Title: Stories Pictures Tell, Book 3
Author: Carpenter, Flora L. (Flora Leona)
Language: English
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                         STORIES PICTURES TELL



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                                STORIES
                             PICTURES TELL

                               BOOK THREE



                                  _By_

                           FLORA L. CARPENTER

       _Instructor in drawing in Waite High School, Toledo, Ohio
         Formerly supervisor of drawing, Bloomington, Illinois_


                   _Illustrated with Half Tones from


                        RAND M^cNALLY & COMPANY
                          CHICAGO     NEW YORK


------------------------------------------------------------------------



                         _Copyright, 1918, by_
                        RAND M^CNALLY & COMPANY
                          All rights reserved
                            Edition of 1926

[Illustration:

  Made in U.S.A.
]



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                              THE CONTENTS


SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER

                                                          PAGE

          “A Member of the Royal Humane    _Landseer_        1
            Society”

          “Primary School in Brittany”     _Geoffroy_       12


NOVEMBER, DECEMBER, AND JANUARY

          “Woman Churning”                  _Millet_        20
          “The Broken Pitcher”              _Greuze_        30


FEBRUARY AND MARCH

          “Madame Lebrun and Her          _Mme Lebrun_      36
            Daughter”

          “An Old Monarch”               _Rosa Bonheur_     44


APRIL, MAY, AND JUNE

          “Penelope Boothby” or “The Mob   _Reynolds_       56
            Cap”

          Review of Pictures and Artists
            Studied


          _The Suggestions to Teachers_                    66


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                              THE PREFACE


Art supervisors in the public schools assign picture-study work in each
grade, recommending the study of certain pictures by well-known masters.
As Supervisor of Drawing I found that the children enjoyed this work but
that the teachers felt incompetent to conduct the lessons as they lacked
time to look up the subject and to gather adequate material. Recourse to
a great many books was necessary and often while much information would
usually be found about the artist, very little was available about his
pictures.

Hence I began collecting information about the pictures and preparing
the lessons for the teachers just as I would give them myself to pupils
of their grade.

My plan does not include many pictures during the year, as this is to be
only a part of the art work and is not intended to take the place of
drawing.

The lessons in this grade may be used for the usual drawing period of
from twenty to thirty minutes, and have been successfully given in that
time. However, the most satisfactory way of using the books is as
supplementary readers, thus permitting each child to study the pictures
and read the stories himself.

                                                      FLORA L. CARPENTER


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                                STORIES
                             PICTURES TELL

[Illustration]

                  A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL HUMANE SOCIETY


=Questions to arouse interest.= Where is this dog? Why do you think so?
Does he seem to be looking across the water, or toward the land? What
kind of dog is he? How do you know he is lying in the sunshine? What
does the length of the shadows tell us about the time of day? What could
this dog do if there should be a severe storm on the water? Can you see
anything in the picture that makes you think there may be a storm
coming? Where do the sea gulls go before a storm? Why would you not be
afraid of this dog? What do you suppose the iron ring is used for? Do
you like this picture? why?


    =Original Picture=: National Gallery of British Art, London,
       England.
    =Artist=: Sir Edwin Landseer (lănd´sēr).
    =Birthplace=: London, England.
    =Dates=: Born, 1802; died, 1873.

=The story of the picture.= One day when the artist, Sir Edwin Landseer,
was visiting in the fine home of his friend, Mr. Newman Smith, a great
Newfoundland dog came into the room carrying a basket of flowers in his
mouth. Sir Edwin Landseer thought he had never seen so large and fine a
dog, and when the dog came up to him and offered him the basket of
flowers, as his owner told him to do, he was delighted. Being very fond
of animals, Landseer always thought of painting them, so he suggested
that he paint a picture of this dog. Mr. Newman Smith must have been
surprised, for every one knew Sir Edwin Landseer had so many animals to
paint that he kept a long waiting list, and it was usually many weeks
before he could commence a picture. But the artist could not forget the
kind, intelligent eyes of this handsome, trusty, powerful dog, and in a
few days he sent for him. So Paul Pry—for that was the dog’s name,—was
taken to Sir Edwin Landseer’s studio.

The way to the artist’s house led through a beautiful park, called
Regent’s Park, and then along the road called “St. John’s Wood Road.”
The house was small but behind it was the garden, and at the end of the
garden was what had once been an old barn. This barn had been made over
until, with its many windows and fine view of the country all round, it
had become an ideal place for a studio.

Paul Pry remembered Landseer at once, as anyone could see by the way he
went up to him, wagging his tail and offering his paw. He did exactly as
he was told, and seemed to understand perfectly everything that was
said. 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.

Sir Edwin Landseer painted a picture of another dog that looked enough
like this one to 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.

Sir Edwin called Paul Pry and told him to jump up on a big table where
he could see him better. Then as he painted, he seemed to see the dog
lying on the edge of a pier or wharf, waiting to go to the rescue if
some one should need him.

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. We can be
sure of this by watching our own shadows as we go home from school. The
few sea gulls circling near the shore call our 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. His ears,
slightly lifted, show us that he is attentive and watching.

It must be a quiet, warm day or Paul Pry would not look so comfortable
lying on such an exposed end of the pier. Perhaps the air is sultry, as
it often is before a storm, for the dog’s tongue hangs out and you can
almost hear him pant.

This brave old dog, so ready and willing to risk his life to save other
lives, might have been called “A Distinguished Member of the Life-Saving
Crew,” but Sir Edwin Landseer knew his dog would be as brave on land as
on the sea, so he used the name “Royal Humane Society,” which may
include both.

When the painting was finished it was placed on exhibition and hundreds
of people came to see it. The owner of the dog, Mr. Newman Smith, was
very proud indeed.


=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= Where did Sir
Edwin Landseer first see this dog? What did the dog do that pleased the
artist very much? Who suggested that he paint this picture? why? Why was
Mr. Smith surprised? What was the dog’s name? Where did Paul Pry go to
have his picture painted? 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. The
drawings will probably not be worth much in themselves, but the practice
will make the children more observant, and will tend to make their later
drawings better.


