receive
the homage of humanity. The boy, old beyond his years, gravely raises
his right hand to bless his people, the other still clinging, with
infantile grace, to the dress of his mother. Lovely, rose-crowned
angels hold court on either side, bearing lighted tapers in jars of
roses.

[Footnote 6: The Berlin Gallery contains two Enthroned Madonnas
attributed to Botticelli. The description here, and on page 40 makes
it clear that the reference is to the picture numbered 102. This does
not appear in Berenson's list of Botticelli's works, but is treated as
authentic by Crowe and Cavalcaselle.]

The Madonna of the Pomegranate is another work by Botticelli which
belongs in this class of pictures. It is a _tondo_ in the Uffizi,
showing the figures in half length. The Virgin, encircled by angels,
holds the child half reclining on her lap. Her face is inexpressibly
sad, and the child shares her mood, as he raises his little hand to
bless the spectator. Two angels bear the Virgin's flowers, roses and
lilies; two others hold books. They bend towards the queen as the
petals of a rose bend towards the centre, with the serious grace
peculiar to Botticelli.

[Illustration: BOTTICELLI.--MADONNA OF THE
POMEGRANATE .]

In connection with the peculiar type of melancholy exhibited on the
face of Botticelli's Madonna, it will be of interest to refer to the
work of Francia. The two artists were, in some points, kindred
spirits; both felt the burden of life's mystery and sorrow. Francia,
as we have seen, imbibed from the works of Perugino something of the
spirit of mysticism common to the Umbrian school. But while there is a
certain resemblance between his Madonna and Perugino's, the former has
less of sentimentality than the latter, and more real melancholy. Like
Botticelli's Virgin, she acts her part half-heartedly, as if the sword
had already begun to pierce her heart. Francia's favorite Madonna
subjects were of the higher order, the Madre Pia and the Madonna as
Witness. In treating the latter, his Christ-child is always in keeping
with the mother, a grave little fellow who gives the blessing with
almost touching dignity. Enthroned Madonnas illustrating the theme are
those of the Hermitage at St. Petersburg, of the Belvedere at Vienna,
and the famous Bentivoglio Madonna in S. Jacopo Maggiore at Bologna.
The last-named is one of the works which enable us to understand
Raphael's high praise of the Bolognese master. It is a noble
com