THE MENTOR 1916.04.01, No. 104,
The National Gallery

Why Knowledge?

“Knowledge gives power,” says the philosopher.
“Knowledge enriches,” says the scholar. But the
practical individual exclaims: “Special expert knowledge is
a personal asset, but how does general knowledge enrich?”

“Knowledge makes life fuller and more interesting.”
And what does that mean? It means that
life, through knowledge, may be made a joy and a blessing
in spite of what the cynics say. It means that through
knowledge we learn to appraise things at their true value.
Our eyes are opened to see other colors than purple and
gold, our ears to hear understandingly other sounds than
the roar of traffic, the shriek of an automobile horn, or
syncopated music. Knowledge reveals to us the nicer
shades of color that give us quiet satisfaction—the finer
and gentler tones of Nature and of human life that afford
us a lasting enjoyment. It teaches us that there are
things more “worth while” than ourselves.

Why do some of us ignore fine art, dismiss good books
with indifference, yawn at good music, speed through
a ravishing landscape at sixty miles an hour, and neglect
a friendship that would bring us self-improvement? The
sky and mountains have a thousand messages for us, if
we pause to listen to them. The sea is an oracle if we
study it. A good book is a mine of information if we
search it. A fine painting is an inspiration if we cherish
it. Good music is a constant joy if we give attention to it.
And the voices of our fellow creatures are filled with precious
confidences if we give our ears and hearts to them.

Let us then seek knowledge with the eager mind of a
child; for indeed, as Robert Louis Stevenson sang:

The world is so full of a number of things,

I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.

National Gallery, London

THE DOGE LOREDANO. By Giovanni Bellini

GIOVANNI BELLINI

Monograph Number One in The Mentor Reading Course

There were three famous painters in the Bellini family.
Jacopo Bellini was the father, and his two sons were Gentile
and Giovanni (Jo-van´-nee), the latter being the younger
and the greater.

He is supposed to have been born at Venice either in
1430 or 1431, and was brought up in his father’s house, serving with
his brother as his father’s assistant until he was nearly thirty years old.
However, Giovanni seems to have been influenced more by his brother-in-law,
Mantegna, than by his father. This influence lasted until Mantegna
departed for the Court of Mantua in 1460. In 1470 Giovanni was
commissioned to paint a Deluge with Noah’s Ark. After this he painted
many pictures, among them the famous altar-piece for the Church of
S. Giovanni e Paolo, which was destroyed by a disastrous fire in 1867,
along with Titian’s “Peter Martyr” and “The Crucifixion” by Tintoretto.

After 1480 a great deal of Giovanni’s time and energy was taken up
by his duties as conservator of the paintings in the great hall of the Ducal
Palace at Venice. His duties were to repair and renew the works of
his predecessors. In addition, he was commissioned to paint a number
of new subjects himself. These pictures illustrated the part played by
Venice in the wars of Barbarossa. The works were much admired, but
none of them survived the fire of 1577.

About the end of the year 1505 Giovanni painted the portrait of the
Doge Loredano. This is the only portrait of his which has been preserved.
It is one of the most masterly in the whole range of painting.
Loredano was the man who carried the Venetian republic through the
most trying period of its existence. He became the doge, or ruler, in
1501. France and Spain combined in an attempt to destroy his power,
but in vain. This firm man fought hard, although Venice was impoverished
and deprived of many of its possessions.

The last ten or twelve years of Bellini’s life were filled with more
commissions than he could handle. Albrecht Dürer, the famous German
painter, visited Venice for a second time in 1506. He reported that
Bellini was still the best painter in the city, and he also spoke of the
hospitality and courtesy of the artist. Bellini died in 1516.

As pupils he had many of the most famous artists of his time. Two
of them, in fact, surpassed him later on—Giorgione and Titian. Bellini
may be called the true founder of Venetian painting.

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National Gallery, London

ARIOSTO. By Titian

TITIAN

Monograph Number Two in The Mentor Reading Course

One day a great emperor was watching an artist paint, when
one of the painter’s brushes rolled to the floor. The king
stooped and picked up the brush, saying as he did so, “It
becomes Caesar to serve Titian.”

It was in such esteem that the Emperor Charles V held
the great artist. “There are many princes, but there is only one
Titian,” he said.

During the ninety-nine years of the life of Tiziano Vecello, or Titian
(Tish-en), as he is known today, some of the greatest events in the history
of mankind took place. The year that he was born, 1477, at
Cadore in Italy, the first dated English book was printed on the press of
William Caxton. When Titian was fifteen Columbus discovered America.
Hardly twenty-five years later Charles V, King of Spain, was crowned
Emperor of most of Europe. Then came the Reformation, with Luther
as its leader, and toward the end of the artist’s life the great revolt
of the Netherlands which freed them forever from the dominion of
Spain. Living in such stirring times, it was natural that Titian gave
to the world art that combined many truths of a universal nature.

Titian first studied at Venice. Giovanni Bellini, the great Venetian
master, was one of his teachers. Later on Titian formed a partnership
with Giorgione, the famous Italian painter. Albrecht Dürer, who visited
Venice after Giorgione died, also made a great impression on Titian.

