Chapter II: Part 2

=The story of the picture.= In this day of the automobile we do not hear much about horse fairs. Of course, we still have our county fairs, but there the horse is only a small part of the attraction. In many places also horse markets are held where all kinds of horses are brought to be sold, but these could hardly be compared to a horse fair, where only the finest specimens are entered. In some of our large cities we have what we call horse shows, which in a measure seem to have taken the place of the old-fashioned horse fair. So we have the International Horse Show in Madison Square Garden, New York City, one almost as large at Chicago, Illinois, another at Olympia, Washington, one in Montreal, Canada, the famous Horse Show in London, and others. But how unlike the scene represented in this picture they are!

Imagine yourself in that largest of all show buildings, the Madison Square Garden, New York City. Tier above tier the seats are arranged around the central ring or drive, which in size and appearance is similar to the usual outdoor race track. The seats extend around the track except for a small space left for the entrance and exit, and are arranged very much like the seats in a theater, having the box and reserved seats nearest the stage or track. Each box is numbered and catalogued so that you may know just which wealthy man or woman is occupying that particular box.

Before the performance, or during the intermission, you may go about, catalogue in hand, and see for yourself what these people, whom you have read so much about, look like. In other words, this horse show has become a society event, appealing to all classes of people, but more especially to the rich.

All is carefully planned. A flourish of trumpets, and the man with the megaphone announces the first number—perhaps a tallyho contest. More trumpets, and in come the dashing six horses drawing the picturesque tallyho. They have been driven a mile through Central Park before entering the building, and it is to the horses found to be in the best condition after this drive that the prize is to be given.

But scarcely have we looked at them when there is another flourish of trumpets, and another tallyho arrives, sounding its bugle call. The footmen descend and stand at the heads of the spirited horses while the passengers alight. We have a fleeting glimpse of their fashionable clothes; they have a moment’s rest, and then, when the judges have examined the horses, up they climb to their high seats and at the signal are driven slowly around the ring. Then others arrive, and soon all are driving in a gay procession around the ring. The spectators applaud enthusiastically while the spirited horses proudly arch their necks.

Then come the tandems, and horses and carriages of all kinds in order. Then horses are exhibited in every form of activity—leaping, running, pacing, and hurdling. After the show is over, perhaps we go to see the horses in their stalls, but then we find ourselves in the minority, for few spectators remain after the last horse leaves the track.

Would it not be pleasant now to go with Rosa Bonheur out into the great field near that avenue of trees, and watch the men riding or leading those powerful French dray horses before the judges? Horses like these have been imported to our country, so we see them on our own streets drawing heavy loads, and we know how strong and powerful they are.

There are more than twenty horses in this picture that we can count, each in action, and yet no two are alike. The artist has made us feel the perfect control man has over them. All the possibilities of a horse of this kind are represented. Here we see the well-trained, perfectly controlled horse going on cheerfully and steadily; there are some with their ears back, showing annoyance and watchfulness; here a rearing horse is trying to rid himself of his troublesome driver. That one at the left of the picture is angry, perhaps vicious. His driver is unable to manage him alone and it requires two men to control him. But they do control him, and in every case man, through his intellect, is the master.

Notice the colors of the horses: even a print of the picture tells us that they are white, dappled, and black. When they return, surely many of them will be wearing the blue ribbon.

At the right of the picture are several spectators who have gathered to see the splendid horses.

Rosa Bonheur wished to draw these horses two thirds life size, and when you consider the amount of space devoted to sky and ground, you will realize that it required a very large canvas. We are told that she stood upon a stepladder to paint parts of it.

She chose a part of Paris that would be easily recognized, showing the dome of a well-known church and an avenue of trees just as we might see them to-day. But we can scarcely realize the amount of time and patient study it required before she could paint even one of these horses. She went about with a sketchbook and made drawings of horses in all possible positions, and persevered in this study for a year and a half before she began this picture.

Her friends in Paris helped her all they could by lending her their fine horses. But this was not enough,—she must visit horse fairs and markets as often as possible. Sometimes the grooms made fun of her, and it was hard for her to work, but she would not give up.

