Giotto . tell where the rents are, exceptwhen quite close. For girdle, she has the Franciscanscord; but that also is white, as if spun of silk ; her wholefigure, like a statue of snow, seen against the shade of herpurple wings : for she is already one of the angels. Acrowd of them, on each side, attend her : two, her sisters—Spes, Karitas—are her bridesmaids also. Charity, dressedin red, is crowned with white roses, which burst, asthey open, into flames, and she gives the bride a , in green, only points upwards; and while Charityhas the golden nimbus round her head circular (infinite
Giotto . tell where the rents are, exceptwhen quite close. For girdle, she has the Franciscanscord; but that also is white, as if spun of silk ; her wholefigure, like a statue of snow, seen against the shade of herpurple wings : for she is already one of the angels. Acrowd of them, on each side, attend her : two, her sisters—Spes, Karitas—are her bridesmaids also. Charity, dressedin red, is crowned with white roses, which burst, asthey open, into flames, and she gives the bride a , in green, only points upwards; and while Charityhas the golden nimbus round her head circular (infinite)like that of Christ and the eternal angels, she, like Povertyher sister, has her glory set within the lines that limit thecell of the bee. ^ Christ and Poverty stand upon a ledge of rockraised slightly above the rest: the group of angels,who attend on either side, are devised by Giotto toconnect the composition with that of S. Francis in * I have taken the liberty of slightly condensing the •^ < ^ Hoi W>O cu Q< )—< u < o o I—I < THE ALLEGORIES 65 Glory^ which faces it. Below Povertys feet are a littledog, who worries and snarls, and two boys who insulther, one thrusting with a stick, one throwing the left, a youth takes off his own cloak to clothe abeggar—an action associated with the early life ofS. Francis—and an angel takes his arm, to lead himinto the presence of Christ. On the right, a second angelmakes appeal to three figures, whose action and expres-sion clearly betray their nature. The first, a conceitedyouth, with a falcon upon his left hand, replies by agesture intended to be insulting, and sometimes sup-posed to be indecent; he points to the angel withclenched right hand, setting the thumb of it betweenthe first and second fingers. The second figure seemsintended to enforce by repetition the significance of thethird, who, grasping a money-bag tightly in bothhands, shows further, by the sourness of his features,
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