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HAND BOOK 
 
 OF 
 
 ClK Fierce Art Colleciion 
 
 Of Heproductions of the Masterpieces of Painting, from the 
 Thirteenth to the Twentieth Century, with Suggestions 
 for the Use and Enjoyment of the Col- 
 lection and a Brief History of 
 the Development of the 
 Art of Painting. 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 DEC 1 2 192b 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 THE 
 
 Kewanee Public library 
 
 KEWANEE. ILLINOIS 
 
 1912 
 
The unusual opportunity for the study and enjoyment of 
 The Aet of Painting afforded by The Kewaneb Public 
 Library is due to the generosity of MR, AND MRJS. THOMAS 
 P. PIERCE^ who donated the collection. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 708.1 
 
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 Cf) 
 
 Si 
 
 I 
 
 As the paintings of the masters are scattered here and there 
 in various galleries, churches and private collections, they are 
 not accessible to everyone and can only be known by means of 
 copies. The best modern processes of reproduction in prints, 
 in color or in black and white are quite successful in giving not 
 only the color value and beauty of composition, but in reflect- 
 ing the spirit of the originals. 
 
 Kealizing the lack of advantages for artistic development 
 and desiring to encourage the aesthetic sense in the commun- 
 ity, this unique collection was presented to the Kewanee Public 
 Library by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas P. Pierce at the dedication 
 of the new library building, April 21, 1908. The collection con- 
 sists of one hundred and forty-six reproductions in carbon print, 
 photogravure and color taken from the original works, and is 
 designed to accomplish a three-fold purpose: to stimulate and 
 foster the love of art; to provide opportunity for the study of 
 that form of it which is expressed through the medium of 
 brush and color; to illustrate the rise, growth and progress of 
 painting from the dawn of the Renaissance to the present 
 century. 
 
 The pic-tures hang chronologicallj^ on the walls, the ai'tists 
 of one country being set side by side with those of another in 
 the order in which they come into prominence, so that the 
 pictorial development of the world’s ari during a period of 
 seven centuries can be traced step by step. Moreover, interest- 
 ing contemporary comparisons can be made. For the repro- 
 ductions not only show the style, characteristics and motives 
 of each individual painter, but reveal the manner of life, the 
 customs, and even the costumes of the various countries in 
 which each lived and worked. 
 
 To supplement the collection with a guide which would 
 be in any degree adequate and would be of practical help to 
 those who might wish to carry their study beyond an examina- 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 709319 
 
tion of the pictures, it seemed necessary to include a certain 
 amount of historical as well as descriptive text. Consequently, 
 the handbook is so arranged that beside obtaining some idea 
 of the masterpieces themselves, any who desire can gain a 
 general knowledge of individual artists and connecting art 
 history without referring to other books. 
 
 A good picture gallery is a veritable treasure house of 
 beauty and delight; a fairy palace full of bright fancies, 
 satisfied memories and noble ideals. The busy, work-a-day 
 world goes hurrying past little dreaming of the store of wealth 
 within reach, which may be had for the taking. 
 
 Good pictures fill quite as distinct and important a place 
 in the complete rounding out of one’s intellectual equipment 
 as good books or good music. Entered into seriously, picture 
 study brings about surprising results. It leads to the develop- 
 ment of tavSte ; to the recognition and appreciation of beauty not 
 only in pictures, but in everything that holds it. Further, it 
 cultivates an entirely new and a broader way of looking at the 
 vast panorama of nature and life as well as the ability to dis- 
 criniinate between that which is really good and that which 
 has little meaning or is commonplace. 
 
 There is a world of beauty in pictures which often escapes 
 notice because one does not quite know how to look for it. To 
 rightly enjoy and interpret them requires some understanding 
 of the painter’s language and juirpose. EndoAved AAuth a tem- 
 perament, a point of view peculiar to himself, the artist sees 
 much of interest and beauty that is neither perceived nor 
 imagined bj^ most of us; more than this, he has a particular 
 Avay of looking at things— a way very different from our O'vn — 
 and as he sees, so he endeavors to represent. As the poet with 
 his verse or the musician with his harmonies so the painter 
 Avith his color and bmsh gives expression to his thoughts, feel- 
 ings or experiences. For Avhatever its form art in its highest 
 sense is, after ail, only the means of erpvemon and the painter 
 as Avell as his felioAV craftsman has a special medium through 
 Avhich he reveals himself. 
 
 The true understanding of a picture can best be reached by 
 approaching it from the standpoint of its painter ; only in this 
 
 4 
 
way can one discover liis conception of a subject or his motive 
 in painting it, and a part of the task of the appreciator is to 
 penetrate the artist’s real intention and accept his work for 
 what he designed it to express. His object may have been 
 merely to imitate nature, to represent the effect of light, to em- 
 body some thought, some personal mood or impression; or it 
 may have been to express the subjective or inner meaning of 
 some phase of nature or life. Whatever his aim, one is sure 
 to feel the presence of the man behind it and gain a glimpse 
 into a new region of individual experience; for always the 
 painter feels the spirit that responds to his own and be that 
 v^hat it may, it is one of the greatest delights of picture study 
 to find it. To pass a picture by because, at first glance, it 
 seems to hold little that is attractive or that appeals to one’s 
 owm personal taste, is often to miss something of real interest 
 and significance. 
 
 Pictures, like i)eople, have individual character and charm, 
 and, naturally, vary in their appeal according to the taste and 
 temperament of each observer. All will not derive the same 
 measure of enjoyment nor arrive at the same conclusion of the 
 artist’s intent; but each may appropriate that which is espe- 
 cially interesting and satisfying to himself, and may reach the 
 goal of appreciation ])v any path he chooses to take. There 
 is no one exclusive highway to he followed by everyone in the 
 endeavor to discover the personal message a great picture has 
 for those who seek it. 
 
 Each may find and claim his own and may enter in his 
 own ^Ysry into the delight, the joy, the inspiration good pictures 
 give — the inheritance belongs to ali. 
 
OUTLINE 
 
 During the mediaeval age, which preceeded the thirteenth 
 century, a long period of stagnation occurred when ai*t and so- 
 ciety were dominated by faith and tradition. Byzantine art, 
 which flourished at Constantinople during this period, was an 
 art richly decorative in effect, but wholly destitute of beauty in 
 form, feature or expression. It was pitifully lifeless, conven- 
 tional, morbid, eloquent of mediaeval darkness and well suited 
 the view of life held during the Middle Ages. Its influence 
 was wide spread, of long duration and pernicious in effect, 
 crushing out all originality or creative power in the artist and 
 existing only for religious teaching and the purpose of decora- 
 tion. This apathetic condition, so destructive to all artistic de- 
 velopment, continued until about the middle of the thirteentii 
 century. Then, in Italy, there were signs of an awakening. 
 The revolt of artists against Byzantine methods; the natural 
 love of the world ; the growing desire for individual expression 
 aided by the general intellectual stir caused by the re-discov- 
 ery of antiquity, were among the influences which effected the 
 dawn of the period known as the Renaissance. 
 
 This great revival of learning and the return to the study 
 of nature had its birth and inspiration in Italy, gradually 
 spread to other countries, and ultimately produced our modern 
 literaiy and artistic civilization. To aid toward a cleai*er 
 understanding of the various stages of the development and 
 progress of this Renaissance movement as it reached the vari- 
 ous countries, a brief summary is here added giving a birds-eye 
 view of the entire field as represented by the collection. 
 
 After Italian artists began to break away from Byzantine 
 tradition and see the world for themselves, their first efforts 
 wei*e directed towards a traer imitation of life and nature. 
 The first step was taken by Cimabue, who departed slightly 
 from long established niles. Giotto followed, making still 
 greater advancement; then came Masaccio and Mantegna, who 
 
 G 
 
succeeded in giving a decidedly natural appearance of life and 
 vigor to figures, until by degrees through the study of ancient 
 sculpture, artists reached great proficiency in rendering the 
 human form, but paid little attention as yet to nature’s appear- 
 ^ces or to the effects of natural light. 
 
 Instead, through the newly awakened interest in re-dis- 
 covered classic literature, the Italians were led to consider the 
 embodiment of ideas. In the fifteenth century they became 
 interested in a motive termed Idealism — the representation of 
 mental or spiritual ideas embodied in external form. There 
 was naturally some improvement along the line of landscape 
 and natural lighting, but the Italians w^ere mainly concerned 
 with form, color and composition-. Through the sixteenth 
 century, it was from the highest standpoint of abstract beauty 
 that artists looked at their subjects; this idealistic motive, com- 
 bined with the religious need and feeling of the age, was the 
 inspiration which produced the noble Italian picture of the 
 High Renaissance period. 
 
 With the seventeenth century came a change in political 
 conditions. The Italians preyed upon by foreign enemies, 
 weakened by dissension and strife among themselves, at length 
 lost their pride, their liberty and their high ideals. The loss 
 of political liberty accompanied by low^er social, moral and 
 religious standards, was inevitably followed by intellectual and 
 artistic decline. The glory of painting weaned and finally dis- 
 appeared in Italy, to reappear with vital force in other lands. 
 The great Renaissance movement for this nation was at an end. 
 
 During the ]:>rogress and growth of art in Italy the Ren- 
 aissance movement had reached other shores. Other countrias 
 had shown development and had likewise reached their periods 
 of perfection and decline. Flemish painting came into promi- 
 nence in the fourteenth centuiw with the Van Eycks. After 
 them it suffered a relative eclipse for over one hundred vears. 
 then reappeared and reached its climax with Rubens and Van 
 Dvek. After the passing of these mastem it followed French 
 methods. 
 
 In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, German art. 
 which had heretofore manifested little strength or individual- 
 
 7 
 
ity, reached its height with Diirer and Holbein ; with them it 
 showed the decided national characteristics of the German folk. 
 In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it declined and 
 passed into Italian and French imitation, but in the nineteenth 
 century revived and in a measure returned to natural motives. 
 
 Art in France showed no decided activity until the six- 
 teenth century when it developed under Francis I. For a long- 
 period the French followed Italian methods, but in the 
 eighteenth century a very representative type of art came into 
 vogue with Watteau and his followers. Nineteenth century 
 French art was dominated by classic and romantic methods. 
 
 The emotional impulse springing from romanticism com- 
 bined with the study of the old Dutch landscapists and the 
 English contemporary painter Constable, set artists to the close 
 study of nature and ultimately developed the Fontainebleau- 
 Barbizon School. The rendering of the exact vision of a mo- 
 ment, called Impressionism, was the latest movement in 
 French painting. 
 
 In the seventeenth century Spanish art, with Velasquez, 
 took upon itself an original stamp in realistic representation 
 and in the representation of natural light. After his death, 
 with few exceptions, it followed the models of France. In the 
 nineteenth century a new advance was made by artists of much 
 originalit}^ and strength. 
 
 In the seventeenth century, also, came the great art of 
 the Dutch people. Growing out of existing conditions, there 
 was developed in Holland, simultaneously with Spain, the 
 motive termed Realism — the representation of things as they 
 really appear to the eye. This motive held for a time, but after 
 Rembrandt, Dutch art degenerated into imitation and exag- 
 geration. In the nineteenth century there was a revival of 
 the realistic motive. 
 
 In the eighteenth century, that century so dead in art 
 all over the rest of Europe, British painting came forward with 
 Hogarth and Reynolds and new developments were made in the 
 art of portraiture and illustration. In the nineteenth century 
 through Constable, an original note was struck in landscape ; in 
 the same century, also, arose the pre-Raphaelite movement 
 
 8 
 
which exerted an important and powerful influence on English 
 art. 
 
 After the centennial in 1876 American art began to make 
 itself felt. Though for a time, following the methods of 
 older countries, America in the present century has taken her 
 place in landscape, portraiture, and other branches of art. The 
 realism of Holland and the discoveries of Velasquez in the 
 right rendering of appearances had a marked influence on 
 modern painting; the rendering of natural semblances, with 
 the additional motive of the personal impre.ssion of the 
 artist, has continued to be the main principle governing the 
 work of painters of most countries up to the present day. 
 
 In following the evolution of painting from the Byzantine 
 tradition which prevailed before Cimabue down to the methods 
 of present day painters, if will be noticed that after the artistic 
 instinct was freed from its long period of enforced represen- 
 tation, the moving impulse of the artist was always to reveal 
 himself. Through all the changes and occasional lapses into 
 impersonalities, there can be traced the slow but steadily in- 
 creasing development of the individual element, until in our 
 modern art the prominent note is the expression of the personal 
 feeling, of the point of view of the artist. 
 
 Noticeable also is the fact that in the main, there have 
 been two streams of motive — the idealistic and the realistic — 
 the former flowing from the artist’s desire to represent his 
 conception of ideal beauty, the latter from his love of nature 
 and life. These motives alternately reached their highest 
 flood because the conditions of the times supplied a public 
 need to which each in turn responded. Gradually both ten- 
 dencies underwent a change ; whereas both motives were origin- 
 ally concerned with form, they came later to be concerned 
 with light and individual expression. 
 
 The tendency today is not to put forth a univeraal con- 
 ception, but an individual belief. Individualism has become 
 the keynote of modern work. 
 
 9 
 
Descriptions of Reproductions. 
 
 With a Brief Account of 
 Artists and Schools. 
 
 BYZANTINE PAINTING. 
 
 In the year 328 A. D., the Emperor Constantine, removed 
 his capitol from Rome to Byzantium, a Greek colony on the 
 Bosphorus, rebuilt the city and named it Constantinople. The 
 first school of Christian painting later established here, was 
 called Byzantine, after the title of the older city. 
 
 Byzantine ari was a curious product. At this period it 
 seems to have been a mixture of degenerated Greek with Per- 
 sian and other Oriental art. Roman artists as they came to 
 the new capitol fought against its influence but the struggle 
 was a hopeless one. Artistic conditions were made still more 
 deplorable by the doctrine of asceticism which grew up during 
 the following centuries. This doctrine which taught the 
 mortification of the physical in favor of the spiritual, affected 
 art as well as religion ; pictures were entirely upon religioas 
 subjects and paintei’s were controlled by the Church. For 
 everything there was a ready-made model and from this model, 
 artists were never allowed to depart. Faces grew morose and 
 rigid, figures gaunt, heavy and wooden, until finally painting 
 lost all beauty of expression or feature and degenerated into a 
 system of conventional forms and symbols. 
 
 Poverty in drawing and artistic ignorance were concealed, 
 however, by gold encrusted backgrounds, gold halos, and costly 
 aCce.^ories of embroidery and jewels lavished upon garments. 
 The effect was garish, even splendid, but was very far from 
 nature. This style of painting flourished from the ninth to 
 the thirteenth century, gained a foothold in nearly every 
 country of Europe and had a disastrous effect upon all true 
 
 10 
 
art. Subsequent artists had great difficulty in overcoming its 
 influence. 
 
 MARGARITONE. 
 
 1216 - 1293 ? 
 
 Florentine. 
 
 Of Margaritone, whose work is the earliest represented in 
 the collection, little is known save that he was considered a fine 
 painter in his day. He came just before the Renaissance awak- 
 ening and was the last Italian artist to paint entirely in the 
 Byzantine manner. 
 
 1 . 
 
 MADONNA AND CHILD. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 To fully appreciate the advance made by artists after 
 they began to return to the truth of natural form — which is 
 true art — one needs first to look at a specimen of the prevail- 
 ing Byzantine picture. This panel is a good example. It is 
 divided into set divisions, the customary arrangement, and, 
 like all early art, speaks in symbols. 
 
 The Virgin, forbidding and severe, holds the Christ who 
 is represented as an adult, his right hand is raised in gesture of 
 blessing, his left holds a scroll upon which are written 
 the names of the redeemed. On either side, pictured in quaint, 
 grotesque symbolism, are scenes from the lives of the saints. 
 In the first panel to the left, St. John sits serene and calm in a 
 cauldron of boiling oil ; the outer panel represents the birth of 
 Christ. Below is the beheading and burial of St. Catherine; 
 next is St. Nicholas preaching to some sailors. In the first 
 upper panel to the right, St. John resuscitates the body of 
 Drusiana; farther on is seen St. Benedict throwing himself 
 into a bed of briars and nettles; (the thorns were supposed to 
 act as a counter irritant and drive from his mind unholy 
 thoughts). In the lower panel, St. Nicholas liberates three 
 debtors from prison, and in the last — ^the strangest of all these 
 
 11 
 
strange little panels — St. Margaret, having refused to abandon 
 her Christian faith, is swallowed and disgorged by a dragon. 
 
 This typical Byzantine example, although painted in 
 bright colors and decorated with gold, would seem to have little 
 in it to act as a spiritual stimulus to the observer, as altarpieces 
 were intended to do. But all these early paintings were de- 
 signed for some special place in a church, usually over the 
 high altar. And, going from the dazzling Italian sunshine 
 into the cool, dark buildings these altarpieces, with their 
 bright robed figures and gold backgrounds sparkling under the 
 illumination of tapers and swinging lamps, invariably attracted^ 
 the eye. Thus they served their purpose — that of directing the 
 mind into a devotional attitude. 
 
 Margaritone’s panel is very old, very morbid and unlovely. 
 But it is eloquent of the darkness of the period, and is an 
 interesting picture from which to follow the development of 
 painting. 
 
 12 
 
Italian Painting. 
 
 Florentine School. 
 
 The Byzantine method found its way into Italy probably 
 as early as the sixth century and practically crushed out the 
 native early Christian art. There were long years of surrender 
 to its influence, but in the thirteenth century the spirit of learn- 
 ing revived, the arts began to stir and painting finally emanci- 
 pated itself through the teachings of Cimabue and Giotto. 
 Among the various art schools which soon began to spring up 
 in different parts of Italy, the most famous and brilliant was 
 the Florentine which began with Cimabue, renewed its luster 
 for four hundred years and reached its climax with Leonardo 
 da Vinci, Michael Angelo and Raphael, the greatest masters of 
 the Renaissance. 
 
 The Florentines were better draughtsmen than colorists 
 or sentimentalists; they rather forsook sentiment for precision 
 of form and beauty of composition. Their art, doubtleas in- 
 fluenced by the social and intellectual conditions of Florence 
 and Rome, followed classical and literary as well as religious 
 subjects. Their chief medium was fresco. 
 
 CIMABUE. 
 
 1240 ?- 1802 ? 
 
 Florentine. 
 
 About tile middle of the thirteenth century, into the mys- 
 terious half light which preceeded the dawn of a new era of 
 beauty and progress, came Cimabue. For many centuries he 
 has been regarded as the father of Italian painting because he 
 was one of the first who ventured to assert his own individual- 
 ity and depart even in slight degree from the traditional repre- 
 sentation of sacred pictures. Cimabue worked in the so-called 
 Gothic period when painting was wholly in the service of the 
 Church. Byzantine influence was strong and though a growth 
 
 13 
 
toward the study of nature is noticeable the thing told was still 
 of more importance than the manner of telling. Cimabue, to 
 a great extent, followed the conventions of his Byzantine mas- 
 ters, yet he attempted to paint things as they really were. He 
 infused a new spirit into the art of Florence and inspired 
 succeeding artists to greater things than he himself was able 
 to accomplish. 
 
 2 . 
 
 MADONNA ENTHRONED. 
 
 AUTHORSHIP QUESTIONED. 
 
 Rucellai Chapel, Santa Maria Novella, Florence. 
 
 Pictorially, there is little that is attractive about Cimabue’s 
 Virgin and Child. It is only by comparing it with Margari- 
 tone’s panel that one realizes how much more unlovely the 
 earlier Madonnas were, and can form an idea of Cimabue’s 
 real progress. The Byzantine characteristics are here in the 
 melancholy face, the stiff, ill proportioned figure and the long 
 slim hands whose fingers seem to have more than the usual 
 number of joints. (The drawing of the hands and feet was a 
 hopeless problem with all early painters.) But placing 
 the two pictures side by side, one notices that Cimabue has 
 turned the Virgin’s head slightly, loosened the folds of the 
 draperies about her throat, and has given a thoughtful, human 
 expression to the face which is entirely lacking in the earlier 
 panel. 
 
 When put into competition with s\icli works as Margari- 
 tone’s, one begins to understand the rapturous admiration with 
 which this great altarpiece was hailed by the Florentines, wha 
 appointed a gala day when, in festival procession it was carried 
 from the artist’s house to the church and placed above the 
 altar. 
 
 Both the story of this Madonna and Cimabue’s place as a 
 reformer are now questioned by critics. But it would seem 
 that Cimabue must have felt the influence of the changes that 
 were at hand ; for though his advance is slight, the soul of the 
 picture begins to struggle through the features of the Virgin. 
 
 14 
 
This altar-piece still hangs in the same church in one of the 
 side chapels. 
 
 GIOTTO. 
 
 T266?-1337. 
 
 Florentine. 
 
 While Cimabue made slight changes, real revolution in art 
 occurred with Giotto, whose name is the foremost of the four- 
 teenth century and whose influence, with that of his followers, 
 dominated the whole art work of the period. He was a pupil of 
 Cimabue who, legend says, found him as a shepherd lad mak- 
 ing drawing of his sheep upon the flat stones of the hillside, 
 recognized his genius, and carried him off to educate him as a 
 painter. Although he soon outstripped his master, he could not 
 wholly throw off Byzantine traditions; he did, however, in- 
 troduce new, important changes over established methods. 
 Giotto made very perceptible improvements in modeling, per- 
 spective and composition, grouped his figures in more natural 
 attitudes and gave them a successful semblance of life and 
 motion. For the first time painted figures seem really to stand 
 or walk. Instead of having the effect of being pasted on the 
 background they even begin to be detached from their sur- 
 roundings so that one feels it possible to walk around them. 
 
 The inscription on Giotto’s tomb in the cathedral of Flor- 
 ence says with no little degTee of truth — “I am he who made 
 Painting, which was dead, alive again.” Like many artists of 
 his century Giotto was architect and sculptor as well as paint- 
 er; he was the designer of the beautiful Campanile in Florence, 
 one of the finest architectural works in Italy. 
 
 3 . 
 
 THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT. 
 
 Arena Chapel, Padua. 
 
 The religious revival led by the two monks St. Francis and 
 St. Dominic, brought about a revolution in art. New churches 
 were required, and as these buildings were usually large and 
 
 15 
 
plain the interior spaces of blank wall needed decoration. 
 Hence fresco painting (painting on wet plaster) came into 
 more general use. The walls of churches now became a kind 
 of pictorial Bible. They proved of material assistance in 
 religious teaching, for while the friars were sending forth 
 their scriptural interpretations from the pulpit, the eye could 
 follow each sacred event as pictured by the artist. In this 
 vivid and effective way, gospel lessons were impressed upon the 
 minds of unlettered people. 
 
 In the Arena Chapel, Padua, is a series of these Biblical 
 frescoes bj^ Giotto, illustrating, among other subjects, scenes 
 from the life of Christ. The Flight into Egypt, represents 
 the journey of the Holy Family as they flee from the wrath 
 of Herod. Giotto' follows the traditional representation, show- 
 ing Mary riding upon an ass holding the Child in her arms, 
 while Joseph fulfills his office as guide, the guardian angel 
 leading the way; but he departs from the old method in 
 illustrating the story instead of suggesting it. His appropriate 
 grouping and gestures make the scene a real one. 
 
 A great improvement will be noticed in the type of faces 
 as well as in the drawing of the figures; the two at the left 
 are especially natural in modeling and expression. In com- 
 paring these figures with Cimabue’s Madonna and Child, one 
 notices how much more graceful the draperies are, how much 
 better relief, roundness and motion are suggested in the forms. 
 It is evident, too, that Giotto went to nature for a model when 
 he painted the donkey, for this little animal is noticeabh^ 
 remarkable. If Giotto drew his sheep as well, little wonder 
 Cimabue foresaw a future artist in the young shepherd. 
 
 The landscape background is but a crude suggestion of 
 nature’s tmth. This feature of art had, as yet, received little 
 attention from painters and though Giotto’s attempt at per- 
 spective in his arrangement of the trees is not very successful, 
 it is far better than anything his predecessors had done. He 
 has succeeded, however, in giving a decidedly human touch 
 and a suggestion of sentiment in the attitude of the Child as 
 it rests in its mother’s arms. 
 
 16 
 
ORCAGNA. 
 
 1308 - 1368 . 
 
 Florentine. 
 
 A generation passed before there was an artist with suf- 
 ficient originality to advance the art of painting beyond Giotto. 
 Then came Orcagna, who still further advanced Giottesque 
 methods and united in himself all the art teachings of his 
 time. He made noticeable improvement in the drawing of 
 forms, in the representation of the natural appearance of 
 objects, also in color, perspective, and light. He is most inter- 
 esting on account of his famous frescos in the Campo Santo, 
 Pisa, wRere this sadly defaced composition may be found. 
 
 4 . 
 
 THE TRIUMPH OF DEATH. 
 
 Campo Santo, Pisa. 
 
 This singular picture is another of the wall paintings 
 used for the teaching of religious doctrine, but, as befits the 
 subject, it is much more dramatic than Giotto’s fresco. It has 
 the quaint grotesqueness and elaborate detail commonly found 
 in works of this type ’which are more frequently seen in the 
 North than in the South of Europe. In this pictorial object 
 lesson, the contrast of the pleasures of life with the horrors of 
 death, and the sudden, unexpected termination of all things 
 by the hand of the “Destroyer,” are set forth in a realistic if 
 somewhat gruesome fashion. 
 
 On the right of the immense rock which divides the pic- 
 ture, the figure of Death, with bat wdngs and a broad scythe, is 
 about to cut down his human harvest — a gay company of 
 ladies and cavaliers; he passes by, unheeding, a group of the 
 helpless and suffering wlio beseech to be released from their 
 miseries ; between these tw^o groups lie a heap of corpses already 
 cut down. The upper half of the fresco on this side is filled 
 with grotesque and terrible happenings. Angels and devils 
 contending for possession of souls, and various suggestions of 
 the torments which are the portion of the wicked. On the 
 extreme left, pleasure appears in the form of a gay hunting 
 
 17 
 
pally. Returning from the chase they pass an old hermit who 
 significantly points to an open sepulchre containing three 
 gruesome corpses ; above is a suggestion of the life of holy men 
 as they engage in their peaceful occupations. 
 
 The reproduction is too small to judge the merits of the 
 fresco, but one can notice the admirable action of the horses, 
 the natural attitudes of the riders and various other figures. 
 This peculiar work reflects the general trend of the thought 
 and teaching of the age. Whether men rode to the hunt 
 or sat at ease with music and laughter, they might forget for 
 a moment only, the presence of Death and the certainty of 
 final Judgment. 
 
 18 
 
Flemish Painting. 
 
 While the fine arts were gradually developing in Italy, the 
 art spirit had been working elsewhere, for about the time of 
 the death of Orcagna the little country of Flanders in the far 
 North, comes into prominence. In the Flemings one meets 
 with a radically different race with quite another impulse of 
 art expression. A nation of traders and craftsmen, the art of 
 Flanders reflected the types and characteristics of its own peo- 
 ple. Familiar with angular figures disguised in unshapely 
 garments instead of classic models clothed in classic draperies, 
 the artist of this cold climate was not concerned with the 
 beauty of the human form or of ideals , but gratified his artistic 
 instinct by faithfully copying the things that pertained to him- 
 self and his daily life. 
 
 As in all the countries of Europe, Flemish painting pic- 
 tured Christian subjects, but as the northerners filled with win- 
 dows of stained glass the vsist wall spaces which the Italians 
 gave up to fresco, their painted art was confined mostly to altar- 
 pieces or pictures of small size. Their means and methods 
 were quite original, for they were uninfluenced either by 
 Byzantine tradition or antique marbles. Their early art was 
 strongly realistic, exact, minute in detail, their compositions 
 crowded, their figures somewhat awkward. But they excelled 
 in representing textures, color, perspective and atmosphere. 
 
 Whereas the Italians idealized their figures, the early Flem- 
 ish painters gave a portrait-like character even to their represen- 
 tation of God, Christ, the Virgin Mary and saints. Their 
 work lacks the grandeur of the Italians, yet in pathos, sincerity 
 of sentiment and conscientious devotion, it is unsurpassed by 
 any fifteenth century art. 
 
 HUBERT AND JAN VAN EYCK. 
 
 1426? and 1381?-1440. 
 
 Flemish. 
 
 Little is known of the personal history of either of the Van 
 Eycks. It is certain, however, that they were the founders of 
 
 19 
 
the early Flemish School of paiDting, a school which developed 
 out of the national skill of craftsmanship in the minor arts of 
 decoration, goldsmith’s work, miniature painting, stained glass, 
 tapestry, embroidery and the like. To them, also, is given the 
 credit of the development and successful application of oil and 
 varnish in picture making; through this discovery enormous 
 advances were made in the fifteenth century. Jan Van Eyck 
 was one of the most perfect of Flemish painters, his work show- 
 ing exceptional qualities for his time. 
 
 5 . 
 
 TPIE ADORATION OF THE LAMB. 
 
 Altari^iece in the Church of St. Bavon, Ghent. 
 
 This composition has been called one of the most remark- 
 able ever painted in the Netherlands. The subject, taken 
 from the book of Revelation represents the crowning glory of 
 Redemption, “The Lamb of God which taketh away the sins 
 of the world.” 
 
 The work is in the form of a triptych — an altar-piece with 
 two wings — and contains twelve pictures. Eight of the parts 
 were scattered and are now at Berlin and Brussels, but are 
 replaced by copies so that an idea of this wonderful work 
 in its entirety and in the place for which it was painted, may, 
 still be obtained in Ghent. In the upper central panel, in 
 splendid robes, is represented the Godhead enthroned, hold- 
 ing in His left hand a sceptre, His right raised in the traditional 
 gesture of blessing. On His right is the Virgin holding a 
 book, on her right a group of singing choristers, in the last 
 panel stands the nude figure of Adam. On the left of the 
 Father, long haired and bearded, sits John the Baptist, an open 
 book upon his knees ; next is St. Cecelia playing upon an oaken 
 organ, accompanied by angels with viols and harps. In the 
 outer panel is the figure of Eve. 
 
 The Father, by His position, presides over the sacrifice 
 of the Lamb, which is represented in the central panel. This 
 scene is laid in a rolling landscape, where in the distance is 
 seen a Flemish city, doubtless intended to represent Jerusalem. 
 In the center upon an altar stands the Sacrificial Lamb, kneel- 
 
 20 
 
ing about are angels holding aloft the emblems of the Passion ; 
 advancing toward the altar on the right is a band of holy 
 women, on the left moves forward a procession of monks and 
 cardinals. Below, in the center of the foreground, stands a 
 fountain of crystal water with a group of apostles and popes 
 on the right, a band of prophets and philosophers on the left. 
 The lower panel to the right represents a band of pilgrims, in 
 the outer panel St. Christopher with his pole overtops the 
 host of his companions. On the left is a band of crusaders and 
 in the last division, with long hair and a dark fur cap Hubert 
 Van Eyck himself ambles forward on a white pony. In the 
 small division on the left above Adam, Cain and Abel are repre- 
 sented at their labor; on the opposite side, above Eve, is 
 represented the murder of Abel by his brother. 
 
 The reverse side of the wings is divided into three rows 
 of panels, the center representing the Annunciation. In the 
 lower row are four figures, St. John the Baptist, St. John the 
 Evangelist and the donor of this altar-piece and his wife. The 
 top row has small semicircular panels > which contain the 
 prophets Zachariah and Micah, the inner portions contain the 
 Cumean and Erythrean Sibyls. 
 
 The marvelous skill of early Flemish painting is fully 
 shown in this celebrated work. Every art of the craftsman 
 seems to have been employed in its execution. In the details 
 of landscape and architecture, in the rendering of textures and 
 the modeling of faces, the altar-piece is most remarkable for 
 this early period. There is not to be found in the whole Flem- 
 ish School a composition in which human figures are grouped, 
 designed or painted with so much perfection as in this repre- 
 .sentation of the mystic Lamb. 
 
 MEMLING. 
 
 1425 ?- 1495 ? 
 
 Flemish. 
 
 Hans Memling, the best loved painter in the Netherlands, 
 comes some fifty years later, and divides with the Van Eycks 
 the laurels of early Flemish art. This artist is seen at his best 
 in the Hospital of St. John at Bruges. Though differing vastly 
 
 21 
 
in temperament, in his methods he varied little from the former 
 masters; like them he excelled in the rendering of elaborate 
 material and costly accessories. While he had less force and 
 exactness than the Van Eycks, he had more sentiment, more 
 imagination and was a stronger draughtsman. He delighted 
 in representing old and touching legends; his shrine of St. 
 Ursula is famous. 
 
 Memling’s contribution toward artistic development was 
 the infusion of the poetry of his own nature into the accurate 
 realism which marked the art of Flanders. 
 
 6 . 
 
 ADORATION OF THE MAGI. 
 
 Hospital of St. John, Bruges. 
 
 The story of the Adoration of the Magi is in its nature 
 picturesque, and many legends grew up around it as the cen- 
 turies advanced. It was soon decided that the Wise Men were 
 kings; for, we are naively informed, in these early days it was 
 not unusual for kings to be wise. Further these kings were 
 named and their ages fixed. The eldest, with the long white 
 beard is known as Caspar, the middle aged as Melchior, the 
 young king as Balthasar. The latter seems to have had his com- 
 plexion decided as well as his name, for he is usually represen- 
 ted as a negro. They are now known as the “Three Kings of 
 Cologne’’ and lie gorgeously enshrined in that most glorious of 
 all cathedrals. 
 
 Memling represents the Virgin seated in a mined manger 
 holding the infant Jesus, at whose feet kneels the eldest of the 
 three kings. To the left kneels a second offering a precious 
 casket, to the right an Ethiopian approaches with his gift. In 
 obedience to his love of realism, Memling introduced into his 
 pictures evidences of the ancient magnificence of the city of 
 Bruges and the costumes of his personages bear testimony to 
 the city’s wealth. The rich dress of the Ethiopian was evi- 
 dently copied from that of some dusky servitor brought from 
 the Orient by one of the merchant princes of this Flemish 
 Venice. At the extreme left of the picture kneels Jan Floreins 
 
 22 
 
by whose order this altarpiece was painted ; at the right looking 
 in at a window is a representation of the ar-tist himself. The 
 conventional ox and ass are in the background and through the 
 opening just above them one catches a glimpse of the town 
 which is a noticeably fine bit of perspective. Memling was 
 beyond his contemporaries in his treatment of landscape as a 
 setting for figures and scenes. 
 
 Despite its religious conception the work shows that close 
 study of material things so characteristic of the Flemish School , 
 but it shows too, the spirit of naturalism which was now be- 
 coming manifest in art. After the death of Memling the art 
 of Flanders disappears for nearly one hundred years to re- 
 appear at the beginning of the seventeenth century in its 
 crowning genius — Rubens. 
 
 FRA ANGELICO. 
 
 1387 - 1455 . 
 
 Florentine. 
 
 Tuiming back to Florence, the first artist of any special note 
 after Orcagna was Fra Angelico, the most remarkable example 
 in Italian art of a religious painter of religious subjects. In 
 fact the climax in ecstatic, mystical religious art, was reached 
 by this gentle Dominican monk who painted “for the love of 
 God and his brethren.” He was an artist of single minded, 
 devout spirit applying himself to his Avork in the full belief 
 that it was a sacred calling. To know Fra Angelico aright he 
 must be seen in San Marco. His name is intimately connected 
 with this famous old Monastery which contains many of his 
 best works; here, painting, fasting, praying for nearly forty 
 years, he gained the power to convey that sense of religious 
 devotion and calm, which is the keynote of his work. 
 
 Fra Angelico was quite a learned painter altliough his 
 “mystic lyre” held but very few chords. There is a certain 
 sameness in his works which reflects the restricted outlook of 
 the cloister. While he lived in the fifteenth century, he Avas 
 wholly untouched by the Renaissance spirit; he made few^ 
 advances in conception or technique, but no artist before nor 
 since has excelled him in exalted spirituality of expression. 
 
 23 
 
7 . 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT. 
 
 Academy, Florence. 
 
 Before printed books were in use, church walls were de- 
 pended upon for instruction in Bible history and Bible lessons. 
 The Last Judgment is a work which, as Fra Angelico said, was 
 painted to advance the teaching of religion, not to improve the 
 methods in art. It is a somewhat extraordinary conception. 
 Above, in the center sits Christ surrounded by a circle of ador- 
 ing angels, directly beneath him are the Angels of the Last 
 Trump. To the right and left are John the Baptist, the Vir- 
 gin and groups of the apostles and patriarchs with their ap- 
 propriate emblems. On the extreme right is St. Francis, on the 
 extreme left is St. Dominic. 
 
 The terrestrial scene has for its center a pavement of tombs 
 out of which the dead have arisen. To the left are the blessed, 
 welcomed and embraced by charming little angels who lead 
 them onward to the Heavenly City. To the right are lost 
 souls being hurried away by demons. Monk though he was, 
 the artist has distributed his rewards. and punishments with 
 singular impartiality for kings and queens, monks and friars 
 are seen in the assembly of the wicked. To the extreme right, 
 with all its gruesome torments, is hell divided into the usual 
 mediaeval regions. This portion of the work in conception and 
 treatment recalls Orcagna’s composition. 
 
 To see much to admire or even to interest in many of the 
 very old religious conceptions one needs to remember the age 
 in which the artist lived, the people among whom he moved 
 and the purpose for which he painted. 
 
 8 . 
 
 THE CRUCIFIXION. 
 
 Convent of St. Mark, Florence. 
 
 In the Chapter Llouse of the convent of St. Mark, Florence, 
 is found the so-called Crucifixion, in reality the ‘^Adoration 
 
 24 
 
of the Cross by the Monastic Orders/’ one of Fra Angelico’s 
 greatest paintings. 
 
