antiquity in this dry climate and clear atmosphere which our Gothic
churches in moist England present. Not more widely did the external
aspect of the tabernacle in the wilderness, with its dark goat-skin
coverings, differ from the interior of the Holy of holies, with its
golden furniture, than does the commonplace look of the outside of the
church of Santa Maria del Popolo differ from its magnificent interior.
It is a perfect museum of sculpture and painting. Splendid tombs of
eminent cardinals of the best period of the Renaissance, rare marbles
and precious stones in lavish profusion adorn the altars and walls of
the chapels; while they are further enriched by beautiful frescoes of
sacred subjects from the pencils of Penturicchio and Annibale Caracci.
Above the high altar is an ancient picture of the Madonna, with an
exceedingly swarthy eastern complexion, which is one among several
others in Rome attributed to the pencil of St. Luke the Evangelist,
and which is supposed to possess the power of working miracles. One
especially magnificent chapel arrests the attention, and leaves a
lasting impression--that of the Chigi family, built by Fabio Chigi,
better known as Pope Alexander VII. The architecture was planned by
Raphael. The design of the strange fresco on the ceiling of the dome,
representing the creation of the heavenly bodies, was sketched by him;
and he modelled the beautiful statue of Jonah, sitting upon a
whale--said to have been carved from a block that fell from one of the
temples in the Forum--and sculptured the figure of Elijah, which are
among the most conspicuous ornaments of the chapel. This is the only
place in which Raphael appears in the character of an architect and
sculptor. Like Michael Angelo, the genius of this wonderfully-gifted
artist was capable of varied expression; and it seemed a mere accident
whether his ideals were represented in stone, or colour, or words. On
his single head God seemed to have poured all His gifts; beauty of
person, and beauty of soul, and the power to perceive and embody the