In the picture she has centered the interest upon the horses nearest to us by painting them more in detail, showing even the muscles of their strong, powerful bodies, and also by means of the light upon them, and by their size. The light is high, falling upon the rounded backs and upraised heads. The short shadows help us guess the time of day, which must be about noon. The horse with the blanket on his back suggests to us that the groom beside him intends to ride him when he returns after leaving his noble charge.

There is a feeling of open air and space about this picture which adds much to its charm. This is all the more remarkable, too, in a picture containing so many horses, since it might easily have appeared crowded.

The “Horse Fair” was bought for fifty-two thousand dollars by Cornelius Vanderbilt, who presented it to the Metropolitan Museum, New York City. Most American critics consider this Rosa Bonheur’s masterpiece, although the French claim that honor for “Plowing in Nivernais,” the original of which is hung in the Luxembourg Gallery in Paris.

=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= Where do we go to see fine horses? What has taken the place of horses and horse fairs? Where are our largest horse shows? How do they differ from the horse fair in this picture? Tell about the horse show at Madison Square Gardens, New York. Compare it with the “Horse Fair.” Where is each held? What kind of people attend? Why did Rosa Bonheur choose this particular location for her painting? What preparation did she make before beginning this picture? For what purpose are these French horses used in the United States? How many horses are represented in this painting? Why does it not seem crowded? How near life size did Rosa Bonheur paint these horses? What did she stand on while painting? why? What can you tell of the dispositions of these horses? In what way is man always the master? Upon which horses has the artist centered the interest? How has she done this? What time of day is it? Why do you think so? Where may we see this painting?

=To the Teacher=:

SUBJECTS FOR COMPOSITIONS

A Description of a Horse Fair.
A Visit to Rosa Bonheur’s Horse Fair.
A Day with the Artist.

=The story of the artist.= Perhaps the reason Rosa Bonheur loved animals so dearly was because she spent the first ten years of her life in a little village, where her parents and their neighbors kept horses, chickens, and pigs, and where Rosa learned to know all about them. Rosa and her two brothers had lambs, rabbits, squirrels, and pigeons for pets. They spent many happy hours out in the fields and woods, yet when their father, who was an artist, decided to move to the great city of Paris the children were delighted. This wonderful Paris they had heard so much about seemed to them the most desirable place in the world to be, and their only sorrow was in parting from their grandparents and from their many pets. Rosa was allowed to take a parrot with her, and the two boys had a dog.

The first place in which they lived was up several flights of stairs and across the street from a butcher’s shop. This shop had a queer sign cut from wood and representing a wild boar, which looked so much like Rosa’s little pig at home that she used to stop to pet it every time she passed.

A man who lived in the same house with the Bonheurs kept a small school for boys. Rosa’s two brothers went to this school, and later the teacher said Rosa might come, too. She was the only girl in the school, but she did not mind that at all, and the boys were glad to have her, for she knew more games than they, and played just like one of them.

The father had hoped to sell more of his pictures in the city, but he did not do as well as he had expected and it cost so much more to live that he had to move his family to a cheaper house and up on the sixth floor.

Rosa’s mother was a musician and gave music lessons to help keep up the home, but she worked too hard and finally became very ill. She died just as the father secured a position in a private school and things began to look more prosperous for the Bonheur family.

For a time the father tried to keep his little family together by leaving them in a sort of day nursery, but this was not satisfactory, so he had to send them away. Juliette, the baby sister born after they moved to Paris, was sent to her grandmother, the two boys to school, and Rosa to an aunt.

This aunt sent Rosa to school. To reach the schoolhouse she had to walk some distance through the woods, and often she would stop on the way, smooth the dust in the road with her hand, and then draw pictures in it with a stick, her favorite pictures being of animals. Often she became so absorbed in her drawing she forgot to go to school, or was so late that her teachers complained to the aunt, saying she was getting behind in her school work. Every time her father came to see her Rosa begged him to take her home, and when at last he could provide for his children they were all very happy to be together again in Paris.

