ween four saints, with a very Peruginesque
angel on either side, and seated below, at the foot of her throne, are
two Fathers of the Church, in one of whom we have repeated the burly
bishop with wide-spread knees and fine sweeping drapery of the Loreto
cupola, and which occurs later in the Florence Academy altar-piece. The
influence of Pollaiuolo can be observed in the sculptures on the
_gradino_ of the throne, little nude figures in violent action.

In better preservation is the "Annunciation," in the Cathedral, signed,
and with the same date as the foregoing. The architecture, with its
excellent perspective, again reminds us that Signorelli was the pupil of
Pier dei Franceschi, the painter of the wonderful _loggia_ in the
"Annunciation," of Perugia. The Virgin is painted with great feeling,
and in the solemn beauty of the Archangel we get the first of those
splendid creatures whose sublimity Signorelli felt in the same spirit as
Dante, who bent his knees and folded his hands at the sight of the
"_Uccel divino_," "_trattando l'aere con l'eterne penne_."[53]

[Illustration: [_Cathedral, Volterra_

THE ANNUNCIATION]

The resemblance is so great between this painting and the
"Annunciation," of the Uffizi _predella_ (No. 1298) that we are
justified in placing the latter somewhere about the same date. As is so
often the case in _predella_ pictures, especially with Signorelli's, the
spontaneity and freedom of execution, and even of conception, is much
greater here than in the more carefully thought-out and finished works.
Small as this panel is, the rush of the great Archangel, the solemn
beauty of the landscape, and the splendid attitudes of the young
courtiers in the last division, make it one of the master's most
important and characteristic paintings. The colour in the first panel
of the "Annunciation" is especially beautiful, and there is a noble
simplicity in the composition, as well as a breadth and certainty of
touch that give the picture great grandeur. The _predella_ is divided by
painted pilasters into three parts. In the first the Archangel hastens
through a rocky pass to announce the message, to which the Virgin bows
with awed acceptance of its solemn meaning. In the second, the shepherds
kneel to offer homage to the new-born Child, who lies at the Virgin's
feet, while the third represents the visit of the Magi.

The same freedom of brushwork characterises another "Annunciation," of
probably the same time,