostom, itprobably came in some form or other from the East. The theme is, inall these versions, substantially the same. The Virgin, on her arrivalin Egypt, is encountered by a gypsy (Zingara or Zingarella), whocrosses the Child's palm after the gypsy manner, and foretells all thewonderful and terrible things which, as the Redeemer of mankind, hewas destined to perform and endure on earth. 

An Italian version which lies before me is entitled, _Canzonettanuova, sopra la Madonna, quando si partò in Egitto col Bambino Gesùe San Giuseppe_, "A new Ballad of our Lady, when she fled into Egyptwith the Child Jesus and St. Joseph. "

It begins with a conversation between the Virgin, who has just arrivedfrom her long journey, and the gypsy-woman, who thus salutes her:--

 ZINGARELLA. Dio ti salvi, bella Signora, E ti dia buona ventura. Ben venuto, vecchiarello, Con questo bambino bello!

 MADONNA. Ben trovata, sorella mia, La sua grazia Dio ti dia. Ti perdoni i tuoi peccati L' infinità sua bontade. 

 ZINGARELLA. Siete stanchi e meschini, Credo, poveri pellegrini Che cercate d' alloggiare. Vuoi, Signora, scavalcare?

 MADONNA. Voi che siete, sorella mia, Tutta piena di cortesia, Dio vi renda la carità Per l'infinità sua bontà. Noi veniam da Nazaretta, Siamo senza alcun ricetto, Arrivati all' strania Stanchi e lassi dalla via!

 GYPSY. God save thee, fair Lady, and give thee good luck Welcome, good old man, with this thy fair Child!

 MARY. Well met, sister mine! God give thee grace, and of his infinite mercy forgive thee thy sins!

 GYPSY. Ye are tired and drooping, poor pilgrims, as I think, seeking a night's lodging. Lady, wilt thou choose to alight?

 MARY. 

 O sister mine! full of courtesy, God of his infinite goodness reward thee for thy charity. We are come from Nazareth, and we are without a place to lay our heads, arrived in a strange land, all tired and weary with the way!

The Zingarella then offers them a resting-place, and straw and fodderfor the ass, which being accepted, she asks leave to tell theirfortune, but begins by recounting, in about thirty stanzas, all thepast history of the Virgin pilgrim; she then asks to see the Child--

 Ora tu, Signora mia. Che sei piena di cortesia, Mostramelo per favore Lo tuo Figlio Redentore!

 And now, O Lady mine, that art full of courtesy, grant me to look upon thy Son, the Redeemer!

The Virgin takes him from the arms of Joseph--

 Datemi, o caro sposo, Lo mio Figlio grazioso! Quando il vide sta meschina Zingarella, che indovina!

 Give me, dear husband, my lovely boy, that this poor gypsy, who is a prophetess, may look upon him. 

The gypsy responds with becoming admiration and humility, praisesthe beauty of the Child, and then proceeds to examine his palm: whichhaving done, she breaks forth into a prophecy of all the awful future, tells how he would be baptized, and tempted, scourged, and finallyhung upon a cross--

 Questo Figlio accarezzato Tu lo vedrai ammazzato Sopra d'una dura croce, Figlio bello! Figlio dolce!

but consoles the disconsolate Mother, doomed to honour for the sake ofus sinners--

 Sei arrivata a tanti onori Per noi altri Peccatori!

and ends by begging an alms--

 Non ti vo' più infastidire, Bella Signora; so chi hai a fare. Dona la limosinella A sta povera Zingarellatrue repentance and eternal life. 

 Vo' una vera contrizione Per la tua intercezione, Accio st' alma dopo morte Tragga alle celesti porte!

And so the story ends. 

There can be no doubt, I think, that we have here the original themeof Giorgione's picture, and perhaps of others. 

In the Provençal ballad, there are three gypsies, men, not women, introduced, who tell the fortune of the Virgin and Joseph, as wellas that of the Child, and end by begging alms "to wet their thirstythroats. " Of this version there is a very spirited and characteristictranslation by Mr. Kenyon, under the title of "a Gypsy Carol. "[1]

[Footnote 1: A Day at Tivoli, with other Verses, by John Kenyon, p. 149. ]

THE RETURN FROM EGYPT. 

According to some authorities, the Holy Family sojourned in Egyptduring a period of seven years, but others assert that they returnedto Judea at the end of two years. 

In general the painters have expressed the Return from Egypt byexhibiting Jesus as no longer an infant sustained in his mother'sarms, but as a boy walking at her side. In a picture by FrancescoVanni, he is a boy about two or three years old, and carries a littlebasket full of carpenter's tools. The occasion of the Flight andReturn is indicated by three or four of the martyred Innocents, whoare lying on the ground. In a picture by Domenico Feti two of theInnocents are lying dead on the roadside. In a very graceful, animatedpicture by Rubens, Mary and Joseph lead the young Christ between them, and the Virgin wears a large straw hat. 

HISTORICAL SUBJECTS. 

PART III. 

THE LIFE OF THE VIRGIN MARY FROM THE SOJOURN IN EGYPT TO THECRUCIFIXION OF OUR LORD. 

1. THE HOLY FAMILY. 2. THE VIRGIN SEEKS HER SON. 3. THE DEATH OFJOSEPH. 4. THE MARRIAGE AT CANA. 5. "LO SPASIMO. " 6. THE CRUCIFIXION. 7. THE DESCENT FROM THE CROSS. 8. THE ENTOMBMENT. 

THE HOLY FAMILY. 

When the Holy Family under divine protection, had returned safely fromtheir sojourn in Egypt, they were about to repair to Bethlehem; butJoseph hearing that Archelaus "did reign in Judea in the room of hisfather Herod, he was afraid to go thither; and being warned of Godin a dream, he turned aside into Galilee, " and came to the city ofNazareth, which was the native place and home of the Virgin Mary. Here Joseph dwelt, following in peace his trade of a carpenter, andbringing up his reputed Son to the same craft: and here Mary nurturedher divine Child; "and he grew and waxed strong in spirit, and thegrace of God was upon him. " No other event is recorded until Jesus hadreached his twelfth, year. 

 * * * * *

This, then, is the proper place to introduce some notice of thoserepresentations of the domestic life of the Virgin and the infancyof the Saviour, which, in all their endless variety, pass under thegeneral title of THE HOLY FAMILY--the beautiful title of a beautifulsubject, addressed in the loveliest and most familiar form at once tothe piety and the affections of the beholder. 

These groups, so numerous, and of such perpetual recurrence, that theyalone form a large proportion of the contents of picture galleriesand the ornaments of churches, are, after all, a modern innovation insacred art. What may be called the _domestic_ treatment of the historyof the Virgin cannot be traced farther back than the middle of thefifteenth century. It is, indeed, common to class all those picturesas Holy Families which include any of the relatives of Christ groupedwith the Mother and her Child; but I must here recapitulate andinsist upon the distinction to be drawn between the _domestic_ andthe _devotional_ treatment of the subject; a distinction I have beencareful to keep in view throughout the whole range of sacred art, and which, in this particular subject, depends on a difference insentiment and intention, more easily felt than set down in words. Itis, I must repeat, a _devotional_ group where the sacred personagesare placed in direct relation to the worshippers, and where theirsupernatural character is paramount to every other. It is a _domestic_or an _historical_ group, a Holy Family properly so called, when thepersonages are placed in direct relation to each other by some linkof action or sentiment, which expresses the family connection betweenthem, or by some action which has a dramatic rather than a religioussignificance. The Italians draw this distinction in the title "_SacraConversazione_" given to the first-named subject, and that of "_SacraFamiglia_" given to the last. For instance, if the Virgin, watchingher sleeping Child, puts her finger on her lip to silence the littleSt. John; there is here no relation between the spectator and thepersons represented, except that of unbidden sympathy: it is afamily group; a domestic scene. But if St. John, looking out of thepicture, points to the Infant, "Behold the Lamb of God!" then thewhole representation changes its significance; St. John assumes thecharacter of precursor, and we, the spectators, are directly addressedand called upon to acknowledge the "Son of God, the Saviour ofmankind. "

If St. Joseph, kneeling, presents flowers to the Infant Christ, whileMary looks on tenderly (as in a group by Raphael), it is an act ofhomage which expresses the mutual relation of the three personages; itis a Holy Family: whereas, in the picture by Murillo, in our NationalGallery, where Joseph and Mary present the young Redeemer to thehomage of the spectator, while the form of the PADRE ETERNO, andthe Holy Spirit, with attendant angels, are floating above, we havea devotional group, a "_Sacra Conversazione_:"--it is, in fact amaterial representation of the Trinity; and the introduction of Josephinto such immediate propinquity with the personages acknowledgedas divine is one of the characteristics of the later schools oftheological art. It could not possibly have occurred before the endof the sixteenth or the beginning of the seventeenth century. 

The introduction of persons who could not have been contemporary, asSt. Francis or St. Catherine, renders the group ideal and devotional. On the other hand, as I have already observed, the introduction ofattendant angels does not place the subject out of the domain of theactual; for the painters literally rendered what in the Scripture textis distinctly set down and literally interpreted, "He shall give hisangels charge concerning thee. " Wherever lived and moved the InfantGodhead, angels were always _supposed_ to be present; therefore it laywithin the province of an art addressed especially to our senses, toplace them bodily before us, and to give to these heavenly attendantsa visible shape and bearing worthy of their blessed ministry. 

The devotional groups, of which I have already treated most fully, even while placed by the accessories quite beyond the range of actuallife, have been too often vulgarized and formalized by a trivial ormerely conventional treatment. [1] In these really domestic scenes, where the painter sought unreproved his models in simple nature, andtrusted for his effect to what was holiest and most immutable in ourcommon humanity, he must have been a bungler indeed if he did notsucceed in touching some responsive chord of sympathy in the bosom ofthe observer. This is, perhaps, the secret of the universal, and, ingeneral, deserved popularity of these Holy Families. 

[Footnote 1: See the "Mater Amabilis" and the "Pastoral Madonnas, " p. 229, 239. ]

TWO FIGURES. 

The simplest form of the family group is confined to two figures, and expresses merely the relation between the Mother and the Child. The _motif_ is precisely the same as in the formal, goddess-like, enthroned Madonnas of the antique time; but here quite otherwiseworked out, and appealing to other sympathies. In the first instance, the intention was to assert the contested pretensions of the humanmother to divine honours; here it was rather to assert the humanity ofher divine Son; and we have before us, in the simplest form, the firstand holiest of all the social relations. 

The primal instinct, as the first duty, of the mother, is thenourishment of the life she has given. A very common subject, therefore, is Mary in the act of feeding her Child from her bosom. Ihave already observed that, when first adopted, this was a theologicaltheme; an answer, _in form_, to the challenge of the Nestorians, "Shall we call him _God_, who hath sucked his mother's breast?" Then, and for at least 500 years afterwards, the simple maternal actioninvolved a religious dogma, and was the visible exponent of acontroverted article of faith. All such controversy had long ceased, and certainly there was no thought of insisting on a point oftheology in the minds of those secular painters of the sixteenth andseventeenth centuries, who have set forth the representation with suchan affectionate and delicate grace; nor yet in the minds of those whoconverted the lovely group into a moral lesson. For example, we findin the works of Jeremy Taylor (one of the lights of our ProtestantChurch) a long homily "Of nursing children, in imitation of theblessed Virgin Mother;" and prints and pictures of the Virgin thusoccupied often bear significant titles and inscriptions of the sameimport; such as "Le prémier devoir d'une mère, " &c. 

I do not find this _motif_ in any known picture by Raphael: but inone of his designs, engraved by Marc Antonio, it is represented withcharacteristic grace and delicacy. 

Goethe describes with delight a picture by Correggio, in which theattention of the Child seems divided between the bosom of his mother, and some fruit offered by an angel. He calls this subject "The Weaningof the Infant Christ. " Correggio, if not the very first, is certainlyamong the first of the Italians who treated this _motif_ in the simpledomestic style. Others of the Lombard school followed him; and I knownot a more exquisite example than the maternal group by Solario, nowin the Louvre, styled _La Vierge à l'Oreiller verd_, from the colourof the pillow on which the Child is lying. The subject is frequent inthe contemporary German and Flemish schools of the sixteenth century. In the next century, there are charming examples by the Bolognapainters and the _Naturalisti_, Spanish, Italian, and Flemish. I wouldparticularly point to one by Agostino Caracci (Parma), and to anotherby Vandyck (that engraved by Bartolozzi), as examples of elegance;while in the numerous specimens by Rubens we have merely his ownwife and son, painted with all that coarse vigorous life, and homelyaffectionate expression, which his own strong domestic feelings couldlend them. 

We have in other pictures the relation between the Mother and Childexpressed and varied in a thousand ways; as where she contemplates himfondly--kisses him, pressing his cheeks to hers; or they sport with arose, or an apple, or a bird; or he presents it to his mother; theseoriginally mystical emblems being converted into playthings. Inanother sketch she is amusing him by tinkling a bell:--the bell, which has a religious significance, is here a plaything. One or moreattendant angels may vary the group, without taking it out of thesphere of reality. In a quaint but charming picture in the WallersteinCollection, an angel is sporting with the Child at his mother'sfeet--is literally his playfellow; and in a picture by Cambiaso, Mary, assisted by an angel, is teaching her Child to walk. 

 * * * * *

To represent in the great enthroned Madonnas, the Infant Saviour ofthe world asleep, has always appeared to me a solecism: whereas inthe domestic subject the Infant slumbering on his mother's knee, orcradled in her arms, or on her bosom, or rocked by angels, is a mostcharming subject. Sometimes angels are seen preparing his bed, orlooking on while he sleeps, with folded hands and overshadowing wings. Sometimes Marry hangs over his pillow; "pondering in her heart"the wondrous destinies of her Child. A poetess of our own time hasgiven us an interpretation worthy of the most beautiful of theserepresentations, in the address of the Virgin Mary to the ChildJesus, --"Sleep, sleep, mine Holy One!"

 "And are thou come for saving, baby-browed And speechless Being? art thou come for saving? The palm that grows beside our door is bowed By treadings of the low wind from the south, A restless shadow through the chamber waving, Upon its bough a bird sings in the sun. But thou, with that close slumber on thy mouth, Dost seem of wind and sun already weary, Art come for saving, O my weary One?

 "Perchance this sleep that shutteth out the dreary Earth-sounds and motions, opens on thy soul High dreams on fire with God; High songs that make the pathways where they roll More bright than stars do theirs; and visions new Of thine eternal nature's old abode. Suffer this mother's kiss, Best thing that earthly is, To glide the music and the glory through, Nor narrow in thy dream the broad upliftings Of any seraph wing. Thus, noiseless, thus!--Sleep, sleep, my dreaming One. "[1]

[Footnote 1: Poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, vol. Ii. P. 174. ]

Such high imaginings might be suggested by the group of MichaelAngelo, --his famous "Silenzio:" but very different certainly are thethoughts and associations conveyed by some of the very lovely, but atthe same time familiar and commonplace, groups of peasant-mothers andsleeping babies--the countless productions of the later schools--evenwhile the simplicity and truth of the natural sentiment go straight tothe heart. 

I remember reading a little Italian hymn composed for a choir of nuns, and addressed to the sleeping Christ, in which he is prayed to awakeor if he will not, they threaten to pull him by his golden curls untilthey rouse him to listen!

 * * * * *

I have seen a graceful print which represents Jesus as a childstanding at his mother's knee, while she feeds him from a plate or capheld by an angel; underneath is the text, "_Butter and honey shall heeat, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good_" Andin a print of the same period, the mother suspends her needleworkto contemplate the Child, who, standing at her side, looks downcompassionately on two little birds, which flutter their wings andopen their beaks expectingly; underneath is the test, "Are not twosparrows sold for a farthing?"

Mary employed in needlework, while her cradled Infant slumbers at herside, is a beautiful subject. Rossini, in his _Storia della Pittura_, publishes a group, representing the Virgin mending or making a littlecoat, while Jesus, seated at her feet, without his coat, is playingwith a bird; two angels are hovering above. It appears to me thatthere is here some uncertainty as regards both the subject and themaster. In the time of Giottino, to whom Rossini attributes thepicture, the domestic treatment of the Madonna and Child was unknown. If it be really by him, I should suppose it to represent Hannah andher son Samuel. 

 * * * * *

All these, and other varieties of action and sentiment connecting theMother and her Child, are frequently accompanied by accessory figures, forming, in their combination, what is properly a Holy Family. Thepersonages introduced, singly or together, are the young St. John, Joseph, Anna, Joachim, Elizabeth, and Zacharias. 

THREE FIGURES. 

The group of three figures most commonly met with, is that of theMother and Child, with St. John. One of the earliest examples of thedomestic treatment of this group is a quaint picture by Botticelli, in which Mary, bending down, holds forth the Child to be caressed bySt. John, --very dry in colour and faulty in drawing, but beautifulfor the sentiment. (Florence, Pitti Pal. ) Perhaps the most perfectexample which could be cited from the whole range of art, isRaphael's "Madonna del Cardellino" (Florence Gal. ); another is his"Belle Jardinière" (Louvre, 375); another, in which the figures arehalf-length, is his "Madonna del Giglio" (Lord Garvagh's Coll. ). AsI have already observed, where the Infant Christ takes the cross fromSt. John, or presents it to him, or where St. John points to him asthe Redeemer, or is represented, not as a child, but as a youth or aman, the composition assumes a devotional significance. 

