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THE CHILDREN'S BOOK OF CELEBRATED PICTURES
by
LORINDA MUNSON BRYANT
Author of "Famous Pictures of Real Boys and Girls," "Famous
Pictures of Real Animals," etc.
[Illustration]
Published by The Century Co.
New York
Copyright, 1922, by
The Century Co.
TO MY DAUGHTER
BERTHA COOKINGHAM BRYANT
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FIGURE PAGE
1. The Holy Family. Pintoricchio. Academy, Siena 3
2. The Valley Farm. Constable. National Gallery, London 5
3. Madonna and St. Jerome. Correggio. Parma Gallery, Italy 7
4. The Wood-Gatherers. Corot. Corcoran Art Gallery,
Washington, D.C. 9
5. The Aurora. Guido Reni. Rospigliosi Palace, Rome 11
6. Singing Boys. Franz Hals. Cassel Gallery, Germany 13
7. St. Barbara. Palma Vecchio. Santa Maria Formosa, Venice 15
8. Charles I and His Horse. Van Dyck. Louvre, Paris 17
9. The Gale. Homer. Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts 19
10. Madonna del Gran' Duca. Raphael. Pitti Palace, Florence 21
11. Joan of Arc. Bastien-Lepage. Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York City 23
12. The Fates. Michael Angelo. Pitti Palace, Florence 25
13. Madonna of the Chair. Raphael. Pitti Palace, Florence 27
14. Wolf and Fox Hunt. Rubens. Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York City 29
15. The Night Watch. Rembrandt. Ryks Museum, Amsterdam 31
16. The Assumption. Titian. Academy, Venice 33
17. The Melon-Eaters. Murillo. Pinakothek, Munich 35
18. The Muses. Romano. Pitti Palace, Florence 37
19. "Come Abide with Us." Fra Angelico. San Marco, Florence 39
20. The Supper at Emmaus. Rembrandt. Louvre, Paris 41
21. Children of Charles I. Van Dyck. Dresden Gallery 43
22. The Buttery. De Hooch. Ryks Museum, Amsterdam 45
23. Coronation of the Virgin. Botticelli. Uffizi Palace,
Florence 47
24. The Wolf-Charmer. La Farge. City Art Museum, St. Louis 49
25. The Old Woman Cutting Her Nails. Rembrandt. Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York City 51
26. The Spinner. Maes. Ryks Museum, Amsterdam 53
27. St. George and the Dragon. Carpaccio. Church of San
Giorgio degli Schiavoni, Venice 55
28. The Grand Canal. Turner. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York City 57
29. Song of the Lark. Breton. Art Institute, Chicago 59
30. The Holy Night. Correggio. Dresden Gallery 61
31. The Gleaners. Millet. Louvre, Paris 63
32. St. Cecilia. Raphael. Bologna, Italy 65
33. Helena Fourment and Her Son and Daughter. Rubens. Louvre,
Paris 67
34. The Harp of the Winds. Martin. Metropolitan Museum of Art 69
35. The Tribute Money. Titian. Dresden Gallery 71
36. The Maids of Honor. Velasquez. Madrid Gallery, Spain 73
37. The Nymphs. Corot. Louvre, Paris 75
38. St. Francis Preaching to the Birds. Giotto. Upper Church,
Assisi, Italy 77
39. The Governess. Chardin. Liechtenstein Gallery, Vienna 79
40. The Last Supper. Leonardo da Vinci. Santa Maria delle
Grazie, Milan 81
41. Sir Galahad. Watts. Eton College, England 83
42. The Duchess of Devonshire and Her Child. Reynolds. Royal
Gallery, Windsor 85
43. St. Agnes and Her Lamb. Andrea del Sarto. Pisa Cathedral,
Italy 87
44. Whistler's Mother. Whistler. Luxembourg, Paris 89
45. St. Christopher. Titian. Doges Palace, Venice 91
46. The Blue Boy. Gainsborough. Private Gallery, Henry
Huntington, Los Angeles, California 93
47. The Sleeping Girl. Van der Meer. Metropolitan Museum of
Art, New York City 95
48. St. Anthony and the Christ-Child. Murillo. Museum of
Seville, Spain 97
49. King Lear. Abbey. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
City 99
50. Sunset in the Woods. Inness. Corcoran Art Gallery,
Washington, D. C. 101
_Dear Children:_
The stories I am telling about the pictures and their painters in this
book are gathered from many countries. Some of them belong to very
early times when history was told to grown up people by story-tellers
at banquets and in the homes, on the street corners and public halls.
Some of the stories are legends and traditions that grew up with the
beginnings of the Christian era. All of them are taken from authentic
sources and many of them illustrate some natural law.
The artists who painted these pictures knew history and the early
myths, the fairy-tales, the legends and the traditions, the Bible and
the Apocrypha. We love these pictures because they are beautiful and
true, but really to understand them we must know what the artists had
in mind when they painted them.
If you learn to know these pictures and love them, I will make you
another book soon about statues and their stories.
With love and best wishes, from your friend,
LORINDA MUNSON BRYANT
THE HOLY FAMILY
BERNARDINO PINTORICCHIO (1454-1513)
In looking at pictures of the old masters you will often see one
called the "Holy Family." I want you to know who belonged to the Holy
Family. The grown people are Joseph and Mary, the father and mother of
Jesus; they had no last names at that time. The children are Jesus and
his cousin, John the Baptist, six months older than Jesus. Sometimes
the little John's mother, Elizabeth, is in the picture and sometimes
his father, Zacharias, is there also.