 At the left of the center stands the conventional grou)) 
 consisting of Mary Magdalene and the other Mary with the 
 fainting figure of the Madonna sustained by St. John. The 
 groups to the right for whose sake the fresco was really 
 painted, represent the founders of the various Monastic Orders. 
 Nearest the cross kneels St. Dominic, behind him, also kneeling, 
 is St. Jerome, next St. Francis bearing his cross, next St. Ber- 
 nard with his book, then San Gualberto and last St. Peter with 
 his wounded head. The standing figures represent St. Albert 
 habited as a bishop, St. Augustine with his pen and book, St. 
 Benedict with his scourge, St. Romualdo holding his crutch, 
 and last of all St. Thomas Aquinas. On the left, at the foot 
 of the cross of the penitent thief, whose head is turned toward 
 Christ, stands John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence, 
 beside him sits St. Mark, the patron saint of the monastery, 
 next St. Lawrence with his gridiron, behind him stand St. 
 Cosimo and St. Damian, the two patron saints of the Medici 
 family. 
 
 In the bottom of the frame, the prophets of the Old Testa- 
 ment are represented, in the semi-circle are set medallions 
 containing the most famous Dominican monks. The whole 
 composition, therefore, indicates the devotion to the Cross by 
 the monastic bodies, the subject of the Crucifixion being a 
 relatively unimportant part of the picture. 
 
 MASACCIO. 
 
 1401 ?- 1428 ? 
 
 Florentine. 
 
 In every century there seem to have been artists who 
 stand out as innovators, setting art a little further on the way 
 toward its final goal. Such an one was Masaccio, who was to 
 the fifteenth century what Giotto was to the fourteenth, and 
 who, in the short span of twenty-seven years, gave to painting 
 the direction it was to pursue to the end. By the fifteenth cen- 
 
 25 
 
tury tJie spell of mediaeval darkness was broken, the Renais- 
 sance was fairly begun. 
 
 As the artist began to study nature, he felt more and more 
 keenly the limitations of flat symbolic art; one of his early 
 efforts therefore was to produce in his pictures an impres- 
 sion like that received from real objects. Giotto had led the 
 way, but Masaccio added so much to what his predecessors had 
 accomplished, that he is justly said to be the first who success- 
 fully attained to the imitation of things as they really are. He 
 introduced the intelligent study of the nude, carried relief and 
 modeling to a great degree of perfection and made a great 
 advance in both linear and aerial perspective. 
 
 9 . 
 
 THE TRIBUTE MONEY. 
 
 Cliurch of the Carmine, Florence. 
 
 On the walls of the Brancacci Chapel in the Church of 
 the Carmine, Florence, are a series of Biblical and legendar>^ 
 events in the life of St. Peter. The principal one on the left as 
 one enters the little chapel, is The Tribute Money, based on a 
 passage in St. Matthew’s gospel. 
 
 In this work of Masaccio’s, one steps from the Middle Ages 
 into modem life. There is a change in feeling as well as a 
 change in methods ; less of the spiritual exaltation and contem- 
 plation which is so evident in the works of the masters of the 
 fourteenth century, but more dignity, vigor and force. Natur- 
 alism found a. great pictorial interpreter in Masaccio. His 
 frescos were a source of inspiration to all Florentine painters 
 of the fifteenth century. 
 
 In the center Christ gives instructions to the disciples, 
 while the tax gatherer waits with expectant gesture ; on the left 
 Peter, his outer garment thrown aside, is seen drawing up the 
 fish .from whose mouth he takes the money ; on the right, his 
 mantle resumed and again the “Prince of the Apostles” he pays 
 the money to the collector. 
 
 As Masaccio and his followers gained skill in composition, 
 they began to show more care for stately lines, dignity and 
 appropriateness in dress. The varied, picturesque costume of 
 
 26 
 
Central Italy, they felt was not suited to noble design or re- 
 ligious themes, therefore a dress was specially composed foi- 
 biblical personages. In his Vatican frescoes Raphael repeated 
 the figures and grouping of this and other splendid compo- 
 sitions of Masaccio. (Notice the similarity of costumes on some 
 of the figures in Parnassus and in Christ’s Charge to Peter by 
 Raphael). The tax gatherer is shown in short tunic and tight 
 stockings, the dress of the time, to distinguish him from the 
 disciples. 
 
 The study of individual character, which first appear in 
 the work of Masaccio, was a feature of great importance in the 
 evolution of Italian painting. The tendency toward giving the 
 artistic treatment of a picture predominance over its subject had 
 its beginning here. The inevitable end of this tendency, as will 
 be noticed in following artistic evolution, was to throw out the 
 purely devotional aim which had hitherto characterized 
 painting. 
 
 LIPPI. 
 
 1406 - 1469 . 
 
 Florentine. 
 
 The first real successor of Masaccio was a painter monk of 
 vei*y different mould from Fra Angelico. Fra Filippo Lippi 
 became a monk rather through circumstance than because he 
 was a religious enthusiast. The example set by Masaccio of 
 turning his back upon old ascetic types was followed by his 
 pupil in an original, somewhat unexpected manner. Fra 
 Filippo shattered the fetters of religious painting by discarding 
 traditional monotonous models. In exchange he brought the 
 human, beautiful element into art. Without scruple, he gave 
 to sacred personages the features of living men and women; 
 now for the first time the Virgin was represented as a real 
 Florentine mother and the infant Jesus given the natural form 
 of a child. Browning has vividly described the dismay of the 
 pious friars, as they looked at the heathenishly beautiful 
 pictures of their brother monk. 
 
 Fra Filippo has neither Masaccio’s strength and vigor, nor 
 Fra Angelico’s deep spiritual feeling, but his work is full of ^ 
 
 27 
 
human sweetness, a sense of the larger, more natural life that 
 was slowly dawning upon Italy. Painting was gradually emerg- 
 ing from the Dark Ages , but it did not come to its own until 
 1500. 
 
 10 
 
 THE ANNUNCIATION. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 Annunciation is charming both in its human element 
 and, its tender poetic spirit. The faces have lost the pietistic, 
 conventional expression; they are more natural, more real. 
 Were it not for his nimbus and his wings the angel might be 
 any curly haired Florentine boy, the Virgin a modest Flor- 
 entine maid, yet these figures with their earthly type of beauty, 
 have a refined simplicity and sweetness which is entirely har- 
 monious with the sacredness of the subject; the gentle bearing 
 of the angel is beautifull}^ echoed by the timid reverence of 
 the Virgin. Besides the portrait element the artist strikes 
 yet another new note in the flowered lawn, in the strangeness 
 and variety of details which are so exquisitely painted. 
 
 These subjects from the life of Christ and the Virgin had 
 been represented from early mosaic times, but from this period 
 there is a gradual breaking away from the old conventional 
 representation. In following the growth of painting, it is 
 interesting to notice the wide variation of treatment the same 
 subject receives according to the time and place, the tempera- 
 ment and training of the artist. 
 
 11 . 
 
 COBONATION OF THE VIPGTN. 
 
 Academy, Florence. 
 
 The Coronation, a splendid pictorial tribute to the Queen 
 of tradition representing the Virgin exalted and crowned as the 
 Bride of Christ, is not seen until the twelfth or thirteenth cen- 
 tuiy, when it is found in mosaics in Florence. Fra Filippo^ 
 conception of the scene is a strikingly beautiful and original 
 
 28 
 
one. Underneath the central arch, God, the Father, places the 
 crown upon the head of the Virgin who kneels before Him, on 
 either side are angels bearing sprays of lilies. Fra Filippo 
 said to be equally at home with the inhabitants of heaven and 
 those of earth, has filled the foreground with varied types of 
 worshippers — saints, bishops, monks, nuns, angels and 
 children. 
 
 Among these splendidly robed figures, conspicuous by his 
 shaven head and Carmelite habit, is the artist himself, clasping 
 his hands devoutly, his eyes fixed, not upon the Queen of Hea- 
 ven, but upon the face of a beautiful girl in front who is said 
 to represent his beloved. In the upper group of figures the 
 influence of Fra Angelico is perceptible, but in the lower throng 
 surrounding the throne Fra Filippo’s more worldly conception 
 of celestial happiness predominates. 
 
 This composition, which really resolves itself into a celes- 
 tial and terrestrial scene, is remarkable in its symmetrical 
 arrangement, and, while very human in its models, is spiritual 
 in its essential quality. 
 
 GOZZOLI. 
 
 1420 - 1498 . 
 
 Florentine. 
 
 Side by side with the men who were associated with the 
 characteristic development of Florentine art of this period, 
 were several artists, not perhaps of the highest rank, but who 
 marked out individual paths for themselves. One of these was 
 Benozzo Gozzoli a pupil of Fra Angelico. His lively imagina- 
 tion and exuberant fancy were, however, in direct contrast to 
 the lofty seriousness of the Dominican painter. To Gozzoli is 
 given the glory of having been the first to turn his attention to 
 an essentiall}^ picturesque treatment of Old Testament sub- 
 jects ; as a story teller and illustrator he had few rivals. Turn- 
 ing from the ideality of Fra Angelico he seems to have reveled 
 in the study of nature and real life. His work is full of de- 
 lightful freshness and fanciful imagery, features which were 
 peculiarly characteristic of his spontaneous, independent 
 genius. 
 
 29 
 
12 . 
 
 THE DRUNKENNESS OF NOAH. 
 
 Campo Santo, Pisa. 
 
 One of Gozzoli’s most famous works is a series of paint- 
 ings on one of the walls of the Campo Santo, Pisa. The 
 Campo Santo — the small burial place of Pisa, Italy — is an 
 oblong court surrounded by cloisters of white marble. A portion 
 of the earth within this enclosure is said to have been brought 
 from Palestine by the Crusaders. The interior walls of the ar- 
 cades are covered with frescos; an earlier example of these 
 peculiar compositions is found in Orcagna’s Triumph of Death 
 which hangs in the collection as number four. Still more con- 
 spicuous are Benozzo’s frescos on the north wall, works of such 
 enormous size they would scare a whole army of painters and 
 which occupied fifteen years in painting. 
 
 The story of Noah is represented as taking place in the 
 vineyards and gardens of a splendid palace where young men 
 mounted on ladders are gathering grapes from a remarkably 
 painted trellis overhead; young women take them away in 
 baskets to a wine press where the juice is crushed from them hy 
 a bare-legged youth. A group in the foreground shows the aged 
 Noah with his hand upon the head of a child who stands beside 
 him ; another child frightened by a dog barking at two boys 
 seated on the ground near by, clings to his robe. Farther to 
 the right Noah is again introduced among a group of Tvomen, 
 holding in his hand a goblet of wine which he seems about to 
 drink. The other portion of the work represents the patriarch 
 overcome by the intoxicating liquid. 
 
 Artists are now entering into the second period of develop- 
 ment, when nature and life make an appeal. The old Bible 
 story is made the excuse, so to speak, for the portrayal of a 
 picture of Italian rural life, no thought being taken to place 
 the scene in its natural surroundings. 
 
 
 80 
 
13 . 
 
 THE VINTAGE. 
 
 Detail from the Drunkenness of Noah. 
 
 Campo Santo, Pisa. 
 
 This detail, called The Vintage, shows only the first scene 
 — the left hand corner of the fresco. In it one can better judge 
 the naturalness of the surroundings, the modeling, pose and 
 action of the figures; features which show the strides artists 
 were making toward the truthful representation of natural form 
 and various objects in nature. The scene is such as Gozzoli 
 must often have witnessed in the grape country of Tuscany. 
 
 14 . 
 
 PROCESSION OF THE THREE KINGS. 
 
 Chapel of the Riccardi Palace, Florence. 
 
 One of the finest frescos in all Italy is the Procemion of 
 the Three Kings, on the walls of the Riccardi Palace, an old 
 Medici residence still standing in Florence. All the festive 
 pomp and splendor of court pageants which the Medici had 
 brought into the simple life of Florence, with all the glamour of 
 fairy-romance, is gathered in this triumphal procession of the 
 Three Kings as they wind over hill and vale on their way to 
 the manger of Bethlehem. 
 
 Under the pretense of representing the Magi and their 
 suite, the artist has painted a cavalcade of Florentine gentlemen 
 who are journeying over the Tuscan hills. They are following 
 the windings of a zigzag road cut in the rocks and so arranged 
 that one can see the procession at various points. It has not the 
 slightest resemblance to a small group of Eastern monarchs 
 coming to pay their homage to the infant Christ, but is simply 
 an imposing pageant of nobles, who with their gorgeous train 
 and equipment are on their way to a hunt or some other form 
 of amusement. They are accompanied by pages dressed in 
 handsome liveries, gaily caparisoned horses, falcons and grey- 
 hounds ; a little Oriental color is given by the introduction of a 
 few camels. 
 
 Among the crowd of horsemen in this portion of the fresco, 
 
 31 
 
it has been conjectured, are the aged Cosimo de Medici on a 
 white horse, accompanied by Piero and Giovanni de Medici the 
 father and uncle of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Other well 
 known personages, members of the Medici family, nobles, 
 scholars, even the painter, Benozzo Gozzoli himself, are repre- 
 sented in the brilliant cortege winding slowly among the rocky 
 p^ses of the hills. The whole cavalcade is moving joyously 
 along and forms a delightful mixture of worldly and religious 
 elements. The fresco is particularly characteristic of the pic- 
 turesque style of this ‘‘painter of earth’s gaieties.” 
 
 15 . 
 
 ADORATION OF THE MAGI. 
 
 Campo Santo, Pisa. 
 
 Another fresco of Benozzo’s, now nearly obliterated, on the 
 walls of the Campo Santo. It shows the same picturesque 
 treatment which Gozzoli gave to all his subjects and is very 
 similar in style to the “Procession of the Three Kings.” The 
 work makes an interesting comparison to Memling’s conception 
 of the same subject. 
 
 VERROCCHIO. 
 
 1435 - 1488 . 
 
 Florentine. 
 
 Aterrocchio is perhaps the least known and appreciated of 
 the masters of the fifteenth century. In feeling and in reality 
 more of a sculptor than a painter, his foremost aim seems to 
 have been to represent the human figure not only in its per- 
 fection of physical strength, but in its highest intellectual 
 beauty. He devoted his life to acquiring a thorough knowl- 
 edge of anatomy, and in technical ability was probably in ad- 
 vance of any of his contemporaries. 
 
 In landscape he was a decided innovator — but only in his 
 own country. For, as has been said, Italian art was the favored 
 child, but not the eldest one of the Renaissance. The Van 
 Eycks had painted exquisite landscape in Flanders twenty 
 years before the birth of Verrocchio. Verrocchio’s reputation 
 
 32 
 
as a painter rests almost entirely upon this one picture, as it is 
 the only one which can with absolute certainty be ascribed 
 to him. 
 
 16 . 
 
 THE BAPTISM. 
 
 Academy, Florence. 
 
 As a sacrament of the Christian Church the subject of 
 baptism became from very early times the keynote in the de- 
 coration of every baptistry. The representation of landscape 
 was almost a lost art during the mediaeval centuries, hence the 
 technical difficulties of this feature were a serious obstacle in 
 the path of primitive artists ; their solution of the river scenery 
 problem is extremely interesting. 
 
 In the earliest pictures the water is represented by a series 
 of parallel lines drawn across the composition between two 
 angular banks rising on either side, the water in most 
 instances reaching to the waist or even to the shoulders. As 
 time went on, however, the river became more shallow until, 
 as in this typical picture of the Italian Renaissance, it covers 
 the Saviour’s feet only, thus affording an opportunity eagerly 
 embraced by the painters of this period, for representing the 
 nude. 
 
 St. John with his ascetic features is a strong figure; the 
 cup, the cross he holds, as well as his position are strictly 
 conventional, the hands discharging the dove are symbolic, 
 but the angels are natural and beautiful. They were probably 
 added at a later date, one (or both) of them presumably by 
 Leonardo da Vinci, who was Verrocchio’s pupil. Verrocchio 
 had much to do with shaping the art of his immediate success- 
 ors; his Baptism was adopted as a model for all later represen- 
 tation of that theme. 
 
 GHIRLANDA.JO. 
 
 1449 - 1494 . 
 
 Florentine. 
 
 Domenico Ghirlandajo is one of the trio of great 
 Florentine painters, whose works filled the last quarter of the 
 
 33 
 
fifteenth century. Although he had leSvS tenderness than 
 Filippo, and less sentiment than Botticelli, he was a stronger, 
 more direct painter than either. He showed his force in 
 seizing the personality of his models and in his evident 
 understanding of human nature. He showed, too, a decided 
 tendency toward realism; in fact, he probably represented in 
 his school the highest development of that quality. 
 
 The portrait is a prominent characteristic of Ghirlandajo’s 
 work; under him it is said to have first become an indepen- 
 dent branch of art. Like most artists of his period, he intro- 
 duced likenesses of his contemporaries with their customs and 
 costumes into his representations, and is a very entertaining 
 painter for he gives one delightful glimpses into the social life 
 of Florence. He was the greatest fresco painter of this period 
 and the instructor of Michael Angelo. 
 
 17 . 
 
 OLD MAN AND HIS GRANDSON. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 This strong picture — an Old Man and His Grandson — is 
 one of special interest, not only as a remarkable example of 
 the artist’s skill in portraiture, but of his power in portray- 
 ing human expression. Painters have made long strides in 
 drawing and characterization since Cimabue’s day. 
 
 Ghirlandajo is uncompromising in his realism here. The 
 imperfections on the face of the old man have not been softened 
 in the slightest degree, yet the objectionable features are fully 
 redeemed by his expression of benevolent kindliness, strength 
 and sweetness. There is a subtle pathos in the smile of the 
 old gentleman which appeals at once to one’s sentiment. The 
 face of the child makes its own strong appeal in its entire 
 unconsciousness of all disfigurements on the countenance of his 
 friend ; his expression of adoring affection and trust is wonder- 
 fully perfect. 
 
 One loses sight of the ugly features in the strength of the 
 impression made by the very human sentiment and the ideal 
 relation existing between the old man and his little companion. 
 
 34 
 
18 . 
 
 MADONNA ENTHRONED. 
 
 Uffizi Gallery, Florence. 
 
 The worship of the Madonna was of gradual growth and 
 exercised a very humanizing influence over the nations of 
 Europe as they worked their way upward from barbarism. In 
 obedience to ecclesiastical teaching, the “lowly maiden” was 
 lifted, step by step, until she was the central object of devotion 
 — the enthroned Mother of God, the Queen of heaven. In 
 the history of art development, the enthroned Madonna begins 
 when the portrait Madonna, the earliest style ends, and dates 
 from the thirteenth century. 
 
 This composition, like most works of the type, represents 
 the Virgin with the Child on her knee, seated in the center of 
 an assembly of personages symmetrically grouped about her. 
 The Saints Zenobius and Justus kneel before her, on the left 
 stands the angel Michael in full armor, on the right the angel 
 Gabriel. On each side of the throne are two angels, two also 
 are in front bearing sprays of lilies; over the steps at the 
 Madonna’s feet is laid an oriental rug, with its texture wonder- 
 fully painted; a vase of Ascension lilies stands in the fore- 
 ground. The panel is a work of Ghirlandjo’s early manner in 
 which the details are most carefully worked out. 
 
 19 . 
 
 NATIVITY OF THE VIRGIN. 
 
 Santa Maria Novella, Florence. 
 
 In the Church of Santa Maria Novella is found The Nativ- 
 ity of the Virgin, one of Ghirlandajo’s finest frescos. It shows 
 the interior of a magnificent palace ornamented with rich carv- 
 ing; particularly attractive is the frieze of charming dancing 
 boys, whose figures stand out in somewhat prominent relief. 
 This architectural background with its decorative detail is a 
 feature in which Ghirlandajo especially delighted. 
 
 At the right, Anna, the mother of the Virgin, in a half 
 reclining position is watching the group of three women in 
 
 35 
 
front who are intent upon the newborn infant. The principal 
 interest of the picture centers in this little scene in the fore- 
 ground, which is an exact representation of the ordinary life 
 of the fifteenth century. The figure of the serving maid, with 
 her fluttering draperies and her graceful pose as she pours 
 water into a basin, is one of Ghirlandajo’s characteristic crea- 
 tions. It contrasts strikingly with the stately, gorgeously 
 dressed young Florentine woman who stands foremost in the 
 group of spectators. The scene at the left, on the upper land- 
 ing of a short flight of stairs, represents Joachim and Anna, 
 parents of the Virgin, embracing. 
 
 Jn illustrating Bible stories, artists often used incidents 
 widely separated in point of time and place, and, just as often, 
 they completely disregarded all possible or conceivable facts 
 of costume or surroundings. But Ghirlandajo evidently knevr 
 what was required of him ; accordingly he gratified his desire 
 for picturesque representation, and at the same time gave the 
 monks what they wanted — a stately group with an effective 
 setting to adorn their church. 
 
 Paduan School. 
 
 It is now more than one hundred and fifty years since 
 Giotto and his followers commenced their efforts to emancipate 
 painting from the formalism of Byzantine tradition. The 
 classic spirit had manifested itself here and there, but it was 
 left to the little town of Padua, in the north of Italy, to be the 
 first to apply to painting the principles governing classic art, 
 and to be foremost in the revival of classical learning. 
 
 Umbria remained true to the religious sentiment, Florence 
 concerned itself largely with nature study, but Paduan artists 
 seem to have worked directly from antique marbles. This 
 study gave them great mastery in delineating the human 
 figure; the school, therefore, is characterized by a certain sculp- 
 turesqueness of form and arrangement and by a mythological 
 tendency in subjects The classic style effected by its follower 
 became extremely popular not only throughout Italy, but in 
 other countries as well. 
 
 36 
 
MANTEGNA. 
 
 1431 - 1506 . 
 
 Paduan. 
 
 Among the precursors of llaphael, Mantegna stands con- 
 spicuously between Masaccio and Leonardo da Vinci. He was 
 not only the greatest artist of the Paduan School, but his name 
 is influentially connected with the growth of Italian art. He 
 was especially characteristic of his age — the age of the revival 
 of the classic and the antique — and he contributed much to the 
 art of composition. The result of Mantegna’s study of sculp- 
 ture was a certain stiffness and rigidness in lines and figures. 
 His people were noble, usually solemn and rather unemotional 
 in expression for he was more of a draughtsman than a senti- 
 mentalist or colorist. 
 
 Hitherto painting had been regarded as the handmaid of 
 religion, but with Masaccio and Mantegna it attained complete 
 emancipation from the formalism of the Byzantine School and 
 received an independent dignity as an art for its own sake. 
 
 20 . 
 
 MADONNA, ST. JOHN AND MARY MAGDALENE. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 Mantegna’s mastery of the human form is clearly appar- 
 ent in these statuesque figures. They are finely poised, noble 
 types, with little of the ascetic feeling of earlier Florentine 
 pictures. The face and attitude of the Virgin are particularly 
 expressive of humility and tender sweetness. On either side 
 of her stands St. John, the Baptist, and Mary Magdalene — fine 
 figures clothed with most elaborate draperies which display 
 rather than hide the outline of their forms. The Magdalen, 
 looking upwards, holds the box of ointment which she is later 
 to break over the feet of her forgiving Lord; St. John holds a 
 cross to which is attached a scroll bearing the inscription in 
 Latin, “Behold the Lamb of God.” 
 
 The arrangement of the garments shows unmistakable 
 evidence of Mantegna’s study of classic marbles. A peculiar- 
 
 37 
 
feature of Mantegna’s draperies is the multitude of little cling- 
 ing folds which resemble bronze sculpture. 
 
 21 . 
 
 PAENASSUS. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 While court painter at Mantua, Mantegna was commis- 
 sioned to paint for the study of Isabella d’Este, wife of the 
 Marquis of Mantua, two mythological pictures; the Parnassus 
 here represented was one. In this work he anticipated the 
 developments of the sixteenth century in which artists began 
 to concern themselves with other than religious subjects. 
 
 The scene represents Parnassus^ the favorite haunt of 
 Apollo and the Muses where, upon a rocky archway crowned 
 with orange trees, stands Mars the god of war and Venus the 
 goddess of love and beauty. At their side is Cupid, playfully 
 casting darts at Vulcan who may be seen at his forge on the 
 left. Below them the Muses in light graceful draperies dance 
 to the music of Apollo’s lyre. To the right is Mercury, the 
 messenger of the gods, and himself the god of eloquence, with 
 the winged horse Pegasus beside him. 
 
 Mantegna had here an admirable opportunity to give 
 expression to his passion for the classic period of history with 
 its poetry and its myths. The figures are delightful, the traits 
 of each in symbolic dress and ornament remarkably 
 brought out ; particularly fine is the central group of the Muses 
 with their classic Greek draperies and their graceful rhythmic 
 movements. 
 
 Venetian School. 
 
 Coming now to the Venetian School one finds that the 
 conditions of art production in Venice during the early 
 Renaissance were very different from those in other parts of 
 Italy. Out of its unique geographical and political condition, 
 the city developed an art peculiar to itself and in the fifteenth 
 century founded a school destined to rival that of Florence in 
 brilliancy; the Venetians were not landsmen; they lived and 
 
 38 
 
ttioved surrounded on all sides by the sea; the shifting melo- 
 drama of azure, flame and gold of sky and lagoon daily before 
 their eyes, naturally had much to do with their ideal of beauty. 
 Further, their free, joyous manner of life made them wholly 
 averse to any morbid conditions of sentiment, poetry or piety ; 
 consequently Venetian artists were not saturated with religious 
 motives^ or with the classical, nor intent on natural repre- 
 sentation. 
 
 By the time they had attained any real mastery over their 
 art, Venice was already in a state of great magnificence. Her 
 painters, inspired by the glory of sky and sea, the splendor of 
 architecture, the pomp of pageants, developed a worldly luxur- 
 ious art whose motive was to set forth the grandeur and power 
 of their beautiful city in the richest, most gorgeous decora- 
 tions. Religion was the source of the art of Venice as it has 
 been the source of every art, but the Venetian religion was of 
 the world, not something apart from it like the Umbrian. 
 
 The school therefore, after Bellini, is distinguished by the 
 rendering of material magnificence as exemplified in the superb 
 representations of pageants, religious and ceremonial functions 
 and by a very miracle of color; a medium which prevailed 
 through Venetian art from the beginning and was its dis- 
 tinctive characteristic. 
 
 BELLINI. 
 
 1428 - 1516 . 
 
 Venetian. 
 
 Venetian art practically dates from the Bellinis. Giovanni, 
 the greatest of his family, was the true founder of the Venetian 
 School. In his early work, probably due to the influence of 
 Mantegna, there is a certain hardness of treatment; later his 
 style grew softer and he adopted the oil medium of the Van 
 Eycks, which w^as introduced into Venice by Antonello da 
 Messina. Then he began that marvelous symphony of color,,, 
 later perfected by Titian, and developed a style more in accord- 
 ance with Venetian ideas. The greatest artist of the fifteenth 
 century in Venice, of all her painters he showed the truest, 
 deepest, most touching piety. From his works can be discov- 
 
 39 
 
ered the origin of the heights reached by the Venetian School 
 in the sixteenth century. 
 
 22 . 
 
 DOGE LOREDANO. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 Few things in portraiture are finer than this celebrated 
 portrait of the Doge Loredano. Bellini lived in an age when 
 the portrayal of character was an important aim of art, and 
 in this example has given convincing proof of his own skill 
 in character delineation. The Doge’s biography might easily 
 be written from the tell-tale lines of the aristocratic face. He 
 was an intrepid warrior who carried the Venetian Republic 
 through some of the most trying and tumultuous periods of 
 its existence, 
 
 Loredano, who was the sixty-seventh Doge, belonged to 
 one of the most ancient families in the state, and Venice under 
 his rule became one of the Great Powers of Europe. To those 
 familiar with Italian history, this portrait will bring to mind 
 a train of interesting events connected with the golden days 
 of Venice. 
 
 23 . 
 
 MADONNA ENTHRONED. 
 
 Central Panel from the Frari Altarpiece. 
 
 Church of the Frari, Venice. 
 
 Venetian, like other Italian art had its roots in the old 
 Byzantine tradition of painting which had departed farther 
 and farther from any actual representation of the human form 
 until it became merely a symbol of religious ideas. Bellini 
 had, in large measure, freed himself from this tradition. His 
 Madonna reveals Byzantine influence, but shows^too, the truth 
 of actual facts and the influence of the new learning which 
 was then making itself felt in Venice. 
 
 This most beautiful altarpiece has been called the 
 finest expression of Bellini’s art. The noticeable dignity of 
 
 40 
 
character given the figures is increased by the impressive, mag- 
 nificent architectural setting; the statuesque forms of the Vir- 
 gin and Child are greatly enhanced by the open space of crim- 
 son and gold around them ; the effect is to isolate, to accentuate 
 the feeling of austerity and aloofness expressed here, as in 
 all Giovanni’s Madonnas. 
 
 The delightful angel musicians are some of the most 
 exquisite creations of the type of which the Italian school was 
 so happily productive. With entire unconsciousness of them- 
 selves or their surroundings, they play for the glory of the 
 Madonna. The picture reveals the religious side of Bellini’s 
 art, and gives an effect of grave distinction and dignity. 
 
 CARPACCIO. 
 
 1440 ?- 1522 ? 
 
 Venetian. 
 
 Carpaccio, who is little known outside of Venice, was the 
 immediate follower of Giovanni Bellini. He was more roman- 
 tic and chivalric than religious showing a decided preference 
 for legendary subjects, in which he was particularly successful. 
 He was remarkable for his knowledge of architecture, costumes, 
 oriental settings and for his strong sense of the picturesque. 
 He was also a delightful story-teller; the daily life of the Venice 
 of his day lives again on his canvases. His work is imagin- 
 ative, earnest, always sincere, yet with a lightness of fancy, a 
 joyful sanity about it that is very captivating. 
 
 24 . 
 
 PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE. 
 
 Academy, Venice. 
 
 The Presentation originated with the Byzantines and first 
 appeared as an art subject in mosaics. The scene is always laid 
 in the temple with the Virgin and Child, the officiating prie.st 
 Simeon, Anna the prophetess and often other spectators. 
 
 In Carpaccio’s fine treatment of the subject one detects 
 Byzantine influence in the decoration of the mosaic back- 
 
 41 
 
ground. The strong relief of the figures suggests an acquain- 
 tance with classic marbles — but the rich, brilliant color is purely 
 Venetian. St. Simeon with his splendid robe is a nobly con- 
 ceived figure; the wide border of his priestly garment shows 
 exquisite workmanship in its simulation of elaborately embroi- 
 dered scenes from the Old Testament. The grace of attitude, 
 the sweetness of expression of the Virgin and her two attendants 
 are unusually attractive, while one is quite inclined to agree 
 with Euskin when he calls the infant Jesus “the most beautiful 
 baby in Venetian art.” 
 
 Nothing in the picture is more charming than the three 
 little musicians with their artless expressions and their varied, 
 unconscious attitudes. Carpaccio followed Bellini’s habit of 
 introducing into his Madonnas quaint little boy angels playing 
 on musical instruments. 
 
 BOTTICELLI. 
 
 1446 - 1510 . 
 
 Florentine. 
 
 The effect produced upon the painting of the fifteenth 
 century by the revival of the study of Greek writers and 
 the masterpieces of antique sculpture was to reveal a new life. 
 The old ascetic idea that men must renounce the world and its 
 pleasures was gradually giving place to a realization of its 
 beauty and the joy of living. The field of art began to widen, 
 artists began to draw their inspiration from their imagination, 
 to adapt their themes to the present life. 
 
 A striking figure in this period of transition — the particu- 
 lar exponent of the struggle between the new spirit and the old 
 — was Botticelli. An eminent draughtsman and a learned 
 student of the antique, he was the first to step boldly forth 
 and introduce into his paintings all kinds of fanciful creations 
 drawn from poetry, myth and fable. Later in life he came 
 under the influence of Savonarola’s teaching, and abandoned 
 pagan themes. His pictures from henceforth were inspired 
 by religion. Though perhaps not one of the greatest masters, 
 he has a singular and peculiar fascination that marks him as 
 
 42 
 
unique and his delicate creations of rare fancy are possessed of 
 a haunting charm, once it has been felt. 
 
 Religious feeling, a love for classic beauty and for nature 
 are all felt in his work, yet a touch of mediseval asceticism 
 seems to predominate. This accounts^ perhaps /or the vein of 
 melancholy apparent in all his compositions. His yearning for 
 an ideal beauty combined with spirituality was later fulfilled 
 in Raphael. 
 
 25 . 
 
 MADONNA AND CHILD. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 This somewhat morbid looking Madonna shows a ming- 
 ling of the mediseval and modern spirits; while it escapes the 
 rigidity of form of the mediaeval period it is strongly tinged 
 with its spiritual feeling. The attitude of the Virgin and her 
 abstracted expression suggest some of the Byzantine Madon- 
 nas ; her features, however, are rounded and full, the draperies 
 gracefully arranged. The two angels with their quaint ascetic 
 faces fill out the tondo — the circular form so much a favorite 
 with this artist. 
 
 Botticelli’s Madonnas are of a distinct and peculiar type. 
 In their wistful, unsatisfied expression is seen the reflection of 
 his own spirit as he peered through the still lingering darkness 
 of the mediaeval age toward that new light which was just 
 beginning to dawn on the world of his time. This gives his 
 work a peculiar significance; a large part of it shows signs of 
 the conflict between pagan and Christian ideals. 
 
 26 . 
 
 MADONNA, CHILD AND ST. JOHN. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 The charm of this Madonna is felt at first glance but new 
 beauties reveal themselves with every renewed study of it. It 
 is full of exquisite ovals and curves; an artistic happening 
 perhaps, but more likely the result of careful planning on the 
 part of the artist, for he was past master of line. 
 
 Botticelli’s mind was in a state of perpetual conflict 
 
 43 
 
between his devotion to his religious belief and his devotion to 
 his beloved paintpots and brushes ; the influence of his mediae- 
 val theology is evident here, although the picture shows more 
 of a feeling for physical beauty than is usual with him. The 
 Virgin’s face is wonderfully pure and lovely at the same time 
 it’s expression suggests a sorrowful realization of the destinj^ 
 imposed upon her. The gesture and look of the Child are 
 inexpressibly winning, the touch of the hand on the Mother’s 
 neck and the chubby awkwardness of the feet charmingly true 
 to life. The little St. John with his shaggy sheep-skin mantle 
 over his shoulders has the face of a woodland faun — yet it 
 shows a certain spirituality and devotion. 
 
 ^his most charming of Botticelli’s many Madonnas has a 
 quaint picturesqueness, a solemn, old-time air about it as well 
 it may have, for it was painted long ago; within only a few 
 years of the date when Columbus first sighted the new world. 
 
 27 . 
 
 CORONATION OF THE VIRGIN. 
 
 Uffizi, Florence. 
 
 This famous Coronation, often called ‘‘The Magnificat” 
 is a tondo — a circular form of picture introduced by Lippi — 
 which in beauty of design and depth of feeling probably 
 surpasses any of Botticelli’s numerous works. 
 
 The Virgin is represented in the act of dipping her pen 
 into ink to write her song of praise — “My Soul Doth Magnify 
 the Lord,” on the pages of an open missal; the Child on her 
 knee, as he guides her hand, looks up into her face as with a 
 sudden flash of inspiration. Two loveh^ angels with wonder- 
 fully spiritual faces and with most graceful gestures place a 
 crown upon her head ; three others, said to represent the Medici 
 children, are in attendance upon her. The Virgin has in her 
 face that touch of sadness which Botticelli gives to all his 
 Madonnas. 
 
 44 
 
28 . 
 
 THE NATIVITY. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 The nativity of Christ was a theme of inexhaustible inter- 
 est to mediaeval painters. Certain conventions were always 
 observed, but there was much scope for the exercise of religioas 
 fancy, and the various conceptions are among the most inter- 
 esting of scriptural scenes. When treated historically, the ox 
 and the ass are never omitted ; the expression of pious astonish- 
 ment often represented on the faces of the two beasts as they 
 discover the Child in the manger is delightfully naive and 
 amusing. 
 
 Botticelli has given a most unusual conception of this 
 familiar art subject. The picture was painted after the mar- 
 trydom of Savonorola as a proof of the artist’s constancy to the 
 great teacher’s memory, and of his belief in the fulfillment of 
 his prophecies. In the center of a rough, open shed lies the 
 Child; Mary kneels in adoration and Joseph, a crouching 
 figure on the left, seems overcome with emotion. On either 
 side of the central group are angels telling the “glad tidings;” 
 in the foreground angels and mortals embrace, while in the 
 corners grotesque little devils fly to hide themselves among the 
 rocks. On the top of the shed, three angels read from an open 
 book their song of praise. In the sky above is a wonderfully 
 beautiful and decorative invention — an angelic host circling 
 about singing Hosannahs over the Saviour’s birth. 
 
 Whatever meaning Botticelli’s symbolism may have had 
 for himself, it is not difficult to give one’s own interpretation 
 of it. The darkness of the pagan world is typified in the 
 background of dark gloomy trees. The Child born in the 
 lowly stable will bring light to dispel the darkness; he will 
 effect a reconciliation between heaven and earth and at his 
 coming all vice (like the gruesome demons in the picture), 
 will fly to hide itself. Then, as the olive branches borne by 
 the angelic host betoken, peace, gladness and goodwill will 
 return to all the earth. 
 
 The two sides of Botticelli’s nature are delightfully 
 expressed, in this quaint, old world Christmas Carol in paint. 
 
 45 
 
29 . 
 
 SPRING. 
 
 Academy, Florence. 
 
 Critics have exhausted themselves in argument over the 
 explanation of this remarkable picture, but its full significance 
 has probably never been determined; it is commonly sup- 
 posed, however, to be an allegory of the seasons. It is Botti- 
 celli’s most famous composition and was painted for Lorenzo 
 de Medici’s Villa at Gastello. 
 