The subject of the Sleeping Christ is beautifully varied by theintroduction of St. John; as where Mary lifts the veil and shows herChild to the little St. John, kneeling with folded hands: Raphael'swell-known "Vierge à la Diademe" is an instance replete with grace andexpression. [1] Sometimes Mary, putting her finger to her lip, exhortsSt. John to silence, as in a famous and oft-repeated subject byAnnibale Caracci, of which there is a lovely example at Windsor. Sucha group is called in Italian, _Il Silenzio_, and in French _le Sommeilde Jésus_. 

[Footnote 1: Louvre, 376. It is also styled _la Vierge au Linge_]

 * * * * *

Another group of three figures consists of the Mother, the Child, andSt. Joseph as foster-father. This group, so commonly met with in thelater schools of art, dates from the end of the fifteenth century. Gerson, an ecclesiastic distinguished at the Council of Constance forhis learning and eloquence, had written a poem of three thousand linesin praise of St. Joseph, setting him up as the Christian, exampleof every virtue; and this poem, after the invention of printing, waspublished and widely disseminated. Sixtus IV. Instituted a festivalin honour of the "Husband of the Virgin, " which, as a noveltyand harmonizing with the tone of popular feeling, was everywhereacceptable. As a natural consequence, the churches and chapels werefilled with pictures, which represented the Mother and her Child, with Joseph standing or seated by, in an attitude of religiouscontemplation or affectionate sympathy; sometimes leaning on hisstick, or with his tools lying beside him; and always in the oldpictures habited in his appropriate colours, the saffron-coloured robeover the gray or green tunic. 

In the Madonna and Child, as a strictly devotional subject, theintroduction of Joseph rather complicates the idea; but in thedomestic Holy Family his presence is natural and necessary. It isseldom that he is associated with the action, where there is one;but of this also there are some beautiful examples. 

 * * * * *

1. In a well-known composition by Raphael (Grosvenor Gal. ), the motherwithdraws the covering from the Child, who seems to have that momentawaked, and, stretching out his little arms, smiles in her face:Joseph looks on tenderly and thoughtfully. 

2. In another group by Raphael (Bridgewater Gal. ), the Infant isseated on the mother's knee, and sustained by part of her veil;Joseph, kneeling, offers flowers to his divine foster-Son, who eagerlystretches out his little hand to take them. 

In many pictures, Joseph is seen presenting cherries; as in thecelebrated _Vierge aux Cerises_ of Annibale Caracci. (Louvre. ) Theallusion is to a quaint old legend, often introduced in the religiousballads and dramatic mysteries of the time. It is related, that beforethe birth of our Saviour, the Virgin Mary wished to taste of certaincherries which hung upon a tree high above her head; she requestedJoseph to procure them for her, and he reaching to pluck them, thebranch bowed down to his hand. 

3. There is a lovely pastoral composition by Titian, in which Maryis seated under some trees, with Joseph leaning on his staff, and theInfant Christ standing between them: the little St. John approacheswith his lap full of cherries; and in the background a woman is seengathering cherries. This picture is called a Ripose; but the presenceof St. John, and the cherry tree instead of the date tree, point out adifferent signification. Angels presenting cherries on a plate is alsoa frequent circumstance, derived from the same legend. 

4. In a charming picture by Garofalo, Joseph is caressing the Child, while Mary--a rather full figure, calm, matronly, and dignified, as isusual with Garofalo--sits by, holding a book in her hand, from whichshe has just raised her eyes. (Windsor Gal. )

5. In a family group by Murillo, Joseph, standing, holds the Infantpressed to his bosom; while Mary, seated near a cradle, holds out herarms to take it from him: a carpenter's bench is seen behind. 

6. A celebrated picture by Rembrandt, known as _le Ménage duMenuisier_, exhibits a rustic interior; the Virgin is seated with thevolume of the Scriptures open on her knees--she turns, and liftingthe coverlid of the cradle, contemplates the Infant asleep: in thebackground Joseph is seen at his work; while angels hover above, keeping watch over the Holy Family. Exquisite for the homelynatural sentiment, and the depth of the colour and chiaro-oscuro. (Petersburg. )

7. Many who read these pages will remember the pretty little pictureby Annibale Caracci, known as "le Raboteur. "[1] It represents Josephplaning a board, while Jesus, a lovely boy about six or seven yearsold, stands by, watching the progress of his work. Mary is seated onone side plying her needle. The great fault of this picture is thesubordinate and utterly commonplace character given to the VirginMother: otherwise it is a very suggestive and dramatic subject, andone which might be usefully engraved in a cheap form for distribution. 

[Footnote 1: In the Coll. Of the Earl of Suffolk, at Charlton. ]

 * * * * *

Sometimes, in a Holy Family of three figures, the third figure isneither St. John nor St. Joseph, but St. Anna. Now, according tosome early authorities, both Joachim and Anna died either before themarriage of Mary and Joseph, or at least before the return from Egypt. Such, however, was the popularity of these family groups, and thedesire to give them all possible variety, that the ancient version ofthe story was overruled by the prevailing taste, and St. Anna becamean important personage. One of the earliest groups in which the motherof the Virgin is introduced as a third personage, is a celebrated, but to my taste not a pleasing, composition, by Lionardo da Vinci, in which St. Anna is seated on a sort of chair, and the Virgin on herknees bends down towards the Infant Christ, who is sporting with alamb. (Louvre, 481. )

FOUR FIGURES. 

In a Holy Family of four figures, we have frequently the Virgin, theChild, and the infant St. John, with St. Joseph standing by. Raphael'sMadonna del Passeggio is an example. In a picture by Palma Vecchio, St. John presents a lamb, while St. Joseph kneels before the InfantChrist, who, seated on his mother's knee, extends his arms to hisfoster-father. Nicole Poussin was fond of this group, and has repeatedit at least ten times with variations. 

But the most frequent group of four figures consists of the Virgin andChild, with St. John and his mother, St. Elizabeth--the two mothersand the two sons. Sometimes the children are sporting together, or embracing each other, while Mary and Elizabeth look on with acontemplative tenderness, or seem to converse on the future destiniesof their sons. A very favourite and appropriate action is that of St. Elizabeth presenting St. John, and teaching him to kneel and fold hishands, as acknowledging in his little cousin the Infant Saviour. Wehave then, in beautiful contrast, the aged coifed head of Elizabeth, with its matronly and earnest expression; the youthful bloom and softvirginal dignity of Mary; and the different character of the boys, thefair complexion and delicate proportions of the Infant Christ, andthe more robust and brown-complexioned John. A great painter will becareful to express these distinctions, not by the exterior characteronly, but will so combine the personages, that the action representedshall display the superior dignity of Christ and his mother. 

FIVE OR SIX FIGURES. 

The addition of Joseph as a fifth figure, completes the domesticgroup. The introduction of the aged Zacharias renders, however, yetmore full and complete, the circle of human life and human affection. We have then, infancy, youth, maturity, and age, --difference of sexand various degrees of relationship, combined into one harmoniouswhole; and in the midst, the divinity of innocence, the Child-God, the brightness of a spiritual power, connecting our softest earthlyaffections with our highest heavenward aspirations. [1]

[Footnote 1: The inscription under a Holy Family in which the childrenare caressing each other is sometimes _Delicæ meæ esse cum filiishominum_ (Prov. Viii. 31, "My delights were with the sons of men"). ]

 * * * * *

A Holy Family of more than six figures (the angels not included) isvery unusual. But there are examples of groups combining all thosepersonages mentioned in the Gospels as being related to Christ, though the nature and the degree of this supposed relationship hasembarrassed critics and commentators, and is not yet settled. 

According to an ancient tradition, Anna, the mother of the VirginMary, was three times married, Joachim being her third husband: thetwo others were Cleophas and Salomé. By Cleophas she had a daughter, also called Mary, who was the wife of Alpheus, and the motherof Thaddeus, James Minor, and Joseph Justus. By Salomé she had adaughter, also Mary, married to Zebedee, and the mother of James Majorand John the Evangelist. This idea that St. Anna was successively thewife of three husbands, and the mother of three daughters, all ofthe name of Mary, has been rejected by later authorities; but in thebeginning of the sixteenth century it was accepted, and to that periodmay be referred the pictures, Italian and German, representing apeculiar version of the Holy Family more properly styled "the Familyof the Virgin Mary. "

A picture by Lorenzo di Pavia, painted about 1513, exhibits a verycomplete example of this family group. Mary is seated in the centre, holding in her lap the Infant Christ; near her is St. Joseph. Behindthe Virgin stand St. Anna, and three men, with their names inscribed, Joachim, Cleophas, and Salomé. On the right of the Virgin is Mary thedaughter of Cleophas, Alpheus her husband, and her children Thaddeus, James Minor, and Joseph Justus. On the left of the Virgin is Mary thedaughter of Salome, her husband Zebedee, and her children James Majorand John the Evangelist. [1]

[Footnote 1: This picture I saw in the Louvre some years ago, but itis not in the New Catalogue by M. Villot. ]

A yet more beautiful example is a picture by Perugino in the Muséeat Marseilles, which I have already cited and described (Sacred andLegendary Art): here also the relatives of Christ, destined to beafterwards his apostles and the ministers of his word, are groupedaround him in his infancy. In the centre Mary is seated and holdingthe child; St. Anna stands behind, resting her hands affectionately onthe shoulders of the Virgin. In front, at the feet of the Virgin, aretwo boys, Joseph and Thaddeus; and near them Mary, the daughter ofCleophas, holds the hand of her third son James Minor. To the right isMary Salomé, holding in her arms her son John the Evangelist, and ather feet is her other son, James Major. Joseph, Zebedee, and othermembers of the family, stand around. The same subject I have seen inilluminated MSS. , and in German prints. It is worth remarking that allthese appeared about the same time, between 1505 and 1520, and thatthe subject afterwards disappeared; from which I infer that it wasnot authorized by the Church; perhaps because the exact degree ofrelationship between these young apostles and the Holy Family wasnot clearly made out, either by Scripture or tradition. 

In a composition by Parmigiano, Christ is standing at his mother'sknee; Elizabeth presents St. John the Baptist; the other little St. John kneels on a cushion. Behind the Virgin are St. Joachim and St. Anna; and behind Elizabeth, Zebedee and Mary Salomé, the parents ofSt. John the Evangelist. In the centre, Joseph looks on with foldedhands. 

 * * * * *

A catalogue _raisonnée_ of the Holy Families painted by distinguishedartists including from two to six figures would fill volumes: Ishall content myself with directing attention to some few examplesremarkable either for their celebrity, their especial beauty, or forsome peculiarity, whether commendable or not, in the significance orthe treatment. 

The strictly domestic conception may be said to have begun withRaphael and Correggio; and they afford the most perfect examplesof the tender and the graceful in sentiment and action, the softestparental feeling, the loveliest forms of childhood. Of the purelynatural and familiar treatment, which came into fashion in theseventeenth century, the pictures of Guido, Rubens, and Murilloafford the most perfect specimens. 

1. Raphael. (Louvre, 377. ) Mary, a noble queenly creature, is seated, and bends towards her Child, who is springing from his cradle to meether embrace; Elizabeth presents St. John; and Joseph, leaning on hishand, contemplates the group: two beautiful angels scatter flowersfrom above. This is the celebrated picture once supposed to have beenexecuted expressly for Francis I. ; but later researches prove it tohave been painted for Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino. [1]

[Footnote 1: It appears from the correspondence relative to thispicture and the "St. Michael, " that both pictures were painted byorder of this Lorenzo de' Medici, the same who is figured in MichaelAngelo's _Pensiero_, and that they were intended as presents toFrancis I. (See Dr. Gaye's _Carteggio_, ii. 146, and also the newCatalogue of the Louvre by F. Villot. ) I have mentioned this HolyFamily not as the finest of Raphael's Madonnas, but because there issomething peculiarly animated and dramatic in the _motif_, consideringthe time at which it was painted. It was my intention to have givenhere a complete list of Raphael's Holy Families; but this has beenso well done in the last English edition of Kugler's Handbook, thatit has become superfluous as a repetition. The series of minuteand exquisite drawings by Mr. George Scharf, appended to Kugler'sCatalogue, renders it easy to recognize all the groups described inthis and the preceding pages. ]

2. Correggio. Mary holds the Child upon her knee, looking down uponhim fondly. Styled, from the introduction of the work-basket, _LaVierge au Panier_. A finished example of that soft, yet joyful, maternal feeling for which Correggio was remarkable. (National Gal. 23. )

3. Pinturicchio. In a landscape, Mary and Joseph are seated together;near them are some loaves and a small cask of wine. More in front thetwo children, Jesus and St. John, are walking arm in arm; Jesus holdsa book and John a pitcher, as if they were going to a well. (SienaAcad. )

4. Andrea del Sarto. The Virgin is seated on the ground, and holds theChild; the young St. John is in the arms of St. Elizabeth, and Josephis seen behind. (Louvre, 439. ) This picture, another by the samepainter in the National Gallery, a third in the collection of LordLansdowne, and in general all the Holy Families of Andrea, maybe cited as examples of fine execution and mistaken or defectivecharacter. No sentiment, no action, connects the personages eitherwith each other, or with the spectator. 

5. Michael Angelo. The composition, in the Florence Gallery, styleda Holy Family, appears to me a signal example of all that should beavoided. It is, as a conception, neither religious nor domestic; inexecution and character exaggerated and offensive, and in colour hardand dry. 

Another, a bas-relief, in which the Child is shrinking from abird held up by St. John, is very grand in the forms: the mistakein sentiment, as regards the bird, I have pointed out in theIntroduction. (Royal Academy. ) A third, in which the Child leanspensively on a book lying open on his mother's knee, while she looksout on the spectator, is more properly a _Mater Amabilis_. 

There is an extraordinary fresco still preserved in the CasaBuonarotti at Florence, where it was painted on the wall by MichaelAngelo, and styled a Holy Family, though the exact meaning of thesubject has been often disputed. It appears to me, however, veryclear, and one never before or since attempted by any other artist. (This fresco is engraved in the _Etruria Pittrice_. ) Mary is seatedin the centre; her Child is reclining on the ground between her knees;and the little St. John holding his cross looks on him steadfastly. A man coming forward seems to ask of Mary, "Whose son is this?" Shemost expressively puts aside Joseph with her hand, and looks up, asif answering, "Not the son of an earthly, but of a heavenly Father!"There are five other figures standing behind, and the whole group ismost significant. 

6. Albert Durer. The Holy Family seated under a tree; the Infant isabout to spring from the knee of his mother into the outstretched armsof St. Anna; Joseph is seen behind with his hat in his hand; and tothe left sits the aged Joachim contemplating the group. 

7. Mary appears to have just risen from her chair, the Child bendsfrom her arms, and a young and very little angel, standing on tiptoe, holds up to him a flower--other flowers in his lap:--a beautiful oldGerman print. 

8. Giulio Romano. (_La Madonna del Bacino_. ) (Dresden Gal. ) The Childstands in a basin, and the young St. John pours water upon him froma vase, while Mary washes him. St. Elizabeth stands by, holdinga napkin; St. Joseph, behind, is looking on. Notwithstanding thehomeliness of the action, there is here a religious and mysterioussignificance, prefiguring the Baptism. 

9. N. Poussin. Mary, assisted by angels, washes and dresses her Child. (Gal. Of Mr. Hope. )

10. V. Salimbeni. --An Interior. Mary and Joseph are occupied by theChild. Elizabeth is spinning. More in front St. John is carrying twopuppies in the lappet of his coat, and the dog is leaping up to him. (Florence, Pitti Pal. ) This is one out of many instances in whichthe painter, anxious to vary the oft-repeated subject, and no longerrestrained by refined taste or religious veneration, has fallen intoa most offensive impropriety. 

11. Ippolito Andreasi. Mary, seated, holds the Infant Christ betweenher knees; Elizabeth leans over the back of her chair; Joseph leans onhis staff behind the Virgin; the little St. John and an angel presentgrapes, while four other angels are gathering and bringing them. A branch of vine, loaded with grapes, is lying in the foreground. Christ looks like a young Bacchus; and there is something mannered andfantastic in the execution. (Louvre, 38. ) With this domestic scene isblended a strictly religious symbol, "_I am the vine_. "

12. Murilio. Mary is in the act of swaddling her Child (Luke ii, 7), while two angels, standing near him, solace the divine Infant withheavenly music. (Madrid Gal. )

13. Rubens. Mary, seated on the ground, holds the Child with acharming maternal expression, a little from her, gazing on him withrapturous earnestness, while he looks up with responsive tenderness inher face. His right hand rests on a cross presented by St. John, whois presented by St. Elizabeth. Wonderful for the intensely natural anddomestic expression, and the beauty of the execution. (Florence, PittiPal. )

14. D. Hopfer. Within the porch of a building, Mary is seated on oneside, reading intently. St. Anna, on the other side, holds out herarms to the Child, who is sitting on the ground between them; an angellooks in at the open door behind. (Bartsch. , viii. 483. )

15. Rembrandt. (_Le Ménage du Menuisier_. ) A rustic interior. Mary, seated in the centre, is suckling her Child. St. Anna, a fat Flemishgrandame, has been reading the volume of the Scriptures, and bendsforward in order to remove the covering and look in the Infant's face. A cradle is near. Joseph is seen at work in the background. (Louvre. )

16. Le Brun. (_The Benedicite_. ) Mary, the Child, and Joseph, areseated at a frugal repast. Joseph is in the act of reverently sayinggrace, which gives to the picture the title by which it is known. [1]

[Footnote 1: Louvre, Ecole Française 57. There is a celebratedengraving by Edelinck. ]

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It is distinctly related that Joseph brought up his foster-Son as acarpenter, and that Jesus exercised the craft of his reputed father. In the Church pictures, we do not often meet with this touchingand familiar aspect of the life of our Saviour. But in the smalldecorative pictures painted for the rich ecclesiastics, and forprivate oratories, and in the cheap prints which were prepared fordistribution among the people, and became especially popular duringthe religious reaction of the seventeenth century, we find thishomely version of the subject perpetually, and often most pleasingly, exhibited. The greatest and wisest Being who ever trod the earth wasthus represented, in the eyes of the poor artificer, as ennoblingand sanctifying labour and toil; and the quiet domestic dutiesand affections were here elevated, and hallowed, by religiousassociations, and adorned by all the graces of Art. Even wherethe artistic treatment was not first-rate, was not such as thepainters--priests and poets as well as painters--of the fourteenthand fifteenth centuries would have lent to such themes, --still if thesentiment and significance were but intelligible to those especiallyaddressed, the purpose was accomplished, and the effect must have beengood. 