Titian’s style formed itself early. He was famous before the age
of thirty. From this time on he lived in princely style, surrounded by
friends, and with honors and commissions from all sides. He was considered
the greatest portrait painter living; and he never let up in his
work—he was still a powerful artist when most men fail in strength.

Lodovico Ariosto, the Italian poet, was one of Titian’s friends. This
man was born at Reggio, in Lombardy, on September 8, 1474. He inclined
strongly to poetry from his earliest years; but his father made
him study law. At last, however, he was allowed to follow his inclination
and overjoyed, he threw himself heartily into the study of the classics.
He worked hard, but when his father died he was compelled to give up
literature to manage his family, whose affairs were in a poor way.

But he managed to write at this time some comedies and prose, and
a few lyrical pieces. Later on he was more successful, particularly when
a brother of the Cardinal Ippolito d’Este took him under his patronage.
He not only distinguished himself as a poet, but also as a diplomatist.

There is a story told of Ariosto that when walking one day in a deserted
spot he fell in with bandits. They took him captive, but discovering
that he was the author of “Orlando Furioso,” they humbly
apologized for not having shown him the respect due him.

Ariosto spent the last part of his life at Ferrara, writing comedies,
and correcting his “Orlando Furioso,” of which the complete edition was
published only a year before his death, which occurred on June 6, 1533.

This was Titian’s friend and the man whose portrait is reproduced
herewith. The great artist did not spend his last years in happiness.
He lost his daughter, Lavinia, who had been his model for many beautiful
pictures. Most of his companions had passed away. His son,
Pomponio, was a worthless profligate; his son, Orazio, however, attended
his father with true affection. In 1575 the plague struck Venice. The
following year Titian was stricken. He died on August 27, and was
buried with great honor in the Church of St. Maria dei Frari, for
which he had painted his famous picture of the “Assumption.”

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National Gallery, London

THE DUCHESS OF MILAN. By Hans Holbein

HANS HOLBEIN

Monograph Number Three in The Mentor Reading Course

It was at the end of the fifteenth century, about 1495, that
one of the greatest geniuses in German painting was born
at Augsburg. He is known as Hans Holbein the Younger,
as his father is called Hans Holbein the Elder, for he too
was an excellent artist.

Hans and his brother, Ambrosius, worked under Holbein the Elder
until 1516. They undoubtedly helped their father on his pictures.
Later the two brothers went to Basel, where Hans met his powerful
patron, Jacob Meier, who commissioned him to paint a picture which
is now considered one of his greatest works, “The Meier Madonna.”

In 1517 Hans Holbein left Basel for two years. He is supposed to
have visited Italy in his travels, returning to Basel in 1519. There he
met the learned Erasmus, whose friendship he gained. He also made a
number of sketches for his book, “Praise of Folly.” Jacob Meier still
continued to be his patron and turned many commissions his way. The
artist at this time designed stained glass, decorated furniture, and illustrated
books. His best illustrations were the drawings for the book
“The Dance of Death.” These are supposed to have been made sometime
before 1527.

It is as a portrait painter that Hans Holbein is best known.
It was his fame as such that brought him to England in 1526, where he
spent most of the last years of his life. To England Holbein had brought
letters of introduction from Erasmus to Sir Thomas More. Through
this gentleman he received many commissions. About 1536 he was
appointed by Henry VIII “King’s Painter” with a salary of thirty-four
pounds a year (in value today about $850) and rooms in the palace.

The last part of Hans Holbein’s life is enveloped in mystery. In
1543 the dreaded plague broke out in London once more. The city was
still a dirty, crowded town of the Middle Ages. The streets were narrow
and the houses and little shops were set close together. Consequently,
London was just the kind of a city in which the plague might
take its terrible course unchecked. On the 7th of October, 1543, Holbein
made his will. This was found some years ago in London. Not
long after making his will the great artist died. No one knows the
details of his death, nor the place of his burial.

But though Holbein was dead, his works lived on. They are known
and valued today as those of few other artists. He belongs among the
immortals of German art.

His portrait of the “Duchess of Milan” is a marvel of beauty in its
exquisite simplicity of rendering. “Both paint and painter are forgotten
in looking at a work like this; you see only the incarnate spirit, and feel
its very sphere. Though the woman is really not beautiful, her expression
is fascinating in the highest degree. The rich brown eyes, with the
yellow ring immediately around the pupil, seem to admit you to the
secrets of her thoughts, and the full pouting lips irresistibly command
admiration.”

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National Gallery, London

SAINT GEORGE AND THE DRAGON. By Tintoretto

TINTORETTO

Monograph Number Four in The Mentor Reading Course

Tintoretto was called by his contemporaries “Il Furioso,”
or “the furious.” This was because of the passionate,
fiery style which marked his work.

His real name was Jacopo Robusti. He received his
nickname from the fact that his father was a dyer, or Tintore.
Jacopo used to help him, and so they called him Tintoretto, or “little
dyer.”

