Luca rather than his companion, and the woman at the foot of
the cross is surely the type of which he was so fond. The drawing of
Christ is masterly and all too sombre for Perugino. Finally, there is
a Luca predella, No. 1298, representing the Annunciation, the Birth
of Christ (in which Joseph is older almost than in any version), and
the Adoration of the Magi, all notable for freedom and richness. Note
the realism and charm and the costume of the two pages of the Magi.

And now we come to what is perhaps the most lovely picture in the whole
gallery, judged purely as colour and sweetness and design--No.1549--a
"Madonna Adoring," with Filippino Lippi's name and an interrogation
mark beneath it. Who painted it if not Filippino? That is the question;
but into such problems, which confront one at every turn in Florence,
I am neither qualified nor anxious to enter. When doctors disagree any
one may decide before me. The thought, moreover, that always occurs
in the presence of these good debatable pictures, is that any doubt
as to their origin merely enriches this already over-rich period,
since some one had to paint them. Simon not pure becomes hardly less
remarkable than Simon pure.

If only the Baby were more pleasing, this would be perhaps the most
delightful picture in the world: as it is, its blues alone lift it to
the heavens of delectableness. By an unusual stroke of fortune a crack
in the paint where the panels join has made a star in the tender blue
sky. The Tuscan landscape is very still and beautiful; the flowers,
although conventional and not accurate like Luca's, are as pretty
as can be; the one unsatisfying element is the Baby, who is a little
clumsy and a little in pain, but diffuses radiance none the less. And
the Mother--the Mother is all perfection and winsomeness. Her face
and hands are exquisite, and the Tuscan twilight behind her is so
lovely. I have given a reproduction, but colour is essential.

The remaining three pictures in the room are a Bastiano and a
Pollaiolo, which are rather for the student than for the wanderer,
and a charming Ignoto, No. 75, which I like immensely. But Ignoto
nearly always paints well.

In the Sala di Leonardo are two pictures which bear the name of
this most fascinating of all the painters of the world. One is the
Annunciation, No. 1288, upon the authenticity of which much has been
said and written, and the other an unfinished Adoration of the Magi
which cannot be ques