I have before me an example in a set of twelve prints, executed in theNetherlands, exhibiting a sort of history of the childhood of Christ, and his training under the eye of his mother. It is entitled _JesuChristi Del Domini Salvatoris nostri Infantia_, "The Infancy of ourLord God and Saviour Jesus Christ;" and the title-page is surroundedby a border composed of musical instruments, spinning-wheels, distaffs, and other implements, of female industry, intermixed withall kinds of mason's and carpenter's tools. To each print is appendeda descriptive Latin verse; Latin being chosen, I suppose, because thepublication was intended for distribution in different countries, andespecially foreign missions, and to be explained by the priests to thepeople. 

1. The figure of Christ is seen in a glory surrounded by cherubim, &c. 

2. The Virgin is seated on the hill of Sion. The Infant in her lap, with outspread arms, looks up to a choir of angels, and is singingwith them. 

3. Jesus, slumbering in his cradle, is rocked by two angels, whileMary sits by, engaged in needlework. [1]

[Footnote 1: The Latin stanza beneath, is remarkable for its elegance, and because it has been translated by Coleridge, who mentions that hefound the print and the verse under it in a little inn in Germany. 

 Dormi, Jesu, mater ridet, Quæ tam dulcem somnum videt, Dormi, Jesu, blandule! Si non dormis mater plorat, Inter fila cantans orat, Blande, veni, somnule!

 Sleep, sweet babe! my cares beguiling, Mother sits beside thee smiling, Sleep, my darling, tenderly! If thou sleep not, mother mourneth, Singing as her wheel she turneth" Come, soft slumber, balmily!"]

4. The interior of a carpenter's shop. Joseph is plying his work, while Joachim stands near him. The Virgin is measuring linen, and St. Anna looks on. Two angels are at play with the Infant Christ, who isblowing soap-bubbles. 

5. While Mary is preparing the family meal, and watching a pot whichis boiling on the fire, Joseph is seen behind chopping wood: morein front, Jesus is sweeping together the chips, and two angels aregathering them up. 

6. Mary is reeling off a skein of thread; Joseph is squaring a plank;Jesus is picking up the chips, assisted by two angels. 

7. Mary is seated at her spinning-wheel; Joseph, assisted by Jesus, issawing through a large beam; two angels looking on. 

8. Mary is spinning with a distaff; behind, Joseph is sawing a beam, on which Jesus is standing above; and two angels are lifting a plank. 

9. Joseph is seen building up the framework of a house, assisted by anangel; Jesus is boring a hole with a large gimlet: an angel helps him;Mary is winding thread. 

10. Joseph is busy roofing in the house; Jesus, assisted by theangels, is carrying a beam of wood up a ladder; below, in front, Maryis carding wool or flax. 

11. Joseph is building a boat, assisted by Jesus, who has a hammerand chisel in his hand: two angels help him. The Virgin is knittinga stocking; and the new-built house is seen in the background. 

12. Joseph is erecting a fence round a garden; Jesus, assisted bythe angels, is fastening the palings together; while Mary is weavinggarlands of roses. 

Justin Martyr mentions, as a tradition of his time, that Jesusassisted his foster-father in making yokes and ploughs. InHolland, where these prints were published, the substitution ofthe boat-building seems very natural. St. Bonaventura, the greatFranciscan theologian, and a high authority in all that relates tothe life and character of Mary, not only described her as a patternof female industry, but alludes particularly to the legend of thedistaff, and mentions a tradition, that, when in Egypt, the HolyFamily was so reduced by poverty, that Mary begged from door to doorthe fine flax which she afterwards spun into a garment for her Child. 

 * * * * *

As if to render the circle of maternal duties, and thereby thematernal example, more complete, there are prints of Mary leading herSon to school. I have seen one in which he carries his hornbook inhis hand. Such representations, though popular, were condemned by thehighest church authorities as nothing less than heretical. The AbbéMéry counts among the artistic errors "which endanger the faithof good Christians, " those pictures which represent Mary or Josephinstructing the Infant Christ; as if all learning, all science, divine and human, were not his by intuition, and without any earthlyteaching, (v. Théologie des Peintres. ) A beautiful Holy Family, by Schidone, is entitled, "The Infant Christ learning to read"(Bridgewater Gal. ); and we frequently meet with pictures in which themother holds a book, while the divine Child, with a serious intentexpression, turns over the leaves, or points to the letters: but Iimagine that these, and similar groups, represent Jesus instructingMary and Joseph, as he is recorded to have done. There is also avery pretty legend, in which he is represented as exciting theastonishment, of the schoolmaster Zaccheus by his premature wisdom. On these, and other details respecting the infancy of our Saviour, Ishall have to say much more when treating of the History of Christ. 

THE DISPUTE IN THE TEMPLE. 

_Ital. _ La Disputa nel Tempio. _Fr. _ Jésus au milieu des Docteurs. 

The subject which we call the Dispute in the Temple, or "Christamong the Doctors, " is a scene of great importance in the life ofthe Redeemer (Luke ii. 41, 52). His appearance in the midst of thedoctors, at twelve years old, when he sat "hearing them and askingthem questions, and all who heard him were astonished at hisunderstanding and his answers, " has been interpreted as the firstmanifestation of his high character as teacher of men, as one cometo throw a new light on the prophecies, --

 "For trailing clouds of glory had he come From heaven, which was his home;"

and also as instructing as that those who are to become teachers ofmen ought, when young, to listen to the voice of age and experience;and that those who have grown old may learn lessons of wisdomfrom childish innocence. Such is the historical and scripturalrepresentation. But in the life of the Virgin, the whole scene changesits signification. It is no longer the wisdom of the Son, it is thesorrow of the Mother which is the principal theme. In their journeyhome from Jerusalem, Jesus has disappeared; he who was the light ofher eyes, whose precious existence had been so often threatened, hasleft her care, and gone, she knows not whither. "No fancy can imaginethe doubts, the apprehensions, the possibilities of mischief, thetremblings of heart, which the holy Virgin-mother feels thronging inher bosom. For three days she seeks him in doubt and anguish. " (JeremyTaylor's "Life of Christ. ") At length he is found seated in the templein the midst of the learned doctors, "hearing them, and asking themquestions. " And she said unto him, "Son, why hast thou thus dealt withus? behold, I and thy father have sought thee sorrowing. " And he saidunto them, "How is it that ye sought me? Wise ye not that I must beabout my Father's business?"

Now there are two ways of representing this scene. In all the earlierpictures it is chiefly with reference to the Virgin Mother: it is oneof the sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary. The Child Jesus sits in thetemple, teaching with hand uplifted; the doctors round him turn overthe leaves of their great books, searching the law and the prophets. Some look up at the young inspired Teacher--he who was above the law, yet came to obey the law and fulfil the prophecies--with amazement. Conspicuous in front, stand Mary and Joseph, and she is in act toaddress to him the tender reproach, "I and thy father have soughtthee sorrowing. " In the early examples she is a principal figure, butin later pictures she is seen entering in the background; and wherethe scene relates only to the life of Christ, the figures of Josephand Mary are omitted altogether, and the Child teacher becomes thecentral, or at least the chief, personage in the group. 

In a picture by Giovanni da Udine, the subject is taken out of theregion of the actual, and treated altogether as a mystery. In thecentre sits the young Redeemer, his hand raised, and surrounded byseveral of the Jewish doctors; while in front stand the four fathersof the Church, who flourished in the interval between the fourth andsixth centuries after Christ; and these, holding their books, point toJesus, or look to him, as to the source of their wisdom;--a beautifuland poetical version of the true significance of the story, whichthe critics of the last century would call a chronological mistake. (Venice, Academy. )

But those representations which come under our especial considerationat present, are such as represent the moment in which Mary appearsbefore her Son. The earliest instance of this treatment is a group byGiotto. Dante cites the deportment of the Virgin on this occasion, andher mild reproach, "_con atto dolce di madre_, " as a signal lesson ofgentleness and forbearance. (Purgatorio, c. Xv. ) It is as if he hadtransferred the picture of Giotto into his Vision; for it is as apicture, not an action, that it is introduced. Another, by SimonMemmi, in the Roscoe Collection at Liverpool, is conceived in asimilar spirit. In a picture by Garofalo, Mary does not reproach herSon, but stands listening to him with her hands folded on her bosom. In a large and fine composition by Pinturicchio, the doctors throwdown their books before him, while the Virgin and Joseph are enteringon one side. The subject is conspicuous in Albert Durer's Life ofthe Virgin, where Jesus is seated on high, as one having authority, teaching from a chair like that of a professor in a university, andsurrounded by the old bearded doctors; and Mary stands before her Sonin an attitude of expostulation. 

After the restoration of Jesus to his parents, they conducted himhome; "but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. " The returnto Nazareth, Jesus walking humbly between Joseph and Mary, was paintedby Rubens for the Jesuit College at Antwerp, as a lesson to youth. Underneath is the text, "And he was subject unto them. "[1]

[Footnote 1: It has been called by mistake "The Return from Egypt"]

THE DEATH OF JOSEPH. 

_Ital. _ La Morte di San Giuseppe. _Fr. _ La Mort de St. Joseph _Ger. _Josef's Tod. 

Between the journey to Jerusalem and the public appearance of Jesus, chronologers place the death of Joseph, but the exact date is notascertained: some place it in the eighteenth year of the life of ourSaviour, and others in his twenty-seventh year, when, as they assert, Joseph was one hundred and eleven years old. 

I have already observed, that the enthusiasm for the character ofJoseph, and his popularity as a saint and patron of power, date fromthe fifteenth century; and late in the sixteenth century I find, forthe first time, the death of Joseph treated as a separate subject. Itappears that the supposed anniversary of his death (July 20) had longbeen regarded in the East as a solemn festival, and that it was thecustom to read publicly, on this occasion, some homily relating to hislife and death. The very curious Arabian work, entitled "The Historyof Joseph the Carpenter, " is supposed to be one of these ancienthomilies, and, in its original form, as old as the fourth century. [1]Here the death of Joseph is described with great detail, and with manysolemn and pathetic circumstances; and the whole history is put intothe mouth of Jesus, who is supposed to recite it to his disciples:he describes the pious end of Joseph; he speaks of himself as beingpresent, and acknowledged by the dying man as "Redeemer and Messiah, "and he proceeds to record the grief of Mary:--

"And my mother, the Virgin, arose, and she came nigh to me and said, 'O my beloved Son now must the good old man die!' and I answered andsaid unto her, 'O my most dear mother, needs must all created beingsdie; and death will have his rights, even over thee, beloved mother;but death to him and to thee is no death, only the passage to eternallife; and this body I have derived from thee shall also undergodeath. '"

[Footnote 1: The Arabic MS. In the library at Paris is of the year1299, and the Coptic version as old as 1367. Extracts from thesewere become current in the legends of the West, about the fifteenthcentury. --See the "Neu Testamentlichen Apokryphen, " edited in Germanby Dr. K. F. Borberg. ]

And they sat, the Son and the mother, beside Joseph; and Jesus heldhis hand, and watched the last breath of life trembling on his lips;and Mary touched his feet, and they were cold; and the daughters andthe sons of Joseph wept and sobbed around in their grief; and thenJesus adds tenderly, "I, and my mother Mary, we wept with them. "

Then follows a truly Oriental scene, of the evil angels rising up withDeath, and rejoicing in his power over the saint, while Jesus rebukesthem; and at his prayer God sends down Michael, prince of the angelichost, and Gabriel, the herald of light, to take possession of thedeparting spirit, enfold it in a robe of brightness thereby topreserve it from the "dark angels, " and carry it up into heaven. 

This legend of the death of Joseph was, in many forms, popular inthe sixteenth century; hence arose the custom of invoking him asIntercessor to obtain a blessed and peaceful end, so that he became, in some sort, the patron saint of death-beds; and it is at this timewe find the first representations of the death of Joseph, afterwardsa popular subject in the churches and convents of the Augustine canonsand Carmelite friars, who had chosen him for their patron saint; andalso in family chapels consecrated to the memory or the repose of thedead. 

The finest example I have seen, is by Carlo Maratti, in the ViennaGallery. St. Joseph is on a couch; Christ is seated near him; and theVirgin stands by with folded hands, in a sad, contemplative attitude. 

 * * * * *

I am not aware that the Virgin has ever been introduced into anyrepresentation of the temptation or the baptism of our Saviour. Thesesubjects, so important and so picturesque, are reserved till we enterupon the History of Christ. 

THE MARRIAGE AT CANA IN GALILEE. 

_Ital. _ Le Nozze di Cana. _Fr. _ Les Noces de Cana. _Ger. _ Die Hochzeitzu Cana. 

After his temptation and baptism, the first manifestation of thedivine mission and miraculous power of Jesus was at the weddingfeast at Cana in Galilee; and those who had devoted themselves to theespecial glorification of the Virgin Mother did not forget that it wasat her request this first miracle was accomplished:--that out of hertender and sympathetic commiseration for the apparent want, aroseher appeal to him, --not, indeed, as requiring anything from him, but, looking to him with habitual dependence on his goodness and power. Shesimply said, "They have no wine!" He replied, "Woman, what have I todo with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. " The term _woman_, thus used, sounds harsh to us; but in the original is a term of respect. Nor didJesus intend any denial to the mother, whom he regarded with dutifuland pious reverence:--it was merely an intimation that he was notyet entered into the period of miraculous power. He anticipatedit, however, for her sake, and because of her request. Such is theview taken of this beautiful and dramatic incident by the earlytheologians; and in the same spirit it has been interpreted by thepainters. 

The Marriage at Cana appears very seldom in the ancientrepresentations taken from the Gospel. All the monkish institutionsthen prevalent discredited marriage; and it is clear that thisdistinct consecration of the rite by the presence of the Saviour andhis mother did not find favour with the early patrons of art. 

There is an old Greek tradition, that the Marriage at Cana was thatof John the Evangelist. In the thirteenth century, when the passionateenthusiasm for Mary Magdalene was at its height, it was a populararticle of belief, that the Marriage which Jesus graced with hispresence was that of John the Evangelist and Mary Magdalene; andthat immediately after the wedding feast, St. John and Mary, devotingthemselves to an austere and chaste religious life, followed Christ, and ministered to him. 

As a scene in the life of Christ, the Marriage at Cana, is of courseintroduced incidentally; but even here, such were the monasticprinciples and prejudices, that I find it difficult to point out anyvery early example. In the "Manual of Greek Art, " published by Didron, the rules for the representation are thus laid down:--"A table;around it Scribes and Pharisees; one holds up a cup of wine, andseems astonished. In the midst, the bride and bridegroom are seatedtogether. The bridegroom is to have 'grey hair and a round beard(_cheveux gris et barbe arrondie_); both are to be crowned withflowers; behind them, a servitor. Christ, the Virgin, and Joseph areto be on one side, and on the other are six jars: the attendants arein the act of filling them with water from leathern buckets. "

The introduction of Joseph is quite peculiar to Greek art; and themore curious, that in the list of Greek subjects there is not one fromhis life, nor in which he is a conspicuous figure. On the other hand, the astonished "ruler of the feast" (the _Architriclino_), so dramaticand so necessary to the comprehension of the scene, is scarcely everomitted. The apostles whom we may imagine to be present, are Peter, Andrew, James, and John. 

 * * * * *

As a separate subject, the Marriage at Cana first became popular inthe Venetian school, and thence extended to the Lombard and Germanschools of the same period--that is, about the beginning of thesixteenth century. 