He was born in Venice in 1518. Even as a child he daubed pictures
on the walls of his father’s dye house. His father soon noticed
this, and took him around to the studio of Titian, to see if he could be
trained as an artist. The famous old painter agreed to attempt it, but
Jacopo had only been ten days in the studio when Titian sent him home
for good. It is said that the great master did this out of jealousy, believing
that the boy might become his rival. However, it may be fairer to
presume that Titian really did not think that the young dyer would
ever become an artist. It is a well-known fact, however, that Titian
was a bad teacher.

Then Tintoretto began studying for himself. He obtained small
copies of Michelangelo’s sculptures and drew from them as models. He
worked night and day at this.

Many disappointments blocked his path. Titian dictated the
public work among the painters of Venice, and he invariably passed by
Tintoretto. Therefore, the young artist in order to make himself known,
undertook to do great works without pay. He neglected no order, however
humble, and he chose his subjects from all sources.

It was not until he was thirty years old that he received a commission
to paint in the Ducal Palace in Venice—the desire of his heart.
Hard times were then over for him. He married Faustina de’Vescovi,
the daughter of a Venetian nobleman. She was a careful housewife and
an excellent companion for her impetuous husband.

The next important event in Tintoretto’s life was the decoration of
the Scuola di St. Marco. This was in 1560. About thirty years later
he did the crowning production of his life. This was the huge “Paradise.”
It is seventy-four feet by thirty feet, and is said to be the largest
painting ever done upon canvas.

After the completion of this picture Tintoretto rested for awhile.
Thereafter he never undertook any work of importance. In 1594 he
was seized with an attack of sickness, and he died on May 31.

His daughter, Marietta, was also a portrait painter of some note.
She died at the age of thirty, and Tintoretto grieved for her greatly. It
is said that he painted her portrait as she lay dead.

Tintoretto hardly ever traveled out of Venice. He liked music, and
as a youth played the lute and other instruments, some of which he invented
himself. He liked to design theatrical costumes. He was an
agreeable companion, but as he was a hard worker he lived a rather
retired life, hardly admitting any, even his intimate friends, to his
presence.

It is said that when the artist left the house his wife wrapped up money
for him in a handkerchief. On his return she made him tell how it had
been spent.

There are a number of Tintoretto’s works in England, among them
being the spirited work “St. George and the Dragon.” He had
few pupils.

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National Gallery, London

THE GUITAR LESSON. By Gerard Ter Borch

GERARD TER BORCH

Monograph Number Five in The Mentor Reading Course

One of the most famous of the “Little Masters” of Holland
was Gerard Ter Borch, or Terburg, as he is sometimes
called. This artist, whose pictures are always full of color,
loved to paint brilliant cloths and dazzling jewelry. His
paintings are pictures pure and simple.

Ter Borch was born at Zwolle, Holland, in 1617. His father, who
was also an artist, gave him a good education and developed the youth’s
talent very early. The boy evidently was in Amsterdam in 1632, studying
under C. Duyster or possibly P. Codde. Duyster’s influence can be
traced in a picture bearing the date of 1638. Before this picture was
painted, however, in 1634, he studied under Pieter Molyn in Haarlem.

About 1635 Ter Borch went to London and later on he traveled
extensively in Germany, France, Spain and Italy. In 1641 he painted
some small portraits on copper in Rome. Seven years later he was at
Münster during the meeting of the congress which ratified the treaty of
peace between Spain and the Netherlands. It was there that he did his
famous little picture on copper of the assembled ministers. This picture,
together with the “Guitar Lesson” and a “Portrait of a Man
Standing,” is now in the National Gallery. The picture of the peace
commissioners was bought by the Marquess of Hertford for $36,400,
and presented to the gallery by Sir Richard Wallace.

About this time Ter Borch was invited to visit Madrid in Spain.
There King Phillip IV gave him employment and honored him with
knighthood. However, the artist became involved in an intrigue and
was forced to return to Holland.

There he lived for a time at Haarlem. Later on he finally settled in
Deventer, where he became a member of the town council. It is as a
member of this body that he appears in the portrait now in the Gallery
of the Hague. Ter Borch died at Deventer in 1681.

Some critics rank this artist very close to Rembrandt and Franz
Hals. He liked to portray the higher social circles of his day with all
the stately pomp that distinguished them. This took delicate technical
skill in the representation of costly costumes, and in addition to all this,
Ter Borch was able to give a poetic charm to the interior of the houses
which he portrayed, throwing romantic interest over anything.

The paintings of Ter Borch are quite rare. Only about eighty have
been catalogued. His work is free from the touch of grossness that characterized
many of the Dutch artists of the time.

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National Gallery, London

LADY COCKBURN AND CHILDREN. By Sir Joshua Reynolds

SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS

Monograph Number Six in The Mentor Reading Course

Sir Joshua Reynolds was one of the greatest of English
portrait painters; and as a painter of childhood he has
no superior. He was a rapid worker, and it is estimated
by some authorities that he finished as many as 3,000 portraits.
His career was one long series of successes, and he
made an immense fortune by his painting.

