landscapes as for the rare grace and charm of their figures. These are
the kneeling Madonna, of the Uffizi, and "La Zingarella," at Naples.
Both show a perfect adaptation of the surroundings to the spirit of
the scene. In the first it is morning, and the gladness of Nature
reflects the Mother's rapturous joy in her awakening babe. A brilliant
light floods the figures in the foreground and melts across the green
slopes into the hazy distance of the sea-bound horizon. In the second
it is twilight, and a calm stillness broods over all, as under the
feathery palms the Mother bends, watchful, over her little one's
slumbers. Such were the revelations of Nature to the country-bred
painter from the little town of Correggio.

Turning now to Venice for our last examples, we find that the love of
natural scenery was remarkably strong in this city of water and sky,
where the very absence of verdure may have created a homesick longing
for the green fields. It was Venetian art which originated that form
of pastoral Madonna known as the Santa Conversazione. This is usually
a long, narrow picture, showing a group of sacred personages, against
a landscape setting, centering about the Madonna and child. The
composition has none of the formality of the enthroned Madonna. An
underlying unity of purpose and action binds all the figures together
in natural and harmonious relations.

The acknowledged leader of this style of composition--the inventor
indeed, according to many--was Palma Vecchio. It is curious that of a
painter whose works are so widely admired, almost nothing is known.
Even the traditions which once lent color to his life have been
shattered by the ruthless hand of the modern investigator. The span of
his life extended from 1480 to 1528. Thus he came at the beginning of
the century made glorious by Titian, and contributed not a little in