they kept pigeons in the attic of their house. The story is told of
how Mr. Landseer once decided to move, selected the house, and thought
all was settled, when the landlord refused to rent the house to him
because he kept so many animals and birds as pets.
We read of how the father and his sons made many visits to the
Zoological Gardens where they could watch and make sketches of lions,
bears, and other wild animals. One day they saw a strange sight in one
of the store windows in London--a large Newfoundland dog caring for a
lion. The lion had been caught in Africa when it was very little and
had been cared for by this dog. They had never been separated. Now,
although the lion was much larger than the dog, they were still the
best of friends.
Sometimes the dog would punish the lion if it did not behave, and the
great beast would whimper just as if it could not help itself. All
three boys made many sketches of this strange pair and could hardly be
persuaded to leave the window.
Every one knew of Sir Edwin Landseer and wanted some one of his
pictures of dogs because it looked so much like a dog they knew.
In the story of the picture "Highland Shepherd's Chief Mourner," are
further particulars of the life of Sir Edwin Landseer.
=Questions about the artist.= What other picture have we studied by
this artist? Tell about Sir Edwin Landseer's boyhood. How did the
brothers decide where to go to sketch? How old was Edwin when he drew
a very good picture of a dog? What was the dog doing? Tell about
Edwin's dogs; the other pets. Why did the landlord refuse to rent
Edwin's father a house? Tell about the Newfoundland dog and the lion.
What else can you tell about the artist's life?
[Illustration]
PILGRIM EXILES
=Questions to arouse interest.= Describe this picture. Where are these
people? Who are they? Who were the Pilgrims? Where are they looking?
Why do you think they may be homesick or sad? What time of day do you
think it is? (Notice the shadows.) What time of year does it seem to
be? How is the man dressed? the two women? What relation do you think
these people are to each other? Upon what is the older woman sitting?
What can you see in the distant background?
=Artist:= George Henry Boughton (bo''t[.o]n).
=Birthplace:= Norwich, England.
=Dates:= Born, 1833; died, 1905.
=The story of the picture.= We all know how, long ago, that sturdy
band of one hundred and two Puritans left England in the small and
storm-beaten ship called the _Mayflower_. They were called Puritans
because they were dissatisfied with the religion of the Church of
England, and demanded purification of all the old observances and
doctrines.
When they began to establish in England separate churches of their own,
they were driven from place to place. They longed for a land where they
could worship God in their own way, so they came to America, determined
to endure every danger and to trust in God to care for them. Their
wanderings from place to place had given them a new name, "Pilgrim,"
which means "wanderer." Then, ever since their landing on the rock at
Plymouth, they have been called Pilgrim Fathers.
There were many women and children in this band of wanderers. On the
journey a little baby was born and was called Oceanus after the great
rolling ocean.
The Pilgrims endured many hardships in those first few years, and none
more distressing than the frequent attacks by the Indians, who
resented the strangers' presence in a land which belonged to them. The
Pilgrims carried their guns with them even when they went to church,
for they never knew just when they might be attacked.
They arrived in the fall of the year, too late to plant grain or to
put by enough provisions for the winter, so they were quite dependent
upon the provision boat from England. Often this boat was long delayed
because of storms at sea, or because the people in England did not
send it on time. This caused much suffering and distress.
In our picture we see three of the first settlers of our New England
coast, waiting for the provision ship. The waves come rolling in to
this rough and barren shore, but as far as the eye can see there is
yet no sign of the awaited boat. On that point of land in the distance
are a few rude houses which must be the homes of the Pilgrims. This
dreary place, so bleak and barren, makes us wonder how they could ever
hope to survive the perils of a winter there.
Our interest is centered upon the three figures at the right in the
picture. One can almost read the thoughts expressed in the three
faces. The figure of the man stands out strong and erect, and there is
that in his fixed gaze which tells us his thoughts are far away. No
doubt he is thinking of his old home across the ocean. He is homesick,
yet go back he would not; there is no sign of discouragement. His
wife, standing beside him, places her hand on his shoulder to comfort
him, but she too looks as if she were thinking of that other home and
the friends across the sea. Her gentle, refined face is saddened for
the moment, yet in it we see expressed the fine courage which has
carried her thus far along the way.
