were much praised ... and
presented to the said Lorenzo."[50] Sometimes called the "School of
Pan," it is more poetically described in the German catalogue "Pan, as
God of Natural Life, and Master of Music, with his Attendants." It is
full of poetry, and of idyllic charm with all its stately solemnity. The
sad beauty of the god as he listens to the music of the pipes, the
golden sunlight on the moss-green grass, the quiet peace of the scene,
have an entrancing effect, and we are transported in spirit to the same
"melodious plot of beechen green and shadows numberless" where Pan holds
his court.

[Illustration: [_Gallery, Berlin_

PAN]

The bronze-coloured body of the god is magnificently modelled, with a
solidity unequalled even in the Orvieto frescoes. The style of
Pollaiuolo is noticeable, in the attitude of the youth lying at his
feet, particularly in the treatment of the legs. The figure of Echo is
repeated later in "The Crowning of the Elect," in Orvieto, though there
it has lost much of the idyllic charm of this wood-nymph. The grouping
of the figures is perhaps less happy than usual, but this time the bad
values of distance are no doubt due to the rough treatment the painting
has undergone. It has indeed had an eventful history. About thirty years
ago it was found by the late Signor Tricca, a noted restorer of
pictures, in the attics of the Palazzo Corsi, Florence. He hesitated at
first to recognise it certainly as the work of Signorelli, for all the
figures were covered from head to foot with draperies of obviously
eighteenth-century painting. On trial, however, he found that these were
easily removed, and as the nude figures were revealed, he at once
identified it as the picture of the nude gods, mentioned by Vasari. It
seems that it had passed into the possession of the Rinuccini family as
part of the dowry of one of the Medici, and on the marriage of one of
the ladies of the Rinuccini with a Marchese Corsi again formed part of
the bride's portion. Soon after its discovery and restoration the
Marchese Corsi died, and his brother Cardinal Corsi inherited the
property. Objecting to the picture on account of the nude figures, he
desired Signor Tricca to sell it, and it was then bought by Mr H. J.
Ross, who offered it to the English National Gallery. On the refusal of
the authorities to purchase it, it was acquired in 1873 by Dr Bode for
the Berlin Gallery, of which it is one of the greatest treasures.[51] It