e of which have been worn or
rubbed half off. Almost in the centre is a large stain, outlining the
shape of a window, which Signorelli caused to be filled up, and which
can still be seen on the outside of the Cathedral. The damp, oozing
through the new plaster round the framework, partly destroyed the
painting, but the centre is remarkably well preserved.

It is interesting to note in studying this fresco, that, student of
anatomy though he was, the skeleton seems to have had little attraction
for Signorelli. The placing of the bones is, of course, correct, but the
delicacy of their curves, their relative proportions and thicknesses,
their beauty of detail, are not given at all. For example, in the
skeleton in the foreground, the pelvis has scarcely the shape, and none
of the variety of line, of the bone itself, but is merely a
coarsely-drawn girdle. Compared to the extreme delicacy with which he
models flesh, and his minute appreciation of every gradation of curve in
the muscles, this carelessness in the treatment of the skeleton is
noteworthy.

Under this, the last of the larger frescoes, is a recess, in which was
formerly the sarcophagus containing the bones of Pietro Parens, the
patron saint of Orvieto. In this recess, under the brackets on which the
sarcophagus stood, Signorelli has painted one of his most beautiful
"Pietas." Unfortunately, half hidden by a marble group, sculptured in
1574 by Ippolito Scalza, it is difficult to see, and impossible to
photograph, and is therefore not so well known and appreciated as it
deserves to be. The Christ is an exact repetition of the figure in the
"Deposition," of the Cortona Cathedral, and was probably painted about
the same time--1502. The position only is reversed. The other two
figures are also repeated from that altar-piece, with only very slight
variations. Behind is painted the Tomb, on which is a relief in
_grisaille_ of four naked figures bearing the dead body of the Saviour.
This formed the lower part of the now removed sarcophagus, the three
stone supports of which still project from the wall. On the right of the
"Pieta," is painted the martyr Pietro Parens himself. The saint gazes
down with tender reverence at the scene at his feet, standing in
fur-trimmed robes and cap, one hand on his breast, the other holding the
palm of martyrdom. Over his head is the hammer, the instrument of his
death. The face is of extreme beauty, with gentle expression, the robes
are f