tle smile. The figure in general features
resembles the Christ type which is illustrated in the picture of Ecce
Homo.

In painting the figure of the risen Christ, the old masters were
accustomed to give prominence to the nail prints in hands and feet,
and the wound in his side. Correggio has not done this. Such signs of
suffering were inconsistent with the joyous nature of his art. The
subject of the picture is entirely a happy one, and he has kept out of
it all evidences of the crucifixion, emphasizing rather the idea of
the ascension.

In some artistic points our picture resembles the Madonna della
Scodella. The pose of Christ is similar to that of Joseph, with one
arm lifted up, and the other reaching down. Thus is formed the
diagonal line which is at the basis of the composition. The right arm
of Mary carries the line on to the lower corner of the picture.

The landscape setting makes a spacious background, and a large tree
behind Christ throws his figure into relief.

XIV

THE MADONNA OF ST. JEROME

(Il Giorno)

It is a bright clear day, and a baby boy is having a rare frolic out
of doors, on his mother's knee. It is the little Christ-child, and his
visitors are St. Jerome and Mary Magdalene. Overhead a red cloth
drapery has been stretched from tree to tree, making a sort of canopy
to protect the company from the direct rays of the sun. St. Jerome has
brought as an offering the books which represent the scholarly toil of
many years. Mary Magdalene has her jar of ointment for the anointing
of the Saviour's feet.

The mother sits on a slight elevation in the centre, her bare foot
resting on the ground. St. Jerome stands in front, a little at one
side, where he can hold a book directly before the child's face. Mary
Magdalene, half kneeling on the other side, stoops to caress a little
foot. The sturdy old father seems to have come directly from his
monastery in Bethlehem, and his lion follows him like a faithful dog.
The old legend relates that as he sat one evening at his monastery
gate, a lion approached, holding up a paw which was pierced with a
thorn. The good father removed the thorn and dressed the wound, and
the grateful beast became thenceforth the constant companion of his
benefactor.

The scroll in St. Jerome's right hand may be any one of his many
treatises or translations. The large open volume is undoubtedly his
Latin version of the Bible. One side of the book is supported on his
left