THE FATES

o young girl in history has had such a wonderful story as Joan of Arc. She began to hear voices and see visions when she was a little child. She was born in the tiny village of Domremy, France. Just like the other little peasant girls around her she helped her mother about the house and at the spinning. Also she went into the fields with her brothers.

One day when she was in the garden the Archangel St. Michael came to her in a glory of light. He said she was a good little girl and that she must go to church and that some day she was to do a great act; she was to crown the dauphin as king of France at Rheims. Joan was afraid and cried at what the angel told her, but St. Michael said, "God will help you."

These messages kept coming to her until, when she was sixteen, the voices insisted, "You must help the king, and save France."

France was in a terrible state at this time, 1428. The English held most of France. The French king, Charles VI, became insane and died. The son, Dauphin Charles, was weak and lazy and discouraged; he had no money, no army, no energy, and like most cowards, ran from his duty and wasted his time in wickedness.

Joan was still urged by voices to save France. At last a peasant uncle went with her to a man in power to ask for troops. The man was angry, and said sharply:

"The girl is crazy! Box her ears and take her back to her father." But Joan did not give up. She insisted that some one must take her to Dauphin Charles, that God willed it. She said:

"I will go if I have to wear my legs down to my knees." She went, and she saved France by crowning the dauphin as Charles VII at Rheims. But the French and the English people condemned Joan of Arc as a witch and burned her at the stake. Too late they cried:

"We are lost! We have burned a saint!"

Fig. 11. Joan of Arc. Bastien-Lepage. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York CityFig. 11. Joan of Arc. Bastien-Lepage. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

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hen a new baby comes to a home, legend says, three beautiful young girls come to take care of the baby all through its life, but no one ever sees these young girls. Each one has a strange work to do. One, called Clotho, carries a spindle on which is wound flax. The second, named Lachesis, twists a thread from the spindle, called the thread of life. And Atropos, the third, has a pair of shears ready to cut the thread of life.

A funny story is told about Michael Angelo when he designed this picture of "The Fates." An old woman annoyed the artist very much by coming every day to see him. She insisted that he should appoint her son a special place in the fighting line in the seige of Florence (1529). Michael Angelo took revenge on the old woman by using her as a model for all of the women in his "Fates." And that is why Michael Angelo's fates are old women instead of young girls, as legend says they are.

Fig. 12. The Fates. Michael Angelo. Pitti Palace, FlorenceCourtesy of Pratt InstituteFig. 12. The Fates. Michael Angelo. Pitti Palace, Florence

e like to believe that Raphael, in one of his daily walks in the country, really did see this mother and her two little boys sitting in a doorway. Of course he must paint them, and having no paper with him he rolled up a barrel and made a sketch on the head of it. The story says that this barrel was once a part of a great oak-tree that stood by the hut of an old man, a hermit up in the mountains. And the mother of the two boys, when a little girl, used to go to see the old man. He loved these two—the little girl and the big oak-tree—and called them his daughters.

He used to say that some day they would both be famous. That was more than four hundred years ago, and to-day this picture of "The Madonna of the Chair" is one of the most famous Madonna pictures. It is found in almost every home in America and is a treasure that belongs to all of us though it hangs in a gallery at Florence, Italy.

We know, too, that Raphael did not let any of his helpers work on "The Madonna of the Chair"—in Italian, "Madonna della Sedia." He painted every brush stroke himself, which makes it still more dear to us.

Fig. 13. Madonna of the Chair. Raphael. Pitti Palace, FlorenceCourtesy of Pratt InstituteFig. 13. Madonna of the Chair. Raphael. Pitti Palace, Florence

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he stables of Peter Paul Rubens were known the country over. No prince in the land had more magnificent horses, and no cavalier could ride with more grace and ease than Rubens.

When Van Dyck, the artist who painted "Baby Stuart," was ready to leave the studio of Rubens to travel in Italy, the master gave him a beautiful horse from his own stables. Van Dyck probably used this horse as a model in his picture of "Charles I and his Horse."

