91. _Paolo Veronese._ Similar treatment of Susanna and the Elders, a traditional religious theme, here distorted into a mere excuse for the nude, in which the Renaissance delighted. =**=274. _Palma Vecchio._ Adoration of the Shepherds. A noble example of this great Venetian painter. Observe how he transforms the traditional accessories in the background, and employs them in the thorough Venetian spirit. Beyond it, several small Venetian pictures. Self-explanatory, but worthy of close attention; especially 94, a delicate _Paolo Veronese_, on a most unusual scale—a Venetian Dominican nun presented by her patroness, St. Catherine, and St. Joseph to the Madonna. Also, 93, by the same artist, St. George and St. Catherine presenting a Venetian gentleman to the Madonna and Child. These two saints were the male and female patrons of the Venetian territory; hence their frequency in Venetian pictures. 99. The Disciples at Emmaus. Another characteristic transformation by _Veronese_ of a traditional scene. The pretence of sacredness is very thin. 98. _Paolo Veronese._ Calvary. Similarly treated. =*=335. _Tintoretto._ Susanna at the Bath. Admirable example of this artist’s bold and effective method. In him the Venetian School attains its last possible point before the decadence. Beneath it, two good Venetian portraits. 336. _Tintoretto._ A characteristic Paradise (sketch for the great picture in the Doge’s Palace at Venice), whose various circles of saints and angels should be carefully studied. Gloomy glory. Above it, 17. A Venetian gentleman introduced to the Madonna by St. Francis and a sainted bishop, with St. Sebastian in the background. Doubtless, a votive picture in gratitude for the noble donor’s escape from the plague. Beyond these, we come chiefly upon Venetian pictures of the Decadence, among which the most noticeable are the Venetian views by Canaletto and Guardi, showing familiar aspects of the Salute, the Doge’s Palace, San Zaccaria, and other buildings. Further on, this compartment contains =Spanish pictures=,—an artificial arrangement not without some real justification, since in the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain, enriched by her American possessions, became, for a short period, the material and artistic inheritor of Italy, and accepted in full the mature fruits of the Italian Renaissance. At the same time, she imbued the developed arts she received from Italy with Spanish showiness and love of mere display, to the exclusion of deeper spiritual feeling. The most famous among the few Spanish pictures of the Louvre are:— 552. =**=_Velasquez._ Philip IV of Spain. Beneath it, =*=_Murillo_. One of his favourite Boy Beggars, killing fleas. A curious subject, excellently rendered. 548. _Ribera._ Adoration of the Shepherds.