Reynolds was born in Devonshire, England, on July 16, 1723. Thomas
Hudson was his first teacher. Then the young artist visited Italy. There
he studied carefully the works of the old masters. He returned to London
and almost immediately was accorded first place among the portrait
painters of the day. At the same time he became one of the leading
members of the famous Literary Club, among whose members were Doctor
Samuel Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith, the authors, David Garrick,
the leading actor of the time, and other men prominent in the fields of
art and letters.

The British Royal Academy was founded in 1768, and its first president
was Reynolds. There he distinguished himself by delivering his
famous “Discourses” on art. With these he proved himself to be as
much a master of words as of the brush.

Reynolds’ success and prosperity naturally made his less fortunate
rivals jealous of him; at the same time his attitude towards some of
them was not altogether generous. In particular his relations with
Gainsborough were not pleasant. Nevertheless, Reynolds went to
Gainsborough’s deathbed, and there was an apparent reconciliation.

In 1784, at the death of Ramsay, Reynolds was appointed painter to
the king. Two years before a stroke of paralysis had attacked him; but
he was able to resume his painting after a month of rest. In the summer
of 1789, however, his sight began to fail. Nevertheless, he continued
to practise his art until about the end of 1790. But from then on he
began to sink gradually. He suffered for only a few months, and on
February 23, 1792, passed peacefully away.

Sir Joshua Reynolds, though a great artist, lacked academic education,
and therefore he never could draw the human figure properly. He
sacrificed this ability to secure a thorough knowledge of the great paintings
of the world, their faults and their excellencies.

He also had a tendency to tamper with his pigments. It is said that
one day the famous American artist, Gilbert Stuart, was copying one of
Reynolds’ fine heads in a very warm room. Suddenly he noticed that
one eye on the painting seemed to be moving downward. At first he
thought his imagination was playing him false; but finally he was convinced
that the eye was moving. He quickly removed the painting to a
cold room, and gradually worked the eye back in place. It was then that
he discovered that his great predecessor had used wax in his pigments.
This explained something that had baffled artists for years—the brilliant
transparency of many of Reynolds’ colors.

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GREAT GALLERIES OF THE WORLD
THE NATIONAL GALLERY
LONDON

By JOHN C. VAN DYKE, Professor of the History of Art, Rutgers College

MENTOR GRAVURES

THE DOGE LOREDANO
By Giovanni Bellini

ARIOSTO
By Titian

THE DUCHESS OF MILAN
By Hans Holbein

MENTOR GRAVURES

SAINT GEORGE AND THE DRAGON
By Tintoretto

THE GUITAR LESSON
By Gerard Terborch

LADY COCKBURN AND CHILDREN
By Sir Joshua Reynolds

The National Gallery

Entered at the postoffice at New York, N. Y., as second-class
matter. Copyright, 1916, by The Mentor Association, Inc.

THE MENTOR · DEPARTMENT OF FINE ARTS

APRIL 1, 1916

The National Gallery, whether the tourist sees it first or last in his
trip around Europe, is sure to make an impression. It is one of the
famous galleries of the world, and has a rarefied atmosphere about
it, even to those who know the galleries by heart. The walk up the wide
stone steps approaching the first room excites a wonder that is almost
amazement. The pictures have a richness—a jewel quality about them—that
seems preternaturally splendid. You have not perhaps noticed such
depth and mellowness of color in other galleries. What does it mean?
Well, in some cases it may mean merely that the pictures are framed under
glass, and get a certain tone and richness from that; but it more often
means that you are looking at very unusual pictures. The National
Gallery is full of masterpieces.

THE VIRGIN AND CHILD, SAINT
JOHN THE BAPTIST AND SAINT
NICHOLAS OF BARI

By Raphael

SAINT HELENA—THE VISION OF THE
CROSS

By Paolo Veronese (vay-ro-nay´-zee)

Where did they come from? Out of the famous private collections of
England. When nobility dies without an heir, or the heir himself needs
money, then the pictures collected by the art-loving elders of perhaps a
dozen generations come by bequest to the National Gallery, or find their
way to the auction room and are purchased for the gallery. Thus it is
that the National Gallery has been the natural inheritor of the rich collections
of England. It started less than a hundred years ago (in 1824)
with the Angerstein collection, and has been growing ever since with gifts
of collections such as those of Vernon, Wynn
Ellis, Vaughan, Salting. If it is found necessary
to bid for a picture at auction, a
government grant or the subscriptions of
wealthy art patrons, or both, generally
carries the day against any private collector.
Thus such famous pictures as Raphael’s
“Ansidei Madonna,” Titian’s (tish´-an)
“Ariosto,” Holbein’s “Duchess of Milan”
were bought for the gallery at enormous
prices—the Raphael bringing over $350,000,
and the others some $150,000 each.

