III. DEVOTIONAL AND HISTORICAL REPRESENTATIONS.




In this volume, as in the former ones, I have adhered to the
distinction between the devotional and the historical representations.

I class as devotional, all those which express a dogma merely; all the
enthroned Madonnas, alone or surrounded by significant accessories
or attendant saints; all the Mystical Coronations and Immaculate
Conceptions; all the Holy Families with saints, and those completely
ideal and votive groups, in which the appeal is made to the faith and
piety of the observer. I shall give the characteristic details, in
particular instances, further on.

The altar-pieces in a Roman Catholic church are always either strictly
devotional objects, or it may be, historical subjects (such as the
Nativity) treated in a devotional sense. They are sometimes in several
pieces or compartments. A Diptych is an altar-piece composed of two
divisions or leaves which are united by hinges, and close like a book.
Portable altar-pieces of a small size are generally in this form; and
among the most valuable and curious remains of early religious art are
the Greek and Byzantine Diptychs, sometimes painted, sometimes carved
in ivory[1]. A Triptych is an altar-piece in three parts; the two
outer divisions or wings often closing as shutters over the central
compartment.

[Footnote 1: Among the "Casts from Ancient Ivory Carvings",
published by the Arundel Society, will be found some interesting and
illustrative examples, particularly Class III. Diptych _b_, Class VII
Diptych _c_ and Triptych _f_, Class IX. Triptych _k_.]

On the outside of the shutters or doors the Annunciation was
generally painted, as the mystery which opened the gates of salvation;
occasionally, also, the portraits of the votaries or donors.

Complete examples of devotional representation occur in the complex
and elaborate altar-pieces and windows of stained glass, which often
comprehend a very significant scheme of theology.[1]. I give here
plans of two of these old altar-pieces, which will assist the reader
in elucidating the meaning of others.

[Footnote 1: Still more important examples occur in the porches and
exterior decoration of the old cathedrals, French and English which
have escaped mutilation. These will be found explained at length in
the Fourth Series of Sacred and Legendary Art.]

The first is the altar-piece in the Rinuccini Chapel in the church
of the Santa Croco of Florence. It is necessary to premise that
the chapel was founded in honour of the Virgin and Mary Magdalene;
while the church is dedicated to the Holy Cross, and belongs to the
Franciscans.

[Illustration: Altar-piece]

The compartments are separated by wood-work most richly carved
and gilt in the Gothic style, with twisted columns, pinnacles, and
scrolls. The subjects are thus distributed.

A. The Virgin and Child enthroned. She has the sun on her breast, the
moon under her feet, the twelve stars over her head, and is attended
by angels bearing the attributes of the cardinal virtues. B. St.
John the Baptist. C. St. Francis. D. St. John Evangelist. E. Mary
Magdalene. 1. The Crucifixion, with the Virgin and St. John. 2, 3, 4,
5. The four Evangelists with their books: half length. 6, 7. St. Peter
and St. Paul: half length. 8, 9, 10, 11. St. Thomas, St. Philip, St.
James, and St. Andrew: half length. PP. The Predella. 12. The Nativity
and Adoration of Magi. 13. St. Francis receives the Stigmata. 14.
Baptism of Christ. 15. The Vision of St. John in Patmos. 16. Mary
Magdalene borne up by angels. Between the altar-piece and the predella
runs the inscription in Gothic letters, AVE DELICISSIMIS VIRGO MARIA,
SUCCURRE NOBIS MATER PIA. MCCCLXXVIII.

The second example is sketched from an altar-piece painted for the
suppressed convent of Santa Chiara, at Venice. It is six feet high,
and eight feet wide, and the ornamental caning in which the subjects
are enclosed particularly splendid and elaborate.

[Illustration: Altar-piece]

A. The Coronation of the Virgin, treated as a religious mystery, with
choral angels. B. The Nativity of our Lord. C. The Baptism. D. The
Last Supper. E. The Betrayal of Christ. F. The Procession to Calvary,
in which the Virgin is rudely pushed aside by the soldiers. G. The
Crucifixion, as an event: John sustains the Virgin at the foot of the
cross. H. The Resurrection and the _Noli me tangere_. I. Ascension.
1. Half-figure of Christ, with the hand extended in benediction; in
the other hand the Gospel. 2. David. 3. Isaiah. 4, 5, 6, 7. The
four Evangelists standing. 8. 9, 11, 12. Scenes from the Life of St.
Francis and St. Clara. 10. The Descent of the Holy Ghost. 13. The Last
Judgment.