In this picture painted by Pintoricchio, Jesus is about four years old
and John four and a half. The Bible story gives very little about the
growing up of these children. Of Jesus it says, "And the child grew,
and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God
was upon him." And of John it says, "And the child grew, and waxed
strong in spirit, and he was in the deserts till the day of showing
unto Israel."
One story from a very old book, "The Infancy," tells about Jesus
playing with the other boys. It says:
"And when Jesus was seven years of age, he was on a certain day with
other boys, his companions about the same age. Who when they were at
play, made clay into several shapes, namely, asses, oxen, birds, and
other figures, each boasting of his work, endeavoring to exceed the
rest.
"Then the Lord Jesus said to the boys, I will command these figures
which I have made to walk. And immediately they moved, and when he
commanded them to return they returned. He also made figures of birds
and sparrows, which, when he commanded to fly, did fly, and when he
commanded to stand still, did stand still; and if he gave them meat
and drink, they did eat and drink."
[Illustration: Courtesy of Pratt Institute
FIG. 1. THE HOLY FAMILY. PINTORICCHIO. ACADEMY, SIENA]
THE VALLEY FARM
JOHN CONSTABLE (1776-1837)
An old man, eighty-four years of age, lived in this house on "The
Valley Farm," in England. He was born here and he used to say that he
had never been away from this house but four days in all his life. He
asked Constable to come and paint a picture of his home. And what a
beautiful picture it is! The old house, snuggled down so close to the
little stream, could paddle its feet--if it had any--in the cool
water. And see how tenderly the tall trees keep guard over it. How we
wish that we could be there too! If only we could be in the punt--I am
sure it is a punt-boat even if one end of it is pointed--and be rowed
up and down in the delightful shade. Those two in the boat have no
doubt been for the cows and are driving them home to be milked.
John Constable liked to choose his subjects for his pictures from the
familiar scenes near his home. He used to say to his friends:
"I have always succeeded best with my native scenes. They have always
charmed me, and I hope they always will."
[Illustration: FIG. 2. THE VALLEY FARM. CONSTABLE. NATIONAL GALLERY,
LONDON]
THE MADONNA AND CHILD WITH
ST. JEROME
ANTONIO ALLEGRI DA CORREGGIO (1494?-1534)
Correggio loved to paint darling babies, lovely angels, beautiful
women and splendid men. In this picture of "the Madonna and St.
Jerome," I want you specially to see St. Jerome and his lion. St.
Jerome, a very noted man who lived four centuries after Christ, was
the first person to translate the New Testament into Latin. It was
called "The Vulgate," because of its common use in the Latin Church.
When St. Jerome was thirty years old he went away from the city of
Rome and became a hermit and lived in desert places in the East. One
day, so the story goes, as he sat at the gate of the monastery a lion
came up limping as though he had been hurt. The other hermits ran away
but St. Jerome went to meet the lion. The lion lifted up his paw and
St. Jerome found a thorn in his foot. He took out the thorn and bound
up the poor paw, so the lion stayed with St. Jerome and kept guard
over an ass that brought the wood from the forest.
One day when the lion was asleep a caravan of merchants came along and
stole the ass. The poor ashamed lion hung his head before the saint,
and Jerome thought he had killed and eaten the ass. To punish him St.
Jerome had him do the work of the ass and bring the wood from the
forest. One day some time afterward the lion saw the ass coming down
the road leading a caravan of camels. The Arabs often have an ass lead
the camels. The lion knew that it was the stolen ass, so he led the
caravan into the convent grounds. The merchant found that he was
caught. St. Jerome was very glad to find that his lion was honest and
true. Whenever you see a picture of a saint with a lion you must
remember that it is St. Jerome, the great Latin scholar.
[Illustration: Courtesy of Pratt Institute
FIG. 3. MADONNA AND ST. JEROME. CORREGGIO. PARMA GALLERY, ITALY]
THE WOOD GATHERERS
JEAN BAPTISTE CAMILLE COROT (1796-1875)
The picture of "The Wood Gatherers" is very precious to us. It is the
last picture Corot signed after he was confined to the bed, a few days
before he died.
A curious story is told of Corot's painting this picture. He had an
old study of another artist's of a landscape with St. Jerome at
prayer: you remember I told you the story of St. Jerome and his lion.
Corot took the study and made a number of sketches of it. Somehow his
landscape would not fit St. Jerome, so he painted a man on horseback
and a dog going off into the woods. Then in the place of St. Jerome
praying he put a woman gathering bits of wood and another woman with a
bundle of fagots under her arm. Now the picture must have another name
and he called it "The Wood Gatherers." When you go to Washington, you
must not fail to see this picture in the Corcoran Art Gallery.
[Illustration: FIG. 4. THE WOOD-GATHERERS. COROT. Courtesy of the
Corcoran Art Gallery, Washington, D. C.]
AURORA
GUIDO RENI (1575-1642)
Hyperion had three wonderful children, Apollo, the god of the sun,
Selene, the goddess of the moon, and Aurora, the goddess of the dawn.
When Aurora appears her sister, Selene (the moon), fades and night
rolls back like a curtain. Now let us look at this masterpiece by
Guido Reni carefully that we may know how wonderful is the coming of
day.
Aurora, in a filmy white robe, is dropping flowers in the path of
Apollo (the sun) as he drives his dun-colored horses above the
sleeping Earth. The Horae (the hours), a gliding, dancing group of
lovely beings, accompany the brilliant god. Each hour is clothed in
garments of a special tint of the great light of day, red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, purple, and violet. The golden-hued Apollo sits
supreme in his chariot of the sun.