 To the extreme left Mercury, the god of change, with his 
 wand dispels the clouds of winter, beside him the beautiful 
 group of' the Three Graces, lightly clad in transparent raiment, 
 represent the joy and freshness of spring time. ‘Tn the 
 center stands the figure of Spring, above whom a winged blind- 
 folded Love is discharging his arrows. The figures to the 
 right represent the three spring months; to the extreme right 
 is March, cold and blue, blowing wind from his mouth and 
 swaying the trees as he passes ^through them, next to him as if 
 escaping from his grasp is April draped in a blue and white 
 sky. On the hem of her robe green leaves and buds are 
 sprouting and she seems as if precipitating herself into the 
 arms of May who, erect and sedate, fully clad in a flowery robe, 
 scatters blossoms as she passes.” This work, so entirely differ- 
 ent in feeling from the early Madonna and Child, is an embodi- 
 ment of the Renaissance spirit — the love of nature, the delight 
 in the beauty of classic forms and subjects. 
 
 Here Botticelli, having put aside all mournful forebodings 
 and ‘^speculative musings,” has given utterance to that fullness 
 of delight in the return of spring which' was a favorite theme 
 with the Tuscan poets. Every figure is instinct with life, 
 while the leaves and blossoms seem literally dancing in the 
 breeze. The Three Graces, in their gauzy fluttering draperies, 
 with the exquisite rhythm of their light, graceful movements, 
 are among the finest figures in the Italian Renaissance. No 
 one quite equalled Botticelli in giving that subtle sense of 
 motion which was an integral part of so many of his works. 
 
 46 
 
Umbrian School. 
 
 Umbria, a province a little to the south of Florence, has 
 been called the “Galilee of Italy,” because of a certain sanctity 
 and religious sentiment which distinguished the Umbrian 
 School; for although painting flourished in the small towns 
 and retired valleys, the older traditions and religious feeling 
 survived in them long after it had been superseded elsewhere, 
 hence the Umbrians held fast to their sentiment, their detail, 
 and their gold ornamentation. Cheerful sentiment and moral 
 teaching with a deep sense of spiritual beauty, brilliance of 
 color, simplicity and devoutness of work were characteristics of 
 Umbrian art. 
 
 On account of the picturesque nature of their surround- 
 ings, the Umbrians developed a strong feeling for landscape; 
 this branch of painting, particularly as used for backgrounds 
 to produce an effect’ of space, became one of the distinguishing 
 features of the school. Perugino was its typical master, and 
 Raphael marks the culminating point of Umbrian art, which 
 after his time degenerated into the conventional sentimentali- 
 ties against which the pre-Raphaelites revolted. 
 
 DA FORLI. 
 
 1438 - 1494 . 
 
 Umbrian. 
 
 Melozzo da Forli, of whom little is known, was architect as 
 well as painter. The few remaining fragments of his work 
 show boldness, originality and strong decorative qualities. He 
 is best known by his Musical Angels, as they are called, which 
 are almost as popular as those of Fra Angelico. 
 
 30 . 
 
 ANGEL WITH YIOL. 
 
 Sacristy of St. Peter’s, Rome. 
 
 Melozzo’s frescos originally decorated the old Church of 
 the Apostoli, Rome, but the little that was left of them was 
 removed to the Quirinal and to the Sacristy of St. Peter’s. 
 
 47 
 
The angels were ligTires in a mural painting of the Ascension 
 of Christ, which is unfortunately almost entirely destroyed. 
 They are original, uncommon conceptions, more human and 
 leas sentimentally angelic than the usual representations of 
 angels. The one with viol is a noble, youthful being who 
 seems inspired by the spirit of music. 
 
 PERUGINO. 
 
 1446 - 1524 . 
 
 Umbrian. 
 
 The Umbrian sentiment and color are most fully shown in 
 Perugino. In him is found also a religious feeling somewhat 
 iikin to that of the painter monk of San Marco. Fervor, ten- 
 derness and devotion characterized his art which, however, was 
 more human than Fra Angelico’s, for while religion still held 
 with the Umbrians, it was becoming materialized by the beauty 
 of the world about them. The slight graceful figure with the 
 head sentimentally inclined to one side and the oval face full 
 of wistful tenderness, are easily recognized as the Perugino 
 type. This master excelled in the portrayal of calm, contem- 
 plative scenes composed of few figures arranged in simple 
 attitudes. His early work is by far his best. Imbued with a 
 love of gain, he fell into the habit of repeating himself, until 
 some of his later pictures are painfully mechanical. Perugino 
 greatly influenced Raphael’s early work, was the chief expon- 
 ent of the Umbrian School and the last representative of the 
 old superetitious art. 
 
 31 . 
 
 VIRGIN ADORING THE INFANT CHRIST. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 The Adoring Virgin is the central panel fromUhe triptych 
 of the Pavia altarpiece. ITiis Virgin with her three attendant 
 angels represented' against a background of beautiful Umbrian 
 scenery is very typiail of Perugino. The impression of spirit- 
 ual isolation which the picture produces is largely due to the 
 effect of receding distance and the luminous infinitude of sky. 
 
 48 
 
The quiet hills, the formal trees which repeat each other one 
 on either side, the lovely placid river as well as the attitude and 
 expression of the Virgin, all tend to convey a sense of peace and 
 spiritual repose. 
 
 The sense of calm which pervades the picture is felt in 
 many of Perugino’s best works although he has seldom risen 
 to the spirituality of this one. He was very successful in giv- 
 ing a sense of spaciousness to his compositions and in inter- 
 preting' the sentiment he wished to express by the setting. 
 This simple Virgin, so full of sweetness and humility would 
 seem sadly out of place seated upon the magnificent throne 
 occupied by Bellini’s stately Madonna. The treatment of the 
 two pictures form; an interesting comparison, since each artist 
 has so successfully adapted his surroundings and accessories 
 to the types and sentiments he wished to portray. 
 
 32 . 
 
 VIRGIN AND CHILD. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 Perugia, although full of treachery, intrigue and evil liv- 
 ing, was yet, one of the most pious cities in all Italy, for large 
 numbers of men and women sought refuge from the turmoil 
 about them in a life of spiritual solitude and devotion. Peru- 
 gino’s Virgins and angels are personifications of these devout 
 “self consecrated” beings which he saw around him. This 
 doubtless is one reason why his Madonnas seem made from the 
 same model. They all have the same inclination of the head, 
 the same unconsciousness of surroundings, the same absorption 
 in inward spiritual ecstacy. This circular painting represents 
 the Virgin and Child enthroned between St. Rosa on the left 
 and St. Catherine on the right. The graceful figures with their 
 drooping heads and purity of expression are characteristic of 
 the artist so, also, is the glimpse of Umbrian landscape in the 
 background. 
 
 49 
 
FRANCIA. 
 
 1450 - 1517 . 
 
 Bolognese. 
 
 The school of Bologna so prominent in later Italian art, 
 reached the culmination of its early period in its founder, 
 Francesco Francia. This painter had little in common with 
 the great Renaissance movement which was surging forward 
 on every side, but like Fra Angelico, derived his inspiration 
 entirely from religious subjects. His work shows Perugino’s 
 influence and It) sentiment is more Umbrian than Bolognese. 
 (The Bolognese, followed Paduan methods.) While he added 
 little that was new, he combined the technical perfection of the 
 fifteenth century with the Christian motives which influenced 
 the earlier artists. 
 
 33 . 
 
 PIETA. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 The Pieta — the dead Christ in the arms of his mother — 
 is one of the events of the Passion Cycle and as the name indi- 
 cates, represents the Virgin and angels weeping over the dead 
 body of Christ. Francia has filled the picture with a solemn 
 touching aspect of sorrow which befits the subject. The Christ 
 rests in the sleep of death on his mother’s knees, but instead of 
 the usual saints the Virgin has for attendants two bright haired 
 angels, one of whom reverently supports the head, while the 
 other folds his hands in silent worship at the Saviour’s feet. 
 It is a most pathetic picture, beautiful in color, exquisite in 
 finish and filled with a spirit of grief. 
 
 DA VINCI. 
 
 . 1452 - 1519 . 
 
 Florentine. 
 
 The high tide of the Renaissance in Italy was reached 
 with three great names, Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo 
 and Raphael. Leonardo, the first of the trio, was a man of 
 
 50 
 
universal genius and remarkable versatility who stood far in 
 advance of his time. The closing j^ears of the fifteenth cen- 
 tury and the first half of the sixteenth witnessed the full 
 development of painting; a climax hastened perhaps, by the 
 added impetus given to art by the advance of sixteenth cen- 
 tury artists in the knowledge and use of chiaroscuro. 
 
 Leonardo was the great innovator in this matter of light 
 and shade. Heretofore, color had been used pure, and light 
 with only enough shading introduced to give relief to figures. 
 Leonardo realized the value of shadow not only to secure per- 
 fect modeling, but to produce emotional, poetical and illusive 
 effects. He succeeded in giving to his figures a roundness and 
 relief heretofore unknown, besides imparting to his compo- 
 sitions a certain elusiveness which is their chief attraction and 
 his distinguishing characteristic. A scientific investigator con- 
 cerned always with the mysteries of nature of human life and 
 the human spirit, the few remaining works by his hand are 
 quite as interesting psychologically as pictorially. 
 
 Leonardo made many changes in the technique of paint- 
 ing, exerted an extraordinary influence over his contempor 
 aides and left traces of his passage in numerous departments of 
 art. Architect, engineer, sculptor, musician, painter — these 
 are but few of the titles earned by this magician of the 
 fifteenth century. 
 
 34 ^ 
 
 VIRGIN OF THE ROCKS. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 The Virgin of the Rocks is a type which belongs to Leo- 
 nardo alone and suggests no other master. Everything in it 
 is significant and new; the motive, the treatment of form, the 
 pyramidal grouping and the new pictorial value given to light 
 and shadow. 
 
 The picture takes its name from the peculiar setting of 
 wierd looking rocks — -an arrangement the artist has used to 
 entice the imagination and assist in carrying out the spiritual 
 significance with which he was always concerned. One finds 
 
 51 
 
in the work much of that feeling of the mystei^ that lies behind 
 appearances; a feature characteristic of Leonardo. The smile 
 of the Virgin has a suggestion of the evasiveness seen in the 
 face of the Mona Lisa. The face of the angel is particularly 
 lovely and the children’s forms are finely modeled. 
 
 The picture has greatly darkened with the y cal's, yet in 
 the drawing and foreshortening of these little figures one can 
 still see something of the technical skill of the artist while the 
 management of light and shade shows his masterj^ of chiaro- 
 scuro. The great master’s treatment of this feature was a 
 revelation to his countrjmien. AVith Leonardo was revealed a 
 new power in art — the embodiment of abstract qualities. His 
 greatest charm lies in the subtle hidden meanings which seem 
 to abide in his works. 
 
 35 . 
 
 MONA LISA. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 This portrait of the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, per- 
 haps the most famous portrait in the world, has probably been 
 the cause of as much speculation and comment as any picture 
 ever painted. Whatever it may have lost of its once exquisite 
 freshness and color, its spell is as potent, as compelling today 
 as it has ever been during the four centuries since it left Leo- 
 nardo’s hand. 
 
 Only the upper part of the figure is visible, the costume is 
 simple in the extreme, a far-reaching landscape forms the 
 background. With no remarkable beauty of feature, color or 
 composition its subtle fascination lies in the expression of the 
 eyes and in the baffling, strangely haunting smile. Just 
 what idea Leonardo was endeavoring to embody will doubtless 
 always remain a matter of conjecture, but it was evidently 
 something beside the painting of an individual portrait. A 
 suggestion of the same expression is traceable in several of his 
 pictures, particularly in his Madonnas. Some abstract idea 
 for which the smile stands seems to have haunted him. This 
 inscrutable creature has sounded the depths of all knowledge, 
 
 52 
 
has tasted all experience, yet, from her seeming familiaiity 
 with every thought one brings to her she might have been 
 painted yesterday. With every passing glance the expression 
 varies; to every mood or attitude of mind it responds. The 
 smile is appealing or repelling, lovable, disdainful or cynical 
 but always secure in the possession of its secret. 
 
 One wonders if Leonardo endeavored to embody in the 
 face of the Mona Lisa the spirit of the insolvable, impenetrable 
 mystery which shrouds every individual pei’sonality. 
 
 36 . 
 
 THE LAST SUPPER. 
 
 Santa Maria della Grace, Milan. 
 
 The Last Supper, painted near the close of the fiftenth 
 century, is now but the pale ghost of its former glory, Leon- 
 ardo’s propensity for experiment having in this case resulted 
 disastrously. The vicissitudes of time have also greatly dam- 
 aged the work ; the present copy is from a drawing made from 
 the decayed original. It is the first masterpiece of the third 
 period — the glorious period of the High Renaissance in Italy. 
 The fresco is twenty-eight feet long, the figures more than 
 life-size and the work was two years in painting. 
 
 Leonardo has seized that moment of far-reaching signi- 
 ficance when the company is thrown into consternation by the 
 words — “One of you shall betray me.” The figures are grouped 
 in threes; on the right are James, Thomas and Phillip, Mat- 
 thew, Thaddeus, and Simon; on the left, John, Peter and 
 Judas, then Andrew, James the less, and Bartholomew. Jesus 
 is the central figure. Llis exclamation has thrown the disciples 
 into confusion. Some are stunned by the enormity of the 
 charge, others are vociferous, indulging in violent gestures of 
 indignation or denial; each betrays his appropriate tempera- 
 ment in corresponding attitude and action with a wonderfully 
 varied rendering of individual character. The Christ alone 
 remains calm and silent. 
 
 The arrangement is so simple it would seem as if the story 
 could have been told in no other way, yet, in this very simpli- 
 city, Leonardo has achieved the triumph of the highest art. 
 
 53 
 
PINTORICCHIO. 
 
 1454 - 1513 . 
 
 Umbrian. 
 
 Pintoricchio, another artist of the Umbrian School, was an 
 assistant but a strange contrast to Perugino. Caring little for 
 the simple, reverent scenes of the former master, he revelled in 
 motley crowds, splendid costumes and sumptuous settings. 
 Though not a great artist, he was an interesting one owing to 
 his realism which led him to introduce into the various sub- 
 jects that he painted, innumerable details illustrative of the 
 manners and customs of his day. He showed little deep feel- 
 ing, little attempt to attain a lofty ideal, but his invention 
 seemed endless. He delighted in the most minute execution, 
 in the brilliant use of color and lavish use of ornament. He 
 is most noted for his frescos, particularly those in the Borgia 
 apartments in the Vatican. 
 
 37 . 
 
 PORTRAIT OF A BOY. 
 
 Royal Gallery, Dresden. 
 
 One of Pintoricchio’s most interesting small pictures is 
 the Portrait of a Boy — a work of his early period. The figure 
 is slight, but not graceful, the modeling noticeably wooden; 
 evidence that Pintoricchio had not entirely freed himself from 
 Byzantine stiffness of form. In the background, particularly 
 in the trees, Perugino’s influence is unmistakable. This is evi- 
 dently a sober, unsentimental youth, with a marked individ- 
 uality. The artist has cleverly suited the style of dress and 
 arrangement of the hair to a certain prim quality apparent in 
 the little fellow. 
 
 38 . 
 
 ST. CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA BEFORE HER 
 JUDGES. 
 
 Borgia Apartments, Vatican, Rome. 
 
 In the Hall of Saints in the Borgia apartments of the 
 Vatican is to be found this fresco, one of the most splendid by 
 
 54 
 
Pintoricchio’s hand. “In the sunny landscape, divided in 
 the center by a triumphal arch, a vast concourse of people 
 is gathered; philosophers, courtiers, Turks and Eastern poten- 
 tates with pages and soldiers and richly caparisoned horses — 
 the reds, blues, and greens of their apparel heavy with gold 
 embroidery and gleaming jewels, mingling in a gorgeous yet 
 subdued glow of color. To the left, seated on a marble throne, 
 is the Emperor Maximinus, in a robe that glitters with gold 
 ornaments, listening to the discourse of the youthful St. Cath- 
 erine of Alexandria, who, clad in a blue gown embroidered in 
 gold with a long red over-mantle, earnestly expounds the doc- 
 trines of her faith.” 
 
 In this fresco Pintoricchio is seen at his best, for he was 
 above all a decorator; before everything else he loved gold and 
 used it here with magnificent effect. Concerned particularly 
 with the general impression produced, he achieved in his fres- 
 cos a splendor of color, a sumptuous richness and brilliancy 
 which must have been dazzling in their pristine freshness. 
 
 FRA BARTOLOMMEO. 
 
 1475 - 1517 . 
 
 Florentine. 
 
 The same Dominican convent which once numbered Fra 
 Angelico among its brothers, gave the world another painter 
 who was reckoned among the foremost masters of the six- 
 teenth century. Fra Bartolommeo forms the connecting link 
 between the artists of the early Renaissance and the Golden 
 Age; his contributions to the art of Italy were in the depart- 
 ments of composition and color. He carried to a great degree 
 of perfection the scientific scheme of grouping, built upon geo- 
 metrical principles, attempted by Leonardo. Pyramids, tri- 
 angles and other simple figures formed the basis of his system. 
 A sincere, religious painter, he gave utterance to his reverent 
 thoughts in the more perfect art language of his age, greatly 
 developed the principles of Leonardo and prepared the way for 
 Raphael, whose early work he influenced to some extent. His 
 color, once fine for Florence, is now much injured by the use 
 of black pigments in the shadows. This practice, which was 
 
 55 
 
followed by a number of the old masters, has caused the 
 ruin of many fine compositions. 
 
 39 . 
 
 MADONNA, CHILD, ELIZABETH AND ST. JOHN. 
 
 Collection of Sir Frederic Cook, England. 
 
 The year before Fra Bartolommeo died, he painted this 
 Madonna which is in the pyramidal form of composition so 
 much a favorite with him as well as with later artists. The 
 Virgin, the little Christ, Elizabeth and St. John are repre- 
 sented under the spreading branches of a palm tree, behind 
 them a beautifully painted landscape stretches away into 
 the distance. The work is of the pastoral type, afterwards per- 
 fected by Raphael. It is an oft repeated subject, but the artist 
 has given an exquisite representation of it both in the sym- 
 metrical grouping and in the wonderfully sweet expressions 
 of the faces of the Virgin and Elizabeth. The attitudes of 
 the children are particularly appealing and affectionate. 
 
 40 . 
 
 DEPOSITION. 
 
 Pitti Palace, Florence. 
 
 The moment’s pause at the very foot of the cross when 
 the body is laid upon the ground is, properly speaking, the 
 Deposition, though the representation is similar to that of the 
 Pieta. Fra Bartolommeo has given an effective representation of 
 this frequently painted subject. The lifeless form of the dead 
 Christ is rendered with wonderful flexibility; the body is sus- 
 tained by St. John, the fine figure of the Magdalen embraces 
 the feet, the Virgin tenderly supports the head. The back- 
 ground is a somber, gloomy landscape in keeping with the 
 subject and the hour when the scene is depicted. It is inter- 
 esting to compare the three famous treatments of this subject 
 which hang in the collection. 
 
 56 
 
LUINI. 
 
 1475 - 1533 . 
 
 Lombard. 
 
 Lombardy is one of the loveliest districts of North Italy. 
 Her painters were natives of small villages and the character 
 of their art reflects that of their surroundings. Luini is the 
 chief of his school, and, according to Ruskin, stands alone in 
 uniting exceptional art power with untainted simplicity of 
 religion. A faithful follower of Leonardo da Vinci, he so 
 closely adapted his style to that of the greater master, that 
 many of their works have, until recently, been commonly con- 
 founded. Later he. developed his own manner and while he 
 is less prof ound^^^ lacks the strength and boldness of Leonardo, 
 in sympathetic charm, a certain primitive simplicity, grace, 
 and purity, he fills his own place. 
 
 41 . 
 
 MADONNA OF THE ROSE HEDGE. 
 
 Brera Gallery, Milan. 
 
 In this lovely Madonna, the Child, with its expressive far- 
 seeing eyes, recalls Raphael, but the Virgin’s face suggests 
 Leonardo’s influence. There is just a hint of the subtlety of 
 expression seen in the face of the Virgin of the Rocks. 
 
 She is seated in front of a trellis covered with white roses, 
 the little Christ with a most natural movement is turning to 
 pick the columbine in the flower pot at his side. In sentiment 
 and feeling, the work is entirely characteristic of Luini whose 
 pictures take high rank, not only because of their excellent 
 composition and technique, but because of their grace, purity 
 and spiritual expression. 
 
 SODOMA. 
 
 1477 ?- 1549 . 
 
 Siennese. 
 
 Early Siennese painting is characterized by calmness and 
 devotion. The glory of the school was not permanent, but it 
 
 57 
 
heralded the sunrise. In the churches and academy of old 
 Sienna, one may study the dawn of national art. Sodoma 
 was a gifted pupil of Leonardo who belonged to the great 
 movement of progress which characterized the last of the fif- 
 teenth century. He was the last great representative of the 
 Siennese School and was an eminent, but not a great artist, 
 who is seen at his best in his single figures. In some of these 
 Sodoma reached a high degree of perfection. 
 
 42 . 
 
 ST. SEBASTIAN. 
 
 Uffizi Gallery, Florence. 
 
 St. Sebastian, Sodoma^s masterpiece, was originally in- 
 tended to be used as a standard or banner to be carried through 
 the streets in times of pestilence, St. Sebastian being the patron 
 saint against plague. In the legends, Sebastian is a Roman 
 soldier whom neither threats nor persuasions can induce to 
 abandon the Christian faith. The expression of the face is 
 refined and spiritual in its obliviousness of the piercing arrows, 
 the manifestation of suffering, just enough to mark the mar- 
 tyred saint, but not enough to mar the splendid beauty of the 
 figure. This picture is typical of the Renaissance at this period, 
 combining as it does, the physical beauty of a Greek marble 
 with a Christian spirit of martyrdom. The classical spirit is 
 still further enhanced by the lovely landscape setting. 
 
 58 
 
German Painting. 
 
 While the Renaissance, with Leonardo, Michael Angelo 
 and Raphael was reaching its zenith in Italy, in Germany, it 
 was about to dawn. The awakening in the North was later and 
 much more gradual ; indeed German art gave evidence of little 
 strength and individuality until the sixteenth century. It 
 showed the predominance of the religious subject, reflected 
 the serious nature of the German folk, and as a whole was 
 more devoted to the representation of character than of beauty. 
 Thus early German art is in harmony with the stricter view 
 of religion and theology which produced the Reformation. 
 
 Passing from the work of the Italian to that of the Ger- 
 man painters, one is at once impressed with the great contrast 
 between the art of these two peoples. The Italian race, under 
 sunny skies, had developed an instinctive love of the beauti- 
 ful, which revealed itself in classic forms, grace, light and color. 
 The Germans, in a sterner climate, retained the energy that 
 carved its way through their native forests, with not a little of 
 the gloomy romance that haunted their dark shadows. The 
 qualities of diligence, precision and a certain mysterious gloom 
 are, therefore, reflected in their works. Their homely realism 
 is, at first, less pleasing than the more ideal conceptions of 
 the Italians, yet in time one comes to admire their absolute 
 sincerity, their simple directness of representation. Their 
 work, moreover, is historically valuable, the quality and char- 
 acter of the people coming to us truthfully through their art. 
 
 The school is characterized by a stern ruggedness, a love 
 of minute detail and a sort of dramatic earnestness, the nature 
 of the revival here being more moral and intellectual than 
 artistic. Later, Germany came under Italian influence. It 
 was not successfully assimilated, however, until the time of 
 Rubens. 
 
 59 
 
DURER. 
 
 1471 - 1528 . 
 
 German. 
 
 The man who stands first in the German art of the 
 Renaissance, who best typifies the art of his countiy, and who 
 was to place the German School in the front rank of art centers, 
 was Albrecht Diirer. It is to Nuremberg one must go to know 
 this most peculiar and original genius. His personality seems 
 to penetrate every nook and cranny of the quaint old mediaeval 
 town. He was remarkable for the vigor and strength of his 
 imagination, but had withal a strange, fantastic method and 
 spirit particularly characteristic of himself. Many of his 
 works are singular, almost grotesque, and far from beautiful. 
 His fame is in a large measure due to his engravings. In this 
 art he stands alone on the heights, with scarcely an equal in 
 the four centuries since his day. His drawing shows a ten- 
 dency to stiff, sharp lines; evidence that his scrupulous exact- 
 ness which found its best expression in his engravings, crept 
 into his paintings and interfered somewhat with a free teoh- 
 nical treatment. 
 
 Although he assimilated something of the art of both 
 Flanders and Italy, he remained staunchly a German in race, 
 method and inspiration. His influence over his countrymen 
 was enormous and his style was followed through the sixteenth 
 century. 
 
 43 . 
 
 MADONNA OF THE FINCH. 
 
 Emperor Frederick Museum, Berlin. 
 
 How decidedly Diirer’s national characteristics are shown 
 in ’ this very typical Madonna. It was painted during the 
 artist’s sojourn in Venice and shows something of Italian influ- 
 ence, yet, for the greater part, it is German both in concep- 
 tion and spirit. 
 
 The Virgin is a true German mother while the back- 
 ground and foreground which are crowded with minute details, 
 bespeak the hand of a northern country artist. It is one of 
 
 60 
 
the most charming of Diirer's pictures and is still quite fresh 
 in color. The golden haired Madonna, the two cherubs with 
 rainbow hued wings, holding the elaborate crown of flowers, 
 bear a resemblance to the artist’s great picture of the “Feast of 
 the Rose Garlands,” painted about the same time. The land- 
 scape background shows a picturesque bit of old world quaint- 
 ness. The Virgin holds the Child, who is seated upon a cush- 
 ion of red velvet ; in his right hand he holds what is known in 
 Germany as a “Lutsche ^' — a little linen bag filled with sugar,” 
 on his left arm is perched a bird, probably a finch. St. John 
 presents the Madonna with a bunch of lilies-of-the-valley, while 
 the angel at the left holds the reed cross emblematic of the 
 saint. The picture lacks in spirituality, perhaps, but is happy 
 and tender in style. 
 
 The figures of the little Christ and the angels are particu- 
 larly graceful, showing southern influence and comparing fav- 
 orably with some of the Italian creations. 
 
 44 . 
 
 PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST. 
 
 Alte Pinakothek, Munich. 
 
 Diirer, like Rembrandt, took delight in painting his own 
 likeness. 
 
 This portrait, which contains a reminder of the head of 
 Christ, is probably the best known and was painted at the 
 age of thirty-three. The face is unusual. It reveals direct- 
 ness, thoughtfulness, dignity and perhaps a consciousness of 
 personal worth. Here, as everywhere, Diirer has worked out 
 the smallest details with patient, microscopic accuracy. The 
 hair is beautifully painted ; it is touched with the utmost min- 
 uteness, yet the silky, flowing texture is not lost. The coat 
 or robe has received equal care; the dashes of light and the 
 delicate brush work on the fur of the collar are so cleverly 
 managed as to make the identity of the material unmistakable. 
 
 Diirer, always minute in the features of hair, cloth and 
 flesh, shows here that studied care of outward appearances so 
 typical of German art — an art more attractive for the charmi 
 
 61 
 
and beauty of its detail, than for the general impression pro- 
 duced. 
 
 HOLBEIN. 
 
 1497 - 1543 . 
 
 German. 
 
 Just at the close of the fifteenth century arose the second 
 greatest German genius of the period, Hans Holbein the 
 younger, an artist widely different from Diirer in work, tem- 
 perament and point of view. 
 
 Diirer was an idealist and a religious painter. Holbein 
 was emphatically a realist. He delighted to represent the pro- 
 saic, the matter of fact, and found his material in the actual 
 life about him. He had more of a feeling for grace and beauty, 
 but less of the romantic spirit than his contemporary. He is 
 particularly famous as a portrait painter, acquiring a reputa- 
 tion for wonderfully accurate vivid likenesses. While his por- 
 traits show little imagination, yet his realism is so correct, his 
 expression so natural, his heads so forcibly finished that he 
 ranks in this branch of painting with the most renowned of 
 any age or country. He painted religious themes, but with 
 little real spiritual significance. 
 
 Holbein’s later years were spent in the English court, in 
 the service of Henry VHI. 
 
 45 . 
 
 GEORGE GYZE. 
 
 Berlin Gallery. 
 
 It was during Holbein’s sojourn in England that he 
 painted one of the finest bits of portraiture in existence — the 
 likeness of a young German merchant of the Steelyard — one 
 ‘‘Gyze, resident in London.” The picture is full of color, con- 
 tains a wealth of accessories and is painted with that perfection 
 found only in German and Flemish pictures. 
 
 The subject, evidently in his counting house, is sur- 
 rounded by the various objects which belong to his occupation; 
 his ink, papers, ball of string, scales — all at hand ready for 
 
 62 
 
immediate use; beside, just for a touch of beauty, is a vase 
 holding a carnation or two. Eaeh one of these numerous items is 
 an interesting study in itself. Holbein must sometimes have 
 stepped back from his easel to get the effect of his work as a 
 whole, for the details do not in the least detract from the 
 importance of the figure ; on the contrary, they rather assist in 
 giving a feeling of intimacy with the merchant and his .sur- 
 roundings. 
 
 The picture — as an artist would put it — is a real triumph 
 of well controlled elaboration. The eye is carried over every 
 inch of the canvas, yet is always brought back to the center 
 of interest — the refined, masterly head of the man himself. 
 The portrait forms a marked contrast to the Man with the 
 Glove by Titian ; a work entirely opposite, both in its concep- 
 tion and treatment. 
 
 46 . 
 
 MADONNA OF THE BURGOMASTER MEYER. 
 
 Grand Ducal Palace, Darmstadt. 
 
 The one religious picture which has placed Holbein beside 
 the great Italian painters of the Church, is this altarpiece 
 painted for Burgomaster Meyer of Basle. At this period art 
 in Germany was stimulated by wealth rather than by devotion ; 
 rich churches and burghers often gave large commissions for 
 the adornment of their altars and council rooms, many wealthy 
 families having their own Madonna in memory of some deliv- 
 erance, or to ward off misfortune. This famous picture was 
 ordered as a votive offering to the Virgin for the recovery 
 of the Meyer baby from a dangerous illness. 
 
 According to one of the many interpretations, the Virgin 
 appears to the family with her own Child in her arms which 
 she puts down, taking up the Burgomaster’s baby instead. 
 The somewhat formal arrangement of the group expresses at 
 once the Virgin’s dominance and her benign protection; her 
 standing attitude brings her head and shoulders above the 
 kneeling figures about her and the rounding arch of the odd 
 little alcove where she stands has the effect of adding a good 
 
 63 
 
deal of stateliness and dignity to her really mild, gentle figure. 
 The kneeling woman nearest the Virgin is supposed to be the 
 deceased first wife of Meinherr Meyer, arrayed in her burial 
 clothes. Besides her kneels the second wife, an anxious look- 
 ing dame in a fashionable collar and head dress. In the fore- 
 ground, slender and demure with her own best head dress 
 over her closely braided hair, kneels the daughter of the iiouse. 
 The young son and the debatable baby are grouped with the 
 Burgomaster on the opposite side. 
 
 Holbein has quite successfully avoided monotony in the 
 poses; no two faces are looking in the same direction, no two 
 have the same expression, but each has an interesting individ- 
 uality. The figures, if not so idealistic as those of Italian 
 Madonnas, are quite as sincerely devout. This masterpiece 
 of German art is full of simplicity, dignity and serious impress- 
 iveness. 
 
 MICHAEL ANGELO. 
 
 1475 - 1564 . 
 
 Florentine. 
 
 To find further developments in art, one turns again to 
 Florence, this time to consider Michael Angelo, perhaps the 
 greatest master of the Renaissance. In the early part of the 
 fifteenth century, Italy, now in a state of great agitation and 
 disorder, was already upon the road to her downfall. The 
 Titanic figure of Michael Angelo stands as the embodiment in 
 art of the contention and tumult of this period. 
 
 Endowed with a somewhat peculiar temperament he had 
 little in common with the tastes of his fellow painters. Beauty 
 of nature, tenderness of sentiment, even loveliness of feature, 
 made little appeal to him. His supreme interest was in the 
 human form ; this sufficed to convey all his messages and was 
 the vehicle through which he expressed every variety of feel- 
 ing. It is not only in the faces of Michael Angelo’s figures 
 that one looks to find what the master has to reveal, but in the 
 torso, the limbs and the straining, quivering muscles. A sculp- 
 tor even when he wielded his brush, he replaced lines of grace 
 by lines of power, sentiment and tenderness by colossal strength 
 
 64 
 
and profound impressiveness. In faet, he took up liLs brush 
 under protest and was not so much a pictorial painter as a 
 creator of forms and ideas; in color, light, air and perspective 
 he was behind his contemporaries. 
 
 His art was a revelation of the strength of his own nature. 
 His work leaves the impression that the innate force of the 
 man and the scope of his wonderful imagination was even 
 greater than his power to express it. Though called the glorj^ 
 of all art of all time, he stood an isolated solitary figure, a law 
 unto himself. He had no followers Avorthy of the name. 
 
 47 . 
 
 CREATION OF ADAM. 
 
 Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome. 
 
 On the Sistine’s vault is probably the grandest piece of 
 decoration in the world. These frescos — a series of scenes 
 representing the history of the world from the day of creation 
 until after the flood — are Michael Angelo’s greatest achieve- 
 ments as a painter. 
 
 Before these works of the great master can be appreciated, 
 it is necessary to enlarge one’s conception of beauty beyond the 
 idea of mere loveliness of color, sentiment, or classic physical 
 perfection and to include the essential abstract qualities of 
 beauty belonging to energy, character and significance. Such 
 a conception is the Creation of Adam, although here Michael 
 dAngelo has approached nearer to physical beauty than in many 
 instances. Never before nor since has the old Hebrew story 
 found such an interpreter. It is a majestic impressive repre- 
 sentation, universal in its scope and sublime in its inspiration. 
 The Almighty hovers above, with a choir of angels enclosed 
 in the swelling folds of His mantle; from under His arm 
 looks out the startled, wondering face of Eve. As He touches 
 the drooping fingers of the outstretched hand of Adam, the 
 divine spark rouses into life the being He has made to have 
 dominion over the earth — a marvelous awakening. 
 
 This significant conception is truly said to be grander in 
 ideas and composition than any other the Avorld has ever 
 known. 
 
 65 
 
48 . 
 
 HOLY FAMILY. 
 
 Uffizi Gallery, Florence. 
 
 Michael Angelo said himself that he was more of a sculp- 
 mr than a painter. He disliked oil painting — which, he 
 declared, was fit only for women and children. The Holy 
 Family, one of the few easel pictures painted by his hand (even 
 this was painted unwillingly) contains little reminder of Peru- 
 gino’s or Raphael’s conception of the subject. But it is very 
 like Michael Angelo. 
 
 The Virgin, seated in front, is a strong vigorous woman, 
 whose attitude is unusual and whose face is neither spiritual 
 nor pleasing. Her body shows a fine display of muscles as she 
 turns to lift the Child who also shows little of divinity, and is 
 really a study in anatomy and foreshortening. The nude 
 sculpturesque figures in the background are strangely out of 
 keeping with the subject. Michael Angelo’s aim is supposed to 
 have been not so much a representation of the tender senti- 
 ments of the Holy Family as the solution of a definite artistic 
 problem — how to express the greatest amount of action in a 
 very limited space. 
 
 The work is characteristic of the artist, in that it is more 
 like a bas-relief or a colored cartoon than a painting. It is 
 masterful in modeling, full of vigor and force, but lacks the 
 spiritual significance, grace and sentiment found in similar 
 subjects by other artists. 
 
 49 . 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT. 
 
 Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome. 
 
 This colossal composition, one of the latest and most mon- 
 umental works of Italian art, is a fresco over the altar of the 
 Sistine Chapel, filling a space sixty feet high by thirty broad. 
 It is one of the last by Michael Angelo’s hand, was painted 
 when he was sixty years of age, and occupied eight years in 
 
 66 
 
painting. In it he gratified his supremest desire — to be able 
 to realize all the possibilities of movement, position, foreshort- 
 ening and grouping of the nude human form. . 
 
 The fresco is now so blackened with the smoke of burning 
 incense, that at first sight it appears like a stormy sky with 
 shifting clouds gathering from all sides; after a few moments 
 the composition slowly unfolds itself. 
 
 Christ, the avenging Judge, with Mary clinging timidly to 
 his knee, forms the center; an immense circle of saints, each 
 with his appropriate emblem in hand, surrounds him; below 
 are the archangels hastening to earth, the blasts of their trum- 
 pets proclaiming inexorable judgment ; from the depths below 
 on the left, arise the awakened dead; opposite on the right 
 Charon in his boat strikes with his oar those who are attempt- 
 ing to climb into it; above him, also on the right are the 
 doomed, a crowd of struggling, writhing shapes striving to 
 reach heaven, but thrust down by angels and devils. Quite 
 above the circle of the elect, are the blessed, bearing the instru- 
 ments of the death and sufferings of Christ. The work con- 
 tains over two hundred figures and is said to have been first 
 exhibited to the public on Christmas Day, 1541. 
 
 50 . 
 
 THE CUMEAN SIBYL. 
 
 Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome. 
 
 On the Sistine ceiling, seated with the prophets of old, 
 are the Sibyls,' the prophetesses who were to the Gentiles what 
 the prophets were to the Jews, — the foretellers of the coming 
 of the Redeemer. There are some curious and interesting tra- 
 ditions pertaining to the origin and teachings of this peculiar 
 race of women. Michael Angelo has interpreted their several 
 offices and attributes in his own original manner, and none 
 more strikingly than those of the Cumean Sibyl who foretold 
 the Nativity in the stable. 
 
 Legend says that six centuries before Christ, she came 
 three times to Tarquin, King of Rome, to sell him nine books 
 of prophecy. Each time he refused to buy she burned three; 
 
 67 
 
the third time he bought the last three, paying the price of 
 the original nine. For centuries these books were under the 
 care of the priests in the Capitol, where they were consulted at 
 trying periods of the nation’s history, until they were destroyed 
 at the burning of the temple of Jupiter in 3 B. C. This super- 
 human figure breathes mental energy in every physical detail 
 as with intense gaze she peers into her book of prophecy which 
 holds all mystery and all knowledge. 
 
