Flora L. Carpenter

“ So in this picture we see Paul Pry lying on the stone wharf while the water comes lapping gently against the iron mooring ring to which boats are fastened. It must be at the highest point of the tide, for we are sure the water never rises high enough to cover that iron ring entirely.
Just now the sun is shining brightly. We can tell this by the shadow of the dog’s great dark head on the white coat of his body. The length and direction of the shadows tell us that the sun must be high in the sky. If it were low in the horizon the shadows would be longer. ”

“ In a little village in Brittany, France, there is just such a school as the one we see in this picture. We know this is true because the artist, Mr. Jean Geoffroy, lives near it and has told us all about it with his brush and paints. We are told, too, that he visits this school very often and has made friends with all the boys and girls. He is a very rich, generous man and besides painting their pictures as large as life, he gives them flowers, cakes, and candy. Although he is naturally a very shy, quiet man, the children never find him so when he is entertaining them. ”

“ One day a man came to their town who could draw any person’s picture while he waited. Then, too, he could cut a silhouette picture or side view of the face out of black paper. Joshua followed him about all day, and the two became great friends. The artist gave Joshua lessons and the boy soon learned to draw as well as his teacher. We are told that it was through the friendship of this strolling artist that a rich man’s attention was called to Joshua’s wish to be an artist, and this rich man finally persuaded the father to let Joshua go to London to study. ”

“ In France it is the custom among the peasants to spend an hour every day in rest. But Millet, instead of sleeping during that hour, spent it in drawing the homely scenes around him.
It was not until he was eighteen years old, however, that he drew a picture which made his parents decide he should become an artist. This picture was of an old man bent over a cane, whom Millet met as he was coming home from church. He drew this with charcoal on a stone wall, and people recognized it at once and were very much pleased. ”

“ People in those days used olive oil in place of butter and this must have satisfied their tastes as well as butter does ours.
This picture is often called “The Buttermaker.” Like all of Millet’s pictures, it is a picture of work. The woman looks strong and capable, and willing to do each task as it comes to her. Farther back in the room we can see a bench upon which are placed the great jars of milk. The stone floor and the half-darkened room suggest a cool, comfortable place in which to work on a hot summer day. ”

“ The strong light in the left-hand side of the picture must come from some window near by, for that side of the woman’s face and dress, and of the churn and handle, is brightly lighted. Most of the woman’s face, however, is indistinct, for Millet did not consider the features important and usually painted his faces in shadow. It is in what the men and women are doing and how they do it that he wished to interest us. ”

“ The tallest girl is probably reading in another book and is farther advanced, for in country schools they do not try to keep together, but each one goes ahead as fast as he or she is able. Perhaps that is one reason why the older girls seated at the desks are studying so hard. No doubt their lessons are much longer than ours, for the school year is shorter. They must work very hard if they would keep up with the rest of the class. ”

“ They may even steal quietly in among the great trees, listening, and hoping to hear the low knock of some fairy who will tell them where to find the key which will unlock the door and let her out—for that is the only way one could hope to see a fairy in the daytime. ”

“ The bread would stick to the ceiling and there those dreadful figures must dangle until some one came with a ladder and took them down. She was punished very often, and sometimes to make her behave she was given nothing to eat but bread and water.
Although she did such things every one liked her, for she was good-hearted and kind and full of fun. But finally she did something that could not be overlooked. This is what she did. The lady who kept the school was very fond of flowers, and above all she loved the stately hollyhock. ”

“ Tell about Sir Edwin Landseer’s studio. How did Paul Pry behave? Where was he lying when the artist painted his picture? Where did Sir Edwin Landseer imagine the dog to be? What do you suppose made him think of that? How do these dogs save people from drowning? What makes you think there will be a storm? What makes you think the air is sultry? What time of day is it? Why did the artist call the picture “A Member of the Royal Humane Society”?
To the Teacher: Encourage the children to talk about their own pet dogs, and to draw pictures of them, using charcoal and manila paper. ”

“ At the end of the rod inside the churn are two boards fastened crosswise which work the cream into butter as the rod is moved up and down. The churn in the picture has a cover with a hole in the center for the handle, and as soon as the cream begins to thicken some of it works up with the rod to the top of the churn. We can see it in the picture. This cream must be what the cat smells and wants. If you have ever watched a cat sniffing at something it likes, you will know right away what the cat in the picture is doing. ”

“ When the school bell rings in the morning the children come carrying their books and their lunches—a gay little procession from far and near, each wearing a quaint bonnet, dress, and shoes like those you see in the picture.
In our picture, school has begun, the opening exercises are over, and the first class of beginners is reciting. The little girl leaning against the teacher is just learning to read, and points to 15each word as she pronounces it. She seems to have come to a word she does not know. ”

“ He let the little fellow carry his paints and brushes, and off they started. And so it happened every day, until finally one day Sir Joshua gave the boy an easel, and some paints and brushes, and taught him how to paint. And oh, how pleased the little boy was then! He had a very strange name. It was Giuseppe Marchi. After he had been with Sir Joshua Reynolds a week you would hardly have recognized the boy, dressed in a fine new suit of clothes the artist had bought for him, and painting pictures which were very good indeed. ”