The most beautiful representation I have ever seen is a fresco, by Luini, in the church of San Maurizio, at Milan. It belongs to aconvent of nuns; and I imagine, from its introduction there, that ithad a mystic signification, and referred to a divine _Sposalizio_. In this sense, the treatment is perfect. There are just the numberof figures necessary to tell the story, and no more. It is the bridewho is here the conspicuous figure, seated in the centre, arrayed inspotless white, and represented as a nun about to make her profession;for this is evidently the intended signification. The bridegroom is ather side, and near to the spectator. Christ, and the Virgin are seatedtogether, and appear to be conversing. A man presents a cup of wine. Including guests and attendants, there are only twelve figures. The only fault of this exquisite and graceful composition, is theintroduction of a cat and dog in front: we feel that they ought tohave been omitted, as giving occasion for irreverent witticisms. [1]

[Footnote 1: This beautiful fresco, which is seldom seen, being behindthe altar, was in a very ruined condition when I saw it last in 1855. ]

In contrast with this picture, and as a gorgeous specimen of theVenetian style of treatment, we may turn to the "Marriage at Cana" inthe Louvre, originally painted to cover one side of the refectory ofthe convent of _San Giorgio Maggiore_ at Venice, whence it was carriedoff by the French in 1796. This immense picture is about thirty-sixfeet in length, and about twenty feet in height, and contains morethan a hundred figures above life-size. In the centre Christ isseated, and beside him the Virgin Mother. Both heads are merelycommonplace, and probably portraits, like those of the otherpersonages at the extremity of the table. On the left are seated thebride and bridegroom. In the foreground a company of musicians areperforming a concert; behind the table is a balustrade, where areseen numerous servants occupied in cutting up the viands and servingdishes, with attendants and spectators. The chief action to berepresented, the astonishing miracle performed by him at whose command"the fountain blushed into wine, " is here quite a secondary matter;and the value of the picture lies in its magnitude and variety asa composition, and the portraits of the historical characters andremarkable personages introduced, --Francis I. , his queen Eleanora ofAustria, Charles V. And others. In the group of musicians in front werecognize Titian and Tintoretto, old Bassano, and Paolo himself. 

The Marriage at Cana, as a refectory subject, had been unknown tillthis time: it became popular, and Paolo afterwards repeated it severaltimes. The most beautiful of all, to my feeling, is that in theDresden Gallery, where the "ruler of the feast, " holding up the glassof wine with admiration, seems to exclaim, "Thou hast kept the goodwine until now. " In another, which is at Milan, the Virgin turns roundto the attendant, and desires him to obey her Son;--"Whatsoever hesaith unto you, do it!"

As the Marriage at Cana belongs, as a subject, rather to the historyof Christ, than to that of the Virgin his mother, I shall not enterinto it further here, but proceed. 

 * * * * *

After the marriage at Cana in Galilee, which may be regarded as thecommencement of the miraculous mission of our Lord, we do not hearanything of his mother, the Virgin, till the time approached when hewas to close his ministry by his death. She is not once referred toby name in the Gospels until the scene of the Crucifixion. We areindeed given to understand, that in the journeys of our Saviour, andparticularly when he went up from Nazareth to Jerusalem, the womenfollowed and ministered to him (Matt. Xxvii. 55, Luke, viii. 2): andthose who have written the life of the Virgin for the edification ofthe people, and those who have translated it into the various formsof art, have taken it for granted that SHE, his mother, could not havebeen absent or indifferent where others attended with affection andzeal: but I do not remember any scene in which she is an actor, oreven a conspicuous figure. 

Among the carvings on the stalls at Amiens, there is one whichrepresents the passage (Matt. Xii. 46. ) wherein our Saviour, preachingin Judea, is told that his mother and his brethren stand without. "But he answering, said to him that told him, 'Who is my mother?and who are my brethren?' And he stretched forth his hand towardhis disciples, and said, 'Behold my mother and my brethren!'" Thecomposition exhibits on one side Jesus standing and teaching hisdisciples; while on the other, through an open door, we perceive theVirgin and two or three others. This representation is very rare. Thedate of these stalls is the sixteenth century; and such a group in aseries of the life of the Virgin could not, I think, have occurredin the fifteenth. It would have been quite inconsistent with all thereligious tendencies of that time, to exhibit Christ as preaching_within_, while his "divine and most glorious" Mother was standing_without_. 

The theologians of the middle ages insist on the close and mysticalrelation which they assure us existed between Christ and his mother:however far separated, there was constant communion between them; andwherever he might be--in whatever acts of love, or mercy, or benignwisdom occupied for the good of man--_there_ was also his mother, present with him in the spirit. I think we can trace the impressof this mysticism in some of the productions of the fourteenth andfifteenth centuries. For example, among the frescoes by Angelico daFiesole in the cloisters of St. Mark, at Florence, there is one ofthe Transfiguration, where the Saviour stands glorified with armsoutspread--a simple and sublime conception, --and on each side, halffigures of Moses and Elias: lower down appear the Virgin and St. Dominick. There is also in the same series a fresco of the Last Supperas the Eucharist, in which the Virgin is kneeling, glorified, on oneside of the picture, and appears as a partaker of the rite. Such aversion of either subject must be regarded as wholly mystical andexceptional, and I am not acquainted with any other instance. 

LO SPASIMO. 

 "O what avails me now that honour high, To have conceived of God, and that salute, 'Hail highly favoured among woman blest! While I to sorrows am no less advanced, And fears as eminent, above the lot Of other women by the birth I bore. " --"This is my favoured lot, My exaltation to afflictions high. "

 MILTON. 

In the Passion of our Lord, taken in connection with the life of theVirgin Mother, there are three scenes in which she is associated withthe action as an important, if not a principal, personage. 

We are told in the Gospel of St. John (chap. Xvii), that Christ took asolemn farewell of his disciples: it is therefore supposed that he didnot go up to his death without taking leave of his Mother, --withoutpreparing her for that grievous agony by all the comfort that histender and celestial pity and superior nature could bestow. Thisparting of Christ and his Mother before the Crucifixion is a modernsubject. I am not acquainted with any example previous to thebeginning of the sixteenth century. The earliest I have met with is byAlbert Durer, in the series of the life of the Virgin, but there areprobably examples more ancient, or at least contemporary. In AlbertDurer's composition, Mary is sinking to the earth, as if overcome withaffliction, and is sustained in the arms of two women; she looks upwith folded hands and streaming eyes to her Son who stands before her;he, with one hand extended, looks down upon her compassionately, andseems to give her his last benediction. I remember another instance, by Paul Veronese, full of that natural affectionate sentiment whichbelonged to the Venetian school. (Florence Gal. ) In a very beautifulpicture by Carotto of Verona, Jesus _kneels_ before his Mother, andreceives her benediction before he departs: this must be regardedas an impropriety, a mistake in point of sentiment, considering thepeculiar relation between the two personages; but it is a strikinginstance of the popular notions of the time respecting the highdignity of the Virgin Mother. I have not seen it repeated. [1]

[Footnote 1: Verona, San Bernardino. It is worth remarking, withregard to this picture, that the Intendant of the Convent rebukedthe artist, declaring that he had made the Saviour show _too little_reverence for his Mother, seeing that he knelt to her on one kneeonly. --See the anecdote in _Vasari_, vol. I. P. 651. Fl. Edit. 1838. ]

 * * * * *

It appears from the Gospel histories, that the women who had attendedupon Christ during his ministry failed not in their truth and theirlove to the last. In the various circumstances of the Passion ofour Lord, where the Virgin Mother figures as an important personage, certain of these women are represented as always near her, andsustaining her with a tender and respectful sympathy. Three arementioned by name, --Mary Magdalene; Mary the wife of Cleophas;and Mary, the mother of James and John. Martha, the sister of MaryMagdalene, is also included, as I infer from her name, which inseveral instances is inscribed in the nimbus encircling her head. Ihave in another place given the story of Martha, and the legendswhich in the fourteenth century converted her into a very importantcharacter in sacred art, (First Series of Sacred and Legendary Art. )These women, therefore, form, with the Virgin, the group of _five_female figures which are generally included in the scriptural scenesfrom the Life of Christ. 

Of course, these incidents, and more especially the "Procession toCalvary, " and the "Crucifixion, " belong to another series of subjects, which I shall have to treat hereafter in the History of our Lord;but they are also included in a series of the Rosary, as two of themystical SORROWS; and under this point of view I must draw attentionto the peculiar treatment of the Virgin in some remarkable examples, which will serve as a guide to others. 

 * * * * *

The Procession to Calvary (_Il Portamento della Croce_) followed apath leading from the gate of Jerusalem to Mount Calvary, which hasbeen kept in remembrance and sanctified as the _Via Dolorosa_, andthere is a certain spot near the summit of the hill, where, accordingto a very ancient tradition, the Virgin Mother, and the women hercompanions, placed themselves to witness the sorrowful procession;where the Mother, beholding her divine Son dragged along, all bleedingfrom the scourge, and sinking under his cross, in her extreme agonysank, fainting, to the earth. This incident gave rise to one of themournful festivals of the Passion Week, under the title, in French, of _Notre Dame du Spasme_ or _de la Pamoison_; in Italian _La Madonnadello Spasimo_, or _Il Pianto di Maria_; and this is the title givento some of those representations in which the affliction of Mary is aprominent part of the tragic interest of the scene. She is sometimessinking to the earth, sustained by the women or by St. John; sometimesshe stands with clasped hands, mute and motionless with excess ofanguish; sometimes she stretches out her arms to her Son, as Jesus, sinking under the weight of his cross, turns his benign eyes upon her, and the others who follow him: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not forme!"

This is the moment chosen by Raphael in that sublime compositioncelebrated under the title "_Lo Spasimo di Sicilia_" (Madrid Gal. );so called because it was originally painted for the high altar of thechurch of the Sicilian Olivetans at Palermo, dedicated to the _Madonnadello Spasimo_. It was thence removed, by order of Philip IV. OfSpain, early in the seventeenth century, and is now placed in thegallery at Madrid. Here the group of the five women forms an importantpart of the picture, occupying the foreground on the right. Theexpression in the face of the Mother, stretching forth her arms toher Son with a look of appealing agony, has always been cited as oneof the great examples of Raphael's tragic power. It is well knownthat in this composition the attitude of Christ was suggested by thecontemporary engraving of Martin Schoen; but the prominence given tothe group of women, the dramatic propriety and pathetic grace in theaction of each, and the consummate skill shown in the arrangementof the whole, belong only to Raphael. [1] In Martin Schoen's vividcomposition, the Virgin, and the women her companions, are seen faroff in the background, crouching in the "hollow way" between twocliffs, from which spot, according to the old tradition, they beheldthe sad procession. We have quite a contrary arrangement in an earlycomposition by Lucas van Leyden. The procession to Calvary is seenmoving along in the far distance, while the foreground is occupied bytwo figures only, Mary in a trance of anguish sustained by the weepingSt. John. 

[Footnote 1: The veneration at all times entertained for this picturewas probably enhanced by a remarkable fact in its history. Raphaelpainted it towards the close of the year 1517, and when finished, itwas embarked at the port of Ostia, to be consigned to Palermo. A stormcame on, the vessel foundered at sea, and all was lost except the casecontaining this picture, which was floated by the currents into theBay of Genoa; and, on being landed, the wondrous masterpiece of artwas taken out unhurt. The Genoese at first refused to give it up, insisting that it had been preserved and floated to their shores bythe miraculous interposition of the blessed Virgin herself; and itrequired a positive mandate from the Pope before they would restoreit to the Olivetan fathers. --See _Passavant's Rafael_, i. 292. ]

In a very fine "Portamento del Croce, " by Gaudenzio Ferrari, one ofthe soldiers or executioners, in repulsing the sorrowful mother, lifts up a stick as if to strike her;--a gratuitous act of ferocity, which shocks at once the taste and the feelings, and, without addinganything to the pathos of the situation, detracts from the religiousdignity of the theme. It is like the soldier kicking our Saviour, which I remember to have seen in a version of the subject by a muchlater painter, Daniele Crespi. 

Murillo represents Christ as fainting under the weight of the cross, while the Virgin sits on the ground by the way-side, gazing onhim with fixed eyes and folded hands, and a look of unutterableanguish. [1]

[Footnote 1: This picture, remarkable for the intense expression, wasin the collection of Lord Orford, and sold in June, 1856. ]

 * * * * *

The Ecce Homo, by Correggio, in our National Gallery, is treated ina very peculiar manner with reference to the Virgin, and is, in fact, another version of _Lo Spasimo_, the fourth of her ineffable sorrows. Here Christ, as exhibited to the people by Pilate, is placed in thedistance, and is in all respects the least important part of thepicture, of which we have the real subject in the far more prominentfigure of the Virgin in the foreground. At sight of the agony anddegradation of her Son, she closes her eyes, and is on the pointof swooning. The pathos of expression in the half-unconscious faceand helpless, almost lifeless hands, which seem to seek support, isparticularly fine. 

THE CRUCIFIXION. 

 "Verum stabas, optima Mater, juxta crucem Filli tui, non solum corpore, sed mentis constatia. "

This great subject belongs more particularly to the Life of Christ. Itis, I observe, always omitted in a series of the Life of the Virgin, unless it be the Rosary, in which the "Vigil of the Virgin by theCross" is the fifth and greatest of the Seven Sorrows. 

We cannot fail to remark, that whether the Crucifixion be treated as amystery or as an event, Mary is always an important figure. 

In the former case she stands alone on the right of the cross, and St. John on the left. [1] She looks up with an expression of mingled griefand faith, or bows her head upon her clasped hands in resignation. Insuch a position she is the idealized Mater Dolorosa, the Daughter ofJerusalem, the personified Church mourning for the great Sacrifice;and this view of the subject I have already discussed at length. 

[Footnote 1: It has been a question with the learned whether theVirgin Mary, with St. John, ought not to stand on the left of thecross, in allusion to Psalm cxlii. (always interpreted as propheticof the Passion of Christ) ver. 4: "_I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was none who would know me. _"]

On the other hand, when the Crucifixion is treated as a greathistorical event, as a living scene acted before our eyes, then theposition and sentiment given to the Virgin are altogether different, but equally fixed by the traditions of art. That she was present, andnear at hand, we must presume from the Gospel of St. John, who was aneye-witness; and most of the theological writers infer that on thisoccasion her constancy and sublime faith were even greater than hergrief, and that her heroic fortitude elevated her equally above theweeping women and the timorous disciples. This is not, however, theview which the modern painters have taken, and even the most ancientexamples exhibit the maternal grief for a while overcoming theconstancy. She is standing indeed, but in a fainting attitude, as ifabout to sink to the earth, and is sustained in the arms of the twoMarys, assisted, sometimes, but not generally, by St. John; MaryMagdalene is usually embracing the foot of the cross. With very littlevariation this is the visual treatment down to the beginning of thesixteenth century. I do not know who was the first artist who placedthe Mother prostrate on the ground; but it must be regarded as afault, and as detracting from the high religious dignity of thescene. In all the greatest examples, from Cimabue, Giotto, and PietroCavallini, down to Angelico, Masaccio, and Andrea Mantegna, and theircontemporaries, Mary is uniformly standing. 

In a Crucifixion by Martin Schoen, the Virgin, partly held up in thearms of St. John, embraces with fervour the foot of the cross: a veryrare and exceptional treatment, for this is the proper place of MaryMagdalene. In Albert Durer's composition, she is just in the act ofsinking to the ground in a very natural attitude, as if her limbs hadgiven way under her. In Tintoretto's celebrated Crucifixion, we havean example of the Virgin placed on the ground, which if not one of theearliest, is one of the most striking of the more modern conceptions. Here the group at the foot of the cross is wonderfully dramatic andexpressive, but certainly the reverse of dignified. Mary lies faintingon the earth; one arm is sustained by St. John, the other is round theneck of a woman who leans against the bosom of the Virgin, with eyesclosed, as if lost in grief. Mary Magdalene and another look up to thecrucified Saviour, and more in front a woman kneels wrapped up in acloak, and hides her face. (Venice, S. Rocco. )

Zani has noticed the impropriety here, and in other instances, ofexhibiting the "_Grandissima Donna_" as prostrate, and in a stateof insensibility; a style of treatment which, in more ancient times, would have been inadmissible. The idea embodied by the artist shouldbe that which Bishop Taylor has _painted_ in words:--"By the crossstood the holy Virgin Mother, upon whom old Simeon's prophecy was nowverified; for now she felt a sword passing through her very soul. She stood without clamour and womanish noises sad, silent, and witha modest grief, deep as the waters of the abyss, but smooth as theface of a pool; full of love, and patience, and sorrow, and hope!"To suppose that this noble creature lost all power over her emotions, lost her consciousness of the "high affliction" she was called tosuffer, is quite unworthy of the grand ideal of womanly perfectionhere placed before us. It is clear, however, that in the laterrepresentations, the intense expression of maternal anguish in thehymn of the Stabat Mater gave the key to the prevailing sentiment. And as it is sometimes easier to faint than to endure; so it waseasier for certain artists to express the pallor and prostration ofinsensibility, than the sublime faith and fortitude which in thatextremest hour of trial conquered even a mother's unutterable woe. 

That most affecting moment, in which the dying Saviour recommends hisMother to the care of the best beloved of his disciples, I have neverseen worthily treated. There are, however, some few Crucifixions inwhich I presume the idea to have been indicated; as where the Virginstands leaning on St. John, with his sustaining arm reverently roundher, and both looking up to the Saviour, whose dying face is turnedtowards them. There is an instance by Albert Durer (the wood-cutin the "Large Passion"); but the examples are so few as to beexceptional. 

