Chapter II: Part 2

His first picture was a surprise to the artist, causing him to urge Guido’s father to allow the boy to develop his talent. About this time, too, Guido began to make all kinds of interesting figures in clay, and his fingers were always busy.

At thirteen years of age he so excelled the other pupils of the artist that he was allowed to teach some of them.

Later Guido went to Rome, where he remained for twenty years in great favor. He then moved to Bologna and there opened a large school for art students. He made his home in Bologna during the rest of his life. Guido Reni might have lived all his life in splendor and ease, for he earned great sums of money; but as his fame grew he became more and more extravagant in his habits, and so was always in debt. He was obliged to paint hurriedly, and to the utmost of his genius, that he might have more pictures to sell.

However, his keen sense of beauty did not desert him, and his popularity continued to the end. He was especially skillful in representing beautiful upraised faces of women and children. One day a young nobleman met Guido Reni and asked him where he found such lovely models for his paintings. He said the other artists were wondering about it and thought him very selfish to keep them to himself. Guido replied in a mysterious voice, “Come to my studio, signor, and I will show you my beautiful model.” So, filled with delight and eager anticipation, the nobleman tiptoed after the artist up the stairs to the studio. You can imagine how he must have felt when Guido Reni called his color-grinder, who has been described as “a great greasy fellow, with a brutal look,” and posed him.

As the color-grinder sat quietly looking up through the skylight, Guido took a pencil and after sketching very rapidly for a few minutes, showed his guest a sketch of a beautiful Magdalen gazing upward. Then turning to his visitor, he said earnestly, “Dear Count, say to your ‘other artists’ that a beautiful idea must be in the imagination, and in that case any model will serve.”

Guido Reni had the greatest admiration for the paintings of Raphael and went to Rome just to study them.

As he loved to work with clay himself, he spent much of his time in Rome studying the beautiful pieces of statuary there. He tells us that his favorites were the Venus de Medici and Niobe.

Pleasant and courteous to all, he made friends everywhere and was greatly beloved. Once when he was very ill his friends hired musicians to play just outside his door. This pleased him greatly, as he was always passionately fond of music. He said to them, “And what, then, will be the melodies of Paradise?”

Guido Reni was a great favorite of Pope Paul V and many of his pictures were painted for the Pope. When he returned from Rome to Bologna, he found himself more popular than ever and quite overwhelmed with orders for pictures.

Of all his paintings, the “Aurora” is generally considered his best. The story is told of a little girl who had lived all her life in the country. Upon her first visit to her uncle in the city, she discovered a large and splendid copy of the “Aurora” in his living room. One morning her uncle came into the room and found his little niece gazing at the picture in rapt admiration.

“Well, Mary,” he said, “what do you think of it?”

“Oh, uncle,” she replied, “I like it ‘cause they are in such a hurry.”

So young and old have found one reason or another for liking this picture.

Guido Reni painted many portraits as well as many historical and mythological pictures. Some of the best known of Guido’s paintings are: “Reclining Venus with Cupid,” “St. Michael and the Dragon,” “Beatrice Cenci,” “Little Bacchus Drinking,” and “The Mater Dolorosa of Solimena.”

=Questions about the artist.= Where was the artist born? What two talents had he? How did he happen to study painting? How did he succeed with his first picture? What was his progress? Why was he never rich? What subjects did he choose? What did the young nobleman ask him? Tell of the nobleman’s visit to the artist’s studio. Whose paintings did Guido Reni admire greatly? What statues? How was he able to make so many friends? What was his masterpiece? What did the little country girl say about it? Name some of his paintings.

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AVENUE AT MIDDELHARNIS

=Questions to arouse interest.= What occupies the most important part of this picture? Describe the trees bordering the road. Where does the road lead? What does it pass on its way to the village? Where must the artist have been standing? why do you think so? What can you say about the perspective of this road? How much of this picture is sky? What kind of lines predominate—curved, straight, vertical, or horizontal? In what country do you think it is? Why is it so level? What are the people in the picture doing? What do you like best about this picture?

=Original Picture=: National Gallery, London, England.
=Artist=: Meyndert Hobbema (hŏb’ĕ mä).
=Birthplace=: Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
=Dates=: Born, 1638; died, 1709.