The fresco--fresco means painted on fresh plaster--is on the ceiling
of the Rospigliosi Palace, Rome. The painting is as brilliant in color
to-day as it was when painted three hundred and fifty years ago.
Aurora, like most of the gods and goddesses, fell in love with a
mortal. She asked Zeus to make her husband immortal but she forgot to
ask that he should never grow old. And, fickle woman that she was!
when he became gray and infirm, she deserted him and, to put a stop to
his groans, she turned him into a grasshopper.
Her son, Memnon, was made king of the Ethiopians, and in the war of
Troy he was overcome by Achilles. When Aurora, who was watching him
from the sky, saw him fall she sent his brothers, the Winds, to take
his body to the banks of a river in Asia Minor. In the evening the
mother and the Hours and the Pleiades came to weep over her dead son.
Poor Aurora! even to-day her tears are seen in the dewdrops on the
grass at early dawn.
[Illustration: Courtesy of Pratt Institute
FIG. 5. THE AURORA. GUIDO RENI. ROSPIGLIOSI PALACE, ROME]
THE SINGING BOYS
FRANS HALS (1584?-1666)
These jolly singers are Dutch boys. They are singing on the street or
in some back yard just as singers do to-day, though they lived nearly
three hundred years ago.
Hals was such a rapid painter that he could make a picture while you
wait. The story is told that one time young Van Dyck, the Flemish
painter who painted "Baby Stuart," went to see Hals in Amsterdam when
Hals was an old man. Van Dyck did not tell the old artist that he was
Van Dyck but simply asked him to paint his portrait, knowing what a
rapid painter Hals was. In an hour the picture was done. Van Dyck
remarked, as he looked at the portrait:
"That seems easy; I believe I could do it."
Hals thought he would have some fun, so he told the young stranger
that he would sit for him just one hour.
Van Dyck set his easel where Hals could not see him work and began to
paint. At the end of an hour he said:
"Your picture is finished, sir."
Hals, ready to laugh at the daub, looked at the portrait and the laugh
went out of his face. He then looked at Van Dyck, and cried out:
"You must be either Van Dyck or a wizard!"
You see, Hals had heard of Van Dyck and his rapid work, and knew that
only a master painter could make the splendid portrait in an hour.
[Illustration: Permission of Franz Hanfstaengl, New York City
FIG. 6. SINGING BOYS. FRANS HALS. CASSEL GALLERY, GERMANY]
ST. BARBARA
JACOPO PALMA IL VECCHIO (1480?-1528)
St. Barbara, born A. D. 303, was a very beautiful girl. Her father, an
eastern nobleman, loved her so much and was so afraid something might
happen to her that he built a very wonderful tower for her home and
shut her up in it. And in that tower she studied the stars. Night
after night she looked at the heavenly bodies until she knew more
about the sun and the moon and the stars than any of the learned men.
But as she studied the shining bodies she decided that worshiping
idols, made of wood and stone, as her father did, was wrong. Finally
she learned about the Savior, and to show her faith in Christianity
she had some workmen who were making repairs on her tower put in three
windows. When her father came as usual to visit her, he asked in
surprise what the three windows were for. She replied:
"Know, my father, that through three windows doth the soul receive
light, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost: and the three are
one."
Her father was very angry when he found she had learned about the
Savior and had become a Christian. He condemned her to death and at
last took her out on a hill and killed her, but he, too, was struck
dead. St. Barbara is always represented with a tower that has three
windows in it.
Palma Vecchio painted this picture for some Venetian soldiers nearly
four hundred years ago. When the Germans bombarded Venice (1918) the
Venetians took the picture from the church to a place of safety.
Scarcely a week had passed before a bomb broke through the roof of the
church tearing everything before it at the exact spot where the
picture had hung. But "St. Barbara," one of the great pictures of the
world, was safe.
[Illustration: FIG. 7. ST. BARBARA. PALMA VECCHIO. SANTA MARIA
FORMOSA, VENICE]
CHARLES I AND HIS HORSE
SIR ANTHONY VAN DYCK (1599-1641)
The horse in this picture of Charles I is probably the one Rubens gave
to Van Dyck. It is said that Rubens gave it as a present after Van
Dyck had painted a portrait of Helena Fourment, the master's second
wife, and presented it to him. Van Dyck was twenty-two years younger
than Rubens. You will remember that he was the master painter's
favorite pupil. Having Rubens as a teacher did not make the pupil a
great painter. Van Dyck was never more than a prince; just an heir to
the throne. Rubens was a king and sat on the throne.
The story is told that once Rubens was away from his private studio
when the students bribed the servant to open the door for them. They
stole into the master's studio to see "The Descent from the Cross,"
which he was then painting. By some mishap the culprits rubbed against
the wet paint and spoiled that part of the picture. Of course they
were terrified at the damage done. They finally decided that Van Dyck
was the one to repair the spot. The work was so well done that they
hoped Rubens would not see the repairs. But the first thing that
caught the eye of the master was that particular spot. He at once sent
for the students and asked who had worked on his picture. Van Dyck
stepped out from the others and frankly confessed that he was the
culprit. Rubens was so pleased with his frankness and also at the
skill of the work that he forgave them all.
King Charles I invited Van Dyck to come to England, and then he
knighted him and gave him a pension for life. The hundreds of pictures
of the royal family and court people of England left by Van Dyck show
us how rapidly he could paint, for the artist died when he was only
forty-two years old.