 Th^e figures of the Prophets and Sibyls are among the 
 highest examples of Michael Angelo’s power as well as among 
 the most forcible expressions of the Italian Renaissance. 
 
 RAPHAEL. 
 
 1483-1520. 
 
 Umbrian. 
 
 For two hundred years, since the time of the awakening 
 by Cimabue, artists have been working toward the highest 
 development of art, each adding his mite toward this achieve- 
 ment. Into the latter part of the fifteenth century came Raphael 
 Sanzio, an artist who occupies a unique place; not because he 
 contributed anything new or great, but because he united and 
 assimilated the best that his predecessors had given — thought, 
 form, expression, beauty — and sought by a union of these ele- 
 ments to produce perfect harmony. So well did he succeed ^ 
 he is often called the Harmonist of the Renaissance. 
 
 For his period and school he was quite remarkable tech- 
 nically. In composition he excelled. Even in color he was 
 good for Florence, though not equal to the Venetians. His 
 work is marked by serenity, grace and naturalness of the 
 human figure, beauty, gentleness and tenderness of expression. 
 But it is because his art, apart from its technical skill and 
 charm, combines so admirably the religious and the pagan 
 feeling, — the personal intensity and reverence of the one with 
 the impersonal serenity and happiness of the other, — that he 
 holds a place distinct from any other artist. 
 
51 . 
 
 MADONNA OF THE GRAND DUKE. 
 
 Pitti Palace, Florence. 
 
 The eai’liest Madonna pictures known are of the portrait 
 style, are of Byzantine or Greek origin, and were brought to 
 Rome from Constantinople. This type remained practically 
 unchanged until the thirteen tli century. With the dawn of 
 the Renaissance this form passed out of vogue, giving place to 
 more elaborate styles. The fii-st Madonna painted by Raphael 
 after he left Perugino was the incomparable Madonna del 
 Granduca, in which he returned to the simple early represen- 
 tation. 
 
 There can hardly be a more conclusive argument for the 
 pi*e-eminent genius of this artist than the fact that the pic- 
 ture was painted when he was but tvrenty-one. It is one of 
 the few Madonnas in which only the Virgin and Christ appear. 
 The draperies are of the simplest, the only bit of symbolism 
 introduced is the thread-like halo above each head. It was 
 once bought for the equivalent of about twenty dollars. After- 
 ward it was purchased by the Grand Duke Ferdinand III of 
 Tuscany, who was so devoted to it that he had it always in his 
 apartments or carried it about with him on his travels. 
 
 The compasition is one of absolute simplicity. The fig- 
 ures of both Madonna and Child are marked by vertical lines, 
 the OTily deviation being the direction given to the Virgin’s 
 head. Pier face, with its exquisite oval, its softly drooping eyes 
 and infinitely sweet, tender expression is appealingly lovely. 
 
 The Ducal Madonna combines the spiritual and earthly 
 elements to a remarkable degree; it shows a mingling of the 
 last touches of reverence and solemnity of the Umbrian School 
 with the eailhly, more material beauty which were character- 
 istic of the master’s later Florentine style. The atmosphere of 
 Perugino still breathes from this tranquil picture. 
 
 69 
 
52 . 
 
 LA BELLE JARDINIERE. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 It was not until the sixteenth century that the pastoral 
 Madonna, in its highest form, was first produced, for many cen- 
 turies passed before artists turned their attention from figure 
 painting to natural scenery. Raphael has a group of these 
 which is unique as nature idyls. 
 
 La Belle Jardiniere, known to all the world as the Beauti- 
 ful Gardener, is one of the very famous examples of the type. 
 This masterpiece of composition is grouped in Raphael’s fav- 
 orite pyramidal form and has for a setting an ideally beautiful 
 bit of Tuscan landscape, showing distant views of hills, towers 
 and placid water. The Virgin, with the Child and the little 
 St. John, are seated in the near foreground on a grassy knoll, 
 while all about them are flowers and grasses painted with great 
 care for detail. The figures seem to belong to the landscape as 
 naturally as the blossoms around them. 
 
 Here is no subtlety, no strong emotion, no mystery, except 
 the wonderful, beautiful mystery of placid childhood and 
 maternal love. The simple sweetness and serenity of La Belle 
 belong as much to the atmosphere of the open fields as the 
 mysterious smile of Leonardo’s Virgin to her shadowy sur- 
 roundings. The background shows the influence of Perugino ; 
 the wide stretch of Umbrian landscape is very similar to that 
 found in the earlier master’s ‘‘Adoring Virgin.” 
 
 53 . 
 
 PARNASSUS. 
 
 Stanze, The V atican, Rome. 
 
 The qualities of the artist in which Raphael remains most 
 unapproachable, are illustration and composition. When he 
 was twenty-five he was summoned to Rome, by Pope Julius II, 
 to assist in decorating the chambers of the Vatican. In these 
 frescos Raphael had ample opportunity to exercise his power 
 
 70 
 
as a “space filler”. He was confronted with trying difficulties, 
 however, as the spaces were many of them awkward to fill. 
 
 No fresco in this room is, perhaps, more pleasing than 
 Parnassus, and none more poetical in conception. On the left 
 is the stately figure of the blind Homer and further in the back- 
 ground Dante and Virgil are recognizable. Below are Petrarch 
 and Sappho. On the right, in the lower corner, are Pindar 
 and Horace and behind them a group supposed to he contem- 
 poraries of Raphael; many of the figures have not been satisfac- 
 torily identified. There are interesting differences between 
 this and Mantegna’s version of the same theme. 
 
 54 . 
 
 CHRIST’S CHARGE TO PETER. 
 
 South Kensington Museum, London. 
 
 Among the multitudinous activities of Raphaers short 
 life of thirty-seven years, was the designing for Pope Leo X, a 
 series of ten great subjects from the New Testament to be 
 woven in tapestry. The cartoons for these works were painted 
 in tempera colors, were finished in 1516 and taken to Brussels 
 where the tapestry was to be woven. Seven of them remained 
 there until 1630, when they were bought by Charles I., on the 
 advice of Rubens, and taken to England. These celebrated 
 works, now in the South Kensington Museum, London, are, 
 on the whole, Raphael’s most triumphant achievement along 
 the line of design and academic composition. 
 
 The one reproduced here represents Christ’s repeated 
 charge to Peter — “Feed my Sheep.” At the left stand the dis- 
 ciples ; Peter kneels slightly in front, gazing intensely upward 
 into the face of Christ who emphasizes his command by a vig- 
 orous two-fold gesture. The chief interest of the work centers 
 in the varied expressions which animate the group of the dis- 
 ciples. The nearest, attracted by the radiant figure of the 
 Christ, are ready to fall, like Peter, on their knees ; those imme- 
 diately behind show hesitation, doubt and a casting of inquir- 
 ing glances, while the last hold back in pronounced distrust. 
 
 71 
 
Raphael’s conception of the theme is of particular psycholog- 
 ical interest. 
 
 Although the cartoons were cut into strips to accommodate 
 the weavers, they have been so carefully pieced together they 
 seem quite perfect. The color is still fine, and each scene 
 shows that happy union of the classic with the modern spirit 
 that only Raphael could make harmonious. These cartoons 
 alone were enough to found the master’s fame. 
 
 55 
 
 SISTINE MADONNA. 
 
 Royal Gallery, Dresden. 
 
 The worship of the Madonna began as early as the year 
 403. She was first looked upon merely as a mediator who 
 might be implored for intercession before an offended God, 
 therefore the early representations were symbolic, severe and 
 forbidding, but as art and Christianity advanced, there was an 
 increase in the dignity of the Virgin and in her importance 
 as an individual. As the human element crept in, it is inter- 
 esting to follow the gradual evolution into the Madonna as a 
 revelation of motherhood. The Byzantine gilded settings, jew- 
 eled draperies and heavy haloes have disappeared; the robe is 
 simple, the halo, if represented at all, is by a thread-like circle ; 
 instead of the elaborate throne, the Virgin is portrayed in the 
 clouds or with a landscape background. 
 
 From the stiff, conventional form of Cimabue's Virgin 
 through many and varied types, the highest ideal is reached in 
 the Sistine Madonna, the last and greatest of the forty 
 Madonnas painted by Raphael and now occupying a special 
 cabinet in the Dresden Gallery. It needs to be seen there in 
 that quiet room and approached in a reverent spirit to be fully 
 appreciated. Through the parted curtains one seems to be 
 looking into the very heaven of heavens; a cloud of cherub 
 faces fills tlie air, from the midst of which the Madonna moves 
 steadily forward, carrying foilh her Child to the service of 
 humanity. It is thus she becomes one of ^‘His witnesses unto 
 the people” and presents him to the world for the fulfillment 
 
of his calling. The inexplicable expraision which Kaphael 
 gives to his Child Christs reaches its height in’ the face of this 
 Child, 
 
 The finishing touch to the whole is given in the two 
 enchanting boy angels, who complete this great composition 
 which belongs to no special epoch, exemplifies no paiticular 
 I’eligious creed, but exists for all mankind. 
 
 DEL SARTO. 
 
 1486 - 1531 . 
 
 Florentine. 
 
 Immediately after Leonardo, Michael Angelo and Raphael, 
 into the most exacting period of the Renaissance came Andrea 
 del Sarto. The age demanded not only the greatest technical 
 equipment, but the greatest spiritual gifts, and it is perhaps 
 due to his lack of the loftier qualities of imagination and sen- 
 timent that Andrea stops just short of perfect fulfillment. 
 
 As regards the technical features of his ail, drawing, color, 
 feeling for light and shade, the handling of fresco and oil, he 
 was in advance of any Florentine painter of the period; but 
 though he painted religious subjects, he w^as more concerned 
 with the material than the spiritual side, and his exquisite com- 
 positions have little devotional feeling about them. Neverthe- 
 less, he was among the best Italian masters and his special 
 glory is that, living at a time when all Italy was overshadowed 
 by the three mighty geniuses of the Renaiasance, he accom- 
 plished works which were strictly permeated with his own per- 
 sonality and were masterpieces. 
 
 Michael Angelo, the greatest master of all, named him 
 the faultless painter. Nothing can exceed the charm, the 
 delightful harmony of his color, and it is doubtless largely 
 through circumstance of period and environment that he 
 stands just a step below the greatest in Italian art. 
 
 73 
 
56 . 
 
 PORTRAIT OF HIMSELF. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 This fascinating, somewhat melancholy face might easily 
 be an image of the unhappy Andrea, but his authenticated 
 likeness does not bear out the similarity. It is evidently that 
 of some sculptor, as he seems to be holding in his hands a 
 piece of modeling clay. The classic features, the wonderfully 
 living expression of the eyes in their side glance, make it an 
 unusually attractive portrait. 
 
 57 . 
 
 THE PIETA. 
 
 Imperial Gallery, Vienna. 
 
 Andrea’s representation of The Mourning for Christ — 
 shows the body of the Saviour reclining on a slab overlaid with 
 cloth. The Virgin, with sorrowful expression and tear-stained 
 face, bends over it ; the head is supported by an angel ; at the 
 feet is the figure of a second angel. These two attendant angels 
 are lovely figures — among the loveliest ever painted by Andrea. 
 The work, while most beautiful in sentiment and color, lacks 
 the deep reverent piety of Francia’s Pieta. Andrea has made 
 the scene impressive and noble, yet human. It seems to belong 
 more to the realistic than the mystic school, and reveals an 
 unmistakable tendency toward naturalism. 
 
 58 . 
 
 ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. 
 
 Pitti Palace, Florence. 
 
 This fine work, so full of the Renaissance spirit, shows the 
 result of effort toward the representation of physical perfection. 
 x\s some one has said, it shows what artists could do now that 
 they knew their anatomy. It departs entirely from the earlier 
 
 74 
 
tradition and represents the patron saint of Florence in the 
 form of a beautiful, noble youth, with nothing about him ot 
 the penitent or the ascetic. It is an ideal picture and one of 
 the most popular portraits of this familiar figure. 
 
 59 . 
 
 MADONNA OF THE HARPIES. 
 
 Uffizi Gallery, Florence. 
 
 Tlie Madonna of the Harpies, so called from the relief of 
 harpies carved on the pedestal of the Virgin’s throne, was ori- 
 ginally executed for a Franciscan convent and is now among 
 the chief ornaments of the Uffizi Gallery. It was painted a 
 few months after the artist’s marriage to the beautiful Lucre- 
 zia, whose features are recognized in the Viren’s face. The 
 Child clings lovingly to the Mother’s neck, two boy angels 
 play with the skirts of her robe. At the foot of the throne 
 stands St. Francis, with crucifix in hand, while the youthful St. 
 John is seen in the act of writing his gospel. . 
 
 Andrea never excelled this composition, which in simp e 
 grace and majesty is unique among his works. Devoid of 
 symbols, it represents the highest development of this ancient 
 type of altarpiece. The evolution of this style of composition 
 is interesting ; comparing it with earlier enthroned Madonnas, 
 one is impressed with the dignity and simplicity of this six- 
 teenth century work, which is so free from unnecessary acces- 
 sories. It is one of the most beautiful of the type, exquisite 
 in color and absolutely symmetrical in arrangement; it is, 
 beside, so sculpturesquely composed, one wonders it has never 
 been reproduced in marble. 
 
 CORREGGIO. 
 
 1494 ?- 1534 . 
 
 Parmese. 
 
 Correggio seized upon a niche which even in so rich a 
 period in art was still unoccupied. He passed by the religious, 
 the classic, the literary, and as an art motive chose the purely 
 
 75 
 
material beauty of the world and the joy of physical life. He 
 is perhaps the artist with whom the beauty of the human as 
 distinguished from the religious and the classic showed at its 
 very strongest. His figures appeal to us not intellectually, not 
 historically, not religiously, but artistically. 
 
 Correggio is usually classed with the Parmese School ; really 
 he stands somewhat apart from any, but it was at . Parma, 
 far from the direct influences alike of antique or modern art, 
 that he was able to follow the bent of his own genius. Tech- 
 nically, he was quite a perfect painter; his peculiar chiaroscuro 
 by which forms are “half concealed, half unveiled,'’ is one 
 of his characteristic and most fascinating qualities, w^hile 
 rhythm of line, a wonderful play of light, shade tuid color 
 combined with charm and grace, take the place of a grand, 
 classic st}de. In studying his pictures one feels that what- 
 ever the subject, they were painted first of all to express beauty. 
 He was one of the first men in the Renaissance to paint a pic- 
 ture for the purpose of weaving a scheme of lights and darks 
 through a tapestr}^ of rich colors, — an art for art’s sake motive. 
 His works never arouse profound or exalted sentiment, but his 
 soft melting tones and contours, his lovely creatures, with their 
 forms enveloped in palpitating atmosphere, moving and smil- 
 ing in the fullness of pure, unalloyed happine^, make an 
 unavoidable appeal to the purely artistic and jesthetic sense. 
 They are full of delightful enjoyment. 
 
 60 . 
 
 THE IMARPJAGE OF ST. CATHERINE. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 One of the most beautiful of his so-called religious paint- 
 ings is the Marriage of St. Catherine of Alexandria. This 
 legend was never enveloped with a greater charm of loveliness 
 than Correggio has given it. St. Catherine was the maiden 
 Queen of Alexandria who dared to be a Christian and eventu- 
 ally died for her faith by torments of the wheel, which emblem 
 appears in many of her representations. She had a vision in 
 which it was made known to her that she should consider her- 
 
 76 
 
s«If the bride of Christ, aaid in this mystic marriago is iLsuaily 
 represented as kneeling before the little Christ, who places the 
 betrothal ring upon her finger. 
 
 There is no trace of religious feeling in Correggio’s repre- 
 sent^ion of the theme, but it is filled with a sense of innocent 
 joy harmonious with the subject. Even St. Christopher, who i.s 
 the witness of the nuptial, typifies the god of love more than 
 the martyred saint. Correggio was a painter to his finger-tips, 
 and this wonderfully beautiful picture gives an almost per- 
 fect idea of his genius. 
 
 61 . 
 
 HOLY NIGHT. 
 
 Royal Galleiy, Dr^den. 
 
 Correggio has given no better example of his originality 
 in the handling of light and shade than in his Holy Night. 
 The treatment was suggested by a passage in the Apocryphal 
 Gospel, which tells how St. Joseph, upon entering the stable, 
 saw the Child shining with a supernatural radiance which 
 lighted the figures of the Virgin and angels. There is such 
 perfect symmetiy between the attitude of the spectators and the 
 artistes way of bringing his light to bear upon them, that the 
 ingenuity of the handling is apt to be overlooked; the central 
 light which emanates from the Child throws its strongest rays 
 on the face of the Virgin, next lighting the faces of the shep- 
 herds, then that of the woman who shields her eyes with her 
 hand; a lesser light comes from the angels above, still fainter 
 is the morning light just appearing above the hill tops in 
 the distance. 
 
 Not until Rembrandt’s time has any artist used so daring 
 a scheme in the lighting of a picture. The mysterious glow, 
 which penetrates softly even to the shadows, gives a truly 
 miraculous atmosphere to the entire scene. Correggio was the 
 first, to put color in shado^^. Rembrandt followed and per- 
 fected the system. 
 
GIORGIONE. 
 
 1477 - 1510 ? 
 
 Venetian. 
 
 After Correggio, one must again turn to Venice to find 
 further developments, as it was with the Venetian painters of 
 the sixteenth century that a new art motive was fully adopted. 
 This motive was neither religious, nor classical, but a striving 
 after pictorial effects in which religion and classicism played 
 secondary parts. No matter what the subject, the Venetian 
 picture was always concerned with beauty, as it appealed to the 
 eye, and color was its key note. Yet while the art of Venice 
 was more gorgeous, more splendid, it lacked the depth of 
 thought that distinguished Florentine art. 
 
 The most positive in influence upon his contemporaries 
 of all the great Venetians was Giorgione; indeed he is espe- 
 cially great as an influence, for he lives more through the 
 work of his contemporaries and followers on whom he exerted 
 his powerful personality than through his own paintings. He 
 revolutionized the art of V enice by giving pure pictorial beauty 
 predominance over subject, by making the sentiment of art 
 second to its artistic development and by sacrificing detail, 
 which had been of so much value in earlier V enetian painting, 
 to the effect of the whole. He is particularly noted for the 
 glowing intensity of his color, in fact, is said to have rivaled 
 even Titian in the richness of his coloring, as in the depth of 
 his sentiment. 
 
 He died young and left few pictures, but is classed as the 
 first of the four great Venetians with whom Venice reached her 
 highest artistic perfection. 
 
 62 . 
 
 THE CONCERT. 
 
 Pitti Palace, Florence. 
 
 The Concert represents a young Augustinian monk with 
 the face of an ascetic, seated at an organ turning his head 
 abstractedly in response to a touch on his shoulder. The 
 
 78 
 
modeling of the head and hands is masterful, the latter in their 
 grasp on the keys show the musician to be a master of his 
 art. The whole pose and expression of the man is an inspired 
 conception of poetic, ideal beauty. T.he other figures are cle\- 
 erly subservient; by contrast they serve to throw into stronger 
 relief the beauty of the central one. 
 
 Giorgione, who himself played and sang divinely, often 
 introduced tokens of his love for music into his pictures. 
 
 PALMA IL VECCHIO. 
 
 1480 ?- 1528 . 
 
 Venetian. 
 
 Beside the men of highest rank were a group of painters, 
 who in any other time or city would have held first place, 
 Palma Vecchio, though not a great original painter, is noted 
 for his portrayal of quiet, dignified, beautiful Venetians under 
 the names of saints and Holy Families of which the familiar 
 and majestic figure of St. Barbara is an example. After the 
 fifteenth century, the Madonnas and saints of the Venetian 
 painters were no longer represented as ascetic, morose figures, 
 but as beautiful youthful women who held life to be well 
 worth living. 
 
 Venetian art originated that form of pastoral Madonna 
 known as Sacred Conversations, usually a long narrow picture 
 showing a group of personages against a landscape setting cen- 
 tered about the Virgin — a style which Palma carried to great 
 perfection. He came at the beginning of the century made 
 glorious by Titian and contributed not a little in his own way 
 to its glory, sharing with Titian and Giorgione the honor of 
 modernizing and regenerating Venetian art. 
 
 G3. 
 
 ADOPvATION OF THF SHFPHFPvDS. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 This Adoration is a charming idyl of Venetian painting 
 and was for many years attributed to Titian — an attribution 
 not surprising when one notices the fine type of figures, rich 
 
 79 
 
warm color and beautiful tonal harmony. It was evidently 
 intended for a votive offering, for in the left hand corner the 
 kneeling figure of the donor is introduced. Palma shows an 
 excellent handling of this subject so old in story. The Virgin 
 and St. Joseph are seated before a ruined building, between 
 them on a little basket crib stands the Child ; to the right, in 
 tattered raiment, humbly kneels a young shepherd, whose face 
 wears an expression of worshipful adoration as he ga^es at the 
 little Christ. This figure is a particularly noticeable bit of 
 individuality. 
 
 The work is exceptionally fine in grouping, is also sincere 
 and reverent in sentiment. It is in the form of the Holy 
 Conversations said to have originated with Palma, a style of 
 composition which found great favor in Venice. These pic- 
 tures purporting to be the Holy Family, with or without the 
 addition of saints grouped about them, were in reality repre- 
 sentations of Venetians in pastoral surroundings. In Palma^s 
 hands the sacred subject became a sort of religious story of 
 everyday life. 
 
 LOTTO. 
 
 1480 ?- 1556 ? 
 
 Venetian. 
 
 Loi*enzo Lotto, a fellow-worker of Palma’s, was a man of 
 deep religious nature whose interpretations of Bible themes 
 show much of the early religious feeling, a return to which was 
 being taught by the reformers at that time. With the excep- 
 tion of portraits, for which he was particularly famous, he 
 paintod religious pictures almost exclusively ; at the same time 
 he was an artist with so strong a personality, was one who 
 put so much individuality into his work, that his spirit is more 
 like that of our moderns than is, perhaps, that of almost any 
 other Italian painter. 
 
 80 
 
G4. 
 
 MADONNA AND CHILD WITH SAINTS. 
 
 Imperial Gallery, Vienna. 
 
 Palma Vecchio’s influence is clearly rnarked in this work 
 of Lotto’s which is in the form of the Sacred Conversations 
 developed hy the earlier master. In an open and sunny land- 
 licape the Madonna is seated beneath an oak tree. Behind her 
 an angel holds a crown of blossoms over her head; the Child 
 in her arms raises one hand in blessing, with the other he 
 turns the pages of a book held by St. CaBierine, who kneels 
 before him. To the extreme right kneels St. Jam^ the Elder. 
 The picture is finely grouped, and' ■filled with a feeling of rev- 
 erent worship. 
 
 MORONI. 
 
 1510 - 1578 . 
 
 Venetian. 
 
 Of Giovanni Moroni, little is known save that he was a 
 talented portrait painter who, according to his admirers, was 
 surpassed only by Titian. He was eminently gifted in repre- 
 senting the character of men and women of lowly claims of 
 birth whom he usually chose as his subjects. His portraits 
 are very striking by reason of their realism, their strong per- 
 sonal quality and their perfection of technique. 
 
 65. 
 
 PORTRAIT OF A TAILOR. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 Standing before The Tailor, one is impressed with the 
 fact that Moroni had the advantage of the modern artist in 
 the matter of costume. So picturesque a figure to make a por- 
 trait of could hardly be found in our day. 
 
 Tliis veritable masteiq)iece represents a man, attired in 
 white jaeket and red breeches, standing before a table, shears 
 in hand, ready for work. One is not sure whether he has 
 
 81 
 
been interrupted, whether his mind has wandered for a 
 moment or whether he is experiencing some difficulty in decid- 
 ing the effect of the first cut. There is something so strong- 
 in the personality, in the life-like attitude of the figure, one 
 instinctively halts before it, almost expecting the man to turn 
 again to his task and feeling no little curiosity and interest 
 as to what his next move will be. Every detail is painted 
 with perfection; the face has an air of distinction with also 
 a vague tinge of melancholy, which makes it unusually 
 attractive. 
 
 The masterly portrait of “The Doge’’ b}^ Bellini is not more 
 successful than this Tailor of Moroni’s. 
 
 TITIAN. 
 
 1477 - 1576 . 
 
 Venetian. 
 
 The second of the four great Venetians was Titian, an 
 artist who, in himself, was an epitome of all the excellences 
 of painting; the sum of Venetian skill, he had infinite knowl- 
 edge of nature and infinite mastery of art. Under a religious 
 or classical name he told his story of a noble, majestic human- 
 ity, taking for his types the men and women of the sea race of 
 Venice, proud, active, glowing with life, the embodiment of 
 luxury and power. There is little of the spiritual ideal in his 
 work — even his religious pictures seem to have been conceived 
 largely to represent groups of dignified, tranquil, magnificently 
 painted people. His portraits are among the most noted in 
 art, his landscapes, a new art feature of this time, show obser- 
 vation and study of nature. 
 
 His superiority lies in the perfect poise, the perfect bal- 
 ance, the absolute completeness of his work, giving truth to 
 the saying that he “absorbed his predecessors and ruined his 
 successors.” After the death of Giorgione he was the leader 
 in Venice to the end of his long life. 
 
 82 
 
66 . 
 
 THE TRIBUTE MONEY. 
 
 Royal Gallery, Dresden. 
 
 The Tribute Money, which now sadly shows the ravages 
 of time and restorations, was painted by Titian to refute a taunt 
 of Dtirer, who claimed his work was lacking in finish. For 
 four centuries, this famous picture has received the highest 
 praise as an example of the combination of perfection of detail 
 an4 breadth of treatment. 
 
 Titian could hardly have contrasted two men with wider 
 differences than he has here. The questioning Pharisee, with 
 his face full of cunning, shows his eagerness to find something 
 to condemn as he leans toward the Saviour, holding the penny 
 in his coarse, vulgar hand. One can almost imagine his 
 expression of satisfaction changing to chagrin at the Saviour’s 
 answer to his question, — ‘Ts it lawful for us to give tribute 
 unto Caesar or no?” The artist has remarkably handled that 
 most difficult problem, the painting of two faces on a canvas 
 without undue sacrifice of either the one or the other; the 
 Christ dominates, yet the figure of the Pharisee, by its very 
 contrast and clever treatment, attracts its due proportion of 
 attention, while entirely subordinate. One notices, too, how 
 perfectly the hands carry out the contrast of types shown in 
 the heads. 
 
 This example of Titian’s skill was a revelation to his 
 German critics. 
 
 67 . 
 
 THE MAN WITH THE GLOVE. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 Widely different in treatment and point of view from 
 Holbein’s Portrait of George Gyze is this simple portrait by 
 Titian. The two works constitute an interesting comparison 
 of the realistic and idealistic motives; the one, a representa- 
 tion of an actual scene as it appeared to the eye, the other, 
 
 83 
 
evidently an interpretation of some mood either of tlie artist or 
 the subject. 
 
 The portrait is a masterly one not only in the expr^ion 
 of the face, the elegant simplicity in pose and arrangement, 
 but in the disposition of the masses of light and dark; the 
 opening in the outer garment widening as it does toward the 
 top draws the eye toward and intensifies the expression of 
 the face. The contrast in the arrangement of the hands is mas- 
 terly also, the right hand repeats the gesture of concenUution, 
 the left has an ease and grace which corresponds to the won- 
 derfully calm, dignified poise of the whole figure. A refined, 
 simple portrait; which, however, unlike Holbein’s example, 
 gives an impression of stateliness and aloofness that forbid:s 
 close intimacy. 
 
 68 . 
 
 ^ THE ENTOMBMENT. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 The Entombment, a scene of the Passion Cycle, was a 
 favorite one with artists, as it afforded material for a dramatic 
 representation. In older works the apostles, aided by the Vir- 
 gin, deposit the body in a sarcophagus, but customarily there 
 is a rock-hewn tomb to which the sacred burden is being car- 
 ried. This latter treatment was adopted by Titian and the 
 modem artists. 
 
 In this completely artistic picture, the body of Christ is 
 being borne to the grave by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arima- 
 thea, the latter swaying the body toward the sepulcher, which 
 is seen to the right partially obscured by dense shadow. In the 
 background stands St. John the Evangelist, at the feet of the 
 Lord, are Mary Magdalene and the Virgin. The faces of the 
 group and the lower part of the body of Christ are illumined by 
 a lurid light that breaks through a rift in the gloomy sky. 
 
 Titian’s unerring sense of dramatic values is shown in the 
 chiaroscuro; the shadows are so effectively managed as to add 
 greatly to the pictorial and emotional effect of this exception- 
 ally fine work. 
 
 84 
 
69 . 
 
 HOLY FAMILY. 
 
 Imperial Gallery, Vienna. 
 
 The Madonna with the Chenies, as it is usually called, is 
 an early work of Titian’s which represents the Virgin, Christ 
 and the boy Baptist between St. Joseph on the left and St. 
 Zacharias on the right. The little Christ holds a bunch of 
 cherries with both hands while the Virgin with an unusually 
 sweet expression looks into his face. While perhaps not st) 
 iiighly spiritual as some of Raphael’s Madonnas, yet it is ten- 
 der, full of a certain tranquil dignity and very reposeful in 
 sentiment. The little St. John, with his intent, eager expres- 
 sion, is particularly charming. The splendid physical beauty 
 of Titian’s types contrasts strongly with the more intellectual, 
 ^iritual countenances of Leonardo’s, Botticelli’s and Raphael’s 
 Madonnas. 
 
 It is a noticeable thing about the Madonnas of the old mas- 
 ters that each artist has represented his Virgin as if she were 
 his country woman. Raphael’s Madonnas are unmistakably 
 Italian ; Diirers are as palpably German ; Murillo’s just as truly 
 repr^ent the Spanish, and Titian’s the Venetian type. This 
 me€uit much to the simple-minded peasants who were unable 
 to grasp the more subtle meanings of pictures. But they well 
 understood mother love and worshipped it in the pras^tment 
 of one of their own fatherland. 
 
 70 . 
 
 SACRED AND PROFANE LOVE. 
 
 Villa Borghese, Rome. 
 
 T^e meaning of the famous picture known by the rather 
 vague name of Sacred and Profane Love is a matter of con- 
 jiecture — but it is believed to represent an allegorical romance. 
 
 In the midst of a varied and beautifully rendered land- 
 scape two figures are seated on the side of a fountain basin; 
 between them the god of Ix)ve is leaning over the edge delight- 
 
 85 
 
edly playing in the water. The eye is at once attracted to the 
 two equally beautiful figures, one almost entirely nude, the 
 other in direct contrast, splendidly attired; then to the form 
 of the lovely little cupid which breaks the somewhat even bal- 
 ance. The background shows Titian’s appreciation of the pic- 
 torial beauties of nature. He and Giorgione were the first to 
 show this feeling for out of doors. As the attention is drawn 
 to either side, one notices the marvelous detail of landscape, 
 the foliage, the relief on the fountain basin, the fine lighting. 
 
 The picture is full of charming features; its color is of a 
 wonderful golden tone and the figures are ideal. Although 
 one is left in doubt as to its literary meaning, there is com- 
 plete satisfaction for the eye. 
 
 71 . 
 
 ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN. 
 
 Academy, Venice. 
 
 Representations of the Virgin’s Assumption are easily 
 recognized, as for seven centuries their characteristics have been 
 nearly the same. The Virgin is portrayed as rising from the 
 tomb and ascending into heaven to meet her Son, where she 
 assumes her rightful place at his side, to share his glory and 
 his throne. This altar piece of Titian’s, now unfortunately 
 almost ruined by retouching, is one of the masterpieces of the 
 Venetian School. 
 
 The nature of the subject necessitates its division into 
 three parts, the lower with the apostles; the central portion 
 holding the Madonna and the myriads of angels; the upper 
 one, God the Father with attendant seraphs. Titian has 
 achieved a triumph in so successfully joining the three divis- 
 ions into a comprehensive whole. He has so arranged his 
 scheme of attitudes and color as to irresistibly draw the eye to 
 the central figure of the Virgin. The deep shadows of the 
 lower portion with the uplifted hands and faces of the apostles, 
 send the eye upward to the second group, the two being bound 
 together by the arm of an apostle and the figure of a little 
 angel who has descended lower than the rest as though eager to 
 
 86 
 
call attention to the miracle above. In the arch of the picture 
 is seen the Father with outstretched arms and glance directed 
 downward to the Virgin. Swarming about, with looks and 
 gestures directed toward her, are little cherubs in every con- 
 ceivable graceful position, sweeping far up like a garland on 
 either side till they vanish in the golden light of the back- 
 ground. The Virgin is a wonderfully conceived figure, — 
 “She mounts as if of herself, impelled by inner impulse, but 
 on clouds of glory borne by the childish angels.” 
 
 It is a typical work of the art of this period which in its 
 original brilliance and sumptuousness represented the Venetian 
 ideal. 
 
 TINTORETTO. 
 
 1518 - 1592 . 
 
 Venetian. 
 
 Contemporary with the old age of Titian is another dis- 
 tinguished Venetian known as Tintoretto, one of the boldest, 
 most assured painters in the history of art. Dramatic in his 
 slightest composition; full of vigor, fire, impetuosity, he was 
 in some respects a reminder of Michael Angelo. At his best, 
 perhaps the giant Florentine was his only rival in force and 
 fertility of invention. It was Tintoretto’s aim to combine the 
 drawing of this master with the color of Titian. 
 
 The most rapid, the most tireless workman in the whole 
 Renaissance period, his greatest delight was to fling upon 
 vacant spaces of wall or ceiling the pictures ever running riot 
 in his imagination. It is only in Venice that he can be seen to 
 advantage; here the number and immensity of his pictures 
 would have convinced even the great Michael Angelo that oil 
 painting was not always work for women. His inventive, dra- 
 matic power of representation, his headlong, muscular figures, 
 his genius in making even his light and shade a power of move- 
 ment, put him unmistakably among the greatest of Venetian 
 masters. 
 
 87 
 
72 . 
 
 BACCHUS AND ARIADNE. 
 
 Ducal Palace, Venice. 
 
 Old time myths and legends have always been dear to the 
 imagination and, naturally enough, artists living in times and 
 countries where such legends were most honored have used 
 them over and over again as subjects for pictures. 
 
 The Marriage of Bacchus and Ariadne, in the peculiarity 
 of its arrangement, shows the daring of the artist. Even at 
 a period in art when angels were employed to fill spaces in any 
 posture which the conditions of the picture demanded, the con- 
 ception of a nude figure suspended from above in the arc of a 
 circle is rather unusual as well as difficult of artistic accom- 
 plishment. To paint a figure floating in ether was, however, 
 a simple matter for Tintoretto, and with his genius the result 
 is a circular composition of extreme interest and beauty. 
 The god of wine crowned and girded with vine leaves, offers 
 the nuptial ring to Ariadne, who sits on the shore of the 
 island of Naxos, where she has been abandoned by her lover, 
 Theseus. Venus, floating above, has come to celebrate the 
 marriage, and places a starrj^ crown upon the head of the for- 
 saken daughter of Minos. 
 
 Tintoretto enters so completely into the spirit of the old 
 classic myths and gives them such a sense of fitness, that one 
 has little feeling of strangeness in the presence of the im- 
 mortals. 
 
 73 . 
 
 MIRACLE OF ST. MARK. 
 
 Academy, Venice. 
 
 Coming to this masterpiece in paint, one realizes that art 
 has advanced a long Tvay from the pictures of the primitive 
 Italian School with their motionless saints wrapped in pious 
 meditations, surrounded by followers equally motionless. Here 
 the various figures are not only in movement, but their move- 
 
 88 
 
ment is violent, showing straining muscles and brutal emotions. 
 Indeed art now begins to take a share in the brutal side of life 
 just as poetry was soon to do in the hands of Shakespeare. 
 
 The picture illustrates the story of the Christian slave, 
 who, persisting in worshipping at the shrine of St. Mark, is con- 
 demned to torture by crucifixion; as the punishment is about 
 to be inflicted, he is miraculously released by the saint him- 
 self. Tintoretto has chosen a most dramatic moment for his 
 representation and greatly heighten^?,/the interest by his bril- 
 liant, vivid manner of illustration. The technique and model- 
 ing of the composition show his impetuosity and boldness. The 
 twist of the torturer’s body as he turns to exhibit his broken 
 hammer is a magnificent rendering of tense action. Every 
 figure in the motley crowd is intensely alive, but among these 
 remarkably drawn and posed forms, none is so strikingly 
 remarkable as the person of St. Mark himself, an astonishingly 
 foreshortened figure, sweeping downward with irresistible, 
 headlong fury. At his intervention, the bonds of the slave are 
 loosed — nails come out, ropes, mallets, hammers are broken, 
 to the confusion of the executioner and the astonishment of the 
 spectators. 
 
 In the whole realm of painting, there are few pictures to 
 be compared with this, for violence of action or for golden 
 brilliance of color. The scene is illumined with a tawny, red- 
 dish, light, like the glow of an immense conflagration. 
 
 VERONESE. 
 
 1528 - 1588 . 
 
 Venetian. 
 
 Veronese, whose art, unlike Tintoretto’s, was scenic rather 
 than dramatic, is preeminently the painter of the pageant pic- 
 ture which is so characteristic of the Venetian School. His 
 subjects, with few exceptions, are drawn from Venetian life; 
 were there no existing records describing the late sixteenth cen- 
 tury manners and customs in this city of the sea, Veronese’s 
 works would accurately reveal them. In his great pictorial 
 compositions live again the entire cosmopolitan population of 
 Venice, even to the dogs, eats and monkeys, for his yards of 
 
 89 
 
painted canvas are almost literal transcriptions of the life of his 
 time. The greatest decorator of his day, he lavished the treas- 
 ures of his decorative imagination upon the halls and palaces of 
 the Venetian nobles. 
 