 * * * * *

THE DESCENT FROM THE CROSS, and the DEPOSITION, are two separatethemes. In the first, according to the antique formula, the Virginshould stand; for here, as in the Crucifixion, she must be associatedwith the principal action, and not, by the excess of her grief, disabled from taking her part in it. In the old legend it is said, that when Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus wrenched out the nailswhich fastened the hands of our Lord to the cross, St. John took themaway secretly, that his mother might not see them--"_affin que laVierge Marie ne les veit pas, crainte que le coeur ne lui amolist_. "And then, while Nicodemus drew forth the nails which fastened hisfeet, Joseph of Arimathea sustained the body, so that the head andarms of the dead Saviour hung over his shoulder. And the afflictedMother, seeing this, arose on her feet and she took the bleeding handsof her Son, as they hung down, and clasped them in her own, and kissedhim tenderly. And then, indeed, she sank to the earth, because of thegreat anguish she suffered, lamenting her Son, whom the cruel Jews hadmurdered. [1]

[Footnote 1: "---- tant qu'il n'y a coeur si dur, ni entendementd'homme qui n'y deust penser. 'Lasse, mon confort! m'amour et ma joye, que les Juifz ont faict mourir à grand tort et sans cause pour cequ'il leur monstrait leurs faltes et enseignoit leur saulvement! Ofelons et mauvais Juifz, ne m'epargnez pas! puisque vous crucifiezmon enfant crucifiez moy--moy qui suis sa dolente mere, et me tuezd'aucune mort affin que je meure avec luy!'" v. _The old FrenchLegend_, "_Vie de Notre-Dame la glorieuse Vierge Marie. _"]

The first action described in this legend (the afflicted Motherembracing the arm of her Son) is precisely that which was adopted bythe Greek masters, and by the early Italians who followed them, NicoloPisano, Cimabue, Giotto, Puccio Capanna, Duccio di Siena, and othersfrom the thirteenth to the fifteenth century. But in later pictures, the Virgin in the extremity of her grief has sunk to the ground. In analtar-piece by Cigoli, she is seated on the earth, looking out of thepicture, as if appealing, "Was ever sorrow like unto my sorrow?" whilethe crown of thorns lies before her. This is very beautiful; but evenmore touching is the group in the famous "Descent from the Cross, " themasterpiece of Daniel di Volterra (Rome, Trinità di Monte): here thefainting form of the Virgin, extended on the earth, and the dyinganguish in her face, have never been exceeded, and are, in fact, thechief merit of the picture. In the famous Descent at Antwerp, themasterpiece of Rubens, Mary stands, and supports the arm of her Son ashe is let down from the cross. This is in accordance with the ancientversion; but her face and figure are the least effective part of thisfine picture. 

In a beautiful small composition, a print, attributed to Albert Durer, there are only three figures. Joseph of Arimathea stands on a ladder, and detaches from the cross the dead form of the Saviour, who isreceived into the arms of his Mother. This is a form of the _MaterDolorosa_ which is very uncommon, and must be regarded as exceptional, and ideal, unless we are to consider it as a study and an incompletegroup. 

 * * * * *

The DEPOSITION is properly that moment which succeeds the DESCENT fromthe Cross; when the dead form of Christ is deposed or laid upon theground, resting on the lap of his Mother, and lamented by St. John, the Magdalene, and others. The ideal and devotional form of thissubject, styled a Pietà, may be intended to represent one of thosefestivals of the Passion Week which commemorate the participation ofthe holy Virgin Mother in the sufferings of her Son. [1] I have alreadyspoken at length of this form of the Mater Dolorosa; the historicalversion of the same subject is what we have now to consider, but onlyso far as regards the figure of the Virgin. 

[Footnote 1: "C'est ce que l'on a jugé à propos d'appeler _LaCompassion_ de la Vierge, autrement _Notre Dame de Pitié_. "--Vide_Baillet_, "Les Fêtes Mobiles. "]

In a Deposition thus dramatically treated, there are always from fourto six or eight figures. The principal group consists of the deadSaviour and his Mother. She generally holds him embraced, or bendsover him contemplating his dead face, or lays her cheek to his withan expression of unutterable grief and love: in the antique conceptionshe is generally fainting; the insensibility, the sinking of the wholeframe through grief, which in the Crucifixion is misplaced, both inregard to the religious feeling and the old tradition, is here quiteproper. [1] Thus she appears in the genuine Greek and Greco-Italianproductions of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, as well as inthe two finest examples that could be cited in more modern times. 

[Footnote 1: The reason given is curious:--"_Perchè quando Gesù parevatormentato essendo vivo, il dolore si partiva frà la santissima madree lui; ma quando poi egli era morto, tutto il dolore rimaneva per lasconsolata madre. _"]

1. In an exquisite composition by Raphael, usually styled a Pietà, but properly a Deposition, there are six figures: the extended formof Christ; the Virgin swooning in the arms of Mary Salome and MaryCleophas; Mary Magdalene sustains the feet of Christ, while her sisterMartha raises the veil of the Virgin, as if to give her air; St. Johnstands by with clasped hands; and Joseph of Arimathea looks on thesorrowing group with mingled grief and pity. [1]

[Footnote 1: This wonderful drawing (there is no _finished_ picture)was in the collection of Count Fries, and then belonged to Sir T. Lawrence. There is a good engraving by Agricola. ]

2. Another, an admirable and celebrated composition by AnnibaleCaracci, known as the Four Marys, omits Martha and St. John. Theattention of Mary Magdalene is fixed on the dead Saviour; the othertwo Marys are occupied by the fainting Mother. (Castle Howard. ) Oncomparing this with Raphael's conception, we find more of commonnature, quite as much pathos, but in the forms less of that purepoetic grace, which softens at once, and heightens the tragic effect. 

Besides Joseph of Arimathea, we have sometimes Nicodemus; as in thevery fine Deposition by Perugino, and in one, not loss fine, by AlbertDurer. In a Deposition by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Lazarus, whom Jesusraised from the dead, stands near his sister Martha. 

In a picture by Vandyke, the Mother closes the eyes of the deadRedeemer: in a picture by Rubens, she removes a thorn from his woundedbrow:--both natural and dramatic incidents very characteristic ofthese dramatic painters. 

There are some fine examples of this subject in the old German school. In spite of ungraceful forms, quaint modern costumes, and worseabsurdities, we often find _motifs_, unknown in the Italian school, most profoundly felt, though not always happily expressed, I rememberseveral instances in which the Madonna does not sustain her Son; butkneeling on one side, and, with clasped hands, she gazes on him witha look, partly of devotion, partly of resignation; both the devotionand the resignation predominating over the maternal grief. I havebeen asked, "why no painter has ever yet represented the Great Motheras raising her hands in thankfulness that her Son _had_ drank thecup--_had_ finished the work appointed for him on earth?" This wouldhave been worthy of the religions significance of the moment; and Irecommend the theme to the consideration of artists. [1]

[Footnote 1: In the most modern Deposition I have seen (one ofinfinite beauty, and new in arrangement, by Paul Delaroche), theVirgin, kneeling at some distance, and a little above, contemplatesher dead Son. The expression and attitude are those of intenseanguish, and _only_ anguish. It is the bereaved Mother; it is acraving desolation, which is in the highest degree human and tragic;but it is not the truly religious conception. ]

 * * * * *

The entombment follows, and when treated as a strictly historicalscene, the Virgin Mother is always introduced, though here as a lessconspicuous figure, and one less important to the action. Eithershe swoons, which is the ancient Greek conception; or she follows, with streaming eyes and clasped hands, the pious disciples who bearthe dead form of her Son, as in Raphael's wonderful picture in theBorghese Palace, and Titian's, hardly less beautiful, in the Louvre, where the compassionate Magdalene sustains her veiled and weepingfigure;--or she stands by, looking on disconsolate, while the belovedSon is laid in the tomb. 

 * * * * *

All these fine and important themes belong properly to a series ofthe History of Christ. In a series of the Life of the Virgin, theincidents of the Passion of our Lord are generally omitted; whereas, in the cycle of subjects styled the ROSARY, the Bearing of the Cross, the Crucifixion, and the Deposition, are included in the fourth andfifth of the "Sorrowful Mysteries. " I shall have much more to say onthese subjects when treating of the artistic representations fromthe History of Christ. I will only add here, that their frequency as_separate_ subjects, and the preëminence given to the figure of theVirgin as the mother of Pity, are very suggestive and affecting whenwe come to consider their _intention_ as well as their significance. For, in the first place, they were in most instances the votiveofferings of those who had lost the being most dear to them, andthus appealed so the divine compassion of her who had felt that sword"pierce through her own heart also. " In this sense they were oftensuspended as memorials in the chapels dedicated to the dead, of whichI will cite one very beautiful and touching example. There is a votiveDeposition by Giottino, in which the general conception is that whichbelonged to the school, and very like Giotto's Deposition in the Arenaat Padua. The dead Christ is extended on a white shroud, and embracedby the Virgin; at his feet kneels the Magdalene, with clasped handsand flowing hair; Mary Salome kisses one of his hands, and Martha(as I suppose) the other; the third Mary, with long hair, andhead dropping with grief, is seated in front to the right. In thebackground, in the centre, stands St. John, bending over the group inprofound sorrow; on his left hand Joseph of Arimathea stands with thevase of "spices and ointments, " and the nails; near him Nicodemus. On the right of St. John kneels a beautiful young girl, in the richFlorentine costume, who, with a sorrowful earnestness and with herhands crossed over her bosom, contemplates the dead Saviour. St. Romeo (or San Remigio) patron of the church in which the picture wasdedicated, lays his hand paternally on her head; beside her kneels aBenedictine nun, who in the game manner is presented by St. Benedict. These two females, sisters perhaps, are the bereaved mourners whodedicated the picture, certainly one of the finest of the Giottesqueschool. [1]

[Footnote 1: It is now in the gallery of the Uffizii, at Florence. Inthe Florentine edition of Vasari the name of the church in which thispicture was originally placed is called San _Romeo_, who is St. Remi(or Remigio), Bishop of Reims. The painter, Giottino, the greatest andthe most interesting, personally, of the Giottesque artists, was, asVasari says, "of a melancholy temperament, and a lover of solitude;""more desirous of glory than of gain;" "contented with little, andthinking more of serving and gratifying others than of himself;""taking small care for himself, and perpetually engrossed by the workshe had undertaken. " He died of consumption, in 1356, at the age ofthirty two. ]

Secondly, we find that the associations left in the minds of thepeople by the expeditions of the Crusaders and the pilgrimages tothe Holy Sepulchre, rendered the Deposition and the Entombmentparticularly popular and impressive as subjects of art, even down toa late period. "Ce que la vaillante épée des ayeux avait glorieusementdefendu, le ciscaux des enfans aimait à le réproduire, leur piété àl'honorer. " I think we may trace these associations in many examples, particularly in a Deposition by Raphael, of which there is a fine oldengraving. Here, in the centre, stands a circular building, such asthe church at Jerusalem was always described; in front of which areseen the fainting Virgin and the mournful women: a grand and solemngroup, but poetically rather than historically treated. 

 * * * * *

In conclusion, I must notice one more form of the Mater Dolorosa, oneof the dramatic conceptions of the later schools of art; as far as Iknew, there exist no early examples. 

In a picture by Guercino (Louvre), the Virgin and St. Peter lament thedeath of the Saviour. The Mother, with her clasped hands resting onher knees, appears lost in resigned sorrow: she mourns her Son. Peter, weeping, as with a troubled grief, seems to mourn at once his Lordand Master, and his own weak denial. This picture has the energeticfeeling and utter want of poetic elevation which generallycharacterized Guercino. 

There is a similar group by Ludovico Caracci in the Duonio at Bologna. 

In a picture by Tiarini, the _Madre Addolorata_ is seated, holdingin her hand the crown of thorns; Mary Magdalene kneels before her, and St. John stands by--both expressing the utmost veneration andsympathy. These and similar groups are especially to be found in thelater Bologna school. In all the instances known to me, they have beenpainted for the Dominicans, and evidently intended to illustrate thesorrows of the Rosary. 

In one of the services of the Passion Week, and in particularreference to the maternal anguish of the Virgin, it was usual to read, as the Epistle, a selection from the first chapter of the Lamentationsof Jeremiah, eloquent in the language of desolation and grief. Thepainters seemed to have filled their imagination with the imagesthere presented; and frequently in the ideal _Pietà_ the daughterof Jerusalem "sits solitary, with none to comfort her. " It is thecontrary in the dramatic version: the devotion of the women, thesolicitude of the affectionate Magdalene, and the filial reverence ofSt. John, whom the scriptural history associates with the Virgin in amanner so affecting, are never forgotten. 

In obedience to the last command of his dying Master, John theEvangelist--

 "He, into whose keeping, from the cross, The mighty charge was given--"

 DANTE. 

conducted to his own dwelling the Mother to whom he was henceforth tobe as a Son. This beautiful subject, "John conducting the Virgin tohis home, " was quite unknown, as far as I am aware, in the earlierschools of art, and appears first in the seventeenth century. Aneminent instance is a fine solemn group by Zurbaran. (Munich. ) Christwas laid in the sepulchre by night, and here, in the gray dawn, Johnand the veiled Virgin are seen as returning from the entombment, andwalking mournfully side by side. 

 * * * * *

We find the peculiar relation between the Mother of Christ and St. John, as her adopted son, expressed in a very tender and ideal manner, on one of the wings of an altar-piece, attributed to Taddeo Gaddi. (Berlin Gal. , No. 1081. ) Mary and St. John stand in front; he holdsone of her hands clasped in both his own, with a most reverent andaffectionate expression. Christ, standing between them, lays one handon the shoulder of each; the sentiment of this group is altogethervery unusual; and very remarkable. 

HISTORICAL SUBJECTS

PART IV. 

THE LIFE OF THE VIRGIN MARY FROM THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD TO THEASSUMPTION. 

1. THE APPARITION OF CHRIST TO HIS MOTHER. 2. THE ASCENSION. 3. THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST. 4. THE DEATH OF THE VIRGIN. 5. THEASSUMPTION AND CORONATION. 

THE APPARITION OF CHRIST TO HIS MOTHER. 

The enthusiastic and increasing veneration for the Madonna, the largeplace she filled in the religious teaching of the ecclesiastics andthe religious sentiments of the people, are nowhere more apparent, nor more strikingly exhibited, than in the manner in which she wasassociated with the scenes which followed the Passion;--the mannerin which some incidents were suggested, and treated with a peculiarreference to her, and to her maternal feelings. It is nowhere saidthat the Virgin Mother was one of the Marys who visited the tomb onthe morning of the resurrection, and nowhere is she so represented. But out of the human sympathy with that bereaved and longing heart, arose the beautiful legend of the interview between Christ and hisMother after he had risen from the dead. 

There existed a very ancient tradition (it is mentioned by St. Ambrose in the fourth century, as being then generally accepted byChristians), that Christ, after his return from Hades, visited hisMother even before he appeared to Mary Magdalene in the garden. It is not indeed so written in the Gospel; but what of that? Thereasoning which led to the conclusion was very simple. He whose lastearthly thought was for his Mother would not leave her without thatconsolation it was in his power to give; and what, as a son, it washis duty to do (for the _humanity_ of Christ is never forgotten bythose who most intensely believed in his _divinity_, ) that, of course, he did do. 

The story is thus related:--Mary, when all was "finished, " retiredto her chamber, and remained alone with her grief--not wailing, notrepining, not hopeless, but waiting for the fulfilment of the promise. Open before her lay the volume of the prophecies; and she prayedearnestly, and she said, "Thou, didst promise, O my most dear Son!that thou wouldst rise again on the third day. Before yesterday wasthe day of darkness and bitterness, and, behold, this is the thirdday. Return then to me thy Mother; O my Son, tarry not, but come!"And while thus she prayed, lo! a bright company of angels, who enteredwaving their palms and radiant with joy; and they surrounded her, kneeling and singing the triumphant Easter hymn, _Regina Coeli lætare, Alleluia!_[1] And then came Christ partly clothed in a white garment, having in his left hand the standard of the cross, as one justreturned from the nether world, and victorious over the powers ofsin and death. And with him came the patriarchs and prophets, whoselong-imprisoned spirits he had released from Hades. [2] All these kneltbefore the Virgin, and saluted her, and blessed her, and thanked her, because through her had come their deliverance. But, for all this, theMother was not comforted till she had heard the voice of her Son. Thenhe, raising his hand in benediction, spoke and said, "I salute thee, O my Mother!" and she, weeping tears of joy, responded, "Is it thouindeed, my most dear Son?" and she fell upon his neck, and he embracedher tenderly, and showed her the wounds he had received for sinfulman. Then he bid her be comforted and weep no more, for the painof death had passed away, and the gates of hell had not prevailedagainst him. And she thanked him meekly on her knees, for that he hadbeen pleased to bring redemption to man, and to make her the humbleinstrument of his great mercy. And they sat and talked together, untilhe took leave of her to return to the garden, and to show himself toMary Magdalene, who, next to his glorious Mother, had most need ofconsolation. [3]

[Footnote 1:

 "Regina Coeli lætare Alleluia! Quia quem meruisti portare, Alleluia! Resurrexit sicut dixit, Alleluia! Ora pro nobis Deum, Alleluia!"]

