ing in silent grief the paradise they have lost, whilst in the corner of the foreground, a demon drags one of the accursed with a cord towards the Hades on the neighbour ing wall.” A noble and serene youthfulness, dignity and decorum easy lightness of motion and a fine attitude are here given to the Saviour. 1 Repose and contemplation are well ren dered in the face of the Virgin, the extasy of a dweller of the desert in the wild features of the Baptist. Grandeur and dignity mark the apostles, as they sit upon the clouds, majestically enveloped in their draperies, and holding their several symbols, as S. Peter with the keys behind the Virgin. The groups of crowned princes and dignitaries are much damaged, as well as that of the dancers beneath it, by restoring; 2 but in the elegant form of the latter is evidently the original conception of the dances which charm in the pictures of the dominican of Fiesole. In the distribution of this subject, Orcagna perfectly ob served the laws of composition, and symmetrically divided the space he had to fill. He gave an additional charm to the picture by making it, as it were, a moving vi sion. Nature and individuality mark the faces, whose type and character are select. The angels, forcible in motion, are graceful in form and fine in proportions; and they seem truly to fly. Remarkable, however, above every thing is their foreshortened attitude. Orcagna dared much in this place. He intended to foreshorten; and, in the general movement, he realized that intention. His figures will not bear the test of scientific perspective, but they are evidently at the highest level which an artist can attain without mathematical rules; nor is it possible to conceive that more should have been, at this time, attained by Stefano or Giottino, even if we admit with 1 A red tunic covered by a blue mantle, the traditional dress of traditional colours girds the Saviour. The colour is, however, much damaged. 2 All the lower part is damaged; and one can only speak of out lines and general movement of figures.