=The story of the artist.= Sir Edwin Landseer learned how to draw from
his father, and when he was but five years old he could draw remarkably
well. Edwin had three sisters and two brothers who liked to draw, too.
The family lived out in the country and nearly every day at breakfast
the father would ask his boys, “What shall we draw to-day?” They would
take turns in choosing, and sometimes they would vote on it. Then out
across the fields the father and his boys would tramp until they came to
where the donkeys, sheep, goats, and cows were grazing. Each would
choose the subject he wished to draw, and the four would sit down on the
grass and begin to sketch. Edwin’s first choice was a cow and his father
helped him draw it. After this Edwin came to these fields every day and
his father called them “Edwin’s studio.”

At this time Edwin had three dogs of his own which he called Brutus,
Vixen, and Boxer. They were always with him and were so intelligent that
they seemed almost able to speak. In the back yard the children had
several pens for pet rabbits and they kept pigeons in the attic of their
house. Once Mr. Landseer decided to move. He selected a house, and
thought all was settled, when he discovered that the landlord would not
rent the house to him because he kept so many dogs and other pets.

When Edwin was only thirteen years old two of his pictures were
exhibited at the Royal Academy. One was a painting of a mule and the
other was of a dog and puppies.

Edwin painted always from real life, not caring to make copies from the
work of others. All the sketches he made when he was a little boy were
kept very carefully by the father, and now if you go to England you may
see them in South Kensington Museum in London.

We read of how the father and his sons made many visits to the
Zoölogical Gardens, where they could watch and make sketches of lions,
bears, and other wild animals. One day they saw a strange sight in one
of the store windows in London—it was a Newfoundland dog caring for a
lion. The lion had been caught in Africa when it was very little, and
had been cared for by this great Newfoundland dog. They had never been
separated, and now, although the lion was much larger than the dog, they
were still the best of friends. Sometimes the dog would punish the lion
if it did not behave, and the great beast would whimper just as though
it could not help itself. All three boys made many sketches of this
strange pair, and could hardly be persuaded to leave the window.

Edwin, we are told, was a bright, gentle little boy with blue eyes and
light curly hair. When he was fourteen years old he became a pupil at
the Royal Academy. The keeper there was an old man. He grew very fond of
Edwin. He would look all around and if he could not find him, would say,
“Where is my curly-headed dog boy?”

He was only sixteen years old when he exhibited his wonderful picture
called “Fighting Dogs Getting Wind.” A very rich man whose praise meant
a great deal at that time bought this picture, and Edwin’s success was
assured.

It was about this time, too, that he painted an old white horse in the
stable of another wealthy man. After the picture was finished and ready
to be delivered, it suddenly disappeared. Search was made for it
everywhere but it was not found until twenty-four years afterwards. A
servant had stolen it and hidden it in a hayloft. He was afraid to sell
it, or even to keep it in his home, for every one would have recognized
the great artist’s work.

It was Sir Edwin Landseer’s opinion that animals understand, feel, and
reason just like people, and so he painted them as happy, sad, gay,
dignified, frivolous, rich, poor, and in all ways just like human
beings. This appealed to the people very much and he became very popular
indeed. Every one knew of Landseer and each wanted a certain one of his
pictures of dogs because the dog in it looked so much like a dog they
knew.

For many years Sir Edwin Landseer lived and painted in his father’s
house in a poor little room without even a carpet. The only furniture,
we are told, consisted of three cheap chairs and an easel. But as his
fame grew he had more orders than he could fill, and before long he was
able to move into a fine studio near Regent’s Park. It was here that he
painted the famous picture of Paul Pry. He was not a very good business
man and he left all his affairs to his father, who sold his pictures for
him and kept his accounts.

This story is told of Sir Edwin Landseer. At an evening party, at which
Landseer was present, some one made the remark that no one had ever been
found who could draw two things at the same time. Landseer quickly
replied, “Oh, I can do that; lend me two pencils and I will show you.”
In a very few minutes he drew with one hand the head of a horse, at the
same time drawing a deer’s head with the other. Both were so good that
they might well have been drawn one at a time and with much more effort.

Although Landseer painted so many wild animals, birds, and hunting
scenes, he did not care to hunt or shoot. His pencil was his weapon.
Sometimes he would hire a guide to take him into the wildest places in
search of game. To the great surprise of his guide, instead of shooting
when a great deer came bounding toward him, he would quickly make a
drawing of it in his sketch book. A beautiful live deer was much more
interesting to him than a dead one. He said, “To shoot a bird is to lose
it.”

Edwin’s brother Thomas made engravings of nearly all of Edwin’s
paintings, and so although we cannot afford to buy one of the paintings,
we can easily have one of the prints from the engravings.

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”? Tell about the pets these children had. Where did they keep
them? Why did the owner refuse to rent Mr. Landseer a house? When Edwin
was thirteen years old, which of his pictures were exhibited? What
became of the sketches he made when he was a boy? Tell about the
Newfoundland dog and the lion. What did the keeper at the Royal Academy
call Edwin? What did Sir Edwin Landseer think animals could do that made
them seem like people? Tell about the picture of the old white horse.
Tell how Sir Edwin Landseer went hunting. Why did he not shoot? Tell
about the drawings he made with both hands. How did people like Sir
Edwin Landseer and his paintings?


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration]



                       PRIMARY SCHOOL IN BRITTANY


=Questions to arouse interest.= Where are these children? Why do you
think so? What are they doing? How do their clothes and shoes differ
from ours? How many classes are there? What is the teacher doing? How is
she dressed? Why do you think the little girl leaning against the
teacher is just learning to read? What makes you think she has come to a
word she does not know? Which child looks as if she knew? Which little
girl is looking out of the window? What are the two little children
sitting next to the teacher doing?

Why are they not in class? How are they dressed? Why do they not wear
bonnets like the older girls? What are the children at the desks doing?
Which one in class is not listening? How many windows can you see? What
makes you think there must be other windows? What can you see on the
walls?

    =Artist=: Jean Geoffroy (zh[o˔]´frwā´).
    =Birthplace=: Marennes, France.
    =Dates=: Born, 1853; still living, 1918.

=The story of the picture.= 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.

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. Many 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. Narrow little bridges cross the streams which dash
over the rocks on their way to the ocean. Then there are the great
forests of oak trees where, long ago, the Druid priests used to live and
hold their mysterious meetings, and about whose magic all kinds of weird
tales are told.

But this was all so long ago that no doubt the children think now only
of the beautiful fairies who live in the oak trees and go about doing
good. 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.

