For thy song, Lark, is strong;
Up with me, up with me into the clouds!
Singing, singing,
With clouds and sky above thee ringing,
Lift me, guide me till I find
That spot which seems so to thy mind!
WORDSWORTH
Can you not almost hear this girl singing? The sun is just coming up.
The lark is rising in the sky, singing! The girl has come out to work
in the fields; a peasant girl. Barefooted, barehanded, she stands
straight like a soldier of work with her head lifted to drink in the
morning air as she sings.
One morning early I was driving through the country roads in the south
of England when larks began to rise from the fields where the workmen
were, just like this lark from the French field, and how they did
sing! I stopped and listened, watching them go up higher and higher,
their song growing fainter and fainter, and then they disappeared.
Where did they go? Let us ask this French peasant girl. Do you think
that she can tell us? If she cannot, who can?
[Illustration: FIG. 29. SONG OF THE LARK. BRETON. Courtesy of the Art
Institute, Chicago]
THE HOLY NIGHT
ANTONIO ALLEGRA DA CORREGGIO (1494?-1534)
It is a wonderful story, the story of the Holy Night. The mother and
father had traveled a long way; and when they came to Bethlehem every
place was taken so they found a bed in a cave. In the night a baby boy
came to the mother, and she "wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and
laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in an inn.
And there was in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields,
keeping watch over their flocks by night. And, lo, the angel of the
Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone around about
them; and they were sore afraid.
"And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is
born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ, the
Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there
was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God,
saying, Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, good will
unto men.
"And it came to pass as the angels were gone away from them into
heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us go even to Bethlehem
and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has made
known to us. And they came with great haste, and found Mary and
Joseph; and the babe lying in a manger. At first a bright cloud
overshadowed the cave but on a sudden the cloud became a great light
in the cave, so that their eyes could not bear it. But the light
gradually decreased until the Infant appeared, and sucked the breast
of his mother, Mary."
The picture shows us the shepherds in the cave worshiping the young
child, Jesus, the Christ.
[Illustration: Courtesy of Pratt Institute
FIG. 30. THE HOLY NIGHT. CORREGGIO. DRESDEN GALLERY]
THE GLEANERS
JEAN FRANCOIS MILLET (1814-1875)
Millet was a French peasant boy--very poor. He says his grandmother
would come into his room early in the morning and call:
"Awake, my little Francois; if you only knew how long a time the birds
have been singing the glory of the good God!"
He would insist when he was helping in the fields that there was
beautiful color over the plowed ground, and when the other fellows
laughed at him, he would say:
"Wait, some day I will paint a picture and show you the color."
After he was an artist he was going by a field one day when a peasant
cutting grain called to him:
"I would like to see you take a sickle."
"I'll take your sickle," Millet answered quickly, "and reap faster
than you and all your family."
Of course the man laughed, for how could an artist cut grain. He soon
stopped laughing, for Millet cut much faster and farther than he
could.
Millet would often go into the forest just back of his house to rest
after painting all day. Then he would say:
"I do not know what those beggars of trees say to each other, but they
say something which we do not understand, because we do not understand
their language."
Millet's work is often called "the poems of the earth."
Once when I was in Barbizon I found the gate open into Millet's
door-yard. Of course I walked in, but the owner insisted that I walk
out again. I shall never forget the peep I had of the little garden
and the doorway and the long rambling house. That Millet lived there
with his large family and there painted the pictures we love makes the
place a joy to us.
[Illustration: FIG. 31. THE GLEANERS. MILLET. LOUVRE, PARIS]
ST. CECILIA
RAPHAEL SANZIO (1483-1520)
Did you know that St. Cecilia invented the organ, that wonderful
musical instrument in our churches? Cecilia was born in Rome sixteen
hundred years ago. She was a beautiful young girl who loved music and
composed many hymns. The organ she dedicated to God's service.
When Cecilia was married, her husband, a rich nobleman, was converted
and baptized. He knelt by the side of Cecilia, and an angel crowned
them with crowns made from roses which bloomed in paradise. The first
thing Valerian asked was that his brother, who was a heathen, might be
converted too. They sent for the brother, and when he came and found
the room filled with the sweet fragrance of roses, though it was not
the rose season, then he too became a Christian.
The people of Rome were very unkind to Cecilia and Valerian and his
brother because they preached the story of Jesus, the Christ. At last
they killed them. St. Cecilia is the guardian saint of music and is
always shown in art with the organ, as you see in this picture by
Raphael. The man standing at the left of the picture with his hand up
to his face is St. Paul. This is the most famous picture of St. Paul.