Now look at Rubens on the splendid dappled white horse in "The Fox and Wolf Hunt." His first wife, Isabel Brant, is on his right hand. She carries her falcon balanced on her wrist, his wings spread out in excitement. We feel that Rubens and his horse together are directing every movement in the hunt. That horse has all the alertness of the trained dogs and is just as eager in overcoming brute force as men are. In fact we are so fascinated with his beauty and intelligence that the cruel sport is almost forgotten in our interest in him and his master.

Rubens painted a number of hunting scenes, and always he manages the hunt with the skill of a master. The confusion of the rough-and-tumble fight between the wild beasts and the horses, dogs, and men in Rubens' pictures seems to untangle itself under his glorious color and skilful arrangement. This is a picture you must see. When you go to New York City never fail to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Fig. 14. Wolf and Fox Hunt. Rubens. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York CityFig. 14. Wolf and Fox Hunt. Rubens. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

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ne time, more than two hundred and fifty years ago, two little children living in Amsterdam were playing at the edge of the city just at evening. Soon they overheard some Spanish soldiers near-by talking together. They began to understand that the men were making some kind of plans and, listening very sharply, they found that the Spaniards intended to attack the city of Amsterdam that night. The Spaniards were fighting the Netherlands at that time. You can imagine how frightened the children were. They knew that they must tell some one about it at once. Very quietly they crept away from where the men were, then ran for their lives to the town hall. The Civic Guard were having a banquet there. Rembrandt has painted the scene just as the little girl, in the center of the group, has finished her story. The men are making ready to meet the attack. Some have on their armor, some are polishing their guns, some have their drums, and all are full of excitement.

When the painting was to be put in the new Ryks Museum, in Amsterdam, it was found that the wall was too narrow for the picture. What do you think the authorities did? The stupid men cut a piece off from each side of the picture to fit it in its new place. Was ever anything so silly? Even those pieces cut off would bring more money to-day than the museum itself cost.

The men who had money at the time Rembrandt painted the picture were angry because the artist would not make portraits as they wanted them. They ignored Rembrandt, and he became very poor and died unknown. To-day those rich men are forgotten and Rembrandt is known the world over.

Fig. 15. The Night Watch. Rembrandt. Ryks Museum, AmsterdamFig. 15. The Night Watch. Rembrandt. Ryks Museum, Amsterdam

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itian lived to be ninety-nine-years old and still painted pictures. He was working on a painting when an awful plague broke out in Venice, and he took it and died. Titian painted such wonderful pictures that kings came to see them and rich noblemen paid big sums of money to own them. Sometimes King Charles V would ride with Titian and would have his courtiers pay tribute to Titian and wait on him. This made those haughty men very jealous and very angry, but Charles V would say, "I have many nobles, but I have only one Titian."

Titian's picture of the "Virgin going to Heaven" the whole world calls one of the greatest pictures ever painted. Some day I hope you will go to Venice, that Queen City of the Sea, and fasten your gondola at the Museum door while you go in to see this picture. You will be so dazzled with its bright color that you will hardly see the little cherubs circling around the blessed mother. But I want you to look at them; they are darlings: then look at the men all reaching up and the Father in the sky looking down. The story of the picture is about Mary, the mother of Jesus, going to heaven.

Fig. 16. The Assumption. Titian. Academy, VeniceFig. 16. The Assumption. Titian. Academy, Venice

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hen the Spanish artist Murillo was a young painter he was very poor and hardly knew where to get enough to eat. He would go to the market-place and set up his easel and rapidly paint the scenes around him. The people who came to the market to buy and sell saw these pictures and bought them for a mere pittance.

Often beggar boys, who were everywhere in the market snatching fruits and other eatables from the stalls, would pose for him as they hid in some corner to eat their stolen dainties. These beggar-boy pictures that Murillo sold for a song to keep his soul and body together began to attract attention until finally they were looked upon as the greatest pictures Murillo ever painted. People outside of Spain, Murillo's native country, bought them until to-day scarcely a beggar-boy picture of his is found in Spain.