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 each word as
she pronounces it. She seems to have come to a word she does not know.
How do you think she will learn it? Will she sound it, or spell it and
let some one in the class tell her, or will the teacher tell her? The
little girl at this end holding her apron so tightly wants to tell
her—at least she looks as if she knew, and so does the little girl
looking at the book over the child’s shoulder. But the girl looking out
of the window does not seem to be thinking of her school work and we
fear she will not know her lesson.

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.

The two little children sitting beside the teacher are too young to wear
the queer bonnets the others wear, or to sit on the high benches, but
they are content to be close to the teacher and to listen to the older
children with wonder and admiration. They certainly do not look as if
they were six years old.

What a pleasant face the teacher has! Look at any part of the picture
you wish and your eyes will soon be drawn back to her face as she sits
in the bright light with the group of children about her. This is what
the artist must have intended. It also explains why he left so
indistinct the faces and figures of the pupils at their seats, and made
the maps and charts on the wall so vague. If we were to stand in the
doorway and look at the teacher and her class, we should see the pupils
in their seats only as a blurred mass until we turned to look directly
at them.

Suppose the bell for recess should ring. Then all would be commotion;
but not confusion we are sure, for it is easy to see that the pupils in
this school have been taught to be orderly. We wonder if the two little
ones will be too shy to run and play with the other children. Probably
there is some older sister to look after them.

And what will the children play? They probably do not have toboggan
slides, seesaws, swings, or basket-balls on their playgrounds, but no
doubt they play games like our “Follow the Leader,” “London Bridge,”
“Crack the Whip,” and other games we like to play. It does not seem as
if they could run very fast in such clumsy wooden shoes. If you have
ever tried to 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. But you can tell by looking at this
picture that all is very quiet in the schoolroom.

It will soon be time for the older girls to recite, and then this
beginners’ class can study. Probably there are some smaller benches for
them on the other side of the room. We hope the little girl who is
looking out of the window will work and not bother her neighbor, as that
big girl at the right-hand side of the picture is doing. However, her
neighbor keeps her eyes on her book and pays no attention to her.

We should like to visit this school, and, best of all, we should like to
go with these children on their homeward journey across the narrow
little bridge, up the hill, past the great oak forest, and across the
fields.

=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= How many have ever
visited a country school? a city school? In what ways do they differ?
How are they alike? Which does this picture represent? Why do you think
so? Where is this school? Who lives near it? What does he like to do?
What does he do for the children? How do the children dress in Brittany?
Why do most of them come a long distance to school? Tell about the old
castles; the forests and the Druids. Which class is reciting now? Tell
what each one of the pupils is doing. Tell about the children at the
desks. Why must they study so hard? What do you think they will all do
at recess? What makes you think this is a quiet, orderly schoolroom?
Look at the picture, then close your eyes, and then open them slowly.
Whom do you see first? Whom do you think the artist intended us to see
first? Why did he paint the children in the background so indistinct?

    =To the Teacher:=
         SUBJECTS FOR COMPOSITIONS
    What I See in This Picture.
    A Visit to the Schoolroom.
    Why I Should Like to Go to This School.
    Why I Like Our Own School Best.
    An Imaginary Painting of Our School.

=The story of the artist.= Mr. Jean Geoffroy is still living in this
little village called Marennes, near the school of which he has painted
so many pictures. He is very fond of children, and counts them among his
best friends. A large number of the pictures Geoffroy has painted are of
children. He does not often paint the children of wealth and fashion,
preferring instead to paint the little sons and daughters of the poorer,
hard-working people.

His pictures always tell a story, and tell it so plainly that they do
not need titles. They have brought him great praise and many honors, but
he is a modest man and we know very little about his life.

He signs his paintings “Geo.”

=Questions about the artist.= Who painted this picture? Where does he
live? What other pictures has he painted? Why do his pictures not need
titles?


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  WOMAN CHURNING
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------



                             WOMAN CHURNING


=Questions to arouse interest.= What is this woman doing? How many know
how butter is made? How many have ever tried to churn it? What else can
you see in the picture? What does the cat want? What is she doing? What
can you see in the back of the room? What do you see on the bench? Of
what is the floor made? Why do you think this room is cool? How is the
woman dressed? What can you see in the doorway? What is the hen doing?
What do you like best about this picture?

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

=The story of the picture.= When the artist, Jean François Millet, was a
little boy he lived in the country where nearly all the people knew how
to churn and make their own butter. No doubt he often watched his
grandmother churn and helped her, too. He must have liked to see her
pour the milk into the big pans, which she then set away in a cool place
until all the cream had come to the top. Then she would skim the cream
from the milk, put it into the big wooden churn, and begin to work the
churning rod up and down, up and down, until her arms grew so tired that
she was glad to rest them a while and let him churn.

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. She rubs against the woman’s dress as a
gentle reminder that she is there, and would very much like to have some
cream. If the woman is called away for a few moments she had better take
the cat with her or I fear Puss will not wait to be served.

A hen looks in at the open door, curious to know what is going on. The
woman continues her churning. She must churn until the butter comes,
which may be in twenty minutes or an hour, depending upon the condition
of the cream. Then the butter will be salted and prepared for the table.

Many farmers now send their milk to the creameries, where it is made
into butter. In these days of cream separators and machinery of all
kinds, buttermaking has ceased to be the difficult task that it once
was.

Butter has not always been used for the table as we use it now. We read
that, long ago, the Romans used it only as an ointment and in medicine.
The people of India used it to anoint the wounds of their elephants. The
Greeks knew very little about it, and considered its odor very
disagreeable. One writer (Plutarch) tells us of a visit which a great
Spartan lady paid to the wife of an important official, when the one
smelled so strongly of sweet ointment and the other of butter that they
could not endure each other. 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 woman is dressed like all the
French peasants, a handkerchief wound around her head, and wearing those
wooden shoes which everybody wore, even the little children. The broom
resting against the bench suggests another task when this one is
finished.

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.

=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= How did Millet
know so much about churning butter? How did his grandmother make butter?
Describe the churn. What is at the end of the rod inside the churn? What
can you see on the top of this churn? What does the cat want? How does
she ask for it? How long must the woman churn? How is the butter
prepared for the table? Where is most of our butter made to-day? How is
it churned? How did the Romans use butter? the people of India? the
Greeks? Tell about the visit of the Spartan lady. What did people use
instead of butter? What is this picture sometimes called? What are the
figures in most of Millet’s pictures doing? How is this woman dressed?
Why did Millet paint most of her face indistinctly? What did he consider
important? Where does the light come from?

