consideration and practice, a very fair guess might be formed
of the character of each artist, by observing the style in which he
has treated this beautiful and favourite subject.

Take Raffaelle for example, whose delightful character is dwelt upon
by all his biographers; his genuine nobleness of soul, which raised
him far above interest, rivalship, or jealousy, the gentleness of his
temper, the suavity of his manners, the sweetness of his disposition,
the benevolence of his heart, which rendered him so deeply loved and
admired, even by those who pined away at his success, and died of his
superiority[V]--are all attested by contemporary writers: where but in
his own harmonious character, need Raffaelle have looked for the
prototypes of his half-celestial creations?

His Virgins alone combine every grace which the imagination can
require--repose, simplicity, meekness, purity, tenderness; blended
without any admixture of earthly passion, yet so varied, that though
all his Virgins have a general character, distinguishing them from
those of every other master, no two are exactly alike. In the Madonna
del Seggiola, for instance, the prevailing expression is a serious and
pensive tenderness; her eyes are turned from her infant, but she
clasps him to her bosom, as if it were not necessary to _see_ him, to
_feel_ him in her heart. In another Holy Family in the Pitti Palace,
the predominant expression is maternal rapture: in the Madonna di
Foligno, it is a saintly benignity becoming the Queen of Heaven: in
the Madonna del Cardellino, it is a meek and chaste simplicity: it is
the "_Vergine dolce e pia_" of Petrarch. This last picture hangs
close to the Fornarina in the Tribune,--a strange contrast!
Raffaelle's love for that haughty and voluptuous virago, had nothing
to do with his conception of ideal beauty and chastity; and could one
of his own Virgins have walked out of her frame, or if her prototype
could have been found on earth, he would have felt, as others have
felt--that to look upon such a being with aught of unholy passion
would be profanation indeed.

Next to Raffaelle, I would rank Correggio, as a painter of Virgins.
Correggio was remarkable for the humility and gentleness of his
deportment, for his pensive and somewhat anxious disposition, and
kindly domestic feelings: these are the characteristics which have
poured themselves forth upon his Madonnas. They are distinguished
generally by the utmost sweetness, del