It is to be regretted that so many of these altar-pieces have been
broken up, and the detached parts sold as separate pictures: so that
we may find one compartment of an altar in a church at Rome, and
another hanging in a drawing-room in London; the upper part at Ghent,
the lower half at Paris; one wing at Berlin, another at Florence. But
where they exist as a whole, how solemn, significant, and instructive
the arrangement! It may be read as we read a poem. Compare these with
the groups round the enthroned Virgin in the later altar-pieces,
where the saints elbow each other in attitudes, where mortal men sit
with unseemly familiarity close to personages recognized as divine.
As I have remarked further on, it is one of the most interesting
speculations connected with the study of art, to trace this decline
from reverence to irreverence, from the most rigid formula to the most
fantastic caprice. The gradual disappearance of the personages of the
Old Testament, the increasing importance given to the family of the
Blessed Virgin, the multiplication of legendary subjects, and all the
variety of adventitious, unmeaning, or merely ornamental accessories,
strike us just in proportion as a learned theology replaced the
unreflecting, undoubting piety of an earlier age.

*       *       *       *       *

The historical subjects comprise the events from the Life of the
Virgin, when treated in a dramatic form; and all those groups which
exhibit her in her merely domestic relations, occupied by cares for
her divine Child, and surrounded by her parents and kindred, subjects
which assume a pastoral and poetical rather than an historical form.

All these may be divided into Scriptural and Legendary
representations. The Scriptural scenes in which the Virgin Mary is a
chief or important personage, are the Annunciation, the Visitation,
the Nativity, the Purification, the Adoration of the Magi, the Flight
into Egypt, the Marriage at Cana, the Procession to Calvary, the
Crucifixion (as related by St. John), and the Descent of the Holy
Ghost. The Traditional and Legendary scenes are those taken from
the apocryphal Scriptures, some of which have existed from the third
century. The Legend of Joachim and Anna, the parents of the Virgin,
with the account of her early life, and her Marriage with Joseph,
down to the Massacre of the Innocents, are taken from the Gospel of
Mary and the Protevangelion. The scenes of the Flight into Egypt,
the Repose on the Journey, and the Sojourn of the Holy Family at
Hieropolis or Matarea, are taken from the Gospel of Infancy. The
various scenes attending the Death and Assumption of the Virgin are
derived from a Greek legendary poem, once attributed to St. John the
Evangelist, but the work, as it is supposed, of a certain Greek, named
Meliton, who lived in the ninth century, and who has merely dressed
up in a more fanciful form ancient traditions of the Church. Many
of these historical scenes have been treated in a devotional style,
expressing not the action, but the event, taken in the light of a
religious mystery; a distinction which I have fully explained in the
following pages, where I have given in detail the legends on which
these scenes are founded, and the religious significance conveyed by
the treatment.

A complete series of the History of the Virgin begins with the
rejection of her father Joachim from the temple, and ends with the
assumption and coronation, including most of the events in the History
of our Lord (as for example, the series painted by Giotto, in the
chapel of the Arena, at Padua); but there are many instances in which
certain important evens relating to the Virgin only, as the principal
person, are treated as a devotional series; and such are generally
found in the chapels and oratories especially dedicated to her. A
beautiful instance is that of the Death of the Virgin, treated in
a succession of scenes, as an event apart, and painted by Taddeo
Barrolo, in the Chapel of the Palazzo Publico, at Siena. This small
chapel was dedicated to the Virgin soon after the terrible plague of
1848 had ceased, as it was believed, by her intercession; so that
this municipal chapel was at once an expression of thanksgiving, and
a memorial of death, of suffering, of bereavement, and of hope in
the resurrection. The frescoes cover one wall of the chapel, and are
arranged in four scenes.