The mother, seated on the great rock, has the same thoughtful,
far-away gaze. Her hands, clasped in her lap, have more of resignation
and patience in them. Probably her thoughts and affections are
centered in the two dear ones beside her, and in their welfare, rather
than in the friends across the sea.
Notice the Puritan dress, cloaks, shoes, caps, and collars. These
people are well dressed, and do not seem to be poor. Perhaps they are
simply longing to hear from their friends, and hoping the ship will
bring some news of them. It may be that it has been due for several
days, and each day they have walked out to this same rocky point,
hoping to see it on the distant horizon.
They are dressed in warm clothes. From that fact and from the half-bare
branches of the bush that we see growing beside the rock in the
foreground of the picture we should judge it to be the fall of the year.
Standing in the bright sunlight, they look anxiously out toward the
rolling ocean. The length of the shadows makes us think it must be
late in the afternoon.
When at last they catch a glimpse of the dark masts of the approaching
ship they will send a glad shout along the shore, and soon the beach
will be crowded with an anxious throng of people hoping for some
message or news from home.
At what seems to be a long distance from the shore the great ship will
cast anchor and send out its rowboats filled with passengers, mail,
and provisions. How eagerly the homesick people will crowd around the
new arrivals and welcome them! Our three friends will not be standing
quiet and alone, but each will be hurrying about to help the others.
The spirit of helpfulness was very strong in those days of hardship
and toil.
Notice the arrangement of lights and shadows in this picture. Our eye
is first attracted to the faces of these three Pilgrims, then carried
almost in a circle to the ocean, the rocks at the left side of the
picture, to the rock the mother is seated upon, and back to the three
faces. Start where we please the play of light leads us back to the
three faces brought out by the white collars. Suppose we start with
the mother's hands, our eyes follow her apron, the man's shoes, the
light on the grass and ocean, then to the man's face and on around.
Without these echoes of light, the picture would be unbalanced and
much less interesting.
Half close your eyes and study the picture. There is not a single
straight line in the composition. Notice the placing of the horizon
line, of the distant shore. The artist started his landscape much as
we do, with a rectangular space divided into two parts by the horizon
line. He chose for his picture a small division for sky; the larger
space to be divided into less than half as much water as land. Instead
of standing so the shore line would appear exactly horizontal, he
chose a position where the near shore line and that of the distant
point of land are at an angle, thus relieving the monotony.
The tall, determined figure of the man, and his gentle wife, standing
silhouetted against the sky, hold the ground space and the sky space
together, while the mother seated on the rock serves as another
connecting link. All the figures serve to unite the different parts of
the picture into an effect of unity most gratifying to the eye.
=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= Tell about the
Puritans. Why were they so called? Why did they leave England? In
what boat did they sail? To what country did they come? Why were they
then called Pilgrims? Why did they have such a hard time in this
country? Upon what were they dependent? Why was the boat often
delayed? What are the three people in our picture waiting for? What do
the expressions in their faces tell us? How can we tell what time of
year it is? the time of day? What will they do when they see the boat?
Who will join them? Where will they come from? What can you see of
their homes? Why are they so anxious to have the boat come? Why cannot
the ship land at this beach? How will it land its passengers and
freight? What do you suppose these three people will be doing then?
What can you say of the composition of this picture? What did the
artist consider first? What holds the ground and the sky spaces
together? What can you say of the light and shade in this picture? Why
is the picture called "Pilgrim Exiles"?
=The story of the artist.= George Henry Boughton was born near
Norwich, England, but when he was only a year old his parents came to
America. He grew up and was educated at Albany, New York, where he
first began to paint.
