career which ended in the presidency of the Royal Academy.

Cimabue's Madonna still hangs in Santa Maria Novella, over the altar
of the Ruccellai chapel, and thither many a pilgrim takes his way to
honor the memory of the father of modern painting. The throne is a
sort of carved armchair, very simple in form, but richly overlaid with
gold; the surrounding background is filled with adoring angels. Here
sits the Madonna, in stiff solemnity, holding her child on her lap. If
we find it hard to admire her beauty, we must note the superiority of
the picture to its predecessors.

For the enthroned Madonna 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