[Footnote 2: The legend of the "Descent into Hades" (or limbo), oftentreated of in art, will be given at length in the History of ourLord. ]

[Footnote 3: I have given the legend from various sources; but thereis something quite untranslatable and perfectly beautiful in thenaïveté of the old Italian version. After describing the celestialmusic of the angels, the rejoicing of the liberated patriarchs, andthe appearance of Christ, _allegro, e bello e tutto lucido_, it thusproceeds: "_Quando ella lo vidde, gli andò incontro ella ancora conle braccia aperte, e quasi tramortita per l'allegrazza. Il benedettoGesù l'abbraccio teneressimamente, ed ella glidesse; 'Ahi, figliuolomio cordialissimo, sei tu veramente il mio Gesù, ò pur m'ingannal'affetto!' 'Io sono il tuo figliuolo, madre mia, dolcissima, ' disseil Signore: 'cessino hormai le tue lagrime, non fare ch'io ti vedapiù di mala voglia, Già son finiti li tuoi e li miei travagli e doloriinsieme!' Erano rimase alcune lagrime negli occhi della Vergine. . . . E per la grande allegrezza non poteva proferire parola alcuna . . . Ma quando al fine potè parlare, lo ringrazio per parte di tuttoil genere humano, per la redenzione, operata e fatta, per tuttogeneralmente. "--v. Il Perfetto Legendario_]

The pathetic sentiment, and all the supernatural and mysticalaccompaniments of this beautiful myth of the early ages, have beenvery inadequately rendered by the artists. It is always treated as aplain matter-of-fact scene. The Virgin kneels; the Saviour, bearinghis standard, stands before her; and where the delivered patriarchsare introduced, they are generally either Adam and Eve, the authorsof the fall or Abraham and David, the progenitors of Christ and theVirgin. The patriarchs are omitted in the earliest instance I canrefer to, one of the carved panels of the stalls in the Cathedral ofAmiens: also in the composition by Albert Durer, not included in hislife of the Virgin, but forming one of the series of the Passion. Guido has represented the scene in a very fine picture, wherein anangel bears the standard of victory, and behind our Saviour are Adamand Eve. (Dresden Gal. )

Another example, by Guercino (Cathedral, Cento), is cited by Goetheas an instance of that excellence in the expression of the naturaland domestic affections which characterized the painter. Mary kneelsbefore her Son, looking up in his face with unutterable affection;he regards her with a calm, sad look, "as if within his noble soulthere still remained the recollection of his sufferings and hers, outliving the pang of death, the descent into the grave, and whichthe resurrection had not yet dispelled. " This, however, is not thesentiment, at once affectionate and joyously triumphant, of theold legend. I was pleased with a little picture in the LichtensteinGallery at Vienna, where the risen Saviour, standing before hisMother, points to the page of the book before her, as if he said, "Seeyou not that thus it is written?" (Luke xxiv. 46. ) Behind Jesus isSt. John the Evangelist bearing the cup and the cross, as the cup ofsorrow and the cross of pain, not the mere emblems. There is anotherexample, by one of the Caracci, in the Fitzwilliam Collection atCambridge. 

A picture by Albano of this subject, in which Christ comes flying orfloating on the air, like an incorporeal being, surrounded by littlefluttering cherubim, very much like Cupids, is an example of all thatis most false and objectionable in feeling and treatment. (Florence, Pitti Pal. )

The popularity of this scene in the Bologna school of art arose, Ithink, from its being adopted as one of the subjects from the Rosary, the first of "the five Glorious Mysteries;" therefore especiallyaffected by the Dominicans, the great patrons of the Caracci at thattime. 

 * * * * *

The ASCENSION, though one of the "Glorious Mysteries, " was alsoaccounted as the seventh and last of the sorrows of the Virgin, forshe was then left alone on earth. All the old legends represent heras present on this occasion, and saying, as she followed with upliftedeyes the soaring figure of Christ, "My Son, remember me when thoucomest to thy kingdom! Leave me not long after thee, my Son!" InGiotto's composition in the chapel of the Arena, at Padua, she is byfar the most prominent figure. In almost all the late pictures of theAscension, she is introduced with the other Marys, kneeling on oneside, or placed in the centre among the apostles. 

 * * * * *

The DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST is a strictly scriptural subject. Ihave heard it said that the introduction of Mary is not authorized bythe scripture narrative. I must observe, however that, without anywringing of the text for an especial purpose, the passage might beso interpreted. In the first chapter of the Acts (ver. 14), afterenumerating the apostles by name, it is added, "These all continuedwith one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Marythe mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. " And in the commencementof the second chapter the narrative thus proceeds: "And when the dayof Pentecost was fully come, they were _all_ with one accord inone place. " The word _all_ is, in the Concordance, referred to theprevious text (ver. 14), as including Mary and the women: thus theywho were constant in their love were not refused a participation inthe gifts of the Spirit. Mary, in her character of the divine Motherof Wisdom, or even Wisdom herself, [1] did not, perhaps, need anyaccession of intellectual light; but we must remember that the HolySpirit was the Comforter, as well as the Giver of wisdom; therefore, equally needed by those, whether men or women, who were all equallycalled upon to carry out the ministry of Christ in love and service, in doing and in suffering. 

[Footnote 1: The sublime eulogium of Wisdom (Prov. Viii. 22), is, inthe Roman Catholic Church, applied to the Virgin Mary. ]

In the account of the apostles I have already described at length thevarious treatment and most celebrated examples of this subject, andshall only make one or two observations with especial reference tothe figure of the Virgin. It was in accordance with the feelings andconvictions prevalent in the fifteenth century, that if Mary wereadmitted to be present, she would take the principal place, as Queenand Mother of the Apostles (_Regina et Mater Apostolorum_). Sheis, therefore, usually placed either in front, or in the centreon a raised seat or dais; and often holding a book (as the _MaterSapientiæ_); and she receives the divine affusion either with veiledlids and meek rejoicing; or with uplifted eyes, as one inspired, shepours forth the hymn, _Veni, Sancte Spiritus_. 

I agree with the critics that, as the Spirit descended in formof cloven tongues of fire, the emblem of the Dove, almost alwaysintroduced, is here superfluous, and, indeed, out of place. 

 * * * * *

I must mention here another subject altogether apocryphal, andconfined to the late Spanish and Italian schools: The Virgin receivesthe sacramental wafer from the hand of St. John the Evangelist. This is frequently misunderstood, and styled the Communion of MaryMagdalene. But the long hair and uncovered head of the Magdalene, andthe episcopal robe of St. Maximin, are in general distinguishable fromthe veiled matronly head of the Virgin Mother, and the deacon's vestof St. John. There is also a legend that Mary received baptism fromSt. Peter; but this is a subject I have never met with in art, ancientor modern. It may possibly exist. 

I am not acquainted with any representations taken from the sojourn onearth of the Blessed Virgin from this time to the period of her death, the date of which is uncertain. It is, however, generally supposed tohave taken place in the forty-eighth year of our era, and about elevenyears after the Crucifixion, therefore in her sixtieth year. Thereis no distinct record, either historical or legendary, as to themanner in which she passed these years. There are, indeed, floatingtraditions alluded to by the early theological writers, that when thefirst persecution broke out at Jerusalem, Mary accompanied St. Johnthe Evangelist to Ephesus, and was attended thither by the faithfuland affectionate Mary Magdalene. Also that she dwelt for some time onMount Carmel, in an oratory erected there by the prophet Elijah, andhence became the patroness of the Carmelites, under the title of OurLady of Mount Carmel (_La Madonna del Carmine_, or _del Carmelo_). If there exist any creations of the artists founded on these obscuretraditions, which is indeed most probable, particularly in theedifices of the Carmelites in Spain, I have not met with them. 

 * * * * *

It is related that before the apostles separated to obey the commandof their divine Master, and preach the gospel to all the nations ofthe earth, they took a solemn leave of the Virgin Mary, and receivedher blessing. This subject has been represented, though not by anydistinguished artist. I remember such a picture, apparently of thesixteenth century, in the Church of S. Maria-in-Capitolio at Cologne, and another, by Bissoni, in the San Giustina at Padua. (Sacred andLegendary Art. )

THE DEATH AND ASSUMPTION Of THE VIRGIN

_Lat. _ Dormitio, Pausatio, Transitus, Assumptio, B. Virginis. _Ital. _Il Transito di Maria. Il Sonno della Beata Vergine. L' Assunzione. _Fr. _ La Mort de la Vierge. L'Assomption. _Ger. _ Das Absterben derMaria. Maria Himmelfahrt. August, 13, 15. 

We approach the closing scenes. 

Of all the representations consecrated to the glory of the Virgin, none have been more popular, more multiplied through every form ofart, and more admirably treated, than her death and apotheosis. The latter in particular, under the title of "the Assumption, "became the visible expression of a dogma of faith then universallyreceived--namely, the exaltation and deification of the Virgin inthe body as well as in the spirit. As such it meets us at every turnin the edifices dedicated to her; in painting over the altar, insculpture over the portal, or gleaming upon us in light from theshining many-coloured windows. Sometimes the two subjects arecombined, and the death-scene (_Il transito di Maria_) figured below, is, in fact, only the _transition_ to the blessedness and exaltationfigured above. But whether separate or combined, the two scenes, inthemselves most beautiful and touching, --the extremes of the mournfuland the majestic, the dramatic and the ideal, --offered to the medievalartists such a breadth of space for the exhibition of feeling andfancy as no other subject afforded. Consequently, among the exampleshanded down to us, are to be found some of the most curious andimportant relics of the early schools, while others rank among thegrandest productions of the best ages of art. 

For the proper understanding of these, it is necessary to give the oldapocryphal legend at some length; for, although the very curious andextravagant details of this legend were not authorized by the Churchas matters of fact or faith, it is clear that the artists werepermitted thence to derive their materials and their imagery. Inwhat manner they availed themselves of this permission, and how farthe wildly poetical circumstances with which the old tradition wasgradually invested, were allowed to enter into the forms of art, weshall afterwards consider. 

 THE LEGEND OF THE DEATH AND ASSUMPTION OF THE MOST GLORIOUS VIRGIN MARY. 

 Mary dwelt in the house of John upon Mount Sion looking for the fulfilment of the promise of deliverance, and she spent her days in visiting those places which had been hallowed by the baptism, the sufferings, the burial and resurrection of her divine Son, but more particularly the tomb wherein he was laid. And she did not this as seeking the living among the dead, but for consolation and for remembrance. 

 And on a certain day; the heart of the Virgin, being filled with an inexpressible longing to behold her Son, melted away within her, and she wept abundantly. And lo! an angel appeared before her clothed in light as with a garment. And he saluted her, and said, "Hail, O Mary! blessed by him who hath given salvation to Israel I bring thee here a branch of palm gathered in Paradise; command that it be carried before thy bier in the day of thy death; for in three days they soul shall leave thy body, and though shalt enter into Paradise, where thy Son awaits thy coming. " Mary, answering, said, "If I have found grace in thy eyes, tell me first what is thy name; and grant that the apostles my brethren may be reunited to me before I die, that in their presence I may give up my soul to God. Also, I pray thee, that my soul, when delivered from my body, may not be affrighted by any spirit of darkness, nor any evil angel be allowed to have any power over me. " And the angel said, "Why dost thou ask my name? My name is the Great and the Wonderful. And now doubt not that all the apostles shall be reunited, to thee this day; for he who in former times transported the prophet Habakkuk from Judea to Jerusalem by the hair of his head, can as easily bring hither the apostles. And fear thou not the evil spirit, for hast thou not bruised his head and destroyed his kingdom?" And having said these words, the angel departed into heaven; and the palm branch which he had left behind him shed light from every leaf, and sparkled as the stars of the morning. Then Mary lighted, the lamps and prepared her bed, and waited until the hour was come. And in the same instant John, who was preaching at Ephesus, and Peter, who was preaching at Antioch, and all the other apostles who were dispersed in different parts of the world, were suddenly caught up as by a miraculous power, and found themselves before the door of the habitation of Mary. When Mary saw them all assembled round her, she blessed and thanked the Lord, and she placed in the hands of St. John the shining palm, and desired that he should bear it before her at the time of her burial. Then Mary, kneeling down, made her prayer to the Lord her Son, and the others prayed with her; then she laid herself down in her bed and composed herself for death. And John wept bitterly. And about the third hour of the night, as Peter stood at the head of the bed and John at the foot, and the other apostles around, a mighty sound filled the house, and a delicious perfume filled the chamber. And Jesus himself appeared accompanied by an innumerable company of angels, patriarchs, and prophets; all these surrounded the bed of the Virgin, singing hymns of joy. And Jesus said to his Mother, "Arise, my beloved, mine elect! come with me from Lebanon, my espoused! receive the crown that is destined for thee!" And Mary, answering, said, "My heart is ready; for it was written of me that I should do thy will!" Then all the angels and blessed spirits who accompanied Jesus began to sing and rejoice. And the soul of Mary left her body, and was received into the arms of her Son; and together they ascended into heaven. [1] And the apostles looked up, saying, "Oh most prudent Virgin, remember us when thou comest to glory!" and the angels, who received her into heaven, sung these words, "Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness leaning upon her Beloved? she is fairer than all the daughters of Jerusalem. "

[Footnote 1: In the later French legend, it is the angelMichael who takes charge of the departing soul. "_Ecce Dominusvenit cum multitudine angelorum_; et Jésus Christ vint en grandecompaignie d'anges; entre lesquels estoit Sainct Michel, et quandla Vierge Marie le veit elle dit, 'Benoist soit Jésus Christ car ilne m'a pas oubliée. ' Quand elle eut ce dit elle rendit l'esprit, lequel Sainct Michel print. "]

 But the body of Mary remained upon the earth; and three among the virgins prepared to wash and clothe it in a shroud; but such a glory of light surrounded her form, that though they touched it they could not see it, and no human eye beheld those chaste and sacred limbs unclothed. Then the apostles took her up reverently and placed her upon a bier, and John, carrying the celestial palm, went before. Peter sung the 114th Psalm, "_In exitu Israel de Egypto, domus Jacob de populo barbaro_, " and the angels followed after, also singing. The wicked Jews, hearing these melodious voices, ran together; and the high-priest, being seized with fury, laid his hands upon the bier intending to overturn it on the earth; but both his arms were suddenly dried up, so that he could not move them, and he was overcome with fear; and he prayed to St. Peter for help, and Peter said, "Have faith in Jesus Christ, and his Mother, and thon shalt be healed;" and it was so. Then they went on and laid the Virgin in a tomb in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. [1]

[Footnote 1: Or Gethsemane. I must observe here, that in thegenuine oriental legend, it is Michael the Archangel who hews offthe hands of the audacious Jew, which were afterwards, at theintercession of St. Peter, reunited to his body. ]

 And on the third day, Jesus said to the angels, "What honour shall I confer on her who was my mother on earth, and brought me forth?" And they answered, "Lord, suffer not that body which was thy temple and thy dwelling to see corruption; but place her beside thee on thy throne in heaven. " And Jesus consented; and the Archangel Michael brought unto the Lord, the glorious soul of our Lady. And the Lord said, "Rise up, my dove, my undefiled, for thou shalt not remain in the darkness of the grave, nor shall thou see corruption;" and immediately the soul of Mary rejoined her body, and she arose up glorious from the tomb, and ascended into heaven surrounded and welcomed by troops of angels, blowing their silver trumpets, touching their golden lutes, singing, and rejoicing as they sung, "Who is she that riseth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?" (Cant. Vi. 10. )

 But one among the apostles was absent; and when he arrived soon after, he would not believe in the resurrection of the Virgin; and this apostle was the same Thomas, who had formerly been slow to believe in the resurrection of the Lord; and he desired that the tomb should be opened before him; and when it was opened it was found to be full of lilies and roses. Then Thomas, looking up to heaven, beheld the Virgin bodily, in a glory of light, slowly mounting towards the heaven; and she, for the assurance of his faith, flung down to him her girdle, the same which is to this day preserved in the cathedral of Prato. And there were present at the death of the Virgin Mary, besides the twelve apostles, Dionysius the Areopagite, Timotheus, and Hierotheus; and of the women, Mary Salome, Mary Cleophas, [1] and a faithful handmaid whose name was Savia. 

[Footnote 1: According to the French legend, Mary Magdalene and hersister Martha were also present. ]

 * * * * *

This legend of the Death and Assumption of the Virgin has afforded tothe artists seven distinct scenes. 

1. The Angel, bearing the palm, announces to Mary her approachingdeath. The announcing angel is usually supposed to be Gabriel, butit is properly Michael, the "angel of death. " 2. She takes leave ofthe Apostles. 3. Her Death. 4. She is borne to the Sepulchre. 5. Her Entombment. 6. Her Assumption, where she rises triumphant andglorious, "like unto the morning" ("_quasi aurora consurgens_"). 7. Her Coronation in heaven, where she takes her place beside her Son. 

In early art, particularly in the Gothic sculpture, two or more ofthese subjects are generally grouped together. Sometimes we have thedeath-scene and the entombment on a line below, and, above these, the coronation or the assumption, as over the portal of Notre Dame atParis, and in many other instances; or we have first her death, abovethis, her assumption, and, above all, her coronation; as over theportal at Amiens and elsewhere. 

 * * * * *

I shall now take these subjects in their order. 

The angel announcing to Mary her approaching death has been rarelytreated. In general, Mary is seated or standing, and the angel kneelsbefore her, bearing the starry palm brought from Paradise. In thefrescoes at Orvieto, and in the bas-relief of Oreagna, [1] the angelcomes flying downwards with the palm. In a predella by Fra FilippoLippi, the angel kneels, reverently presenting a taper, which theVirgin receives with majestic grace; St. Peter stands behind. It wasthe custom to place a taper in the hand of a dying person; and as thepalm is also given sometimes to the angel of the incarnation, whilethe taper can have but one meaning, the significance of the sceneis here fixed beyond the possibility of mistake, though there is adeparture from the literal details of the old legend. There is inthe Munich Gallery a curious German example of this subject by HansSchauffelein. 