Raphael shows the group listening to the heavenly choir while the
earthly instruments of music have fallen at Cecilia's feet broken and
out of tune.
[Illustration: Courtesy of Pratt Institute
FIG. 32. ST. CECILIA. RAPHAEL. BOLOGNA, ITALY]
HELENA FOURMENT RUBENS AND HER
SON AND DAUGHTER
PETER PAUL RUBENS (1577-1640)
This picture of "Helena Fourment Rubens and Her Son and Daughter" was
really painted to honor the boy. It has always been the custom in
Europe to pay special attention to the boys in the home and keep the
girls very much in the background. It is very easy to see how pert the
little Albert Rubens is, and how subdued and meek is his sister. The
boy has the "Lord of Creation" air that would not be good for him in
America. We love the picture, for Rubens, the father, shows us plainly
the old idea that the boy rules the home. Naturally the father would
know the traits of his own children but not always would he allow us
to know them too.
Rubens was so wonderful as an artist, as a man to settle quarrels, and
as a beautiful gentleman that all Europe did him honor. He was sent to
see the ruling powers in England, in Spain, in Italy, and in France.
Each ruler entertained him as a royal guest, and Rubens painted
masterpieces for each in return. His paintings were the wonder of the
age. It is said that his fellow-artists looked with jealous eyes at
his flesh tints, and that all painters since have been in despair
trying to equal him. He left hundreds of pictures and hundreds of
sketches. The sketches alone are bringing many hundreds of times their
weight in gold.
[Illustration: FIG. 33. HELENA FOURMENT AND HER SON AND DAUGHTER.
RUBENS. LOUVRE, PARIS]
THE HARP OF THE WINDS
HOMER MARTIN (1836-1897)
About a dozen years ago Europe began to wonder if America had any art
worth considering. She invited us to send samples of our paintings
that her critics might judge of our work. Among the pictures selected
was Homer Martin's "The Harp of the Winds." At once Europe saw that an
American artist had painted a masterpiece.
This scene is on the River Seine, a short distance from Paris. Was
anything ever more simple? Slender willow-trees almost leafless, bare
rocks with a few scrubby bushes, a tiny village sheltered in a curve
of the river--what is there to suggest a picture? And yet something
grips us. We seem to be at the beginnings of creation. Nature is
confiding in us. We are hearing the winds play on the harp to the
listening river. See how lovingly the water mirrors those harp strings
all sparkly with gold and green! I wonder if these willows make a harp
or a lyre with their tall stalks reaching to the sky? Do you remember
how, when Mercury found a tortoise, he took the shell and made holes
on both sides and strung nine strings across it--one for each
Muse--and gave it to Apollo? I think this Harp of the Winds has nine
strings in memory of Mercury's lyre.
[Illustration: FIG. 34. THE HARP OF THE WINDS. MARTIN. Courtesy of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]
THE TRIBUTE MONEY
TITIAN, OR TIZIANO VECELLI (1477-1576)
Every child must know "The Tribute Money," painted by Titian, for no
artist understood the scene better than he did. Remember that the bad
men in Palestine were determined to find something that Jesus, the
Christ, had done against the Roman Government so they could trap him.
At last they sent one in authority to question him.
But Jesus said, "Bring me a penny, that I may see it." And they
brought him a penny.
And Jesus said, "Whose is this image and superscription?"
And the man was forced to say, "Caesar's."
Then Jesus made that famous reply that people use so often to-day:
"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things
that are God's."
Titian shows the moment when the tax-gatherer must say that the penny
belonged to Caesar, the Roman emperor. It had Caesar's portrait on it
and Caesar's demands written on it. Look carefully at the two faces and
the two hands, and tell me what you think of the two men as Titian
shows them to us.
[Illustration: Courtesy of Pratt Institute
FIG. 35. THE TRIBUTE MONEY. TITIAN. DRESDEN GALLERY]
THE MAIDS OF HONOR
DIEGO RODRIGUEZ DE SILVA Y VELASQUEZ (1599-1660)
If it had not been for Velasquez we should know very little about the
little princes and princesses of Spain in the time of Philip IV, about
the middle of the sixteenth century. He made many portraits of these
children, especially of the little Princess Margarita.