 The art of this great master, so brilliant in color, so elab- 
 orate in subject, so grand in scale, was the most gorgeous of all 
 the Venetian School; his followers in trying to imitate his 
 splendor, fell into extravagance and thereby brought about the 
 decline. Veronese was the last of the four great Venetians. 
 
 74 . 
 
 FAMILY OF DARIUS BEFORE ALEXANDER. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 According to Ruskin, this magnificent painting is the 
 finest Veronese in the world. 
 
 The scene ostensibly represents Alexander the Great, sur- 
 rounded by his generals, '-receiving the ysubmission of the 
 defeated Persian King, Darius, but by his treatment Veronese 
 has made it a piece of contemporary Venetian life, simply 
 painting a group of living V enetians of his time, dog, monkey 
 and all. It is a splendid example of what the historical pic- 
 tures of the old masters were. It was the fashion of the time 
 to pose as participants in historic scenes; the principal figures 
 here are supposed to be contemporary portraits of the Pisani 
 family for whom the picture was painted; the setting, tlie hall 
 of an Italian palace. 
 
 It well illustrates the sumptuous style of Veronese and is 
 in itself a school of art where every quality of the master is 
 seen to perfection. It is a delightful feast for the eye — a gor- 
 geous color treat to linger long in the memory. 
 
 75 . 
 
 ST. HELENA’S VISION. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 The Vision of St. Helena is a Veronese widely different in 
 subject and treatment. There is here none of that wonderful 
 display of magnificently brocaded stuffs, priceless jewels or elab- 
 
 90 
 
orate architectural ornamentation that mark this artist’s large 
 canvases, but rather a tone of subtle refinement which would 
 not be enhanced by any elaboration of costume or setting. 
 
 The saint is sleeping on a marble window seat in the lim- 
 pid sunshine of Venice in a graceful, relaxed attitude which 
 seems more natural than mystical; through the open window 
 two cherubs are seen bearing in their arms the sacred cross. St. 
 Helena was the mother of Constantine the. Great and her vis- 
 ion, says the legend, enabled her to recover the true cross — the 
 holy symbol by which her son was to conquer. At her request 
 Constantine built a basilica in Jerusalem over the spot where 
 the cross was found. Though not to be compared with his 
 more splendid compositions the picture reveals the wonderful 
 quality of the artist’s light in all its transparent fullness and 
 purity. 
 
 Veronese found the Kenaissance at its height, and left it 
 there when he laid down his brush after forty years of almost 
 incessant work. 
 
 91 
 
Decline of Italian Art 
 
 The Mannerists. The Eclectics. 
 
 By the middle of the sixteenth century art had reached its 
 culmination in Florence and Rome. By the end of the century 
 Venetian art which survived a little longer, attained its greatest 
 glory; the great movement of the Renaissance in Italy now 
 came to an end. Art had typified in form, thought and ex- 
 pression everything of which the Italian race was capable. The 
 men of great minds, capable of glorious achievements had come 
 and gone ; for those who came after Michael Angelo and Tintor- 
 etto there was nothing left except to repeat what others had 
 done or to re-combine old thoughts and forms. 
 
 This led to the imitation, exaggeration and sentimental 
 superficiality of the latter part of the sixteenth and the first 
 of the seventeenth century as exemplified in the schools of the 
 Mannerists and Eclectics who sought to combine all the excel- 
 lencies of the greater masters. They lost all inspiration in the 
 attempt, and signally failed. Since the climax of the Renais- 
 sance, even down to the present century, there has been little 
 in Italian art that showed a positive national spirit. 
 
 BAROCCIO. 
 
 1528-1612. 
 
 Umbrian. 
 
 In following Renaissance progress in Italy from its in- 
 fancy to its maturity, one is sensible of a gradual change in the 
 geheral trend of art after the year 1500. As artists have be- 
 come more and more concerned with, and have perfected the 
 representation of material things, they seem to have grown 
 away from the faith of their early days. As art gained in 
 
 92 
 
beauty, it lost in spontaneity, sincerity and spirituality. By 
 the last of the fifteenth century the chief motive was no longer 
 the teaching of religious truth, but largely to show beauty of 
 form, line and color; religious subjects were still retained, but 
 pictures must now be beautiful in themselves regardless of 
 theme; pictorial splendor and perfection of form were reached 
 but the spirit was gone. The constant striving for sensuous 
 beauty, an over-zealous care for refinement of style and finish 
 to the neglect of high ideals, resulted in the affectation and 
 mannerism which finally led to decline. 
 
 Baroccio, who belongs to the period of the Decadence,, 
 was one of the strongest of the so called Mannerists. He left 
 some good work but much of it is weak and affected in senti- 
 ment. 
 
 76 . 
 
 OUR LADY OF THE CAT. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 Baroccio is given place in the collection because this 
 Madonna affords a particulai’ly instructive example of the 
 change that has taken place in sentiment and motive in art. 
 The Madonna was long held as too sacred a subject to permit 
 of realistic treatment. Art was slow to presume further upon 
 the closer human relations brought about by the pastoral 
 setting, and the Madonna as a domestic subject was hesitating- 
 ly adopted. The northern painters, with their strong home 
 instincts, naturally led the way, but the Madonna in a home 
 environment has been very rarely treated. 
 
 Here, in place of the exalted spirituality of foimer Madon- 
 nas, the Virgin is represented as expressly directing the atten- 
 tion of the Infant Christ toward the cat, while Joseph and the 
 little St. John look on with evident interest and amusement. 
 The successive steps toward decline in the last one hundred 
 years can be clearly traced by comparing this work with the 
 conceptions of Perugino, Raphael and Correggio. With the 
 former the motive is wholly religious, with Raphael it is 
 intermingled with artistic beauty. Correggio’s motive is to 
 
 93 
 
represent innocent loveliness and grace, Baroccio in this 
 instance uses his skill to represent the Holy Family tantalizing 
 a cat with a bird. The picture is tender and is beautifully 
 painted in all its details, but even Cimabue’s crude Virgin gives 
 more suggestion of religious feeling. 
 
 Baroccio was a devout man and has never been reproached, 
 save in this instance, with “unbecoming levity” in things holy. 
 
 GUIDO BENI. 
 
 1575 - 1642 . 
 
 Bolognese. 
 
 The most noted artist of the school of Eclectics \yas Guido 
 Beni. He produced some painting of merit and was extremely 
 popular, but contented himself with being a mere reflector. 
 Like most artists of this period, he finally became weak, senti- 
 mental and superficial. 
 
 77 . 
 
 THE AUBOBA. 
 
 Bospigliosi Palace, Borne. 
 
 One of the most popular pictures in Borne is the fresco 
 of The Aurora on the ceiling of the Bospigliosi Palace. It is 
 not all that might be desired in drawing, unity of pose or 
 expression, and there are many greater pictures in the old city 
 much more deserving of popularity. It represents the car of 
 the sun-god, Apollo, about which dance the hours ; Aurora her- 
 self sails before them scattering flowers upon the sleeping 
 world. A cherub bearing a flaming torch personifies the 
 morning star, below lies the earth partially obscured in shadow. 
 Decorative in design, admirable in the grace and rhythmic 
 movement of the figures, it is accounted the best work of the 
 period. The soft-toned reproductions, however, are often more 
 pleasing than the original which is very high in color. 
 
 94 
 
RUBENS. 
 
 1577 - 1640 . 
 
 Flemish. 
 
 The full tide of painting had lasted in Italy from Leon- 
 ardo to the passing of the great Venetians. It now recedes 
 from her shores, sweeps northward and westward, rising rapidly 
 within and about the borders of Spain and the Netherlands. 
 Following the course of its flow to Flanders the high water 
 mark is found to be reached here with Rubens. After the 
 death of Memling, through the succeeding sixteenth century 
 the characteristics of the Flemish School were lost in the adop- 
 tion and injitation of Italian methods. 
 
 The seventeenth century, the great period of Flemish 
 painting was made famous by the master genius Rubens, 
 Although he, too, followed Italian methods, his painting was 
 distinctly northern in character for his art, more material than 
 spiritual, lacked poetic sentiment, tender feeling and idealistic 
 conception. His types were, in general, fleshly, gross, often 
 coarse, yet full of the exuberance of animal spirits and always 
 glowing with magnificent color. Rubens was an all-around 
 artist who enjoyed one of the most successful art careers ever 
 known; he was also the dominating figure of his century with 
 all the artists of his day more or less his disciples. 
 
 78 . 
 
 CHAPEAU DE FAILLE. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 The name The Straw Hat, has, for some reason, been given 
 to this picture although the material of the hat in question is 
 really not straw at all, but felt. The painting is very noted ; par- 
 ticularly on account of certain cool shadows of reflected light 
 which have been the despair of later imitators. 
 
 This wonderful portrait resulted in a great triumph for 
 the artist over the difficult problem of painting a face under 
 the shadow flung over it by a large hat, keeping at the same 
 time such clear brilliant tones. The work is charming in this 
 respect and is unquestionably entirely by the masters own 
 
 95 
 
hand. This canvas of Rubens inspired Madam Le Brun to 
 the painting of the familiar portrait of herself in a straw hat, 
 where she stands bathed in sun-light, her palette in her hand. 
 
 79 . 
 
 CHILDREN WITH GARLANDS OF FRUIT. 
 
 Alte Pinakothek, Munich. 
 
 Among the many examples of Rubens in the Pinakothek, 
 Munich, is found this charming group, one of his most pleas- 
 ing and popular canvases. The children are natural and inno- 
 cent, the coloring subdued, the flesh much less grc^ than 
 is usual with this painter. True to Rubens’ type the animated 
 little creatures are glowing with life from the tips of their toes 
 to the crown of their curly heads. It is an original, extremely 
 happy conceit and the artist has been most successful in trans- 
 ferring it to his canvas. These rougish kleine Kinder are hav- 
 ing a fine frolic with their big garland of foliage and fruit. 
 
 80 . 
 
 JESUS AND SIMON. 
 
 Hermitage Gallery, St. Petersburg. 
 
 While this work, as is often the case with Rubens, presents 
 an aftective pattern in light and shade, as a conception of a 
 religious subject it conveys no suggestion of spiritual feeling. 
 
 The New Testament story of Christ in the house of Simon 
 the Pharisee is found in the gospel of St. Luke. The Christ 
 sits at the right, the voluptuous form of the Magdalen bends 
 over his feet wiping them with her hair, the alabaster box of 
 costly ointment stands beside her. In the background are 
 figures bearing baskets of fruit and game. Gathered about the 
 table are varied types, coarse, bestial, shrewd, avaricious, with 
 their several characteristics skillfully portrayed. 
 
 The power of composition and pictorial effect, superb with 
 Rubens, is effectively shown. 
 
 96 
 
81 . 
 
 DESCENT FROM THE CROSS. 
 
 Cathedral, Antwerp. 
 
 Rubens’ most famous work, the glory of the Flemish 
 School, and one of the most noted pictures of the world, ls the 
 Descent from the Cross, the center panel of an altarpiece w'hich 
 hangs in the Cathedral at Antwerp. It instantly attracts the 
 eye by its decorative masses of color, its rhythmic sweeping lines 
 and masterly concentration of attention toward the center. 
 
 The work contains nine figures ; two workmen at the top of 
 the cro^ are lowering the body of Christ by means of a winding 
 sheet which one of them holds in his teeth, the other grasps it 
 with his left hand; leaning over, they steady the form, while 
 John with one foot on the ladder, supports its weight. Mary 
 Magdalene holds the feet of Christ; behind her is the other 
 Mary; above the latter with arms uplifted, is Maiy the Mother. 
 The two remaining figures are Joseph of Arimathea and Nico- 
 demus. The Christ is one of the finest figures of the kind in 
 art, perfectly drawn in an attitude most difficult to represent. 
 The sky is appropriately gloomy, the deep shadows at the sides 
 and on the bodies of the attendants, aid in intensifying the 
 light which is concentrated upon the center, flecks of it as 
 it were falling upon the faces of the group. A secondary light, 
 seemingly from above, falls upon the shouldei’s of the work- 
 men. 
 
 In a most masterly wa3^ Rubens has concenti'ated his forces 
 toward the head of Christ ; the lines of the arms, the gaze of the 
 attendant figures are directed tow’ard the Saviour’s face — the 
 focus point of the composition. The maiwelously rendered con- 
 trast between the limpness, the heaviness of death and the 
 strong, living forms adds immeasurably to the effectiveness of 
 the picture. In his management of light and shade, his 
 arrangement of lines and figures, the artist has built up a mag- 
 nifieent composition — a work of profound emotional im.pi'es- 
 siveness. 
 
 97 
 
VAN DYCK. 
 
 1599 - 1641 . 
 
 Flemish. 
 
 The greatest of all the pupils of Rubens was Anthony Van 
 Dyck, an artist who acquired special fame as a brilliant portrait 
 painter particularly of royalty and nobility. He went to Eng- 
 land at the invitation of Charles I, and his most famous por- 
 traits are of that king and his family. His work shows even 
 more than that of Rubens, the effect of Italian influence. It is 
 more charming in color, if not so splendid, is also marked by 
 greater reflnement of feeling, but in scope of invention and 
 force of represeptation it fell below his masters. 
 
 Among the masters of the world Van Dyck is accorded a 
 place neither with the highest nor the lowest; he stands apart, 
 quite by himself. In portraiture, however, he ranks as the 
 greatest painter of the aristocratic people of his day. 
 
 82 . 
 
 CHILDREN OF CHARLES I. 
 
 Royal Gallery, Dresden. 
 
 Few pictures have been more popular than Van Dyck’s 
 representations of the Children of Charles I. The “Baby 
 Stuart” portrait so frequently seen is taken from the picture in 
 the Turin gallery; here, in the Dresden painting the “Baby” 
 seems a little older, but is almost equally charming. The 
 innocent face of the little Duke of A^ork as he stands between 
 his brother Charles (afterward Charles II.) and his sister. Prin- 
 cess Mary (afterward the mother of AVilliam HI. of England) - 
 gives no hint of the ignoble qualities which later developed in 
 his nature. At sixteen he witnessed the execution of his father ; 
 when fifty-two he succeeded to the throne and as James II. of 
 England his record is by no means an enviable one. Van Dyck 
 has composed a charming group for the enjoyment of child 
 lovers. The costumes of his time were most favorable to the 
 beauty of his art; the style of collar worn by Prince Charles 
 
 98 
 
was painted so often by the artist that it has received his name 
 and is known as the Van Dyck collar to this day. 
 
 The painter has admirably represented the innocence of 
 childhood in these charming children, yet just as admirably 
 given them the distinction of inherited royalty. One might, 
 perhaps, find a suggestion of the burden of this inheritance 
 reflected in their serious little faces. The expression, the pose, 
 the gorgeous dresses of rich silk and satin are all in keeping 
 with their birth and station ; even the dogs are in harmony 
 with their surroundings and evidently feel the dignity of 
 their position — they are posing quite as dogs should who belong 
 to royal master and mistress. 
 
 83 . 
 
 MARIE LOUISE OF TASSIS. 
 
 Liechtenstein Gallery, Vienna. 
 
 Van Dyck took particular delight in portraying the fash- 
 ionable court ladies of his day. Their costumes lent them- 
 selves admirably to artistic representation and furnished him 
 opportunity to exercise his facile brush. The elaborate gown 
 of Marie Louise is wonderfully worked out in all its details ; 
 the voluminous sleeves, the ruff, the downy fluffiness of the 
 fan, even every pearl has received the utmost care. 
 
 The lady in question has been accused of vanity in the 
 display of an unusual variety of jewels, but the vanity is quite 
 as likely to have been on Van Dyck’s part, as he was notor- 
 iously fond of showing off beautiful jewels and beautiful hands. 
 There is a surprising amount of character in hands, but the 
 great masters of portraiture often failed to pay attention to the 
 intimate correspondence of feeling between this feature and 
 the head. Van Dyck seems to have given thought to it in this 
 instance. The curl of the lady’s forefinger echoes with extraor- 
 dinary subtlety the curious slanting glance of her eyes. 
 
 Like just the right bit of harmony as an accompaniment 
 for the voice, this seemingly insignificant item has much to 
 do with the perfect effect of the whole picture. 
 
 99 
 
84 . 
 
 PORTRAIT OF CHARLP:S L 
 Louvre, Pai-is. 
 
 Van Dyck perhaps nowhere has shown keener i:>erietration , 
 than in his delineation of the character and personality of this 
 fascinating ruler who could do all things well except to rule. 
 None of the kingly appurtenances of costume or accessories ai'e 
 needed for label ; the noble, courtly bearing of the king clearly 
 proclaims his rank. His appearance suggests refinement rather 
 than strength perhaps, too, more taste and elegance than wis- 
 dom. On the face there rests just a shadow of trouble past and 
 to come, which, read by the light of history, seems like a reve- 
 lation of the future. 
 
 The king is represented in a picturesque costume, his 
 horse, a magnificent animal, is held by a page; farther back 
 is a second attendant holding a cloak. The picture is well 
 worth study for its exquisite workmanship and detail. Critics 
 claim that it is not sitrpassed, if it be equalled^b}^ any work of 
 the master. 
 
 85 . 
 
 WILLIAM II. OF NASSAU. 
 
 Hermitage Galler}^, St. Petersburg. 
 
 If the face is an index to the character this handsome 
 young prince must have possessed exceptional qualities. He 
 has a wonderfully frank, winning countenance ; a noble, digni- 
 fied bearing which bespeaks his training in a high school of 
 manners. Although the eye may be tempted to wander for 
 a moment, to examine the details of costume, and acce®ories 
 so beautifully worked out by Van Dyck, it always returns to 
 and is held by the unusually attractive face. 
 
 William II. of the reigning house of Nassau, was the son 
 of Frederic Henry and himself left one son who became the 
 most famous man of his race, William III. of Holland and 
 England. The air of refinement and distinction felt in this 
 work, is particularly t}q)ical of Van Dyck. 
 
 100 
 
Spanish Painting. 
 
 It is not until the fifteenth century that the history of 
 Spanish art begins to emerge into cletmiess. The Spaniai'ds 
 were a proud, paasionate race dominated by an almost fan- 
 atically fervent and somber religion ; their early art, therefoi’e, 
 was gloomy and morose, reflecting ecclesiastical domination 
 and the spirit of the Inquisition. The constant travel between 
 Spain, the Netherlands and Italy gave sixteenth century artists 
 the methods of both the North and the South, but Italian art 
 had reached its period of supreme achievement and was well 
 along the path of decadence before distinctly Spanish methods, 
 founded on nature, came forcibly to the front. 
 
 The High Renaissance of Spanish art was reached in the 
 seventeenth century with Velasquez and Murillo; after the pass- 
 ing of these artists there was a rapid decline; throu^ the 
 eighteenth century, there was no work of great importance 
 until Goya, who effected a partial restoration of painting; after 
 him French methods were followed until in the nineteenth 
 century a new advance was made with Fortuny. 
 
 Later artists have come forward who are reviving with 
 much originality and force the ancient pictorial supremacy of 
 their country. 
 
 VELASQUEZ. 
 
 1599 - 1660 . 
 
 Spanish. 
 
 Only some twenty-two years later than in Handers, the 
 art of painting reached its high tide in Spain. Here it was 
 with Velasquez, one of the few Spanish artists w^ho was enabled 
 to shake off the yoke of the Church. The methods of Italy 
 had been freely imitated in Spain until the advent of this 
 
 101 
 
master, with whom Spanish art took upon itself a decidedly 
 naturalistic and national stamp. 
 
 Velasquez was not only one of the finest of portrait paint- 
 ers but a most original genius; the world is indebted to him 
 and to the realistic Dutchmen, for a new principle of harmony 
 which depended upon the action of light. In Raphael one 
 admired the harmony produced by the rhythm of line and 
 movement ; in Rubens that produced by the emotional and 
 imaginative use of artificial light and shade. With Velasquez, 
 a new motive appeared. Artists had begun to look at things 
 from a new point of view ; they now endeavored to paint the 
 real appearance of objects enveloped in nature’s light and 
 atmosphere, to draw all parts of a composition together by 
 means of the lighting. 
 
 Velasquez and Hals exerted a great infiuence not only 
 over the artists of their time, but over modern art; for our 
 own painters today have gone back to the example of those 
 pioneers who discovered the possibilities and effects of lighted 
 atmosphere. 
 
 86 . 
 
 MAIDS OF HONOR. 
 
 Prado Gallery, Madrid. 
 
 In spite of the difficulty of making an artistic picture out 
 of the almost impossible materials fashion prescribed in the 
 matter of costume the Maids of Honor is a very famous work. 
 
 It represents a room in the royal palace with the little 
 Infanta Margarita accompanied by her maids, her dwarfs, her 
 dog, a duenna and a courtier. The little princess has asked 
 for a drink of water and her maid hands it to her with the 
 elaborate etiquette prescribed by the rigidly ceremonious Span- 
 ish court. To the right of the picture are the dwarfs, to the 
 left Velasquez standing near a huge canvas, brush in hand; 
 in the background are other attendants ; on the wall is a mirror 
 in which is reflected the king and the queen. The former who 
 was sitting for his portrait when the Infanta and her suite 
 came into the studio, was so delighted with the scene that he 
 
 102 
 
commissioned the painter to reproduce it, hence this master- 
 piece — which actually represents the little room in the Prado in 
 which it now hangs alone, its position chosen with an eye to 
 obtaining the best possible effect. 
 
 It beautifully illustrates Velasquez’s new principle of 
 representing light, as well as the momentary impression the 
 scene produced upon his mind. The light evidently comes 
 from a window at the right enveloping the quaint figures in 
 their stiff, ungainly costumes, penetrating even the corners 
 and striking faintly on the ceiling. The little Princess her- 
 self in her white satin frock is the center of all this radiance ; 
 from her it gradually tones down from one figure to another 
 until it finally disappears in the background. The effect of a 
 large room filled with figures, light and atmosphere is very 
 real. 
 
 87 . 
 
 THE TOPERS. 
 
 Prado Gallery, Madrid. 
 
 The Topers, probably a parody of some mythological story, 
 represents a drinking scene with nine life-size figures. The 
 center one, a country youth masquerading as Bacchus, is seat- 
 ed on a barrel distributing wreaths of vine leaves to his devoted 
 worshippers, one of whom, an old soldier (whose costume 
 indicates that he probably learned to drink in Flanders) — is 
 kneeling before him. The rites of Bacchus worship seem to 
 have plunged the company into various stages of intoxication. 
 The first to the right has indulged just enough to be jovial, 
 the next looks inclined to be quarrelsome on slight provocation 
 while the one in front with the cloak has evidently reached a 
 state of vacant stupidity. Each figure is a model in handling 
 and expression. 
 
 The work suggests one of the spicy stories the haughty 
 Castilians sometimes delighted in hearing as a diversion from 
 their habitual gravity. 
 
 103 
 
88 . 
 
 THE SURRENDER OF BREDA. 
 
 Prado Galler^^, Madrid. 
 
 It is said, there are few like Velasquez in rendeiing tlie 
 human figure singly or in groups, as there are few like him in 
 rendering the subtlety of light and atmosphere. This impor- 
 tant work gives proof of the truth of the statement. The 
 composition is original and striking to the last degree. A lesser 
 genius than Velasquez would never have ventured on the line 
 of tall speai's that rise almost to the very top of the canvas on 
 the light. But the success of this startling arriingement is so 
 obvious that from it the picture takes its popular name, “The 
 Lances.’’ 
 
 It represents the last of Spain’s important victories, the 
 capture in 1625 of the Dutch stronghold of Breda, by Spinola, 
 the last of her great captains. Tlie two generals, accompanied 
 by their body guards have, met and alighted from their hoises; 
 Prince Justin of Nassau is giving up the keys of the fortress to 
 his conqueror Spinola, who puts his hand familiarly on his 
 enemy’s shoulder as if to mitigate his humility. The groups 
 of fully armed officers, the marching troops, the forest of lances 
 stretching away beyond them with the ruined buildings and 
 burning town in the background, sum up the horrors of war in 
 a most realistic manner. The surrender of Breda ranks as one 
 of the most famous of histoiical compasitions. 
 
 MURILLO. 
 
 1618-1682. 
 
 Spanish. 
 
 After Velasquez, one always turns to Murillo as the con- 
 temporary and second figure in Spanish ail. The work of 
 these two artists was widely different, but each c^anied the spe- 
 cial style he had chosen to the height of perfection. The 
 former became the companion and painter of royalty, the later 
 devoted himself to the seiwice of religion. 
 
 Murillo did not attempt intellectual or serious composi- 
 tions ; he painted, he said, “for the |>eople of his own day, not 
 
 104 
 
for posterity/^ By his time the Inquisition had passed away, 
 sentimental devotion replaced fanaticism, and his people were 
 returning to a natural joyous life. Murillo, therefore, 
 portrayed a more picturesque, emotional type of religion — 
 painted pictures which would show and further this happy 
 change, A devout man, he devoted himself to a type of relig- 
 ious idealism represented by dreamy mysticism or ecstatic vis- 
 ions, and suited his style to his subjects. His excessive ferwor 
 sometimes led him near to sentimentality ; as a result his later 
 works are characterized by uncertain outline, a soft, melting 
 almost confused mingling of colors. He struck liis strongest 
 note in his beggar bo}^ groups. 
 
 Murillo was the idol of his countrymen and is probably 
 one of the most popular artists with the masses today. 
 
 89 . 
 
 THE CHILDREN OF THE SHELL. 
 
 Prado Gallery, Madrid. 
 
 In the Children of the Shell Murillo has chosen for his 
 subject the familiar one of the Infant Christ and St. John. 
 The latter is represented with his cross of reeds, around which 
 is twisted a scroll bearing the words in Latin — “Behold the 
 Lamb of God,” the application of which is illustrated by the 
 introduction of the lamb. In these symbols Murillo still 
 adheres to church tradition, but otherwise his representation is 
 an idealized one. His renderings of child life are always most 
 happy ; the Christ Child invariably possesses a charming mix- 
 ture of divine and human expression. 
 
 This work is typical of the artist in conception, sentiment 
 and coloring. These ideal children are among the most beauti- 
 ful he ever painted. Their little bodies are bathed in the soft, 
 vaporous light that was a product of Murillo’s own imagination. 
 
 90 . 
 
 I.MMACULATE CONCEPTION. 
 
 Prado Gallery, Madrid. 
 
 In the subject of the Immaculate Conception, perhaps 
 no artist has excelled Murillo. Surely with no one was it a 
 
 105 
 
greater favorite, for he is said to have painted twenty represen- 
 tations. This particular example is one of the most noted. 
 
 The Virgin, represented in the clouds with her feet resting 
 on the crescent moon is a beautiful youthful figure surrounded 
 by a fiood of wondrous golden light. Above and below, half 
 revealed, half concealed are her celestial attendants — a host of 
 exquisite cherubs who hover and sport among the clouds, add- 
 ing greatly to an effect of almost ethereal delicacy. 
 
 One is scarcely conscious of exalted spirituality in Muril- 
 lo’s pictures, still less of sublimity of conception, but there is 
 “a. reverential tenderness, an intrinsic humanness” which 
 appealed strongly to his own countrymen, and probably has 
 endeared them to countless people down to our own time. 
 
 91 . 
 
 ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA. 
 
 Berlin Gallery. 
 
 Here is reproduced one of Murillo’s visions of a monk or 
 saint who is being visited by the Christ Child. It is interesting 
 to know in connection with this picture that Murillo painted 
 the appearance of the Christ Child to St. Anthony several 
 times, each time making significant changes in the composi- 
 tion as the idea changed shape in his poetic imagination. 
 
 In this version, according to legend, St. Anthony had 
 retired to a wood for meditation and study, when the Saviour 
 in the form of an exquisite child appeared before him. Mur- 
 rillo has pictured the monk lifting and embracing the little 
 Christ, who has seldom been shown in more adorable guise 
 than here where he rests with such confidence in his worship- 
 er’s arms and so lovingly caresses his cheek. About the picture 
 are the fascinating cherubs, who accompanied the Child. The 
 two playful ones on the ground are delightful. One strongly 
 suspects they are the immortalized images of little street urchins 
 who once played in ragged contentment in the streets of some 
 old Spanish city. The dark haired mite thumbing the saint’s 
 abandoned book is particularly suggestive of the Spanish type 
 of childhood. 
 
 The work is a wonderfully beautiful one in this artist’s 
 
 106 
 
peculiar serial and luminous effect. Murillo so softened and 
 brightened Spanish mysticism there is a great gap between his 
 religious pictures and the ‘^fierce meditations and horrible 
 martyrdoms’^ of the earlier Spanish School. This great school 
 died with its most beloved artist; not until the very end of the 
 eighteenth century did Spain produce any more painters of 
 note. 
 
 107 
 
Dutch Painting^. 
 
 In the same century that the Renaissance movement was 
 achieving results in Flanders and Spain, Holland began to 
 show artistic activity, for it was not until the seventeenth cen- 
 tuiy that there was any developed art in this country. Hol- 
 land’s early art was closely allied with that of Flanders. The 
 sixteenth century was a period of Italian imitation producing 
 few painters of rank. By the seventeenth century, however, 
 Holland had gained political independence, had become a 
 Republic, and had changed her religion from Catholicism to 
 Protestantism, a change which had an impoitant effect upon 
 her art. Artists were now free to paint that which most inter- 
 ested them — the story of their own lives and the aspects of their 
 own country ; because of its being so distinctly national, Dutch 
 art has been called a ‘‘portrait of Holland and its people.” 
 
 The Dutch lacked the imagination, the idealism of the 
 Italians. Intensely patriotic, intensely practical, absorbed in 
 the ordinary affairs of everj^ day life, their inclination and 
 taste led them directly towai’d realism; therefore, they were 
 little troubled with ecstatic visions, enthusiasm over antique 
 remains, or ideal pictures of the imagination. A realistic por- 
 trait of themselves was entirely to their mind, consequently 
 Dutch art struck off by itself, became original, also famous. 
 Aside from Corporation pictures, as a whole, their works were 
 small, their subjects were figure pieces, small groups in inter- 
 iois and various scenes portraying their daily life all rendered 
 with remarkable truth, skill, and fine pictorial effect. Dutch 
 artists were also among the first to give a distinctive character 
 to landscape. 
 
 Dutch art was never universal but its representation of 
 civic and domestic life revealed the characteristics of the peo- 
 ple and the time. 
 
 108 
 
HALS. 
 
 1584?-166G? 
 
 Dutch. 
 
 h 
 
 Frans Hals is not only one of Uie greatest masters of the 
 Dutch School, but one of the greatest portrait painters in the 
 history of art. In giving a vital sense of life and the personal, 
 physical presence of his sitters he has never been excelled. One 
 of the greatest masters of the brush, his stroke is so sure and 
 true, his rendering so vivid that his work is vitalized to an 
 unusual degree. It is distinctly national in spirit and is prob- 
 ably the most characteristic of the Dutch race and of the art 
 which it produced. In the nineteenth century the rediscover^' 
 of the methods of Hals and Velasquez produced a revolution in 
 the artists’ point of view and rafuiner of painting, resulting in 
 the modern method which is called Impressionism. 
 
 92 . 
 
 BOHEMIAN GIRI.. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 If, as has been said, Hals’ subjects from the veiy conta- 
 gion of sitting opposite him fell into his own sunny mood, in 
 transferring them to canvas, the artist has so vitally reproduced 
 that reflected mood that even the spectator is affected by it 
 This vigorous young woman abounding with health and high 
 spirits looks out from her rough tangle of hair with the frank- 
 est, most contagious of smiles. One can but smile wdth this 
 gypsy who evidently finds the world a jolly place to live in. 
 
 As usual with Hals, the workmanship is entirely harmon- 
 ious with the subject which was probably chosen for its pic- 
 turesque effectiveness rather tlian any moral or physical 
 beauty. The head of this care free young Bohemian was evi- 
 dently transferred to the canvas in some hour of rare good 
 humor when the hand and brain of the artist were alike happily 
 disposed. Hals has immortalized the young gipsy with the 
 swift, bold strokes of his brush. 
 
 109 
 
93 . 
 
 BANQUET OF THE OFFICERS OF ST. HADRIAN’S 
 
 GUILD. 
 
 Haarlem Gallery. 
 
 Holland has always been noted for its merchant guilds or 
 corporations. Early in the seventeenth century corporation 
 pictures became very much the fashion and all through the 
 country one finds the halls filled with these large works, in 
 which each figure is a portrait of an individual member of the 
 guild; yet so clever is the grouping that the pictures are not 
 only portrait groups, but figure pieces. . . The Banquet of the 
 Officers of the Archers of St. Hadrian, a model of this style of 
 composition, reveals Hals at the height of his powers. The 
 grouping shows great skill ; the figures are so turned, the strong 
 features of each face so emphasized as to bring out the varying 
 dispositions and temperaments; particularly noticeable are the 
 individual characteristics given to the hands. Though filled 
 with twelve life-size figures the canvas has no effect of over- 
 crowding. 
 
 94 . 
 
 PORTRAIT OF AN ADMIRAL. 
 
 Hermitage Gallery, St. Petersburg. 
 
 The year 1639 was full of glory for Holland as her success- 
 ive victories over the Spanish fleet gave her a place as the first 
 sea power in the world. 
 
 In this splendid portrait of an unknown officer, commonly 
 called an Admiral, Hals has typified his conception of the 
 heroes who fought for their native land. The professional side 
 of the subject was evidently uppermost in the painter’s mind, 
 for both face and bearing give the impression of a bold, fearless 
 sea warrior. There is, however, a subtle expression about the 
 eyes and mouth which suggests other qualities; a readiness to 
 accept the pleasures as well as the hardships of life. One sur- 
 mises the gallant Admiral would not be averse, when off duty, 
 to spend a merry hour with jovial companions. 
 
 110 
 
95. 
 
 THE JOLLY TOPER. 
 
 Ryks Museum, Amsterdam. 
 
 It is always a delight to come upon a portrait by Frans 
 Hals. He is so much of a magician in catching momentary 
 expressions one is often almost startled by the first sight of one 
 of his merry faces. 
 
 This one is so particularly characteristic of the master and 
 tells its own story so frankly no description is needed. It is a 
 marvel of brush work. With Hals one is always impressed 
 with the personal quality of his technique, dependent upon 
 and betraying the mood of tlie man. Evidently in his usual 
 jovial humor, he has dashed off this likeness with superb 
 audacity and spontaneous assurance ; each apparent daub is put 
 on Avith such dexterity, Avith such an unerring eye for just the 
 right place and effect, one unconsciously partakes of the artist’s 
 enthusiasm and is roused to an active appreciation. Notice 
 the dashes of high-light on the face, the arm, the hands. 
 Daubs seemingly put on at random; yet hOAV forcibly they 
 bring out the modeling, the character of face and figure and 
 shoAv the artist’s wonderful sureness of touch. 
 
 Hals had no formula Avhich he used indiscriminately for 
 all subjects. This fact proved one of the secrets of his suc- 
 cess, as by this very spontaneity he endoAA^s his figures with an 
 intensity of life that is extremely telling. 
 
 REMBRANDT. 
 
 1607?-1689?. 
 
 Dutch. 
 
 The native art of Holland, so sudden in its uprising, 
 almost immediately reached its maturity in its greatest master, 
 Rembrandt — one of the few great men who stand alone. A 
 man whose genius can not be traced either to the influence of 
 his time, or to the work of his predecessors. His name has 
 become almost synonymous with chiaroscuro, a term which 
 applies to a method he used oftener and better than any one 
 el^:^ namely — the practice of immersing and enveloping every- 
 
 111 
 
tiling in a bath of shadow, by which means he expressed his 
 ideas with supreme emotional effect. He had, beside, an extra- 
 ordinary technique and an understanding of the effects of light 
 by which he gained a certain luminous quality never equaled, 
 before nor since. 
 
 He was both realist and idealist ; in his unusual manner of 
 portraying his idealistic impressions he fore-shaaowed the still 
 further getting away from exact natural representation shown 
 in our modem art, — an art which emphasizes more and more 
 the value of the individual impression and interpretation of the 
 artist. His influence ivas far reaching and appeared 
 immediately in the work of his many pupils who followed his 
 methods but neve'^ equaled him. 
 
 96 . 
 
 PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST. 
 
 Liechtenstein Gallery, Vienna. 
 
 Rembrandt’s portraits are everywhere maiwels of art. 
 There is a curious suggestiveness in them all, produced by his 
 method of treatment. His principle in portrait painting was 
 to make the head the center of interest by subordinating the 
 surroundings into shadow and suggestion, thus drawing atten- 
 tion to the soul of the subject as expressed in the face. He 
 insisted that all features were not of equal value, that special 
 prominence should be given the eyes and the mouth. This 
 fine example reveals his wonderful resources of treatment of 
 light and shade for the purpose of expression ; the gaze is made 
 particularly effective and searching by the concentrated light 
 on the face, the rest of the figure being enveloped in shadow. 
 
 Rembrandt often painted a mirrored reflection of himself, 
 forty times in fact; not as has been said from a feeling of 
 vanity, but in order to enable him to study and express certain 
 physical emotions and to facilitate his power as a draughts- 
 man. 
 
 112 
 
97 . 
 
 PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST’S MOTHER. 
 
 Imperial Museum, Vienna. 
 
 Of all Rembrandt’s portraits this makes the most universal 
 appeal in its expression of kindliness, humanness and simple 
 sincerity. The attention is caught and held by the sweet 
 serenity of the face, yet the rest of the figure shows a marvel of 
 detail well worth notice. The correspondence of feeling and 
 character between the head and the hands, so necessary a fea- 
 ture to a good portrait, is brought out particularly well. One 
 could correctly divine the characteristics of the countenance 
 from the tender refinement of these feeble hands clasped over 
 the supporting staff. 
 
 Words could not more truly, more touchingly reveal the 
 personality of this gentle old lady than Rembrandt s brush 
 has done. The artist’s own feeling for his mother is evident 
 in his loving delineation of her features. 
 