=The story of the picture.= There is a little village in the Netherlands by the name of Middelharnis, and if we should go there to-day we should find just such an avenue of trees as this one in our picture. The artist, Hobbema, spent many years in this village, painting scenes in and around it. Probably he traveled over this very road countless times. It would seem as if we, too, were walking down the road guarded by those tall, slender trees which border each side of it. They are poplar trees, trimmed so high that we scarcely recognize them. They lead direct to the little village beyond, which we see between the tree trunks.

Since the village is almost surrounded by the North Sea, its high church tower is not only picturesque by day but useful at night as a lighthouse or beacon to guide the sailor to a safe port.

In our picture the sun is half hidden in a sky as full of fleecy clouds as the sky near the North Sea generally is.

We must expect no hills nor elevations of any kind in the Netherlands, a land lying lower than the ocean. The great protecting dikes and the many canals extending in every direction make it one of the most interesting of countries.

In the picture we see on each side of the road a deep ditch full of water. These ditches irrigate the land, flowing into deeper, wider canals on which sail boats of various sizes and kinds.

It is said that every true Hollander can skate. In the winter, when these canals are frozen, young and old go about upon their various errands on skates. It is a common sight then to see women skating to market, carrying upon their heads heavy baskets filled with rolls of butter, cheese, eggs, or other provisions. The children skate to school, and men go about their business in this same pleasant way. It is easy to reach all parts of the village or city by these canals, for there are so many of them; in some cities the people have no streets, but use canals instead.

At the right of our picture we catch a glimpse of a thrifty, well-kept nursery garden full of shrubs and fruit trees, which the man is busily trimming. He works contentedly, for all about him he sees the evidences of prosperity and peace.

Coming toward us along this straight and level road is a huntsman carrying his gun over his shoulder and preceded by his dog. A path leads away from the road to the picturesque little cottage or farmhouse at the right. Two peasants, a man and a woman, stand in the path talking. We do not doubt they will turn to greet our hunter, for it is a friendly countryside, where all are treated cordially.

We cannot see much on the extreme left of the picture except the trees which grow luxuriantly, and a flat meadow land which reaches almost to the village. It is a common, everyday sort of landscape, yet its charm seems to lie in this very fact.

We would know at once if the perspective were not correct, for we have solved just such problems ourselves with the tree tops, or perhaps telegraph poles, and it gives us an added sense of pleasure to be able to understand just the problem Hobbema had to solve as he placed his easel in the middle of the road and started to paint his great canvas.

The light is rather uncertain on this cloudy day. The artist used little color except grays and a peculiar green which he delighted in using in all his paintings. A touch of brighter color appears in the cheerful red of the roofs of his houses, which suggest something of the homely comfort and cleanliness that may be found in most Dutch homes.

The most striking characteristic of Hobbema’s painting is his severe combination of vertical and horizontal lines. The positive vertical lines of the tree trunks standing so tall and straight against the wide expanse of sky are reëchoed in the shorter but equally slender trunks of the fruit trees in the nursery garden, and of the trees at the side of the path leading to the farmhouse; also in the two straight figures standing in the path, and again in the church tower in the distance.

The horizontal lines are equally positive. They separate the garden from the road; they appear in the road itself, and in the horizon line beyond. If we make a sketch of the important lines in this picture, we find them either vertical or horizontal, and much more severe in outline than the usual diagonal or curving lines we have grown accustomed to looking for.

Critics seem to vary as to the feeling with which this picture inspires them, although all agree upon its value as a masterpiece. Some declare there is a sort of hopelessness in the landscape which suggests the unhappy life of the artist, who often went hungry, and whose paintings were not appreciated until after his death. To them the scene is full of hopeless beauty, suggesting all kinds of joys which are never realized, yet continue just out of reach throughout a long and cheerless life. So it is a sad beauty, and gives one a feeling of desolation even in a land where all is prosperity.

Other critics see only the thrifty, contented life of the Netherlands peasant, who by his intelligence and labor has overcome even the sea itself, and compelled it, by means of dikes and canals, to add to his safety and comfort.

We know how much Hobbema must have loved his work, for he received no return for it during his lifetime, unless it was the joy of work; and yet he persevered.

Can we not imagine him on a pleasant day, seated or standing at his easel in the middle of this road, quite forgetting poverty and even hunger, as he painted this beautiful landscape before him? Hobbema was certainly daring and full of courage when he attempted so severe and unusual a composition as this. He has placed his road almost exactly in the center of the picture, balancing the sides quite evenly, yet he has not made it monotonous or tiresome. The eye is constantly discovering new beauties in the landscape or the inclosing sky. Only a master could produce a work such as this.

