[Illustration: ANCIENT AND MODERN GALLERY--FLORENCE THE DESCENT FROM THE CROSS.] [Illustration] The enthusiasm aroused by Fra Angelico's pictures, caused a vivid desire amongst the various religious orders of the city, to possess some work of his; Dominicans, Vallombrosians, Chartreuse monks, and the Camaldolese of Santa Maria degli Angeli, vied with each other, and all in turn obtained some of his admirable creations. Among the panels painted by Fra Giovanni for the Florentine churches and convents, the one which excels all for intensity of sentiment and sincerity of expression is the "Deposition from the Cross," once in the Sacristy of Santa Trinita, and now in the Ancient and Modern Gallery, a panel "in which," writes Vasari, "he put so much care that we may class it among the best things he ever did." The disciples with loving reverence let down from the Cross, which occupies the centre of the composition, the body of the Saviour. His face, drooping on the left shoulder, breathes a sorrowful calm, and divine serenity which death itself could not destroy. The nude is intelligently rendered, in nobility of form, softness of line, and transparency and morbidity of colouring. On the left stands a group of women; St. Mary Magdalene kisses the feet of Christ; the Virgin contemplates Him in a trance of sadness; on the right the disciples discuss the melancholy drama among themselves, while below, a kneeling saint holds his right hand to his breast and extends the left in a sorrowful wonder. In the background is a hilly landscape with the Holy City on the left, and Mount Calvary which the artist "with poetic and devout conceit," writes Marchese, "has drawn adorned with grass and flowers, as though to denote that at the touch of the feet and precious blood of Jesus Christ, the bare heights were reclad in rich and verdant beauty. Although marred by restoration--for the eye is offended by the inharmonious contrast of tints, the effect of unskilful retouching,--we may consider this painting as one of the most beautiful works which Fra Angelico has left us. Grandeur and simplicity are marvellously blended with freshness of colour, and correctness of design with most intense expression and pure sentiment." The landscape in the background shows the usual defects of perspective, but the mountains shade off delicately against the distant blue of the sky, the plain is illuminated with infinite flowerets, and a rich verdure clothes the summit of the sacred hill. In the pilasters of the frame are small figures of Saints, some of the best and finest that Fra Angelico ever painted, and in the gables above the three arches Lorenzo Monaco has represented the "Noli me tangere," the "Resurrection," and the "Maries at the Sepulchre."