years later he painted his famous "Lesson in Anatomy," and in another two years he married his wife Saskia, whom he has immortalized in his portraits. Portrait of Elizabeth Bas, by Rembrandt. Ryks Museum, When he was about forty-eight he lost all his property, and for the rest of his life became a sort of wanderer, carrying with him little but what he needed to paint with. The old home is still pointed out on a quay of the Amstel, where he gathered together a whole museum of paintings, furniture, and beautiful things, and where he lived, full of the joy of living and working, during the years of his happy family life and while prosperity still smiled. In the picture of himself we may study values again to advantage. Select the darkest dark and the highest light, and see how between the two extremes are all the quiet values of this wonderful portrait. white and strong the highest light is. nearly all of Rembrandt's portraits. Also notice how This we see in His father was a miller, and there is a story that in his boyhood Rembrandt spent much time in the old windmill, which was quite dark inside, with only a small window near the top. Certain objects in the mill would therefore receive a strong light in one part, rapidly shading into indistinctness. Gazing for hours at a time at these effects in the dim interior, and drawing them over and over, he came to love the brilliant contrast and to paint into the shadows of his pictures the forms and outlines faintly seen, which now are so loved and prized by the artistic world. 66 One picture of Rembrandt's is always mentioned 'The Sortie of the Banning Cocq Company of Musketeers" for by it alone he would have immortalized himself. It represents the musketeers pictured in a rare and wonderful light, and it is one of the most famous pictures in the world. On page 30 is a small reproduction of the part of the painting containing the principal figures. When first discovered, Sir Joshua Reynolds called it the "Night Watch." The picture was so obscured by the dust of years that it seemed a picture of a night scene. Rembrandt was also famous as an etcher. There is no one who excels him in this field. He has been called the Prince of Etchers, the King of Shadows, and the Shakspere of Painting. A LITTLE GALLERY OF REMBRANDT'S PAINTINGS The Angel Raphael... The Rat Killer..... Philosopher in Meditation.. Christ at Emmaus... Sortie of the Civic Guard. Man with a Fur Cap... .Louvre, Paris. .Boston Museum. Louvre, Paris. 66 . Ryks Museum, Amsterdam. The Hermitage, St. Petersburg. For notable portraits in this valume but not included in this chapter, see pages 33, 34, 35, 38, 50, 61, 120, 140, 155, 159. PICTURES OF CHILD LIFE Pictures of child life are not essentially different from other pictures as far as the manner of painting them is concerned. It is largely a matter of inspiration, since one is likely to paint what one loves most. As everybody loves children, so nearly every great painter has done beautiful pictures of child life. We could, if we chose, study the whole world of artists by pictures of children. But here and there one man stands out by reason of his fine portrayal of the delicate bloom and witchery of children. Children are the type of innocence and brightness. "On the heads of these new-born citizens of life's great city the glory of morning is shed." As Longfellow writes: Here at the portal thou dost stand, Thou openest the mysterious gate Into the future's undiscovered land. DON CARLOS BALTASAR ON HORSEBACK. By Diego Rodriguez de Silva Velasquez of the Spanish School (Born 1599, died 1660) Don Baltasar, son of Philip IV, was seven when this portrait was painted. His father, the King of Spain, |