[Illustration: FIG. 8. CHARLES I AND HIS HORSE. VAN DYCK. LOUVRE,
PARIS]
THE GALE
WINSLOW HOMER (1836-1910)
Winslow Homer lived in Maine, where he heard the roar of mighty waters
beating the rocks all day and all night. Some days the ocean grew so
angry because the winds whirled its waters about in such a cruel
manner that it would fling itself upon the sands and rocks as though
to tear everything to pieces. The waves would raise up like furious
horses champing their bits and foaming at the mouth. Somehow these
angry waves could never go beyond a certain point, and the mother
carrying her baby along the coast knows just the point at which the
waves must stop. Let us clap our hands and shout with joy that old
ocean cannot hurt that mother and her baby. Fill your lungs full of
that glorious breeze whipping their hair and clothes. Open your eyes
wide like the baby and let the salt air polish them until they sparkle
like diamonds as the baby's do.
Winslow Homer loved old ocean, and so do we! Let us love his pictures
of old ocean for he has taught us that that mighty power is under a
greater Power.
[Illustration: FIG. 9. THE GALE. HOMER. Courtesy of Worcester Art
Museum, Massachusetts]
MADONNA DEL GRAN' DUCA
RAPHAEL SANZIO (1483-1520)
I want you to learn everything you can about Raphael. He was so kind
and gentle and beautiful that everybody loved him. People said that
when he walked on the streets of Rome scores of young men went with
him until one would think him a prince. The pope gave him a large
order to decorate the Vatican, the pope's home. Every artist was
willing to help him because he was always ready to do anything he
could to help his brother artists.
Raphael only lived to be thirty-seven. When he died all Italy mourned
his death, and his funeral was one of the largest of any artist of his
time.
When Raphael was only twenty-one he painted the "Madonna del Gran'
Duca." He had gone to Florence for the first time. We do not know
where the picture was for a hundred years after it was painted; then
the painter Carlo Dolci owned it. Again another hundred years went by,
and we find it in possession of a poor widow. She sold it to a
picture-dealer for about twenty dollars. It then went into the hands
of the grand duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand III, for the big sum of eight
hundred dollars. No amount of money could buy the picture to-day.
Ferdinand loved the picture so much that he always took it with him on
all his travels and the grand duchess, his wife, felt that her baby
boys were purer if she had the picture near her. It got its name
"Madonna of the Grand Duke" from the title of the family.
[Illustration: FIG. 10. MADONNA DEL GRAN DUCA. RAPHAEL. PITTI PALACE,
FLORENCE]
JOAN OF ARC
JULES BASTIEN-LEPAGE (1848-1884)
No young girl in history has had such a wonderful story as Joan of
Arc. She began to hear voices and see visions when she was a little
child. She was born in the tiny village of Domremy, France. Just like
the other little peasant girls around her she helped her mother about
the house and at the spinning. Also she went into the fields with her
brothers.
One day when she was in the garden the Archangel St. Michael came to
her in a glory of light. He said she was a good little girl and that
she must go to church and that some day she was to do a great act; she
was to crown the dauphin as king of France at Rheims. Joan was afraid
and cried at what the angel told her, but St. Michael said, "God will
help you."
These messages kept coming to her until, when she was sixteen, the
voices insisted, "You must help the king, and save France."
France was in a terrible state at this time, 1428. The English held
most of France. The French king, Charles VI, became insane and died.
The son, Dauphin Charles, was weak and lazy and discouraged; he had no
money, no army, no energy, and like most cowards, ran from his duty
and wasted his time in wickedness.
Joan was still urged by voices to save France. At last a peasant uncle
went with her to a man in power to ask for troops. The man was angry,
and said sharply:
"The girl is crazy! Box her ears and take her back to her father." But
Joan did not give up. She insisted that some one must take her to
Dauphin Charles, that God willed it. She said:
"I will go if I have to wear my legs down to my knees." She went, and
she saved France by crowning the dauphin as Charles VII at Rheims. But
the French and the English people condemned Joan of Arc as a witch and
burned her at the stake. Too late they cried:
"We are lost! We have burned a saint!"
[Illustration: FIG. 11. JOAN OF ARC. BASTIEN-LEPAGE. Courtesy of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]
THE FATES
MICHAEL ANGELO BUONARROTI (1474-1564)
When a new baby comes to a home, legend says, three beautiful young
girls come to take care of the baby all through its life, but no one
ever sees these young girls. Each one has a strange work to do. One,
called Clotho, carries a spindle on which is wound flax. The second,
named Lachesis, twists a thread from the spindle, called the thread of
life. And Atropos, the third, has a pair of shears ready to cut the
thread of life.
A funny story is told about Michael Angelo when he designed this
picture of "The Fates." An old woman annoyed the artist very much by
coming every day to see him. She insisted that he should appoint her
son a special place in the fighting line in the seige of Florence
(1529). Michael Angelo took revenge on the old woman by using her as a
model for all of the women in his "Fates." And that is why Michael
Angelo's fates are old women instead of young girls, as legend says
they are.
[Illustration: Courtesy of Pratt Institute
FIG. 12. THE FATES. MICHAEL ANGELO. PITTI PALACE, FLORENCE]
THE MADONNA OF THE CHAIR
RAPHAEL SANZIO (1483-1520)
We like to believe that Raphael, in one of his daily walks in the
country, really did see this mother and her two little boys sitting in
a doorway. Of course he must paint them, and having no paper with him
he rolled up a barrel and made a sketch on the head of it. The story
says that this barrel was once a part of a great oak-tree that stood
by the hut of an old man, a hermit up in the mountains. And the mother
of the two boys, when a little girl, used to go to see the old man. He
loved these two--the little girl and the big oak-tree--and called them
his daughters.
