adonna in a really attractive and beautiful form,
we must pass at once to the period of full art development. In the
interval, many variations upon the theme have been invented. The
throne may be of any size, shape, or material; the composition may
consist of any number of figures. The Madonna, seated or standing, is
now the centre of an assembly of personages symmetrically grouped
about her. There is little or no unity of action among them; each one
is an independent figure. The guard of honor may be composed of
saints, as in Montagna's Madonna, of the Brera, Milan; or again it is
a company of angels, as in the Berlin Madonna, attributed to
Botticelli, similar to which is the picture by Ghirlandajo in the
Uffizi Gallery. Where saints are represented, each one is marked by
some special emblem, the identification of which makes, in itself, an
interesting study. St. Peter's key, St. Paul's sword, St. Catherine's
wheel, and St. Barbara's tower soon become familiar symbols to those
fond of this kind of lore.

Among the idealized presences about the Virgin's throne may sometimes
be seen the prosaic figure of the donor, whose munificence has made
the picture possible. This is well illustrated in the famous Madonna
of Victory in the Louvre, painted in commemoration of the Battle of
Fornovo, where Mantegna represents Francesco Gonzaga, commander of the
Venetian forces, kneeling at the Virgin's feet.

A charming feature in many enthroned Madonnas is the group of cherubs
below,--one, two, or the mystic three. They are not the exclusive
possession of any single school of art; Bartolommeo and Andrea del
Sarto of the Florentines, Francia of the Bolognese, and Bellini and
Cima of the Venetians were particularly partial to them. The
treatment in Northern Italy gives them a more definite purpose in the
composition than does that of Florence, for here they are always
musicians, playing on all sorts of instruments,--the violin, the
mandolin, or the pipe.

Bartolommeo was specially successful in the subject of the enthroned
Madonna, having fine gifts of composition united with profound
religious earnestness. The great picture in the Pitti gallery at
Florence may serve as a typical example. Andrea del Sarto's
_chef-d'oeuvre_--the Madonna di San Francesco (Uffizi)--may also be
assigned to this class, although the arrangement is entirely novel.
The Virgin, holding the babe in her arms, stands on a sort of
pedestal, carved at the corners