=To the Teacher=: Have a child pose as if churning. An ordinary pail or
the waste-paper basket with a broom or mop handle will do very well for
the churn. If possible, have the child stand on a platform or table. The
teacher’s apron may be worn, but the idea is to represent the
action,—the bent head, curve of shoulders, position of arms, and general
feeling of the figure. Use brush and ink for silhouette picture, or
charcoal and manila paper.

    SUBJECTS FOR SHORT COMPOSITIONS
    What I See in This Picture.
    How Butter Is Made.
    The Cat and the Hen.
    What I Like about This Picture.
    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 boy in the class, and
proved that he was the strongest. So when he saw Millet coming down the
street with the older children in whose care he had been sent, this boy
hurried toward him and dared him to fight. Millet himself tells how he
came out victorious, and how proud the older children were. “Millet is
only six and a half,” they said, “and he has beaten a boy more than
seven years old.”

But Millet was not a fighter, and fought only when he was forced to. He
loved to study, and soon stood at the head of his class. When the
village priest offered to teach him Latin he was only too glad to study
evenings or at any other time. At home he found little to read except
the Bible, which belonged to his grandmother; even when he was very
little she had told him many wonderful stories from this book. This
Bible contained many pictures, and one day he surprised her by making a
drawing from one of them. He drew his picture on the wall of the house,
with white chalk. She was delighted, and so were his mother and father
when they saw the picture. After that he drew many pictures of things in
and about the house, and of his grandmother, his brothers and sisters,
and his parents.

As a boy Millet had to work in the fields with his father and he had
little time to spend on his drawings or his studies. 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. His father said
he would take him to see an artist in the next village to whom he would
show some of Millet’s drawings and find out whether he thought the boy
could become an artist. Millet took two drawings with him. The first
represented two shepherds with their sheep, one shepherd playing a
flute, the other listening as he watched the sheep nibbling the grass
near by. 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 months 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. So they raised a sum of money for him and sent him back to the
artist to study, and finally to the great city of Paris, France.

At Paris he became the pupil of a fashionable painter of that day. When
he entered the class, a green peasant boy, the other pupils laughed at
him, but when they saw his work they admired it very much. However, they
did not care for the people he painted, for he always pictured the poor
French peasants whom he knew and loved best. The very paintings we prize
so highly now were not appreciated then, and it was not easy for Millet
to sell them. He was very poor until the last ten years of his life.
Then people began to give him the honor and praise that he so much
deserved.

Then too with his increasing fame came better financial conditions. In
1867 he received a medal and the blue ribbon of the Legion of Honor.
Soon afterward the death of a dear artist friend made Millet fall ill.
He never recovered his health and died a few years later.

=Questions about the artist.= Who painted this picture? How old was he
when he started to school? Tell about his first day at school. How did
he get along at school? What did he study with the priest? What did he
read at home? How did he surprise his grandmother? Where did he draw his
picture? What else did he draw? Of whom did he draw a picture as he was
coming home from church? Why must it have looked like the man? Where did
Millet’s father take him? What two drawings did they take with them?
What did the artist think about these drawings? What did he say about
Millet? Why did Millet return home? What did his neighbors do for him?
Who laughed at him in the city? How did they feel when they saw what he
could do? Why could he not sell all his pictures? When were they
appreciated? Why are they so valuable now?


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  THE BROKEN PITCHER
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------



                           THE BROKEN PITCHER


=Questions to arouse interest.= Where is this young girl? Why do you
think so? What do you see in the background that tells you so? What has
happened? Why does she look so serious? Does she look frightened, or
just sorry? What is she carrying on her arm? 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. It looks as
though she were dressed for a party, for there are flowers in her hair,
a bouquet on her dress, and flowers in her apron. Perhaps she had picked
the flowers and was getting the water so that she could place the
pitcher full of blossoms on the table. She may have gathered up all the
broken pieces in her apron, hoping that the pitcher can be mended. We
are sure that it must have been a pitcher that she prized very highly
and hopes to save, for she still holds it. But surely it is not
customary to take such a good pitcher to the fountain; a tin pail or a
jug would be so much safer. It must be that there is company at her
home. She must have caught up the pitcher from the table and hurried
away, impatient to be back with her friends. In her haste she may have
slipped and fallen. Now she must go home, and they will all know what
has happened.

She stands still a moment, trying to think how to tell them; she does
not know just how it did happen, or whether she was really to blame or
not. Had the board she stepped on not been slippery, or the pitcher not
quite so heavy, and if she had not been in a hurry, all would have been
well. Of one thing she is certain—she did not do it purposely. She
wishes she had brought an old pitcher or a pail; but it is of no use to
think about that now—the mischief is done. And somehow we feel sure she
will not be punished or even scolded very much.

What a very pretty girl she is, with just such a sweet face as the
artist Greuze always loved to paint. In the original painting she has
blue eyes, light hair, pink cheeks, very red lips, and her dress is
white. In the background we see the old stone fountain, the cool water
flowing in a steady stream from the mouth of the rudely carved head.
What interesting tales that fountain could tell of the rich and the poor
who pass that way each day; of the many little acts of courtesy and
kindness it has seen; of the thirsty, the wasteful and careless, the
happy and the sad people it has known and served.


                              THE FOUNTAIN

                Through the earth a tiny streamlet
                  Pushed its way so clear and cool,
                Shot right up where all could see it
                  And at length it formed a pool.

                People, passing stopped to taste it
                  And it quenched their thirst so soon
                That they said, “Let’s build a fountain,”
                  And to all it proved a boon.

                Rich and poor came there to seek it,
                  Came with pails and pitchers too.
                But the streamlet still flowed strongly
                  Whether many came or few.

                Years passed on and still the fountain
                  Gave to all its nectar sweet;
                Gave it freely to all comers,
                  And it always proved a treat.

                So it gleamed with those in gladness
                  As it moaned for those too sad.
                Did its very best to help them,
                  Soothed them with the strength it had.

                Come, then, tarry by this fountain,
                  Learn its lesson ere you go.
                Can we do as much for others?
                  Can we help them, friend or foe?