There are now about 3000 pictures in
the gallery, though, of course, all of them
are not hung at any one time. There is not
enough wall space for that, though the
building is in a chronic state of enlargement.
New rooms are added from year to
year, and new editions of the catalogue are
being continually issued. The gallery is
very well arranged and lighted, and very
well managed. Management of a gallery
seems very easy to the public because there is apparently no friction, but
the director has his trials. And the pictures
have their perils, not only from accidents,
but from fanatical visitors. The greatest
perils however, are from dust, gas, the
tooth of time, and the hand of the careless
cleaner. The pictures in the European
galleries have suffered more from drastic
scrubbing and reckless restoration than
from all the other causes combined. The
cleaning room has been the graveyard of
many a masterpiece.

ITALIAN MASTERPIECES

Beyond doubt the Italian pictures here
are the most important, both in quality and
in quantity. No gallery in Europe quite
equals that of London in its Renaissance
masterpieces. And its Pre-Renaissance pictures
are not to be despised. Of their kind
nothing could be finer than the altar-piece by
Orcagna (or-can´-ya) and the panels of Duccio
(doo´-cho) or Monaco; but they are not
carried so far, or so effectively, as the works
of the later men—the “Doge Loredano” by
Bellini, for example. Bellini is not the final word in art, but how perfect
of its kind is this portrait of the Doge (doje) with its serene poise and
supreme dignity! How devoid of anything like ostentation or display! And
how direct it is in the revelation of the stern old warrior, who, when Doge
of Venice, did not hesitate to wage war against France, Germany, and the
Papacy—all three together. There are a number of attractive Madonnas
by Bellini in the gallery, and an “Agony in the Garden” with a
famous landscape at the back; but none of them quite comes up to the
Doge in force or conviction of reality.

THE ANNUNCIATION

By Carlo Crivelli

In the same vein, but with less nobility and more detail, is the
“Portrait of a Young Man” by Antonello da Messina and the “Young
Venetian” by Basaiti—(ba-sa-ee´-tee)
both contemporaries of
Bellini in Venice. They were
not his equals, however. Basaiti
was his follower, as was
also Catena, who is represented
here by a large “Warrior
Adoring the Infant
Christ”—a notable picture for
Catena. Among the early
Venetians in the gallery Crivelli
makes a distinct impression.
There are half a dozen
altarpieces by him, and one
hesitates to say which is the
best, so very perfect in workmanship
are all of them. The
“Annunciation” is perhaps
the type, and for pure decorative
charm few pictures go
beyond it. The architecture
of it, the rugs, curtains, bedspread,
costumes, even the
peacock and the children, are
all put in for color effect and
to carry out the scheme of
making the picture beautiful
to look at, as well as interesting
in story. It fairly reeks
with color. Crivelli’s pictures are the most brilliant and the best
preserved in surface of any of the early Venetian works; and, oddly
enough, they are all painted, not in oil, but in distemper—the medium
used before the introduction of oil. It was the Antonello da Messina
mentioned above who is credited with bringing oil-painting to Venice
about 1470, but Crivelli declined to use it.

GREAT VENETIANS

Bellini was as famous for his pupils as for his work, he having been
the master, or the influencer, of almost all the great Venetians. Giorgione
(Jor-jo´-nee) and Titian were his direct pupils, and the difference between
the portrait of the “Doge Loredano” and the portrait of “Ariosto” by
Titian is the difference between master and pupil. Both portraits
are reproduced herewith in photogravure, and the student has a good
opportunity to compare them. Bellini belonged to the Early and Titian
to the High Renaissance, and, in a measure, the portraits emphasize a
difference in time, though they may have been painted in the same year.
Bellini lived to be old—lived into the High Renaissance—and must have
painted this portrait after 1501,
when Loredano became Doge;
Titian was young, and probably
painted the “Ariosto”
about 1508; but the style of
the one is early, the style of
the other late. The “Doge”
has great dignity, but with it
rigidity of poise, sharpness of
line, paucity of light and
shade, thinness of color. It is
emphatic rather than insinuating,
and a little awkward in
its positive truth. The “Ariosto,”
on the contrary, is
superb in its easy graceful
poise, its inherent nobility of
look, its perfect repose. The
workmanship of it is infallibly
right in its composition, its
full light and shade, and its
gamut of greys, browns and
flesh colors. Compare the
drawings of the robes for the
difference between the men, and other differences will make themselves
manifest. Both portraits are excellent, but they are by no means alike in
point of view or method.

A YOUNG LADY AT A SPINET

By Jan Vermeer

PORTRAIT OF A TAILOR

By Giambattista Moroni

A MAN’S PORTRAIT

By Jan Van Eyck

Titian was perhaps the master-painter of the craft in Italy, and the
“Ariosto” is not his only masterpiece in the National Gallery. There is
an early “Madonna” and a “Christ and the Magdalen,” both of them
excellent, and yet giving way in interest to his large “Ariadne and
Bacchus,” the most considerable of his figure pictures north of the Alps.
It is a little cold in its blue color, but perfect in workmanship, and a marvel
of life and movement. Tintoretto’s “St. George and the Dragon” is
a romantic canvas that in life and spirit presses the Titian very hard. It
is not possible to pick flaws in it, which cannot be said about every
Tintoretto. The charging St. George,
the hurrying princess, the dead body,
the sea, the sky, the distance, are quite
as they should be. And what a beautiful
piece of color! Tintoretto was a
genius of exalted rank, as was also Paolo
Veronese, some of whose best canvases
are here—notably the large “Family of
Darius at the Feet of Alexander.”

