The Italian artist is no less zealous in his search for nature’s truths, but at the same time he harks back to those remains of former artistic perfection which are just then being reclaimed from the soil, heirlooms from classical antiquity. Guided by both, he imparts a semblance of life to his ideal forms, that they may appear real, though belonging to a higher world. The cult of antiquity establishes a retrospective tendency in the choice of subjects represented. Traditional themes taken from the Bible, from legend and mythology, are used again and again with changes in the composition, in costume, lighting and color scheme, all in the constant endeavor to excel in perfection of form and composition, and in harmonious, beautiful coloring. [Illustration: MADONNA OF EINSIEDELN Master E. S.] In Germany purses are more slender, customers are content to adorn their homes with woodcuts or engravings instead of paintings. Pictures are wanted, with figures carefully drawn, explicit pictures, finished, natural in appearance, with plenty of detail in figures and accessories, something appealing to their humor, to their piety, to their own sphere of interest. Hence the tendency to carry every scene into the familiar setting of actuality; hence the interest in the natural surroundings of the scene; hence the predominance of Biblical and religious subjects which appeal to the pious; and for others the scenes of daily life, tournaments, soldiers, not to forget plates and books of designs for the use of craftsmen. The production of picture-like prints in which hand coloring was not to be considered, necessarily brought about a speedy development of technique. Even in early work it seems as though the German engraver realized, more than his Italian contemporary, the possibilities of the engraved plate; the figures are quaint, reminiscent of the Gothic past, but they are well cut, in clear, sweeping outline. The shading is simple, but not timid or awkward, and pleasantly follows and accents the form. Few of these fifteenth-century engravers have left us as much as a name or the most meager data as to their lives. In many cases we have not even a date, a sign, or an initial placed somewhere on the print, as a means of identification. We are conscious, in these early examples, of the artistic spirit in which the engraver treats the saint’s picture and the playing-card, extensive fields, exploited already by primitive woodcut. A choice between eminent representatives among the anonymous engravers would lie between the so-called Master of the Playing-Cards, the Master of the Amsterdam Cabinet, and Master E. S. An illustration of the excellence achieved by the last named artist will be found in his presentation of the Madonna of Einsiedeln. Notice the development of the picture element, the sureness with which the graver is used, long strokes and delicate touches, varying with the needs of modeling and design. This mastery over the medium is yet more