Page:St. Nicholas (serial) (IA stnicholasserial321dodg).pdf/207

1904] religious pictures; and this new ideal so captivated the imagination of the world that for nearly four hundred years men pictured the religious story to their eyes and minds through the beautiful atmosphere which Raphael had given to it. He did not waste his genius in the trivial task of simply showing how an event may have happened, as Wohlgemuth did in



his picture of “The Death of the Virgin.” And it was more than the beauty of the old Grecian art and life that Raphael brought to light—it was the truth and beauty of the Christian faith. In his religious paintings he set these forth, not only for the world of his time, but with a power and glory which have continued through four hundred years, down to our own day.