Wherever they lived they must have pets. A great many stories have been told about the pets they kept in their house. Every morning Rosa’s brother Isidore would carry a little lamb on his shoulders down six flights of stairs, that it might nibble the green grass and be out in the fresh air, and in the evening he would carry it back upstairs. It became a great pet, and all the children drew its picture in ever so many different positions. Besides, they had the parrot, a monkey, two dogs, rabbits, and birds. Their father let them keep these in a room especially fitted up for the purpose.

He was teaching in a private school at this time and was away from home all day, but when evening came he gathered his children about him and taught them how to draw. They put their easels in different parts of the room and worked away, drawing and painting, until bedtime. They would all much rather do this than anything else in the world.

Then the father accepted another position in a school where he could also send his four children. Here Rosa was continually in trouble, for she did not study much and was always getting into mischief. One day she planned a mock battle in the school yard between the girls. They used sticks for swords. Very soon Rosa’s side drove their enemies toward a bed of hollyhocks which was the pride of the school. Here they turned and fled, but Rosa charged on. She cut off the heads of all those stately hollyhocks because they seemed to stand guard like soldiers. For this she was sent home in disgrace.

Very often, too, Rosa had these sham fights with her brothers at home, when the easels and even the pictures were used. The palettes served as shields, and the little Juliette, dressed in all the finery they could find, sat in state, representing the lady of their choice for whom the battle was fought.

Rosa tried to learn the dressmaking trade and to be a teacher, but it was no use,—the only thing she cared to do was to draw. So her father decided to give up trying to educate her in any other way. She was willing to walk miles in any kind of weather, to sit hours in all sorts of uncomfortable positions, and to go without food, in order to draw a good picture of some animal.

Now that she had begun in earnest to study animals, she must go to all the country horse fairs, to the slaughter houses, and everywhere she could to study them. But as she grew older she found it more and more difficult to go to these places, because of the attention she attracted and because her long skirts were so in the way. Finally she obtained a permit to wear men’s clothes. With her short hair, blue working blouse, and dark trousers she looked so much like one of the workmen that now no one noticed her, and she could go where she pleased.

People who did know her did not mind her dress and were ready to help her all they could in her work. From all over the country she received gifts of fine horses and other animals to paint, Buffalo Bill once sending her two fine horses from Texas. She bought a farm, and had a large barn built for her many pets.

Her pictures became famous the world over. How proud her father was of her!

One day she was working very hard in her studio when a servant came to tell her that the Empress Eugénie had come to see her. It was a great event when this royal lady came to the artist’s studio, and there was Rosa dressed in her old blue blouse, all spotted with paint. She did not have time even to slip it off before the empress came in, but they had a most delightful visit. As the Empress Eugénie bent over and kissed Rosa Bonheur she pinned the Cross of the Legion of Honor on the artist’s blue blouse. Rosa did not notice it until after the Empress had left. She must have been very much pleased, for she was the first woman to receive that honor.

=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= Tell about Rosa Bonheur as a little girl. Where did she live the first ten years of her life? What pets did she have? Why were the children glad to go to Paris? why sorry? What pets did they take with them? Describe their first home in Paris. Tell about the wild boar; the school for boys. Why did the Bonheurs move? What did Rosa’s mother do to help? When she died, what became of the children? To whom were they sent? Why was Rosa behind in her studies at school? Why did she return to Paris? Tell about the children’s pets, and how they were kept; about Isidore and the lamb. What did the children do in the evening? Where did Rosa go to school? Tell about the mock battle and the hollyhocks. How was Rosa punished? Tell about the sham battles at home. What was Rosa willing to do in order to draw? Where did she go to study animals? Why did she wear men’s clothes? What were some of the presents she received? Tell about the visit of the Empress Eugénie. What honor did Rosa Bonheur receive from her, and how was it presented?

