I must mention some other instances of votive Madonnas, interesting either from their beauty or their singularity.

3.  Rene, Duke of Anjou, and King of Sicily and Jerusalem, the father of our Amazonian queen, Margaret of Anjou, dedicated, in the church of the Carmelites, at Aix, the capital of his dominions, a votive picture, which is still to be seen there.  It is not only a monument of his piety, but of his skill; for, according to the tradition of the country, he painted it himself.  The good King Rene was no contemptible artist; but though he may have suggested the subject, the hand of a practised and accomplished painter is too apparent for us to suppose it his own work.

This altar-piece in a triptychon, and when the doors are closed it measures twelve feet in height, and seven feet in width.  On the outside of the doors is the Annunciation:  to the left, the angel standing on a pedestal, under a Gothic canopy; to the right, the Virgin standing with her book, under a similar canopy:  both graceful figures.  On opening the doors, the central compartment exhibits the Virgin and her Child enthroned in a burning bush; the bush which burned with fire, and was not consumed, being a favourite type of the immaculate purity of the Virgin.  Lower down, in front, Moses appears surrounded by his flocks, and at the command of an angel is about to take off his sandals.  The angel is most richly dressed, and on the clasp of his mantle is painted in miniature Adam and Eve tempted by the serpent.  Underneath this compartment, is the inscription, “Rubum quem viderat Moyses, incombustum, conservatam agnovimus tuam laudabilem Virginitatem, Sancta Dei Genitrix[1].”  On the door to the right of the Virgin kneels King Rene himself before an altar, on which lies an open book and his kingly crown.  He is dressed in a robe trimmed with ermine, and wears a black velvet cap.  Behind him, Mary Magdalene (the patroness of Provence), St. Antony, and St. Maurice.  On the other door, Jeanne de Laval, the second wife of Rene, kneels before an open book; she is young and beautiful, and richly attired; and behind her stand St. John (her patron saint), St. Catherine (very noble and elegant), and St. Nicholas.  I saw this curious and interesting picture in 1846.  It is very well preserved, and painted with great finish and delicacy in the manner of the early Flemish school.

[Footnote 1:  For the relation of Moses to the Virgin (as attribute) v. the Introduction.]

4.  In a beautiful little picture by Van Eyck (Louvre, No. 162.  Ecole Allemande), the Virgin is seated on a throne, holding in her arms the infant Christ, who has a globe in his left hand, and extends the right in the act of benediction.  The Virgin is attired as a queen, in a magnificent robe falling in ample folds around her, and trimmed with jewels; an angel, hovering with outspread wings, holds a crown over her head.  On the left of the picture, a votary, in the dress of a Flemish burgomaster, kneels