ur of the divine radiance, shine with such purity that we feel
the flame that purifies all passing within ourselves. The Virgin
appears here like the dawning light. She advances from right to left,
beautiful as the skies, light as the cloud that bears her. Her gait, or
rather her flight through the air, is stamped with royal nobleness and
dignity. Her right hand, raised as high as the shoulder, holds the body
of Jesus under his right arm, and the Saviour lies back against his
Mother's right arm, while Mary's left arm is placed under the Infant's
body to support and carry him. The Virgin of St. Sixtus, like every
Madonna, wears a red robe and a white mantle; and Art has never done
greater things with drapery with such simple elements. The mantle falls
with a beautiful movement over the lower part of the body and floats in
wide folds, which, while sharply defining the form and movement of the
lower limbs, reveals the bare feet which are of admirable form and
colour. The robe, ornamented only with a little gold embroidery on the
sleeve, is of a purple tint in the shadows and becomes rose in the
light; it is girdled below the breast like the antique statues, and
reveals the neck as well as the top of the shoulders, which are
surrounded by a veil of white gauze. A long scarf of the same colour as
the veil but tinted with bistre, is placed on the crown of the head,
and, distending like a sail above the left shoulder, returns to the left
hand to serve as a support for the Infant, and runs along the body of
Jesus, who grasps it with his right hand. The Virgin's head appears in
full illumination without any artifice, and glows solely with its own
beauty. It is three quarters left, indeed almost full face, in a similar
position but in opposition to the Saviour's head, which, as we have
seen, is three quarters right and almost full face also. The hair, a
light chestnut, is arranged simply in smooth and flat bands lightly
waved above the brow, leaving the ears, cheeks, and temples completely
uncovered, and not interfering in any way with the outlines of the face.
The forehead, of a medium height, presents a widely developed surface,
in the centre of which glows a light that is continued down the bridge
of the nose. The eyes, of irreproachable shape, are full of brilliance,
and their gaze sheds over all it illumines an infinite softness mingled
with an indefinable exaltation. The mouth trembles with divine emotion
and seems to quiver