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.