This picture of "The Melon Eaters" is known far and wide as a great masterpiece, and yet the boys were little rag-a-muffins, the pests of the market people. Murillo knew the joys and sorrows of those boys because he too at that time was very poor and hungry and no one was giving him a helping hand. Do you suppose that when he was famous as a painter he ever saw those boys? I think so, for he was greatly beloved by his townspeople of Seville. They probably came to his studio many times. Murillo painted many religious pictures for the churches of Seville.

Fig. 17. The Melon Eaters. Murillo. Pinakothek, MunichCourtesy of Pratt InstituteFig. 17. The Melon Eaters. Murillo. Pinakothek, Munich

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am sure you have heard of the Muses. Romano, a pupil of Raphael's, has left us this beautiful picture of them dancing with Apollo, their cousin. The Muses were the daughters of Zeus (Jove or Jupiter), and Memory. These lovely girls also come to every home to help care for the new baby.

The Greek names of the Muses are rather hard to pronounce, but you will want to call them by name. Then, too, each girl's name in Greek letters is just below where she dances. Now begin at the left of the circle. The first one, Calliope, stands for narrative poetry; No. 2, Clio, is history; No. 3, Erato, is love-poetry; No. 4, Melpomene, is tragedy; No. 5, Terpsichore, is dance and song. Now comes Apollo with his quiver full of arrows. He is the god of the hunt and twin brother to Diana, the goddess of hunt; also he is god of music and poetry. No. 6 is Polyhymnia, muse of hymn-music; No. 7, Euterpe, is song poetry; No. 8, Thalia, is comedy, and No. 9, Urania, muse of astronomy.

Athene gave the Muses the winged horse, Pegasus. But alack and alas! one of the poets became very poor and sold Pegasus to a farmer. He was fastened to the plow, but he could not plow through the hard earth. His spirit was broken and his body was weak. The angry farmer tried to make him work, but how could he when he had no courage? But just then a beautiful youth came and asked the farmer to let him try the horse. Of course the man was glad to have any one help get the plowing done. The young man petted the horse and slyly unfastened the harness as he patted him. He mounted upon his back and Pegasus rose in the air, and away they both went, Pegasus and Mercury. The farmer looked on with amazement. How could a good-for-nothing horse that could not plow do such a wonderful thing as fly?

Fig. 18. The Muses. Romano. Pitti Palace, FlorenceCourtesy of Pratt InstituteFig. 18. The Muses. Romano. Pitti Palace, Florence

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early two thousand years ago two men were walking together along a dusty road in Palestine. They talked earnestly as they walked along of a great event that had happened. A man called Jesus, the Christ, had been crucified and buried, but after three days he was not found in the tomb. As the men talked, a traveler joined them and asked:

"What is it ye talk about and are sad?"

And the men asked if he were a stranger in Jerusalem and did not know the things that had come to pass.

The stranger said, "What things?"

Then the men told him of Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. And they said that they had all hoped He was the mighty one who was to save the world but that He had been killed.

Then the stranger, who was Jesus himself, but the men did not know Him, began to tell them the story of all things about himself. Still they did not know Him, and as they came to the village of Emmaus and the stranger made as though He would have gone further, the men said, "Come, abide with us."

This picture, showing the men inviting the stranger, was painted by Fra Angelico for the Dominican monastery in Florence, Italy. You will find it over the entrance of San Marco, where it welcomes every stranger who comes.

Fra Angelico was so kind and gentle and helpful that his companions called him "Angel Brother"; in Italian, "Fra Angelico."

Fig. 19. "Come, Abide with Us." Fra Angelico. San Marco, FlorenceCourtesy of Pratt InstituteFig. 19. "Come, Abide with Us." Fra Angelico. San Marco, Florence

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embrandt has taken the story of the two men and the stranger on their way to Emmaus after they have gone into the house. You see the disciples still did not know that the stranger was Jesus, the Christ. But when He sat at meat with them, He took bread and blessed it and brake and gave to them. Then they knew that it was the Savior who was talking with them and sitting at the table with them. Rembrandt shows the wondering men as they begin to recognize who their guest is, and he makes us feel the warmth and gladness that fill their hearts when they know that it is the risen Lord. The boy, too, lingers at the Savior's side as though to hear the meaning of the scene. But as they look, Jesus disappears out of their sight. When He is gone they say to each other:

"Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?"

