Page:The painters of Florence from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century (1915).djvu/49

1335] air above the stable roof. Three seraphs gaze heavenwards in adoration, while one stoops down to worship the new-born King, and another bears the good tidings of great joy to the shepherds, who hasten to the chamber where the Virgin-Mother lies. At the same time, the human aspect of the Incarnation is brought out in the action of Mary as she turns round in bed to lay the Babe down, and in the Child's efforts to escape from the arms of Simeon and get back to his mother, in the Temple scene. Nor has any later artist surpassed the tender expressive sympathy on the face of the aged Elizabeth, as she looks up into Mary's eyes and sees in her the mother of her Lord.

Only two incidents from the ministry of Christ find a place on these chapel walls, but these two—the Marriage in Cana and the Raising of Lazarus—are treated with especial attention, and are among the finest of the whole series. The marriage-feast takes place in a hall decorated with marble mosaic, and a row of classic amphoræ stand in front of the table, where a fat man tosses off a cup of wine with evident enjoyment, and the uplifted finger of the Virgin bears witness to the power of a heavenly presence at the festive board. The Raising of Lazarus shows a marked improvement on Giotto's former version of the subject at Assisi. The form of Christ as he pronounces the solemn words, "Lazarus, come forth," is singularly imposing, while Mary and Martha kneel in lowly adoration, and the bystanders gaze in awe and wonder at the dead man, bound in grave-clothes, staggering to his feet. The painter's gain in dramatic power, and his mastery of the laws of composition, are still more evident in the