A very beautiful and singular representation of the Virgin of Mercy without the Child, I found in the collection of Herr v.  Quandt, of Dresden.  She stands with hands folded over her bosom, and wrapped in ample white drapery, without ornament of any kind; over her head, a veil of transparent gauze of a brown colour, such as, from various portraits of the time, appears to have been then a fashion.  The expression of the face is tender and contemplative, almost sad; and the whole figure, which is life-size, is inexpressibly refined and dignified.  The following inscription is on the dark background to the right of the Virgin:—­

  IMAGO
  BEATAE MARIAE VIRGINIS
  QUAE
  MENS.  AUGUST. MDXXXIII. 
  APPARUIT
  MIRACULOR.  OPERATIONE
  CONCURSU POP. 
  CELEBERRIM.

This beautiful picture was brought from Brescia to Vienna by a picture-dealer, and purchased by Herr v.  Quandt.  It was painted by Moretto of Brescia, of whom Lanzi truly says that his sacred subjects express la compunzione, la pieta, la carita istessa; and this picture is an instance.  But by whom dedicated, for what especial mercy, or in what church, I could not ascertain.[1]

[Footnote 1:  I possess a charming drawing of the head by Fraulein Louise Seidler of Weimar, whose feeling for early religious art is shown in her own works, as well as in the beautiful copies she has made of others.]

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It is seldom that the Madonna di Misericordia appears without the Child in her arms; her maternity is supposed to be one element in her sympathy with suffering humanity.  I will add, however, to the examples already given, one very celebrated instance.

The picture entitled the “Misericordia di Lucca” is famous in the history of art. (Lucca.  S. Romano.) It is the most important work of Fra Bartolomeo, and is dated 1515, two years before his death.  The Virgin, a grand and beautiful figure, stands alone on a raised platform, with her arms extended, and looking up to heaven.  The ample folds of her robe are held open by two angels.  Beneath and round her feet are various groups in attitudes of supplication, who look up to her, as she looks up to heaven.  On one side the donor of the picture is presented by St. Dominick.  Above, in a glory, is the figure of Christ surrounded by angels, and seeming to bend towards his mother.  The expression in the heads, the dignified beneficence of the Virgin, the dramatic feeling in the groups, particularly the women and children, justify the fame of this picture as one of the greatest of the productions of mind.[1]

[Footnote 1:  According to the account in Murray’s “Handbook,” this picture was dedicated by the noble family of Montecanini, and represents the Virgin interceding for the Lucchesi during the wars with Florence.  But I confess I am doubtful of this interpretation, and rather think it refers to the pestilence, which, about 1512, desolated the whole of the north of Italy.  Wilkie, who saw this picture in 1825, speaks of the workmanship with the enthusiasm of a workman.]