Curiosities of Christian History Part 44

AN ARTIST DECEIVING THE BIRDS AND BEASTS (MONSIGNORI, 1519).

Francesco Monsignori of Verona had attained the highest reputation as a painter. In one picture he had to paint a beautiful dog as part of a group; and one day a friend calling with a living dog, the latter rushed furiously to the painting to attack the painted dog. In another work of the same artist, a picture of the Virgin and the Infant Christ, the Divine Child was represented as visible from the shoulder upwards only, and having one arm extended in the act of caressing the Virgin mother. One day Count Ludovico, having heard of this painting and being anxious to see it, brought his wife and son with him, and the boy had a green bird, called in Verona a terrazzani, perched on his wrist like a falcon. The moment they entered the room the bird, seeing the extended arm of the Infant Christ in the picture, flew towards it, intending to perch upon it. The bird fell to the ground, but immediately rose again, and tried to perch exactly as if it were a child on whose wrist such a bird is accustomed thus to sit. The n.o.bles, amazed at this, were inclined to offer any price for such a picture, but the artist could not be prevailed upon to part with it. A pupil of the same painter, named Girolamo, painted a Madonna sitting underneath a tree, which was put in a church near Verona, and the wild birds that sometimes found their way inside used often to fly against the picture, intending to alight on the branches of this tree. And this circ.u.mstance made the picture famous to all the neighbourhood.

FINDING A MODEL FOR A MARTYRED SAINT (MONSIGNORI, 1519).

Francesco Monsignori of Verona had painted many sacred subjects with the highest success before he was engaged to paint St. Sebastian for the Church of the Madonna, outside Mantua. The saint was shot to death with arrows. While the painter was at work on the picture the Marquis of Mantua called and asked him whether he had got a good model for this difficult picture. The painter said he had selected a very beautiful person who was a porter, and who would no doubt allow himself to be tied to the stake and a.s.sume the proper att.i.tudes. "That won't do," said the Marquis; "you will not be able to represent the proper fear and horror and resistance of the person who is to be murdered. Just inform me when your model is to sit again, and I will show you the right thing to do." The following day, when the painter had fastened the porter to the stake, and had given secret notice of it to the Marquis, the latter suddenly burst into the room with a cross-bow and arrows in a state of great excitement, and with a loud voice he rushed to the porter, exclaiming, "Traitor! you are a dead man! I have caught you at last, and I will make an end of you," with other horrible exclamations of rage and revenge. The poor unlucky porter, believing that his doom was near, made the most desperate efforts to release himself, and the excitement and agitation of his countenance and limbs, as he was struggling against his fate, supplied the painter with the very att.i.tudes and expression he most desired. "Now," said the Marquis, "he is just in the right position, I will leave you to do the rest." This timely a.s.sistance enabled the painter to make an admirable picture of the martyrdom of the saint.

A DIVINE ARTIST DISCOVERING ONE STILL MORE DIVINE (FRANCIA, 1520).

Francesco Francia, born in 1450, began as a goldsmith and designer at Bologna, but felt he could be a painter, and his pictures when he attempted them soon brought him wealth and fame, for his Madonnas and Christs and angels and saints were exquisite. When he was at the height of fame, he had been constantly told of the glories of Raphael, who was then working at Rome, so that he longed to see some of these much-applauded masterpieces. It happened that Raphael had been commissioned to execute a picture of St. Cecilia, which was to be forwarded to Bologna on its way to the chapel of San Giovanni in Monte. Raphael, on forwarding it, sent a polite and friendly letter, asking Francia to look after it, and remove any scratches it might have received, and make any alterations which his skill might suggest. This pleased Francia, who had the picture at once taken out of its case and put in a clear light, that he might critically examine it. He was instantaneously confounded and overwhelmed with the beauty and masterly execution of the work. He at once felt conscious of his own foolish presumption in thinking he could improve it. He was struck dumb with terror, and went about distracted and overweighted with grief at his own shortcomings. He sent the picture on to its destination, but its extreme and unparalleled beauty smote him to the heart. He took to his bed, never recovered his former spirits, and soon died of grief and vexation to think how far short he had been of such excellence. Such is the account given by Vasari, but it is thought by some authorities to have been exaggerated.

