Francesco •rancia of Bologna (about 1450-1510) lived on into the age of Raphael, frOm whose earlier genius lie borrowed extensively. His Adoring Madonna (pl. 31, fig. 5) is a good example of his style, which is weak and lacking in originality, being a variation from the late Umbrian. The Virgin gazes down upon the Child, lying in front of her on the grass and blossoms; by the surrounding fence grow a multitude of flowers; the blue heaven above is varied with fleecy clouds, and a charming landscape fades away into the distance.
Luca Siguorelli of Cortona (1441-1523) is one of the greatest masters in the history of Italian painting, and the forerunner of Michelangelo in the domain of the heroic and the Titanic and in complete mastery over the human form. Signorelli delights, like the great Florentine, in depicting the body in every possible position; lie attempts the boldest foreshortenings and the most unusual postures. He even surpasses Michelangelo in this domain; for while with the latter the human form often assumes a heavy and brutally physical aspect and the display of anatomical knowledge is sometimes too apparent, with Signorelli there is no artificiality nor grossness: his subjects are lithe, full of vigor, and without heaviness. He has another advantage in the greater refinement of his clothed figures.
Both these facts are made apparent in the two illustrations—Angels welcoming Souls into Heaven (AL 30, fig. 7) and Demons bearing lost Souls into Hell (fig. 8)—which are taken from the finest of his works, the frescos that adorn a chapel in the cathedral at Orvieto. The different phases of the Last Judgment are depicted—the awakening of the dead by the last trump, the fall of the damned into hell, and the entrance of the blessed into paradise. In Figure 7 we see a group of angels, some welcoming the risen souls with celestial music, while one darts down in full career to present to them the life. These angels are of unusual beauty, as well as perfect in form and attitude.
In strong contrast and showing the other and more striking side of Signorelli's genius is the scene of which a part is given in Figure S. It represents two demons carrying off their human prey. Above, the archangel Michael, with drawn sword and in celestial armor, is pushing them toward the bottomless pit. The demon nearest the archangel in his fright has dropped the human victim he had seized, who, unsustained by wings and with a look of hopeless horror, is falling rapidly through space. The second demon, at a greater distance from the celestial poten tate, holds fast with both hands a woman whom he has placed on his back.