PARIS]
ST. CHRISTOPHER
TITIAN, OR TIZIANO VECELLI (1477-1576)
Christopher, or Offero, was born in Palestine in the third century. He
was a giant in size but ignorant and poor. He felt that he could not
work for any one who was afraid of any one else. He wandered over the
country and at last he came to a powerful king and offered to work for
him. The king thought it very fine to have a giant for a servant. One
day Offero stood by the king's side while a minstrel sang a song about
Satan. Every time the name of Satan was spoken the king crossed
himself. Offero was puzzled, for he never had heard of Satan, nor of
Jesus. When he found that the king was afraid of Satan, Offero went to
find the man the king was afraid of.
Offero found Satan and became his servant. But as they went through
the land Offero saw that Satan always went away around the little
shrines. Offero asked Satan why he did that. Satan said he did not
like to come near the cross where was the crucified One. Then Offero
knew that he was afraid of Jesus.
He went out to find Jesus. At last an old hermit told Offero to go to
a river where people were often drowned and to carry every one across
on his back, and that maybe he would find Jesus. Offero built himself
a hut and spent years carrying people over the stream and no one was
drowned. One stormy night Offero thought he heard a child's voice
calling him. He went out two or three times. At last the child
appeared and asked Offero to carry him over. Offero started. The storm
grew worse and the water rose high and the child grew very, very
heavy. When Offero set the child down, he said, "I feel as though I
had carried the whole world!" The child answered:
"Offero, you have carried the maker of the world. I am Jesus, whom you have
sought. You shall be called Christ-Offero--the Christ-bearer--from now
on."
[Illustration: FIG. 45. ST. CHRISTOPHER. TITIAN. DOGES' PALACE,
VENICE]
THE BLUE BOY
THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH (1727-1788)
Gainsborough began to draw and paint when he was a child. He often
entertained his companions by drawing pictures for them while they
read the lessons to him.
One morning Thomas got up with the sun and went out into the garden to
sketch. There was in the garden a wonderful pear-tree full of ripe
pears, and the pears had been disappearing very mysteriously. While
Thomas was making his drawings he saw a man's face appear suddenly
above the stone wall. He quickly made a sketch of the face, and
frightened the man before he could get away with the fruit. At the
breakfast-table the young artist told his father what he had done and
showed him the sketch. His father knew the man and sent for him. When
the man was accused of stealing the pears he denied it, but when he
was shown the picture Thomas had made of him he confessed that he had
taken the pears.
Artists, like all of us, want to lay down rules for every one to
follow who is doing their same kind of work. Sir Joshua Reynolds said,
"The masses of light in a picture ought to be always of a warm, mellow
colour--yellow, red, or yellowish white; and the blue, the grey, or
green colours should be kept almost entirely out of the masses."
Gainsborough did not agree with him. To show Sir Joshua that he was
wrong Gainsborough painted pictures in blue and green. The famous
"Blue Boy" alone proved that he was right. The boy has on a blue satin
suit and he stands out-of-doors in green grass with green foliage and
blue sky around him. When Sir Joshua saw Gainsborough's blue-green
pictures he said frankly, "I cannot think how he produces his
effects."
These two men were never good friends yet when Gainsborough was near
death Sir Joshua Reynolds came to his bedside, and when Gainsborough
died Reynolds was one of the pall-bearers.
[Illustration: FIG. 46. THE BLUE BOY. GAINSBOROUGH. Private Gallery,
Henry Huntington, Los Angeles, California]
THE SLEEPING GIRL
JAN VAN DER MEER OF DELFT (1632-1675)
I want you to know and love the Dutch pictures. The painters were
called "little masters," simply because they painted small pictures
for the homes. For the homes! The Dutch wanted pictures to hang on
their walls; pictures they could live with. Now what do you think of
the "Sleeping Girl"? Do you know I could live with that picture and
feel that I always had something to make me happy? It is so homy. See
how comfortable the girl is! Of course a good healthy girl has no
business to be sleeping in the daytime, but we can forgive her now
that van der Meer has caught her asleep and let us see her. Then look
at that wonderful rug! Was ever anything so soft and velvety? If we
knew about rugs we might tell its name and maybe its age.