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MONA LISA

=Questions to arouse interest.= What is this woman doing? Where do you think she is sitting? How is she dressed? How has she arranged her hair? What can you say of her hands? How many think she is smiling? that she is sad? that she is vain and self-conscious, or dreamy and forgetful of self? How many think she is looking at us? beyond us? What is there mysterious about her expression? Why do you think no one is able to understand it?

=Original Picture=: Louvre Gallery, Paris.
=Artist=: Leonardo da Vinci (lā´ō när´dō dä vēn´chē).
=Birthplace=: Vinci, Italy.
=Dates=: Born, 1452; died, 1519.

=The story of the picture.= When the artist, Leonardo da Vinci, was a boy he liked nothing better than to model in clay. Although he modeled many figures in action, his chief delight was to model heads of smiling women and children. His boyhood was such a happy one, and he was so well liked, that even people with the most severe features relaxed them in a smile when he appeared. If they did not, he quickly made a sketch so comical in expression that they could not fail to be amused.

After he grew to manhood he had a very dear friend named Francesco del Gioconda, who asked him to paint a portrait of his wife, Mona Lisa, or La Gioconda, as the picture is often called. Leonardo wished to make this something more than a mere likeness. He wished it to show the character and soul of the woman herself. It proved to be a most difficult task, for after four years the portrait was put aside as unfinished.

Many critics claim that he intended to paint a face that no one could understand; others claim that the lady’s moods were so changeable and her expressions so various that he tried to paint them all in one. The picture remains a mystery which no one seems to understand, yet like all mysteries it is fascinating and our interest in it grows stronger the longer we study it.

Many do not care for it at first, especially those who see it without its beautiful coloring, but few fail to find it interesting if they but linger long enough.

But after all why should the fact that we do not understand the expression of this face trouble us, or that nearly every time we look at it we find a new expression, a different meaning? Is not the same thing true at times even with our most intimate friends? We think we know just what they will do and say, yet are we not often amazed at some sudden change in opinion or action on their part? It but marks their individuality, and we accept it as part of them. And that is one of the reasons this portrait of Mona Lisa is considered the greatest ever painted, because it represents so well the mystery of human personality. If so great an artist as Leonardo da Vinci spent four years painting this picture, and it is still considered by the great art critics the most wonderful portrait ever painted, we must study it even more carefully if we have not liked it at first.

Leonardo da Vinci had musicians playing or jesters with their funny sayings to amuse Mona Lisa while he was painting her picture. He did not wish her to think of herself or to grow weary and look tired.

As you look at the picture can you not imagine you hear the music of stringed instruments and the splash of that rushing, roaring little stream in the background? Mona Lisa is listening, dreaming, thinking. She looks at us, then on beyond without seeing us. She seems to know everything, feel everything, yet her smile is reassuring.

Her hands are beautiful. In that all will agree. The few details of her dress and scarf are exquisite, even in a print.

We cannot be quite sure about the chair she sits in; some say it is of marble, others that it is a wooden chair. And where is she seated? Some say it is on the roof of a building, others say on a balcony, but that is even less mysterious than that strange, winding, dashing, little mountain stream that comes and goes we know not whither.

Critics cannot even decide what time of day it is in the picture, the light is so uncertain; some claim it is twilight; others, early morning.

If we could see the original, we would perhaps be astonished to find that the lady wears a very thin veil over her face and hair. Her eyes are a deep brown, her hair a beautiful auburn, and her dress a rich green with a touch of yellow. We cannot accuse her of vanity, for she wears no rings or ornaments of any kind.

Leonardo da Vinci loved problems. Even as a boy he would make up problems in arithmetic that would puzzle as well as interest his teachers. Here he has found a different kind of problem, which he has solved in his own way.

It seems as if each part of the face had an expression of its own, so that if the rest of the face were covered we could see that one alone. The left side of her face is thoughtful, the right side is smiling; her eyes are sad, the mouth is cheerful yet firm. There is hidden strength behind this face—it is as if she had discovered the secret of the world, but would allow no word of it to pass those lips so firmly closed. It is interesting to know, too, that the real Mona Lisa was one of the famous beauties in Florence.

