Great Artists, Vol 1. | Page 9

of Art by Luebke.
History of Art by Mrs. Heaton.
Great Artists by Mrs. Shedd.
The Fine Arts by Symonds.

Early Italian Painters by Mrs. Jameson.
SUBJECTS FOR LANGUAGE WORK.
1. The Boy Raphael at Home.
2. My Favorite Madonna.
3. Stories of St. Francis of Assisi.
4. What I know of Fresco Painting.
5. Looking for Buried Treasures in Rome.
6. A Day in the Roman Forum.
7. A Day with the Boy Raphael.
8. The Legend of the Madonna della Sedia.
9. Raphael and His Friends.
10. Raphael the Student.

[Illustration: COURT IN THE ALCAZAR.]
MURILLO AND SPANISH ART
"Velazquez is in art an eagle; Murillo is an angel. One admires
Velazquez and adores Murillo. By his canvasses we know him as if he
had lived among us. He was handsome, good and virtuous. Envy knew
not where to attack him; around his crown of glory he bore a halo of
love. He was born to paint the sky." --DE AMICIS.
"Murillo could paint the sacred fervor of the devotee, or the ecstasy of
the religious enthusiast, as well as the raggedness of the mendicant, or
the abject suffering of Job." --CHARLES BLANC.

[Illustration: MURILLO.]
MURILLO AND SPANISH ART.
Spain was not blessed as Italy was with one generation after another of
artists so great that all the world knows them even at this distant day.
Spain has only two unquestionably great painters that stand out as
world-artists. They are Velazquez and Murillo. The former painted with
unrivalled skill the world of noblemen among whom he lived. The
other, not surrounded by courtiers, looked into his own pure, religious
soul, and into the sky above, and gave us visions of heaven--its saints
and its angels.
It is impossible to study either of these men apart from the other, or
apart from the art records of Spain. To understand either, we must
know the land, teeming with rich and unique cities, we must have
glimpses of its history, and we must know something of the rules laid
down by the church to guide the painter in his work.
The climate of Spain, except in the south, is rigorous. Elevated plains,
rounded by snow-capped mountains, and swept during a large part of
the year by chilling winds, are not adapted to inspire men to produce
great works of art. On such a plain Madrid is situated, and chilly indeed
are its nature pictures, even though they are over-arched by the bluest
of skies and the most transparent of atmospheres! In Andalusia,
however, things were different. Here were the olive, the orange, and the
cypress, and here a sunny climate encouraged the houseless beggar no
less than the aspiring artist.
[Illustration: Velasquez de Silva.]
In speaking of Spain as a home of painting, we must not forget, either,
how very devoted the people were to their religion, for this, perhaps
more than anything else, gave a peculiar character to the art of Spain.
The doctrines of Luther, found no willing listeners in Spain. Indeed, the
Spaniards clung all the closer to the Church when they knew that there
were those who wished to change it, and so their paintings are full of
sad-faced, suffering saints, and rejoicing, holy men and women who

gave their lives to religion. In connection with this extreme religious
zeal, the Church found it necessary to impose rules on the artists who
would paint these holy personages. The Virgin, whom all profoundly
reverenced, should, according to tradition, have fair hair and blue eyes.
Her robes must be of pure white and azure blue, and under no
circumstances should her feet be exposed. She should stand on the
crescent moon with its horns pointing downward. Many other similar
rules were at that time thought necessary, and they greatly limited the
artists in their work, for however good a churchman a man may be, it is
impossible for him to properly prescribe colors and forms for the artist,
who, if he is any thing at all, is the see-er of his age. We want such
things as the artist sees them. We shall see how nearly Murillo got into
trouble by breaking some of these prescribed rules.
If we study the kings of Spain, Charles V. and the Philips, we shall see
two things that greatly influenced the art of Spain. First, they were fond
of art and spent great sums of money in buying fine paintings by Italian
and Flemish masters. Both Titian and Rubens were favorites in Spain,
and many of their pictures were painted expressly for Spanish
monarchs. Then, these rulers were vain and had a great liking for
having their portraits painted. This vanity extended to the Courtiers and
even to the dwarfs, several of whom were usually connected with the
court as a source of amusement.