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A beautiful Madonna enthroned is by Perugino, in the Vatican Gallery
at Rome; one of the artist's best works in power and vivacity of
color. The throne is an architectural structure of elegant simplicity
of design, apparently of carved and inlaid marble. The Virgin sits in
quiet dignity, her face bent towards the bishops at her right, St.
Costantius and St. Herculanus. On the other side stand the youthful
St. Laurence and St. Louis of Toulouse. Although Perugino was an
exceedingly prolific artist, he did not often choose this particular
subject. On this account the picture is especially interesting, and
also because it is the original model of well known works by two of
the Umbrian painter's most illustrious pupils.

Many, indeed, were the apprentices trained in the famous _bottega_ at
Perugia, but, among them all, Raphael and Pinturicchio took the lead.
These were the two who honored their master by repeating, with
modifications of their own, the beautiful composition of the Vatican.
Pinturicchio's picture is in the Church of St. Andrea, at Perugia. A
charming feature, which he introduced, is a little St. John, standing
at the foot of the throne. Raphael's picture is the so-called Ansidei
Madonna, of the National Gallery, London, purchased by the English
government, in 1885, for the fabulous price of £72,000. The
composition is here reduced to its simplest possible form, with only
one saint on each side,--St. Nicholas on the right, St. John the
Baptist on the left. The Virgin and child give no attention to these
personages, but are absorbed in a book which is open on the Mother's
knee.

Raphael had no great liking for this style of picture, which was