The artist kept this portrait for several years, and then sold it to the King of France. It is now in the gallery of the Louvre at Paris.

Great consternation was caused by the loss of this picture a few years ago, when it was stolen from the Louvre. The whole country was aroused, until at length the thief, a young Italian workman, was captured. He had been employed in the Louvre, and found no difficulty in taking the picture from its frame, concealing it under his blouse, and walking off with it. He placed it face downward in the bottom of his tool box, and carried it past the customs inspectors into Italy. The only hard part was to dispose of the much-sought picture. He was in the same predicament as the man Mark Twain told us about, who showed how very easy it was to steal a white elephant, yet how difficult a matter it was to get rid of the elephant. So, two years later, the Italian was captured, having tried in vain to dispose of “Mona Lisa.”

He claimed he had stolen the picture to take revenge on France for the pictures stolen by Napoleon from Italy. This does not seem very convincing, for “Mona Lisa” was not stolen from Italy, but purchased from the artist by Frances I for four thousand dollars. At present it is valued at five million dollars.

The fact that the thief was not discovered sooner proved rather humiliating to the Paris police, because they had missed an important clew. It seems the Italian had left two distinct prints of his thumb on the glass and frame of the picture, and by means of the Bertillon method of detecting criminals by thumb prints he should have been discovered at once. This same Italian had been arrested some years before for stealing, and the thumb prints taken by the police at that time matched perfectly those left on the picture frame. The police, however, much to their chagrin, did not discover this until after his capture. But we do not wonder so much when we are told that they had seven hundred and fifty thousand thumb prints to compare.

Great excitement prevailed in Florence when the “Mona Lisa” was discovered safe and uninjured except for two slight scratches it had received in the tool box. The picture was exhibited at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, and great crowds came to see it. Then began its triumphal journey home, until at last it reached the Louvre Museum at Paris, where it may now be seen.

=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= Who was Mona Lisa? of what nationality? How many years did it take the artist to paint this picture? What did he wish to show us in this picture? What do some of the critics say about it? In what way is the expression mysterious? What means did the artist use to produce that expression? Where is Mona Lisa seated? What does she wear over her face and hair? What is the color of her hair? her eyes? her dress? What can you see in the background? How does it differ from the backgrounds painted in modern portraits? What happened to this portrait? How was it recovered? Why is this picture valued so highly?

=The story of the artist.= Leonardo da Vinci was born in the little village called Vinci, about twenty miles from Florence, Italy. His father was a country lawyer of considerable wealth. Very little is known of Leonardo’s boyhood, except that he grew up in his father’s palace and at an early age displayed remarkable talents. He was good-looking, strong, energetic, and an excellent student. He was also a very amiable person, of winning charm in temper and manners.

He loved to wander out into the great forest near the palace, where he tamed lizards, snakes, and many kinds of animals. Here he invented a lute, upon which he played wonderful music of his own composing. Then, too, he sang his own songs and recited his own poems.

He loved to draw and paint because he could both represent the things he loved and use his inventive genius as well. He seemed to be gifted along so many lines, and was of such an active and inquiring mind, that it was difficult for him to work long enough at one thing to finish it. We read of him as musician, poet, inventor, scientist, philosopher, and last but most important to us because of this great picture—as artist.

When he was fifteen years old he made some sketches which were so very clever that his father took them to a great artist, Verrocchio, who was delighted with them and was glad to take Leonardo as his pupil. The story is told that when Verrocchio was painting a large picture he asked Leonardo to paint one of the angels in the background. The boy spent much time and study on this work, and finally succeeded in painting an angel which was so beautiful that the rest of the picture seemed commonplace. It is said that when Verrocchio saw the work his pupil had done and realized that a mere boy could surpass him in painting, he declared that he would paint no more pictures, but would devote the rest of his life to design and sculpture.

One day one of the servants of the castle brought Leonardo’s father a round piece of wood, asking him to have his son paint something on it that would make it suitable for a shield, like the real shields which hung in the castle halls.

