copied in his Receuils. [Illustration: Plate XLV. Photo. Giraudon. THE BIRTH OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. Jean Fouquet. Musée Condé. _To face page 188._] _The Marriage of the Virgin_[59] is another scene of great interest. The high-priest, arrayed in mitre and vestments, places the hand of Mary in that of Joseph, the chosen suitor, who bears his budding rod. Like so many of the artists of that period, the painter has taken his scene from the _Legenda Aurea_ of Jacopo da Voragine, which tells us how Mary up to the age of fourteen years had lived in the Temple and had there taken a vow of virginity. Howbeit God commanded the High Priest Abiathar to assemble all the unmarried men of the House of David and to give to each a rod, upon which they were to inscribe their respective names. These rods were then placed upon the Altar and to the owner of the one which blossomed first the Blessed Virgin Mary was to be assigned. To this extremely solemn act Fouquet gives a semi-humorous note by the introduction of a realistic figure of Falstaffian proportions and a group of disappointed suitors. In the background behind the principal group St. Anne may be seen clad in exactly the same fashion as in the _Mariensippe_ in the Bibliothèque Nationale. The style of the Temple architecture gives the artist opportunity for introducing reminiscences of Rome. In the broad frieze of fighting warriors we can recognise part of Trajan's column; whilst the columns which flank the central arch record the gilt bronze columns once grouped around the _Confession of St. Peter_ in the old Basilica. These were, of course, in Fouquet's time still _in situ_ and they reappear in the miniatures of the _Antiquitates Judæorum_ in a scene where the victorious _Pompey enters the Temple in triumph_. As a strong contrast to this composition, where Renaissance and classic architecture are happily blended, the _Annunciation_[60] transports us to the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris; and we can recognise the long stained-glass windows, the bronze lustres and the shrine which in Fouquet's day was raised on pillars behind the high altar. Here all is pure French Gothic impressed with the spirit of St. Louis. The action takes place in the foreground; Mary, modest and girlish of mien, and the Archangel, a prototype of those heavenly beings who figure in Jean Perréal's triptych at Moulins. The scene of the _Visitation_[61] is a portico supported by marble columns, upon the frieze of which is inscribed the words "_Maistre Etienne Chevalier_." The graceful figure of Mary closely resembles that in the preceding illumination, while St. Elisabeth is presented in the garb of a Flemish housewife. An obviously French servant to the right, with dress tucked up and broom in hand, strikes once more that note of realism which attracts Fouquet so much. In the background is to be seen a well, around which children are playing.