=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= What country is represented in this picture? What kind of trees are those bordering the road? To what do they lead the eye?

Of what use could the church tower, in the distance, be? Why is the Netherlands such a level country? What can you see on each side of the road? Of what use are the canals? What is the man doing in the garden? Who else can you see in the picture? What colors did the artist use? How can you tell whether the perspective of the road is correct or not? What can you say of the sky? What can you say of the balance in the composition? the kinds of lines? What kind of a day is represented? What do some of the critics say about this picture? What is so unusual about this composition? Why do most artists avoid placing the center of interest in the middle of the picture? Why do you like this picture?

=The story of the artist.= We know very little about the artist, Meyndert Hobbema, except that he was a Hollander possessing so great a love for his native land that he continued to represent it on canvas in spite of the fact that his countrymen were quite indifferent to him and his work. His pictures were disposed of somehow, perhaps given away, for when a hundred years after his death the world suddenly began to value them, it was found that he had left enough canvases to have made him the wealthiest man in the country. Yet he died in the almshouse, and was buried beside his wife in a pauper’s grave. Now all the Netherlands would give him honor, but so neglected was he during his life that it is impossible to find out even where he was born. Three cities claim this honor, but it is generally conceded that he was born at Amsterdam. It is certain he was married and died there. We determine the date of his birth by the date and his age as given in the record of his marriage.

Hobbema’s paintings were so real that the people, who were used to more fanciful, idealized pictures, thought his commonplace and of no especial interest. Now they recognize the great sympathy with, and insight into, the very life of their country which Hobbema possessed in rare measure. He made it real to us, too, in his scenes of thrift and industry, prosperity, and smiling peace.

We are told that Hobbema was “a plain, practical, matter-of-fact” man and his pictures make us think he must have been. Like him, they are plain, unassuming, and natural; free from artificial grace or fancy. He did not hunt for scenes of unusual beauty with romantic or weird stories, but chose some pleasing view near at hand and painted it just as it was.

Sometimes he painted the same scene several times from exactly the same position. If all his works could be placed in one gallery for exhibition, we might find it rather monotonous to see so many just alike.

But although he did not have the inventive genius of Burne-Jones or of many other artists, his paintings were always true to nature. He has been called the painter of the afternoon sun because he seemed so fond of the sunlight showing through the trees and casting long shadows across the fields.

Many believe that Hobbema must have been a pupil of Ruysdael’s because their work was so much alike. We know that they lived in the same place at the same time and it is generally believed they were friends. Dealers often substituted the name of one for that of the other and later, when corrections were attempted, it was impossible to tell which was Hobbema’s work and which Ruysdael’s, because both had painted the same subjects.

At one time Hobbema was appointed gauger for the town. It was his duty to measure the quantity of all liquids imported into Holland. This position must have paid a fairly good salary, for Hobbema was married directly after his appointment. It must have taken all his time, too, for he painted very little for nearly twenty years. The fact that he had a means of livelihood did not spur him on to greater efforts. He painted only when he felt like it, not very often, and small, unimportant pictures. Whether he lost this office before or after his wife’s death is not known, but for some reason or other his last years were spent in extreme poverty.

Twenty-six years after his death his pictures began to sell, and soon picture dealers were scouring the country for his works.

His landscapes are not full of people, animals, or anything that might disturb the calm, quiet restfulness of the scenes. Like Ruysdael, he too was compelled to call upon other artists to draw the few figures he did use, as he found this part most difficult.

One thing we may be sure of when we look at his paintings, and that is, they were faithful representations of the place before him. So we may know just how this road leading to the village of Middelharnis really looked more than two centuries ago.

Other famous paintings by Hobbema are entitled: “Showery Weather,” “Village with Water Mills,” “Woody Landscape,” “Ruins of Brederode Castle,” “Forest Scene,” “Cottage in a Wood,” and “Entrance to a Wood.”

=Questions about the artist.= What kind of a man do you think Hobbema must have been? Why? In what ways do his pictures resemble him? What kind of pictures did he like to paint? What time of day? Why might an exhibition of all his paintings prove monotonous?

What would you consider one of the best things about his paintings? What other great artist lived at this time and in the same place? How did their paintings resemble each other? What office did Hobbema hold? What were some of his duties? How did this position affect his work? What became of his paintings? Why was he so poor? Why were his paintings not appreciated? How are they regarded now? Why do you think Hobbema must have loved his work?