One day when Velasquez was painting a portrait of Philip IV, the
king's little daughter Margarita came into the room attended by her
maids of honor and a splendid dog. The king was so delighted with the
little group that he told Velasquez to make a picture of them just as
they stood there before him. Now look at the picture and you will see
in the looking-glass at the back of the room the reflection of the
king and the queen. At the easel stands Velasquez, the artist, with
his palette and brushes. The wee fair-haired princess is the center of
the group. The strange-looking little women, her maids of honor, are
dwarfs. And see what a magnificent fellow the dog is, lying so
contentedly on the floor right in front of us.
When the picture was finished, and the people went to see it, many of
them asked, "Where is the picture?" The little Margarita and her maids
are so alive and those people standing around seem so real that no one
thought they could be painted on canvas.
Velasquez made such wonderfully real likenesses that some one told
this story of one: One day the King came to Velasquez's studio and
seeing, as he supposed, one of his admirals whom he had sent to take a
command a few days before, he spoke angrily:
"What! still here? Did I not command you to depart? Why have you not
obeyed?" Of course the admiral did not answer, and then the king found
that he had been angry at a portrait.
[Illustration: FIG. 36. THE MAIDS OF HONOR. VELASQUEZ. MADRID GALLERY,
SPAIN]
THE NYMPHS
JEAN BAPTISTE CAMILLE COROT (1796-1875)
Everybody loved Pere Corot--Papa Corot, as he was called. His happy
manner and lovely smile won for him the name of the "happy one." I
want you to know what Papa Corot says, in a letter to a friend, about
himself and his painting. He writes:
"Look you, it is charming, the day of a landscapist. He gets up at
three in the morning, before sunrise, goes and sits under a tree, and
watches and waits. Not much can be seen at first. Nature is behind a
veil. Everything smells sweet.
"Ping! a ray of yellow light shoots up. The veil is torn, and meadow
and valley and hill are peeping through the rent.
"Bing, bing! the sun's first ray--another ray--and the flowers awake
and drink a drop of quivering dew. The leaves feel cold and move to
and fro. Under the leaves unseen birds are singing softly. The flowers
are saying their morning prayers.
"Bam! the sun has risen. Bam! a peasant crosses the field with a cart
and oxen. Ding! ding! says the bell of the ram that leads the flock of
sheep.
"Bam! bam! all bursts--all glitters--all is full of light, blond and
caressing as yet. The flowers raise their heads. It is adorable. I
paint! I paint!
"Boom! boom! boom! The sun aflame burns the earth. Everything becomes
heavy. Let us go home. We see too much now. Let us go home."
You see now why Corot could paint such a lovely picture as "The
Nymphs." He saw these gauzy creatures in the early morning light and
painted them before the sun scattered them to the four winds.
[Illustration: FIG. 37. THE NYMPHS. COROT. LOUVRE, PARIS]
ST. FRANCIS PREACHING TO THE BIRDS
GIOTTO DI BONDONE (1266?-1337)
One time more than six hundred years ago St. Francis preached the
dearest sermon to "My Sisters the Birds" that you ever heard. He said
to them as they lifted their little heads to listen to his words:
"Ye are beholden unto God your Creator, and always and in every place
it is your duty to praise him! Ye are bounden to him for the element
of the air which he has deputed to you forever-more. You sow not,
neither do you reap. God feeds you and gives you the streams and
fountains for your thirst. He gives you the mountains and the valleys
for your refuge, tall trees wherein to make your nests, and inasmuch
as you neither spin nor reap God clothes you and your children, hence
ye should love your Creator greatly, and therefore beware, my sisters,
of the sins of ingratitude, and ever strive to praise God."
St. Francis then made the sign of the Cross and sent the birds north,
south, east, and west to carry the story of the Cross to all mankind.
When Giotto, who painted this picture of "St. Francis Preaching to the
Birds," was a little boy, he took care of his father's sheep in the
fields. One day a noted painter, Cimabue, found Giotto drawing a sheep
on a flat rock with colored stones. The picture of the sheep was so
lifelike that the great man asked the boy, Giotto, to go with him and
become an artist. He went, and one day years afterward the pope sent
to Giotto for a sample of his work. Giotto sent him a big round O. It
pleased the pope to find a man so original, and he gave Giotto many
orders for pictures. To-day the saying is "Round as Giotto's O."