Leonardo wanted to surprise his father. So he made a collection of all the lizards, snakes, bats, dragonflies, toads, and other creatures that he could find. Then he studied them carefully and finally painted a fearful dragon in which all the grotesque characteristics of these various creatures were combined. It was a terrifying thing, breathing out flame and just ready to spring from the shield. Coming suddenly upon this shield on his son’s easel, the father was indeed startled. He found it so lifelike and wonderfully painted that he declared it was far too valuable a present for the servant; so another shield had to be painted and the first was sold at a great price. No one knows what finally became of it.

Leonardo spent seven years with Verrocchio; then he opened a studio of his own in Florence, Italy.

Later Pope Leo X invited him to Rome to paint, but most of his work there was left unfinished. The story is told that one day the pope found him busily engaged in making a new kind of varnish with which to finish his picture. “Alas,” said the pope, “this man will do nothing, for he thinks of finishing his picture before he begins it.”

From Rome, Leonardo went to Milan, where, with the Duke of Milan as patron, he painted his masterpiece, “The Last Supper.” He also made a model for a great equestrian statue of the Duke’s illustrious father which won the admiration of all who saw it and was regarded as equal to anything the Greeks had ever done. The model, which was twenty-six feet high, was to have been cast in bronze, but Leonardo was called away on other important duties and the work was never completed.

Leonardo da Vinci proved to be a great addition to the duke’s court,—his fine appearance and his many talents made him very popular. He invented a beautiful harp, shaped something like a horse’s head, and charmed the people with his music and songs. He also helped the duke found and direct the Academy at Milan, giving lectures there on art and science. So his time was divided, as usual, among his many interests.

After the duke was driven out of Milan by the new French king, Leonardo spent several years in Florence, and there he painted the famous. “Mona Lisa” and other portraits.

The last years of his life were spent in France, where the king, Francis I, gave him a castle and a liberal pension. The king and his court often visited Leonardo, who was regarded with great reverence and respect, and beloved by all.

=Questions about the artist.= Where and when was the artist born? What did he like to do when he was a boy? In what ways was he talented? Who was his teacher? Tell about Leonardo’s painting of the angel; the shield. Why did Leonardo not finish his paintings for the pope? What did the pope say of him? In what ways was he an addition to the Duke of Milan’s court? Where was he when he painted “Mona Lisa”? How did he spend the last years of his life? How was he regarded by the people?

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OXEN GOING TO WORK

=Questions to arouse interest.= What do you find most interesting about the oxen in this picture? In what direction are they going? How many oxen are hitched to a plow? How are they harnessed? Have you ever seen oxen yoked in this way? Why don’t we use oxen now? What time of the year is it? time of day? How can you tell? What seems most important in the picture? What can you see in the distance?

=Original Picture=: Louvre Gallery, Paris, France.
=Artist=: Constant Troyon (trwä yôn´).
=Birthplace=: Sèvres, France.
=Dates=: Born, 1810; died, 1865.

=The story of the picture.= Constant Troyon delights in showing groups of animals coming toward us. No matter where we stand, they seem to be coming to meet us. We can almost hear the heavy tread of these oxen as they plod along over the uneven ground, their great heads held by the yokes.

We see so few oxen now, it makes us wonder why they were used so much in those days, but we know men did not then have the machinery for tilling the ground and sowing and planting grain that we now have. It is true they did have horses, but oxen are stronger, slower, and more steady and patient. If the ground is rough, hilly, or full of stumps, a horse becomes restless and is not easy to guide; but the oxen may be depended upon to go on steadily, obeying the commands of the driver. Then, too, oxen were much cheaper than horses, making it possible for more people to own them.

It was with oxen that our own country was developed. They did all the hauling of logs, and the heavy work that must be done in clearing up a new, uncultivated region. They do not require harness other than the yoke by which they pull their load, and are guided by the words “Gee,” meaning turn to the right, and “Haw,” turn to the left. However, the driver in our picture would not use these words, for he is French and would speak in his own language. He guides his oxen with a goad or pole which he shakes or uses as a prod to hurry them along. They accept their fate with quiet resignation, even a sort of indifference, and are very gentle. It is unusual for them to run away, unless frightened or angry.