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THE ANGELUS

=Questions to arouse interest.= In what attitude are these peasants standing? What have they been doing? With what have they been working? What can you see in the background? From what direction does the light come? What time of day do you think it is? in what country? Why have they stopped their work? Who of you can tell what the Angelus is? What feeling does this picture give you—one of sadness, peace, quiet, noise prosperity, poverty, or happiness?

=Original Picture=: Collection Chauchard, Paris.
=Artist=: Jean François Millet (mē´lĕ).
=Birthplace=: Gruchy, France.
=Dates=: Born, 1814; died, 1875.

=The story of the picture.= Although our print is only black and white, we are made to feel the brightness of the sunset in this picture. The horizon, veiled in a haze, shows the church tower of the distant village faintly silhouetted against the sky, while the sinking sun casts its long shadows across the field. But our eyes do not dwell long on sky, church, or field, for the two figures draw our gaze. The bright rays from the setting sun fall directly upon the woman, who faces the west; the man, turning toward her, is partly in shadow.

No doubt these two peasants have been working in the fields, the man digging potatoes, as we may judge by those in the basket and the two well-filled bags on the wheelbarrow. As he digs them, the woman gathers them up in her basket and empties them into the sacks. Thus busily engaged, they suddenly hear the church bell; its great tone coming far across the field reminds them that it is the hour of prayer. So putting down the pitchfork and basket, they stand with bowed heads as they repeat the evening prayer.

The artist wished to paint a picture that would make us hear the bell sounding clearly across the deep stillness of the open field. He wished to make us feel, as do these peasants, the quiet solemnity of the hour.

Even as a little boy Millet was greatly impressed by the sound of the Angelus, or bell for prayers, which was rung each morning, noon, and night. One of his earliest remembrances was of a time when the villagers bought new bells for the church, and he went with his mother and a neighbor to see them before they were hung. It seems that two of the old bells had been used to make a cannon, the third was broken, and these new bells were in the church waiting to be baptized before they could be hung in the tower. They seemed immense to the small boy, and of course they must have been larger than he. Millet tells of the delight and awe he felt when the neighbor struck the bells with the great key to the church door, which she carried in her hand.

No wonder, then, that this picture was one of Millet’s favorites, for it reminded him of his boyhood home and brought back memories of the thoughts and experiences of his childhood. Grown to manhood, and himself a peasant, he, too, had heard the Angelus sounded forth from the village church tower, and had dropped his work to bow his head in prayer. The quiet and peace of such moments had left a deep impression which he wished to share with us.

The long stretch of field suggests the industry of the peasants; the distant church and their bowed heads against the bright sky tell us of their faith.

Can you not see them on their homeward journey, the man pushing the wheelbarrow with its heavy load, while the woman carries the basket? It looks as if it would be a long, tiresome tramp across the uneven field to the village so dimly visible in the distance.

This is the time of year when the peasants’ work is hardest, for during the winter there is little farm work to do. We are told that the women spend their winter days in spinning, weaving cloth, and making clothes, while the men weave baskets, make their garden tools, and do what little work there is to do.

The very simplicity of this landscape, with its lack of details, is part of its great charm. The quiet dignity of the man and woman, standing with bowed heads, the peace and quiet of the scene, and, above all, the sound of the sweet-toned Angelus, give us a feeling of restfulness and peace.

The horizon line is high in this picture, yet the sky space is large enough to contain the heads and shoulders of our two peasants. In this way we are made to feel that although they are bound to earth and are a part of it, their thoughts soar higher. There is another life besides the one of toil and privation.

At the time Millet painted this great picture he was wretchedly poor. He sent the picture to a friend in Paris, begging him to sell it and send the money as soon as possible. It sold for less than five hundred dollars. Yet not many years ago a French collector paid one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for this same picture.

THE ANGELUS

“They stand within the field at prayer,
The rustic man and maid,
While silvery thro’ the amber air
The angel’s song is played!

“They bow their heads in gratitude
For gift of life and health;
And for content—their highest good,
And love—their only wealth.

“There is a closeness to the soil
In both their garb and mien
That tells of happiness and toil,
And quiet peace serene.