=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= What color is this
young girl’s dress? her eyes? her hair? her cheeks? How do you think she
would look if she smiled? Why does she look so serious? How do you
suppose she happened to come to the fountain? Why did she hurry? What
makes you think she wanted to keep this pitcher? Why do you think they
will not scold her? What kind of a fountain is it? From what does the
water flow? How many have watched the people who come to a fountain for
water? Why do you think the fountain could tell us some interesting
stories if it could talk?

=To the Teacher=: Have the pupils illustrate the story of the little
girl going for water. Use charcoal and manila paper.

=The story of the artist.= Jean Baptiste Greuze was born at Tournus,
France, in 1725. When, as a small boy, he began to show decided talent
for drawing, his father was very much disappointed. He wanted his boy to
pursue some more profitable profession, for, as he said, it was only the
few who won fame and wealth as artists; the rest starved.

However, the boy persevered and finally was permitted to study with an
artist friend of the family. This artist became much interested in him,
and when, some months later, he moved to Paris, he persuaded the father
to allow Greuze to go with him. Here the study was continued, Greuze
receiving special instruction in the painting of heads. His greatest
delight was in painting heads of children and of old men, and “Greuze
heads” soon became famous.

Then, too, he painted many pictures from the Bible, and at one time he
was ambitious to become a historical painter. It was then he went to
Rome to study the paintings of the famous masters there. His first
painting to bring him fame was “A Father Explaining the Scriptures to
His Family.” Our picture, “The Broken Pitcher” is one of the best known
and most popular of his paintings.

=Questions about the artist.= Who painted this picture? Of what
nationality was he? Why did his father not want him to become an artist?
What did the boy persist in doing? Who helped him? Where did he go to
continue his study? What did he paint most? what other subjects?


------------------------------------------------------------------------


[Illustration:

  MADAME LEBRUN AND HER DAUGHTER
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------



                     MADAME LEBRUN AND HER DAUGHTER


=Questions to arouse interest.= What do you see in this picture? What
relation are these two to each other? Why do you think so? How are they
dressed? Why do you suppose they look so happy? How could Madame Lebrun
paint this picture of herself? From what direction does the light come?
Why do you like the picture?

    =Original Picture=: The Louvre, Paris, France.
    =Artist=: Madame Vigée-Lebrun (lē brŭN´).
    =Birthplace=: Paris, France.
    =Dates=: Born, 1755; died, 1842.

=The story of the picture.= Probably we think we know just how we look
and yet I wonder how many of us could tell it to an artist so plainly
that he would be able to paint our portrait. Perhaps at best all we
could tell him would be that his picture did not look like us, though
without knowing why. But it is true that many great artists have painted
their own portraits, and very good likenesses they are, too. In some
ways it ought to be easy, for as they are their own models they can sit
for their pictures as often and as long as they wish.

Madame Lebrun had been planning for some time perhaps to paint a
portrait of herself. Then, just as she was all ready and seated in front
of a long mirror, the door had opened suddenly and in had come her
little daughter. With a hop and a jump she had thrown herself into her
mother’s arms. Then with her arms still about her mother’s neck, she had
happened to think of the mirror, and half turning there she had seen
herself held close in her mother’s embrace. Madame Lebrun realized at
once what a lovely picture it would make, and so she began to paint it.

How much they resemble each other! The little girl’s name was Jeanne
Julie Louise Lebrun, and she must have been very lovely indeed. Her
mother tells us, “She was charming in every respect. Her large blue eyes
sparkling with spirit, her slightly tip-tilted nose, her pretty mouth,
magnificent teeth, a dazzling fresh complexion, all went to make up one
of the sweetest faces to be seen.”

She did not care to draw and paint as her mother did, but she loved to
write stories.

How proud of her lovely mother she seems to be! And indeed she ought to
look proud, and happy too, for perhaps there never was a little girl
more petted and loved. Imagine how proud she must have felt that her
mother was such a great artist, and painted beautiful pictures which
every one admired and which, with her pleasant ways, made her one of the
most beloved women in France.

The light in the picture seems to come from a window at the left-hand
side and to fall directly upon the faces of the mother and child. So
interested are we in them we do not realize that there is no landscape
background, only a suggestion of a curtain or screen against which the
two faces stand out clearly. The mother is dressed in white, the
daughter in a blue which matches her merry blue eyes.

To us these two can never grow sad or old, and we are glad Madame Lebrun
looked in her mirror and gave us this beautiful picture.


                     MADAME LEBRUN AND HER DAUGHTER

                 Once a mirror, tall and stately,
                 Caught an image, held it safely,
                 Gleamed and glistened,
                 Dreamed and listened,

                 While the artist, glancing in it,
                 Glanced again, and smiled within it,
                 Thought and pondered,
                 Sought and wondered.

                 As she sat thus at her mirror,
                 Came a vision of one dearer,
                 Danced and shouted,
                 Pranced and pouted.

                 Quickly threw her arms about her,
                 Clasped her closely—’twas her daughter,
                 Light and airy,
                 Sprite and fairy.

                 Both into the mirror glancing,
                 Saw at once the sight entrancing,
                 Glanced and smiling,
                 ’Tranced, beguiling.

                 Then the artist seized her brushes,
                 For her paints the daughter rushes:
                 Sought, and bringing,
                 Brought them, singing.

                 And the artist, painting quickly,
                 Paints until the light grows sickly.
                 Starts and lingers,
                 Parts tired fingers.

                 When at last the work was ended,
                 All the critics called it “splendid.”
                 Fame and honors
                 Came as donors.

=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= How did Madame
Lebrun paint this picture of herself? Who came running into the room?
Why do you think the mother was glad she came? What made her think of
painting her daughter, too? What is the color of her daughter’s hair?
her eyes? What is the daughter’s name? What did she like to do? What is
the color of her dress? of her mother’s? Why should she be so proud of
her mother?

=The 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.” She always remembered this, and when she was sent
away to the convent to school she drew just as much and as often as she
could. Her notebooks were full of drawings which were so well done they
were kept in the convent to show to visitors.

After she returned home she began to paint in earnest. Her father had
many artist friends, and when they came to the house she loved to sit
quietly in a corner and listen to their talk about great pictures and
artists. It was not very long before she was painting pictures which
brought her great praise and honor. About this time her father died, and
later on her mother married again. The stepfather was a rich man, but he
was very stingy, and insisted upon her giving him all the money she
earned. By this time her fame had spread over the country, and people
came from far and near to have her paint their portraits.

