B-17. Virgin adoring the Infant Jesus. (18½X11.)
The Virgin kneels before her Divine Son. Around are angels, and behind her is JOSEPH. Above is a company of angels; and, in the distant sky, one is seen appearing to the shepherds. The infant has a crimson, cruciform aureola. In this rudely-drawn picture the future glory of the Venetian School, its gorgeous color, is plainly indicated.
B-18. The Birth of John the Baptist. (24X24.) _Uccello._
B-19. Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. (3½X3½.) _Castagno._
B-20. Triumph of Julius Cæsar. (16X60½.) _Antonio Dello._
B-21. The Crucifixion. (15X11.) _Botticelli._
B-22. Adoration of the Infant Christ. (79½X5½.) _Perugino._ [_Macrino d'Alba._]
The Virgin MARY, ST. JOHN the Baptist, ST. JEROME, ST. JOSEPH, ST. MICHAEL, and the Pope JULIUS II., are kneeling before the divine infant. Three small Angels, also kneeling, carry the nails and the Cross, emblems of the torture which the new-born should suffer. The CHRIST bears a striking resemblance to that of the little JESUS, so much admired, in a painting of the same artist, now placed in the Louvre, after having decorated the gallery of the King of Holland. ST. MICHAEL strikes the beholder by his noble air and his martial type. The head is evidently the portrait of GASTON DE FOIX, the model of the chivalry of the day. ST. JOHN is the lean prophet of the desert, the ascetic, and the eater of locusts and wild honey. At the top of the picture, three Angels play upon different instruments. In the background are seen the Capitol, the image of Roman power, and the vast ruins of the Coliseum. The head of JOSEPH, who stands behind ST. JOHN, must strike the considerate observer by its close resemblance to the type of JOSEPH which we find in the Holy Families of RAPHAEL. In the Cherub who holds the Cross, we also find great similarity to the little Angel who occupies so prominent a position in the famous Madonna of Foglino, from the same divine pencil. From the collection ERRARD. Signed and dated 1509.
B-23. St. John, Weeping. (20½X16½.) _Leonardo da Vinci._
For the authenticity of this picture, we have the high authority of Mr. Woodburn.
B-24. St. John. (13½X10½.) Oval. _Leonardo da Vinci._
B-25. The Birth and Resurrection of Christ. (11X19½.) _Raphael._