LEONARDO DA VINCI'S PICTURE OF THE LAST SUPPER (1520).

When Leonardo da Vinci painted the Last Supper about 1497, one of the greatest pictures of the world, the subject had been little attempted before, and he gave the greatest care to the details. He used to remain at his easel on the scaffold absorbed in thought for whole days, often forgetful of his meals. One great difficulty was to satisfy himself about the proper head for his Christ. He used to say that, when he attempted it, his hand trembled under the excitement of discovering the most appropriate face and expression. A friend, whom he consulted about the difficulty, comforted him by saying that, after his heads of James the Great and James the Less, it was beyond the power of man to give greater divinity and beauty to any human figures, and therefore he should leave the head of Christ imperfect. He never could satisfy himself about leaving out or finishing this cardinal point. At last he accepted a good deal of the form which the Byzantine painters had previously adopted, though he also improved upon it. Leonardo is said to have spent an inordinate time over this picture, and the prior of the monastery at Florence for whom it was painted in fresco could never understand why the painter seemed for so many days and weeks to be brooding and contemplating, and criticising, undoing, and altering, without finishing his work. The prior thought that, like the day-labourers, the great painter ought to have the brush constantly in his hand, spreading his colours and making visible progress in covering the wall. And he grievously complained again and again, not only to the painter himself, but to the duke, of all this delay; and the worry and importunity of this prior vexed and annoyed the painter, who, when alluding to it, explained to the duke how artists are sometimes producing most when they seem to be labouring least, their minds being elaborating the conceptions which it is so difficult to realise. He also informed the duke that there were still wanting to him two heads, one of which, that of the Saviour, he could not hope to find on earth, and had not yet attained the power of presenting to himself even in imagination, with all that perfection of beauty and celestial grace which appeared to him to be demanded. The second head still wanting was that of Judas Iscariot, which also caused him some anxiety, since he did not think it possible to imagine fitting features for a man who, after so many benefits received from his Master, had possessed a heart so depraved as to be capable of betraying that Master, the Lord and Creator of the world. With regard to the second, however, he said he would still pursue his search, and after all, if the worst came to the worst, and if he could find no better, then he would never be at any great loss so long as he had that troublesome and impertinent prior's face before him. The duke laughed heartily, and the poor prior when informed was so utterly confounded at the appalling destiny awaiting him that he kept his peace for ever after.

This magnificent masterpiece of the Last Supper unfortunately rapidly deteriorated in its colouring, owing to its being painted in oils instead of fresco; and it has often since been retouched and repaired, till it is doubtful how much of the original now remains, except the composition, design, and grouping, which make the picture imperishable. The refectory of the convent in which the picture was painted in fresco was more than once inundated with water, and ill usage did the rest. In 1796, when Napoleon's troops entered Italy, they turned the refectory into a stable, and the men even amused themselves with throwing bricks at the painted heads of the Apostles. Fortunately the original work in its beauty was well copied in 1510, and this copy, after changing hands, came into the possession of the Royal Academy in London, who now possess it. Other copies were painted by the same artist about the same time. This picture is the best known and most famous in Christian art. We find it alike in rich men's palaces and poor men's cottages, in splendid mosaic and in coa.r.s.e woodcut, on altarpieces and in all kinds of collections. On Christ's right hand are in their order John, Judas, Peter, Andrew, James the Less, and Bartholomew. On Christ's left hand in their order are James the Great (who sits next to Christ), Thomas, Philip, Matthew, Thaddeus, and Simon. Leonardo's other sacred pieces, his Virgins and Holy Families, are all of exquisite beauty. A n.o.ble statue was erected to the memory of this great painter at Milan in 1872. The painter had a peculiarity of writing his chief doc.u.ments backwards from right to left, so that they required to be read by the aid of a looking-gla.s.s. He is supposed to have done this to prevent the curious too easily acquiring knowledge of his studies for pictures.

