196 FLORAL SYMBOLISM 



of South America, and it is said that when the 

 Jesuits brought home reports of the miraculous 

 flower bearing the insignia of the Passion, which 

 grew from tree to tree in the forests of the new 

 land, their tale was first received as a pious in- 

 vention. But the plant itself at length arrived, 

 and early in the eighteenth century Francesco 

 Trevisani painted a delightful little picture ' less 

 noticed than it deserves to be. The Virgin, who 

 is very sweet and gentle, both in pose and ex- 

 pression, sits sewing beside a table on which 

 is a vase of roses and lilies. The little Christ, 

 who has apparently just run in from the garden, 

 points out to His Mother, with a most childlike 

 gesture, the little thorny crown upon the passion 

 flower which He holds in His hand. The picture, 

 which is not unlike the work of Andrea del Sarto 

 in miniature, is wonderfuUv attractive. 



1 Uffizi. 