As soon as he started to school he showed great skill at drawing, by,
as he says, "drawing every mortal thing that came under my notice."
When he was nineteen years old he sold enough of his sketches to pay
his way back to London, England. He spent several months in England,
sketching wherever he went. When he came back to New York he painted a
picture called "Winter Twilight," which marked the beginning of his
success. Later he spent a year in Paris, finally making his permanent
home in London.
His studio in New York City was given up, but, although he lived in
England, his art remained distinctly American.
He was especially interested in the history and literature of our
country and has been called "the interpreter and illuminator of New
England life in the seventeenth century."
Besides painting, he wrote for magazines, illustrating his own stories
with great success.
=Questions about the artist.= Tell about the artist. Where was he
born? Where did he grow up? How old was he when he came to America? In
what did he excel at school? When did he go back to England? How did
he earn the money? What did he do when he came back? Of what country
did he paint the most pictures? What part of our history interested
him especially? In what else was he successful besides painting?
[Illustration]
DANCE OF THE NYMPHS
=Questions to arouse interest.= Of what is this a picture? What time
of the year do you think it is? what time of the day? What are the
people doing? Half close your eyes and look at the picture. What do
you see first? what next? Where is the sun? How do you know? (Look at
the trunks of the trees and the shadows.) What do you see in the
foreground to the left? to the right? Do you like this scene? why?
=Original Picture:= Luxembourg Gallery, Paris, France.
=Artist:= Jean Baptiste Camille Corot (k[+o]'r[+o]'').
=Birthplace:= Paris, France.
=Dates:= Born, 1796; died, 1875.
=The story of the picture.= The artist who painted this picture, Jean
Baptiste Corot, tells us that when he was a small boy he used to lean
out of his window at night, long after his mother and father thought
him safe in bed, to watch the clouds, the sky, and the trees. He
continued this study as a young man, and soon made friends with three
other young men, all artists (Rousseau, Daubigny, and Dupre) who were
also studying nature. All had studios and painted in the city; but
they were always longing for a glimpse of the country. One day the
four started out together for a day's outing, each taking his
painter's outfit. They went to the end of the omnibus line from Paris
and then started on foot for a long tramp across the country. It was
then they thought of the great Forest of Fontainebleau, where nature
was wild and undisturbed in its wondrous beauty.
"We will go to that beautiful forest and spend our vacation there,"
they said.
And so it came about several weeks later. In this forest, at all times
of the day or night, they could be found wandering about, searching
out new vistas and discovering new wonders and beauties in nature.
They hid their paints and brushes in the rocks to keep them from the
dew, and they themselves slept under the spreading branches of the
great oak trees. These city-bred young men, brought up in the rush and
hurry of the great city of Paris, cared for no other shelter than the
wide expanse of sky and the protecting branches of the trees.
So when we know that later Corot came to live near this Forest of
Fontainebleau, it is easy to guess where he painted this picture
called the "Dance of the Nymphs." Sometimes this picture is called
"Morning," for Corot painted another picture much like this one, and
called it, "The Dance of the Nymphs, Evening."
Corot is often spoken of as the "happy one," and many stories are told
of him and how surprising it was to hear him singing lustily as he
painted. Seated on his camp stool before his easel, wearing his blue
calico blouse and painter's hat, he was indeed happy. He is described
as adding the finishing touches to one of his landscapes in this way:
"Let us put that there--tra, la, tra, la,--a little boy,--ding dong,
ding dong! Oh, a little boy, he wants a cap--la, la, la, la, tra la!"
People always smiled when they saw Corot start out, carrying his
easel, paints, and brushes, and singing or whistling like a care-free
boy. But it happened more often that they saw him going toward home
in the evening, for he had a way of starting out before sunrise when
nobody was about and seating himself in some lovely spot in the woods,
waiting breathlessly to see what would happen next.