Rembrandt painted this picture after many sorrows had come to him. His beloved Saskia, the mother of the "golden lad," Titus, was dead; friends had deserted him and his patrons were gone. But the love of people still filled the heart of the great painter.

Fig. 20. The Supper at Emmaus. Rembrandt. Louvre, ParisFig. 20. The Supper at Emmaus. Rembrandt. Louvre, Paris

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he little boy standing between his brother and sister in this picture is Baby Stuart, the same child that is in the picture of "Baby Stuart" that you know so well. When Baby Stuart grew up he was crowned James II, king of England (1685). His brother was Charles II, king of England, and his sister was the mother of William III, king of England. James II, Baby Stuart, had a daughter, Mary, who became Mary, queen of England. When these cousins, William and Mary, grew up they were married and crowned king and queen of England in 1689.

A funny story is told of the crowning ceremony. William was very short and Mary was quite tall. It would not do to have Mary taller than her husband, so a stool was brought for William to stand on. Now they are the same height as they are crowned King William III and Queen Mary II of England. When William and Mary ruled England the country was happy and prosperous because love reigned in the royal household.

I have seen the stool that William stood on when he was crowned William III of England. It is in Westminster Abbey, London. That is another interesting bit of historic setting that you will see when you go to visit England.

Sir Anthony Van Dyck, the Flemish artist, painted many pictures of the royal families of England, especially the family of Charles I. He put little dogs into his pictures so often that the people began to call these little fellows "King Charles spaniels." To-day, two hundred years after, they are still called King Charles spaniels.

Fig. 21. Children of Charles I. Van Dyck. Dresden GalleryCourtesy of Pratt InstituteFig. 21. Children of Charles I. Van Dyck. Dresden Gallery

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ieter de Hooch is a Dutch artist you are going to love. Usually you can tell his pictures by the checked or plaid floors. The floors in the homes in Holland are mostly made of squares of black and white marble. Did you ever see a cuter little girl than this one in the picture? She has come for her pitcher of milk. Her mother went to the "buttery" for it: a buttery is a place for keeping casks and barrels and bottles. We can see one end of the cask or barrel under the window in the buttery. Now look into the next room and see the chair on a little platform. That platform is quite common in the Dutch home and is probably the place where mother or grandmother sits to read or sew by the window. What a beautiful day it must be out of doors to make the rooms so cheerful and bright! Hooch loved the sunshine and used it to brighten every home he painted. The sunshine on the checked floors makes his pictures sing with joy and happiness.

We can find very little about the life of the "Dutch little masters," yet the pictures they have left us are among our greatest treasures: just little home scenes that you and I know about.

It is said that de Hooch often put in his people after he had finished painting his picture. In one picture he has added a girl near a fireplace to make the picture more balanced. We know that she was added after the picture was made, for we can see the plaid floor through her dress where the paint was too thin to cover the original floor. Such little things tell us something of the method of work of the Dutch painters.

Fig. 22. The Buttery. De Hooch. Ryks Museum, AmsterdamCourtesy of Pratt InstituteFig. 22. The Buttery. De Hooch. Ryks Museum, Amsterdam

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he children who are holding the book and ink-bottle in this picture, "The Coronation of the Virgin," lived four hundred years ago. Their names are Giovanni and Giulio de' Medici. Botticelli, the artist, knew them well for he was born and brought up in Florence and used to spend a great deal of time at the Medici Palace.

The boys were cousins. Giulio, the younger, was left an orphan when a wee child and his uncle, Lorenzo the Magnificent, adopted him and had him brought up with his own son Giovanni. The boys were nearly the same age and grew up to be great and good men. Both of them were popes of Rome. The older boy, Giovanni, was Pope Leo X and Giulio Pope Clement VII.