She married a man who was a picture dealer and who, although she had not
known it, was a reckless gambler. She was obliged to give him most of
the money she earned to pay his debts. After a time she left him, taking
her lovely little daughter with her. She had a studio of her own where
she could work, and entertain her friends, and there she lived and
worked very happily with her little daughter.

One evening Madame Lebrun went to the theater and when the curtain went
up, there on a large easel on the stage was one of her paintings. When
the people saw it they all stood up and waved and cheered while they
looked toward the artist, who was seated in a box. Madame Lebrun was so
surprised she almost forgot to smile and bow to them.

The king and queen sent for her to come and paint their portraits. Day
after day the royal carriage would come to take her to the palace to
paint the queen, Marie Antoinette, and her children. Those were happy
days for her.

A very short time after this picture was painted the dreadful French
Revolution broke out. 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 friends 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.
They slipped quietly out of the house and into an omnibus that was
waiting for them and drove as quickly as possible through the crowded
streets, out of the city. No one recognized them, and they went to
Italy, where they traveled about the country for many years. Mother and
daughter were very popular and were entertained royally wherever they
went. But Madame Lebrun never laid aside her painting. Even when she was
eighty years old she painted a beautiful portrait of her little niece,
who must have reminded her of the little daughter in this picture.

=Questions about the artist.= What did Madame Lebrun do when she was a
little girl? Who was her teacher? Of whom did she draw a picture to
surprise her father? What did he say of it? What did this make her do?
Why were her notebooks treasured at the convent? Tell about her
stepfather. Tell what happened at the theater. What king and queen sent
for her to paint their portraits? Why did she and her daughter leave
Paris? How did they escape?


------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Illustration:

  AN OLD MONARCH
]


------------------------------------------------------------------------



                             AN OLD MONARCH


=Questions to arouse interest.= Of what is this a picture? Where do you
suppose he is? In what countries do lions live wild? How many have seen
a lion at the park or circus? Why do they have such strong cages? On
what are they fed? On what do lions live in their own country? How many
of you have watched trained lions? Why does this lion look so gentle, do
you suppose? Notice the size of his eyes and ears.

    =Original Picture=: Private Collection, W. H. Vanderbilt, New York.
    =Artist=: Rosa Bonheur (b[o˔]´nûr´)
    =Birthplace=: Bordeaux, France.
    =Dates=: Born, 1822; died, 1899.

=The story of the picture.= After Rosa Bonheur had painted horses, cows,
and other tame animals a great many times, she began to want to paint
wild animals, such as tigers and bears. She could not go to the far-away
countries where they live, so she bought a lion and lioness from a man
who had been there. These she kept in a very strong cage of heavy iron
bars. Here she came to watch them every day.

This is one of the pictures she painted of the lion. She called him
“Nero,” and was so kind to him that after a while he became quite tame.
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. No doubt he could tell us wonderful stories of the country he
came from. He could tell us of the big cave in the great rock where he
lived, and of that pool of water where he drank. Then he could tell us
of the tall, sweet-smelling grasses and rushes in the jungles where he
could hide from his enemies and surprise them, and how he walked about
the marshes on dark nights; for he can see at night as well as in the
daytime.

One day Rosa Bonheur had to go away on a long journey. She did not know
just what to do with the lions, but finally sent them to the park, where
a man took good care of them. Nero did nothing but walk back and forth
in his cage all day long while his mistress was away. He refused to eat
anything the man gave him, and by the time Rosa Bonheur returned home
the lion was very sick. As soon as he saw her he showed how pleased he
was. She spent many days taking care of him, and finally Nero was well
again. He never wanted any one else to come near him.

A few months later, Rosa Bonheur had to go away again. She was very much
worried about leaving Nero, but finally she found a man with whom she
was not afraid to trust him. As soon as she was gone, however, gentle
old Nero became very cross and ugly. He growled at the keeper, and tried
to hurt him.

One day the keeper had to go into the cage to fix something. With a
fierce growl Nero sprang at him and tried to kill him. In the struggle
the lion was badly hurt. When Rosa Bonheur came home she found Nero very
sick and going blind. No one dared to go near his cage, but as soon as
he heard her voice he was the old faithful Nero again. When Rosa went
into his cage he put his great head in her lap and seemed happy to have
her pet him. 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.

=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= Whose lion was
this? How did she get him? Why did she want a lion? How many did she
have? How did the lioness behave? What was this lion’s name? How tame
was he? Whom did he like best? What happened when Rosa Bonheur went away
on a journey? Who took care of the lions? What did Nero do? How did he
act when Rosa Bonheur came back? What did she do? What happened the
second time she went away? upon her return? Why did Rosa Bonheur not
care to have another lion? Why was she glad she had painted this
picture?

=To the Teacher=: The children may draw a picture of a lion. Use manila
paper and charcoal. Call attention to the large, bushy head, cat-like
body, and long, waving tail.

=The story of the artist.= Rosa Bonheur’s father was an artist, and when
any one asked her who taught her to draw, she always said, “My father
taught me.” Her mother could play the piano very well indeed, but Rosa
did not care so much for that study. When Rosa was sent to school she
had to walk some distance through the woods to the schoolhouse.
Sometimes she would stop and smooth the dust in the road with her hand,
and then draw pictures in it. She used a stick to draw with. Even then
she liked to draw pictures of animals best of all. Often she had such
good times drawing that she even forgot to go to school.

Her father thought he could make a better living in Paris, so the family
moved to that great city. The first place they lived was up several
flights of stairs and across the street from a butcher’s shop. This shop
had for a sign a wild boar rudely carved out of wood. Rosa missed her
old pets so much, and this wild boar looked so much like her little pet
pig in the country, that she used to stop to pat the wooden boar every
time she passed that way.

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

Her father did not do so well with his painting as he had hoped, so they
moved into a cheaper house. It was here that Rosa’s mother died. The
little sister, Juliette, was then sent to her grandmother, and Rosa went
to live with an aunt. The aunt sent her to school, and it was at this
time that she used to stop on the way to the schoolhouse to draw
pictures in the dust on the road. So she did not get along very well
with her aunt and the teacher and was delighted when her father told her
she might come home.

All the children loved animals, and there are a great many stories told
about those that were kept in their house. Rosa’s brother Isidore had a
little lamb which he would carry down six nights of stairs every
morning, so that it might nibble the green grass and be out in the fresh
air. It became a great pet, and all the children drew its picture in
ever so many different positions. Besides the lamb, they had a parrot, a
monkey, two dogs, rabbits, and birds. Their father let the children keep
these pets in a room fitted up especially for them.