RAPHAEL'S PICTURE OF THE PROCESSION TO CALVARY (1520).

Raphael painted his famous picture of the Procession to Calvary, called "Lo Spasimo di Sicilia," for a Sicilian church at Palermo. In 1217, on its being finished, it was packed and taken on board a ship at Ostia bound for Palermo. A storm arose, the vessel foundered at sea, and all was lost except the package containing this picture, which was floated by the currents into the Bay of Genoa, and on being landed the wondrous masterpiece of art was taken out unhurt. The Genoese at first refused to give it up, insisting that it had been preserved and floated to their sh.o.r.es by the miraculous interposition of the Blessed Virgin herself, and it required a positive mandate from the Pope to represent it as a work done by contract.

THE DIVINE RAPHAEL'S MADONNA DI SAN SISTO.

The Benedictines of St. Sixtus at Placentia asked Raphael to paint the Madonna with the Child, St. Sixtus and St. Barbara. It was the last Madonna he painted; and, as if he had foreseen his approaching end, he made the picture one of surpa.s.sing beauty. In the midst of an immense and profound glory filled with cherubim heads, says Pa.s.savant, the Virgin is standing holding in her arms the Infant Jesus. Her feet scarcely touch the cloud which bears her; she stands out from the mystery of the heavens, and appears in her sweet and majestic grandeur. Beneath her St. Sixtus on the left and St. Barbara on the right are kneeling in adoration. Two little angels of celestial beauty lean on a cornice at the bottom, with a charming look of intelligence. The features of the Virgin, whose triumphant majesty is unequalled, wear an expression of n.o.bleness, innocence, sweetness, and modesty; her Son, whose att.i.tude is simple and childlike, bears in His whole countenance a Divine character, and His penetrating glance goes straight to the heart. It is no longer the graceful, smiling Child of the other Madonnas, but the Son of G.o.d, the Saviour of the world, who at the last day will become the Sovereign Judge.

Wonderful power of art! In that little head, so calm, so sweet, and yet so severe, reside both the flame of the purest poetry and all the depth of Christian faith. The Madonna di San Sisto is indeed rendered Divine by the genius of the most ideal artist that G.o.d has ever created; and it is the work that contributed most to procure Raphael the surname of "the Divine."

Even in its technical part it does not resemble any of the other works of Raphael; although its execution is of extreme simplicity, it has none of that art which is only formed for delighting the eye. All in it is seen by the light of enthusiasm, and but for the little angels at the bottom painted as an after-thought on the clouds, we should scarcely see a trace of human hands in the picture. The picture is now in Dresden, and has excited admiration and the greatest veneration for three centuries.

RAPHAEL'S CARTOONS.

Raphael was commissioned by the Pope to paint cartoons for certain pieces of tapestry to be made in Flanders. The artist was fired with a desire to rival Michael Angelo's, and he looked forward to these compositions being copied in fabrics of wool or silk and gold, which might be hung up before the wainscoting on high festivals, according to the customs of the Byzantines and Romans. The ten pieces of tapestry were afterwards made with great magnificence and perfection, and arrived from Flanders at Rome in 1519, only a few months before Raphael's death, and hung up in St.

Peter's. He had the satisfaction of seeing this work crowned with complete success. Vasari says that these tapestries seem rather to have been performed by miracle than by the aid of man. The choice of subjects was prescribed to Raphael. The cartoons were sent to Arras and copied in tapestry. After being hung up in the Sistine chapel, the tapestries were pillaged by the troops of Charles V. in 1527, and carried off as spoils of war, and were sold at Lyons. In 1555 they were restored to the Pope. They were again stolen in the Revolution of 1789, and pa.s.sed into the hands of the Jews, who at one time thought of burning them for the sake of the gold worked up in the fabric. In 1808, however, the Pope again possessed them, and they are now in the Vatican. As to the cartoons from which the tapestries were copied, these lay neglected in the manufactory at Arras till 1630. Rubens, having seen them there, described them to Charles I., who bought them for Whitehall Palace. At his death they were sold by auction, and Cromwell bought them for 300 for the nation. Charles II. was once on the point of selling them, but was persuaded not to do so. The cartoons were all riddled with needle p.r.i.c.kings, and intersected by narrow bands, but William III. had them cleaned and put up at Hampton Court Palace. They are now kept at South Kensington Museum. They are drawn with chalk and coloured in distemper.