That is what he did the morning he sketched this picture. The grass
was heavy with dew, the birds were still asleep, all was quiet and
covered with the veil of night. As the mist slowly lifted, the great
trees gradually assumed definite shapes, the birds awoke, the sun
shone forth, and all was bright and fresh as the early mornings in
spring always are. Look at this picture, then close your eyes and open
them slowly, and you yourself can see just such an awakening to life.
Is it any wonder then that, as Corot sat, pencil in hand, this lovely
spring morning and watched the trees gradually take shape against the
slowly lightening sky, and listened to the birds singing their morning
greeting, he should fancy he saw the fairy wood nymphs come out from
their secret hiding places and dance joyously about in the bright
morning sunlight? It seems most natural indeed that they should be
there, and dancing, too. The mere fact of being alive on such a
morning as this fills us too with delight.
When Corot began to paint his large picture from the small sketch he
made in the woods that morning, he must have sung his merriest tunes.
The picture seems full of music, from the quivering leaves, the waving
grass, and the shifting clouds to the dancing figures. Although there
is not a bird in sight, we know that they are there, and it takes very
little imagination to hear them singing.
At the right-hand side of the picture one of the wood nymphs has
seized the hand of a timid companion, urging her to come and join in
the frolic. So much are we in sympathy with those merry ones that we
too find ourselves unconsciously urging her to join in the dance.
When he painted trees, Corot did not pay very great attention to
details, and so we cannot always tell what kind of trees they were. He
cared most to make us feel the beauty of the sunlight on their tender
leaves, their growth, and the protection they offer to birds and men.
A young art student once approached Corot and asked him why he left so
many things out of his pictures and put others in. Then pointing to a
certain tree in Corot's painting he said, "This tree is not in the
landscape." Corot smiled, then whispered to him, "Don't you tell, but
I put it there to please the birds."
It would be difficult indeed to find a single straight line in our
picture, so full is it of rhythmic curves, from the treetops to the
graceful figures in the foreground. The skillful blending of colors,
of light and shade, gives it that mysterious, misty quality which is
one of its chief charms. Corot's favorite colors were pale green, gray
browns, and silvery grays. One little touch of bright color in his
pictures makes them alive. The costumes of the nymphs were chosen for
the very few bright touches in this painting, and the tall, slender
tree near the left-hand side of the picture for the pale green
feathery foliage of early spring.
Our eye moves pleasantly through all the leafy maze of this enchanted
forest. We are at the edge of the woods. Looking out through the trees
we see the wide, open fields beyond, with their high canopy of sky,
and we feel a new contentment steal over us as our eye again seeks
this sheltered nook in the great Forest of Fontainebleau.
=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= How had the
artist, Corot, studied the clouds, sky, and trees? With whom did he
become friends? What were these three young artists doing? Where did
they go for an outing? What did they take with them? What forest did
they decide would be a good place to spend a vacation? How did they
live in this forest? What shelter did they have? What nickname did
they give Corot? How did he like to paint? How did he dress? What did
he do while painting? Where was this picture painted? What is it
sometimes called? What time of day did he usually start out to paint?
What are the nymphs doing? What did Corot wish to tell us about the
trees? What did a young art student once ask Corot? What was the
answer? Of what kind of lines is this picture made up? What colors
were used? Where are the bright colors? In what part of the forest is
this picture? What can you see through the open space?
=The story of the artist.= From the very first all things seemed to
favor Corot. Of a naturally happy disposition, born into a family of
means, and all his life free from financial worries, everything seemed
to combine to make his life one of care-free ease and pleasure.
His father and mother kept a millinery store; this must have been a
good business, for they soon accumulated a comfortable fortune.
At ten years of age Corot was sent away to school at Rouen in the hope
of making a business man of him. He lived with a friend of his father
who was a serious man but also a great lover of nature. Corot took
many a long walk with him over narrow, unfrequented paths. They took
these walks usually at the close of the day, and so Corot's love of
the twilight hour grew strong.
Upon his return to Paris seven years later, his father placed him in a
drygoods store, where he remained for nearly nine years. Whenever
there were no customers the boy would hide under the counter and draw.