Now look at the picture again. The Madonna is reading to her little son, Jesus, "The Magnificat," that beautiful song from Luke, Chap. I, v. 46-56, sung so often in our churches. Let us repeat the song together:

My soul doth magnify the Lord,And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.For He hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:For, behold, from henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed.For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is His name.And His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generationHe hath shewed strength with his arm;He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.He hath put down the mighty from their seats,And exalted them of low degree.He hath filled the hungry with good things;And the rich he hath sent empty away.He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;As He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

Fig. 23. Coronation of the Virgin. Botticelli. Uffizi Palace. FlorenceCourtesy of Pratt InstituteFig. 23. Coronation of the Virgin. Botticelli. Uffizi Palace. Florence

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ou see these wolves were once the old women gossips of the town, the story says; and when these women were unkind in what they said about people the Fates—I have told you another story about the Fates—the Fates to punish them turned them into wolves. The Wolf Charmer, who really is the old gypsy who killed the black cat of the village witch, goes out into the night. The owl calls the wolves to attack the gypsy. But the gypsy knew the old women before they were turned into wolves so he calls them by name: "Kate, Anne, and Bee!" And soon they follow him down the narrow path between the rocks and listen to his music on the bagpipes. "A funny story!" you say. You know there are people who have a strange power over wild animals.

John La Farge said about this picture, "I made it to be one of a series of some hundred subjects, more or less fantastic and imaginary." He never finished the pictures nor carried out his plan of making these books for children. I am giving you "The Wolf Charmer" because he painted the picture for you. Mr. La Farge named this picture as the one he liked best of his paintings.

Fig. 24. The Wolf Charmer. La Farge. Courtesy of the City Art Museum, St. LouisCourtesy of John La FargeFig. 24. The Wolf Charmer. La Farge. Courtesy of the City Art Museum, St. Louis

o artist in all history had a sadder life than Rembrandt. It was sad because the people of Amsterdam were stupid and too blind to know that a great man was living among them. Rembrandt could paint wonderful portraits, and the rich people wanted their portraits painted. At first all went well. The rich flocked to his studio and Rembrandt made marvelous likenesses. Then the guilds of the great commercial houses wanted pictures for their halls. They came to Rembrandt for these pictures, but thinking that their money had bought the great artist body and soul, they began to tell him how he should make the pictures that each one might have equal prominence in it. Naturally Rembrandt would not be bought off with money. His art was bigger than gold. The picture that was really the turning point in his life was "The Night Watch." I wish you would look at the picture again. You see the men away back in the picture were jealous that they were not put in the front row. All they cared for was to have a fine portrait of themselves and Rembrandt was only interested in making a great picture.

Rembrandt went on painting but no one bought his pictures. Many sorrows came to him. It was when the world had forsaken him that he painted "The Old Woman Cutting her Nails." Now you can understand why Rembrandt could paint an old woman with human sympathy. We could love that old woman because the unkindness of the world made her more tender and true to suffering humanity. She is the old grandmother we would go to if we were in trouble.

Fig. 25. The Old Woman Cutting Her Nails. Rembrandt. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York CityFig. 25. The Old Woman Cutting Her Nails. Rembrandt. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

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his old woman is spinning flax. Have you ever seen a flax wheel? When you go to Holland try to visit Dordrecht, and if possible, go into a real Dutch home. There you may see some one, the grandmother maybe, spinning flax; then you will know that this picture is an actual scene.

Nicolaes Maes, who painted the picture, was born in Dordrecht or Dort. This city is said to be the oldest city in the Netherlands; it was founded in the tenth century. An old woman spinning was a familiar scene to Maes. Now look at this spinner closely. She will not mind, for she is too intent on picking up a thread, possibly a broken or a knotted one. Maes saw a picture in the old woman's dull red dress and bright red sleeves. He liked the brown wheel and the yellow floor and the beautiful bit of blue cloth thrown over the wheel-base. Then he saw how beautifully the white kerchief and apron and wall caught the light. He saw the helpfulness of the rugged old hand, worn and scarred as it was, yet patient and firm in repairing a mistake.

Maes's "The Spinner" and Rembrandt's "The Old Woman Cutting her Nails" make the tasks of every-day life very human. We in America owe much to these old Dutch women and to the artists who have made them live for us.

