In 1868, two years before his exile was suddenly terminated by the downfall of the second Empire, the Duc d'Aumale bought for the sum of 600,000 francs the collection of the Marquis Maison; and amongst the pictures which formed it were eight Descamps, three Marilhats, one Gros, four Watteaus, four Greuzes and two paintings by Prud'hon. After that followed the acquisition of one of Fromentin's finest works, _La Chasse au Faucon en Algérie_; whilst a sea-piece by Vandervelde together with the _Dunes at Scheveningen_ by Ruysdael were bought at the San Donato Sale. Presently there came the celebrated _Vierge de la Maison d'Orléans_ by Raphael, which the Duke acquired at the Delessert Sale for the sum of 160,000 francs--a fascinating picture supposed to be one of the two panels described by Vasari as having been painted for Guidobaldo di Montefeltro, and of which he says "that they were small but exceedingly beautiful examples of the master's second manner."[20] At one time in the possession of Gaston d'Orléans, this charming work passed from France into Flanders at the end of the sixteenth century, where it is supposed to have belonged to David Teniers the Younger. Passavant thought that it was then that the background was repainted and the shelf with the various pots and vases added--a supposition which has, however, since been refuted. The youthful Madonna is seated on a cushioned bench in a small homely room; and behind her hangs a light curtain of reddish grey. She bends tenderly over the Infant Christ, who gazes intently at the spectator with an expression full of feeling and inspiration. This is perhaps the most divine-looking of all Raphael's Infants. The Bridgewater _Madonna_, seated on a similar seat in a homely habitation, is closely analogous to the Virgin in this work, but instead of the shelf there is an arched window to the right. The lights in both pictures are subtle and extremely delicate, whilst the shadows are in strongly marked contrast. In the eighteenth century the Orléans _Madonna_ subsequently returned to France to the house of the well-known collector Crozat, from whence it passed into the Orléans Gallery and obtained thus its distinctive appellation. During the Revolution this entire collection was transported to Brussels, and the _Madonna_ changed hands several times before it finally entered the haven of the Musée Condé. * * * * * [Illustration: PLATE XXI. _Photo Giraudon._ The Virgin of the Maison d'Orléans. By Raphael. Musée Condé.]