The figure of the Saviour is noble and dignified, the attitude full of buoyancy. The face is such as from long association we have come to identify with the person of Christ, benignant and refined. He looks not up into the glory towards which he is ascending, but his glance still lingers upon the disciples with an expression of tender solicitude. An oval frame of radiating lines surrounds his entire figure. It is the _mandorla_, or almond-shaped nimbus, which was the old artistic symbol of divine glory. We have already noticed some of the characteristics of Luca della Robbia's art, which are again illustrated in this work. The draperies are arranged with a simplicity of line which is almost severe. The folds are scanty, clinging to the figure and following the fine outlines of the pose. The figures are white, set off against the blue of the sky, and green, brown, and yellow are introduced in the landscape surroundings. The bas-relief is one of two lunettes placed over opposite doors in the cathedral of Florence. The companion subject is the Resurrection, and in both pieces the sculptor went beyond his usual limit in the number of figures making up the composition. The leading quality of his work is decorative, and he seldom applied his art to the illustration of story. We are the more interested in his remarkable success in these instances. A painter would naturally have brought out the more dramatic features of the Ascension, showing the excitement and confusion of the moment. Luca knew well that sculpture was unsuited for violent action, and he sought rather to convey a sense of repose in his work. Moreover he infused a devotional spirit into the scene which he seldom attained. Marcel-Reymond says that only in Fra Angelico's work can one find figures expressing such an ecstasy of love and devotion. [Footnote 45: Acts, chapter i., verse 3.] [Footnote 46: St. Mark, chapter xvi., verse 14; St. John, chapter xx., verse 26.] [Footnote 47: St. John, chapter xxi., verse 4.] [Footnote 48: St. Matthew, chapter xxviii., verses 19, 20.] [Footnote 49: St. Luke, chapter xxiv., verses 50, 51; Acts, chapter i., verses 9-11.] [Footnote 50: St. John, chapter xx., verse 17.] XIII TOMB OF THE CARDINAL OF PORTUGAL BY ANTONIO ROSSELLINO In the church of San Miniato, on a hill overlooking Florence, is a memorial chapel built in honor of a Portuguese cardinal who is buried here. Architecture, painting, and sculpture are here united to make a perfect artistic whole. The room was designed by the architect Antonio Manetti; the altar and walls are adorned with paintings by Pollaiuolo and Baldovinetti, the roof is decorated with medallions of Delia Robbia ware, and at one side is the cardinal's tomb.