ART SINCE THE YEAR 1358 363
carved frame, divided by pillars into compartments. The groundwork of this frame is dark blue, with designs picked out in gold, and adorned with arabesques of a good Renaissance pattern.
   On the high altar of this same church is another picture, also attributed to Raguseo. It contains figures of the Virgin and Child, St. Nicholas, St. George, St. Blaize, and St. Francis. It is altogether inferior to the one on the north wall, in a much worse state of preservation, and almost hidden under silver ornaments, plaques, ex-votos, and artificial flowers.
   In the Dominican church there are quite a number of early pictures, some of them evidently the work of Raguseo. To the right of the high altar is a large triptych, with St. Stephen the Protomartyr in the centre, St. James and St. Mary Magdalen to the right, St. Nicholas and St. John the Baptist to the left. The St. Stephen is seen absolutely full face, looking straight out of the picture, with an expression of calmness and benevolence. The Magdalen has also a very sweet look, and is beautifully painted. The robes, as in the Dance pictures, are all very rich and splendid, especially that of St. Stephen, which is of gold, with the pattern diapered in dark lines and adorned with figures of saints along the border.
    To the left of the high altar is another triptych in the same style : the Virgin and Child, the former with a lily in her hand and the moon lying at her feet, surrounded by cherubs, in the centre; St. Paul and St. Blaize to the right; St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine to the left. The St. Blaize bears in his hands an interesting