1. Mary is reclining in her last sickness, and around her are the
Apostles, who, according to the beautiful legend, were _miraculously_
assembled to witness her departure. To express this, one of them is
floating in as if borne on the air. St. John kneels at her feet, and
she takes, with an expression exquisitely tender and maternal, his two
hands in hers. This action is peculiar to the Siena school.[1]

[Footnote 1: On each side of the principal door of the Cathedral at
Siena, which is dedicated to "Beata Virgine Assunta," and just within
the entrance, is a magnificent pilaster, of white marble, completely
covered from the base to the capital with the most luxuriant carving,
arabesques, foliage, &c., in an admirable and finished style. On the
bases of these two pilasters are subjects from the Life of the Virgin,
three on each side, and arranged, each subject on one side having its
pendant on the other.

1. The meeting of Joachim and Anna. 2. The Nativity of Mary. 3. Her
sickness and last farewell to the Apostles; bending towards St. John,
she takes his hands in hers with the same tender expression as in
the fresco by Taddeo Bartola. 4. She lies dead on her couch. 5. The
Assumption. 6. The Coronation.

The figures are about a foot in height, delicately carved, full of
that sentiment which is especially Sienese, and treated with a truly
sculptural simplicity.]

2. She lies extended on her couch, surrounded by the weeping
Apostles, and Christ behind receives the parting soul,--the usual
representation, but treated with the utmost sentiment.

3. She is borne to the grave by the Apostles; in the background, the
walls of the city of Jerusalem. Here the Greek legend of St. Michael
protecting her remains from the sacrilegious Jew is omitted, and a
peculiar sentiment of solemnity pervades the whole scene.

4. The resurrection of the Virgin, when she rises from the tomb
sustained by hovering angels, and is received by Christ.

When I first saw these beautiful frescoes, in 1847, they were in a
very ruined state; they have since been restored in a very good style,
and with a reverent attention to the details and expression.

In general, however, the cycle commences either with the legend of
Joachim and Anna, or with the Nativity of the Virgin, and ends with
the assumption and coronation. A most interesting early example is the
series painted in fresco by Taddeo Gaddi, in the Baroncelli Chapel
at Florence. The subjects are arranged on two walls. The first on the
right hand, and the second, opposite to us as we enter.

1. Joachim is rejected from the Temple.

2. He is consoled by the Angel.

3. The meeting of Joachim and Anna.

4. The Birth of the Virgin.

5. The Presentation of the Virgin. She is here a child of about five
years old; and having ascended five steps (of the fifteen) she turns
as if to bid farewell to her parents and companions, who stand below;
while on the summit the High Priest, Anna the prophetess, and the
maidens of the Temple come forward to receive her.

6. The Marriage to Joseph, and the rage and disappointment of the
other suitors.

The second wall is divided by a large window of the richest stained
glass, on each side of which the subjects are arranged.

7. The Annunciation. This is peculiar. Mary, not throned or standing,
but seated on the ground, with her hands clasped, and an expression
beautiful for devotion and humility, looks upwards to the descending
angel.

8. The Meeting of Mary and Elizabeth.

9. The Annunciation to the Shepherds.

10. The Nativity.

11. The Wise Men behold the Star in the Form of a Child.

12. They approach to Worship. Under the window is the altar, no longer
used as such; and behind it a small but beautiful triptych of the
Coronation of the Virgin, by Giotto, containing at least a hundred
heads of saints, angels, &c.; and on the wall opposite is the large
fresco of the Assumption, by Mainardi, in which St. Thomas receives
the girdle, the other Apostles being omitted. This is of much later
date, being painted about 1495.

The series of five subjects in the Rinuccini Chapel (in the sacristy
of the same church) has been generally attributed to Taddeo Gaddi,
but I agree with those who gave it to a different painter of the same
period.

The subjects are thus arranged:--1. The Rejection of Joachim, which
fills the whole arch at the top, and is rather peculiarly treated.
On the right of the altar advances a company of grave-looking Elders,
each with his offering. On the left, a procession of the matrons and
widows "who had been fruitful in Israel," each with her lamb. In the
centre, Joachim, with his lamb in his arms and an affrighted look,
is hurrying down the steps. 2. The Lamentation of Joachim on the
Mountain, and the Meeting of Joachim and Anna. 3. The Birth of the
Virgin. 4. The Presentation in the Temple. 5. The Sposalizio of the
Virgin, with which the series concludes; every event referring to her
divine Son, even the Annunciation, being omitted. On comparing these
frescoes with those in the neighbouring chapel of the Baroncelli, the
difference in _feeling_ will be immediately felt; but they are very
_naive_ and elegant.

