Page:The painters of Florence from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century (1915).djvu/138

Masaccio; but his quick perception and inborn sense of beauty of line to a great extent supply the lack of actual knowledge, while his elevation of thought and rare powers of expression are never absent. In the corridor at the head of the stairs is a fresco of the Annunciation, with a Latin inscription inviting all passers-by to say an Ave to the Blessed Mother. Here the slender Corinthian columns of the open loggia were evidently suggested by Michelozzo's newly-built portico of the Annunziata Church, and through the graceful arches we look out on the convent garden, with daisies in the grass and rose-bushes and tall cypresses behind its wooden paling. The Angel stands with outspread wings as if but just alighted on the ground, and fixes his eyes intently on the Virgin's face as he delivers his message. His pink robe is edged with gold, and the feathers of his wings are delicately tinted with soft hues of rose and violet, green and yellow. Mary, draped in a long blue mantle and white robe, and seated on a rough wooden stool, folds her hands meekly on her breast, and looks up with sudden awe and wonder at the heavenly messenger. Yet another Annunciation of rare beauty and deep spiritual meaning may be seen in one of the cells on this floor. Here we have neither loggia nor garden, only the bare walls of the cell, while the white-robed Angel stands erect on the threshold, and the Virgin bending in lowly self-oblation, as if offering her whole being in glad obedience to his word. In the scenes of the Childhood and Ministry, the traditional type is generally followed, with a few variations prompted by the painter's tender feeling. A large Adoration