He used to say that some day they would both be famous. That was more
than four hundred years ago, and to-day this picture of "The Madonna
of the Chair" is one of the most famous Madonna pictures. It is found
in almost every home in America and is a treasure that belongs to all
of us though it hangs in a gallery at Florence, Italy.
We know, too, that Raphael did not let any of his helpers work on "The
Madonna of the Chair"--in Italian, "Madonna della Sedia." He painted
every brush stroke himself, which makes it still more dear to us.
[Illustration: Courtesy of Pratt Institute
FIG. 13. MADONNA OF THE CHAIR. RAPHAEL. PITTI PALACE, FLORENCE]
THE WOLF AND FOX HUNT
PETER PAUL RUBENS (1577-1640)
The stables of Peter Paul Rubens were known the country over. No
prince in the land had more magnificent horses, and no cavalier could
ride with more grace and ease than Rubens.
When Van Dyck, the artist who painted "Baby Stuart," was ready to
leave the studio of Rubens to travel in Italy, the master gave him a
beautiful horse from his own stables. Van Dyck probably used this
horse as a model in his picture of "Charles I and his Horse."
Now look at Rubens on the splendid dappled white horse in "The Fox and
Wolf Hunt." His first wife, Isabel Brant, is on his right hand. She
carries her falcon balanced on her wrist, his wings spread out in
excitement. We feel that Rubens and his horse together are directing
every movement in the hunt. That horse has all the alertness of the
trained dogs and is just as eager in overcoming brute force as men
are. In fact we are so fascinated with his beauty and intelligence
that the cruel sport is almost forgotten in our interest in him and
his master.
Rubens painted a number of hunting scenes, and always he manages the
hunt with the skill of a master. The confusion of the rough-and-tumble
fight between the wild beasts and the horses, dogs, and men in Rubens'
pictures seems to untangle itself under his glorious color and skilful
arrangement. This is a picture you must see. When you go to New York
City never fail to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
[Illustration: FIG. 14. WOLF AND FOX HUNT. RUBENS. Courtesy of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]
THE NIGHT WATCH
REMBRANDT VAN RIJN (1607?-1669)
One time, more than two hundred and fifty years ago, two little
children living in Amsterdam were playing at the edge of the city just
at evening. Soon they overheard some Spanish soldiers near-by talking
together. They began to understand that the men were making some kind
of plans and, listening very sharply, they found that the Spaniards
intended to attack the city of Amsterdam that night. The Spaniards
were fighting the Netherlands at that time. You can imagine how
frightened the children were. They knew that they must tell some one
about it at once. Very quietly they crept away from where the men
were, then ran for their lives to the town hall. The Civic Guard were
having a banquet there. Rembrandt has painted the scene just as the
little girl, in the center of the group, has finished her story. The
men are making ready to meet the attack. Some have on their armor,
some are polishing their guns, some have their drums, and all are full
of excitement.
When the painting was to be put in the new Ryks Museum, in Amsterdam,
it was found that the wall was too narrow for the picture. What do you
think the authorities did? The stupid men cut a piece off from each
side of the picture to fit it in its new place. Was ever anything so
silly? Even those pieces cut off would bring more money to-day than
the museum itself cost.
The men who had money at the time Rembrandt painted the picture were
angry because the artist would not make portraits as they wanted them.
They ignored Rembrandt, and he became very poor and died unknown.
To-day those rich men are forgotten and Rembrandt is known the world
over.
[Illustration: FIG. 15. THE NIGHT WATCH. REMBRANDT. RYKS MUSEUM,
AMSTERDAM]
THE ASSUMPTION
TITIAN, OR TIZIANO VECELLI (1477-1576)
Titian lived to be ninety-nine-years old and still painted pictures.
He was working on a painting when an awful plague broke out in Venice,
and he took it and died. Titian painted such wonderful pictures that
kings came to see them and rich noblemen paid big sums of money to own
them. Sometimes King Charles V would ride with Titian and would have
his courtiers pay tribute to Titian and wait on him. This made those
haughty men very jealous and very angry, but Charles V would say, "I
have many nobles, but I have only one Titian."
Titian's picture of the "Virgin going to Heaven" the whole world calls
one of the greatest pictures ever painted. Some day I hope you will go
to Venice, that Queen City of the Sea, and fasten your gondola at the
Museum door while you go in to see this picture. You will be so
dazzled with its bright color that you will hardly see the little
cherubs circling around the blessed mother. But I want you to look at
them; they are darlings: then look at the men all reaching up and the
Father in the sky looking down. The story of the picture is about
Mary, the mother of Jesus, going to heaven.
[Illustration: FIG. 16. THE ASSUMPTION. TITIAN. ACADEMY, VENICE]
THE MELON EATERS
BARTOLOME ESTEBAN MURILLO (1618-1682)
When the Spanish artist Murillo was a young painter he was very poor
and hardly knew where to get enough to eat. He would go to the
market-place and set up his easel and rapidly paint the scenes around
him. The people who came to the market to buy and sell saw these
pictures and bought them for a mere pittance.
Often beggar boys, who were everywhere in the market snatching fruits
and other eatables from the stalls, would pose for him as they hid in
some corner to eat their stolen dainties. These beggar-boy pictures
that Murillo sold for a song to keep his soul and body together began
to attract attention until finally they were looked upon as the
greatest pictures Murillo ever painted. People outside of Spain,
Murillo's native country, bought them until to-day scarcely a
beggar-boy picture of his is found in Spain.
