characteristics; the second, with the inner significance.

Proceeding by the first, we ask, what are the general styles of
treatment in which Madonna pictures have been rendered? The answer
names the following five classes:

1. The Portrait Madonna, the figures in half-length against an
indefinite background.

2. The Madonna Enthroned, where the setting is some sort of a throne
or dais.

3. The Madonna in the Sky or the "Madonna in Gloria," where the
figures are set in the heavens, as represented by a glory of light, by
clouds, by a company of cherubs, or by simple elevation above the
earth's surface.

4. The Pastoral Madonna, with a landscape background.

5. The Madonna in a Home Environment, where the setting is an
interior.

The foregoing subjects are arranged in the order of historical
development, so far as is possible. The first and last of the classes
enumerated are so small, compared with the others, that they are
somewhat insignificant in the whole number of Madonna pictures. Yet,
in all probability, it is along these lines that future art is most
likely to develop the subject, choosing the portrait Madonna because
of its universal adaptability, and representing the Madonna in her
home, in an effort to realize, historically, the New Testament scenes.