the young St. John the Baptist, patron of the Marquis; and more in front, a female figure, seen half-length, which some have supposed to be St. Elizabeth, the mother of the Baptist, and others, with more reason, the wife of the Marquis, the accomplished Isabella d’Este.[2] This picture was dedicated in celebration of the victory gained by Gonzaga over the French, near Fornone, in 1495.[3] There is something exceedingly grand, and, at the same time, exceedingly fantastic and poetical, in the whole arrangement; and besides its beauty and historical importance, it is the most important work of Andrea Mantegna.  Gonzaga, who is the hero of the picture, was a poet as well as a soldier.  Isabella d’Este shines conspicuously, both for virtue and talent, in the history of the revival of art during the fifteenth century.  She was one of the first who collected gems, antiques, pictures, and made them available for the study and improvement of the learned.  Altogether, the picture is most interesting in every point of view.  It was carried off by the French from Milan in 1797; and considering the occasion on which it was painted, they must have had a special pleasure in placing it in their Louvre, where it still remains.

[Footnote 1:  “Qui rend graces du pretendu succes obtenu sur Charles VIII. a la bataille de Fornone,” as the French catalogue expresses it.]

[Footnote 2:  Both, however, may be right; for St. Elizabeth was the patron saint of the Marchesana:  the head has quite the air of a portrait, and may be Isabella in likeness of a saint.]

[Footnote 3:  “Si les soldats avaient mieux seconde la bravoure de leur chef, l’armie de Charles VIII. etait perdue sans ressource—­Ils se disperserent pour piller et laisserent aux Francais le temps de continuer leur route.”]

There is a very curious and much more ancient Madonna of this class preserved at Siena, and styled the “Madonna del Voto.”  The Sienese being at war with Florence, placed their city under the protection of the Virgin, and made a solemn vow that, if victorious, they would make over their whole territory to her as a perpetual possession, and hold it from her as her loyal vassals.  After the victory of Arbia, which placed Florence itself for a time in such imminent danger, a picture was dedicated by Siena to the Virgin della Vittoria.  She is enthroned and crowned, and the infant Christ, standing on her knee, holds in his hand the deed of gift.

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2dly.  For deliverance from plague and pestilence, those scourges of the middle ages.  In such pictures the Virgin is generally attended by St. Sebastian, with St. Roch or St. George; sometimes, also, by St. Cosmo and St. Damian, all of them protectors and healers in time of sickness and calamity.  These intercessors are often accompanied by the patrons of the church or locality.

There is a remarkable picture of this class by Matteo di Giovanni (Siena Acad.), in which the Virgin and Child are throned between St. Sebastian and St. George, while St. Cosmo and St. Damian, dressed as physicians, and holding their palms, kneel before the throne.