A DIVINE MASTER'S LAST MASTERPIECE.

Vasari, a contemporary and biographer of Raphael, says that the painter worked indefatigably at his picture of the Transfiguration of the Saviour which was destined for France. The Saviour is depicted on Mount Tabor, with eleven disciples awaiting Him at the foot. Meanwhile, a youth possessed of a spirit is brought to be healed, and he is shown writhing with contortions caused by the malignant spirit. An old man, with a face of apprehension and open eyes, watches the Apostles, as if anxious to know if there was hope. One woman, a princ.i.p.al figure, kneeling and pointing to these two, shows their misery. The Apostles look on full of compa.s.sion. In this work the master has produced figures and heads of unrivalled beauty, which has stamped him as the most excellent and Divine of all artists.

Whoever shall desire to see in what manner Christ, transformed into the G.o.dhead, should be represented, let him go and behold it in this picture.

The Saviour is shown floating over the mount in clear air; the figure, foreshortened, is between those of Moses and Elias, who, illumined by His radiance, awaken into life beneath the splendour of the light. Prostrate on the earth are Peter, James, and John, in att.i.tudes of great and varied beauty: one has his head bent entirely to the ground; another defends himself with his hands from the brightness of that immense light which proceeds from the splendour of Christ, who is clothed in vestments of snowy whiteness, His arms thrown open and the head raised towards heaven, while the essence and G.o.dhead of all the three persons united in Himself are made apparent in their utmost perfection by the Divine art of Raphael.

But as if that sublime genius had gathered all the force of his powers into one effort, whereby the glory and the majesty of art should be made manifest in the countenance of Christ, having completed that as one who had finished the great work which he had to accomplish, he touched the pencils no more, being shortly afterwards overtaken with death from a fever in 1520, at the age of thirty-seven.

RAPHAEL'S PICTURE OF ST. CECILIA.

A n.o.ble lady in 1513 built a chapel near Bologna to St. Cecilia, and Raphael was asked to paint an altarpiece. Pa.s.savant thus describes the work: "It was in one of his inspired moments that the master composed this exquisite painting. Everything in it speaks of faith and zeal. All the n.o.ble countenances bear the Divine stamp, and yet whatever may be the exultation of their souls, their att.i.tudes are full of the calmest majesty. St. Paul leaning on a naked sword represents knowledge and wisdom, whilst on the other side St. John shows the full blessing of Divine love. Mary Magdalene, holding a vase of perfumes, is opposite to St. Paul, as if to indicate that, if the repentance of the apostle and his unwearied activity in the Church obtained forgiveness for him for his former sins, she also had been forgiven much because she had loved much.

And as St. Paul, converted through a vision, is by the side of the living St. John, so St. Augustine, also converted to the faith of Christ, is by the side of the Magdalene. Surrounded by these great and touching figures St. Cecilia is standing, radiant with ecstasy, listening to the Divine harmonies sung by the angels in heaven. The earthly organ falls from her hands, she trembles with holy enthusiasm, and her soul seems longing to fly away to the heavenly country. The beauty of the style and the depth of expression are not the only things that render this a masterpiece, but the combination of these with harmony, richness, and powerful colouring. The colouring responds to the poetry of the subject; it carries us into an ethereal and mysterious atmosphere. No colourist has ever equalled this splendour, which we call almost Divine. t.i.tian's 'a.s.sumption' excites feelings of joyfulness, Correggio's 'St. Jerome' a gentle emotion, but Raphael's 'St. Cecilia' brings us nearer to heaven." It was this picture that killed Francia with mortification and self-humiliation. All Bologna was enthusiastic at the sight of so Divine a work. The picture still remains at Bologna.

