Page:The painters of Florence from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century (1915).djvu/42

faces of Byzantine artists. The few and simple lines of his draperies give a majestic effect to his figures, and at the same time sufficiently indicate the structure of the human form beneath; so that in spite of his ignorance of anatomy and modelling, the result is remarkably good. Above all, he realises in a marvellous manner the full significance of the story which he has to tell, and succeeds in making its meaning clear to the spectator, notwithstanding the limitations of his skill. The types which he selects, and the grouping and gestures of the actors in the scene, all carry out the central idea, and help to complete the picture. These leading characteristics are clearly seen in the allegories on the roof of the Lower Church. They mark a distinct advance on the earlier frescoes of the Upper Church, and stand midway between the Stefaneschi altar-piece on the one hand and the Arena frescoes at Padua. Obedience, the primary monastic virtue, is here represented as a winged figure sitting under a loggia between Prudence and Humility, in the act of laying a yoke on the neck of the friar who kneels before her. On one side a centaur, the symbol of revolt and crime, recoils, blinded by the mirror of Prudence, and on the other side a devout layman and his wife are led by an angel to contemplate the scene. On the roof of the loggia, Francis himself is seen drawn up to Heaven by the knotted cord of his habit, between kneeling angels who wonder and adore. Chastity appears as a maiden, praying within a fortress, guarded by Courage and Purity and attended by angels, who offer her the crown and palm of victory. In the foreground, Francis receives a friar, nun and lay-brother, who as repre-