 98 . 
 
 THE SHIPBUILDER AND PIIS WIFE. 
 
 Buckingham Palace, London. 
 
 In the Shipbuilder and his Wife Rembrandt has shown 
 his skill in catching and portraying momentary expressions. 
 Here is a fine, subtle bit of character delineation, as well as a 
 glimpse into a home which reveals much of the contrasting 
 
 natures of its occupants. . j • 
 
 The dreamy shipbuilder is engaged with his drawing, 
 when he is interrupted by his wife who enters to hand him a 
 letter. Her pose and expression clearly indicate the busy, 
 anxious housewife whose haste to return to her duties is sug- 
 gested by her retaining clasp on the door latch. Rembr^dt 
 has wonderfully caught the preoccupied expression on the ship- 
 builder’s face as he was suddenly roused from his study; one 
 is sure he only half realizes what his good wife is sapng, tor 
 his abstracted expression shows his mind to be still intent on 
 
 his plans. ^ . x* 
 
 While the artist has cleverly portrayed the contrasting 
 
 113 
 
natures of the thoughtful artisan and his practical helpmate^ 
 he makas one distinctly conscious of the perfect harmony exist- 
 ing between this fine old couple. 
 
 99 . 
 
 THE NIGHT WATCH. 
 
 Ryks Museum, Amsterdam. 
 
 By its originality of treatment The Night Watch stands 
 unique in the history of corporation pictures. To the pre- 
 eminently sober, practical Dutch mind, which insisted upon 
 clarity and precision in all things, Rembrandt’s treatment of 
 light was disconcerting in the extreme and the civic guard 
 themselves resented so audacious a divergence from traditional 
 ideas. 
 
 The work represents Captain Banning Cocq wuth his com- 
 pany of Musketeers issuing from the guild house at a call to 
 arms. Rembrandt has pictured an instant of sudden animation. 
 The drummer sounds the call which rouses the dog, the 
 ensign shakes loose the flag, the soldiers pour out pell mell at 
 the sound of drum taps, in fact the whole composition thrills 
 with life and movement. In corporation pictures, it was cus- 
 tomary to perpetuate the honor of guilds in portrait groups, 
 each member paying an equal share, in return expecting a 
 good likeness and a good place on the canvas. In all success- 
 ful groups the principle of sacrifice must play havoc, and in 
 this instance Rembrandt sacrificed the personalities of the 
 guard to aesthetic considerations; by throwing the sides into 
 shadow, he focused the light on a few central figures thus giv- 
 ing them a principality of attraction which resulted so success- 
 fully for the picture but so disastrously for the rest of the 
 guard. 
 
 One of the marvels of the picture is the first impression 
 it produces. At first sight of it one stands in breathless amaze- 
 ment receiving only one supreme impression of a group of fig- 
 ures bathed in luminous phosphorescent light and of mysterious 
 masses of shadow filled with half concealed forms. The later 
 study of its parts causes almost equal wonder. The work was 
 destined to deal a fatal blow to Rembrandt’s reputation for as a 
 
 114 
 
result of their disappointment the guards withdrew their pat- 
 ronage. Rembrandt’s commissions fell off from that time. 
 
 DOU. 
 
 1613 - 1675 . 
 
 Dutch. 
 
 Gerard Dou, sometimes classed with the genre painters, 
 was the most famous of Rembrandt’s pupils, yet there is a 
 great contrast between the work of the two men. One always 
 thinks of Rembrandt as a most impetuous painter, bold almost 
 to. the point of rashness, and knowing no limit to his powers; 
 Dou on the contrary, was careful, scrupulous, almost ultra- 
 refined. The master showed his power in his grasp of char- 
 acter; the disciple was less concerned with the character, 
 thoughts, and feelings of his sitters than with the minute par- 
 ticulars of their outward appearance. He wasted his strength 
 on unimportant details spending as much time on the painting 
 of a broomstick as on the painting of a face and his work holds 
 little higher place today than that of some of the lesser men. 
 
 100 . 
 
 THE DROPSICAL WOMAN. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 In no picture does the artist show his excessive detail work 
 more effectively than in The Dropsical Woman which is prob- 
 ably his masterpiece. It shows the interior of a handsome 
 room with the invalid sitting in an arm-chair ; beside her stands 
 the doctor holding up to the light a glass of liquid which he 
 seems to be examining ; behind the sick woman stands the nurse 
 giving medicine to the patient, the daughter kneels at the left. 
 The title of the picture is perhaps somewhat absurd, the cos- 
 tumes and setting out of keeping with the intended pathos of 
 the scene, but the lighting and exact working out of details are 
 something for one to marvel at. 
 
 The light streams in mellow radiance through the large 
 window filling the room with an atmosphere that is almost 
 
 115 
 
felt. Even the shadows ai’e luminous and transparent. The 
 eye is drawn to the chair, back of the figure of the doctor, then 
 farther into the room where is faintly outlined what seems to 
 be a large piece of carved furniture. Still beyond, the top and 
 curtains of a canopy catch the light. This treatment gives the 
 room an effect of great depth. 
 
 The play of light works wonderful and mysterious toans- 
 formations in the aspects of the most commonplace thin^; a 
 fact Dou well knew. The way he has led his lights and 
 shadows a dance over the many contrasting surfaces is a stud5^ 
 All these varied accessories and textures are painted with such 
 perfection and in such exquisite jewel-like color, the picture 
 fully Justifies the artists reputation of being great in little 
 things. 
 
 POTTER. 
 
 1625 - 1654 . 
 
 Dutch. 
 
 Paul Potter is the piudigy among Dutch animal painters. 
 A country’’ gentleman with a passion for nature and four-footed 
 creatures, he devoted himself almost entirely to the painting of 
 cattle, representing them, not as accessories, but as the principal 
 feature in his compositions. Pictures in which figures and 
 animals were introduced played an important part in Holland 
 landscape and enjoyed a popularity next to genre pictuies. 
 
 101 . 
 
 THE YOUNG BULL. 
 
 Royal Gallery, The Hague. 
 
 Recalling the fact that the great majority of Dutch pic- 
 tures were small, one can easily imagine that this immense 
 canvas with its figures in life size must have caused something 
 of a stir among Potter’s methodical Dutch brethren. From its 
 unusual size it required an unusual treatment — an execution 
 differing from that in common use by the masters of genre. 
 Potter created a system for himself by first laying on the paint 
 in broad thick masses ; over this, almost in relief, he worked out 
 
 116 
 
the details with small brushes; by this method he achieved 
 lemarkable success, for the creature is amazingly realistic. 
 The glossy pelt seems covered with actual hair, the eye Ls bril- 
 liant, the nostrils damp, the horns, hoofs, mouth — every detail 
 is true to life. 
 
 Either the artist set out to master only the one dominating 
 figure of the bull, or after the tremendous task of completing 
 it his enthusiasm and interest abated, for the rest of the canvas 
 is filled in somewhat mechanically. The other animals are 
 wooden, the figure of the man tame and badly drawn — in fact 
 the work is chiefly remarkable for the consummately realistic 
 treatment of the one overpowering figure. 
 
 Potter established a reputation for himself and The Bull 
 became a model for succeeding artists. As an exerc'ise of the 
 brush it is an extraordinary work. 
 
 1J7 
 
The Little Dutchmen. 
 
 Genre Painters. 
 
 The group of painters who followed the great masters, 
 Hals and Rembrandt, are spoken of as the ‘‘Little Dutchmen’’ 
 on account of the small size of their pictures. Their art is 
 known as genre painting owing to its chief characteristic — the 
 taking of its subjects from the small incidents of every day life. 
 These incidents supplied an excuse for a beautiful arrangement 
 of color, light and shade. For the Dutch though sometimes 
 illustrators, were seldom moralists, but were always painters. 
 
 They chose humble, familiar scenes and presented them 
 with such remarkable accuracy and skill, that the subject was 
 of much less importance than the manner of treament. Hence 
 objects often ugly in themselves were made beautiful, or at 
 least interesting, by the hand of these masters of genre who 
 have given such an intimate glimpse into the life of the home- 
 loving Dutch people. 
 
 METSU. 
 
 1630 - 1667 . 
 
 Dutch. 
 
 In classing these “Little Dutchmen” according to their 
 subjects, Terborch and Dou might be named for high life. Van 
 Ostade and Steen for low life, and Gabriel Metsu as a sort of 
 go-between with a preference for drawing room scenes. Metsu 
 lacks the intellectual grasp of the greater men, but is always 
 refined. Even in his scenes from the kitchen and market, he 
 never loses that delicate touch which elevates and refines the 
 subject, furthermore no man knew better how to balance every 
 object on a canvas with more pleasing effect than he. 
 
 118 
 
102 . 
 
 VIOLONCELLO PLAYER. 
 
 Buckingham Palace, London. 
 
 In this characteristic picture by Metsu, the eye is first 
 attracted to the figure of the lady descending the stairs where 
 she has paused half way in the descent, her steps evidently 
 arrested for some reason. The cause is found in the lower hall 
 where in half shadow is seated a man playing on a cello. In 
 an upper gallery in still deeper shadow is another figure listen- 
 ing. The placing of the musician in partial obscurity and 
 concentrating the light on the descending figure is a subtle 
 touch of the artist. He has not only avoided a common-place 
 treatment, but made an appeal to the imagination through 
 the suggestion of melody. 
 
 Music was an important part of the home life in that 
 northern country; Metsu and his brother artists often used it 
 as a subject for their pictures. This work is exceptionally fine 
 in unity of sentiment; the suggestion of sweet sound, and the 
 enjoyment of it, is most successfully convej^ed. 
 
 STEEN. 
 
 1626 ?- 1679 . 
 
 Dutch. 
 
 Jan Steen has been called the chameleon of Dutch paint- 
 ing — he essayed so many styles and suggests the work of so 
 many other artists. 
 
 He is the supreme delineator of life, among the lower mid- 
 dle classes, depicting it with wit, satire or coarseness as suited 
 his mood. He took great joy in humorous characterization 
 and was one of the wittiest delineators of the follies of his own 
 time. He was so engrossed in the story telling element of a 
 subject that he sometimes neglected its pictorial representation, 
 but his artistic deficiencies were atoned for by his genius in 
 other directions. He possessed, to a remarkable degree, the 
 rare talent of painting faces overflowing with expression ; this, 
 with his quaint sense of humor, distinguishes his work from 
 that of other genre painters. 
 
 119 
 
103 . 
 
 FESTIVAL OF ST. NICHOLAS. 
 
 Ryks Museum, Amsterdam. 
 
 It is said that Jan Steen had no studio except the tavern 
 or the ale house; here, however, he shows himself equally at 
 home in the family among the children. Jan Steen had a 
 happy family of his own and his children as well as his hand- 
 some wife Margaret often appear in his incomparable “family 
 scenes” of which the Festival of St. Nicholas is perhaps the 
 most popular. 
 
 This festival^ which occurs on December sixth, is celebra- 
 ted in Holland in much the same way as Christmas Day is 
 with us. On the night before, children hang up their shoes 
 and stockings and are rewarded by St. Nicholas — the patron 
 saint of childhood — according to their deserts. Steen^s repre- 
 sentation is very graphic. The good children are receiving gifts 
 of candy and playthings, while the idle boy finds a rod in his 
 shoe and is ridiculed by his brother and sister. The chubby 
 morsel of humanity in front who has appropriated everything 
 her arms can hold, is particularly natural and delightful. Jan 
 Steen’s gift of portraying facial expression is shown to perfec- 
 tion in this interesting family scene. 
 
 DE HOOCH. 
 
 1630 ?- 1681 . 
 
 Dutch. 
 
 Pieter de Hooch was so particularly the painter of sun- 
 light he has been called a magician whose wand is the sun. 
 No artist in Holland gives a truer history of the domestic life 
 of the Dutch people and none so marvellously paints bright 
 sunshine as it streams through open windows and doors, glows 
 upon the walls, or transforms a gloomy courtyard. He is not 
 always skillful in his representation of figures, but is a master 
 in the art of placing them, their position always being selected 
 with an unerring eye for decorative effect. Moreover no artist 
 has been so successful in rendering what every visitor to Hol- 
 land rarely fails to observe — the propriety and cleanliness of 
 
 120 
 
tile Dutch home and the sentiment that seems to attach to 
 eTery object in and about it. 
 
 104 . 
 
 COURTYARD OF A DUTCH HOUSE. 
 
 National Gallery, Ijondon. 
 
 The Courtyard of a Butch House — a familiar work — is a 
 fine example of this artist’s delightful naturalness in his 
 method of lighting and his admirable placing of figures. 
 Instead of throwing his strongest light on the foreground, 
 as was the practice with most Dutch painters, De Hooch usually 
 paints his first room in half light, back of this another room or 
 passage leading to a court is given in higher light, in the court 
 itself streams sunshine undiluted. 
 
 Here, the courtyard which forms the foregiound is full 
 of warm but not strong sunlight which falls upon the yellow 
 flagging of the floor, strikes upon the red bricks of the wall, 
 and brings into relief the figures of the woman and child, who 
 stand outlined against the deep shadow of the stairway down 
 which they have evidently just passed. At the end of the 
 passage way in the background is another focus of light 
 with a third figure looking into an inner court full of brilliant 
 sunshine. The artist has skillfully managed his contrasts and 
 gained a fine effect, by placing this lat& figure in the lighted 
 doorway. 
 
 De Hooch has ventured to sacrifice his cnuntry woman’s 
 reputation for neatneas to the artistic effect and balance of his 
 picture, for no thrifty Dutch housewufe leaves her mop and pail 
 in any such prominence or disorder. 
 
 VER MEER OF DELFT. 
 
 1632 - 1675 . 
 
 Dutch. 
 
 Ver Meer is one of the most charming of all the genre 
 painters. The appreciation of his art has increased rapidly 
 during the last twenty-five years on account of his rare abilit}^ 
 in rendering light, color and atmosphere. He is particularly 
 
 121 
 
noted for his handling of reds, yellows and blues ; as a master of 
 the tonal relations of a picture, he stands second to no one. His 
 technique has been spoken of as “Hals in little” — since it 
 shows the same quick touch and crisp stroke of the greater 
 master. 
 
 105 . 
 
 WOMAN WITH A PEAPxL NECKLACE. 
 
 Berlin Gallery. 
 
 This reproduction shows a peculiarity of Ver Meer’s — his 
 manner of pHcing his figures in the very foreground of his 
 canvas, cutting off the upper and lovver parts of the room so 
 that the spectator stands directly in front of the person or per- 
 sons represented. The work needs to be seen in original to be 
 appreciated. It is a marvel of delicate execution and tonal 
 harmony. The subject — a lady standing before a mirror fast- 
 ening about her throat a necklace of pearls — is not particularly 
 attractive. The lady is neither graceful nor beautiful in form, 
 features or expression. Indeed, were it not for the magic of 
 Ver Meer’s light-tipped brush the work would be common-place 
 enough. 
 
 The fascination of the picture lies in the exquisite blend- 
 ing of colors and in the marvelous effects of atmosphere. Light 
 streams in through a window lighting up the curtain, falling 
 upon the face and upper part of the figure, illuminating the 
 wall and permeating even the shadows. There is a marked 
 impression of an open, airy, space between the wall and figure. 
 How artists get the feeling of space and atmosphere between 
 two solid bodies is one of the fascinating mysteries of their 
 workmanship. 
 
 TERBURG. 
 
 1617?-1681 
 
 Dutch. 
 
 Terburg, the aristocrat among Dutch painters, (^embrandt 
 excepted, j was devoted to representations of the higher class 
 of society and was, perhaps, the best painter among all the 
 
 122 
 
“Little Dutchmen.” His works, which are marked by a careful 
 study of atmosphere and relation of objects, often possess a 
 delightful sense of spaciousness. His compositions are small, 
 most of them interiors, yet he knew just the details that were 
 of the most importance and just how to subordinate all else in a 
 picture to the center of interest. He knew, too, how to choose 
 from the material presented to him, just what was needed to 
 make an attractive picture. A painter of much culture, the 
 key note of his work is refinement. No one quite equalled 
 Terburg in the rendering of silk, satin and velvet. 
 
 106 . 
 
 OFFICER WRITING A LETTER. 
 
 Royal Gallery, Dresden. 
 
 As usual with Terburg, the subject of this picture is 
 exceedingly simple. An officer seated in a most natural atti- 
 tude, is engaged in writing a letter which his orderly is waiting 
 to receive and carry to its destination. The waiting officer, 
 standing with military erectness in his picturesque costume, 
 presents a fine appearance and his expression indicates that he 
 is not entirely unconscious of it; but as the artist doubtless 
 requested him to look his best on this particular occasion he 
 may be pardoned for the exhibition of self admiration. Ter- 
 burg, it is said, often requested his models to come to him in 
 handsome costume ; if they did not possess one, he insisted that 
 they borrow for the occasion, from some more fortunate com- 
 panion. 
 
 This example brings out some of Terburg’s characteristics 
 already mentioned. The simpleness of the interior; the plac- 
 ing of the two figures, so that all accessories tend to emphasize 
 the main thought; the natural, yet concentrated action of the 
 officer writing the letter, contrasted against the quiet inaction 
 of the second figure ; all these features are so skillfully handled 
 by the artist, that attraction and dignity are given to a simple, 
 common-place subject. 
 
 123 
 
TENIERS (The Younger.) 
 
 1610 - 1690 . 
 
 Flemish. 
 
 David Teniers, is a Flemish genre painter who came some 
 years later than Rubens and Van Dyck. His work is closely 
 allied to that of the Little Dutchmen in style, conception and 
 treatment and his pictures will compare favorably with those 
 of Dutch painters, who were doing their beat work during this 
 period- He painted almost every subject, but excelled in 
 representations of low life as found among fi’equenters of 
 the taverns. His scenes are life-like, are depicted with a 
 graphic, satirical touch, show picturesque composition, good 
 color and fine technique. There w^as not an atom of poetry in 
 his nature, but he was keenly realistic and could strikingly 
 depict either the homely, the humorous, the \uilgar or the 
 grotesque. ^ 
 
 Hia canvases which are usually crowded with figures, are 
 found in almost every gallery in Europe, as he left an immense 
 number of them. His name practicall}' closes the art history 
 of the Netherlands. 
 
 107 . 
 
 VILLAGE DANCE IN A FLEMISH INN. 
 
 Alte Pinakothek, Munich. 
 
 Teniers was never more in his element than when he could 
 paint a country fair or fete wdth a crowd of noisy, boisterous, 
 pleasure loving peasants. This example is quite in his favorite 
 style, though the mirth is more restrained and less boisterous 
 than in some of his similar scenes. The work is full of action 
 and is handled with the artisPs fine sense of humor, while its 
 .realism shows him to be a true student of nature. At this 
 rustic wedding the villagers, who are employed according to 
 their varied tastes and ideas of meny making, are pictured in 
 the artist’s usual humorous and realistic manner. 
 
 124 
 
RUISDAEL. 
 
 1629 ?- 1682 . 
 
 Dutch. 
 
 The Netherland painters were probably the first to ii.se 
 laudscai^ ^ a picture motive in itself; before them it had been 
 principally as a background for figures. Dutch artists 
 did not attempt the open air effects of the moderns, they 
 embodied in their works the character and spirit of their owii 
 countr}^ and infused into them the qualities of their own per- 
 sonalities. In the landscape representations of these Dutch 
 painters, can be traced a two-fold tendency ; in one direction a 
 note of simple truthfulness to the facts of nature, in the other 
 the tincture of those facts with a romantic spirit. 
 
 The romantic, imaginative spirit is seen in Ruisdael, an 
 artist whose personality was akin to that of Rembrandt’s; 
 th^ two artists strike the only note of intense feeling in th® 
 Dutch art of the seventeenth century. A man of moods, of 
 poetic feeling, with an imagination tinged with melancholy, 
 thOTe is in Ruisdael’s work no matter how simple the subject, 
 an inner sentiment which transfigures the details into poetry. 
 He is usually identified with scenes of wild solitude, plunging 
 cataracts and water-falls. This artist was a man who felt and 
 interpreted the spirit of nature ; he was also one of the greats 
 of Dutch landscapists. 
 
 108 . 
 
 THE MILL. 
 
 Ryks Museum, Amsterdam. 
 
 Every landscape painter of powerful imagination or seri- 
 ous poetic feeling, seems to have reveled in the reprt^entation 
 oi the sky. The beauty and variety of the skies of Holland 
 were an inexhaustible theme, but none of the Dutchmen of the 
 seventeenth century had been so impressed with their vastness, 
 their buoyant force or their pictorial possibilities as Ruisdael. 
 
 The first impression as one looks at The Mill is that of a 
 vast space through which the wind, hushed for a moment, will 
 soon be blowing violently. Two-thirds of the picture is given 
 
 125 
 
to a sky filled with masses of dark rolling clouds; their swift 
 oncoming movement is so realistically given, the impression 
 received is that of the moment of ominous calm just before a 
 storm strikes. The emphatic note in the picture is the huge 
 upright mill; its oblique arms, on which can be distinguished 
 the ribs, show that little air is stirring; the stationary 
 figures, the straightened sails of the boats with their perfect 
 reflection in the water, add to the feeling of momentary still- 
 ness. The whole arrangement of the composition shows care- 
 ful working out on the part of the artist; indeed every detail 
 seems to have its artistic reason for being just as he has painted 
 it. 
 
 One notices particularly how greatly the beauty of the 
 picture is increased by the unobtrusive repetition of each kind 
 of line — vertical, horizontal, oblique and curved. In a way 
 repetition of line in a picture is analogous to repetition of 
 a motive in music; in either case further development and 
 added beauty results. Unlike Hobbema, Ruisdael has not been 
 concerned with the detailed representation of the scene, but 
 with the interpretation of his personal feeling for it. A feel- 
 ing of the vastness, of the mighty elemental forces of nature 
 speaks strongly from the canvas. 
 
 HOBBEMA. 
 
 1638 ?- 1709 . 
 
 Dutch. 
 
 Hobbema, who was contemporary with Ruisdael and 
 probably his pupil, lacked the imagination of his master; a 
 plain, practical man, he was content to paint what he saw in a 
 matter of fact unimaginative way. Hobbema was such a care- 
 ful student of nature, was so minute in his representation of 
 every twig, leaf and other detail, that his somewhat conven- 
 tional method is often evident. It was reserved for the land- 
 scape painters of the nineteenth century to be the broader, 
 truer students of nature. 
 
 Hobbema’s influence in England, where most of his paint- 
 ings are, was very marked on Constable and through him, on 
 Erench artists. In fact the landscape painters of Holland are 
 of particular interest on account of the place they occupy as 
 
 126 
 
forerunners of landscape painting as developed l)y the Barhi- 
 zon^Cchool in France. The two-fold tendency of Dutch land- 
 scape is admirably illustrated by Euisdael and Hobbema. 
 
 109 . 
 
 THE AVENUE, MIDDELHARNIS, HOLLAND. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 ^ Ibe approach to the little village of Middelharnis, called 
 file Avenue, is a bit of portraiture of nature which forms an 
 interesting contrast to “The Mill’’ of Euisdael. One is directly 
 conscious of the difference in the feeling of the artist toward 
 nature, a difference noticeable not only in his manner of rep- 
 resentation, but distinctly felt in the impression produced. 
 Hobbema has depicted his bit of country side with such accur- 
 acy and truth, that one can but admire the matter-of-factness 
 of the composition, and while it lacks the poetry of Euisdael’s 
 work one gains an intimate glimpse of a stretch of country typi- 
 cal of the Netherlands. 
 
 The center with its long vista through the tall, sparse 
 trees, would have resulted disastrously in the hands of any but 
 a master. Hobbema has cleverly managed to avoid its leading 
 the eye directly in and out of the picture by the curving ruts 
 in the road, and the sharp turn to the right, while the lights 
 at the side and in the middle distance are so skillfully placed 
 that one is led to take in, one by one, all the fine details of the 
 work — the canal, the fields, the figures, the buildings on the 
 right and the little church in the distance. 
 
 It is a fine specimen of Dutch landscape at its best period 
 showing the flat country and cloudy effect of sky, always so 
 fascinating in Holland. 
 
 127 
 
French Painting. 
 
 Painting in France passed through many phases and was 
 long in developing. Other arts had reached a high degree of 
 perfection before pictorial representation occupied any import- 
 ant place. Painting in this counti’y did not, as in Italy, spring 
 directly from Christianity; religious subjects were used, but 
 decoration, not religion, was the chief motive. 
 
 There was no real French art before the fifteenth century ; 
 even then foreign methods prevailed. In the sixteenth cen- 
 tury there were native painters who followed Flemish methods, 
 but after Francis I. imported Leonardo da Vinci, Andrea del 
 Sarto with other Italian artists and established the Fontaine- 
 bleau School, Italian methods predominated. The seven- 
 teenth century w^as a period of great development and produc- 
 tion and the time of the founding of the French Academy. 
 During the eighteenth century, a representative type of French 
 art came into vogue with Watteau. The nineteenth century, 
 the Revolutionary period, was characterized by a return, led by 
 David, to the classic style of Italy; also by the rise of the 
 Romantic School, which led by Delacroix, came forward in 
 opposition to the Classic. 
 
 The influence of romanticism was felt in the enthusiastic 
 return to nature study which resulted in the Barbizon School. 
 
 The latest movement in France was impressionism ; a new 
 truth in nature’s aspect discovered by Manet. He set forth the 
 fundamental principle of the movement when he (virtually) 
 said that nature should not be painted as it really is, but as it 
 impr^s^ the painter. His congenial fellow worker, Claude 
 Mi^et, pushed the investigation still farther, making new dis- 
 coveries in light effects. Following his lead, artists have made 
 great advances in rendering the luminous, vibrating, transi- 
 tory effects of light. Although still in the experimental stage, 
 the method is followed today not only in France, but by paint- 
 ers in most countries of the world. 
 
 128 
 
CLAUDE LORRAIN. 
 
 16 a 0 - 1682 . 
 
 French. 
 
 The seventeenth century seems to have been an important 
 one in the history of painting. Taking a general survey of the 
 field, one finds it is in this century following closely after 
 Rubens in Flanders, Velasquez in Spain, and the “Little Dutch- 
 men’^ in Holland, that France swings into the line of vision 
 with Poussin and Claude Lorrain. Poussin was the founder of 
 the classic and academic art in France. Claude followed his 
 style, differing from him, however, in making his pictures de- 
 pend more strictly upon landscape, than upon figures ; the clas- 
 sic style of this branch of painting is always associated with his 
 name. He created ideal scenes in which natural landscape 
 classic architecture and idealized figures were combined with 
 great skill. He excelled in his representation of light and 
 atmosphere; the style he introduced was used with success by 
 later artists. 
 
 110 . 
 
 THE MILL. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 There is an old Chinese dictum which reads, “A picture 
 should be a painted poem.” Claude has surely fulfilled the 
 conditions of the saying in The Mill, for it is a veritable poem 
 of atmosphere and golden, shimmering light. One could walk 
 among the trees and almost feel the warmth of the sun. Unti^ 
 Claude’s time, no one had thought of painting the sun except 
 conventionally. Mr. Ruskin says this artist effected a revolu- 
 tion in art simply by setting the orb of light in the heavens. 
 
 This landscape represents one of the many charming, 
 secluded spots created by the artist’s imagination ; a very Arca- 
 dia peopled with ideal creatures who seemingly find life one 
 long holiday of unalloyed pleasure. It is the outcome perhaps 
 of his memory and love for Italy, the countiy of enchantment 
 and light that had laid its spell upon him. 
 
 129 
 
WATTEAU. 
 
 1684 - 1721 . 
 
 French. 
 
 During the latter part of the seventeenth century Frencii 
 ai*t bowed to the dictates of the court of Louis XIV. It reflec- 
 ted the king’s mock heroic spirit, echoed the fashion of the 
 day, became pompous, theatrical, grandiloquent, utterly lack- 
 ing in sincerity and truth. With the advent of Louis XV, it 
 took upon itself another character which reflected the moral, 
 social and political France of the eighteenth century, a century 
 characterized by gaiety, frivolity and artificiality. Painters 
 now began to draw away from Italian influence, to mirror 
 French life, to develop a quality always characteristic of French 
 taste — the decorative quality. 
 
 Watteau entered so fully into the spirit of his time, tliat he 
 is called the first purely French artist. With him came the 
 fascinating genre pictures of court life, trifling bits of love 
 making, fetes or frolics peopled with beautiful women dressed 
 in bewitching costumes fashioned after the style of the times. 
 His w^ork was original and particularly fitted to decorate bou- 
 doirs and sitting rooms of the ladies of the court. It was often 
 insipid, but was eminently characteristic of the period. 
 
 111 . 
 
 FETE CHAMPETRE. 
 
 National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. 
 
 The Fete Champetre, (country fete) a composition typi- 
 cal of Watteau’s art, represents court life in its role of rustic 
 simplicity amid Arcadian groves. It is an idealized landscape 
 peopled by men and women in silken attire employed in love- 
 making, dancing the minuet and other pastimes of the pleasure 
 seeker. The texture of the costumes is beautifully painted for 
 no one knew better than Watteau how to bring out style and 
 elegance of gown and stuff. The “Watteau plait” was never 
 m6re gracefully worn by living figures than by his tiny ideals, 
 which often remind one of dainty bits of Dresden china endow- 
 ed with life. 
 
 Like most of his works this is exquisite in the pattern of 
 its composition and in the delicate variety of light and shade; 
 
 130 
 
it shows the daintiest play of fancy as well as the artist’s skill 
 in representing vivacity in gesture and facial expression. Wat- 
 teau unfortunately set a bad example by his charming but 
 unreal representations, for those who came after him, carried 
 his fancy and lightness of spirit into exaggeration. 
 
 CHARDIN. 
 
 1699 - 1779 . 
 
 French. 
 
 While most of the artists in this frivolous, capricious, 
 inconstant period were devoting themselves to representing the 
 gaieties and vices of the court, a notable exception is found in 
 Chardin, who found his types in the humble world in which he 
 lived — a world very far removed from that of the court and 
 society. His work with its frank realism is strongly suggestive 
 of Dutch influence, his representations of the daily life of the 
 bourgeois class are so naturally and faithfully rendered. He 
 used little imagination, but depicted his details with skill and 
 gave a personal note to his work which was far removed from 
 the somewhat “simpering prettiness” affected by most of his 
 contemporaries. His painting let the truth of nature into the 
 artiflciality of the eighteenth century. 
 
 112 . 
 
 THE HOUSEKEEPER. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 One almost feels a return to Dutch genre here, the pic- 
 ture is so like those of the “Little Dutchmen” in feeling and 
 treatment. Chardin, true to his nationality, however, has kept 
 the French types of his country. The housekeeper, evidently 
 just back from her marketing, has brought her game tied up 
 in a linen cloth. Her slender figure stands out admirably 
 against the dark wall. Through an open door is caught a 
 glimpse of a courtyard flooded with soft light, where a second 
 figure is seen standing in a doorway. (This arrangement 
 reminds one of De Hooch’s method of dealing with light.) 
 The bottles, plates and mugs are most carefully painted; the 
 
 131 
 
texture of the costume, especially of the apron, is wonderfully 
 true. There is evidently some truth to the saying that “Char- 
 din almost beat the Dutch on their own ground.” His pic- 
 tures were welcomed as a great relief from the “Pompadour 
 genre” so popular at this time. 
 
 113 . 
 
 THE BLESSING. 
 
 ‘ Louvre, Paris. 
 
 A more popular work of Chardin ^s is the homely but 
 charming little scene called The Blessing. The little girl on 
 the low stool with her hands clasped, is intent on saying her 
 grace before she can have the dish of broth her mother has 
 ready for her. This picture in its arrangement, treatment and 
 sentiment, also betrays Chardin’s acquaintance with Dutch 
 methods. In style and feeling it is similar to The Frugal Meal 
 by Israels. 
 
 GREUZE. 
 
 1725 - 1805 . 
 
 French. 
 
 Though not a great artist, Greuze was fortunate enough to 
 come at a most opportune time ; for this reason he was, perhaps, 
 over-estimated by his countrymen. Disgusted with artificiality, 
 revolting at the corruption of the period, a change was begin- 
 ning to take place in the taste of the day, consequently the 
 first signs of return to a simple life and sounder morals were 
 welcomed by the French people. 
 
 Greuze introduced a distinctly moral tone into his repre- 
 sentations of domestic life ; his figures of young girls were par- 
 ticularly admired for their innocence and simplicity. He was 
 not a strong artist, but his canvases were received with great 
 enthusiasm and he retained his popularity for a quarter of a 
 century. 
 
 132 
 
114 . 
 
 THE BROKEN PITCHER. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 The one picture of Greuze’s that has attracted the picture 
 lover and art student equally, is The Broken Pitcher in the 
 Louvre. In it the artist has more nearly reached the ideal of 
 innocent girlhood than in any other of his works. He has, 
 perhaps, attempted to represent the serious thoughtfulness that 
 comes to the young maid when her eyes have caught their first 
 glimpse of the beckoning future. The attitude is one of 
 dreamy expectancy and wonderment as to what that future 
 may hold for her. Greuze’s favorite theme was Innocence in 
 Distress and into his pictures of young girls, he usually intro- 
 duced some cause for pensive feeling or regret. 
 
 This picture, which is one of the most naive and charm- 
 ing of all his compositions, was a great favorite with Napoleon. 
 When the Emperor heard of the artist’s pitiful death, in pov- 
 erty and neglect, he exclaimed that he would gladly have given 
 him “a Sevres vase full of gold pieces for every copy made of 
 his Broken Pitcher.” 
 
 DAVID. 
 
 1748 - 1825 . 
 
 French. 
 
 The French Revolution opened a new chapter in French 
 painting. By the nineteenth century, religion as an art motive 
 had ceased to obtain anywhere — painting from being a neces- 
 sity had passed into a luxury, the king, the state, or the private 
 collector had become the patron instead of the Church. The 
 martial spirit of the time called for a new style of pictures — 
 heroic themes with heroic treatment in place of the frivolous, 
 insincere work of most eighteenth century painters. 
 
 Jacques Louis David, who was devoted to the study of 
 antique marbles, accomj)lished a return to the classic style. The 
 time was appropriate and the style had great vogue. David 
 became the founder of the famous Academic School of France 
 v;hich had as a basis the perfection of line and form. His sys- 
 
 133 
 
tern was concerned with external beauty and directly opposed 
 to the exercise of any spontaneity or individuality on the part 
 of the artist. His style though dignified, was lifeless and cold, 
 lacking in relief, color and sentiment and as, unfortunately, he 
 cared to paint nothing unless it savored of the antique, he left 
 little of any contemporary interest. His work was accepted 
 with enthusiasm, however, and infiuenced French painting for 
 nearly half a century. 
 
 115 . 
 
 CORONATION OF NAPOLEON AND JOSEPHINE 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 David, who was a strong adherent of Napoleon, was called 
 upon to paint Napoleonic pictures. He painted them under 
 protest, yet these, with his portraits are among his best works. 
 This masterpiece shows his real power in historic scenes. In 
 accordance with the wish of Napoleon, David has represented 
 the moment when the Emperor, already crowned, is about to 
 place the crown upon the head of Josephine, who kneels before 
 him. All the personages grouped about are portraits. 
 
 This vast composition which contains over two hundred 
 figures, is admirable in grouping, coloring and delineation of 
 textures. For what it was intended, — the pictorial record of an 
 historical event — it is a dignified, splendid work. He received 
 the commendation of the Emperor, who as a testimony of his 
 appreciation, appointed the artist an Officer of the Legion of 
 Honor. 
 
 MADAME LE BRUN. 
 
 1755 - 1842 . 
 
 French. 
 
 Madame Vigee Le Brun, one of the most charming paint- 
 ers of the French School, belonged wholly and distinctly to the 
 eighteenth century, and was the portrait painter par excellence 
 of the Court of Marie Antoinette. She painted in the graceful 
 style of Greuze but with more breadth. Her works have a 
 freshness, life and spirit, above all a sincerity that was excep- 
 tional for this period. The Revolution brought changes in 
 
 134 
 
manners, laws and art; a new school — the classic — was de- 
 veloping under the leadei*ship of David. Notwithstanding rev- 
 olutions and reforms, she continued to follow the dainty, deli- 
 cate art of Watteau, Greuze and Fragonard — an art intrinsi- 
 cally French. 
 
 The exquisite grace of Madame Le Brun was, therefore, 
 the last expression of what may be called eighteenth century 
 painting in France. 
 
 116 . 
 
 PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST. 
 
 Uffizi Gallery, Florence. 
 
 The charm and beauty with which Madame Le Brun in- 
 vested the portraits of her patrons, is apparent in her portraits 
 of herself. This particular work was painted, upon request, 
 for the celebrated collection of portraits of famous artists by 
 their own hand to be placed in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence. 
 She was then thirty-four years old and has represented herself 
 as seated before an easel, palette and brushes in hand, engaged 
 in tracing upon her canvas the features of Marie Antoinette. 
 The pose is delightfully natural and unaffected, the expression 
 one of charming vivacity. 
 
 The portrait was painted in 1789 — tlie year of the French 
 Revolution. 
 
 185 
 
English Painting. 
 
 At the opening of the eighteenth century England, the 
 last to be touched by the Renaissance movement, comes into 
 artistic prominence. This country, although it early held a 
 foremost place in science and literature, was very late in adopt- 
 ing pictorial representation. When at the close of the thirteenth 
 century all Florence was filled with enthusiasm over the won- 
 derful Madonna of Cimabue, Roger Bacon was creating almost 
 equal excitement in England, and history shows that during 
 her early years, the attention of her people was held by min- 
 strels and writers long after the rest of Europe was under the 
 spell of the pictured story. 
 
 From the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries the country 
 depended largely upon foreign artists, who came to the English 
 court. Holbein, Rubens, Van Dyck and others were imported 
 for the service of royalty and exerted an influence over local 
 artists. It was not until the eighteenth century, when art was 
 falling into decadence everywhere else, that a national school 
 was founded in England. That seriousness of purpose which 
 is said to distinguish the English character, and the tendency 
 of public taste toward literature, is reflected in English paint- 
 ing. 
 