[Footnote 1: On the beautiful shrine in Or-San-Michele, at Florence. ]

 * * * * *

The death of the Virgin is styled in Byzantine and old Italian artthe Sleep of the Virgin, _Il Sonno della Madonna_; for it was anold superstition, subsequently rejected as heretical, that she didnot really die after the manner of common mortals, only fell asleeptill her resurrection. Therefore, perhaps, it is, that in the earlypictures we have before us, not so much a scene or action, as a sortof mysterious rite; it is not the Virgin dead or dying in her bed; sheonly slumbers in preparation for her entombment; while in the laterpictures, we have a death-bed scene with all the usual dramatic andpathetic accessories. 

In one sense or the other, the theme has been constantly treated, from the earliest ages of the revival of art down to the seventeenthcentury. 

In the most ancient examples which are derived from the Greek school, it is always represented with a mystical and solemn simplicity, adhering closely to the old legend, and to the formula laid down inthe Greek Manual. 

There is such a picture in the Wallerstein Collection at KensingtonPalace. The couch or bier is in the centre of the picture, and Marylies upon it wrapped in a veil and mantle with closed eyes and handscrossed over her bosom. The twelve apostles stand round in attitudesof grief angels attend bearing tapers. Behind the extended form of theVirgin is the figure of Christ; a glorious red seraph with expandedwings hovers above his head. He holds in his arms the soul of theVirgin in likeness of a new-born child. On each side stand St. Dionysius the Areopagite, and St. Timothy, Bishop of Ephesas, inepiscopal robes. In front, the archangel Michael bends forward tostrike off the hands of the high-priest Adonijah, who had attempted toprofane the bier. (This last circumstance is rarely expressed, exceptin the Byzantine pictures; for in the Italian legend, the hands of theintruder wither and adhere to the bed or shrine. ) In the picturejust described; all is at once simple, and formal, and solemn, andsupernatural; it is a very perfect example in its way of the genuineByzantine treatment. There is a similar picture in the Christianmuseum of the Vatican. 

Another (the date about the first half of the fourteenth century, as I think) is curious from the introduction of the women. [1] TheVirgin lies on an embroidered sheet held reverently by angels; at thefeet and at the head other angels bear tapers; Christ receives thedeparting soul, which stretches out its arms; St. John kneels infront, and St. Peter reads the service; the other apostles are behindhim, and there are three women. The execution of this curious pictureis extremely rude, but the heads very fine. Cimabue painted the Deathof the Virgin at Assisi. There is a beautiful example by Giotto, wheretwo lovely angels stand at the head and two at the feet, sustainingthe pall on which she lies; another most exquisite by Angelico inthe Florence Gallery; another most beautiful and pathetic by TaddeoBartoli in the Palazzo Publico at Siena. 

[Footnote 1: At present in the collection of Mr. Bromley, of Wootten. ]

The custom of representing Christ as standing by the couch or tomb ofhis mother, in the act of receiving her soul, continued down to thefifteenth century, at least with slight deviations from the originalconception. The later treatment is quite different. The solemnmysterious sleep, the transition from one life to another, became afamiliar death-bed scene with the usual moving accompaniments. Buteven while avoiding the supernatural incidents, the Italians gave tothe representation much ideal elegance; for instance, in the beautifulfresco by Ghirlandajo. (Florence, S. Maria-Novella. )

 * * * * *

In the old German school we have that homely matter-of-fact feeling, and dramatic expression, and defiance of all chronological propriety, which belonged to the time and school. The composition by AlbertDurer, in his series of the Life of the Virgin, has great beauty andsimplicity of expression, and in the arrangement a degree of grandeurand repose which has caused it to be often copied and reproduced as apicture, though the original form is merely that of a wood-cut. [1] Inthe centre is a bedstead with a canopy, on which Mary lies frontingthe spectator, her eyes half closed. On the left of the bed standsSt. Peter, habited as a bishop: he places a taper in her dying hand;another apostle holds the asperge with which to sprinkle her withholy water: another reads the service. In the foreground is a priestbearing a cross, and another with incense; and on the right, the otherapostles in attitudes of devotion and grief. 

[Footnote 1: There is one such copy in the Sutherland Gallery; andanother in the Munich Gallery, Cabinet viii. 161. ]

Another picture by Albert Durer, once in the Fries Gallery, atVienna, unites, in a most remarkable manner, all the legendary andsupernatural incidents with the most intense and homely reality. Itappears to have been painted for the Emperor Maximilian, as a tributeto the memory of his first wife, the interesting Maria of Burgundy. The disposition of the bed is the same as in the wood-cut, the foottowards the spectator. The face of the dying Virgin is that of theyoung duchess. On the right, her son, afterwards Philip of Spain, and father of Charles V. , stands as the young St. John, and presentsthe taper; the other apostles are seen around, most of them praying;St. Peter, habited as bishop, reads from an open book (this is theportrait of George à Zlatkonia, bishop of Vienna, the friend andcounsellor of Maximilian); behind him, as one of the apostles, Maximilian himself, with head bowed down, as in sorrow. Threeecclesiastics are seen entering by an open door, bearing the cross, the censer, and the holy water. Over the bed is seen the figure ofChrist; in his arms, the soul of the Virgin, in likeness of an infantwith clasped hands; and above all, in an open glory and like a vision, her reception and coronation in heaven. Upon a scroll over her head, are the words, "_Surge propera, amica mea; veni de Libano, venicoronaberis. _" (Cant. Iv. 8. ) Three among the hovering angels bearscrolls, on one of which is inscribed the text from the Canticles, "_Quæ est ista quæ progreditur quasi aurora consurgens, pulchra utluna, electa ut sol, terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata?_" (Cant. Vi. 10;) on another, "_Quæ est ista quæ ascendit de deserto deliciisaffluens super dilectum suum?_" (Cant. Viii. 5;) and on the third, "_Quæ est ista quæ ascendit super dilectum suum ut virgula fumi?_"(Cant. Iii. 6. ) This picture bears the date 1518. If it be true, asis, indeed, most apparent, that it was painted by order of Maximiliannearly forty years after the loss of the young wife he so tenderlyloved, and only one year before his own death, there is somethingvery touching in it as a memorial. The ingenious and tender complimentimplied by making Mary of Burgundy the real object of those mystictexts consecrated to the glory of the MATER DEI, verges, perhaps, on the profane; but it was not so intended; it was merely thatcombination of the pious, and the poetical, and the sentimental, whichwas one of the characteristics of the time, in literature, as well asin art. (Heller's Albrecht Dürer p. 261. )

The picture by Jan Schoreel, one of the great ornaments of theBoisserée Gallery, [1] is remarkable for its intense reality andsplendour of colour. The heads are full of character; that of theVirgin in particular, who seems, with half-closed eyes, in act tobreathe away her soul in rapture. The altar near the bed, having onit figures of Moses and Aaron, is, however, a serious fault andincongruity in this fine painting. 

[Footnote 1: Munich (70). The admirable lithograph by Strixner is wellknown. ]

I must observe that Mary is not always dead or dying: she is sometimespreparing for death, in the act of prayer at the foot of her couch, with the apostles standing round, as in a very fine picture by MartinSchaffner, where she kneels with a lovely expression, sustained in thearms of St. John, while St. Peter holds the gospel open before her. (Munich Gal. ) Sometimes she is sitting up in her bed, and reading fromthe Book of the Scripture, which is always held by St. Peter. 

In a picture by Cola della Matrice, the Death of the Virgin is treatedat once in a mystical and dramatic style. Enveloped in a dark bluemantle spangled with golden stars, she lies extended on a couch;St. Peter, in a splendid scarlet cope as bishop, reads the service;St. John, holding the palm, weeps bitterly. In front, and kneelingbefore the coach or bier, appear the three great Dominican saintsas witnesses of the religious mystery; in the centre, St. Dominick;on the left, St. Catherine of Siena; and on the right, St. ThomasAquinas. In a compartment above is the Assumption. (Rome, Capitol. )

 * * * * *

Among the later Italian examples, where the old legendary accessoriesare generally omitted, there are some of peculiar elegance. Oneby Ludovico Caracci, another by Domenichino, and a third by CarloMaratti, are treated, if not with much of poetry or religioussentiment, yet with great dignity and pathos. 

I must mention one more, because of its history and celebrity:Caravaggio, of whom it was said that he always painted like a ruffian, because he _was_ a ruffian, was also a genius in his way, and for afew months he became the fashion at Rome, and was even patronized bysome of the higher ecclesiastics. He painted for the church of _laScala in Trastevere_ a picture of the Death of the Virgin, wonderfulfor the intense natural expression, and in the same degree grotesquefrom its impropriety. Mary, instead of being decently veiled, liesextended with long scattered hair; the strongly marked featuresand large proportions of the figure are those of a woman of theTrastevere. [1] The apostles stand around; one or two of them--I mustuse the word--blubber aloud: Peter thrusts his fists into his eyes tokeep back the tears; a woman seated in front cries and sobs; nothingcan be more real, nor more utterly vulgar. The ecclesiastics for whomthe picture was executed were so scandalized, that they refused tohang it up in their church. It was purchased by the Duke of Mantua, and, with the rest of the Mantuan Gallery, came afterwards into thepossession of our unfortunate Charles I. On the dispersion of hispictures, it found its way into the Louvre, where it now is. It hasbeen often engraved. 

[Footnote 1: The face has a swollen look, and it was said thathis model had been a common woman whose features were swelled byintoxication. (Louvre, 32. )]

 * * * * *

THE APOSTLES CARRY THE BODY OF THE VIRGIN TO THE TOMB. This is a veryuncommon subject. There is a most beautiful example by Taddeo Bartoli(Siena, Pal. Publico), full of profound religious feeling. There isa small engraving by Bonasoni, in a series of the Life of the Virgin, apparently after Parmigiano, in which the apostles bear her on theirshoulders over rocky ground, and appear to be descending into theValley of Jehoshaphat: underneath are these lines:--

 "Portan gli uomini santi in su le spalle Al Sepolcro il corpo di Maria Di Josaphat nella famosa valle. "

There is another picture of this subject by Ludovico Caracci, atParma. 

 * * * * *

THE ENTOMBMENT. In the early pictures, there is little distinctionbetween this subject and the Death of the Virgin. If the figureof Christ stand over the recumbent form, holding in his arms theemancipated soul, then it is the _Transito_--the death or sleep; butwhen a sarcophagus is in the centre of the picture, and the bodylies extended above it on a sort of sheet or pall held by angels orapostles, it may be determined that it is the Entombment of the Virginafter her death. In a small and very beautiful picture by Angelico, wehave distinctly this representation. [1] She lies, like one asleep, ona white pall, held reverently by the mourners. They prepare to lay herin a marble sarcophagus. St. John, bearing the starry palm, appearsto address a man in a doctor's cap and gown, evidently intended forDionysius the Areopagite. Above, in the sky, the soul of the Virgin, surrounded by most graceful angels, is received into heaven. Thisgroup is distinguished from the group below, by being painted in adreamy bluish tint, like solidified light, or like a vision. 

[Footnote 1: This picture, now in the possession of W. FullerMaitland, Esq. , was exhibited in the British Institution in the summerof 1852. It is engraved in the Etruria Pittrice. ]

 * * * * *

THE ASSUMPTION. The old painters distinguish between the Assumptionof the soul and the Assumption of the body of the Virgin. In the firstinstance, at the moment the soul is separated from the body, Christreceives it into his keeping, standing in person either beside herdeath-bed or above it. But in the Assumption properly so called, wehave the moment wherein the soul of the Virgin is reunited to herbody, which, at the command of Christ, rises up from the tomb. Of allthe themes of sacred art there is not one more complete and beautifulthan this, in what it represents, and in what it suggests. Earth andits sorrows, death and the grave, are left below; and the pure spiritof the Mother again clothed in its unspotted tabernacle, surroundedby angelic harmonies, and sustained by wings of cherubim and seraphim, soars upwards to meet her Son, and to be reunited to him forever. 

 * * * * *

We must consider this fine subject under two aspects. 

The first is purely ideal and devotional; it is simply the expressionof a dogma of faith, "_Assumpta est Maria Virgo in Coelum_. " Thefigure of the Virgin is seen within an almond-shaped aureole (themandorla), not unfrequently crowned as well as veiled, her handsjoined, her white robe falling round her feet (for in all the earlypictures the dress of the Virgin is white, often spangled with stars), and thus she seems to cleave the air upwards, while adoring angelssurround the glory of light within which she is enshrined. Such arethe figures which are placed in sculpture over the portals of thechurches dedicated to her, as at Florence. [1] She is not alwaysstanding and upright, but seated on a throne, placed within an aureoleof light, and borne by angels, as over the door of the Campo Santoat Pisa. I am not sure that such figures are properly styled theAssumption; they rather exhibit in an ideal form the glorificationof the Virgin, another version of the same idea expressed in the_Incoronata_. She is here _Varia Virgo Assumpta_, or, in Italian, _L'Assunta_; she has taken upon her the glory of immortality, thoughnot yet crowned. 

[Footnote 1: The "Santa Maria del Fiore, "--the Duomo. ]

But when the Assumption is presented to us as the final scene of herlife, and expresses, as it were, a progressive action--when she hasleft the empty tomb, and the wondering, weeping apostles on the earthbelow, and rises "like the morning" ("_quasi aurora surgens_") fromthe night of the grave, --then we have the Assumption of the Virgin inits dramatic and historical form, the final act and consummation ofher visible and earthly life. As the Church had never settled in whatmanner she was translated into heaven, only pronouncing it heresy todoubt the fact itself, the field was in great measure left open to theartists. The tomb below, the figure of the Virgin floating in mid-air, and the opening heavens above, such is the general conception fixedby the traditions of art; but to give some idea of the manner in whichthis has been varied, I shall describe a few examples. 

1. Giunta Pisano, 1230. (Assisi, S. Franceso. ) Christ and the Virginascend together in a seated attitude upborne by clouds and surroundedby angels; his arm is round her. The empty tomb, with the apostles andothers, below. The idea is here taken from the Canticles (ch. Viii. ), "Who is this that ariseth from the wilderness leaning upon herbeloved?"

2. Andrea Orcagna, 1359. (Bas-relief, Or-San-Michele, Florence. ) TheVirgin Mary is seated on a rich throne within the _Mandorla_, whichis borne upwards by four angels, while two are playing on musicalinstruments. Immediately below the Virgin, on the right, is thefigure of St. Thomas, with hands outstretched, receiving the mysticgirdle: below is the entombment; Mary lies extended on a pall abovea sarcophagus. In the centre stands Christ, holding in his arms theemancipated soul; he is attended by eight angels. St. John is at thehead of the Virgin, and near him an angel swings a censer; St. Jamesbends and kisses her hand; St. Peter reads as usual; and the otherapostles stand round, with Dionysius, Timothy, and Hierotheus, distinguished from the apostles by wearing turbans and caps. The wholemost beautifully treated. 

I have been minutely exact in describing the details of thiscomposition, because it will be useful as a key to many others of theearly Tuscan school, both in sculpture and painting; for example, thefine bas-relief by Nanni over the south door of the Duomo at Florence, represents St. Thomas in the same manner kneeling outside the aureoleand receiving the girdle; but the entombment below is omitted. Thesesculptures were executed at the time when the enthusiasm for the_Sacratissima Cintola della Madonna_ prevailed throughout the lengthand breadth of Tuscany, and Prato had become a place of pilgrimage. 

This story of the Girdle was one of the legends imported from theEast. It had certainly a Greek origin;[1] and, according to the Greekformula, St. Thomas is to be figured apart in the clouds, on theright of the Virgin, and in the act of receiving the girdle. Such isthe approved arrangement till the end of the fourteenth century;afterwards we find St. Thomas placed below among the other apostles. 

[Footnote 1: It may be found in the Greek Menologium, iii. P. 225]

THE LEGEND OF THE HOLY GIRDLE. 

An account of the Assumption would be imperfect without some noticeof the western legend, which relates the subsequent history of theGirdle, and its arrival in Italy, as represented in the frescoes ofAgnolo Gaddi at Prato. [1]

[Footnote 1: _Notizie istoriche intorno alla Sacratissima Cintoladi Maria Vergine, che si conserva, nella Città di Prato, dal DottoreGiuseppe Bianchini di Prato_, 1795. ]

The chapel _della Sacratissima Cintola_ was erected from the designsof Giovanni Pisano about 1320. This "most sacred" relic had long beendeposited under the high altar of the principal chapel, and held ingreat veneration; but in the year 1312, a native of Prato, whose namewas Musciatino, conceived the idea of carrying it off, and selling itin Florence. The attempt was discovered; the unhappy thief suffereda cruel death; and the people of Prato resolved to provide for thefuture custody of the precious relic a new and inviolable shrine. 

The chapel is in the form of a parallelogram, three sides of which arepainted, the other being separated from the choir by a bronze gate ofmost exquisite workmanship, designed by Ghiberti, or, as others say, by Brunelleschi, and executed partly by Simone Donatello. 

