characteristic of Italian art. It is found occasionally in mosaics
from the eighth to the eleventh centuries, and in some of the early
votive pictures, but does not appear in the later period except in a
few Venetian pictures by Giovanni da Murano and Carlo Crivelli. The
same idea was often carried out by placing two hovering angels over
the Virgin's head, holding the crown between them. Botticelli's
Madonna of the Inkhorn is treated in this way.

The crown is essentially Teutonic in origin and character. Turning to
the representative art of Germany and Belgium, we find the Virgin
almost invariably wearing a crown, whether she sits on a throne, or in
a pastoral environment. No better example could be named than the
celebrated Holbein Madonna, of Darmstadt, known chiefly through the
copy in the Dresden Gallery. Here the imposing height of the Virgin is
rendered still more impressive by a high, golden crown, richly
embossed and edged with pearls. Beneath this her blond hair falls
loosely over her beautiful neck, and gleams on the blue garment
hanging over her shoulders. Strong and tender, this noble figure sums
up the finest elements in the Madonna art of the North.

A simple and lovely form for the Madonna's crown is the narrow golden
fillet set with pearls, singly or in clusters. This is placed over the
Virgin's brow just at the edge of the hair, which is otherwise
unconfined. This is seen on Madonnas by Van Eyck (Frankfort), Dürer
(woodcut of 1513), Memling (Bruges), Schongauer (Munich).

[Illustration: QUENTIN MASSYS.--MADONNA AND
CHILD.]

In the enthroned Madonna by Quentin Massys, in the Berlin Gallery, we