 British painters did not possess the pictorial sense to the 
 same degree that the Italians and the French possessed it ; their 
 art in general, was more illustrative than imaginative or crea- 
 tive. English art excelled in portraiture and struck out in an 
 original and distinctive line in landscape. Before the end of 
 the century the English School produced masters who were 
 worthy to take rank in their own special styles among the 
 great painters of the world. 
 
 English tradition in portraiture and landscape is still 
 worthily maintained by present day artists. 
 
 136 
 
HOGARTH. 
 
 1697 - 1764 . 
 
 English. 
 
 The first purely English artist of note was William Ho- 
 garth, an illustrator, satirist and moralist, as well as painter. He 
 began by painting portraits in which he showed great care for 
 character and realism, but later occupied himself with ideas to 
 be expressed, using his talents largely to point a moral or to 
 depict the vices of his day. Following the literary rather than 
 pictorial trend of the period, he treated his subject as a dra- 
 matic writer would treat it, using his canvas for his stage. 
 Original both in method and point of viewf^i^nh fine artistic 
 qualities, he showed remarkable taste in his lighting, arrange- 
 ment and accessories. His greatest success was in his three 
 great series of pictures which were planned for the conveying 
 of a moral message. 
 
 English art begins under him, as the art of every nation 
 begins, with reflecting the life of the time. In his own field, 
 Hogarth is unsurpassed. 
 
 117 . 
 
 THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 Hogarth was so keen in discovering the vital point in a 
 social evil, so clever in exposing it to view, so artistic in his 
 manner of portrayal, he escaped being a “story telling” artist. 
 In the Marriage a la Mode, he has preached his sermon well. 
 
 The work is a painted drama consisting of six scenes in 
 which the artist sends forth one of his characteristic warnings 
 against existing evils. In this, the first of the scenes, Hogarth 
 satirized the common custom of parents of sacrificing their 
 children for the advancement of their own condition. The 
 gouty old peer shows his peerage to the plebeian alderman, 
 who gives his gold in exchange for the title of Countess for his 
 daughter. The prospective groom, a vain young fop, is admir- 
 ing himself in the mirror, while the bride-to-be flirts with the 
 lawyer who draws up the contract. 
 
 The picture is full of sly suggestions from the two dogs 
 
 137 
 
who are forcibly chained together to the unfinished building 
 which may be seen through the window, whose construction 
 has been arrested for lack of funds. Stage by stage the series 
 proceeds from the signing of the contract to the violent death 
 of the Earl and the suicide of the Countess. All are equally 
 convincing and in them are concentrated all Hogarth’s best 
 points — his bitter wit, his perfect truth of detail and his finish, 
 which rivals even that of Teniers. 
 
 REYNOLDS. 
 
 1723 - 1792 . 
 
 English. 
 
 English art, which as a national art began with Hogarth, 
 matured with the genius of Reynolds. Sir Joshua was a court- 
 ier, and his artistic gift took the foi*m of contemporary portrait- 
 ure. Down to the end of the century, this is the line along 
 which the main current of English art went, for England, 
 being a Protestant country, had abjured the religion that pro- 
 vided the motives for early art elsewhere. 
 
 Influenced by his studies in Italy, Reynolds reduced his 
 art to a system ; as a result, his regard for rules and tradition 
 prevented his work from ever becoming enthusiastically spon- 
 taneous or strikingly original. However, as he was gifted with 
 a keen insight into human nature, he gave realistic and im- 
 pressive as well as artistic representations. He was particularly 
 successful in painting the charming English women and chil- 
 dren of the fashionable world of his day. Sir Joshua left a 
 large number of works. Prom his note-book we learn that at 
 the early age of thirty-five he had already painted no fewer 
 than one hundred and fifty portraits. The painter’s experi- 
 ments with numerous oils and varnishes have ’worked havoc 
 with his pictures; his colors are sadly faded. 
 
 118 . 
 
 THE AGE OF INNOCENCE. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 Most artists agree that the painting of child-life is the 
 most maddening as well as one of the most fascinating 
 
 138 
 
branches of their art. Here Reynolds was eminently success- 
 ful. Never is he more perfect, never does he paint more spon- 
 taneously than when he portrays children ; fortunately for our 
 enjoyment, he has immortalized a throng of them. He surely 
 must have possessed the hearts of these small people in order 
 to have portrayed their varied expressions and winsome atti- 
 tudes so perfectly. 
 
 This portrait of an enchanting little maid sitting under a 
 big tree, is well named the Age of Innocence. The artist has 
 charmingly caught tl^e dreamy, half-wondering, half startled 
 expression, so typical of childhood. The demure little figure 
 has a grave dignity prophetic of coming years, yet contradicts 
 its own pretence of sober age by the rounded curves of child- 
 hood and by the expression of the serious eyes so full of un- 
 spoken curiosity and wonder. 
 
 Reynolds was quick to seize any chance attitude, passing 
 action, or expression which nature set before him; henco, the 
 great charm and naturalness of his child portraits. 
 
 119 . 
 
 DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE AND HER DAUGHTER. 
 
 Royal Gallery, Windsor. 
 
 Reynolds has rarely been more successful than in his por- 
 trait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. The Duchess was 
 famed for her culture, her love of art and her beauty. Rey- 
 nolds had painted her before ; once as a child of twelve, again 
 as a bride, here as a mother playing with her infant daughter. 
 
 This reproduction, which is beautifully colored, shows a 
 most delightful and life-like group. The gracious, aristocratic 
 Duchess, attired in a simple morning gown, is engrossed in 
 play with her child, evidently taking great pleasure in the 
 baby’s delight. The momentary expression of the mother is 
 most natural while the uncertain, fitful movements in the 
 hands and feet of the child could hardly be better done. They 
 are not only wonderfully true to life, but convey a living 
 impression of the infant’s excited movements as it enters into 
 
 139 
 
the sport. The intent, interested expression of the little face 
 is remarkably caught also. 
 
 The feeling and arrangement of the picture are quite 
 equal to its conception. Reynolds, as always, has kept the 
 characteristics of his sitters. The mother could never be mis- 
 taken for other than a lady of rank. Her figure stands out in 
 striking relief against the dark curtain. The little Georgiana, 
 afterwards the Countess of Carlisle, is given a softer treatment ; 
 the head and arms are outlined against a glimpse of sky — a 
 happy and artistic arrangement by the artist. 
 
 120 . 
 
 DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 The English portrait painters, so reads the accusation, 
 always flattered their sitters abominably. This example must 
 be an exception to the general rule for there is no touch of 
 idealization here; indeed the Doctor hardly lends himself to 
 it. To be sure the wig may be a little straighter and the cloth- 
 ing bear more evidence of brushing than was customary 
 with the original; but he is made to appear in his “Sunday 
 best” doubtless out of compliment to his friend, Mrs. Thrale, 
 for whom the likeness was painted. 
 
 Dr. Johnson often sat for his portrait. He said — “any 
 reluctance to have one’s features painted shows the anfractuosity 
 of the human mind.” Both his likeness and his remark are 
 characteristically ponderous. The portrait is heavy, argument- 
 ative in aspect, realistically portraying the unwieldy frame and 
 massive features of the irrepressible Doctor, at the same time 
 giving an impression of wonderful vitality. 
 
 His biographer has scarcely succeeded in making him a 
 more living personage than has Reynolds. A marked con- 
 trast to the highly refined elegance of the fashionable Duchess, 
 which shows another side of the artist’s genius. 
 
 140 
 
GAINSBOROUGH. 
 
 1727 - 1788 . 
 
 English. 
 
 Gainsborough, a contemporary of Reynolds, disliked con* 
 ventionalities and formulas. He was a more original painter, 
 both in conception and execution, for unlike Sir Joshua, he 
 followed no school traditions. With a natural taste for form 
 and color,.^S‘lOTge sense of the decoratively beautiful, he went 
 directly to nature and took from her the materials which he 
 fashioned into art in his own manner. His work, consequently, 
 was more spontaneous than his contemporaries — it reflected 
 mood and feeling rather than analysis and theory; Gainsbor- 
 ough was of a decidedly poetic temperament, with a dash of 
 melancholy which is evident, particularly in his landscapes; 
 for these he was almost as noted as for his portraits. 
 
 In both branches of his art he was one of the most original 
 as well as most English of all the English painters. 
 
 121 . 
 
 PORTRAIT OF MRS. SIDDONS. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 In the noted portrait of Mrs. Siddons, in her blue and 
 white dress and her heavy feathered hat, Gainsborough has 
 attempted a daring color scheme, defying all the rules of Sir 
 Joshua. The somewhat strong blue of the gown set directly 
 against the red curtain of the background would seem to have 
 presented difficulties in the way of a harmonious color treat- 
 ment. To a great degree he successfully overcame them. 
 
 Some critics consider that Mrs. Siddons, rather than the 
 ‘‘Blue Boy,’’ was Gainsborough’s “authentic repartee” to Sir 
 Joshua’s celebrated dictum respecting the use of blue. While 
 one carries away the impression that the colors are somewhat 
 out of tune, there is no doubt about the painter’s success in 
 characterization. In this respect it is a masterpiece. In the 
 stately face — severe even in its beauty — one sees stamped the 
 character of the actress who turned the heads of half the town, 
 yet herself gave cold response to popular admiration. 
 
 This large, striking work is one of great distinction. In 
 
 141 
 
perfect accord with the personality of the sitter, a certain feel- 
 ing of formality and unapproachableness emanates from the 
 presence of this one time tragedy queen. 
 
 122 . 
 
 THE BLUE BOY. 
 
 Collection of the Duke of Westminster, England. 
 
 This most noted portrait, which strongly suggests Van 
 Dyck, is commonly supposed to have been painted by Gains- 
 borough as a protest against the dictum laid down by Sir 
 Joshua in one of his lectures, that blue cannot be made the 
 dominant note in a picture. Gainsborough took up his pal- 
 ette and painted this celebrated boy, thereby successfully dis- 
 proving the statement. 
 
 Master Buttall, for that is the boy’s name, stands in the 
 center of the picture, with a touch of swagger in his air, lookr 
 ing boldly at one as if quite aware of the interest and discussion 
 he was causing. Dressed entirely in blue, he stands in relief 
 against a blue sky, which is toned down, however, by a misty 
 atmosphere. The work is strikingly effective and somewhat un- 
 usual in color harmony. 
 
 ROMNEY. 
 
 1734 - 1802 . 
 
 English. 
 
 Reynolds and Gainsborough brought about a- complete 
 renaissance of the art of portraiture in Great Britain. A great 
 number of painters, many of them famous, followed in their 
 footsteps. One of the most talented of these was George Rom- 
 ney, a man eleven years younger than Reynolds and a con- 
 necting link between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. 
 He was a curious combination of weakness and strength; an 
 artist with more sweetness than force, with a tendency to flatter 
 and idealize his sitters. His work suffered from a lack of per- 
 severence and painstaking effort, yet is pervaded with chaim- 
 ing sentiment and color. 
 
 He soon came to be recognized as second only to the two 
 
 142 
 
greater masters and attained great popularity, as no sitter ever 
 went away from his studio without a feeling of pleased satis- 
 faction at the subtle transformation of appearance accom- 
 plished by this sensitive, artistic genius. 
 
 123 . 
 
 MRS. MARK CURRIE. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 Mrs. Mark Currie was the bride of a few months when she 
 sat for Romney. The face looking out from under its cloud 
 of hair has a charmingly sweet, natural expression ; in her 
 simple muslin gown with rose colored ribbons, she is as fresh 
 and fascinating today as she was in 1789. The charm of a 
 gracious personality radiates from the portrait which is one of 
 the most exquisite examples of Romney’s favorite type. 
 
 RAEBURN. 
 
 1756-1823. 
 
 English. 
 
 Sir Henry Raeburn was another fine portrait painter. 
 Though a Scotsman born, he was English in his art; in 
 technical ability he probably surpassed any of his predecessors. 
 His strong simple manner was suited to the painting of men 
 rather than women ; indeed he preferred the masculine to the 
 feminine type, the “eternal womanly” making.no such appeal 
 to him as to Romney or Reynolds. He gave wonderfully 
 true interpretations of the real nature of his sitters — moulding 
 the whole character into the likeness. He confined himself 
 entirely to portraits and while not a great creative artist, as a 
 craftsman he had no rival in his age and country. 
 
 124 . 
 
 MRS. SCOTT MONCRIEFF. 
 
 National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh. 
 
 Although Raeburn is thought of as essentially a painter 
 of men, yet his portraits of women include some of his best. 
 
 143 
 
This of Mrs. Scott Moncrieff, which ranks among the finest 
 examples of English portraiture, is simple in color scheme and 
 a masterpiece of modeling. Here, as in all his portraits the 
 artist has worked out an intellectual as well as an artistic 
 problem and has adapted his style to his subject. 
 
 CONSTABLE. 
 
 1776 - 1837 . 
 
 English. 
 
 The two greatest landscape painters of the modern English 
 School, were Constable and Turner. A great change in this 
 branch of painting was made by Constable, who is called the 
 first of the modern open air painters. This artist received much 
 of his inspiration from Hobbema and the old Dutch land- 
 scapists, although the early Dutchmen looked at nature as an 
 object of which to make a portrait while Constable endeavored 
 to embody his own feeling in his representations. Unlike his 
 predecessors, he saw his greens unmixed with browns; having 
 the courage of his convictions for the first time the fresh green 
 of the grass and trees and the blue of the sky became interest- 
 ing features of landscape. By choosing high noon as the most 
 attractive time of day in which to paint he gave an originality 
 to his lighting heretofore unknown. 
 
 Constable was very successful in rendering the proverbial 
 moisture of the English atmosphere; artists used jokingly to 
 advise their friends to take an umbrella when they went to see 
 Constable’s pictures, — so say his biographers. The French recog- 
 nized in Constable the leader of a revolution in the art of land- 
 scape painting and his work had a decided influence upon the 
 then rising landscape school of France. 
 
 125 . 
 
 THE CORNFIELD. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 Speaking of the country surroundings of his boyhood, 
 Constable once said, “Those scenes made me a painter.” It is 
 not surprising that a painter so essentially English, should 
 
 144 
 
have been fascinated by the beauties of a scene, such as the one 
 represented here in The Cornfield or The Country Lane, as it 
 is often called. It is an admirable portrayal of just such a bit 
 of English country as often must have met Constable’s eyes as 
 he was looking about for subjects for his brush. In the fore- 
 ground a small shepherd lad has stopped for a moment to drink 
 from a spring by the roadside, leaving his flock to the care of 
 the dog, meanwhile. 
 
 This peaceful bit of nature by its contrast of low tones, 
 gives additional brilliance to the cornfield which forms a sheet 
 of waving gold in the middle distance. Beyond, in perspective, 
 stretch the green meadows of the valley with glimpses of a 
 river and a church tower among the trees. Constable has de- 
 parted from the old notion of brown effects in nature and paint- 
 ed his greens and yellows with a bold brush. This picture of 
 rich, fertile English country side is painted from nature by a 
 master hand and imbued with the enthusiastic spirit of the 
 poet painter. 
 
 TURNER. 
 
 1775 - 1851 . 
 
 English. 
 
 With Turner, the theme of many rhapsodies, the idol of 
 Ruskin, we go back to idealized landscape. Of the long galaxy 
 of imaginative painters, he was by far the most imaginative of 
 all. As the exponent of a fashion and style of his own, as one 
 who defied all rules and was a law unto himself, he stands a 
 significant figure in art history. Learned in all the forms of 
 nature, schooled in all the formulas of art, yet he took neither 
 nature nor other artists as his models; in fact he was not so 
 much concerned with the truth of nature as with the splendor 
 and magic of the sun. 
 
 Turner was preeminently a painter of the elements, water, 
 air and light; he became so absorbed in the fascination of the 
 latter that he paid little attention to human interest or action ; 
 he slighted detail and generalized to such an extent that his 
 later works are visionary and vague. Because of his exclusive 
 worship of atmosphere, his sacrifice of matter and form to sur- 
 
 145 
 
rounding air, space and light, he is looked upon as the founder 
 of modern impressionism. 
 
 126 . 
 
 ULYSSES DERIDING POLYPHEMUS. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 The incident which formed the inspiration for this noted 
 picture is taken from Homer’s ‘‘Odyssey.” It illustrates the 
 passage where Ulysses in his voyage from Troy stopped at the 
 island of the Cyclops and approaching the cave of Polyphemus 
 lost six of his men, who were devoured by the monster. Putting 
 the creature to sleep by drugging him with wine, Ulysses put 
 out his single eye with a burning stick, after which he escaped 
 to the ship with the remainder of his crew. The first impres- 
 sion is of fine color and effective massing of light and shade. 
 The greatest charm of the work, however, lies in its imperfect 
 revelation. 
 
 Turner was an artist who put a large amount of suggest- 
 iveness into his pictures; these shadowy spaces peopled with 
 vague, strange shapes, set the fancy roaming and give a sense 
 of mystery that is singularly fascinating. On the top of the 
 cliffs the huge, writhing figure of the monster Cyclops is faintly 
 discernible. The shapes of the vessels, the forms of the sailors, 
 the bevy of sea-nymphs guiding the prow of the boat are only 
 partly defined, while the mass of shadow at the left is entirely 
 impenetrable. 
 
 Turner has chosen an old time theme. A myth which 
 belonged to a period far enough away to permit him perfect 
 liberty of treatment and furnished him opportunity to exercise 
 the splendors of his imagination. 
 
 127 . 
 
 THE FIGHTING TEMERAIRE. 
 
 National Gallery, London. 
 
 The Temeraire (“The One That Dares”) is perhaps the 
 most universally accepted as Turner’s masterpiece. The ship 
 
 146 
 
was captured by the English from the French in the battle of 
 the Nile in 1789, and thereafter formed a part of the British 
 navy. At the battle of Trafalgar, she was the second ship in 
 Nelson^s line and was crowned with chief victory; in 1838 after 
 a long and eventful service, was pronounced past usefulneas, 
 condemned as unsea worthy and sold to be broken up. Turner 
 was on the Thames when the noble old ship was taking her last 
 journey alone with none to do her honor, without the firing of 
 a single gun, humiliatingly and pathetically being towed away 
 by a modern, aggressive little steam tug. The incident ap- 
 pealed to him as a text for a picture. 
 
 It is impossible to form any idea of the glory of the paint- 
 ing from an uncolored reproduction. Turner’s brush, as if 
 Midas touched, has turned the canvas into shimmering, glit- 
 tering gold. The sky is fairly ablaze with sunset light, the 
 ripples of water have caught and reflected the glow until the 
 entire broad surface of the stream is alive with scintillating 
 color. The distant shore behind which the sun is setting is 
 enveloped in a fiery haze through which walls and towers of a 
 city loom with visionary indistinctness. 
 
 In the lurid atmosphere the stately Temeraire presents a 
 ghostly phantom-like appearance — a direct contrast to that of 
 the energetic little tug so impertinently puffings its black smoke 
 into the face of the old war ship. 
 
 Turner has no doubt intentionally given a sense of pathos 
 and sadness to the spectacle of the vessel that had brought 
 honor to the whole nation, being taken away to a prosaic and 
 humiliating end. One is reminded of Holmes’ “Old Iron- 
 sides,” written w^hen it was proposed to alot a like ignoble fate 
 to the American frigate, Constitution. 
 
 WILKIE. 
 
 1785-1841. 
 
 English. 
 
 Sir David Wilkie, sometimes called the “Scotch Teniers,” 
 was a Scotchman by birth, but is associated with the English 
 School. Not since the days of the “Little Masters of Holland” 
 had the home life of the common people been so realistically 
 pictured. Unlike Hogarth, his aim was to please and amuse 
 
 147 
 
rather than to deduce a moral ; his pictures instead of express- 
 ing an idea express a passing sensation. He possessed, in a 
 superior degree, the power of portraying life and movement by 
 gesture, and showed great ability in arranging his groups and 
 rendering their varied expressions. He belongs to the group 
 of English genre painters of the period who modeled their style 
 on the Dutch. 
 
 128 . 
 
 BLIND MAN’S BUFF. 
 
 Buckingham Palace, London. 
 
 Sir David captivated Londoners by just such clever por- 
 trayals as he has given here in Blind Mans Bujf. It is a re- 
 markably realistic delineation gf this merry, rather boisterous 
 game. He must often have been a participant or at least an 
 interested observer of it, to have rendered it so vividly. The 
 humorous situations, the scrambling and confusion are quite 
 as many can recall on similar occasions in the good old days, 
 and display great genius on the part of the artist. It was in 
 portraying like scenes he gained such popularity his name be- 
 came almost a household word. The old fashioned game has 
 formed an evening’s amusement in many a happy home circle, 
 and the work will always make an appeal, if only by serving 
 to recall similar scenes of merriment in childhood’s happy days. 
 The charm of a picture that tells a story is not likely to be 
 enduring if the picture does nothing more than that. But 
 when it rouses a train of agreeable recollections, is as well done, 
 is as full of vital life, action and spirit as Wilkie’s Blind Man's 
 Buff it is sure to be attractive in its own way. 
 
 148 
 
Romanticism 
 
 Turning again to France to follow the course of her 
 development, it is found that the discontent and intensity of 
 sentiment which prevailed at the beginning of the nineteenth 
 century, were working a change in art. The French Revolu- 
 tion culminated in an extraordinary outburst of national en- 
 thusiasm which demanded something spontaneous, something 
 expressive of the intense feeling of the time. The quick succes- 
 sion of events, the highly wrought state of public feeling could 
 no longer be represented by statuesque, academic art. 
 
 In 1822 a movement which took the name of Romanti- 
 cism, came forward in opposition to the classicism of David; 
 its followers sought to represent the poetic, the emotional sen- 
 timent of life. The quarrel between the two schools lasted for 
 some years with neither side victorious, but th'e influence of 
 either the classic or romantic motive may be traced in almost 
 all French painting of the ninteenth century. Romanticism 
 had a decided effect on modern art through the new school of 
 landscape which developed at Barbizon. 
 
 DELACROIX. 
 
 1799-1863. 
 
 French. 
 
 Delacroix, the leader of the romantic movement, was one 
 of the greatest colorists of the nineteenth century; an artist 
 who thought, designed and expressed himself in color. “To be 
 a feast for the eyes is the first merit of a picture,’’ are words 
 entered in his diary shortly before his death. He was the true 
 representative of his age, its enthusiasms, its activities, its 
 agitated emotions; his art reflected the mighty impulses which 
 had been let loose by the Revolution. The scenes of violence 
 and tragedy which often form the inspiration for his brush 
 show a most vivid power of imagination and strength of ex- 
 
 149 
 
pression, although his dramatic action and emotional intensity 
 are usually overwhelming rather than charming. His name is 
 the greatest among the adherents of the Romantic School of 
 painting. 
 
 129 . 
 
 DANTE AND VIRGIL. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 Delacroix often took his subjects from the tragic poets; 
 one of his first pictures is the now famous Dante and Virgil, 
 which created so much discussion at the time of its painting. 
 This strange, ghostlike scene is taken from Dante’s Inferno 
 Canto III, where Dante and Virgil, conducted by Charon, are 
 crossing the lake which surrounds the walls of the infernal 
 city of Pluto; to the gunwale of the boat cling the unhappy 
 shades, one convulsively gripping it with his teeth, another 
 losing his hold sinks into the water, while another pushes off 
 those who, like himself, are trying to enter. Above these 
 writhing forms stands Dante aghast with horror, leaning 
 toward the shade of Virgil, -who stands calm and serene amid 
 the tumult around him. 
 
 The painting is a wonderfully imaginative production, a 
 turbid harmony in color, and most remarkable in a certain 
 weird rhythmic movement, suggesting agitated waves, which 
 the artist has produced by his arrangement of the figures in 
 the water. These figures are marvels of draughtsmanship and 
 emotional intensity. The art of Delacroix represented a break- 
 ing away from w^hat had gone before; it was both a protest 
 against the cold, calculating art of David and an endeavor to 
 express the fervor of modern life through the medium of 
 romance and color. 
 
 160 
 
The Barbizon School. 
 
 About the year 1830 the most famous coterie of artists 
 since the Italian Renaissance settled in the little town of Bar- 
 bizon, three miles from Fontainebleau, and founded what has 
 been called the Fontainebleau-Barbizon School. The desire for 
 a medium through which to give the world an art which, 
 avoiding the extremes of both the classicists and the romanti- 
 cists should become a universal art, found expression in these 
 men. 
 
 The exhibition of English landscapes by Constable in 
 1822, had opened their eyes to the neglected possibilities of 
 landscape painting and the school was devoted primarily to the 
 study of light, color and impression. Their studies included 
 not merely the external appearances but the inward spirit of 
 a scene, beside, in their intimate study of the individuality of 
 nature they became themselves intensely individual — thus em- 
 bodying what became a leading characteristic of the age — indi- 
 vidualism. 
 
 This little group, led by Rousseau and his followers, were 
 far from being appreciated in their own day, but they left a 
 wonderful legacy and exerted a far reaching influence — 
 an influence which is not yet ended. Our modern landscape 
 artists have continued and developed nature study, endeavor- 
 ing to carry it to the highest development the art can attain — 
 that of representing the spirit of nature through the external 
 forms in which it is embodied. 
 
 COROT. 
 
 1796-1875. 
 
 French. 
 
 In the Barbizon group of artists, Corot occupies a place 
 peculiarly his own. Though all these nature worshippers paint- 
 ed light and atmosphere, no one of them has better translated 
 
 151 
 
with his brush the fitful moods of day as she appears in the 
 morning and disappears in the evening, than has Corot. 
 
 One of the most original, most poetic of painters, he was 
 not concerned with the absolute statement of facts but with 
 the essence or spirit of landscape which it was ever his aim to 
 reveal. His compositions are usually simple, his masses of 
 light and shade very broadly, but most effectively, handled. He 
 never had a superior in producing the permeating light of 
 twilight and dawn. 
 
 Corot shows nature as seen through his own poetic, artistic 
 temperament; he shows an interpretation of his own mood 
 rather than an interpretation of nature herself. 
 
 130 . 
 
 LANDSCAPE. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 Loving and understanding nature perhaps better than any 
 other artist, his intimate acquaintance with all her moods 
 enabled him to reveal her secrets. Corot loved best the en- 
 chantment of the mysterious hour of early morning, when 
 nature is just awakening from sleep, or the evening time, 
 when the hush of twilight descends with the sound of the 
 evening vesper. 
 
 This landscape breathes of that morning hour when the 
 vapors of night are being dispelled by the bright rays of the 
 sun and suggests the season when nature is putting on her 
 spring dress. It is as full of joy, lightness and grace as a 
 symphony by Mozart. The quivering leaves of the trees are 
 exquisitely relieved against the pale glow of the sky, the mist 
 still hangs like a veil over the quiet surface of the lake. The 
 figures, which are embodiments of the spirit of the scene, are 
 creatures far removed from the responsibilities, the sordid ex- 
 p’eriences of life. 
 
 It is one of the artist’s typical representations of nature} a 
 nature deliciously impossible, full of uncertainty, enveloped in 
 atmosphere, and pervaded with mystery. 
 
 152 
 
DAUBIGNY. 
 
 1817 - 1878 . 
 
 French. 
 
 Daubigny, the youngest of the Barbizon group, is another 
 master of atmosphere and light. He has great charm, simplic- 
 ity and directness of style with a distinct individuality. 
 
 As truly a lover of nature, his works display less imagi- 
 nation than Corot’s, but more literal truth. Always happy in 
 his selection and arrangement, he paid little attention to de- 
 tails but rendered the general effect of a landscape in a truly 
 remarkable way. His works are usually quiet, restful and 
 rich in low tones of color. Daubigny is a connecting link 
 between Corot and the present day impressionists, as he sought 
 to gain his effects by values, rather than by varying color tones. 
 
 131 . 
 
 ON THE RIVEB OISE, EVENING. 
 
 Metropolitan Museum, New York City. 
 
 A good reproduction can translate something of the witch- 
 ery and charm of Corot, but Daubigny needs to be seen in color 
 to be appreciated. His scenes, usually simple, are so delight- 
 fully natural. His vegetation is such a rich, luxuriant green, 
 his meadows so sunny, his river banks so cool and shady, one 
 cannot fail to succumb to their fascination. Artistically he is 
 akin to Corot, although he looked at nature through different 
 glasses. Daubigny’s trees are perhaps more easily identified 
 botanically, than Corot’s, but the latter ^ ‘cared to paint their 
 souls” rather than the cut of their clothes. In the work of both 
 men there is more than appears to the eye. Beneath their 
 objective beauties one gets the impression that the artists have 
 discovered secrets in nature too subtle for untrained eyes to 
 perceive at first glance. 
 
 Daubigny spent much of his time on house boats on the 
 Oise and Seine and is famous for his reproduction of the river 
 banks or a corner of his garden. This quiet scene, a bit of 
 nature interpreted through the eyes of a sincere nature lover, 
 is lifted above the common place by the individual, poetic, 
 treatment of the artist. 
 
 153 
 
MILLET. 
 
 1814 - 1875 . 
 
 French. 
 
 In the Fontainebleau group, allied in feeling and senti- 
 ment with the landscape artists, was Millet, a man who saw 
 poetry in the homely, the commonplace, the fundamental side 
 of things. His was, indeed, a wide contrast to the view point 
 from which Corot looked upon life and it is a vastly different 
 world into which his brush summons one. Corot’s work re- 
 flects his own joyous, happy spirit, his idealized vision of 
 nature. Millet was impressed with realities; the actual drama 
 of labor as exemplified in the life of the peasant was the object 
 of his artistic efforts; each artist peering beneath the surface 
 into the spirit of things strove to reproduce the particular truth 
 that was revealed to himself. 
 
 At first a figure painter and a student under Delacroix, 
 Millet soon renounced his first style and began to paint peasant 
 life with a literal and pathetic truthfulness far from acceptable 
 to the public taste. But his works were fraught with a mes- 
 sage which in time made its appeal to humanity. In our present 
 age of naturalism, among the many who have followed in his 
 footsteps, he ranks as one of the greatest painters of peasant 
 life. 
 
 132 . 
 
 THE GLEANERS. 
 
 Louvre, Paris. 
 
 The Gleaners is probably Millet’s greatest composition. It 
 represents an every day scene unadorned and direct in which 
 the pathetic toilsome life of the peasant is set forth with tell- 
 ing reality. The bent, weary figures working in the scorching 
 sun are gathering here and there from the barren stubble, the 
 few meager bits the reapers have left behind. 
 
 The inner meaning of the picture was so obvious, was such 
 a revelation of existing conditions, the work raised a storm of 
 abuse. It is said Millet had no intention of emphasizing the 
 inequality between the poor peasant and the rich land holder; 
 
 164 
 
nevertheless he could hardly have portrayed the contrast be- 
 tween the lives of the two classes more convincingly. The 
 whole make-up of the picture emphasizes the poverty of the 
 one and the abundance of the other. 
 
 BRETON. 
 
 1827 - 1906 . 
 
 French. 
 
 Another peasant painter of this period but one who dif- 
 fered from Millet in personality, was Breton. He also went 
 into the fields for his subjects, but having the sentiment and 
 imagination of a poet he merely used the peasant as a peg 
 upon which to hang his poetic ideas. 
 
 Breton^s point of view — the use of facts as accessories with 
 which to build up an ideal composition was the one then in 
 vogue in France, the style of the Barbizon men not yet having 
 received full recognition. He had not the originality of Millet 
 in representing the commonplace, but showed the more joyous 
 side of rural life, and he has given us some splendidly strong, 
 vigorous figures even if ideally represented. 
 
 No artist of the nineteenth century had a more unanimous 
 acknowledgement of his merits than did Breton during his 
 lifetime. 
 
 133 . 
 
 THE SONG OF THE LARK. 
 
 Art Institute, Chicago. 
 
 The Song of the Lark, full of dignity and simplicity in 
 design, is low in color tones representing that mysterious hour 
 preceding dawn, when the sun, a hazy red ball, is just appear- 
 ing. The only figure is that of a peasant girl silhoueted 
 against the dull sky, yet the work is full of poetry. 
 
 If it is true that an artist is one who not only knows how 
 to see, but has the gift of making others see with him, Breton 
 surely deserves the title, for it takes little stretch of the imagin- 
 ation to see this sturdy figure come swinging down the path 
 with a vigorous stride, see her halt to listen as she catches the 
 
 155 
 
liquid notes of the sky lark, and as the bird disappears, resume 
 her way. The impression of instantly arrested motion and an in- 
 tent, listening attitude is given wonderfully well. One uncon- 
 sciously follows the figure’s gaze almost with the expectation of 
 catching the last notes of the song. 
 
 The exquisite sentiment shown by the appreciation of the 
 peasant girl for the beauty of the strains of the lark, — the most 
 subtle and finest suggestion of the picture, — reveals the poetic 
 temperament of the artist. 
 
 BONHEUR. 
 
 1822 - 1899 . 
 
 French. 
 
 Among the few women who have attained distinction in 
 painting, Rosa Bonheur is probably the best known. She won 
 for herself unanimous admiration for her scientific study and 
 observations of the life of four-footed creatures; she struck an 
 original note in painting animals as a realist, but with an 
 artistic treatment unlike any previous examples. No woman 
 has been so highly honored officially, nor has perhaps won so 
 exceptional a place in art. 
 
 134 . 
 
 PLOUGHING IN NIVERNAIS. 
 
 Luxembourg, Paris. 
 
 In this common-place scene, the gifted French woman has 
 revealed some of the successful results of her life study. PeiM 
 haps the strength of the awkward creatures is what appealed to 
 her most, as she has made it the chief note in the picture. 
 
 She evidently knew ox-anatomy by heart, knew just how 
 to show the joints and muscles through the tough hides, knew 
 also just what and how much to show in order to portray the 
 characteristics of the patient beasts. These are far from con- 
 ventional, wooden animals, they are beasts thoroughly alive, 
 with straining muscles and panting sides; the position of the 
 limbs and long slant of the backs gives very realistically the 
 effect of a slow, hard pull through the dry, baked earth. Shout- 
 
 156 
 
ed at and prodded by the driver, the long suffering oxen show 
 contrasting expressions of meekness and rebelliousness; the 
 white one of the middle pair is evidently the present sufferer, 
 while the patient meekness of its companion, indicates that it 
 has already felt the impatience of the driver. The varied 
 colors of the wrinkled hides with the effect of sunshine over 
 them, are beautifully shown. 
 
 The artist has also attempted the very difficult feat of 
 painting white against white, and has solved the problem well. 
 White upon white in full sunlight, has been practiced since, 
 but Bonheur was one of the originators of the effect. 
 
 MEISSONIER. 
 
 1815 - 1891 . 
 
 French. 
 
 In the same period with the Barbizon men, other artists 
 came to the front who held aloof from both Classic and Roman- 
 tic Schools, who stood for a special movement in painting and 
 who really gave a third tendency to French art in this century. 
 
 The leader of these so-called Realists, who maintained that 
 the only subject in art should be nature as it really is, was 
 Courbet. Prominent among the followers of the movement 
 was Meissonier, whose fundamental principle was also realism ; 
 not realism of impression, however, but realism of detail. He 
 went to the Dutch for his models^^tiirfed his attention to genre 
 painting but always remained true to his origin and retained 
 his own characteristics. He showed marvelous skill in the 
 rendering of exact detail; in his particular field, he has no 
 predecessors and no competitors. Fie makes no direct appeal 
 either to the mind or the heart, but rather charms the eye by 
 the feats of his brush. 
 
 His art is not great, but it is inimitable. His greatest 
 claim is to extraordinary technique in miniature representation 
 for he held that as all objects of nature were composed of atoms 
 too small to be seen with the naked eye, so a picture should be 
 finished with such care that its beauties could be detected only 
 under the magnifying glass. 
 
 157 
 
135 . 
 
 LA RIXE. 
 
 Buckingham Palace, London. 
 
 This justly celebrated picture which differs from most of 
 Meissonier’s works, was painted to refute a statement made by 
 his critics that he was unable to represent movement. “The 
 scene represents a brawl in a tavern; the chairs and tables have 
 been overturned, and cards, the probable cause of the trouble, 
 lie scattered on the floor. The assailant has drawn his dagger 
 and struggles to free himself from two companions, as they with 
 difficulty prevent his rushing upon his adversary, who, re- 
 strained by a third peacemaker, attempts to draw his sword.” 
 The violent movement, the fierce struggle of the angry men, 
 the intense expression, not only of the faces, but of each limb 
 and muscle, are powerfully and dramatically rendered. 
 
 Here Meissonier has not only disproved his critics’ state- 
 ment, but given convincing proof of what he might have ac- 
 complished along broader lines had he given less thought to the 
 portrayal of accessories but more to the interpretation of life 
 and action. 
 
 BOUGUEREAU. 
 
 1825 - 1905 . 
 
 French. 
 
 Bouguereau, who was more influenced by classic than 
 romantic art, was particularly concerned with the beauty of 
 line, form and feature. Probably no artist for the past fifty 
 years has been the subject of more criticism or has been the 
 recipient of greater popular admiration among his own coun- 
 trymen than he. His unfailing devotion to academic methods 
 made him a master draughtsman and technician, but robbed 
 him of originality, spontaneity, life and enthusiasm, — quali- 
 ties essential to great painting. 
 
 His work shows little intense feeling or warmth and rich- 
 ness of color; in general it inclines to prettiness rather than to 
 greatness, yet is never trivial. It is always refined, of high 
 moral conception and harmoniously attuned to public taste. 
 
 158 
 
Few artists have rendered the charms of childhood more de- 
 lightfully while in some of his religious and mythological 
 works, Bpuguereau has reached a serene and ideal beauty. 
 
 136 . 
 
 VIRGIN OF CONSOLATION. 
 
 Luxembourg, Paris. 
 