This picture of "The Spinner" is only sixteen and one fourth inches high and thirteen inches wide, yet that old woman at her spinning-wheel is as much a real person in the room where she hangs on the wall as she was when Maes painted her, nearly three hundred years ago. I want you to love these little Dutch pictures; they are so honest and true and tell us about real people and real things, and they make us feel that beauty is everywhere. Now look at your grandmother as she mends your stockings and see how beautiful she is with the light on her dear old face and hair.

Fig. 26. The Spinner. Maes. Ryks Museum, AmsterdamFig. 26. The Spinner. Maes. Ryks Museum, Amsterdam

t. George, a noble youth of Cappadocia, was one of the oldest and most noted of the saints. The story always told of him is his killing the dragon. Once upon a time St. George was going through Palestine on horseback when he came to the City of Beirut. There he found a beautiful young girl in royal dress weeping outside the walls of the city. When he asked her why she was crying, she told him that a terrible dragon lived in the marshes near the city. And to keep him from destroying every one in the city, each day two young girls must be fed to him. These young girls were chosen by lot, and this day she, Cleodolinda, the king's daughter, must be eaten by the dragon.

St. George told her not to be afraid for he would destroy the dragon. But she cried:

"O noble youth, tarry not here, lest thou perish with me! but fly, I beseech thee!" St. George answered:

"God forbid that I should fly! I will lift my hand against the loathly thing, and will deliver thee through the power of Jesus Christ!"

Then St. George, rushed at the dragon and thrust his spear into his mouth and conquered him. He then took the young girl's mantle and bound the beast, and she led him into the city to her father. That day twenty thousand people of the city were baptized.

As time went on the name of St. George became very great. From the time that Richard I—the Lion-Hearted—placed his army under the protection of St. George the saint became the patron saint of England. In 1330 the order of the Garter, the highest order of knighthood in Great Britain, was founded and on its emblem is a picture of St. George and the dragon.

Carpaccio, a Venetian artist, painted this picture of "St. George and the Dragon." He painted many other stories of saints.

Fig. 27. St. George and the Dragon. Carpaccio. Church of San Giorgio degli Schiavoni, VeniceFig. 27. St. George and the Dragon. Carpaccio. Church of San Giorgio degli Schiavoni, Venice

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enice is a very curious city. It is really built on stilts on top of the water. Its streets are canals. Instead of having street-cars and horses and taxicabs everybody goes in long boats called gondolas. The main street in the city is the Grand Canal, and in this canal come all sorts of people with all sorts of water-crafts.

The children play in the side streets just as you do except that they swim in the water instead of running on the ground. Even the babies are in the water fastened to the door-steps by a rope around their little bodies. How they do coo and gurgle as they paddle their little hands and feet like young frogs!

Turner shows in this picture the Grand Canal filled with ships from other countries with gaily colored flags fluttering in the breeze. Do you see the tower at the left in the picture? That is the Campanile, the bell-tower. This wonderful tower fell down flat in 1902. I talked with a man who has a store just opposite the tower, a few weeks after it fell. He said to me: "I thought it would fall on my store and destroy everything. It began to tip; then all at once it fell flat just where it stood." The Venetians soon built it up again.

When Napoleon, the great French emperor, took Venice, he rode up the inclined plane of this tower on his horse and stood on the very top overlooking the sea.

Fig. 28. The Grand Canal. Turner. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York CityFig. 28. The Grand Canal. Turner. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

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Up with me! up with me into the clouds!For thy song, Lark, is strong;Up with me, up with me into the clouds!Singing, singing,With clouds and sky above thee ringing,Lift me, guide me till I findThat spot which seems so to thy mind!

Wordsworth

an you not almost hear this girl singing? The sun is just coming up. The lark is rising in the sky, singing! The girl has come out to work in the fields; a peasant girl. Barefooted, barehanded, she stands straight like a soldier of work with her head lifted to drink in the morning air as she sings.

One morning early I was driving through the country roads in the south of England when larks began to rise from the fields where the workmen were, just like this lark from the French field, and how they did sing! I stopped and listened, watching them go up higher and higher, their song growing fainter and fainter, and then they disappeared. Where did they go? Let us ask this French peasant girl. Do you think that she can tell us? If she cannot, who can?

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