Rosa’s father was teaching in a private school at this time, and was
away from home all day; but when he came home at night Rosa would show
him what she had been doing while he was gone. Once she had been
painting cherries, and her father came in while she was working on them.
He praised her very much, and helped her finish the painting.

In the evening Rosa and her two brothers and her father used to put
their easels in different parts of the big room and draw and paint until
it was quite late. They would all much rather do this than anything else
in the world, and it was the only time their father had in which to help
them.

The father belonged to a religious order called the “Saint Simonians.”
The members wore queer gowns and bonnets with long tassels. Rosa wore
such a bonnet with a big tassel, and sometimes the boys would shout and
laugh at her, but she paid no attention to that.

Later the father got a position in another private school, earning
enough to send his three children there as pupils and to give them
everything they needed at home.

Rosa did not behave very well in school. She liked to cut queer figures
out of paper, figures that looked like some of the teachers or pupils.
Then she would fasten them to a string, put some moist bread on the
other end, and throw it up to the ceiling of the schoolroom. 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. She had a beautiful bed of hollyhocks in the front yard of
the school that was very much admired by all who passed.

One day when Rosa had been reading in her school history about a war,
she thought it would be fine fun to arrange a great battle in the yard
between the girls. They used wooden sticks for swords. Very soon Rosa’s
side drove their enemies toward the hollyhock bed, where they turned and
fled. Seeing the hollyhocks standing guard like soldiers, Rosa thought
it would be fun to charge upon them, which she did, cutting off all
their heads. Is it any wonder she was sent home in disgrace?

Her father then sent her to a dressmaker to see if she could learn that
trade, but Rosa did not like dressmaking, and finally went home without
having learned very much. Then some friends gave her some photographs to
color, and this she liked to do.

Next Rosa was asked to teach drawing to a girl who was some years
younger than herself. This girl lived in a beautiful home which had a
large gallery full of fine pictures. The floor of this gallery was
waxed, and after Rosa had looked at the pictures the two amused
themselves by sliding on the waxed floor until it was time for Rosa to
go home. So her father had to give up all idea of making her a teacher.
He knew that the only thing to do was to let her paint, for that she
loved to do and could do well.

Rosa was willing to walk miles in all kinds of weather, to sit hours in
all kinds of uncomfortable positions, and to go without food, in order
to draw a good picture of some animal. Now she began her study of
animals in earnest. She went to all the country horse fairs, to the
slaughter houses, and everywhere she could to study them.

Rosa never had very pretty clothes. She tells us herself that one day a
parrot called after her, “Ha, ha! That hat!” Now that she was grown up
she found she could not get about very easily in her long skirts. 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. Then no one noticed her as she went about, for
they thought her only one of the workmen.

Her pictures became famous the world over. The first she exhibited was
one of some little rabbits nibbling carrots. From all over the country
she received gifts of fine horses and other animals for her to paint.
Buffalo Bill once sent her two fine horses from Texas. She bought a
farm, and had a large barn built where she could keep her animals. How
proud her father was of her!

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

=Questions about the artist.= Who painted this picture? In what country
did she live? Who taught her to paint? What did her father do for a
living? What could her mother do? Why was Rosa sometimes late to school?
Where did they move? What kind of a house did they live in? Tell about
the wild boar; the school for boys. Why did they move again? What
happened here? Where were the children sent? Why did Rosa want to come
back? Tell about Isidore and the lamb. What other pets did the children
have? Where did they keep them? What did Rosa do while her father was
away? What did they all like to do in the evening? Tell about the Saint
Simon cap Rosa sometimes wore. How did she behave in school? What did
she do that made them send her away? What trade did her father want her
to learn? How did she succeed at this? What did she like to do? What
kind of a teacher was Rosa? Where did she go to study animals? When she
was older, why did she wear men’s clothes? What were some of the
presents she received? Tell about the visit of Empress Eugénie. What did
the empress give Rosa? Why was this such a great honor?


------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Illustration:

  PENELOPE BOOTHBY OR THE MOB CAP
]


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                    PENELOPE BOOTHBY OR THE MOB CAP


=Questions to arouse interest.= Where do you think this little girl is
sitting? Does she look as if she were sitting still or moving? Do you
think she is happy, sad, full of fun, or mischievous? What has she on
her head? How is her hair combed? How is she dressed? What has she on
her hands? In what way is she different from the little girls we know?
What can you see behind her? How many like this picture? why?

    =Original Picture=: Mrs. Thwaite’s Private Collection.
    =Artist=: Sir Joshua Reynolds (rĕn´ŭldz).
    =Birthplace=: Plympton, England.
    _Dates_: Born, 1723; died, 1792.

=The story of the picture.= This quaint little Penelope Boothby, sitting
so prim with her queer cap and black silk mitts, looks as if she knows a
secret that pleases her very much. Perhaps that dress she is wearing is
long, and she is pretending she is some great lady who has just come to
call upon the artist, Sir Joshua Reynolds. It must have been fun to walk
about his great yard, with her long dress sweeping over the soft green
grass. It looks as if the artist had lifted her into the window of his
studio, and painted her as she sat there. The half mischievous look on
her face makes us think she will jump down and run out among the trees
at any moment. We wonder what makes her look so pleased.

Perhaps Sir Joshua Reynolds is telling her a story—maybe the one about
his father. He lived in the country and one day decided to go to town on
horseback. It had rained very hard, and the roads were muddy, so he wore
high-topped boots. These boots were a little large for him, and as he
rode along, swinging his feet, for he was riding bareback, one of his
boots fell off. He was thinking of other things, and did not miss his
boot until he rode into town and wanted to go into the store. Imagine
how he must have felt when he discovered his loss.

                 “One boot on and one boot off,
                  How the neighbors laugh and scoff;
                  Such an absent-minded man
                  Ne’er was seen since the world began.”

Or perhaps Sir Joshua was telling her about his friend, the sea captain
named Admiral Keppel, with whom he took that wonderful trip across the
sea.

But best of all she would like to hear the story of that strange little
Italian boy he met in Rome. One day a little fellow had offered to be
Sir Joshua Reynolds’s guide about the great city. He was so small,
ragged, and dirty that Sir Joshua gave him some money and told him to
run away. But the little fellow smiled happily, showing all his white
teeth; his dark eyes fairly danced, he was so eager to show the artist
what a good guide he could be. All that day he followed Sir Joshua, and
as he had lived in Rome all his life, he knew all about the city and
could tell the great painter many interesting things.