Van der Meer had a way of catching people without their knowing it. He
seems to have cut a piece out of the wall where he peeped in and
painted what he saw. We are glad the girl left the door open into
another room so that we can see the table and pictures and part of the
window-frame. I think these things are reflected in a looking-glass.
Van der Meer painted only about forty pictures, and eight of those are
in the United States. They are among our greatest art treasures.
[Illustration: FIG. 47. THE SLEEPING GIRL. VAN DER MEER. Courtesy of
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]
ST. ANTONY AND THE CHRIST-CHILD
BARTHOLOME ESTEBAN MURILLO (1618-1682)
Many very curious legends are told of St. Antony of Padua, who died in
1231. He was a close friend of St. Francis (see "St. Francis and his
Birds," page 76). One story says that one time he was preaching about
the Savior when the child Jesus came and sat on his open Bible. It is
this story that Murillo painted his picture to illustrate. Again and
again Murillo has shown us St. Antony with the Christ-child, but never
more beautifully than here. This is one of Murillo's greatest
religious pictures.
Another story is told of St. Antony. One day he was preaching the
funeral sermon of a rich young man when he exclaimed:
"His heart is buried in his treasure-chest; go seek it there and you
will find it."
Sure enough when the friends of the rich young man opened the
treasure-chest there was the heart, and no heart was found in the
young man's dead body.
[Illustration: FIG. 48. ST. ANTHONY AND THE CHRIST-CHILD. MURILLO.
MUSEUM OF SEVILLE, SPAIN.]
KING LEAR
EDWIN AUSTIN ABBEY (1852-1911)
The story of "King Lear" is one of the most pitiful of Shakespeare's
play. It is about the thanklessness of children to a father. Old _King
Lear_ had three daughters--_Goneril_, _Regan_, and _Cordelia_. He
loved these daughters dearly and he believed that they loved him. As
he grew old in life he thought he would divide his kingdom and
property among them equally; then there would be no trouble about his
wealth after he was dead. Of course he expected to make his home with
them in turn as long as he lived. Naturally he went to _Goneril_, the
eldest daughter, first. Very soon he found that he was not wanted. She
had the money--her father's money--but why should she be troubled with
her old father? He then went to _Regan_, his second child, but she too
refused to make a home for him. The third daughter, _Cordelia_, loved
her father dearly and wanted him to live with her that she might care
for him in his old age. By a strange mishap the old father thought
that _Cordelia_, his beloved child, was false to him. He wandered off
on the heath in a fearful storm and at last found shelter in a hut
where he thinks even his faithful dogs are against him. He cries out
pitifully:
The little dogs and all,
Tray, Blanche and Sweetheart, see they bark at me.
Abbey has painted the scene when the old king is leaving heart-broken,
for he thinks _Cordelia_, the child he loves best, is deserting him.
_Cordelia_, knowing how false her sisters are, is saying:
I know you what you are;
And, like a sister, am most loath to call
Your faults as they are named. Love well our father.
Abbey's story of "The Holy Grail" in the Boston Library is one of
America's great series of paintings for wall decoration.
[Illustration: FIG. 49. KING LEAR. ABBEY. Courtesy of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York City.]
SUNSET IN THE WOODS
GEORGE INNESS (1825-1894)
Whenever you can, I want you to find out what the painter says about
his own pictures. We feel very glad that George Inness told us about
"Sunset in the Woods." He said in 1891: "The material for my picture
was taken from a sketch made near Hastings, on the Hudson, New York,
twenty years ago. This picture was commenced seven years ago, but
until last winter I had not obtained any idea equal to the impression
received on the spot. The idea is to express an effect of light in the
woods at sunset."
What a wonderful glow he has on those trees beyond the big rock away
back in the picture. And see the light on the trunk of the big tree
near us. I believe the light is gradually disappearing as we look.
Somehow we feel the birds are twittering as they go to bed and the
flowers are nodding their heads, they are so sleepy. Soon it will be
dark and the owl will screech and the night insects will buzz. Come,
we must go home or we cannot see our way!
[Illustration: FIG. 50. SUNSET IN THE WOODS. INNESS. Courtesy of the
Corcoran Art Gallery, Washington, D. C.]