About a hundred years later than these two examples we have the
celebrated series painted by Ghirlandajo, in the choir of S. Maria
Novella at Florence. There are three walls. On the principal wall,
facing us as we enter, is the window; and around it the Annunciation
(as a mystery), then the principal saints of the Order to whom the
church belongs,--St. Dominic and St. Peter Martyr, and the protecting
saints of Florence.

On the left hand (i.e. the right as we face the high altar) is the
History of the Virgin; on the opposite side, the History of St. John
the Baptist. The various cycles relating to St. John as patron of
Florence will be fully treated in the last volume of Legendary Art; at
present I shall confine myself to the beautiful set of subjects which
relate the history of the Virgin, and which the engravings of Lasinio
(see the "Ancient Florentine Masters") have rendered well known to
the lovers of art. They cover the whole wall and are thus arranged,
beginning from the lowest on the left hand.

1. Joachim is driven from the Temple.

2. The Birth of the Virgin.

3. The Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple.

4. The Marriage of Joseph and Mary.

5. The Adoration of the Magi (this is very much ruined).

6. The Massacre of the Innocents. (This also is much ruined.) Vasari
says it was the finest of all. It is very unusual to make this
terrible and pathetic scene part of the life of the Virgin.

7. In the highest and largest compartment, the Death and Assumption of
the Virgin.

Nearly contemporary with this fine series is that by Pinturicchio in
the Church of S. Maria del Popolo, at Rome (in the third chapel on the
right). It is comprised in five lunettes round the ceiling, beginning
with the Birth of the Virgin, and is remarkable for its elegance.

About forty years after this series was completed the people of Siena,
who had always bees remarkable for their devotion to the Virgin,
dedicated to Her honour the beautiful little chapel called the Oratory
of San Bernardino (v. Legends of the Monastic Orders), near the church
of San Francesco, and belonging to the same Order, the Franciscans.
This chapel is an exact parallelogram and the frescoes which cover
the four walls are thus arranged above the wainscot, which rises about
eight feet from the ground.

1. Opposite the door as we enter, the Birth of the Virgin. The usual
visitor to St. Anna is here a grand female figure, in voluminous
drapery. The delight and exultation of those who minister to the
new-born infant are expressed with the most graceful _naivete_. This
beautiful composition should be compared with those of Ghirlandajo
and Andrea del Sarto in the Annunziata at Florence;[1] it yields to
neither as a conception and is wholly different. It is the work of a
Sienese painter little known--Girolamo del Pacchio.

[Footnote 1: This series, painted by Andrea and his scholars and
companions, Franciabigio and Pontormo, is very remarkable as a work of
art, but presents nothing new in regard to the choice and treatment of
the subjects.]

2. The Presentation in the Temple, by G.A. Razzi. The principal scene
is placed in the background, and the little Madonna, as she ascends
the steps, is received by the High Priest and Anna the prophetess.
Her father and mother and groups of spectators fill the foreground;
here, too, is a very noble female figure on the right; but the whole
composition is mannered, and wants repose and religious feeling.

3. The Sposalizio, by Beccafumi. The ceremony takes place after the
manner of the Jews, outside the Temple. In a mannered, artificial
style.

4, 5. On one side of the altar, the Angel Gabriel floating in--very
majestic and angelic; on the other side the Virgin Annunziata, with
that attitude and expression so characteristic of the Siena School,
as if shrinking from the apparition. These also are by Girolamo del
Pacchio, and extremely fine.

6. The enthroned Virgin and Child, by Beccafumi. The Virgin is very
fine and majestic; around her throne stand and kneel the guardian
saints of Siena and the Franciscan Order; St. Francis, St. Antony of
Padua, St. Bernardino, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Ansano, St. John
B., St. Louis. (St. Catherine, as patroness of Siena, takes here the
place usually given to St. Clara in the Franciscan pictures.)

7. The Visitation. Very fine and rather peculiar; for here Elizabeth
bends over Mary as welcoming her, while the other inclines her head as
accepting hospitality. By Razzi.

8. The Death of the Virgin. Fourteen figures, among which are four
females lamenting, and St. John bearing the palm. The attitude and
expression of Mary, composed in death, are very fine; and Christ,
instead of standing, as usual, by the couch, with her parting soul in
his arms, comes rushing down from above with arms outspread to receive
it.