“A lark above them sings and sings
A song of hope and youth.
Theirs is the joy of common things—
The beauty of the truth!”
—_Edward Wilbur Mason_

=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= What time of day does this picture represent? What can you see in the distance? In what direction is the woman facing? How can you tell? What have these peasants been doing? Why have they stopped their work? Why is the picture called “The Angelus”? Tell about Millet and the new bells for the church. Tell something of the life of these peasants. How did the artist Millet know so much about their life? What can you say about the composition of this picture? What was the financial condition of the artist when he painted this picture? What did he do with this painting? About how much is it worth now?

=The story of the artist.= Let us try to imagine the artist, Jean François Millet, as a young man nineteen years old on his first visit to the great city of Paris. Brought up on a farm among the lowliest of the French peasants, he had met few except those with whom he labored in the fields or those who, poorer than they, were made welcome under the ever hospitable roof of the elder Millets. These neighbors and friends were mostly sailors or farmers, who looked upon the journey to Paris as a great event, as indeed it was. For weeks the kind old grandmother had kept her spinning wheel busy, spinning and weaving the cloth for his new suit of clothes. She was the tailor who cut, stitched, and pressed them. All her savings of years had been sewed into a belt and given to him for this journey. As he stood in the doorway, waiting for the old stagecoach which presently came rattling down the stone road of the village, he must have felt anew the great sacrifices they were all so willing to make to send him where he could study his beloved art.

In Paris, Millet presented an unusual appearance—six feet in height, slender, a downy beard on his face, his brown hair hanging to his shoulders. All his belongings were neatly packed in the sailor’s canvas bag which he carried over his shoulder. Is it any wonder that many did not see the straightforward, honest, manly look of the calm gray eyes? There was in that gaze and in the rude bearing a certain quiet confidence and strength which only the home folks recognized and valued. The boy could draw, and draw well they knew, and had not the drawing master of the village told them he would surely one day become a great artist?

Tired from the three days’ ride in the old stagecoach, jostled by the hurrying crowds, for it was evening and all were on their way home, he stood confused. A policeman, catching sight of the stupid-looking youth blocking the sidewalk with his great bag, asked him where he wanted to go. Is it any wonder that he answered, “Back to Gruchy”? We are told that he even inquired when the next coach left for Gruchy, but there was none until morning.

The policeman sent him to a boarding house of moderate prices, and the next morning he started out to find the great art gallery of the Louvre. He had attempted to inquire the way at the boarding house, but the boarders laughed at his Normandy accent and strange appearance and he did not wait for the answer. And so he wandered the streets for three days, not daring to ask the way for fear of being laughed at again, until at last he stood before the great gallery, recognizing it at once by the pictures he had seen of it.

In writing of it years later, Millet says: “My feelings were too great for words, and I closed my eyes lest I be dazzled by the sight, and then dared not open them lest I should find it all a dream. And if I ever reach Paradise I know my joy will be no greater than it was that first morning when I realized that I stood within the Louvre Palace.”

In the meantime he had found a room and place to board near by. The landlady having suggested that he had better not carry much money about with him, he immediately gave her all he had to keep for him; that was the last he saw of his money.

He spent a week just visiting the Louvre, and finally became acquainted with a student who was copying one of the paintings. This student took him to the artist Delaroche, who, after looking at his sketches, gladly admitted him as a pupil.

The other students were greatly amused at Millet’s awkward appearance and called him the “man of the woods.” It was almost impossible to persuade him to talk, and his answers to all questions were in monosyllables; but if pressed too hard he could use his fists effectively. They soon found out, too, that he could paint, and paint well. All idea of going home was given up, and Millet spent twelve years in Paris, enduring poverty and hunger but working faithfully and long. When he went back to his home for a visit he was so nearly starved that he fell fainting on the ground when he tried to work in the fields.

Millet painted landscapes, portraits, and signs, but fortune never seemed to smile on him long at a time. People said his pictures did not sell because he painted such common things and such poor people instead of choosing beautiful girls or fine gentlemen for his models.

But he painted the people he knew about and loved best—the French peasants—and as their lives were full of toil, he must represent them at their labor.

Returning to Paris, and finding his life there still one of continuous struggle with poverty, Millet with his wife and children went to live at Barbizon, a small village a day’s ride from Paris. Many descriptions have been written and pictures painted of the modest white stone cottage with its clinging vines and its thrifty gardens in which he spent the rest of his life.

It was not until the last few years of his life that he ceased to be wretchedly poor, for then at last his pictures were appreciated and he received the profit and honor that were his due.

He died at Barbizon, January 20, 1875.