This picture of "The Melon Eaters" is known far and wide as a great
masterpiece, and yet the boys were little rag-a-muffins, the pests of
the market people. Murillo knew the joys and sorrows of those boys
because he too at that time was very poor and hungry and no one was
giving him a helping hand. Do you suppose that when he was famous as a
painter he ever saw those boys? I think so, for he was greatly beloved
by his townspeople of Seville. They probably came to his studio many
times. Murillo painted many religious pictures for the churches of
Seville.
[Illustration: Courtesy of Pratt Institute
FIG. 17. THE MELON EATERS. MURILLO. PINAKOTHEK, MUNICH]
THE MUSES
GIULIO ROMANO (1492-1546)
I am sure you have heard of the Muses. Romano, a pupil of Raphael's,
has left us this beautiful picture of them dancing with Apollo, their
cousin. The Muses were the daughters of Zeus (Jove or Jupiter), and
Memory. These lovely girls also come to every home to help care for
the new baby.
The Greek names of the Muses are rather hard to pronounce, but you
will want to call them by name. Then, too, each girl's name in Greek
letters is just below where she dances. Now begin at the left of the
circle. The first one, Calliope, stands for narrative poetry; No. 2,
Clio, is history; No. 3, Erato, is love-poetry; No. 4, Melpomene, is
tragedy; No. 5, Terpsichore, is dance and song. Now comes Apollo with
his quiver full of arrows. He is the god of the hunt and twin brother
to Diana, the goddess of hunt; also he is god of music and poetry. No.
6 is Polyhymnia, muse of hymn-music; No. 7, Euterpe, is song poetry;
No. 8, Thalia, is comedy, and No. 9, Urania, muse of astronomy.
Athene gave the Muses the winged horse, Pegasus. But alack and alas!
one of the poets became very poor and sold Pegasus to a farmer. He was
fastened to the plow, but he could not plow through the hard earth.
His spirit was broken and his body was weak. The angry farmer tried to
make him work, but how could he when he had no courage? But just then
a beautiful youth came and asked the farmer to let him try the horse.
Of course the man was glad to have any one help get the plowing done.
The young man petted the horse and slyly unfastened the harness as he
patted him. He mounted upon his back and Pegasus rose in the air, and
away they both went, Pegasus and Mercury. The farmer looked on with
amazement. How could a good-for-nothing horse that could not plow do
such a wonderful thing as fly?
[Illustration: Courtesy of Pratt Institute
FIG. 18. THE MUSES. ROMANO. PITTI PALACE, FLORENCE]
"COME, ABIDE WITH US"
FRA GIOVANNI ANGELICO (1387-1455)
Nearly two thousand years ago two men were walking together along a
dusty road in Palestine. They talked earnestly as they walked along of
a great event that had happened. A man called Jesus, the Christ, had
been crucified and buried, but after three days he was not found in
the tomb. As the men talked, a traveler joined them and asked:
"What is it ye talk about and are sad?"
And the men asked if he were a stranger in Jerusalem and did not know
the things that had come to pass.
The stranger said, "What things?"
Then the men told him of Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty
in deed and word before God and all the people. And they said that
they had all hoped He was the mighty one who was to save the world but
that He had been killed.
Then the stranger, who was Jesus himself, but the men did not know
Him, began to tell them the story of all things about himself. Still
they did not know Him, and as they came to the village of Emmaus and
the stranger made as though He would have gone further, the men said,
"Come, abide with us."
This picture, showing the men inviting the stranger, was painted by
Fra Angelico for the Dominican monastery in Florence, Italy. You will
find it over the entrance of San Marco, where it welcomes every
stranger who comes.
Fra Angelico was so kind and gentle and helpful that his companions
called him "Angel Brother"; in Italian, "Fra Angelico."
[Illustration: Courtesy of Pratt Institute
FIG. 19. "COME, ABIDE WITH US." FRA ANGELICO. SAN MARCO, FLORENCE]
THE SUPPER AT EMMAUS
REMBRANDT VAN RIJN (1607?-1669)
Rembrandt has taken the story of the two men and the stranger on their
way to Emmaus after they have gone into the house. You see the
disciples still did not know that the stranger was Jesus, the Christ.
But when He sat at meat with them, He took bread and blessed it and
brake and gave to them. Then they knew that it was the Savior who was
talking with them and sitting at the table with them. Rembrandt shows
the wondering men as they begin to recognize who their guest is, and
he makes us feel the warmth and gladness that fill their hearts when
they know that it is the risen Lord. The boy, too, lingers at the
Savior's side as though to hear the meaning of the scene. But as they
look, Jesus disappears out of their sight. When He is gone they say to
each other:
"Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way,
and while He opened to us the Scriptures?"
Rembrandt painted this picture after many sorrows had come to him. His
beloved Saskia, the mother of the "golden lad," Titus, was dead;
friends had deserted him and his patrons were gone. But the love of
people still filled the heart of the great painter.
[Illustration: FIG. 20. THE SUPPER AT EMMAUS. REMBRANDT. LOUVRE,
PARIS]
THREE CHILDREN OF CHARLES I OF
ENGLAND
SIR ANTHONY VAN DYCK (1599-1641)
The little boy standing between his brother and sister in this picture
is Baby Stuart, the same child that is in the picture of "Baby Stuart"
that you know so well. When Baby Stuart grew up he was crowned James
II, king of England (1685). His brother was Charles II, king of
England, and his sister was the mother of William III, king of
England. James II, Baby Stuart, had a daughter, Mary, who became Mary,
queen of England. When these cousins, William and Mary, grew up they
were married and crowned king and queen of England in 1689.
