Flora L. Carpenter

“ When we look at this picture, representing a scene at the mouth of a Dutch river, it is hard for us to realize that all of this little country is lower than the ocean, and would be flooded if it were not for the great dikes. These dikes are thick walls of stone and earth built near the shore, so high that the water of the North Sea cannot wash over them, and so wide across the top that they make excellent carriage roads. It is wonderful to think how men, by their skill and perseverance, have been able to preserve this country from the sea. ”

“ Even then Dutch houses seem very damp to those who are not natives. The kitchen is usually built in the front part of the house instead of the back. The buildings we see in this picture, even the windmill itself, must have been built in just this way.
The calm and peace of this landscape are more impressive when we think of the great ocean outside the dike, pounding away in its ceaseless effort to claim its own. The picture seems to tell us something of the great effort, constant guard, and persistent struggle we must make if we would secure peace and contentment in our lives. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Margaret’s father had often told her how he and his brother John, Margaret’s uncle, had got out of bed at the first gray streak of dawn so that they could have time to draw and paint before school. Their parents would not allow them to set aside school tasks for such things as drawing, which they considered of far less importance. How glad Margaret and Frank must have been that their father was an artist and did not interfere with their efforts at drawing and painting, but encouraged them as much as he could.
The young artists were successful in their work from the very first. ”

“ 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. ”

“ In the picture the artist has centered our interest and attention upon the small boy in several ways: by his position, the light, the inclination of the other figures toward him. At whatever part of the picture we glance, our eyes are almost immediately drawn back to the boy musician. The childish figure, sensitive face, and startled, appealing glance arouse our sympathy and interest.
Questions to help the pupil understand the picture. Where is this boy? What is his name? Why is he in the attic? Why did he not play the harpsichord during the day? ”

“ His critics urged him to paint, instead, some beautiful girl or fine-looking man from the village or city. To this he replied: “Beauty does not dwell in the face; it radiates forth from the whole figure and appears in the suitableness of the action to the subject. Your pretty peasants would be ill suited for picking up wood, for gleaning in the fields of August, for drawing water from a well. Beauty is expression.”
In spite of the fact that he could barely earn a living in Paris, Millet remained there many years. ”

“ How very real to us the artist has made it! We seem to be in the big garret ourselves, looking first toward the small boy at the quaint old instrument and then at those who have discovered him. The harpsichord looks something like our grand piano, and was used for many years before the piano was invented. There sits Handel in his night clothes and cap, looking pathetically first at his father, then at his mother, while his sensitive face twitches with anxiety. ”

“ 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. ”

“ We should judge by the shadows that it is late in the afternoon and all are hurrying to finish their task. Our attention is held by the three stooping figures of the women gleaning or gathering the wheat. They have caught up the corners of their aprons and tied them in a tight knot at the back, making a sort of bag in which to place the broken heads of wheat, while their hands are filled with the stalks. ”

“ With so many other laborers in the field, and considering their task, we scarcely dare think of the miserably small pay they must receive for their labor. We wonder how they can live. And yet they have a certain wholesome, thrifty appearance—their clothes, although coarse, are not ragged; they look well and strong, and they work with an energy which would imply a certain satisfaction in their task well done. ”

“ Yet, although we feel all these things when looking at this picture of work, it is a picture of work done simply and good-naturedly and as if it were only a part of the daily task, a sort of habit of life. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The story of the artist. Jacob Van Ruysdael was born at Haarlem, Holland, in 1628. Although he was one of the greatest of the Dutch landscape painters, very little is known of his life. When he was only twelve years old he painted a picture in which he showed so much talent that his father consented to his giving up the study of medicine, for which he had been preparing. Ruysdael’s elder brother was probably his first teacher in painting. Later he went to Amsterdam to study, but his great desire was to be out in the country, where he could be alone with nature. ”

“ People at that time were not interested in an ordinary landscape such as they saw every day. They thought Ruysdael was wasting his time painting such common things. Other artists painted pictures of people and of interesting events, real or imaginary, in brilliant colors and style. Ruysdael painted pictures in which the landscape and not the people was the center of interest. He was one of the very first artists with enough appreciation for the beauty of nature to use it as the subject for his paintings. ”

“ The man you see on horseback, in the distance at the right, is the overseer of this field. His sharp eyes have discovered that many stalks of wheat have been left on the ground, and so he has sent the women to gather them that there may be no waste.
In the background of the picture we see other women at the same task, and men busily piling the wheat from the wagon into high stacks. Farther back, and partly hidden behind the wheat stacks, we see several cottages which may be the homes of the peasants or barns in which to store the grain. ”

“ What kind of a place was Holland when Caesar first entered it? What did the people do? How did they happen to build the first dike? What is the longest dike called? What would happen if the dike should give way? From what sea does it protect the people? How has the sea proved their friend? at what expense to them? Of what use are the windmills? How do they build houses in Holland? Why are the cellars full of water? Why are the houses damp? Which room is usually in the front of the house? How is the windmill in this picture built? What makes you think a storm is approaching? ”

“ But the coarse clothes, bent backs, and hands roughened with toil represent the typical French peasant women of the artist’s time.
Millet tells us in a letter to a friend: “I want the people I represent to look as if they belonged to their station, and as if their imaginations could not conceive of their ever being anything else.” How truly he has accomplished this in our picture! The women seem to be working cheerfully without complaint or regret. They do not ask for sympathy but attend strictly to their work. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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?
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. ”