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212 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Chap. VII. draperies is charming. His merits are in fact con spicuous. 1 Of the ceiling he gives the drawing which he confides to his pupils. A central lozenge, occupying one quarter of its surface, circumscribes a square in which Apollo on his biga is driven by four horses of various colour. The speed is great, and the ribbands curl in the wind as the wheels revolve; and the god himself with flowing hair appears to bound as he throws his weight on one foot and poises the other behind him. He is very thin and young in type; and his head seems studied from the classic models of the ancient time. The production of the sides of the principal lozenge forms six triangular spaces. Each of them contains a round in one of which Jupiter, on a car drawn by eagles, receives a cup of nectar from a youth. The helmeted Mars in armour sits on a similar seat commanding two rampant steeds. Saturn with his scythe is driven leisurely by two snakes Venus is wafted through the sky on a tin-one by two doves and expects the dart of Amor who shoots from the clouds. Luna, nude to the waist, sits in a chariot with two nymphs in harness. Mercury, at ease on one leg, holds the ser pentine wand, and cleaves the air with the cocks bound 1 Nativity. The distance and ar chitecture are much injured by re storing. To the left, the angel ap pears to the shepherds. Transfiguration. The best of the lower figures is that of S. John protecting his eyes with his left hand, and raising himself on the right arm. The sky is repainted, and the words: “Bonum est nos hie j esse” are partially covered over. Sybils and prophets. The former it is needless to repeat, are not by Ingegno, nor are they by Raphael; and it is impossible to admit that the Daniel is a portrait of Sanzio. The execution of this fresco is masterly. One can still trace the pouncing. The sky is new. Prudence and Justice. The face of the first named virtue is dis coloured, the forehead of the Jus tice is abraded, and the fresco, generally, is the most dim in the hall. At the sides of the Virtues in this as in the next piece, mottos are inscribed on two tablets sup ported between two naked chil dren. The heads of Fabius, Socra- | tes, and Numa are much injured. Fortitude and Temperance. The sky is dimmed in parts by restor ing, and dirty in parts from varnish. The heads of Codes, Pericles, and Cincinnatusare ill preserved. Cato is paltry, altered and darkened by time. The base of the frescos is about six feet from, the ground, and the sybils, prophets, and heroes are life size.