 The Virgin of Consolation, probably Bouguereau’s 
 strongest work, is one of tlie most pathetic of Madonnas from 
 a dramatic standpoint. It is Byzantine in color, attitude and 
 setting, but in feeling is far removed from the cold, unsym- 
 pathetic Byzantine type. 
 
 The Consoling Virgin, whose face is full of compassion, is 
 seated and draped in red and blue, according to ancient cus- 
 tom ; the gesture of the hands, — one of benediction, — gives her 
 a distinction that is striking in its impression of solemn peace. 
 The figure of the desolate mother who has brought her dead 
 child, then thrown herself despairing and heartbroken across 
 the Virgin’s knees is most realistically painted. It is a touch- 
 ing picture ; one which makes an immediate appeal to instinc- 
 tive, human sympathies and is impressive in its effect of solace. 
 Even children feel its impressiveness. A group will often be 
 found before it ; with grave faces and in low hushed tones they 
 express their feeling for the sorrowing mother. 
 
 The picture was painted soon after the Franco-Prussian 
 war, gained a vital success and has never lost its popularity. 
 
The Pre-Raphaelites. 
 
 While France has been dePi’eloping along new lines, Eng- 
 land has kept pace with her sister country. About 1847, started 
 what was perhaps the most important movement in English 
 painting of recent times. It took the name of pre-Raphaelit- 
 ism, and represented the efforts of some English artists, sculp- 
 tors and poets, seven in all, to reform the art of the country by 
 a return to the simplicity and religious fervor of the Italian 
 painters before Raphseks time. 
 
 Art, they maintained, as it had gained in facility of execu- 
 tion and grace of composition had lost in truth of fact and 
 spirituality ; the mission of modern painters was to return to the 
 sincerity and veracity of the early masters, to develop an art, 
 religious, moral, thoughtful but in all cases true to nature. 
 Their efforts to attain the true, regardless of the beautiful, were 
 sincere but their work finally became strained, morbid and 
 tinged with a certain mysticism. 
 
 The Brotherhood lasted for only a shoil period ; the mem- 
 bers soon drifted from each other and began to paint each after 
 his own style. The movement, however, gave a higher motive 
 to the artistic development of the future and left a powerful 
 stamp on English art ; for following it came a long line of art- 
 workers in almost every kind of decorative article, all in the 
 quaint style and sentiment of the ^dong-ago.” 
 
 ROSSETTI. 
 
 1828-1882. 
 
 English. 
 
 The most unique character of the Brotherhood artists was 
 without doubt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, a worshiper of Dante, a 
 man whose poetic temperament made him especially suscep- 
 tible to the dreaming of dreams and seeing of visions. His 
 
 160 
 
poems and pictures have a mystical, romantic spirit about them 
 that gives them a peculiar power without making them great 
 works of art. 
 
 He followed the Italian Renaissance painters in reprevsent- 
 ing humanity rather than nature, but it was always the spirit- 
 ual side of humanity that appealed to him. He used the mouth 
 and eyes as the index of the soul, often to point of exaggeration, 
 even as in his desire to express emotion and excessive sentiment, 
 he placed his figures in strained, awkward positions. He was an 
 artist of great sincerity of purpose who endeavored, through his 
 figures, to express the most vivid intensity of inner life. 
 
 137 . 
 
 THE BLESSED DAMOZEL. 
 
 Collection of the Hon. Mrs. O’Brien, England. 
 
 The poem. The Blessed Damozel, was written in Rossetti’s 
 nineteenth year; the picture was painted at fifty-one after he 
 had married and after the death of Miss Elizabeth Siddal, who 
 was to him and his art what Saskia was to Rembrandt — his 
 ideal. His devotion to her so narrowed him to one type that 
 his figures of women bear a striking resemblance to one 
 another. 
 
 In this beautiful dream-face, Rossetti has immortalized his 
 wife, representing her as an angel of God standing at the gate 
 of heaven looking upon her lover left upon earth. The picture 
 embodies the tragedy of his life ; as a youth he dreams of what 
 love might be, in manhood the dream became reality but after 
 scarcely two short years of realization, his beloved is taken 
 from him. The poem is strangely prophetic of her death. 
 
 ^‘The Blessed Damozel leaned out 
 From the gold bar of Heaven ; 
 
 Her eyes were deeper than the depth 
 Of waters stilled at even; 
 
 She had three lilies in her hand, 
 
 And the stars in her hair were seven.” 
 
 161 
 
BURNE-JONES. 
 
 T833-1898. 
 
 English. 
 
 Edward Burne-Jones was a follower of Rossetti, less in- 
 tense, but like him thoroughly steeped in the mediaeval spirit 
 His pictures have a weird, witching loveliness, are usually 
 charming in design, but sometimes disappointing in vigor and 
 color. He was a most subtle painter, combining the delicate 
 charm of Botticelli with the noble invention of Mantegna and 
 the decorative design of present day artists. A sensitive, 
 highly imaginative idealist, who revealed his sincerity in all 
 his strange and fascinating compositions. 
 
 138 . 
 
 KING COPHETUA AND THE BEGGAR MAID. 
 
 Tate Gallery, London. 
 
 The old story of the king who succumbed to the charms 
 of a simple beggar maid, has been the inspiration of many an 
 artist’s brush, but none has so fully appreciated the aidistie 
 possibilities of the subject as Burne-Jones. In his illustration 
 of this fascinating poem by Tennyson, the painter represents 
 the king, dressed in blazing armor, humbly laying down his 
 splendid crown at the feet of the sweet, simple maid who in her 
 modest gray gown, is seated upon the purple cushions of his 
 throne. 
 
 The scene is made sumptuous with hangings of costly 
 stuffs, luxurious pillows of rich brocade, chased gold panelling 
 and polished metal. Two chorister boys perched above are 
 singing softly; in the distance between the curtains is caught 
 a glimpse of autumn landscape. ‘Tn this exquisite setting, the 
 two figures remain motionless, isolated in their absorbed 
 reverie.” 
 
 HUNT. 
 
 1827-1910. 
 
 English. 
 
 Holman Hunt, the virtual founder of the school and the 
 only one to adhere firmly to its principles, is the most typical 
 
 162 
 
of the famous Brotherhood as in Iiis art he gives expression to 
 the theory that painting must be both religious in motive and 
 true to nature in minutest detail. In his concern for absolute 
 realism, he seems to have somewhat overlooked the greater 
 truths of light, air, technique and color. 
 
 He never allowed himself to paint scenes laid in foreign 
 countries without visiting them and learning the truth regaid- 
 ing accessories ; these he reproduced with the greatest accuracy ; 
 as a result, the accessories often impress beyond the subject. 
 Notwithstanding his lack of atmosphere, his harshness of color- 
 ing and the absence of many qualities one looks for in good 
 painting, his sincerity and spiritual fervor redeem his work 
 from the commonplace. 
 
 139 . 
 
 THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. 
 
 Keble Gollege, Oxford. 
 
 One of the treasures at Keble College, Oxford, is the Light 
 of the World. Christ is represented as a man of the people in 
 simple garb, knocking at a door overgrown with weeds and 
 brambles ; every spray, twig and thorn is clearly brought out by 
 the light of a lantern. The work had a peculiar timeliness as 
 an awakening had been going on in the Church of England ; it 
 appealed to the religious feeling of the people who saw in the 
 overgrown doorway, an allegory of the condition of the church 
 before Christ “with the lantern of truth awakened the sleepers 
 with his knock.” 
 
 After its exhibition in London, it went on a pilgrimage 
 throughout the country, and many thousands of copies were 
 made. It has without doubt accomplished its mission which, 
 the artist declared, was to preach a religious sermon. ITunt’s 
 works began a new era in sacred art, raising it from the domain 
 of the conventional and picturesque, into an atmosphere of 
 truthfulness and sincerity. 
 
 163 
 
MILLAIS. 
 
 1829 - 1896 . 
 
 English. 
 
 While Holman Hunt held fast throughout his life to the 
 pre-Raphaelite principlef the adoption of them by Millais was 
 only a transitory stage in his artistic development. He soon 
 drew away from the artificialities of the school and developed 
 a broader, more modern style. As he was not averse to story- 
 telling with the paint brush, many anecdotic pictures came 
 from his easel. He had great success as a portrait painter and 
 was noted for his strong personal characterizations. In that 
 most fascinating branch of art, the painting of child-life, he 
 had the same charm that belonged to Reynolds. He was a fine 
 specimen of English nationality, exceedingly popular, and at 
 the time of his death President of the Royal Academy. 
 
 140 . 
 
 THE KNIGHT ERRANT. 
 
 Tate Gallery, London. 
 
 Apart from the technical beauty shown in the drawing of 
 the figure, this work is interesting for the reason that it is one 
 of the few representations of the nude that is noticeably re- 
 markable for its purity, its direct unsentimental representation 
 and its freedom from all affectation. It represents the oft re- 
 peated story of a young girl left bound to a tree by robbers and 
 rescued by a knight. The expression on the face of the latter 
 is striking, almost ascetic, in its noble purity and earnestness. 
 
 WATTS. 
 
 1817 - 1904 . 
 
 English. 
 
 George Frederick Watts set forth the aim of his art when 
 he said, “My intention has been not so much to paint pictures 
 that will charm the eye, as to suggest great thoughts that will 
 kindle all that is best and noblest in humanity.’^ He was the 
 one painter of his time in England, to whom the idea was the 
 
 164 
 
controlling force. Not great as a technician, a draughtsman or 
 a colorist, yet his works cannot be approached without realizing 
 that they have a definite message and that this message is the 
 chief reason for their existence. 
 
 Watts speaks most often through symbolism and his mean- 
 ing is not always clear. But he enforces upon his observers the 
 sublimity of life and death, inspires by his illustration of great 
 principles and noble deeds, and convinces that art is , after allj 
 a matter of humanity as well as of paints and brushes. In 
 portraiture he has achieved remarkable success by creating per- 
 manent memorials of the great Englishmen of his time. 
 
 141 . 
 
 LOVE AND DEATH. 
 
 Tate Gallery, London. 
 
 Watts was at one time asked to paint tlie portrait of a 
 young nobleman who was endowed with all worldly gifts in the 
 way of friends, rank and fortune, yet who, in spite of all efforts 
 was slowly dying of a fatal disease. The memory of the ex- 
 perience so haunted him, this picture was the outcome. 
 
 It represents inevitable, but not terrible death, opening the 
 door of a household where the tragedy of life is accomplishing 
 itself. Love, as a youth strong and resolute, is endeavoring to 
 prevent her entrance, but with irresistible force he is swept out 
 of the way, his wings crushed, his form bruised in the encoun- 
 ter. Death is a majestic figure, but is devoid of customary 
 sternness; with bowed head and veiled face she shows her re- 
 luctance to engage in the dread but unavoidable struggle. The 
 picture is somewhat disappointing in color; but the very im- 
 pressive thought — the utter helplessness of human love to stay 
 the hand of death is brought to one with such conviction, 
 everything else is forgotten. 
 
 In the series of paintings representing various phases of 
 love and death. Watts has endeavored to give a new and nobler 
 significance to these two mysteries. It was his particular desire 
 to rob death of the gloom, dread and horror with which pre- 
 ceding masters had invested it, to raise love from the conception 
 of a fickle, tricky urchin to its noblest characteristics — charity, 
 
 165 
 
sympathy, unselfishness. In these representations, called The 
 Cycle of Death, he has probably reached the climax of his work 
 and thought. 
 
 ALMA-TADEMA. 
 
 1836 - 
 
 English. 
 
 Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, a noted Dutch-Flemish artist, 
 has made his store of archaeological learning minister to his art. 
 He has re-peopled the past, reconstructed temples, altars and 
 dwellings and has pictured classic maimers in the most authen- 
 tic fashion. The scenes of his pictures, whether of baths, am- 
 phitheatre, or atrium, are said to be taken from his own notable 
 London house, the figures moving in them said to be graceful 
 English girls. In the painting of marbles and bronzes he 
 probably has no equal while as a portrayer of Egyptian scenes 
 he quite equals with his brush the word pictures of his friend, 
 George Ebers. 
 
 142 . 
 
 THE COLISEUM. 
 
 Collection of J. D. Archbold, United States. 
 
 Sir Lawrence usually places his personages in settings sug- 
 gesting ancient Greece or Rome and clothes them in costumes 
 harmonious with their surroundings. In the Coliseum the 
 figures in the foreground, who seem to be on a high balcony or 
 the roof of a palace, are interested in a pageant in the street 
 below; they are charming in attitude and expression. The 
 varied details, the urns with their bold relief, the festoons of 
 flowers, the marble of the coping, the motley crowd of figures 
 in the procession are done in the artist’s usual careful manner. 
 
 From his restoration of the Coliseum with its tiers of arches 
 filled with groups of sculpture, one gains an idea of what this 
 great building must have been in the days of its pristine glory. 
 The work, which is somewhat crowded with details, betrays Sir 
 Lawrence’s Flemish origin. 
 
 166 
 
Modern German Painting. 
 
 German painting of any great merit ceased with Holbein 
 in the sixteenth century. During the seventeenth and eigh- 
 teenth centuries, art was at a very low ebb both in Italy and 
 Germany ; vitality in art production was confined to other coun- 
 tries. The Renaissance had come and gone in the South, Ger- 
 man artists had ceased to be national and were following 
 Italian methods or toilsomely and accurately copying objects 
 with microscopic brush. 
 
 At the beginning of the nineteenth century, however, 
 there was an intense effort toward an art revival. About 1810 
 four young students left the Fatherland to seek inspiration in 
 Rome, determined to develop a theory of painting which 
 should reanimate their fellow artists with the faith and devo- 
 tion of the fourteenth century Italian painters. The movement 
 corresponded in religious spirit with what was afterward known 
 as the Pre-Raphaelite movement in England (started in 1847), 
 but it produced no important results. Different schools came 
 to the front and attracted some attention, as the Munich School 
 and the Dusseldorf School, but most of their notoriety was due 
 to the fame acquired by some particular artist. 
 
 At the close of the first quarter of the century, however, 
 several artists came forward who marked some special move- 
 ment in German art. Many of them drew on the rich mine of 
 German fairy tales, legend and history for subjects close to the 
 heart of the German people. The Swiss master, Arnold Rock- 
 lin, represented here, has followed in their wake with an even 
 greater exuberance of creative fancy. 
 
 ROCKLIN. 
 
 1827-1901. 
 
 German. 
 
 Arnold Rticklin, one of the leaders of modern German art, 
 is one of the most singular personalities of the nineteenth cen- 
 
 167 
 
tury. He combines the intensity, strength and fantasy which 
 characterized the earlier masters of this school, with the classic 
 beauty of the Italians. Bocklin is essentially a romantic paint- 
 er, a great colorist and a man of most original imagination. A 
 painter mystic — whose art is very closely allied to the spirit 
 of modern music. 
 
 143 . 
 
 THE ISLAND OF DEATH. 
 
 Like most of Bdcklin’s works, this strange picture com- 
 bines the fantastic and the poetic. It is difficult to say what 
 mood or fancy called it forth from the jointer’s imagination, 
 but it contains the very essence of his art. Toward the shores 
 of a lonely island a boat draws near. Across its bow rests a 
 coffin decked with flowers beside which stands a white-robed 
 figure, the focus point to which the composition is adjusted and 
 the starting point from which the imagination takes its ‘fieap 
 into the beyond.” The solitary island towering in everlasting 
 permanence with its gloomy cypress trees, its entire seclusion 
 from the world, gives a suggestion of inexpressible calm and 
 perhaps pictured to the mind of the artist a fitting resting place 
 for the dead. 
 
 The work, so solemnly impressive, is a most original con- 
 ception. This reproduction is one of six versions of the subject 
 painted by Bocklin. 
 
 168 
 
Modern Dutch Painting. 
 
 From Hobbema and the painters of the seventeenth cen- 
 tury, — with whom we left the art of the Netherlands, — ^until we 
 come to those of the nineteenth century there was very little in 
 Dutch art which showed great merit. During the subsequent 
 century the Dutch, like the Germans, forsook the study of their 
 own land and people, followed the Italians and filled the coun- 
 try with conventional historic pictures or classic landscapes. 
 After a hundred years in a dormant state, life again entered the 
 Netherlands. The artistic instinct, so long asleep, was awak- 
 ened to fresh activity. True to the traditions of the past, the 
 modem artist took up his brush where the seventeenth century 
 artist laid it down, and again began to paint the genre picture ; 
 those devoted to this branch of painting are unequalled in 
 present day art. The school of landscape has a strong repre- 
 .sentation sdso, and the painters of the sea^e^aps no less pow- 
 erful. Of the modern Dutch School, there is at present, only 
 one representative in the collection. 
 
 ISRAELS. 
 
 1824 - 1911 . 
 
 Dutch. 
 
 The artist who has been the chief influence in the modern 
 revival of Dutch art is Josef Israels, often called the Dutch Mil- 
 let, though he has a wider range of subjects than the earlier 
 artist. It is not always the monotonous life and tragedy of the 
 poor that he represents ; sometimes it is the sturdy fisherman, 
 the bashful lover or a touching scene of home life. He suggests 
 Rembrandt in his lighting ; like that artist he has learned the 
 emotional suggestiveness of light. 
 
 His most characteristic works are representations of dim 
 interiors, sombre and dark in color, usually sad in theme, but 
 painted with much sentiment. Under his influence the Dutch 
 
 169 
 
are once again finding the inspiration for their painting in their 
 own unsurpassed effects of sky and sea ; in their simple, pictur- 
 esque country and its people. 
 
 144 
 
 THE FRUGAL MEAL. 
 
 Corporation Gallery, Glasgow. 
 
 The Frugal Meal one of Israel’s characteiistic genre pic- 
 tures, represents a homely interior with the family partaking of 
 their simple evening fare. This bit out of the life of a simple 
 Dutch family is transformed by the painter’s art into a delight- 
 ful picture. It shows his method of lighting and is full of the 
 home element, a feature strong in his paintings even amid the 
 homeliest surroundings. The full light is centered upon the 
 figures of the father and mother and the bowl of steaming 
 broth, touches of it lighting up various objects on the mantle, 
 the cradle, and the heads of the children at the left. 
 
 One admires the cleverness of the artist in introducing the 
 fowl ; it serves the double purpose of giving additional natural- 
 ness to the scene and preserving the balance of the foreground. 
 
 DAGNAN-BOUVERET. 
 
 1852 - 
 
 French. 
 
 Dagnan-Bouveret, one of the clever painters of the modern 
 French School, is a good draughtsman, a fine technician and a 
 finished painter, who by his recent use of high color is some- 
 times looked upon as an impressionist. A man of feeling and 
 imagination he does much work of a religious character. He 
 also paints peasant scenes in a vigorous, direct fashion, with no 
 little originality in treatment. 
 
 145 . 
 
 CONSECRATED BREAD. 
 
 Luxembourg, Paris. 
 
 In a dimly lighted interior, a group of women with varied 
 expressions of weariness, stolidness and devotion is seated, wait- 
 
 170 
 
ing until a young acolyte has passed them the Consecrated, 
 Bread. This simple scene, in a damp village church, is an inter- 
 esting study, for each face bears the record of a monotonous 
 existence. The artist conveys a forcible impression of the dull, 
 bare simplicity of these peasant lives and the narrowness of 
 their mental and material horizon. It is painted with a homely 
 plainness, a touch of compassionate sentiment which is a pecu- 
 liar note of Dagnan'Bouveret^s. 
 
 171 
 
American Painting. 
 
 Painting in the United States became an art worthy of 
 very serious consideration only after the Centennial Exposition 
 in 1876. The first centuries of American life were devoted to 
 iecuring necessities ; the energies of the time were of such prac- 
 tical nature as precluded artistic development, thus except in 
 individual cases, America’s standing in the art world was not 
 of sufficient importance to attract any special attention. 
 
 Stimulated by the display of art both foreign and domestic 
 in 1876, societies and painters began to spring up all over the 
 country ; as a result, there is in the United States today, a body 
 of artists as progressive in spirit, and technically as well trained 
 as can be found in almost any country of Europe. In land- 
 scape especially, America is distinctly national; along other 
 lines, too, her artists are working in the modern spirit showing 
 great individuality in technique, subject, and conception. 
 
 The American artist has now become a universal artist, 
 representing in his art universal truths that appeal to all man- 
 kind. His name appears among painters whose countries have 
 had hundreds of years of art history — proof that America is 
 also the heir of the ages ; that American art is now one of the 
 controlling powers of the twentieth century Renaissance. 
 
 WHISTLER. 
 
 1834-1903. 
 
 American. 
 
 No greater genius has arisen in the art world since Rem- 
 brandt’s time than James McNeil Whistler. A man of remark- 
 able and peculiar personality, his conception of art and nature 
 was equally, remarkable. Ever shunning the obvious he reached 
 toward the abstract, like Leonardo, trying to attain his end by 
 drawing attention as far as possible from the means employed ; 
 at one time he almost discarded form in his preference for sug- 
 gestion rather than fact. 
 
 His art, — the perfection of delicacy both in color and line, 
 
 172 
 
— has in a marked degree the pictorial charm of suggestiveness. 
 He delighted, above all, in the representation of subtle harmo- 
 nies — harmonies of similarity rather than contrast, in fact he 
 was one of the first of moderns to produce these delicate, ex- 
 quisitely refined effects in color tones. An American born, his 
 country lays first claim to him in spite of the fact that he 
 shared his life almost equally between America, France and 
 England. His work, however, is entirely cosmopolitan, show- 
 ing a bias from neither country. 
 
 146 . 
 
 WHISTLER’S MOTHER. 
 
 Luxembourg, Paris. 
 
 This example of Whistler’s while one of the most popular, 
 is unlike a large proportion of bis work and does not so strongly 
 reveal some of the most peculiar qualities of his genius. How- 
 ever, had he painted but this one picture, his name would have 
 gone down to posterity as surely as did the author of the 
 "Elegy.”^ 
 
 Whistler, always interested less in what could be seen than 
 in what could be suggested, has revealed here so much of his 
 own attitude toward his mother, so much of his feeling of ten- 
 derness and reverence for her, that the picture will always re- 
 main an ideal representation of motherhood. Garbed in black, 
 she sits in profile with her feet upon a foot stool, her delicate 
 hands folded quietly over a lace handkerchief. Her expression 
 is retrospective — through a vista of memories she is perhaps 
 traveling backward over the path of her long life, so full of 
 many and varied experiences. The quiet color scheme of black 
 and gray, the absence of unnecessary accessories, lend greater 
 attraction and impressiveness to the figure. The peculiar sug- 
 gestiveness, the exquisite composure, the feeling of a certain re- 
 served dignity, can be felt in full measure only when one stands 
 before the original painting. There is said to be but one other 
 mother in art, whose presence is like a benediction ; that other 
 is Rembrandt’s mother whose gentle, serene countenance carries 
 its own message. These two faces speak to each with a different 
 appeal, but speak in a universal language. 
 
 173 
 
INDEX 
 
 Page. 
 
 Alma-Tadema, Laurenz (al-ma ta-da'-ma or ta'-da-ma) 166 
 
 142. The Coliseum . 166 
 
 Angelico, Fra Giovanni (fl’a an-ja'-le-ko) 23 
 
 7. The Last Judgment 24 
 
 8. The Crucifixion 24 
 
 Bavoccio, Pederigo (ha rot'-cho) . 92 
 
 76. Our Lady of the Cat - « 93 
 
 Bartolommeo, Fra (Baccio del-la Porta) (ba-to lomma'-o) . . 55 
 
 39. Madonna, Child, Elizabeth and St. John , 56 
 
 40. Deposition . 56 
 
 Bellini, Giovanni (bel-le'-ne) 39 
 
 22. Doge Loredano • • . 40 
 
 23. Madonna Enthroned - 40 
 
 Bdcklin, Arnold (bok-len') 167 
 
 143. The Island of Death . 168 
 
 Bonheur, Rosa (b5-nur') 156 
 
 134, Ploughing in Nivernais . 156 
 
 Botticelli, Sandro (bot-ti-chel'-le) * , 42 
 
 >25. Madonna and Child *■ . 43 
 
 26. Madonna, Child and St. John 43 
 
 27. Coronation of the Virgin , , 44 
 
 28. The Nativity , 45 
 
 29. Spring 46 
 
 Bouguereau, William Adolphe (boo-ger-oO 158 
 
 136. Virgin of Consolation ■ . 159 
 
 Breton, Jules Adolphe (breh-tonO 155 
 
 133. The Song of the Lark . 155 
 
 Burne-Jones, Sir Edward . 162 
 
 138. King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid 162 
 
 Carpaccio, Vittore (kar-pat'-cho) 41 
 
 24. Presentation in the Temple 41 
 
 Chardin, Jean Baptiste Simeon (shar-dan') 131 
 
 112. The Housekeeper 131 
 
 113. The Blessing 132 
 
 Cimabue, Giovanni (chee-ma-boo'-a) 13 
 
 2. Madonna Enthroned 14 
 
 Cbnstable, John 144 
 
 125. The Cornfield • 144 
 
 /7<k- 
 
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INDEX 
 
 Page. 
 
 Alma-Tadema, Laurenz (al-ma ta-da'-ma or ta'-da-ma) 166 
 
 142. The Coliseum . 166 
 
 Angelico, Fra Giovanni (fl’a an-ja'-le-ko) 23 
 
 7. The Last Judgment 24 
 
 8. The Crucifixion . 24 
 
 Bav occio, Pederigo (ha rot'-cho) . 92 
 
 76. Our Lady of the Cat 93 
 
 Bartolommeo, Fra (Baccio del-la Porta) (ba-to lomma'-o) < . 55 
 
 39. Madonna, Child, Elizabeth and St. John , 56 
 
 40. Deposition . 56 
 
 Bellini, Giovanni (bel-le'-ne) 39 
 
 22. Doge Loredano . 40 
 
 23. Madonna Enthroned 40 
 
 Bdcklin, Arnold (bok-len') .. 167 
 
 143. The Island of Death . 168 
 
 Bonheur, Rosa (bo-nur') 156 
 
 134. Ploughing in Nivernais 156 
 
 Botticelli, Sandro (bot-ti-chel'-le) • . 42 
 
 25. Madonna and Child . 43 
 
 26. Madonna, Child and St. John 43 
 
 27. Coronation of the Virgin , , 44 
 
 28. The Nativity 45 
 
 29. Spring 46 
 
 Bouguereau, William Adolphe (boo-ger-oO 158 
 
 136. Virgin of Consolation . 159 
 
 Breton, Jules Adolphe (breh-ton') * . 155 
 
 133. The Song of the Lark . 155 
 
 Burne-Jones, Sir Edward . 162 
 
 138. King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid 162 
 
 Carpaccio, Vittore (kar-pat'-cho) 41 
 
 24. Presentation in the Temple 41 
 
 Chardin, Jean Baptiste Simeon (shar-dan') 131 
 
 112. The Housekeeper 131 
 
 113. The Blessing 132 
 
 Cimabue, Giovanni (chee-ma-boo'-a) 13 
 
 2. Madonna Enthroned 14 
 
 Gbnstable, John 144 
 
 125. The Cornfield • 144 
 
 / 7 <>- 
 
Page. 
 
 Corot, Jean Baptiste Camille (ko'-ro) 151 
 
 130. Landscape 162 
 
 Correggio, Antonio Allegri II (ko-red'-jo) 75 
 
 60. The Marriage of (St. Catherine 76 
 
 61. Holy Night 77 
 
 Dagnan-Bouveret, Pascal A. J. (dan yan hoo-ve-ra) 170 
 
 145. Consecrated Bread 170 
 
 Daubigny, Charles Francois (do-been'-ye') 153 
 
 131. On the River Oise, Evening 153 
 
 David, Jacques Louis (da-veed') 133 
 
 115. Coronation of Napoleon and Josephine 131 
 
 Delacroix, Ferdinand Victor Eugene (deh-la-krwa') 149 
 
 129. Dante and Virgil ^ 150 
 
 Dou, Oerard (daoo) or (dow) 115 
 
 100. The Dropsical Woman 115 
 
 Diirer, Albrecht (dii'rer) . . . . 60 
 
 43. Madonna of the Finch 60 
 
 44. Portrait of the Artist 61 
 
 Elyck, Hubert van (vanIk') 19 
 
 Eyck, Jan van •• 19 
 
 5. The Adoration of the Lamb 20 
 
 Forli, Melozzo da (for'-le) 47 
 
 30. Angel with Viol 47 
 
 Francia, Francesco Raibolini (fran'-cha) 50 
 
 33. Pieta 50 
 
 Gainsborough, Thomas 141 
 
 121. Portrait of Mrs. Siddons 141 
 
 122. The Blue Boy i. 142 
 
 Ghirlandaio, Domenico (ger-lan-da'-yo) 33 
 
 17. Old Man and His Grandson 34 
 
 18. Madonna Enthroned 35 
 
 19. Nativity of the Virgin 35 
 
 Giorgione, Giorgio Barbarelli (jor-jo'-na) ' 78 
 
 62. The Concert - 78 
 
 Giotto di Bondone (jot'-to) 16 
 
 3. The Plight Into Egypt 15 
 
 Gozzoli, Benozzo (got'-so-le) 29 
 
 12. 'The Drunkenness of Noah 30 
 
 13. The Vintage ’ 31 
 
 14. Procession of the Three Kings 31 
 
 15. Adoration of the Magi 32 
 
 Greuze, Jean Baptiste (grurz) 132 
 
 114. The Broken Pitchea* 133 
 
 Hals, Franz (The Younger) (hals) 109 
 
92. Bohemian Girl 
 
 93. Banquet of the Officers of St. Hadrian’s Guild 
 
 94. Portrait of an Admiral 
 
 95. The Jolly Toper 
 
 Hobbema, Meindert (hob'-ba-ma) 
 
 109. The Avenue, Middelharnis, Holland 
 
 Hogarth, William • • 
 
 117. The Marriage Contract 
 
 Holbein, Hans (The Younger) (hol'-bm) 
 
 45. George Gysze 
 
 46. Madonna of the Burgomaster Meyer 
 
 Hooch, Pieter de ... 
 
 104. Court Yard of a Dutch House 
 
 Hunt, Holman 
 
 139. The Light of the World 
 
 Israels, Josef (iz'-rii-els) . 
 
 144. The Frugal Meal 
 
 Le Brun, Madame Vigee (bru) 
 
 116. Portrait of the Artist 
 
 Lippi, Fra Filippo (Up'-pe) - 
 
 10. The Annunciation 
 
 11. Coronation of the Virgin % 
 
 Lorrain, Claude (Gellee) 
 
 110. The Mill 
 
 L6tto, Lorenzo 
 
 64. Madonna and Child with Saints 
 
 Luini, Bernardino (loo-o'-ne) 
 
 41. Madonna of the Rose Hedge • 
 
 Mantegna, Andrea (man-tan'-yay) i. 
 
 20. Madonna, St. John and Mary Magdalene ...... .. 
 
 21. Parnassus 
 
 Margaritone (mar-gar-e-to'na) i... 
 
 1. Madonna and Child v. .. 
 
 Masaccio, Tommaso (ma-sat'-cho) 
 
 9. The Tribute Money 
 
 Meer, Jan van der (of Delft) (mar) 
 
 105. Woman with a Pearl Necklace 
 
 Meissonier, Jean Louis Ernest (ma'-so-nea') .. 
 
 135. La Rixe 
 
 Memling, Hans 
 
 6. Adoration of the Magi 
 
 Metsu, Gabriel (met'-sii) 
 
 102. Violoncello Player 
 
 Michael-Angelo, (Buonarroti) (me-kel-an'-ja-lo) 
 
 177 
 
 Page. 
 
 109 
 
 . 110 
 
 110 
 . Ill 
 . 126 
 . 127 
 
 137 
 137 
 62 
 62 
 . 63 
 
 . 120 
 . 121 
 102 
 . 163 
 
 109 
 . 170 
 
 . 134 
 
 . 135 
 
 27 
 
 28 
 28 
 
 . 129 
 
 , 129 
 
 . 80 
 . 81 
 57 
 57 
 37 
 37 
 
 . 38 
 
 . 11 
 . 11 
 
 25 
 
 26 
 
 . 121 
 . 122 
 157 
 . 158 
 
 21 
 22 
 
 . 118 
 . 119 
 
 64 
 
Page. 
 
 47. Creation of Adam 65 
 
 48. IIo!y Family 66 
 
 49. The Last Judgment 66 
 
 50. The Cmnean Sibr.l 67 
 
 Millais, Sir John Everett (mil-la) 164 
 
 140. The Knight Errant 164 
 
 Millet, Jean Francois (me-ya) by popular usage (mee-lay') 154 
 
 132. The Gleaners 164 
 
 Moroni, Gievann- Eattista (mo-rc'ne) 81 
 
 C5. Portrait of a Tai’or SI 
 
 Murillo, Bartolome' Esteban (mocrel'yo) 104 
 
 89. The Children cf the Shell 105 
 
 £0. Immaculate Conception •. ItS 
 
 91. St. Anthony of Padua 106 
 
 Orcagna, Andrea di Clone (orkiin'-ya) 17 
 
 4. The Triumph of Death 17 
 
 Palma, il Vecchio Jacopo (piil-ma el vek'-ke-o) . , . • • 79 
 
 63. Adoration of the Shepherds 79 
 
 Perugino, Pietro Vanucci (pa-roo-je'-no) 48 
 
 31. Virgin Adoring the Infant Christ 48 
 
 32. Virgin and Child 48 
 
 Pintoricchio, Bernardino (pen-too-rek'-keo) 54 
 
 37. Portrait of a Boy 54 
 
 38. St. Catherine of Alexandria Before Her Judges 64 
 
 Potter, Paul 116 
 
 101. The Young Bhll 116 
 
 Raeburn, Sir Henry (ra-burn) 143 
 
 124. Mrs. Scott Moncrleff 143 
 
 Raphael Sanzio (raf'-a-el) 68 
 
 51. Madonna of the Grand Duke 69 
 
 52. La Belle Jardiniere 70 
 
 53. Parnassus 70 
 
 54. Christ’s Charge to Peter 71 
 
 55. Sistine Madonna 72 
 
 Rembrandt van Ryn (rem'brandt van rin) Ill 
 
 96. Portrait of the Artist 112 
 
 97.. Portrait of the Artist’s Mother 113 
 
 98. The Shipbuilder and His Wife 113 
 
 99. The Night Watch 114 
 
 Eeni, Guido (gwe'-do ra'-ne) 94 
 
 77. The Aurora 94 
 
 Reynolds, Sir Joshua • . 138 
 
 118. The Age of Innocence 138 
 
 119. The Duchess of Devonshire and Her Daughter 139 
 
 178 
 
Page. 
 
 120. Dr. Samuel Johnson 140 
 
 ftomney, George 14^ 
 
 123 Mrs. Mark Currie 143 
 
 Rossetti, Gabriel Charles Dante (ros-set'-tee) ICO 
 
 137. The Blessed Damozel 161 
 
 Rubens, Peter Paul • 95 
 
 78. Chapeau de Paille 9.5 
 
 79. Children with Garlands of Fruit 96 
 
 80. Jesus and Simeon 96 
 
 81. Descent from the Cross 97 
 
 Ruisdael, Jaccb van (rois'-dal) 125 
 
 108. The Mill 125 
 
 Sarto, Andrea del (ahn-dray' ah dail sar'-to) 73 
 
 56. Portrait of Himself 74 
 
 57. The Pi eta 74 
 
 58. St. John the Baptist 74 
 
 59. Madonna of the Harpies 75 
 
 Sodoma, G’ovanni Antonio Bazzi II (el so-do'-ma) 57 
 
 42. St. Sabastian 58 
 
 Steen, Jan (stfin) 119 
 
 103. Festival of St. Nicholas 120 
 
 Teniers, David (The Younger) (ten'yers) 124 
 
 107. Village Dance in a Flemish Inn 124 
 
 Terburg, Gerard 122 
 
 106. O dicer Writing a Letter 123 
 
 Tintoretto, Jaccpo Robusti (tinto-ret'-to) 87 
 
 72. Bacchus and Ariadne 88 
 
 73. Miracle of St. Mark 88 
 
 Titian, (Tiziano Vecelli) (tish'-yan) 82 
 
 66. The Tribute Money 88 
 
 67. The Man with the Glove 83 
 
 68. The Entombment 84 
 
 69. Holy Family 85 
 
 70. Sacred and Profane Love •• 85 
 
 71. Assumption of the Virgin 86 
 
 Turner, Joseph Mallord William 145 
 
 126. Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus 146 
 
 127. The Fighting Temeraire 146 
 
 Van Dyck, Sir Anthony 98 
 
 82. Children of Charles I 98 
 
 83. Marie Louise of Tassis 99 
 
 84. Portrait of Charles I 100 
 
 85. William II of Nassau ■ ■ 100 
 
 Velasquez, Diego Roderiguez de Silvay (va-las'-keth) 101 
 
 179 
 
Pag:e 
 
 86. Maids of Honor io2 
 
 87. The Topers 103 
 
 88. Surrender of Breda 104 
 
 Veronese, Paolo Caliari (va-ro-na'-za) 89 
 
 74. Family of Darius Before Alexander 90 
 
 75. St. Helena’s Vision 90 
 
 Verrocchio, Andrea del (ver-r5k'-keo) 32 
 
 16. The Baptism 33 
 
 Vinci, Leonardo da (da-ven-che) 50 
 
 34. Virgin of the Rocks 51 
 
 35. Mona Lisa 52 
 
 36. The Last Supper 53 
 
 Watteau, Antoine (wat-to') 130 
 
 111. Fete Champetre 130 
 
 Watts, George Frederic 164 
 
 141. Love and Death 165 
 
 ^Whistler, James Abbott McNeil 172 
 
 146. Whistler’s Mother I73 
 
 Wilkie, Sir David I47 
 
 128. Blind Man’s Buff 148 
 
 DEC 1 2 
 
 awVEBsnv of lamois 
 
 180