=Questions about the artist.= Tell about Millet’s early training and the preparations made for his journey to Paris. How did he travel? Describe his first evening in Paris. How did he find the great gallery of the Louvre? Why did he not inquire the way? What became of his money? With whom did he study, and how did this happen? What did the other students call him? Why did they do this? How many years did he stay in Paris? What was his success there? Why did his pictures not sell? Where did he finally go to live? When were his paintings appreciated?

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SHEEP IN SPRING

=Questions to arouse interest.= What is there in this picture that suggests the time of year? What are the sheep doing? How many have watched sheep eat grass? Why do the shepherd and his dog stand in front of them? Of what use is the shepherd’s crook or staff? What do you see in the distance? Do you think this is a scene in our own country or in some foreign country? How are the sheep farthest away represented? Where does the light fall upon the sheep and upon the man? What kinds of lines are there in this picture? Tell some of the duties of a shepherd; of a shepherd’s dog. Why do sheep need so much care? Of what use are they? Why do you like this picture?

=Original Picture=: Metropolitan Museum, New York City.
=Artist=: Anton Mauve (mōv).
=Birthplace=: Zaandam, the Netherlands
=Dates=: Born, 1838; died, 1888.

=The story of the picture.= The artist has taken us to his own native country, showing us the beauties of the fields in spring, and giving us much of their feeling of calm and contentment. The shepherd has led his sheep safely past the freshly plowed field which we see at the left of the picture, and now he stands in front of them so they will go more slowly and eat the grass closer. If one of the sheep should go too fast he would probably reach out with his long crook, which he would place around the sheep’s neck, and draw it back. The dog, too, would do his part to keep it where it ought to be. Sheep prefer to run ahead, taking a bit of grass here and a bit there, but when they are held back by the man and dog as in this picture, they will mow the grass as closely and thoroughly as if a lawnmower had passed over it.

As we look at the picture we find that, though few details are shown, the sheep in the first row are distinct, while the rest are merely suggested. Anton Mauve has become famous for this very thing—the omission of minor details in his pictures and the simplicity with which he thus tells his story.

We feel the warmth and vigor of this beautiful day in spring, the fresh green grass with here and there a flower to relieve the green, the soft green leaves of the young and slender trees planted on each side of the road at the right of the picture. This road probably leads direct to the farmhouse we see in the distance. The long meadow, too, seems to reach as far as that same farmhouse, and no doubt will provide pasture all summer for the sheep. Their fleecy white wool will grow long. Then will come sheep-shearing time, and the wool will be sent away to be woven into cloth.

In the picture the light falls strongly upon the backs of the sheep, on the head and shoulders of the man, and on the wooden shoes he wears.

The dog stands there expectant, ready to pursue any wayward sheep. It is wonderful how much these shepherd dogs know, and how much they help their owners. In some countries the sheep are kept out in the fields or among the hills all night. The shepherd rolls himself up in a blanket and sleeps securely near them, knowing full well that the faithful dog will remain on guard, allowing none to stray away or come to harm.

Sometimes, when the shepherd wishes to collect his flock and drive them to the fold or inclosure for the night, many of them have wandered up into the mountains to almost inaccessible heights, but the dog will find them, every one. He has a way of making the sheep understand what they are expected to do. He circles around and around them so quickly that none can escape, and he seems to have some mysterious way of counting them, for if one is missing off he goes, seldom failing to return with it.

The story is told of a shepherd who, with but one dog, was guarding seven hundred lambs. At midnight they suddenly took fright and, dividing into three sections, disappeared over the hills. The man could do nothing until daylight, but the morning found the lambs gathered in a valley and guarded by the faithful dog, from whose vigilance not one had escaped.

These intelligent shepherd dogs can be made to understand their masters’ wishes even at a great distance, for they understand and obey motions made with the hands.

Sheep are more helpless than most animals, because they cannot defend themselves against wild animals and because, having no sense of locality, they are so easily lost or led astray.

If a flock of sheep is attacked by wolves, and there are several dogs guarding the flock, very often the dogs will circle around the sheep until they have crowded them as close together as they can; then one of the dogs will continue walking around them, while the others attack and usually beat off the wolves.

_Sheep in Autumn_
]

Anton Mauve has painted a companion picture to this one. The two pictures hang on the same wall in the Metropolitan Museum, New York City. The companion picture is called “Sheep in Autumn,” and, as the name suggests, it represents a scene in the fall of the year.

