fertile field, where it soon took root and
multiplied rapidly. There was, however, little or no improvement in
the type for a long period; it remained practically unchanged till
the thirteenth century. Thus, while a Byzantine Madonna is to be found
in nearly every old church in Italy, to see one is to see all. They
are half-length figures against a background of gold leaf, at first
laid on solidly, or, at a somewhat later date, studded with cherubs.
The Virgin has a meagre, ascetic countenance, large, ill-shaped eyes,
and an almost peevish expression; her head is draped in a heavy, dark
blue veil, falling in stiff folds.

Unattractive as such pictures are to us from an artistic standpoint,
they inspire us with respect if not with reverence. Once objects of
mingled devotion and admiration, they are still regarded with awe by
many who can no longer admire. Their real origin being lost in
obscurity, innumerable legends have arisen, attributing them to
miraculous agencies, and also endowing them with power to work
miracles. There is an early and widespread tradition, imported with
the Madonna from the East, which makes St. Luke a painter. It is said
that he painted many portraits of the Virgin, and, naturally, all the
churches possessing old Byzantine pictures claim that they are genuine
works from the hand of the evangelist. There is one in the Ara Coeli
at Rome, and another in S. Maria in Cosmedino, of which marvellous
tales are told, besides others of great sanctity in St. Mark's,
Venice, and in Padua.

It would not be interesting to dwell, in any detail, upon these
curious old pictures. We would do better to take our first example
from the art which, though founded on Byzantine types, had begun to
learn of nature. Such a picture we find in the Venice Academy, by
Jacopo Bellini, painted at the beginning of the fifteenth century,
somewhat later than any corresponding picture could have been found
elsewhere in Italy, as Venice was chronologically behind the other art
schools. The background is a glory of cherub heads touched with gold
hatching. Both mother and child wear heavy nimbi, ornamented with
gold. These points recall Byzantine work; but the gentler face of the
Virgin, and the graceful fall of her drapery, show that we are in a
different world of art. The child is dressed in a little tunic, in the
primitive method.

With the dawn of the Italian Renaissance, the old style of portrait
Madonna passed out of vogue.