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group. It is a pity that this fresco, which Vasari praises and criticises, should be much injured. The figure of Shem is preserved, with the exception of a part of the face, shoulder, and right hand. The upper part of the central figure remains, with part of the head and shoulder of that covering the naked ness of Noah. 1 Injured as these frescos have been, a careful analysis qf their parts may yield some fruitful observations. The conception of Adam’s creation reveals a new realism, an effort to show, not a creative act resulting from a mere enforcement of will, but a material exertion of phy sical force. Adam does not move alone, and at the command of God; but the Creator takes him by the hand and helps him to rise; and the spectator unmistakeably notes the muscular exertion which is necessary for the performance of the action. The nude of Adam is in fact a realistic study of a muscular and well proportioned nude, neglected somewhat in the drawing, chiefly of the extremities, but rendered with a plasticity reminiscent of statuary. A breeze plays through the broad draperies of the Eternal, the folds of whose garment still show, with some festooning, the principal masses of the flesh beneath them. 2 But, that which betrays unmistakeably the edu cation of Uccelli is the lozenge frame with its checquered black and white pattern, and the red background. 3 Uccelli finds means to represent, in the deluge, motion and irresistible force, the rush of the wind, the fury of the elements and the helplessness of man. He does not attain the highest tragic awfulness, but he combines much that contributes to it. In this composition, especially, appears his tendency to import into painting the laws of distribution habitual to the sculptor of bas-reliefs. He divided his scene into three great parts, joining them well together for the sake of unity and introducing a strong realism into the incidents. His power of keeping the human form, even when draped, before the spectator’s eye is 1 Thus it is clear that the whole of the figure of Noah is new. 2 The meandering line of the drapery skirts is a remnant of the teaching of Ghiberti. 3 The background though red