His employer was a good-natured man and he sympathized with Corot in
his desire to be a painter. So he told the father it was of no use to
try to make a business man of him as his tastes were all for art.
About this time Corot went to his father and asked his permission to
study painting. The father was not at all pleased with the idea, but
decided to let him try. He told his son he had set aside a certain sum
of money to start him in business for himself and he could choose that
or a small income which would be allowed him for the study of art. If
he chose the latter, however, he must not expect any other help from
his father, as he did not approve of this new venture. But Corot
embraced his father most affectionately and declared he had made him
the happiest person in the world. He then proceeded at once to the
nearest store and bought a complete painter's outfit. Choosing a spot
by the river near his father's house, he began to paint. He tells us
how the girls who worked in the millinery store slipped away and came
to see what he was doing. He never parted with this first painting,
but kept it as a reminder of his great happiness when he was at last
free to do "what he most desired in the world."
He studied under several artists, but received little encouragement
until he went to Rome to study.
Most of the paintings of that time were classical, including Greek
temples, shepherds, nymphs, or dryads, and such trees as cedars and
palms. That is why Millet's simple peasants and Corot's misty
landscapes were not appreciated.
At Rome, Corot became a great favorite among the students because of
his happy nature and the rollicking, jolly songs he could sing. But as
for his pictures,--they were considered very amusing.
However, one day as he sat sketching the Coliseum a friend who was
regarded as an authority on landscape painting praised his work. Corot
looked around expecting to be laughed at, but no,--the man was in
earnest. That evening, before all the other students, he remarked that
Corot might some day become the master of them all. This gave him
standing among the artists and was greatly appreciated by Corot, who
always felt that this praise was the beginning of his success. It was
not long after this that his pictures were exhibited and many honors
came to him.
Does it seem strange that Corot and Millet, looking upon the same
woods and people, living and painting so near each other, should
choose such different subjects? Corot saw the same poor, toilworn
peasants, and he helped them most generously when they asked him, but
as for painting them--he did not think of it. Millet saw the same
beautiful woods, fields, and sky, and loved them all, but to him the
peasant came first.
He said, "Corot's pictures are beautiful, but they do not reveal
anything new."
Corot said, "Millet's painting is for a new world; I do not feel at
home there. I am too much attracted to the old. I see therein great
knowledge, air, and depth, but it frightens me; I love better my
little music."
In speaking of another artist he said, "He is an eagle; I am only a
skylark. I send forth little songs in my gray clouds."
As success came to Corot he was most generous in helping others. Many
young artists came to study with him, but he would accept no pay for
his instruction and gladly did all he could to encourage and help them.
He did not have the heart to turn a beggar from his door, and often
had as many as twenty-five come to him in a day. The story is told of
a beggar who demanded a larger sum of money than Corot usually gave,
and was refused. After he left, the artist could not paint; his day
was spoiled. So he hurriedly ran out after the beggar, gave him the
money, and all was well again.
During the siege of Paris he gave both time and money to help the
wounded. "Papa Corot," as the people called him, was greatly beloved.
The demand for his paintings increased. He said that when youth left
him, honor and fame came to make him still the happiest man in the
world.
=Questions about the artist.= In what ways was Corot favored? What did
his father and mother do? What did they hope to make of Corot? Where
was he sent? With whom did he live? Where did they walk? How did this
influence Corot? Upon his return home, what did he do? What did his
employer finally do? What did Corot ask his father? What offer did his
father make? What did Corot decide? What did he do at once? Who came
to watch him? What became of this first painting? Where did Corot go
to study? What subjects did most of the artists of Corot's time choose
to paint? What happened that raised Corot in their estimation? Compare
the subjects chosen by Corot and Millet. Tell about Corot and the
beggar. Why did Corot claim to be the happiest man in the world? Does
this picture make you feel happy or sad? why?
[Illustration: OXEN PLOWING]
OXEN PLOWING