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small veiled head, she keeps watch over the child, rest ing on a cushion on her knee. He holds a pomegranate in his left hand, and grasps with the right a slender cross, presented by the youthful Baptist. An awkward affectation marks the action, gait, and costume of the latter who stiffly comes forward in a yellow tunic, leg gings, and buskins. A hook lies on the ground together with a brace of apples and nuts. The Virgin’s face is youthful, her hair falling in abundant tresses on a droop ing shoulder, her arms disproportionately short, the dra pery festooned, with the branching loops of fold. The child is puny, heavy of head, copiously furnished with hair, sharing these peculiarities with the Baptist near him. At this advanced period of Pinturicchio’s career, he pro duces a picture every part of which recalls the style of Fiorenzo, in character, type, and drawing. It is warm in tone, successfully fused in the flesh-tints, delicately finished, and happily harmonized in strongly contrasted hues of drapery, but without unity in composition. The landscape is touched up in the distant trees with gold, and done with a minuteness worthy of Memling. The handling is tempera of abundant impasto, stippled up in the verde, with yellow hatchings in light, and red in the half shades. A similar delicacy of finish, and copiousness of detail are in the S. Augustin and the S. Jerom of the side panels. A half length of the Saviour, well propor tioned but lean, is supported in the tomb by two angels in languishing attitudes of sorrow. Youthfulness, fresh ness, and even elegance are marked in the half-lengths of the Virgin and angel annunciate; and severe gravity, sometimes heaviness in the six Evangelists and saints of the predella. 1 Gay, gaudy hues are everywhere pre- 1 The S. Augustin fully robed, holds the crozier and heart. The apostles on his stole, are imitated embroidery of the most minute detail. S. Jerom with the lion at his feet, book in hand. In thePietk, the angel to the left supports with both bands the arm of the dead Christ. The angel to the left does the same. Abundant locks cover their heads which are like those pf Fiorenzo. They wear collars of pearls. The blood flows from the lance wound. The colour is rich and juicy. The angel annunciate is young and one of the best by
