Page:The painters of Florence from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century (1915).djvu/57

1335] among the finest of the series. One is the Raising of Drusiana, who is here seen sitting up on the bier at the bidding of the Evangelist—a noble figure with uplifted arm—before the mourners. Both the heads of Drusiana and of St. John are admirably modelled, the towers and walls in the background are in excellent perspective, and there for the first time we see a really successful attempt at chiaroscuro. The other is the Ascension of St. John, who is represented soaring up into the heavens, where Christ bends down to welcome him, while his disciples stand round the empty grave, lost in wonder and perplexity.

The frescoes of the second chapel were ordered by a famous Florentine captain, Ridolfo de' Bardi, whose son had joined the Franciscan Order, and represent six different scenes from the life of Francis. In these subjects—which were to become the model for Tuscan and Umbrian artists during the next two centuries—Giotto refines and simplifies the composition of his earlier works at Assisi, and treats his theme in a grander and more heroic manner. The Saint's encounter with his angry father is more dramatically represented, Francis himself is a youthful and attractive figure, and in the background a stately loggia rises against the blue sky. After this we have the Confirmation of the Rule, by Pope Innocent III., and the Apparition of the Saint in a church at Aries, where St. Anthony is preaching on the Passion. In the last fresco two incidents are combined: the Apparition of Francis at the moment of his death to Bishop Guido at Monte Gargano, and to a dying friar in his cell at Assisi. But the most striking compositions are those of Francis before the Soldan and