In spite of the fact that these oxen are all coming toward us, no two are in the same position. We are made to see them with all their characteristic curves and angles.

It must be very early in the morning, for the sun is scarcely up above the horizon, and we can see the morning mist rising from the earth. The smoking field, with its deep furrows, gives us the feeling of a gradual ascent. It is very interesting to notice the shape of the long shadows cast in front of the oxen. Half close your eyes as you look, and you will find that they form a pattern or design, and that the variety in size and shape of both the shadows and the ground space has been carefully studied.

Mr. Troyon has told us these oxen are on the way to their work. We are left to decide what that work may be. No doubt they will soon reach the field, where they will be harnessed to plows, and their day’s work will begin. In the distance we can see fields, orchards, and, at the left, another peasant starting out with his teams of oxen.

The picture gives a pleasant feeling of vast, roomy space all around us. There is a feeling of energy and action, too, for the man and his oxen are on the way to their work. Our interest is centered on the oxen first of all, then on the man and the landscape. With the sun at their backs so early in the morning, we readily determine that they are going west. At the close of day they will again travel over this same road, perhaps with even more energy, although tired, for they will be going home to be fed and to rest. They probably take their noonday meal and rest near the field where they labor.

Notice the knees of the oxen. We know at once they are walking, and as we look at them we almost find ourselves stepping to one side that they may pass.

Troyon has put into this picture the peace and contentment which come only to those whose day starts out sturdily toward the accomplishment of a share in the work of the world.

=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= How many oxen are coming toward us? How many are in the same position? How are they driven? Upon what kind of ground are they walking? What country is represented? Why did the people use oxen so much in those days? When were oxen used in our country? Why are they seldom used now? How are oxen harnessed? Where are these oxen going? What kind of work will they probably do? What makes you think it must be early in the morning? that they are climbing a low hill? In what direction are they going? How can we determine this? What can we tell by the position of their knees? Why has the artist left so much sky and land space all around them? How is one man able to control all these oxen?

=The story of the artist.= Constant Troyon’s father and grandfather were porcelain decorators in the little village of Sèvres, France. They lived near the porcelain factory at Sèvres, and so much of Constant Troyon’s life was spent in this factory that it is said he practically grew up within its walls.

When Troyon was only seven years old his father died, leaving his mother with two small sons to bring up. It was necessary for her to do something to support them. Living among painters and hearing so much of design, color, and decorations, she naturally thought of doing something along that line. After much experimenting she succeeded in making designs for brooches, rings, bracelets, lockets, pins, and other ornaments. These designs were unique, for they were made of birds’ feathers. They were exquisite in color and sold readily, especially to visiting foreigners, English and American. Through the success of these bird-feather designs, she was able to bring up and educate her two sons.

As soon as the boys were old enough they worked in the porcelain factory. Here Troyon received his first training in art. His great natural talent could not long content itself with merely decorating china, and soon he began to cover large canvases with his wonderful paintings from nature.

From this time on, he spent every spare moment out in the fields and woods. All the inspiration, opportunity, and joy in work which so many feel they must go so far from home to find, Troyon found here in his home town and neighboring woods. He painted the first thing he came across,—trees such as we see everywhere; paths, streams, and fields such as we pass every day; but there is a charm in his paintings which makes them very popular now as it did then. He did not need the columns, monuments, heroes, gods, or nymphs of the past. He preferred to paint truthful representations of the beauties of the present.

In personal appearance, Troyon has been described as being coarse and rather rough. Yet his cheery good nature and kind heart won him friends wherever he went. Painting, to him, was a diversion, a pleasure to be indulged in only after work at the factory was finished. Since he did not have to depend on his painting for a living, he did not need to consider either the pleasure of others in his work or the money his pictures might bring. So he painted just the things that appealed to him, regardless of public favor. Indeed, he did not care to exhibit his paintings at all and did so only to please a friend who persisted in urging him. Troyon was quite overcome by the praise his pictures received and the popularity they brought him.