The next morning Sir Joshua found the boy sitting on his doorstep
waiting for him. 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.

Then the time came for Sir Joshua to start for home; but Giuseppe Marchi
was not to be left behind. At that time Sir Joshua was not a very
wealthy man, and when they were still three hundred miles from Paris he
counted his money and found he had only enough to pay his own fare; so
he had to say good-by to poor Giuseppe Marchi. In Paris, Sir Joshua had
a good friend with whom he could stay. Imagine his surprise one morning
to find Giuseppe Marchi sitting on the doorstep of this friend’s house!
The boy had walked all those miles, and had at last found his dear
master. So then of course Sir Joshua brought him on home with him.

Perhaps, just when Sir Joshua was telling Penelope this part of the
story, Giuseppe Marchi himself came into the room, for he lived with the
artist all the rest of his life, and helped him paint part of his
pictures, too. Sir Joshua Reynolds spoke of him as “an angel sent from
God to help me do my work.”

When the artist painted this picture little girls must have worn caps
like this, for we see them in some of his other pictures, too. They were
called “mob caps.”

Nearly a hundred years after this picture was painted a great party was
given in London for the children. All were to wear fancy dresses to
represent some person of whom the rest should guess the identity. One
little girl dressed as “Penelope Boothby.” She had a cap just like this
one, a handkerchief worn like this, and a pair of black silk mitts.
Every one knew at once whom she represented, and she was so much admired
that the next day she was taken to another great artist, Millais. He
painted a beautiful picture of the little girl holding some cherries in
her hands, and called his picture “Cherry Ripe.”

=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= What is this
little girl’s name? What do you suppose she has been playing? Where is
she sitting? why? What stories could Sir Joshua Reynolds tell her? Tell
the story of his father and the high-topped boots; of the little Italian
boy. Why did Sir Joshua send the boy away at first? What did the boy do
for Sir Joshua? What happened the next morning? What did they do every
day after that? What did Sir Joshua teach the boy to do? What made the
boy look so different after a week? When Sir Joshua started home, what
did the boy do? Why could he not go all the way? How did he manage to
follow the artist? What did Sir Joshua do for the boy then? Where was
the boy when Sir Joshua Reynolds was telling this story? How did the
artist often speak of this Italian boy? Why do you think Penelope
Boothby would like to hear this story? Does she look as if she were
listening, or talking? Why do you think you would like to know her?

=To the Teacher=: Ask a little girl to pose as Penelope Boothby. She may
be seated upon a table and drawn side view. Other pictures may be drawn
illustrating the story of a little girl dressed in a long dress and
walking proudly among the trees; or of the artist and his little Italian
guide. Use manila paper and charcoal. Work for action.

=The story of the artist.= When Sir Joshua Reynolds was a little boy it
was decided that he should become a doctor. His father and mother set
their hearts upon it, and resolved to help him in every way. Though he
loved to draw, it did not seem then as if he would ever become an
artist, for his five brothers and sisters could all draw better than he.
The children used so much paper and so many pencils that finally the
father told them they might draw upon the whitewashed walls in the hall
of their house. They used burnt sticks for pencils. It must have been
quite as much fun as to draw with white chalk on the blackboard.

Little Joshua’s drawings were so funny that the older children always
laughed when they saw them and called him the clown. But he did not
care; he just kept on drawing until one day he drew a picture which was
really very good. It was of their schoolhouse and he drew it with a
pencil on paper. It was so well drawn that every one praised it, and he
was very proud indeed. He was only seven years old, and this praise
pleased him so much that he kept thinking of it all the time. That day
at school he covered his number paper with drawings of things about the
room. His father taught the school, and you can imagine how he felt when
his son handed in a paper which he could not read because of the
drawings all over it. He began to fear Joshua would never make a good
doctor or business man, so he wrote at the top of the paper, “Done by
Joshua out of pure idleness.”

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.

It was about this time, too, that while at church he drew a picture of
the minister on his thumb nail. From this tiny sketch he painted a large
portrait on a piece of sail which he found on the river bank near an old
boathouse. His paints were some the sailors used to paint their boats.
When his father saw this portrait, which was so very like the minister,
he knew that his son would surely be a great artist, and he gave up all
thought of trying to make a doctor of him.

In London, Reynolds studied painting in earnest, and wrote home, “While
I am doing this, I am the happiest creature alive.” He painted the
portraits of several well-known men, and soon became very popular.

Then came Admiral Keppel and the wonderful voyage on the ship which he
commanded. Upon Sir Joshua’s return home he painted a fine portrait of
his friend, the Admiral, which every one wanted to see many times.

It was not long before Sir Joshua Reynolds became a rich man, and bought
a beautiful home with a large yard full of beautiful trees. His sister
came to keep house for him, and later his little niece Offy came to live
with him. He loved children dearly, and always kept pets and playthings
for them. He entertained them so happily that they always wanted to come
to see him.

=Questions about the artist.= What did Sir Joshua Reynolds’s father and
mother want him to be when he grew up? How many brothers and sisters did
he have? How did his drawings compare with theirs? Why did they not draw
with paper and pencils? Where were they allowed to draw? What did they
call Joshua? Of what did he make his first good picture? What did people
say about it? How old was he then? How did he spoil his number paper?
What did his father write at the top of his paper? Tell about the
strolling artist and what he did for Joshua. Tell about Joshua’s
portrait of the minister. What did his father decide after seeing this
portrait? What else did Sir Joshua Reynolds do? Tell about his house and
yard. What kind of pictures did he paint? Why do you think he was
considered a great artist?


------------------------------------------------------------------------



                      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.


------------------------------------------------------------------------



 ● Transcriber’s Notes:
    ○ The phonetic pronunciation for two of the painters' names include
      the characters [o˔]. The ˔ diacritial mark is an "up-tack" and
      should appear on top of the vowel. This combination doesn't appear
      in any common character set, so they have been set separately.
    ○ 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.
    ○ The use of a caret (^) before a letter, or letters, shows that the
      following letter or letters was intended to be a superscript, as
      in S^t Bartholomew or 10^{th} Century.
    ○ Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_);
      text that was bold by “equal” signs (=bold=).





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