[Illustration: Courtesy of Pratt Institute
FIG. 38. ST. FRANCIS PREACHING TO THE BIRDS. GIOTTO. UPPER CHURCH,
ASSISI, ITALY]
THE GOVERNESS
JEAN BAPTISTE SIMEON CHARDIN (1699-1779)
When Chardin began to paint pictures he went into the French homes and
painted pictures of brass pots and kettles, of fruits and vegetables.
Then he took common scenes of life and gave us a number of pictures
showing just what was going on in the homes and back yards.
The French people were not used to having an artist see beauty in the
every-day things they were doing; artists had been painting the rich
for the rich. Everybody began to love the pictures Chardin painted.
This is a very simple story in "The Governess." The child--is it a boy
or a girl?--is now ready to go to school. He--I believe he is a
boy--is hearing some advice, and I do not think he is pleased, for he
has a little frown on his face. His dress is peculiar. The French
children two hundred years ago did not dress as you do to-day. He is
the same kind of a child that you are, I am sure, and you and he would
soon be great friends.
Chardin's color was so wonderful that one of his artist friends cried
out: "O Chardin! it is not white, red, or black that you grind to
powder on your palette; it is the air and the light that you take on
the point of your brush and fix on canvas."
Chardin's pictures are as beautiful and bright to-day as they were
when he painted them.
[Illustration: FIG. 39. THE GOVERNESS. CHARDIN. LIECHTENSTEIN GALLERY,
VIENNA]
THE LAST SUPPER
LEONARDO DA VINCI (1452-1519)
I want you to know the disciples of Jesus just as Leonardo da Vinci
painted them four hundred years ago. Leonardo spent months among the
men of Milan, Italy, looking into their faces and talking with them.
When he began to paint "The Last Supper" he had gathered men together
so like these twelve disciples that we feel we can know them as Jesus
knew them. For three years those men of old walked with Jesus and
talked with him as they went up and down Palestine; and at last, on
that wonderful night, they met with Him in the upper chamber to eat
with Him the Last Supper. Those disciples did not know that it was the
last meal they would eat with Jesus before he was hung on the cross.
We shall begin in the center of the table and name the disciples as
Leonardo has them in the picture. First is the Savior. At his left is
James with his arms spread out in distress; back of him is Thomas with
his finger uplifted; then Philip rising with his hand on his heart;
next Matthew, his arms pointing to the Savior while he turns toward
the two near the end; next to him is Thaddeus; and then Simon. On the
other side of Jesus sits John, the beloved disciple. His hands are
folded and his eyes are cast down. Next to John is Judas, the
betrayer; he holds the bag clutched in his right hand and near him is
the overturned salt cellar. Leaning back of Judas is Peter with one
hand on John's shoulder; next to Peter is Andrew; then James, the
less, laying one hand on Peter's arm. At the end of the table is
Bartholomew, who has risen resting his hands on the table. These men
are all asking, "Is it I?" For Jesus had said, "He it is to whom I
give a sop."
[Illustration: FIG. 40. THE LAST SUPPER. LEONARDO DA VINCI. SANTA
MARIA DELLE GRAZIE, MILAN]
SIR GALAHAD
GEORGE FREDERICK WATTS (1818-1904)
Of all the stories of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table
none is so strange as that of Sir Galahad. Its beginning is in the
upper chamber at the Last Supper with Jesus and his disciples. Legend
says that the cup used by our Savior at the Last Supper was the Holy
Grail. Joseph of Arimathea, who bought the cup from Pontius Pilate,
used it to catch the blood that flowed from the pierced side of our
Lord. The cup, or Holy Grail, was kept in the Convent of the Holy
Grail by the descendants of Joseph of Arimathea.
The cup had marvelous powers in the hands of a perfect knight.
Centuries passed and no perfect knight came to claim the Holy Grail.
Then King Arthur founded the Knights of the Round Table. One seat at
the round table was always vacant waiting for the sinless youth. Many
tried to sit in the "seat perilous," as it was called, but the seat
let each one down to disappear forever.
At last an old man--Joseph of Arimathea himself--brought a boy and
seated him in the vacant chair. The knights were frightened but the
boy sat unharmed and above the seat appeared the words:
THIS IS THE SEAT OF GALAHAD
King Arthur knighted him and sent him forth to find the Holy Grail.
Years went by and awful trials and temptations came to Sir Galahad. He
did not yield to the bad things that came, but kept looking for the
Holy Grail. At last he held the cross before his face to keep off his
tormentors when before his eyes he saw the cup, and the power of the
Holy Grail came to him.
