beneath;
the heads, which are not in relief but merely pictorial, are the
only portions of the picture actually visible.

These altar-screens, which in Russia are counted not by tens but
by hundreds and thousands, are highly ornate. Silver and gold and
jewellery are conjoined with painting after the nursery and doll-like
fashion approved in the South of Spain and at Naples. Only in the
most corrupt of Roman Catholic capitals does ecclesiastical art
assume the childish forms common in Russia. Resuming the description
of the above altar-screen, we find next in range below the entombment
a large composition, comprising God the Father surrounded by cherubs,
with two full-grown seraphs, encircled by six gold wings, standing
on either side. Again, the only parts of the picture permitted to
be seen are the heads, crossed hands, black legs and feet. Christ
with the open book of judgment is another conspicuous figure; also a
companion head, gigantic in size, is the Madonna, directly Byzantine
in type, though its smooth and well-kept surface gives little sign of
age. The Christ, too, must be accounted but as modernized Byzantine;
here is none of the severity or of the tenuity of the early periods.
The type is poor though refined, debilitated though ideal. The hair,
parted on the forehead, falls thickly on the shoulders. The face is
youthful, not more than thirty, and without a wrinkle; the cheeks
are a little flushed, the prevailing expression is placidity. The
accessories of glory, drapery, and open book are highly decorative;
here embossed patterns on the gold coverings enhance the richness
of the surface-ornament. Once again the Russians appear supreme
in metal-work, especially in the elaboration of decoration in the
flat. Most of the pictures above mentioned are evidently supremely
holy; they are black and highly gilded; moreover, they move most
deeply all sorts and conditions of men, women, and children.

I may here again mention that one purpose of my Russian journey was
to discover whether there were heads of Christ in the possession
of the Russian Church older or nobler than the ivory carvings, the
frescoes, or easel pictures which are found in Italy and other
Southern or Western nations. And I was, I confess, disappointed not
to meet with any data which could materially enlarge or enrich this
most interesting of subjects. As to priority of date, it seems to be
entirely on the side of the Roman catacombs and the Latin