The “St. Helena” (reproduced herewith)
is put down to Paolo in the catalogue,
and, though it may not be by him,
is, nevertheless, a fine picture in decorative
arrangement and color. Lotto
in a superb “Family Group” and Paris
Bordone (bor-do´-nee) in the “Portrait
of a Lady,” of a patrician type, are both
extremely well represented in the gallery;
but perhaps they do not attract
so much attention as a more commonplace
portraitist—Moroni. The reason of this is that the National
Gallery has two of the very best works by Moroni—the “Tailor” and
the “Lawyer.” The “Tailor” is very much admired, and justly so. He
is shown standing at his cutting board,
shears in hand, and as the door opens he
looks up to see who has entered. What a
very natural action! And what a serene,
even noble, type of man! The portrait is
modern enough in method to have been
done today, only there is no painter of
today who could do it. It is not, however,
in the class with the Titian “Ariosto.”
Compare them and you will see that intellectually
the Titian is the more profound,
as technically it is the more subtle.

THE FLORENTINES

“CHAPEAU DE PAILLE”

This portrait, known as “The
Straw Hat,” by Peter Paul Rubens,
is of Suzanne Fourment,
his wife’s sister

The Florentines never had the fine color
sense of the Venetians, but from that you
will not infer that they never painted fine
pictures. They were different from the
Venetians, were more intellectual or romantic
or pathetic, cared more for linear drawing
than for light, shade or color. The
Botticellis in the gallery illustrate this distinction.
There are a number of them,
and they all carry by pathetic sentiment
or romance, and exhibit linear drawing primarily. The famous “Mars
and Venus” shows the drawing and the “Nativity,” the sentiment.
The round picture of the “Madonna, Child and St. John,” shown in
the illustrations, is a school piece, but gives the Botticelli pathos in the
girlish types and the sad faces. Do you notice how cleverly the circle is
filled with lines and forms? Filippino, contemporary of Botticelli, (botte-chél-lee)
and much influenced by him, has here an altar-piece that is
admired and copied by students as it deserves to be; and put down to
Lorenzo di Credi is a portrait of “Costanza de Medici” that is supremely
fine not only in color but in character. An early Florentine, Paolo Uccello,
(Oo-chél-lo) famous for his study of perspective, is here shown in his
masterpiece, “The Rout of San Romano,” and Antonio and Piero
Pollajuolo (pol-la-you-oh´-lo) by the “St. Sebastian,” their most important
work. These are only the pictures that may justly
be called great masterpieces. It is astonishing what
a list may be made. The list should include the
two wonderful panels by Piero della Francesca—the
very noblest kind of fine art,—all the pictures
by Cosimo Tura, the “Madonna” by Verrocchio,
(ver-ro´-kee-o) though it is merely a school piece, the
“Agony in the Garden” by Mantegna, and many another
panel by Fra Filippo, or Pisanello, or Benozzo.

THE VIRGIN AND CHILD

By Sandro Botticelli

The Florentine trio—Michelangelo, Raphael
and Leonardo—are represented here in rather
dubious examples. The two Michelangelos
are school pieces, though very good work, and
the genuineness of the Leonardo da Vinci
(vín-chee) “Madonna of the Rocks” is disputed
by a similar picture in the Louvre. The London
picture has much beauty about it, and no
doubt Leonardo had some hand in its production,
but he was probably assisted in it by a pupil. As for Raphael,
there are several pictures assigned to him,
but none of them gives much of an idea of
that great artist. The “Ansidei Madonna”
cost a great deal of money, and has renown;
but it is a thin, cold work of Raphael’s
youth. If you would see Raphael and judge
him justly, you must go to Florence and
Rome. Florence, too, is the proper place
to see painters such as Andrea del Sarto,
while Perugia is the spot for Perugino, and
Parma for Correggio (kor-red´-jo). One’s
opinion of an Italian painter is not to be
formed from seeing one or more isolated
examples of him in the northern galleries.

FLEMISH MASTERS

PORTRAIT OF AN OLD LADY

By Rembrandt

Among the Early Flemish painters there
is nothing finer than the Arnolfini portraits
by Jan Van Eyck, the pathetic “Deposition”
by Bouts, or the two large panels by Gerard
David (dah´-veed). Work of a similar nature
is shown by Gerard of Haarlem (Geertgen tot
Sint Jans) in his “Madonna and Child.” It is
delicate, miniature-like work, and not painting
in any Hals or Velasquez sense; but
done with tremendous earnestness and sincerity
and without a slip or flaw technically.
A much later man, Gossart (or Mabuse) tried
to elaborate the miniature method of the
early men, and apply it to large canvases.
The result is here shown in the large “Adoration
of Kings,” wherein everything is so
realized in surface appearance that you could pick up the tiles or hats
or jewelled presents, so deceptively are they portrayed. This is, of course,
considered a great feat in art, and ever since the picture was added to
the gallery there have been many admirers about it. But art consists of
something more than cats and fiddles to be picked up, as Sir Joshua
Reynolds remarked many years ago.