A funny story is told of the crowning ceremony. William was very short
and Mary was quite tall. It would not do to have Mary taller than her
husband, so a stool was brought for William to stand on. Now they are
the same height as they are crowned King William III and Queen Mary II
of England. When William and Mary ruled England the country was happy
and prosperous because love reigned in the royal household.
I have seen the stool that William stood on when he was crowned
William III of England. It is in Westminster Abbey, London. That is
another interesting bit of historic setting that you will see when you
go to visit England.
Sir Anthony Van Dyck, the Flemish artist, painted many pictures of the
royal families of England, especially the family of Charles I. He put
little dogs into his pictures so often that the people began to call
these little fellows "King Charles spaniels." To-day, two hundred
years after, they are still called King Charles spaniels.
[Illustration: Courtesy of Pratt Institute
FIG. 21. CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. VAN DYCK. DRESDEN GALLERY]
THE BUTTERY
PIETER DE HOOCH (1632?-1681)
Pieter de Hooch is a Dutch artist you are going to love. Usually you
can tell his pictures by the checked or plaid floors. The floors in
the homes in Holland are mostly made of squares of black and white
marble. Did you ever see a cuter little girl than this one in the
picture? She has come for her pitcher of milk. Her mother went to the
"buttery" for it: a buttery is a place for keeping casks and barrels
and bottles. We can see one end of the cask or barrel under the window
in the buttery. Now look into the next room and see the chair on a
little platform. That platform is quite common in the Dutch home and
is probably the place where mother or grandmother sits to read or sew
by the window. What a beautiful day it must be out of doors to make
the rooms so cheerful and bright! Hooch loved the sunshine and used it
to brighten every home he painted. The sunshine on the checked floors
makes his pictures sing with joy and happiness.
We can find very little about the life of the "Dutch little masters,"
yet the pictures they have left us are among our greatest treasures:
just little home scenes that you and I know about.
It is said that de Hooch often put in his people after he had finished
painting his picture. In one picture he has added a girl near a
fireplace to make the picture more balanced. We know that she was
added after the picture was made, for we can see the plaid floor
through her dress where the paint was too thin to cover the original
floor. Such little things tell us something of the method of work of
the Dutch painters.
[Illustration: Courtesy of Pratt Institute
FIG. 22. THE BUTTERY. DE HOOCH. RYKS MUSEUM, AMSTERDAM]
THE CORONATION OF THE VIRGIN
SANDRO BOTTICELLI (1446-1510)
The children who are holding the book and ink-bottle in this picture,
"The Coronation of the Virgin," lived four hundred years ago. Their
names are Giovanni and Giulio de' Medici. Botticelli, the artist, knew
them well for he was born and brought up in Florence and used to spend
a great deal of time at the Medici Palace.
The boys were cousins. Giulio, the younger, was left an orphan when a
wee child and his uncle, Lorenzo the Magnificent, adopted him and had
him brought up with his own son Giovanni. The boys were nearly the
same age and grew up to be great and good men. Both of them were popes
of Rome. The older boy, Giovanni, was Pope Leo X and Giulio Pope
Clement VII.
Now look at the picture again. The Madonna is reading to her little
son, Jesus, "The Magnificat," that beautiful song from Luke, Chap. I,
v. 46-56, sung so often in our churches. Let us repeat the song
together:
My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:
For, behold, from henceforth, all generations shall call me
blessed.
For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is
His name.
And His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to
generation
He hath shewed strength with his arm;
He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats,
And exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things;
And the rich he hath sent empty away.
He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
As He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
[Illustration: Courtesy of Pratt Institute
FIG. 23. CORONATION OF THE VIRGIN. BOTTICELLI. UFFIZI PALACE.
FLORENCE]
THE WOLF CHARMER
JOHN LA FARGE (1835-1910)
You see these wolves were once the old women gossips of the town, the
story says; and when these women were unkind in what they said about
people the Fates--I have told you another story about the Fates--the
Fates to punish them turned them into wolves. The Wolf Charmer, who
really is the old gypsy who killed the black cat of the village witch,
goes out into the night. The owl calls the wolves to attack the gypsy.
But the gypsy knew the old women before they were turned into wolves
so he calls them by name: "Kate, Anne, and Bee!" And soon they follow
him down the narrow path between the rocks and listen to his music on
the bagpipes. "A funny story!" you say. You know there are people who
have a strange power over wild animals.
John La Farge said about this picture, "I made it to be one of a
series of some hundred subjects, more or less fantastic and
imaginary." He never finished the pictures nor carried out his plan of
making these books for children. I am giving you "The Wolf Charmer"
because he painted the picture for you. Mr. La Farge named this
picture as the one he liked best of his paintings.
[Illustration: Courtesy of John La Farge
FIG. 24. THE WOLF CHARMER. LA FARGE. Courtesy of the City Art Museum,
St. Louis]
THE OLD WOMAN CUTTING HER NAILS
REMBRANDT VAN RIJN (1607?-1669)
No artist in all history had a sadder life than Rembrandt. It was sad
because the people of Amsterdam were stupid and too blind to know that
a great man was living among them. Rembrandt could paint wonderful
portraits, and the rich people wanted their portraits painted. At
first all went well. The rich flocked to his studio and Rembrandt made
marvelous likenesses. Then the guilds of the great commercial houses
wanted pictures for their halls. They came to Rembrandt for these
pictures, but thinking that their money had bought the great artist
body and soul, they began to tell him how he should make the pictures
that each one might have equal prominence in it. Naturally Rembrandt
would not be bought off with money. His art was bigger than gold. The
picture that was really the turning point in his life was "The Night
Watch." I wish you would look at the picture again. You see the men
away back in the picture were jealous that they were not put in the
front row. All they cared for was to have a fine portrait of
themselves and Rembrandt was only interested in making a great
picture.