Troyon remained in the porcelain factory until he was twenty-one years old, then he began to travel the country as an artist. He painted landscapes as long as he had money in his pocket, then he made friends with the nearest china manufacturer and worked steadily at his trade until he had money enough to go on.

In the factory Troyon continued working out the small detailed designs suitable for china, but in the open field he paid little attention to details, his chief interest centering in the composition as a whole. At first he had found it difficult to paint large masses, and often the general effect of his landscapes was lost in the confusing details of parts of it. But one day as he was painting near the edge of a woods, a well-known painter of that day, Camille Roqueplan, came and stood behind his easel watching him. The older artist recognized at once the talent of the young man and while praising him for the truthfulness of his sketch, gave him valuable suggestions which Troyon never forgot. Although the artist Roqueplan was eight years older than Troyon, the two became close friends. Troyon studied under Roqueplan and it was through his influence that he made his first visit to The Hague. It was after this visit that Troyon began to paint animals and from that day dates his best work. Later he visited his artist friend in Paris and at length moved to Paris himself.

In 1849 Troyon was presented with the Cross of the Legion of Honor. His pictures were very popular indeed and during his lifetime he became a very rich man.

People usually speak of him as a painter of cattle, but he painted quite as many pictures of sheep and dogs.

His early training as a designer is noticeable in this picture. He is famous for his strong colorings, variety, and effects in light and shade.

Some of his best known paintings are: “Great Oak,” “Forest Depths,” “Horse Pond,” “Valley of the Toucque” or “Heights of Suresnes.”

=Questions about the artist.= Who painted this picture? What was his trade? How old was he when his father died? What did his mother do to earn a living? When did Troyon learn to decorate porcelain? How did his trade help him when he began to paint pictures? Who taught him to paint and draw? Where did he go to paint? What subjects did he usually choose? Why was he so independent of popular favor? What was his success?

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THE SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS

=Studying the picture.= Several days before the lesson is to be taken up, the picture to be studied should be placed where every pupil can see it.

First of all, the children should find out for themselves what is in the picture. The questions accompanying the story of each picture are intended to help them to do this.

=Language work.= The pupils should be encouraged in class to talk freely and naturally. In this way the lesson becomes a language exercise in which the pupils will gain in freedom of expression and in the ability to form clear mental images.

If a lesson does not occupy the entire drawing period, the children should be asked to retell the story of the picture.

=Dramatization and drawing.= Most of the stories told by the pictures lend themselves readily to dramatization and, whenever practicable, such stories should be acted out. The stories also offer numerous interesting situations that may be used as subjects for drawing lessons.

=The review lesson.= The review lesson should cover all pictures and artists studied throughout the year. At this time other pictures available by the same artists should be on exhibition.

The review work may be conducted as a contest in which the pictures are held up, one at a time, while the class writes the name of the picture and the artist on slips of paper which have been prepared and numbered for that purpose. One teacher who used this device surprised her class by presenting those whose lists were correct with their choice of any of the large-sized Perry pictures studied.

Many teachers, however, will prefer to use this time for composition work, although the description of pictures is often given as an English lesson. Pupils may write a description of their favorite picture. In fact, the lessons can be made to correlate with history, geography, English, spelling, reading, or nature study.

In any event the real purpose of the work is that the pupils shall become so familiar with the pictures that they will recognize them as old friends whenever and wherever they may see them.

It is hoped that acquaintance with the picture and the interest awakened by its story will grow into a fuller appreciation and understanding of the artist’s work. Thus the children will have many happy hours and will learn to love the good, the true, and the beautiful in everything about them.

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● Transcriber’s Notes:
○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
○ Typographical errors were silently corrected.
○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only
when a predominant form was found in this book.
○ Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_);
text that was bold by “equal” signs (=bold=).

End of Project Gutenberg's Stories Pictures Tell Book 5, by Flora Carpenter