CHRIST AT THE COLUMN

By Velasquez (ve-las´-keth)

The Later Flemings, Rubens and Van Dyck, did not despise a surface
realism, but they spent no time on petty details. They struck out with
a large brush, and sought to give also the body and bulk of things. Rubens,
all told, had perhaps the most learned and facile brush of any of the
great painters. He was more sure than Hals, more swift than Titian,
more learned than Velasquez. He was the master craftsman of them
all. His “Drunken Silenus,” “Judgment of Paris” and “Chapeau de
Paille” in this gallery will give you
an excellent idea of his skill, his
color sense, his Flemish point of
view. His pupil, Van Dyck, never
reached up to him, and was not
the greatest portrait painter of the
world, though he occasionally did
a great portrait. One of them is
in this gallery, the “Portrait of
Cornelius Van der Geest,” a perfect
head, done in Van Dyck’s
early period; and done so surely
and truly that it will stand
comparison with the best works
of any period or country.

THE DUTCHMEN

In Dutch art the
name of Rembrandt
usually leads all the
rest, and here in the
London gallery are
many examples put
down to him. The
early “Portrait of an
Old Lady,” herewith
reproduced, is perhaps
the most satisfactory
of all, not only because
of its wonderful rendering
of an aged face,
but because of the
great humanity shown
in it. The tremulous
line of the lips and chin, the flabby cheeks of old age, the eyes that seem
filled with tears, all suggest a life that has known sorrow. That appealed
to Rembrandt very strongly. He was always sympathetic with
the suffering because, perhaps, he had suffered himself. No painter
could put more feeling or meaning into a face, a hand, an arm, a bent
form than he. He was the great genius of Netherland art. Hals was a
mere tavern-roysterer with a gift for painting, compared with him.
The National Gallery, however, has no first-rate example of Hals, though
several mediocre canvases are attributed to him. Nor is Steen, or Vermeer
of Delft, or De Hooch seen here at his best. By Terborch there is
a “Guitar Lesson” showing a young woman in white and yellow satin
that is attractive, and a beautifully drawn
“Portrait of a Gentleman.” Cuyp (kipe) is
shown, in many examples, and better than in
any other European gallery. This is also
true of the sea-painter Jan van de Cappelle.
There is a whole wall devoted to examples
by Ruisdael, (rise´-dale) and among the
many Hobbemas is one at least of commanding
interest—“The Avenue, Middelharnis.”
It is slate-grey in color, but its
linear perspective and atmosphere have
made it very popular.

THE GRACES DECORATING A FIGURE OF HYMEN

By Sir Joshua Reynolds

MARRIAGE A LA MODE

By William Hogarth

SPANISH AND GERMAN PICTURES

The National Gallery is not by any
means complete in its representations of
the Spanish painters, though it has a number
of excellent pictures.
By Velasquez one bust
portrait alone, that of
Philip, is worth a day’s
journey to see. There
probably never was a
more perfect presentation.
It not only shows
the physical but the
moral and mental in
the sitter in a most
convincing way. There
are several full-length
portraits here ascribed
to Velasquez, but they
are not entirely by his
hand. The “Christ
Bound to the Column”
is a great picture and
the Rokeby “Venus” is another masterpiece; but neither of them can
be attributed with certainty to Velasquez. He was the master-painter
of Spain, and Murillo, with his “Holy Family” and “St. John and the
Lamb” looks very weak and sentimental beside him. Ribalta who
preceded Velasquez, and Goya, who came long after him, were painters
in the Velasquez tradition if they were not of his class.

The German pictures in the gallery are quite as limited as the
Spanish with only one masterpiece of commanding importance. The
large “Ambassadors” by Holbein is not that one, it being a rather
commonplace affair for all its vastness; but the “Portrait of Christina
of Denmark, Duchess of Milan,” makes amends for it. Here
Holbein is at his simplest and his noblest.
The lady is dressed in black velvet
and silk with fur edgings, and is shown
against a blue background. She stands
there looking at us with a faint attempt
at a smile, with her beautiful hands
crossed in front of her. This is one of
the ladies that Henry VIII wished to
marry. He had this portrait of her
painted by Holbein, but did not succeed
in marrying her. The portrait is
a wonder of good drawing and good
taste. There is nothing of value by
Dürer in the German collection, and
the only other notable picture there is
a portrait of a young girl by Lucidel.