Rembrandt went on painting but no one bought his pictures. Many
sorrows came to him. It was when the world had forsaken him that he
painted "The Old Woman Cutting her Nails." Now you can understand why
Rembrandt could paint an old woman with human sympathy. We could love
that old woman because the unkindness of the world made her more
tender and true to suffering humanity. She is the old grandmother we
would go to if we were in trouble.
[Illustration: FIG. 25. THE OLD WOMAN CUTTING HER NAILS. REMBRANDT.
Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]
THE SPINNER
NICOLAES MAES (1632-1693)
This old woman is spinning flax. Have you ever seen a flax wheel? When
you go to Holland try to visit Dordrecht, and if possible, go into a
real Dutch home. There you may see some one, the grandmother maybe,
spinning flax; then you will know that this picture is an actual
scene.
Nicolaes Maes, who painted the picture, was born in Dordrecht or Dort.
This city is said to be the oldest city in the Netherlands; it was
founded in the tenth century. An old woman spinning was a familiar
scene to Maes. Now look at this spinner closely. She will not mind,
for she is too intent on picking up a thread, possibly a broken or a
knotted one. Maes saw a picture in the old woman's dull red dress and
bright red sleeves. He liked the brown wheel and the yellow floor and
the beautiful bit of blue cloth thrown over the wheel-base. Then he
saw how beautifully the white kerchief and apron and wall caught the
light. He saw the helpfulness of the rugged old hand, worn and scarred
as it was, yet patient and firm in repairing a mistake.
Maes's "The Spinner" and Rembrandt's "The Old Woman Cutting her Nails"
make the tasks of every-day life very human. We in America owe much to
these old Dutch women and to the artists who have made them live for
us.
This picture of "The Spinner" is only sixteen and one fourth inches
high and thirteen inches wide, yet that old woman at her
spinning-wheel is as much a real person in the room where she hangs on
the wall as she was when Maes painted her, nearly three hundred years
ago. I want you to love these little Dutch pictures; they are so
honest and true and tell us about real people and real things, and
they make us feel that beauty is everywhere. Now look at your
grandmother as she mends your stockings and see how beautiful she is
with the light on her dear old face and hair.
[Illustration: FIG. 26. THE SPINNER. MAES. RYKS MUSEUM, AMSTERDAM]
ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON
VITTORE CARFACCIO (1440?-1522)
St. George, a noble youth of Cappadocia, was one of the oldest and
most noted of the saints. The story always told of him is his killing
the dragon. Once upon a time St. George was going through Palestine on
horseback when he came to the City of Beirut. There he found a
beautiful young girl in royal dress weeping outside the walls of the
city. When he asked her why she was crying, she told him that a
terrible dragon lived in the marshes near the city. And to keep him
from destroying every one in the city, each day two young girls must
be fed to him. These young girls were chosen by lot, and this day she,
Cleodolinda, the king's daughter, must be eaten by the dragon.
St. George told her not to be afraid for he would destroy the dragon.
But she cried:
"O noble youth, tarry not here, lest thou perish with me! but fly, I
beseech thee!" St. George answered:
"God forbid that I should fly! I will lift my hand against the loathly
thing, and will deliver thee through the power of Jesus Christ!"
Then St. George, rushed at the dragon and thrust his spear into his
mouth and conquered him. He then took the young girl's mantle and
bound the beast, and she led him into the city to her father. That day
twenty thousand people of the city were baptized.
As time went on the name of St. George became very great. From the
time that Richard I--the Lion-Hearted--placed his army under the
protection of St. George the saint became the patron saint of England.
In 1330 the order of the Garter, the highest order of knighthood in
Great Britain, was founded and on its emblem is a picture of St.
George and the dragon.
Carpaccio, a Venetian artist, painted this picture of "St. George and
the Dragon." He painted many other stories of saints.
[Illustration: FIG. 27. ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON. CARPACCIO. CHURCH
OF SAN GIORGIO DEGLI SCHIAVONI, VENICE]
THE GRAND CANAL, VENICE
JOSEPH MALLARD WILLIAM TURNER (1775-1851)
Venice is a very curious city. It is really built on stilts on top of
the water. Its streets are canals. Instead of having street-cars and
horses and taxicabs everybody goes in long boats called gondolas. The
main street in the city is the Grand Canal, and in this canal come all
sorts of people with all sorts of water-crafts.
The children play in the side streets just as you do except that they
swim in the water instead of running on the ground. Even the babies
are in the water fastened to the door-steps by a rope around their
little bodies. How they do coo and gurgle as they paddle their little
hands and feet like young frogs!
Turner shows in this picture the Grand Canal filled with ships from
other countries with gaily colored flags fluttering in the breeze. Do
you see the tower at the left in the picture? That is the Campanile,
the bell-tower. This wonderful tower fell down flat in 1902. I talked
with a man who has a store just opposite the tower, a few weeks after
it fell. He said to me: "I thought it would fall on my store and
destroy everything. It began to tip; then all at once it fell flat
just where it stood." The Venetians soon built it up again.
When Napoleon, the great French emperor, took Venice, he rode up the
inclined plane of this tower on his horse and stood on the very top
overlooking the sea.
[Illustration: FIG. 28. THE GRAND CANAL. TURNER. Courtesy of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]
THE SONG OF THE LARK
JULES ADOLPHE BRETON (1827-1906)