9. The Assumption. Mary, attired all in white, rises majestically.
The tomb is seen beneath, out of which grow two tall lilies amid white
roses; the Apostles surround it, and St. Thomas receives the girdle.
This is one of the finest works of Razzi, and one of the purest in
point of sentiment.

10. The Coronation, covering the whole wall which faces the altar, is
by Razzi; it is very peculiar and characteristic. The Virgin, all in
white, and extremely fine, bending gracefully, receives her crown; the
other figures have that vulgarity of expression which belonged to the
artist, and is often so oddly mingled with the sentiment and grandeur
of his school and time. On the right of the principal group stands
St. John B.; on the left, Adam and Eve; and behind the Virgin, her
mother, St. Anna, which is quite peculiar, and the only instance I can
remember.

*       *       *       *       *

It appears therefore that the Life of the Virgin Mary, whether treated
as a devotional or historical series, forms a kind of pictured drama
in successive scenes; sometimes comprising only six or eight of the
principal events of her individual life, as her birth, dedication,
marriage, death, and assumption: sometimes extending to forty or fifty
subjects, and combining her history with that of her divine Son. I
may now direct the attention of the reader to a few other instances
remarkable for their beauty and celebrity.

Giotto, 1320. In the chapel at Padua styled _la Capella dell' Arena_.
One of the finest and most complete examples extant, combining the
Life of the Virgin with that of her Son. This series is of the highest
value, a number of scenes and situations suggested by the Scriptures
being here either expressed for the first time, or in a form unknown
in the Greek school.[1]

[Footnote 1: _Vide_ Kugler's Handbook, p. 129. He observes, that "the
introduction of the maid-servant spinning, in the story of St. Anna,
oversteps the limits of the higher ecclesiastical style." For an
explanation I must refer to the story as I have given it at p 249.
See, for the distribution of the subjects in this chapel, Lord
Lindsay's "Christian Art," vol. ii. A set of the subjects has since
been published by the Arundel Society.]

Angiolo Gaddi, 1380. The series in the cathedral at Prato. These
comprise the history of the Holy Girdle.

Andrea Orcagna, 1373. The beautiful series of bas-reliefs on the
shrine in Or-San-Michele, at Florence.

Nicolo da Modena, 1450. Perhaps the earliest engraved example:
very remarkable for the elegance of the _motifs_ and the imperfect
execution, engraving on copper being then a new art.

Albert Durer. The beautiful and well-known set of twenty-five
wood-cuts, published in 1510. A perfect example of the German
treatment.

Bernardino Luini, 1515. A series of frescoes of the highest beauty,
painted for the monastery Della Pace. Unhappily we have only the
fragments which are preserved in the Brera.

The series of bas-reliefs on the outer shrine of the Casa di Loretto,
by Sansovino, and others of the greatest sculptors of the beginning of
the sixteenth century.

The series of bas-reliefs round the choir at Milan: seventeen
subjects.

*       *       *       *       *

We often find the Seven Joys and the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin
treated as a series.

The Seven Joys are, the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity,
the Adoration of the Magi, the Presentation in the Temple, Christ
found by his Mother, the Assumption and Coronation.

The Seven Sorrows are, the Prophecy of Simeon, the Flight into Egypt,
Christ lost by his Mother, the Betrayal of Christ, the Crucifixion
(with St. John and the Virgin only present), the Deposition from the
Cross, the Ascension when the Virgin is left on earth.

The Seven Joys and Sorrows are frequently found in altar-pieces and
religions prints, arranged in separate compartments, round the Madonna
in the centre. Or they are combined in various groups into one large
composition, as in a famous picture by Hans Hemling, wonderful for the
poetry, expression, and finished execution.[1]

[Footnote 1: Altogether, on a careful consideration of this picture,
I do not consider the title by which it is generally known as
appropriate. It contains man groups which would not enter into the
mystic joys or sorrows; for instance, the Massacre of the Innocents,
Christ at Emmaus, the _Noli me tangere_, and others.]

Another cycle of subjects consists of the fifteen Mysteries of the
Rosary.

The five Joyful Mysteries, are the Annunciation, the Visitation, the
Nativity, the Purification, and Christ found in the Temple.

The five Dolorous or Sorrowful Mysteries are, our Lord in the
Garden of Olives, the Flagellation, Christ crowned with Thorns, the
Procession to Calvary, the Crucifixion.