THE INQUISITION ON SACRED ART (1522).

In 1522 Torrigiano, a Florentine sculptor, the same who, when a student and rival, had an altercation with Michael Angelo and broke his nose, received an order from a Spanish grandee, the Duke of Arcos, to carve a Madonna and Child of the natural size, for which he was told he would be well paid. The artist thereupon put forth all his skill, which was admitted to be great, and completed a matchless sculpture, which the purchaser was delighted with, and sent two servants carrying large bags of money wherewith to pay the sculptor and fetch away the gem. The latter, well pleased at the liberal payment, was equally delighted in turn; but on opening the bags, to his intense disgust he found that they were full of copper farthings, which amounted only to a beggarly total of thirty ducats (13). Enraged at this meanness, he s.n.a.t.c.hed a mallet, and regardless of the sacred character of the image, he followed to the spot where the sculpture stood, and with one blow he shivered it to atoms, and then told the lacqueys to take back their load of farthings to their master. This sacrilegious act the enraged grandee represented at once to the Holy Inquisition, before which tribunal the irascible artist was cited for heresy. He urged that he was ent.i.tled, as an author, to do what he liked with his own creation. But not so thought the demon judges, who with little hesitation decreed death with torture. The culprit died in prison before the day of sentence arrived, whether from excitement or refusing his food was never ascertained.

PAINTING THE LUMINOUS FACE OF CHRIST (CORREGGIO, 1534).

Vasari says that there was in his time (1540), in the city of Reggio (and now it is a gem in the gallery at Dresden), a picture by Correggio of the "Birth of Christ." In this work the light proceeding from the presence of the Divine Child throws its splendour on the shepherds, and around all the figures who are contemplating the Infant. Many other beautiful effects are made manifest by the artist in this picture. Among others is one expressed by the figure of a woman, who, desiring to look fixedly at the Saviour, is not able with her mortal sight to endure the glory of His Divinity, which appears to cast its rays full on the figure. She is therefore shading her eyes with her hand. All this is admirably and wonderfully expressed. Over the cabin where the Divine Child is laid there hovers a choir of angels singing, and so exquisitely painted that they seem to have come direct from heaven, rather than from the hand of the painter. In the same city (now in the Palace at Madrid) there was a small picture, also by Correggio, not more than a foot high, and one of the most extraordinary and beautiful of all his works. The figures are small, the subject "Christ in the Garden," the time night; and the angel appearing to the Saviour illumines His person with the splendour of his coming, an effect unapproachable for beauty. (Other critics say the disposition of the light in this picture is poetical and Divine.) On a plain at the foot of the mountain are seen the three apostles lying asleep. The shadow of the eminence on which the Saviour is in prayer falls over those figures, imparting to them a degree of force not to be described in words. In the farther distance is a tract of country over which the day is just breaking, and from one side approaches Judas with soldiers. Vasari says that for beauty, depth of thought, and execution no work can equal this.

It is said that Correggio gave this gem to pay an apothecary's bill of thirty shillings then due.

THE MONKS a.s.sISTING ARTISTS WITH THEIR PRAYERS (1560).