This picture of Sir Galahad in Eton College, England, hangs in the
chapel opposite the entrance door where each boy passes in on his way
to morning and evening prayers.
[Illustration: FIG. 41. SIR GALAHAD. WATTS. ETON COLLEGE, ENGLAND]
THE DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE AND
HER CHILD
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723-1792)
Sir Joshua Reynolds ought to be called "the painter of little girls."
No artist ever painted a larger number of little girls. And no artist
ever knew better than he how to get the confidence of children, boys
or girls.
One time a little boy in London was to carry a flag in a procession.
What do you think he did? He went to Sir Joshua Reynolds, the artist
whom no one dared to interrupt, and asked him if he would paint a flag
for him. This pleased the great man. When the boy proudly displayed
his flag, every one asked:
"Where did you get such a wonderful flag?"
You can guess how proud the boy was to say, "Sir Joshua Reynolds
painted it for me!"
This picture of "The Duchess of Devonshire and her Child" is one of
the greatest pictures Sir Joshua ever painted. The original painting
is now in the magnificent country seat of the Duke of Devonshire at
Chatsworth, England. Sir Joshua had a way of making his pictures
sparkle and glisten that was unknown to other artists. One of our own
artists, Gilbert Stuart, when in London, was copying a very valuable
portrait by Sir Joshua. He thought he saw one of the eyes move. He was
horrified to find that it really was moving down on the cheek. He
grabbed the picture and ran into a cold room and then worked the eye
back in place. The secret was out! Sir Joshua Reynolds had used wax to
make his pictures glitter and, alas, the glitter would not last.
[Illustration: FIG. 42. THE DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE AND HER CHILD.
REYNOLDS. ROYAL GALLERY, WINDSOR]
ST. AGNES AND HER LAMB
ANDREA DEL SARTO (1486-1531)
One of the most beautiful pictures of "St. Agnes and her lamb" was
painted by Andrea del Sarto,--"Andrea the faultless," as he was
called. It is in the cathedral at Pisa.
St. Agnes was a Roman girl who lived three hundred years after the
birth of Jesus. Her father and mother were heathens, but their little
daughter became a Christian when a mere child. She did not tell her
parents that she loved Jesus, but when she refused to worship idols
they knew that she had become a disciple of the Master Christ. This
made them so angry that they handed her over to the Roman rulers to be
punished. These wicked men tried in every way to persuade Agnes to bow
down to their gods made of wood and stone. When she would not bow down
to them they tried to force her to worship the idols.
They gave her over to the soldiers and ordered them to take her
clothes away, but immediately her hair grew and covered her, and
angels came and gave her a shining white garment. She even refused to
marry the son of the Roman magistrate. The son thought that he could
compel her to consent to the marriage after she was persecuted, but he
was struck blind when he tried to see her.
When St. Agnes saw what great sorrow came to the home of the young
nobleman because he was blind, she prayed for him and his eyesight
came again. His father was so thankful that he pleaded for her life,
but the people said,
"She is a sorceress: she must die." Then they tried to burn her, but
the flames burned her tormentors and did her no harm. At last she was
killed with a sword. She is always represented with a lamb.
Michael Angelo wrote to Raphael about Andrea del Sarto: "There is a
little fellow in Florence who, if he were employed as you are upon
great works, would make it hot for you."
[Illustration: Courtesy of Pratt Institute
FIG. 43. ST. AGNES AND HER LAMB. ANDREA DEL SARTO. PISA CATHEDRAL,
ITALY]
WHISTLER'S MOTHER
JAMES ABBOTT MCNEILL WHISTLER (1834-1903)
The story about Whistler and his mother is rather a sad one. He went
to Europe when he was a young painter and told his mother as he
started that he would come home to her when he had made a success. But
he never made a success in money. He painted this picture of his
mother and for twenty years tried to sell it. He offered it to his own
country--the United States--for five hundred dollars. We were so
stupid that we did not know that the picture was a masterpiece and
that no amount of money could buy it later on. But the people of Paris
began to feel that Whistler, the American artist, was a great master,
and the city bought the picture, "Whistler's Mother." Of course we can
never own the picture now, although it is an American mother, unless
the French people should give it to us. But we do not deserve it, do
we?
After a number of years Whistler's mother went to Europe to make a
home for her wonderful son. She died in Chelsea, and to-day the mother
and son are side by side in the little churchyard of Chiswick, near
London.