The five Glorious Mysteries are, the Resurrection, the Ascension, the
Descent of the Holy Ghost, the Assumption, the Coronation.

A series of subjects thus arranged cannot be called strictly
historical, but partakes of the mystical and devotional character.
The purpose being to excite devout meditation, requires a particular
sentiment, frequently distinguished from the merely dramatic and
historical treatment in being accompanied by saints, votaries,
and circumstances purely ideal; as where the Wise Men bring their
offerings, while St. Luke sits in a corner painting the portrait
of the Virgin, and St. Dominick kneels in adoration of the Mystery
(Mabuse, Munich Gal.);--and in a hundred other examples.




IV. TITLES OF THE VIRGIN MARY.


Of the various titles given to the Virgin Mary, and thence to certain
effigies and pictures of her, some appear to me very touching, as
expressive of the wants, the aspirations, the infirmities and sorrows,
which are common to poor suffering humanity, or of those divine
attributes from which they hoped to find aid and consolation. Thus we
have--

Santa Maria "del buon Consilio." Our Lady of good Counsel.

S.M. "del Soccorso." Our Lady of Succour. Our Lady of the Forsaken.

S.M. "del buon Core." Our Lady of good Heart.

S.M. "della Grazia." Our Lady of Grace.

S.M. "di Misericordia." Our Lady of Mercy.

S.M. "Auxilium Afflictorum." Help of the Afflicted.

S.M. "Refugium Peccatorum." Refuge of Sinners.

S.M. "del Pianto," "del Dolore." Our Lady of Lamentation, or Sorrow.

S.M. "Consolatrice," "della Consolazione," or "del Conforte." Our Lady
of Consolation.

S.M. "della Speranza." Our Lady of Hope.

Under these and similar titles she is invoked by the afflicted, and
often represented with her ample robe outspread and upheld by angels,
with votaries and suppliants congregated beneath its folds. In Spain,
_Nuestra Senora de la Merced_ is the patroness of the Order of Mercy;
and in this character she often holds in her hand small tablets
bearing the badge of the Order. (Legends of the Monastic Orders, 2d
edit.)

S.M. "della Liberta," or "Liberatrice," Our Lady of Liberty; and S.M.
"della Catena," Our Lady of Fetters. In this character she is invoked
by prisoners and captives.

S.M. "del Parto," Our Lady of Good Delivery, invoked by women in
travail.[1]

[Footnote 1: Dante alludes to her in this character:--

"E per ventura udi 'Dolce Maria!'
Dinanzi a noi chiamar cosi nel pianto
Come fa donna che 'n partorir sia."--_Purg._ c. 20.]

S.M. "del Popolo." Our Lady of the People.

S.M. "della Vittoria." Our Lady of Victory.

S.M. "della Pace." Our Lady of Peace.

S.M. "della Sapienza," Our Lady of Wisdom; and S.M. "della
Perseveranza," Our Lady of Perseverance. (Sometimes placed in
colleges, with a book in her hand, as patroness of students.)

S.M. "della Salute." Our Lady of Health or Salvation. Under this title
pictures and churches have been dedicated after the cessation of a
plague, or any other public calamity.[1]

[Footnote 1: There is also somewhere in France a chapel dedicated to
_Notre Dame de la Haine_.]

Other titles are derived from particular circumstances and
accessories, as--

S.M. "del Presepio," Our Lady of the Cradle; generally a Nativity, or
when she is adoring her Child.

S.M. "della Scodella"--with the cup or porringer, where she is taking
water from a fountain; generally a Riposo.

S.M. "dell' Libro," where she holds the Book of Wisdom.

S.M. "della Cintola," Our Lady of the Girdle, where she is either
giving the Girdle to St. Thomas, or where the Child holds it in his
hand.

S.M. "della Lettera." Our Lady of the Letter. This is the title given
to Our Lady as protectress of the city of Messina. According to the
Sicilian legend, she honoured the people of Messina by writing a
letter to them, dated from Jerusalem, "in the year of her Son, 42." In
the effigies of the "Madonna della Lettera," she holds this letter in
her hand.

S.M. "della Rosa." Our Lady of the Rose. A title given to several
pictures, in which the rose, which is consecrated to her, is placed
either in her hand, or in that of the Child.