HEAD OF A GIRL, LOOKING UP

By Jean Baptiste Greuze

PORTRAIT OF MRS. SIDDONS

By Sir Thomas Lawrence

THE PARSON’S DAUGHTER

By George Romney

ENGLISH MASTERS

Naturally the English pictures loom
large in the National Gallery, though many
of them in recent years have been transferred
to the Tate Gallery. Here one sees
Hogarth in his series “Marriage a la Mode”
and in several portraits. He was the beginner
in the school and one of its best
painters.
He, of
course,
had not
the court
and society
following of Sir Joshua Reynolds
who came after, with many full-length
portraits of nobility painted to look a
trifle nobler than reality. He was
a famous master, and never did a better
group than the “Lady Cockburn (co´-burn)
Children.” He signed his name
on the edge of the dress at the bottom,
and told Lady Cockburn, with a courtier’s
bow, that he could not neglect the
opportunity to go down to posterity on
the hem of her ladyship’s garment. The
saying pleased him quite as much as his
painting, for he repeated it to Mrs. Siddons when painting her portrait.
It is not known whether the ladies compared notes, but if they did it
probably resulted in a bad quarter of an hour for Sir Joshua.

THE AVENUE AT MIDDELHARNIS, HOLLAND

By Meindert Hobbema

PASTORAL LANDSCAPE

By Claude Lorrain

Gainsborough, the contemporary
of Reynolds, also
painted Mrs. Siddons, and
made the more famous portrait
of her. The color is a
trifle cold in blues, and the
surface is glassy; but the portrait
has dignity, personality
and style. This is the picture
that Gainsborough had such
difficulty in painting the nose
that at last he exclaimed in a
rage, and it is said with some
mild profanity, “Madame,
there seems to be no end to
your nose.” Many excellent
portraits by both Reynolds
and Gainsborough, with
their contemporaries
Hoppner, Romney, and
others are here. The best
Romney is the celebrated
“Parson’s Daughter,”
and the best Lawrence,
the sad-faced bust portrait
of Mrs. Siddons.

THE TURNERS

The gallery some years
ago had a very extensive
collection of Turners, but
many of them are now
removed to the Tate Gallery.
The celebrated ones, such as the “Frosty Morning,” “Crossing the
Brook,” and “Rain, Steam and Speed,” are still here. When Turner died
he left many canvases and about 19,000 sketches and drawings to the
National Gallery. Among the canvases were a “Dido Building Carthage”
and a “Sun Rising through Vapor” that Turner in his will requested should
be hung between two large pictures by Claude Lorrain—the thought being
to show how far Turner surpassed Claude. But the comparison is not
wholly in Turner’s favor. He is flushed, hectic, a little spectacular, where
Claude is cool, calm and serene. The Turners are more cunning in artifice,
but they lack Claude’s simplicity and sincerity. Claude and Poussin
(poo´-sang), by whom there are plenty of canvases here, were past masters
in their time and it is somewhat dangerous for any modern to put himself in
comparison with them. Art is not, after all, a thing that will bear comparisons
so well as contrasts. It is supposed to reveal the individuality of the
man behind the brush, and one great pleasure of the great galleries is that
they show us these differing individualities—even as Turner and Claude.

RIVER SCENE

By Turner

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

⁂ Information concerning the above books may be had on application to the Editor of The Mentor

THE OPEN LETTER

THE NATIONAL GALLERY

The National Gallery is situated on the
north side of historic old Trafalgar Square.
It is a long, low building more imposing in
its proportions than beautiful. It was designed
by Wilkins and is in the Grecian
style. It was erected in the years between
1832 and 1838 at a cost of nearly
$450,000. Since then it has been enlarged
several times. It is now 460 feet in length,
and it contains one of the finest collections
of paintings in the world. The National
Gallery was established by an act of
Parliament in 1824, and at first the collection
consisted of only 38 pictures, the
gift of Mr. Angerstein, whose portrait by
Thomas Lawrence hangs on the wall of
the staircase in the entrance hall. As
years passed by rich and important collections
were contributed until now the
National Gallery is composed of nearly
3,000 pictures. More than half of them,
however, are not housed in the National
Gallery building. About 1,100 are there.
Most of the others are in the Tate Gallery,
which is situated on Grosvenor
Road. The great old masterpieces are in
the National Gallery building, and that
is naturally the part of the collection that
the art student visits first. The Tate
Gallery, which is under the management
of the trustees of the National Gallery, is
regarded as a branch of that institute.
The Tate Gallery was built and presented
to the nation by Sir Henry Tate in 1897,
and the paintings there are chiefly those
of modern British artists. If anyone
wants to study the art work of English
painters from the time of Turner down to
the present day, he should go to the Tate
Gallery. If the visitor is particularly interested
in what has been called the modern
“Pre-Raphaelite School,” he will find
there a great wealth of representative
work of G. F. Watts, Dante Gabriel Rossetti,
Ford Madox Brown, Sir Edward
Burne-Jones, Holman Hunt, and Sir
John E. Millais. These were the leaders
of that circle of artists of fifty years ago
which assumed the name of the “Pre-Raphaelite
Brotherhood.” The members
drew their title from the fact that their art
was inspired by the simplicity and purity
of feeling and the patient handiwork of
the painters that preceded Raphael. This
movement in art and the work of its
brilliant leaders will receive attention
later in The Mentor. The present
number is devoted to the famous master
works included in the collection in
the National Gallery
building.

W. D. Moffat
Editor

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