mediaeval sculpture in the Louvre, a capital from the old
abbey of St. Genevieve, whereon an eleventh-century artist has carved
a quaint relief of Daniel in the Lions' Den. The Virgin and Child in
the same room, 37, is late twelfth-century; the painted statue of
Childebert, 48, from the abbey of St. Germain, is an example of the
more mature art of the thirteenth century, as are also in Room II.,
78, a scene in the Inferno from Notre Dame, and two lovely angels from
the tomb of St. Louis' brother, in the embrasures of the window.

The fourteenth-century Madonnas in these mediaeval rooms possess a
peculiar, intimate character and mark the change of feeling which came
over French artists of the time. The impersonal, unemotional and regal
bearing of the thirteenth-century figures give way to a more
naturalistic treatment. The Virgin's impassive features soften;
they become more human; she turns to her child with a maternal smile
(which later becomes conventionalised into a simper), or permits a
caress. In Room X. are: 889, 890, two fifteenth-century statues,
admirable and living portraitures of Charles V. and his queen, from
the church of the Celestins, whose preservation is due to the
excellent Lenoir--statues famous in their day, and mentioned by the
contemporary Christine de Pisan as _moult proprement faits_; 892, a
fifteenth-century statue in wood of St. John; 943, Eve, a fine example
of the German school of the sixteenth century, painted and gilded;
other works are temporarily placed in this room. We return to Room
III., noting in passing (Room IX.) 875, a small thirteenth-century
relief of St. Matthew writing his Gospel at the dictation of an angel.

[Illustration: DIANA AND THE STAG.

_Jean Goujon._]

The stubborn individuality of French sculptors who long resisted the
encroaching advance of the Italian renaissance is well seen in Room
III. by the works of Michel Colombe (? 1430-1570), after whom this
hall is named. The exquisite relief on the L. wall, St. George and the
Dragon, displays an art touched indeed by the new Italian life, but
impressed with an intimate charm and spirit which are eminently
French. The Virgin and Child, 143, and the tombs of Roberte Legendre
and her husband have also been ascribed to this truly great master.
The fine effigies of Philippe de Comines the annalist, and his wife,
126, are wrought in the traditional French manner, the decorations on
the tomb being obviously by another and I