The first picture brings to our mind visions of green meadows, newly ploughed fields, tender grass, and tiny green leaves, quickening into life and beauty with the arrival of the mild days of spring; but the second picture has a different story to tell. It is autumn now; the leaves and grass have ripened to a reddish brown, and the grain has been gathered from the field at the right of the picture.

The sheep are turned away from us here, and it is not necessary for the shepherd and his dog to hold them back. There is no young and tender grass to tempt them, and they are going home. There are many young lambs with the flock now, born since their mothers went out to pasture, and they lag behind the rest as if the journey were a long one. We can almost hear the shrill bleating of the little lambs mingled with the deeper calls of the sheep as they move along the road.

The shepherd, this time an old man in the autumn of his life, tenderly carries a little weak lamb under his arm. Perhaps after it has rested, he will take up another tired one. The dog looks older too. No doubt he has had a hard summer of it with the care of all these sheep and their lambs.

By the long shadows, Mauve has told us that it is the end of the day as well as the end of the year.

There is a strong appeal in this picture when we think of the homecoming of this little company—the tired young lambs following their mothers, the tired dog that will now have a long rest, and the kind old shepherd with the helpless lamb under his arm.

Through both these pictures Mauve has expressed the same sympathy with, and love for, nature and its many changes of season and weather. It is difficult indeed to choose one for study in preference to the other, and it is perhaps for that reason that they are usually studied together.

In our picture of the sheep in spring, with all its suggestions of growth and beauty, the grass and leaves are luxuriant, and yet the days and nights are still too cool for the sheep to be sheared. When the warm days come, the shepherd will probably drive his flock to the river or some clear stream where, in spite of strugglings to escape, their long, woolly coats will be scrubbed and cleaned. Then when the wool is thoroughly dried it will be cut off with large shears and sent to the manufactories, where it will be made into cloth for the garments we wear.

Long ago, in our great grandmother’s day, wool was carded, spun, and woven into cloth by hand. Many families still keep the old spinning wheels and hand looms which were used in those times.

=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= In what country was this picture painted? What time of year is represented? Why does the shepherd keep the sheep back? How can he prevent them from going too fast? How do the sheep prefer to eat the grass? What can you see at the right of the picture? What is on each side of this road? To what does it lead? Of what use are the sheep? In what ways can the dog help the shepherd? How does he keep the sheep together? Tell about the dog and the seven hundred lambs. How can a trained dog understand his master even at a distance? In what ways are sheep helpless? How can a dog protect them from wolves? What is the companion picture to this one called? How does it differ from this painting? Which one do you like best? Why? Where are the original paintings?

=The story of the artist.= Anton Mauve was born near the sea in a little village called Zaandam, the Netherlands. His father was a Protestant clergyman in this thriving little town known for its oil and paper mills and its extensive timber trade. When Anton was but a boy, the family moved to Haarlem where he grew to manhood.

His talent for drawing was soon discovered, but it did not meet with any favor at home. His father’s strong objections to his becoming an artist were finally overcome by a compromise. If Anton would promise to win a diploma as a drawing master, so that he would be sure of earning his living in case he failed as an artist, then his father would give his consent. As definite rules were laid down for teaching drawing, and these rules permitted little or no originality, Anton Mauve found his promise very hard to keep. However, he persevered. When the course was finished, he packed his grip and with little in his purse started for the village of Oosterbeek where a number of other artists lived and worked. Later he settled in Amsterdam where he worked hard, earning enough with his painting to support himself.

Mauve painted a great number of pictures, many of them in water color. He is best known by his flocks of sheep, which he represents in all seasons and in every kind of weather. Although he lived by the sea, very few of Mauve’s pictures were of the sea, for he preferred the country roads leading through green fields, with here and there a flock of sheep or herd of cattle. He seldom painted a landscape without some figure in it—a wood-cart, a man on horseback, a peasant woman, or a woodcutter were his most frequent models. The birch tree, with its graceful, silvery stem was his favorite tree.

It is said that Mauve was in the habit of making his sketches on his cuffs, and by keeping the colors in his mind he was able from these suggestions to paint the pictures which soon brought him fame and honor.

=Questions about the artist.= Who painted this picture? Where was he born? What compromise did he make with his father? Why did he find it difficult to do his part? What did he do then? What subjects might we have expected him to choose for his paintings? What subjects did he choose? Upon what did he often make his first sketches? How did he finish these pictures? What were his favorite models? What was his favorite tree?

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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 6, by Flora Carpenter