Schongauer’s prints can be arranged in something approximating chronological order. In the earliest twelve engravings the shanks of the letter M, in his monogram, are drawn vertically, whereas in all his later prints they slant outward. This apparently minor point is really of great significance in a study of his development, since it enables us to place correctly certain plates which, until recently, were assigned to his latest period, such as the _Death of the Virgin_, the _Adoration of the Magi_, and the _Flight Into Egypt_. One of the richest toned plates in this first group is the _Virgin with a Parrot_, an engraving which, incidentally, exists in two states. In the second state, the cushion upon which the Christ Child is seated, instead of being plain, has an elaborate pattern upon the upper side, and the flowing tresses of the Virgin are extended more to the left, thereby greatly improving the composition as a whole. For Martin Schongauer, as for nearly all the earlier German masters, the grotesque had a strange fascination. His power of welding together parts of various animals into living fantastic creatures is nowhere better seen than in the _Temptation of St. Anthony_. Vasari tells how the young Michelangelo, meeting with an impression of this engraving in Florence, was impelled to copy it with a pen “in such a manner as had never before been seen. He painted it in colors also, and the better to imitate the strange forms among these devils, he bought fish which had scales somewhat resembling those of the demon. In this pen copy also he displayed so much ability that his credit and reputation were greatly enhanced thereby.” It would appear to be one of Schongauer’s early plates, not only from the form of the monogram, but also from the treatment of the upper portion of the sky, shaded with many horizontal graver strokes, growing stronger as the upper edge of the plate is reached--a treatment which does not occur in any other print by him. [Illustration: MARTIN SCHONGAUER. VIRGIN WITH A PARROT Size of the original engraving, 6¼ × 4¼ inches In the Public Art Collections, Basle] [Illustration: MARTIN SCHONGAUER. TEMPTATION OF ST. ANTHONY Size of the original engraving, 12⅜ × 9⅛ inches In the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston] [Illustration: MARTIN SCHONGAUER. DEATH OF THE VIRGIN Size of the original engraving, 10⅛ × 6⅝ inches In the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston] [Illustration: MARTIN SCHONGAUER. PILATE WASHING HIS HANDS Size of the original engraving, 6⅜ × 4½ inches In the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]