Queen Isabella of the Peace, about 1560, in order to please the Franciscans, to which order her confessor belonged, ordered a statue of the Virgin to be executed for a gift to them, and the best sculptor in Spain was to receive the commission. Becerra was chosen; but after a year's work the Queen was not pleased, and the image was rejected. The next attempt was better, and it pleased the friars, who said it was worthy of Michael Angelo; but the Queen again rejected it. The Franciscans thereupon betook themselves to redoubled Ma.s.ses and fasting, and the poor artist racked his memory and imagination for ideas of angelic grace and Divine beauty. Sitting one night in his studio, after much anxious thought, he fell into a slumber, and was aroused by an unknown voice saying to him, "Awake and arise, and out of that log of wood blazing on the hearth shape the thought within thee, and thou shalt obtain the desired image." He immediately arose, plucked the log from the fire and fell to work upon it, and it proved to be an excellent piece of timber, and in time it grew under his hands into a miracle of art, and became the portentous image of Our Lady of Solitude, which is to this day had in reverence, and in which are expressed beauty, grief, love, tenderness, constancy, and resignation. The Queen at last acknowledged the carving was to her mind. The Virgin was dressed in sable garb and placed in the convent of the Minim Fathers at Madrid, and became renowned for her miraculous powers. Another artist, named Joannes, was engaged by the friars to paint the Virgin, and his first sketches were unsuccessful; but he and his employers betook themselves to religious exercises, and many holy men joined them in their prayers. Every day the artist confessed and communicated before commencing his labours. At last his piety an perseverance overcame all difficulties. It was acknowledged to be of great excellence, and amongst the friars it was soon famous for its miraculous powers.

MICHAEL ANGELO, PAINTER AND SCULPTOR (1564).

Michael Angelo, who was equally celebrated as a painter and sculptor of the first cla.s.s, as well as architect, was born in 1475. His Madonnas and Holy Families and Christs are all admirable. In 1507 he began frescoes, and afterwards paintings for the Sistine Chapel and Pauline Chapel at Rome. In 1547 he was appointed architect to St. Peter's at Rome, and at his death in 1564 was succeeded in the latter office by Raphael. Michael Angelo was a man of spare figure and extraordinary activity. When he was at work he was satisfied with a sc.r.a.p of bread and a drop of wine, which he took without breaking off the business in hand. He lived in this frugal way up to the time when he began his last pictures in the Sistine Chapel at Rome. He was then old, and allowed himself only a simple meal at the end of the day. He used sometimes to remain for whole months absorbed in meditation, without touching a brush or chisel; then, when he had elaborated his composition, he set to work as if inspired by a fury.

Vasari says his imagination was so lofty that his hands could not express his sublime thoughts. Generally he used to put an idea hurriedly on paper, then take up each detail, and finish it as he proceeded. He would sometimes draw the same head ten or twelve times over before he was satisfied with it. He took very little sleep, and used often to get up in the night to work out a sudden fancy. He used to wear a sort of cardboard helmet, which he contrived so as to hold a light, and thus the part on which he worked was illumined without his hands being enc.u.mbered. He had a round head, high temples, a broad, square forehead, with seven lines straight across it, and a nose disfigured by a blow from the fist of Torrigiano, who, being jealous of him as a student, picked a quarrel with him, and thereby left this mark.

THE GREAT SCULPTOR'S MASTERPIECES (MICHAEL ANGELO, 1564).

Vasari, a contemporary of Michael Angelo, says of his Pieta, a marble figure of the Virgin (now in the chapel of Santa Maria della Febbre at Rome), that no sculptor, however distinguished an artist, could add a single grace or improve it by whatever pains he might take, whether in elegance and delicacy, or force, or careful execution, nor could any surpa.s.s the art which the sculptor has here exhibited. In like manner the marble figure of his dead Christ exhibits the very perfection of faithful execution in every muscle, vein, and nerve. There was besides a most exquisite expression in the countenance, and the limbs and veins and pulses are admirably arranged. The love and care which the sculptor had given to this group were such that he there left his name--a thing he never did again for any work--on the cincture which girdles the robe of Our Lady. The reason of this was, that one day he entered the chapel and heard a group of strangers praising it highly, and when one asked the other who was the artist, it was attributed at once to a person called the Hunchback of Milan. The real artist remained silent, but one night soon after he repaired to the chapel with a light and chisel, and engraved his name on the figure of the Madonna, whose "beauty and goodness, piety and grief, dead in the living marble," are so well spoken of by the poet. This work brought Michael Angelo great fame. Certain stupid people did indeed affirm at the time that he has made Our Lady too young, but that is because they fail to perceive the fact that unspotted maidens long preserve the youthfulness of their aspect, while persons afflicted, as Christ was, do the contrary. The youth of the Madonna therefore did but add to the credit of the master.