INDEX
Abbey, Edwin Austin, 98, 99
Angelico, Fra Giovanni, 38, 39
Angelo, Michael, 23, 24, 86
Arthur, King, 82, 83
Bastien-Lepage, Jules, 22, 23
Botticelli, Sandro, 46, 47
Breton, Jules Adolphe, 58, 59
Caesar (Tiberius), 70
Carpaccio, Vittore, 54, 55
Chardin, Jean Baptiste Simeon, 78, 79
Charles I, 16, 28, 42
Charles II, 41, 43
Charles V, 32
Charles VI, VII, 22
Corot, Jean Baptiste Camille, 8, 9, 74, 75
Correggio, Antonio, 6, 7, 60, 61
Constable, John, 4, 5
Disciples, The, 80, 81
Dolci, Carlo, 20
Farge, John La, 48, 49
Ferdinand III, 20
Fourment, Helena, 66, 67
Gainsborough, Thomas, 92, 93
Galahad, Sir, 82, 83
Giotto di Bondone, 76, 77
Gods and Goddesses,
Apollo, 10, 11, 36, 37, 68
Aurora, 9, 10
Atropos, (a fate), 24, 25
Calliope, (a muse), 36, 37
Clio (a muse), 36, 37
Clothes, (a fate), 24, 25
Diana, 36
Erato (a muse), 36, 37
Euterpe, (a muse), 36, 37
Fates, The, 24, 25, 48
Horae, 10, 11
Hyperion, 10, 11
Lachesis (a fate), 24, 25
Melpomene (a muse), 36, 37
Memnon, 10
Memory, 36
Mercury, 36, 68
Muses, The, 36, 37, 68
Pegasus, 36
Polyhymnia (a muse), 36, 37
Selene, 10
Thalia (a muse), 36, 37
Urania (a muse), 36, 37
Zeus, 10, 36
Hals, Frans, 12, 13
Homer, Winslow, 18, 19
Hooch, Pieter de, 44, 45
Inness, George, 100, 101
James II, 42
Jesus, 2, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 60, 64, 80, 81, 90, 91
Joan of Arc, 22, 23
Joseph of Arimathea, 82
Lear, King, 98, 99
Maes, Nicolaes, 52, 53
Magnificent, The, 46
Martin, Homer, 68, 69
Medici, Giovanni de' (Pope Leo X), 46
Medici, Giulio de (Pope Clement VII), 46
Medici, Lorenzo de', 46
Millet, Jean Francois, 62, 63
Murillo, Bartolome Esteban, 34, 35, 96, 97
Napoleon, 56
Offero, 90, 91
Philip IV, 72
Pintoricchio, Bernardino, 2, 3
Raphael Sanzio, 20, 21, 26, 27, 64, 65, 86
Rembrandt, van Rijn. 30, 31, 40, 41, 50, 51, 86
Reni, Guido, 10, 11
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, 84, 85, 92
Romano, Giulio, 36, 37
Rubens, Peter Paul, 16, 28, 29, 66, 67
Stuart, Gilbert, 84
Sarto, Andrea del, 86
Saints,
Agnes, 86, 87
Anthony, 96, 97
Barbara, 14, 15
Cecilia, 64, 65
Christopher, 90, 91
Elizabeth, 2
Francis, 76, 77, 96
George, 54, 55
Jerome, 6, 7, 8
John the Baptist, 2
Joseph, 2, 60
Mary, (Madonna, virgin), 2, 6, 20, 26, 32, 46, 60
Michael, 22
Paul, 64, 65
Titian Vecelli, 32, 33, 70, 71, 90, 91
Turner, Joseph Mallard William, 56, 57
Van der Meer, Jan, 94, 95
Van Dyck, Anthony, 12, 16, 17, 28, 42, 43
Vecchio, Palma, il Jacopo, 14, 15
Velasquez, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y, 72, 73
Venice, 56, 57
Vinci, Leonardo da, 80, 81
Watts, George Frederick, 82, 83
Whistler, James Abbott McNeill, 88, 89
William III, 42
Wordsworth, 58
Zacharias, 2