Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 3.djvu/34

26 the picture and immediately beneath the Virgin, is a boy; his head is raised towards Our Lady, and he bears a tablet in his hands. It is not possible to imagine any thing more graceful or more beautiful than this child, whether as regards the head or the rest of the person. There is besides a landscape of singular beauty, and which is executed to the highest perfection in every part.

Raphael then continued his work in the chambers of the Vatican, where he depicted the Miracle of the Sacrament, or the Corporas of Bolsena, whichever it may be called. In this story, the Priest who is reading the Mass is seen to have his face glowing with the shame which he felt, when in consequence of his own unbelief, he beheld the Host bleeding on the Corporas, as a reproof for his want of faith; terrified at the looks of his hearers, he has lost all self-possession, and is as a man beside himself; he has the aspect of one utterly confounded, the dismay that has seized him is manifest in his attitude, and the spectator almost perceives the trembling of his hands; so well are the emotions inevitable from such a circumstance expressed in the work. Around the priest are many figures of varied character; some are serving the Mass, others kneel, in beautiful attitudes, on a flight of steps, and moved by the novelty of the occurrence, exhibit their astonishment and emotion in divers gestures, some giving evidence of a desire to acknowledge themselves guilty of error, and this is perceived in men as well as in women. Among the latter is one at the lower part of the picture, seated on the earth and holding a child in her arms; she is listening while another relates the circumstance that has just happened to the priest; full of wonder she turns towards the speaker with a feminine grace and animation that is truly characteristic and lifelike. On the other side is the Pope, Julius II. who is hearing the Mass, an admirable part of the work, and