Van Dyck | Page 7

and singing the score from an open
book.
The leader of the dance is evidently the beautiful angel who pauses
opposite the Christ-child. Resting on the right foot he draws back the
left, poising on his toe, in an attitude of exquisite grace. With his left
hand he waves a salute to the infant Christ. His right hand clasps that of
a companion angel to form an arch beneath which troop the whole
jocund company. It is good sport, and the players scamper gleefully
along. A single angel stops to gaze ardently towards the Christ-child.
The mother looks on at the game with queenly dignity. A smile hovers
on her lips, as if the eagerness of the little leader pleased her. As for
Joseph, his glance is directed towards the tree-tops. Perhaps his senses
are not fine enough to discern the spirit company, but he is well content
with the happiness of mother and child.
From the safe pedestal of his mother's knee the child Jesus watches
every motion of the angels with breathless interest. The angel leader
seems to beckon him to join them, and he is almost ready to go. Yet the
firm hands hold him back, and he is glad to cling to his mother's dress.
A circle of light about his head is the halo, or symbol of his divine
origin.
The picture is an important record of our painter's travels in Italy. It
was here he imbibed from the old Italian masters the tender and
devotional spirit which animated their sacred works. Titian was the
special object of his admiration, and he painted a number of Madonna
pictures which show the influence the Venetian painter had upon his art.

The circle of dancing angels recalls the cherub throng of Titian's
Assumption.[2]
[Footnote 2: See Chapter XII. in volume on Titian in the Riverside Art
Series.]

III
THE SO-CALLED PORTRAIT OF RICHARDOT AND HIS SON
A gentleman has brought his little boy to our painter's studio for a
portrait sitting. Father and son are close friends and understand each
other well. On the way they have talked of the picture that is to be
made, and the boy has asked many questions about it. It is rather a
tedious prospect to an active child to have to sit still a long time. But
his father's companionship is his greatest delight, and it is a rare treat to
both to have a whole morning together. Besides, they have a book with
them, a new publication from the Plantin printing press, and the father
has promised to read something to him.
The two are richly dressed for the event, the father in black with a fur
mantle, and the boy in white satin embroidered with gold. The man
wears the stiff quilled ruff of the period, the boy a round collar of soft
lace. It is not every day in the year that a little boy is allowed to wear
his best satin doublet, and the child feels the gravity of the occasion.
We may suppose that these are people of distinction, and that on certain
great occasions the boy accompanies his father to court. Perhaps, too,
as the eldest son of the house, he is sometimes given a seat at a great
banquet, or is brought into the tapestried hall to meet an honored guest.
It is at such times that he would be dressed as in the picture. In our own
day a child's finery brings to mind dancing classes and parties, but in
these far away times it is associated only with stately ceremonies.
The painter has led his guests to a place near a window, where, looking
over their shoulders, one sees a bit of pleasant country. The man draws
the boy towards him and lays one hand on the child's shoulder. At the

painter's bidding, the little fellow puts his right arm akimbo, imitating
the attitude in some of the portraits of the studio. The pose suits
perfectly the quaint dignity of the little figure.
It is a proud moment for the boy. It makes him almost a man to be
treated as an equal by his father. Not for worlds would he do anything
to spoil the picture; he feels the responsibility of carrying out his part
well. He regards the painter with solemn eyes, watching intently every
motion of the pencil.
There is a gleam of humor in the father's eyes as he too looks in the
same direction. He is a man of large affairs, we are sure. His high
forehead shows rare mental powers, and he has the judicial expression
of one whose counsel would be worth following. Yet there is that in his
face which shows the quiet tastes of the scholar. With his boy beside
him and a