SATISFYING A CRITIC OF THE FAULTLESS (MICHAEL ANGELO, 1564).

Vasari, the biographer and pupil, says that when Michael Angelo had set up his colossal marble statue of David, it chanced that Soderini, whom it greatly pleased, came to look at it while the artist was giving a few last touches, and told him that he thought the nose too short. Michael Angelo perceived that Soderini was in such a position beneath the figure that he could not see it conveniently, yet to satisfy him he mounted the scaffold with his chisel and a little powder which he had picked up from the floor.

He then struck the nose a few times very gently, but without altering anything, and took care to let some of the powder fall down at the same time, and told the critic to look at it now. "I like it better now,"

replied Soderini; "you have given it life." The sculptor then came down, not without compa.s.sion for that cla.s.s of people who desire to appear good judges of what they do not understand. Vasari says he may truly affirm that this surpa.s.ses all others, whether ancient or modern, Greek or Latin; neither the Marforio at Rome, the Tiber and the Nile in the Belvedere, nor the giants of Monte Cavallo can be compared to such a model of beauty and excellence. The outline of the lower limbs is most exquisite. The connection of each limb with the body is faultless, and the spirit of the whole form is divine. Never since has there been produced so fine an att.i.tude, so perfect a grace, such beauty of head, feet, and hands; every part is replete with excellence; nor is so much harmony and admirable art to be found in any other work. He that has seen this, therefore, need not care to see any production else, whether of that age or of any preceding it.

MICHAEL ANGELO'S LAST JUDGMENT (1564).

Michael Angelo when commissioned by the Pope to finish the paintings of the Sistine Chapel executed two vast frescoes for the ends of the chapel, one on "The Last Judgment," and the other "The Fall of the Angels." "The Last Judgment" was begun in 1533, but was not finished till 1541. Though containing some groups powerfully painted, there were many adverse critics as to the general style and some of the details of this performance. The Pope's master of the ceremonies, Biagio, was very severe in his comments, and when asked by the Pope what he thought of this painting, the former replied that he thought it was a shameless exhibition of naked figures, more fit for a bathing-house or a beershop than a church. Michael Angelo heard of this criticism, and one day when alone he put in a likeness of the unfortunate master of ceremonies among the d.a.m.ned under a representation of Minos. The resemblance was so striking that all Rome went to see it. Biagio being furious went and complained to the Pope, who asked where Michael Angelo had put him in the picture. "In h.e.l.l," he replied. "Alas!" rejoined Pope Paul, with a smile, "if he had only put you in purgatory, I could have got you out; but as you are in h.e.l.l, I can do nothing for you. My power does not reach so far as that."

VARGAS'S DEVOTION TO SACRED ART (1568).

Vargas of Seville painted for the cathedral in 1555 a picture of the Nativity, which still forms the altarpiece of the little chapel dedicated to that event. The Virgin Mother might have been sketched by the pure pencil of Raphael. The peasant who kneels at her feet with his offering of a basket of doves is a study from Nature, painted with much of the force and freedom of the later masters of Seville; and many of the accessories, such as the head of the goat dragged in by the shepherd and the sheaf of corn and pack-saddle, are finished with Flemish accuracy. He also painted "Christ going to Calvary," and many saints and martyrs and female heads of much purity and grace. Vargas died in 1568, having been distinguished for his modesty, kindness, and devotion to religion. After his death there were found in his chamber the scourges with which he practised self-flagellation, and a coffin wherein he was wont to lie down in the hours of solitude and repose and consider his latter end. He had much wit and humour; and once, when asked by a brother painter his opinion of a very badly painted Saviour on the cross, Vargas said, "Methinks He is saying, 'Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do.'"

t.i.tIAN'S HEAD OF CHRIST (1576).

t.i.tian painted his great picture of "The Tribute Money," now in the Dresden Gallery, in answer to a taunt that Venetian art had no finish.