On the wall, to the left as we enter, is a series of subjects from theLife of the Virgin, beginning, as usual, with the Rejection of Joachimfrom the temple, and ending with the Nativity of our Saviour. 

The end of the chapel is filled up by the Assumption of the Virgin, the tomb being seen below, surrounded by the apostles; and above itthe Virgin, as she floats into heaven, is in the act of loosening hergirdle, which St. Thomas, devoutly kneeling, stretches out his arms toreceive. Above this, a circular window exhibits, in stained glass, theCoronation of the Virgin, surrounded by a glory of angels. 

On the third wall to the right we have the subsequent History of theGirdle, in six compartments. 

St. Thomas, on the eve of his departure to fulfil his mission asapostle in the far East, intrusts the precious girdle to the care ofone of his disciples, who receives it from his hands in an ecstasy ofamazement and devotion. 

The deposit remains, for a thousand years, shrouded from the eyesof the profane; and the next scene shows us the manner in which itreached the city of Prato. A certain Michael of the Dogomari familyin Prato, joined, with a party of his young townsmen, the crusadein 1096. But, instead of returning to his native country after thewar was over, this same Michael took up the trade of a merchant, travelling from land to land in pursuit of gain, until he came to thecity of Jerusalem, and lodged in the house of a Greek priest, to whomthe custody of the sacred relic had descended from a long line ofancestry; and this priest, according to the custom of the orientalchurch, was married, and had "one fair daughter, and no more, thewhich he loved passing well, " so well, that he had intrusted to hercare the venerable girdle. Now it chanced that Michael, lodging inthe same house, became enamoured of the maiden, and not being able toobtain the consent of her father to their marriage, he had recourseto the mother, who, moved by the tears and entreaties of the daughter, not only permitted their union, but bestowed on her the girdle as adowry, and assisted the young lovers in their flight. 

In accordance with this story, we have, in the third compartment, theMarriage of Michael with the Eastern Maiden, and then the Voyage fromthe Holy Land to the Shores of Tuscany. On the deck of the vessel, andat the foot of the mast, is placed the casket containing the relic, towhich the mariners attribute their prosperous voyage to the shores ofItaly. Then Michael is seen disembarking at Pisa, and, with his casketreverently carried in his hands, he reenters the paternal mansion inthe city of Prato. 

Then we have a scene of wonder. Michael is extended on his bed inprofound sleep. An angel at his head, and another at his feet, areabout to lift him up; for, says the story, Michael was so jealousof his treasure, that not only he kindled a lamp every night in itshonour, but, fearing he should be robbed of it, he placed it underhis bed, which action, though suggested by his profound sense of itsvalue, offended his guardian angels, who every night lifted him fromhis bed and placed him on the bare earth, which nightly inflictionthis pious man endured rather than risk the loss of his invaluablerelic. But after some years Michael fell sick and died. 

In the last compartment we have the scene of his death. The bishopUberto kneels at his side, and receives from him the sacred girdle, with a solemn injunction to preserve it in the cathedral church of thecity, and to present it from time to time for the veneration of thepeople, which injunction Uberto most piously fulfilled; and we see himcarrying it, attended by priests bearing torches, in solemn processionto the chapel, in which it has ever since remained. 

Agnolo Gaddi was but a second-rate artist, even for his time, yetthese frescoes, in spite of the feebleness and general inaccuracyof the drawing, are attractive from a certain _naïve_ grace; and theromantic and curious details of the legend have lent them so much ofinterest, that, as Lord Lindsay says, "when standing on the spot onereally feels indisposed for criticism. "[1]

[Footnote 1: M. Rio is more poetical. "Comme j'entendais racontercette légende pour la première fois, il me semblait que le tableauréfléchissait une partie de la poésie qu'elle renferme. Cet amourd'outre mer mêlé aux aventures chevaleresques d'une croisade, cetterelique précieuse donnée pour dot à une pauvre fille, la dévotiondes deux époux pour ce gage révéré de leur bonheur, leur départclandestin, leur navigation prospère avec des dauphins qui leur fontcortège à la surface des eaux, leur arrivée à Prato et les miraclesrépétés qui, joints à une maladie mortelle, arracèhrent enfin de labouche du moribond une déclaration publique à la suite de laquellela ceinture sacrée fut déposée dans la cathédrale, tout ce mélangede passion romanesque et de piété naïve, avait effacé pour moi lesimperfections techniques qui au raient pu frapper une observateur desang-froid. "]

The exact date of the frescoes executed by Agnolo Gaddi is not known, but, according to Vasari, he was called to Prato _after_ 1348. Aninscription in the chapel refers them to the year 1390, a date toolate to be relied on. The story of Michele di Prato I have never seenelsewhere; but just as the vicinity of Cologne, the shrine of the"Three Kings, " had rendered the Adoration of the Magi one of thepopular themes in early German and Flemish art; so the vicinity ofPrato rendered the legend of St. Thomas a favourite theme of theFlorentine school, and introduced it wherever the influence of thatschool had extended. The fine fresco by Mainardi, in the BaroncelliChapel, is an instance; and I must cite one yet finer, that byGhirlandajo in the choir of S. Maria-Novella: in this last-mentionedexample, the Virgin stands erect in star-bespangled drapery andclosely veiled. 

We now proceed to other examples of the treatment of the Assumption. 

3. Taddeo Bartoli, 1413. He has represented the moment in which thesoul is reunited to the body. Clothed in a starry robe she appears inthe very act and attitude of one rising up from a reclining position, which is most beautifully expressed, as if she were partly liftedup upon the expanded many-coloured wings of a cluster of angels, andpartly drawn up, as it were, by the attractive power of Christ, who, floating above her, takes her clasped hands in both his. The intense, yet tender ecstasy in _her_ face, the mild spiritual benignity in_his_, are quite indescribable, and fix the picture in the heart andthe memory as one of the finest religious conceptions extant. (Siena, Palazzo Publico. )

I imagine this action of Christ taking her hands in both his, must befounded on some ancient Greek model, for I have seen the same _motif_in other pictures, German and Italian; but in none so tenderly or sohappily expressed. 

4. Domenico di Bartolo, 1430. A large altar-piece. Mary seated on athrone, within a glory of encircling cherubim of a glowing red, andabout thirty more angels, some adoring, others playing on musicalinstruments, is borne upwards. Her hands are joined in prayer, herhead veiled and crowned, and she wears a white robe, embroideredwith golden flowers. Above, in the opening heaven, is the figure ofChrist, young and beardless (_à l'antique_), with outstretched arms, surrounded by the spirits of the blessed. Below, of a diminutivesize, as if seen from a distant height, is the tomb surrounded bythe apostles, St. Thomas holding the girdle. This is one of the mostremarkable and important pictures of the Siena school, out of Siena, with which I am acquainted. (Berlin Gal. , 1122. )

5. Ghirlandajo, 1475. The Virgin stands in star-spangled drapery, witha long white veil, and hands joined, as she floats upwards. She issustained by four seraphim. (Florence, S. Maria-Novella. )

6. Raphael, 1516. The Virgin is seated within the horns of a crescentmoon, her hands joined. On each side an angel stands bearing a flamingtorch; the empty tomb and the eleven apostles below. This compositionis engraved after Raphael by an anonymous master (_Le Maitre audé_). It is majestic and graceful, but peculiar for the time. The twoangels, or rather genii, bearing torches on each side, impart to thewhole something of the air of a heathen apotheosis. 

7. Albert Durer. The apostles kneel or stand round the empty tomb;while Mary, soaring upwards, is received into heaven by her Son; anangel on each side. 

8. Gaudenzio Ferrari, 1525. Mary, in a white robe spangled with stars, rises upward as if cleaving the air in an erect position, with herhands extended, but not raised, and a beautiful expression of mildrapture, as if uttering the words attributed to her, "My heart isready;" many angels, some of whom bear tapers, around her. One angelpresents the end of the girdle to St. Thomas; the other apostles andthe empty tomb lower down. (Vercelli, S. Cristofore. )

9. Correggio. Cupola of the Duomo at Parma, 1530. This is, perhaps, one of the earliest instances of the Assumption applied as a grandpiece of scenic decoration; at all events we have nothing inthis luxuriant composition of the solemn simplicity of the olderconception. In the highest part of the Cupola, where the strongestlight falls, Christ, a violently foreshortened figure, precipitateshimself downwards to meet the ascending Madonna, who, reclining amidclouds, and surrounded by an innumerable company of angels, extendsher arms towards him. One glow of heavenly rapture is diffused overall; but the scene is vast, confused, almost tumultuous. Below, allround the dome, as if standing on a balcony, appear the apostles. 

10. Titian, 1540 (about). In the Assumption at Venice, a picture ofworld-wide celebrity, and, in its way, of unequalled beauty, we haveanother signal departure from all the old traditions. The noble figureof the Virgin in a flood of golden light is borne, or rather impelled, upwards with such rapidity, that her veil and drapery are disturbedby the motion. Her feet are uncovered, a circumstance inadmissible inancient art; and her drapery, instead of being white, is of the usualblue and crimson, her appropriate colours in life. Her attitude, with outspread arms--her face, not indeed a young or lovely face, but something far better, sublime and powerful in the expression ofrapture--the divinely beautiful and childish, yet devout, unearthlylittle angels around her--the grand apostles below--and the splendourof colour over all--render this picture an enchantment at once to thesenses and the imagination; to me the effect was like music. 

11. Palma Vecchio, 1535. (Venice Acad. ) The Virgin looks down, notupwards, as is usual, and is in the act of taking off her girdle tobestow it on St. Thomas, who, with ten other apostles, stands below. 

12. Annibale Caracci, 1600. (Bologna Gal. ) The Virgin amid a crowdof youthful angels, and sustained by clouds, is placed _across_ thepicture with extended arms. Below is the tomb (of sculptured marble)and eleven apostles, one of whom, with an astonished air, lifts fromthe sepulchre a handful of roses. There is another picture wonderfullyfine in the same style by Agostino Caracci. This fashion of varyingthe attitude of the Virgin was carried in the later schools to everyexcess of affectation. In a picture by Lanfranco. She cleaves the airlike a swimmer, which is detestable. 

13. Rubens painted at least twelve Assumptions with characteristic_verve_ and movement. Some of these, if not very solemn or poetical, convey very happily the idea of a renovated life. The largest and mostsplendid as a scenic composition is in the Musée at Brussels. Morebeautiful, and, indeed, quite unusually poetical for Rubens, isthe small Assumption in the Queen's Gallery, a finished sketch forthe larger picture. The majestic Virgin, arrayed in white and bluedrapery, rises with outstretched arms, surrounded by a choir ofangels; below, the apostles and the women either follow with upwardgaze the soaring ecstatic figure, or look with surprise at the flowerswhich spring within the empty tomb. 

In another Assumption by Rubens, one of the women exhibits themiraculous flowers in her apron, or in a cloth, I forget which; butthe whole conception, like too many of his religious subjects, borderson the vulgar and familiar. 

14. Guido, as it is well known, excelled in this fine subject, --Imean, according to the taste and manner of his time and school. Hisascending Madonnas have a sort of aërial elegance, which is veryattractive; but they are too nymph-like. We must be careful todistinguish in his pictures (and all similar pictures painted after1615) between the Assumption and the Immaculate Conception; it is adifference in sentiment which I have already pointed out. The smallfinished sketch by Guido in our National Gallery is an Assumption andCoronation together: the Madonna is received into heaven as _ReginaAngelorum_. The fine large Assumption in the Munich Gallery may beregarded as the best example of Guido's manner of treating this theme. His picture in the Bridgewater Gallery, often styled an Assumption, isan Immaculate Conception. 

The same observations would apply to Poussin, with, however, more ofmajesty. His Virgins are usually seated or reclining, and in generalwe have a fine landscape beneath. 

 * * * * *

The Assumption, like the Annunciation, the Nativity, and otherhistorical themes, may, through ideal accessories, assume a purelydevotional form. It ceases then to be a fact or an event, and becomesa vision or a mystery, adored by votaries, to which attendant saintsbear witness. Of this style of treatment there are many beautifulexamples. 

1. Early Florentine, about 1450. (Coll. Of Fuller Maitland, Esq. )The Virgin, seated, elegantly draped in white, and with pale-blueornaments in her hair, rises within a glory sustained by six angels;below is the tomb full of flowers and in front, kneeling, St. Francisand St. Jerome. 

2. Ambrogio Borgognone--1506. (Milan, Brera. ) She stands, floatingupwards In a fine attitude: two angels crown her; others sustain her;others sound their trumpets. Below are the apostles and empty tomb; ateach side, St. Ambrose and St. Augustine; behind them, St. Cosimo andSt. Damian; the introduction of these saintly apothecaries stamps thepicture as an ex-voto--perhaps against the plague. It is very fine, expressive, and curious. 

3. F. Granacci. 1530. [1] The Virgin, ascending in glory, presentsher girdle to St. Thomas, who kneels: on each, side, standing aswitnesses. St. John the Baptist, as patron of Florence, St. Laurence, as patron of Lorenzo de' Medici, and the two apostles, St. Bartholomewand St. James. 

[Footnote 1: In the Casa Ruccellai (?) Engraved in the _EtruriaPittrice_. ]

4. Andrea del Sarto, 1520. (Florence, Pitti Pal. ) She is seatedamid vapoury clouds, arrayed in white: on each side adoring angels:below, the tomb with the apostles, a fine solemn group: and hi front, St. Nicholas, and that interesting penitent saint, St. Margaret ofCortona. (Legends of the Monastic Orders. ) The head of the Virginis the likeness of Andrea's infamous wife; otherwise this is amagnificent picture. 

 * * * * *

The Coronation of the Virgin follows the Assumption. In someinstances, this final consummation of her glorious destiny supersedes, or rather includes, her ascension into heaven. As I have alreadyobserved, it is necessary to distinguish this scenic Coronation fromthe mystical INCORONATA, properly so called, which is the triumph ofthe allegorical church, and altogether an allegorical and devotionaltheme; whereas, the scenic Coronation is the last event in a series ofthe Life of the Virgin. Here we have before us, not merely the courtof heaven, its argent fields peopled with celestial spirits, and thesublime personification of the glorified Church exhibited as a vision, and quite apart from all real, all human associations; but we haverather the triumph of the human mother;--the lowly woman liftedinto immortality. The earth and its sepulchre, the bearded apostlesbeneath, show us that, like her Son, she has ascended into glory bythe dim portal of the grave, and entered into felicity by the path ofpain. Her Son, next to whom she has taken her seat, has himself wipedthe tears from her eyes, and set the resplendent crown upon her head;the Father blesses her; the Holy Spirit bears witness; cherubim andseraphim welcome her, and salute her as their queen. So Dante, --

 "At their joy And carol smiles the Lovely One of heaven, That joy is in the eyes of all the blest. "

Thus, then, we must distinguish:--

1. The Coronation of the Virgin is a strictly devotional subject whereshe is attended, not merely by angels and patriarchs, but by canonizedsaints and martyrs, by fathers and doctors of the Church, heads ofreligious orders in monkish dresses, patrons and votaries. 

2. It is a dramatic and historical subject when it is the last scenein a series of the Life of the Virgin; when the death-bed, or thetomb, or the wondering apostles, and weeping women, are figured onthe earth below. 

Of the former treatment, I have spoken at length. It is that mostcommonly met with in early pictures and altar-pieces. 

With regard to the historical treatment, it is more rare as a separatesubject, but there are some celebrated examples both in churchdecoration and in pictures. 

1. In the apsis of the Duomo at Spoleto, we have, below, the deathof the Virgin in the usual manner, that is, the Byzantine conceptiontreated in the Italian style, with Christ receiving her soul, and overit the Coronation. The Virgin kneels in a white robe, spangled withgolden flowers; and Christ, who is here represented rather as theFather than the Son, crowns her as queen of heaven. 

2. The composition by Albert Durer, which concludes his fine seriesof wood-cuts, the "Life, of the Virgin" is very grand and singular. Onthe earth is the empty tomb; near it the bier; around stand the twelveapostles, all looking up amazed. There is no allusion to the girdle, which, indeed, is seldom found in northern art. Above, the Virginfloating in the air, with the rainbow under her feet, is crowned bythe Father and the Son, while over her head hovers the holy Dove. 

3. In the Vatican is the Coronation attributed to Raphael. That hedesigned the cartoon, and began the altar-piece, for the nuns ofMonte-Luce near Perugia, seems beyond all doubt; but it is equallycertain that the picture as we see it was painted almost entirely byhis pupils Giulo Romano and Gian Francesco Penni. Here we have thetomb below, filled with flowers; and around it the twelve apostles;John and his brother James, in front, looking up; behind John, St. Peter; more in the background, St. Thomas holds the girdle. Above isthe throne set in heaven, whereon the Virgin, mild and beautiful, sitsbeside her divine Son, and with joined hands, and veiled head, andeyes meekly cast down, bends to receive the golden coronet he is aboutto place on her brow. The Dove is omitted, but eight seraphim, withrainbow-tinted wings, hover above her head. On the right, a mostgraceful angel strikes the tambourine; on the left, another, equallygraceful, sounds the viol; and, amidst a flood of light, hosts ofcelestial and rejoicing spirits fill up the background. 

Thus, in highest heaven, yet not out of sight of earth, in beatitudepast utterance, in blessed fruition of all that faith creates and lovedesires, amid angel hymns and starry glories, ends the pictured lifeof Mary, MOTHER OF OUR LORD. 

THE END.