which would conceal the effigy, thus inviting the spectator into the privacy of the tomb.  In some ways these two angels are among the noblest creations of the master.  They are comparatively small, their position is subordinate, and they have been repaired by a clumsy journeyman.  Yet they have a majestic solemnity.  They are calm impersonal mourners—­not shrouded like the bowed figures which bear the effigy of the Senechal of Burgundy.[97] They stand upright, simply posed and simply clad guardian angels, absorbed by watching the dead.  The three large figures which support the sarcophagus are by Michelozzo, and are intimately related to the Aragazzi caryatides.  That on the right has a Burgundian look.  They form a striking group, and their merits are not appreciated as they should be owing to the excellence of the sculpture immediately above them.

[Footnote 95:  Donatello worked there for eighteen months.  See documents in Centofanti, p. 4, &c.]

[Footnote 96:  “_...  Lapides albi et discolores ad coeruleum vergente specie._” Strabo, “Geog.,” 1807 ed., I. v. p. 314.]

[Footnote 97:  Louvre, No. 216.  Tomb of Philippe Pot, circa 1480.]

* * * * *

[Sidenote:  Stiacciato.]

The Assumption of the Virgin occupies the central position of the tomb.  It is a small panel.  The Virgin is seated in a folding-chair which is familiar in fifteenth-century art.  Surrounding her are angels supporting the clouds which make an oval halo round her, a mandorla.  The cloud, curiously enough, is very heavy, yielding to the touch, and upheld by the flying angels, whose hands press their way into it, and bear their burden with manifest effort.  There is none of the limpid atmosphere which Perugino secured in painting, and Ghiberti in sculpture.  But, on the other hand, the air is full of drama, presaging an event for which Donatello thought a placid sky unsuitable.  There are seven angels in all; the lowest, upon whose head the Virgin rests her foot, is half Blake and half Michael Angelo.  But there are many other busy little cherubs swimming, climbing, and flying amidst the interstices of cloudland.  The Virgin herself, draped in easy-flowing material, has folded her hands, and awaits her entry to Paradise.  Her face is the picture of anxiety and apprehension.  The Assumption is carved in the lowest possible relief, called stiacciato.  The word means depressed or flattened.  It is the word with which Condivi describes the appearance of Michael Angelo’s nose after it had been broken—­it was “un poco stiacciato; non per natura,” but by the blow of a certain Torrigiano, “huomo bestiale e superbo."[98] Donatello was fond of this method of work.  We have a fine example in London,[99] and his most successful use of stiacciato is on the Roman Tabernacle made a few years after the Brancacci relief.  Donatello did not invent this style.  It had been used in classical times,