one of them, and by the pure unearthly expression on their faces.
One of these angels strews flowers over the child; the other, with
hands crossed on the breast, is rapt in adoration.

[Illustration: THE HOLY FAMILY OF FRANCIS I.
_The Louvre, Paris_]

There is an opening which shows the sky, and it almost seems as if the
angels with crossed hands were listening to some divine melody that
came in with the angelic visitors. The whole scene is bathed in
light, and the longer we look the more we see the beauty of the lines
which flow in the picture as if to some heavenly music. All is action
save in the grave, contemplative figure of Joseph; and his serious,
resting attitude by its contrast makes more evident the leaping child,
the mother half stooping to lift him, John the Baptist pressing
forward and Elizabeth gently restraining him, with the two flying,
radiant angels.

The power which a great painting has over us often makes us ask, How
did the painter do this? did he think of everything beforehand? did he
paint the picture bit by bit, or did he rapidly sketch it all as he
meant to have it, and then at leisure fill in the parts, and add this
or that?

We know something of how painters work, and of the labor which they
sometimes put into their pictures, rubbing out and painting over. A
great master like Raphael always gives a sense of ease to his work, as
though it cost him nothing. But we know also that he took the greatest
pains as he took the greatest delight in his work.

It happens that there exist drawings made by Raphael when he was
preparing to paint this very picture, and it is interesting to see how
he went to work. He has a young woman in his studio take just the
attitude which a mother would take who was about to lift her child.
That he may be sure to draw the form correctly, he has her dress not
fall below her knee, and she has bare arms. In this way he will know
just how the arm and the knee will bend, and how the muscles will
show. Then he makes another drawing with the dress falling to the
ground, but with the arm bare. Finally he draws the arm with the
sleeve over it.

It was by such studies that he made sure of drawing correctly. They
are like exercises in grammar. But when he came to paint his picture,
he had not to think much about the correctness of his drawing; his
whole mind was intent upon making his peasant girl look as he imagined
the Virgin Mary to look.

VIII

ST. CATHERINE O