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liest development is to be found in the youthful and some what feeble Nativity at the Vatican, called the Madonna della Spineta from the convent near Todi, for which it was commissioned. 1 There is very little in this composition calling for spe cial remark. The infant, lying on the foreground, with its fingers in its mouth; S. Joseph to the left, on one knee, expressing surprise by startled action; the Virgin to the right, resigned and in prayer; two angels in rear between them and a third in immediate attendance be hind the mother of Christ, form the principal group. In the middle distance, two shepherds, and others on foot and on horseback in a landscape; to the right, the pent house and cattle; in the air, three angels, erect, singing from a long scroll — this is all. The peculiar traits in the piece which distinguish Spagna, are the long head, neck, and shoulderless frame of S. Joseph, the square and lanky shape of angels, curt proportions of hand and foot, and overcharged drapery. Superadded are, gravity of demeanour, an ashen grey coolness of tone, equal finish of parts in fore and background, minuteness of detail without great relief by light and shade. The picture, though painted in oil, looks washy and pale. It is the first impression of an arrangement repeated with varia tions in the altarpiece of the Ancajani at the Berlin Mu seum 2 . The annexed outline of the abraded distemper- 1 No. 29. Gallery of the Vatican assigned by Vermiglioli (Bernar dino ub. sup.'p. 42) to Pinturicchio, byOrsini (life of Perugino ub. sup. p. 104) to Vannucci, and in des criptions of the Vatican, to Peru gino, Pinturicchio and Raphael. The latter theory seems counte nanced by Passavant (II. 5 449) when describing a head of S. Jo seph amongst the drawings of the British Museum. The drawing, however, cannot be by Raphael (it is numberedNo,44. ex-Reynold’s collection) being too loose. On the back of the sheet is a figure of | S. Sebastian, in which Spagna’s hand, following the style of Peru gino is more apparent. But caution is required before assigning either the head or the S. Sebastian to Spagna. The former is not ex actly the same as the head of S. Joseph in the Spineta altarpiece. 2 Berlin Mus. No. 150. under the name of Raphael. Its removal from S. Pietro in the monastery of Feren- tillo and subsequent peregrinations are related by Pungileoni (Raphael ub. sup. p. 18), and by Passavant (Raphael, I. p. 66. and II. p. 16).
