Van Dyck | Page 9

of devotion. An open
book lies on the ground beside him, as if he had been conning its pages
when the vision broke upon him. The landscape surroundings are
especially appropriate, for St. Anthony was fond of out-of-door life.
His sermons were often given in the open air, and it is said that he
sometimes preached to the fishes. He delighted to point out to his
hearers the beauties of nature, the whiteness of the swan, the mutual
charity of the storks, and the purity and fragrance of the lilies.
[Illustration: THE VISION OF ST. ANTHONY Brera Gallery, Milan]
The poetic refinement of his nature is indicated in his face. He is young
and handsome, with the gentle expression which used to win the hearts
of his hearers. There is little here to show the more forcible elements of

his character. The tonsured head is the common mark of membership in
religious orders.
The Christ-child bends forward to caress the saint's face with his tiny
hand. He is a loving little fellow, not particularly pretty, except in his
infantine plumpness, yet the face is full of innocent sweetness. A
mysterious light shines above his head, the emblem of divinity. The
good friar does not presume to touch the holy child, but folds his hands
reverently across his breast. His eyes are lifted with the rapt look of the
visionary.
St. Anthony's biographers tell us how he loved to recite the old Latin
hymn by St. Fortunatus, beginning,--
O Gloriosa Domina Excelsa super sydera. [O most glorious Lady
Exalted above the stars.]
We may fancy that in the ecstasy of this vision these lines now rise to
his lips. The last stanza expresses the sum of his adoration:--
Gloria tibi Domine Qui natus es de Virgine Cum Patre et sancto Spiritu
In sempiterna saecula. [Glory to thee, O Lord, Who wast born of a
Virgin, With the Father and Holy Spirit For eternal ages.]
It is easy to see from a comparison of this picture with the Rest in
Egypt that it was painted at about the same time. We at once recognize
the mother and child of the other illustration, and note the similarity in
pose. We may imagine the Madonna bending forward and holding the
babe a little lower on her lap, and we should have the grouping as it is
here.
In their pictures of the Madonna, the old painters tried to express their
highest ideals of womanhood. The mother Mary represented to them all
that is strongest and sweetest in a woman's character. So this Madonna
by Van Dyck is a gracious and queenly figure modelled upon the
stately Virgin of Titian.
The linear composition of the picture is carefully planned; the basis is

the pyramidal form. From the top of the Virgin's head diverge the two
oblique lines which enclose the diagram. The mantle fluttering behind
the mother's shoulder balances the part of St. Anthony's tunic which
lies on the ground.
We may well believe that the painter took especial pleasure in working
on this picture, because he himself bore the name of the good St.
Anthony.

V
MADAME ANDREAS COLYNS DE NOLE AND HER DAUGHTER
In the time of Van Dyck there was living in Antwerp a family of
ancient lineage who bore the name of Colyns de Nole. For three
centuries there had been sculptors among the men of this name. The
talent had been handed down from father to son through the several
generations, and sometimes there were two or three of the family
working together in the art. The old churches of Antwerp contained
some fine specimens of their work.[4]
[Footnote 4: A full account of the several members of this family is
given in the Biographie Nationale, published by the Royal Belgian
Academy of Science, Literature and Fine Arts, Brussels, 1899.]
Andreas Colyns de Nole was of nearly the same age as Van Dyck, and
a worthy representative of his famous family. He was the sculptor of
the beautiful monument of Henry van Balen in the Church of St.
Jacques, and of a Pietà in the Church of Notre Dame. The sculptor and
the painter became good friends, and it was a natural consequence that
the latter should paint the portrait of his friend and of his family. He
made two companion pictures, one of the sculptor, and the other of his
wife and the little daughter.
The lady is seated in an arm-chair, letting her placid glance stray across
the room. There is a little touch of weariness in her manner, as if she
were glad to sit down for a few moments' rest. She is a busy housewife

and mother, with many domestic duties on her mind. In her strong,
capable way she has long borne the family burdens. The face