“ The lioness was always wild, but good old Nero soon became so gentle that Rosa Bonheur could pet him and even go into his cage.
How wise he looks! He seems to know the great artist is painting his picture. ”

“ Sir Edwin Landseer painted a picture of another dog that looked enough like this one 4to be Paul Pry himself. He called the picture “Saved,” because the dog has just saved a little child from drowning.
In that picture the dog is seen lying on the shore, too exhausted to do anything more than wait for help. He has strained every nerve and risked his own life to bring the child to land. ”

“ 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. ”

“ He was a beautiful animal, and Landseer could not help thinking how strong such dogs are and what wonderful things they can be trained to do. Perhaps the first thing he thought of was how they save people from drowning, for they are very strong swimmers and can save lives when men are unable to do anything. ”

“ The Man Who Painted This Picture. The story of the artist. It was not a very long walk to the little village schoolhouse at Gruchy where Jean François Millet studied. His good old grandmother had taught him his letters at home, and he could read and spell very well before he ever went to school at all. He was past six years old, and large for his age, before he started. When he arrived at the school yard the first thing he did was to fight. There was a boy in the school who had fought every 26boy in the class, and proved that he was the strongest. ”

“ The poor people of France, who had been treated very badly by the rich, rebelled and tried to kill or drive away all the rich people. Madame Lebrun had always been 43friends with the rich people, so it was not safe for her to stay in Paris, either.
One evening she dressed her little daughter in a ragged dress and bonnet to make her look like a poor peasant child. She herself wore an old dress, with a handkerchief over her head to hide her face like a veil. ”

“ If we could open the door very quietly and go into this schoolhouse to-day, we should see a scene just like that in our picture. In that part of Brittany the children still wear those queer bonnets, wide collars, and wooden shoes. 14Many of the children have come a long way to school, for the houses are scattered. In some parts of Brittany we should see built on the low hills many an old castle, with its towers and walls in ruin. ”

“ The few sea gulls circling near the shore call 5our attention to the sky, where the clouds are just beginning to gather, as if a storm might be approaching. Perhaps the good dog has already scented the storm, and is quietly waiting to see if there is any work for him to do. ”

“ No English painter has ever been more appreciated and loved in his own country than Sir Edwin Landseer.
Questions about the artist. Who painted this picture? When did he first begin to draw? How many brothers and sisters did he have? How many of them liked to draw? Where did they live? What question did the father ask at the breakfast table? How did they decide? Where did they go? What animal did Edwin choose first? Who helped him? Where was “Edwin’s studio”? ”

“ The second drawing was of a man giving bread to a beggar at his door. When the artist (Mouchel) saw these drawings he was amazed, and at first would not believe Millet had drawn them himself. He said that Millet would surely be a great painter. This decided the matter, and Millet became Mouchel’s pupil.
Millet studied with the artist not quite two 28months when his father died, and he was obliged to return home to take his father’s place on the farm as best he could. But the people of the village thought it was too bad for him to give up his painting, and they determined to help him. ”

“ What is the color of her dress? of her mother’s? Why should she be so proud of her mother?
41The story of the artist. Madame Lebrun began to draw and paint when she was not as old as the little daughter we see in the picture. Her father was her teacher. One day when she was only seven years old she surprised him by drawing a picture of a man with a long beard, which was so good that he said, “You will be a great painter, my child, if ever there has been one.” ”

“ There were so many rough men in the packing houses and other places she must go to study that she got a permit to wear men’s clothing. Her hair was short anyway, and so with her blue working blouse and dark trousers she looked just like a man. ”

“ What is she carrying in her apron? How is she dressed? How is her hair combed? What do you see in her hair? What is pinned on her dress? How old do you think she is? Why do you think you would like her?
Original Picture: Louvre (lōō ́vr’) Gallery, Paris, France.
Artist: Jean Baptiste Greuze (grûz) .
Birthplace: Tournus (Tōōr ́nüs ́) , France.
Dates: Born, 1725; died, 1805. The story of the picture. One glance at this picture tells us what has happened, and why the little girl looks so serious. On her arm she carries a quaint old pitcher which she has just broken. ”

“ Every one was surprised to see how much he loved her. Rosa Bonheur did everything for him she could, hoping her pet would get well again, but a few days later he died, his head in her lap.
Rosa missed her pet very much, and after that she never cared to own another lion. She gave the lioness to the city to keep in the park. She was very glad she had painted so many good pictures of Nero, for it made her feel as if she still had her pet with her.
48Questions to help the pupil understand the picture. Whose lion was this? How did she get him? Why did she want a lion? ”

“ It does not seem as if they could run very fast in such clumsy wooden shoes. If you have ever tried 17to wear a pair of Dutch wooden shoes you will wonder how they could be worn in school, for they are very likely to make a great deal of noise on the wooden floor. ”