S.M. "della Stella." Our Lady of the Star. She wears the star as one
of her attributes embroidered on her mantle.

S.M. "del Fiore." Our Lady of the Flower. She has this title
especially as protectress of Florence.

S.M. "della Spina." She holds in her hand the crown of thorns, and
under this title is the protectress of Pisa.

S.M. "del Rosario." Our Lady of the Rosary, with the mystic string of
beads. I do not remember any instance of the Rosary placed in the hand
of the Virgin or the Child till after the battle of Lepanto (1571),
and the institution of the Festival of the Rosary, as an act of
thanksgiving. After this time pictures of the Madonna "del Rosario"
abound, and may generally be found in the Dominican churches. There is
a famous example by Guido in the Bologna Gallery, and a very beautiful
one by Murillo in the Dulwich Gallery.

S.M. "del Carmine." Our Lady of Mount Carmel. She is protectress of
the Order of the Carmelites, and is often represented holding in her
hand small tablets, on which is the effigy of herself with the Child.

S.M. "de Belem." Our Lady of Bethlehem. Under this title she is the
patroness of the Jeronymites, principally in Spain and Portugal.

S.M. "della Neve." Our Lady of the Snow. In Spain, S. Maria la Blanca.
To this legend of the snow the magnificent church of S.M. Maggiore at
Rome is said to owe its origin. A certain Roman patrician, whose name
was John (Giovanni Patricie), being childless, prayed of the Virgin to
direct him how best to bestow his worldly wealth. She appeared to him
in a dream on the night of the fifth of August, 352, and commanded him
to build a church in her honour, on a spot where snow would be found
the next morning. The same vision having appeared to his wife and the
reigning pope, Liberius, they repaired in procession the next morning
to the summit of Mount Esquiline, where, notwithstanding the heat of
the weather, a large patch of ground was miraculously covered with
snow, and on it Liberius traced out with his crosier the plan of the
church. This story has been often represented in art, and is easily
recognized; but it is curious that the two most beautiful pictures
consecrated to the honour of the Madonna della Neve are Spanish and
not Roman, and were painted by Murillo about the time that Philip
IV. of Spain sent rich offerings to the church of S.M. Maggiore, thus
giving a kind of popularity to the legend. The picture represents
the patrician John and his wife asleep, and the Vision of the Virgin
(one of the loveliest ever painted by Murillo) breaking upon them in
splendour through the darkness of the night; while in the dim distance
is seen the Esquiline (or what is meant for it) covered with snow. In
the second picture, John and his wife are kneeling before the pope,
"a grand old ecclesiastic, like one of Titian's pontiffs." These
pictures, after being carried off by the French from the little church
of S.M. la Blanca at Seville, are now in the royal gallery at Madrid.

S. Maria "di Loretto." Our Lady of Loretto. The origin of this title
is the famous legend of the Santa Casa, the house at Nazareth, which
was the birthplace of the Virgin, and the scene of the Annunciation.
During the incursions of the Saracens, the Santa Casa being threatened
with profanation, if not destruction, was taken up by the angels
and conveyed over land and sea till it was set down on the coast of
Dalmatia; but not being safe there, the angels again took it up, and,
bearing it over the Adriatic, set it down in a grove near Loretto. But
certain wicked brigands having disturbed its sacred quietude by strife
and murder, the house again changed its place, and was at length set
down on the spot where it now stands. The date of this miracle is
placed in 1295.

The Madonna di Loretto is usually represented as seated with the
divine Child on the roof of a house, which is sustained at the corners
by four angels, and thus borne over sea and land. From the celebrity
of Loretto as a place of pilgrimage this representation became
popular, and is often found in chapels dedicated to our Lady of
Loretto. Another effigy of our Lady of Loretto is merely a copy of
a very old Greek "Virgin and Child," which is enshrined in the Santa
Casa.

S.M. "del Pillar," Our Lady of the Pillar, is protectress of
Saragossa. According to the Legend, she descended from heaven standing
on an alabaster pillar, and thus appeared to St. James (Santiago)
when he was preaching the gospel in Spain. The miraculous pillar
is preserved in the cathedral of Saragossa, and the legend appears
frequently in Spanish art. Also in a very interior picture by Nicolo
Poussin, now in the Louvre.

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