ith groups equal in beauty to any in the
other two frescoes, has not the unity of either. Again, while the
Parnassus and the Liberation of Peter show a masterly adaptation to
extremely awkward spaces, the Transfiguration fails to solve a much
easier problem of composition.

Preferring by an instinct such as the Greek artist possessed, the
statuesque effects of repose to the portrayal of action, Raphael
showed himself capable of both. The Hellenic calm of Parnassus is not
more impressive than the splendid charge of the avenging spirits upon
Heliodorus; the visionary idealism of the angel-led Peter is matched
by the vigorous realism of Peter called from his fishing to the
apostleship; the brooding quiet of maternity expressed in the Madonna
of the Chair has a perfect complement in the alert activity of the
swiftly moving Sistine Madonna.

Great as was Raphael's achievement in many directions, he is
remembered above all else as a painter of Madonnas. Here was the
subject best expressing the individuality of his genius. From the
beginning to the end of his career the sweet mystery of motherhood
never ceased to fascinate him. Again and again he sounded the depths
of maternal experience, always making some new discovery.

The Madonna of the Chair emphasizes most prominently, perhaps, the
physical instincts of maternity. "She bends over the child," says
Taine, "with the beautiful action of a wild animal." Like a mother
creature instinctively protecting her young, she gathers him in her
capacious embrace as if to shield him from some impending danger. The
Sistine Madonna, on the other hand, is the most spiritual of Raphael's
creations, the perfect embodiment of ideal womanhood. The mother's
love is here transfigured by the spirit of sacrifice. Forgetful of
self, and obedient to the heavenly summons, she bears her son forth to
the service of humanity.

Sister spirits of the Madonnas, and hardly second in delicate
loveliness, are the virgin saints of Raphael; the Catherine, the
Cecilia, the Magdalene, and the Barbara are abiding ideals in our
dreams of fair women.

The same sweetness of nature which prompted Raphael's fondness for
lovely women and happy children shows itself also in his delineation
of angels. The archangel Michael, the angel visitors of Abraham, and
the celestial spirits appearing to Heliodorus all follow closely upon
the Madonnas in the purity and serenity of their beauty. In the same
fellowship also belo