The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rembrandt, by Estelle M. Hurll This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Rembrandt A Collection Of Fifteen Pictures and a Portrait of the Painter with Introduction and Interpretation Author: Estelle M. Hurll Release Date: October 22, 2006 [EBook #19602] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REMBRANDT *** Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Sankar Viswanathan, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Transcriber's Note. The images in this eBook of the paintings are from the original book. However many of these paintings have undergone extensive restoration. The restored paintings are presented as modern color images with links. Modern images of the etchings are also given as links. REMBRANDT VAN RYN (BY HIMSELF) National Gallery, London REMBRANDT VAN RYN (BY HIMSELF) National Gallery, London Please click on the image for a larger image. Please click here for a modern color image Masterpieces of Art REMBRANDT A COLLECTION OF FIFTEEN PICTURES AND A PORTRAIT OF THE PAINTER WITH INTRODUCTION AND INTERPRETATION BY ESTELLE M. HURLL Seal BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY The Riverside Press Cambridge 1899 COPYRIGHT, 1899, BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. PREFACE The choice of pictures for this collection has been made with the object of familiarizing the student with works fairly representative of Rembrandt's art in portraiture and Biblical illustration, landscape and genre study, in painting and etching. Admirers of the Dutch master may miss some well-known pictures. For obvious reasons the Lecture in Anatomy is deemed unsuitable for this place, and the Hundred Guilder Print contains too many figures to be reproduced here clearly. The Syndics of the Cloth Guild and the print of Christ Preaching will compensate for these omissions, and show Rembrandt at his best, both with brush and burin. There are perhaps no paintings in the world more difficult to reproduce satisfactorily in black and white than those of Rembrandt. His marvelous effects of chiaroscuro leave in darkness portions of the composition, which appear in the photograph as unintelligible blurs. With these difficulties to meet, great pains have been taken to select for the reproductions of this book the best photographs made direct from the original paintings. A comparative study of the available material has resulted in making use of an almost equal number from Messrs. Hanfstaengl & Co. and Messrs. Braun & Cie. In reproducing the etchings the publishers have been most fortunate in being able to use for the purpose original prints in the Harvey D. Parker Collection of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. ESTELLE M. HURLL. New Bedford, Mass. November, 1899. CONTENTS AND LIST OF PICTURES Portrait of Rembrandt. Painted by himself. Frontispiece. From Photograph by Maison Ad. Braun & Cie. PAGE INTRODUCTION I. On Rembrandt's Character as an Artist vii II. On Books of Reference xi III. Historical Directory of the Pictures of this Collection xiii [v] IV. Outline Table of the Principal Events in Rembrandt's Life xiv V. Some of Rembrandt's Famous Contemporaries in Holland xv VI. Foreign Contemporary Painters xvii I. JACOB WRESTLING WITH THE ANGEL 1 Picture from Photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl 3 II. ISRAEL BLESSING THE SONS OF JOSEPH 7 Picture from Photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl 11 III. THE ANGEL RAPHAEL LEAVING THE FAMILY OF TOBIT 13 Picture from Photograph by Maison Ad. Braun & Cie 15 IV. THE RAT KILLER 19 Picture from Original Etching in the Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston 20 V. THE PHILOSOPHER IN MEDITATION 25 Picture from Photograph by Maison Ad. Braun & Cie 29 VI. THE GOOD SAMARITAN 31 Picture from Original Etching in the Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston 33 VII. THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE 37 Picture from Photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl 38 VIII. CHRIST PREACHING 43 Picture from Original Etching in the Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston 44 IX. CHRIST AT EMMAUS 49 Picture from Photograph by Maison Ad. Braun & Cie 53 X. PORTRAIT OF SASKIA 55 Picture from Photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl 59 XI. THE SORTIE OF THE CIVIC GUARD 61 Picture from Photograph by Maison Ad. Braun & Cie 62 XII. PORTRAIT OF JAN SIX 67 Picture from Original Etching in the Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston 68 XIII. PORTRAIT OF AN OLD WOMAN 73 Picture from Photograph by Maison Ad. Braun & Cie 77 XIV. THE SYNDICS OF THE CLOTH GUILD 79 Picture from Photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl 83 XV. THE THREE TREES 85 Picture from Original Etching in the Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston 86 XVI. THE PORTRAIT OF REMBRANDT (See Frontispiece) 91 PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY OF PROPER NAMES AND FOREIGN WORDS 95 INTRODUCTION I. ON REMBRANDT'S CHARACTER AS AN ARTIST A general impression prevails with the large picture-loving public that a special training is necessary to any proper appreciation of Rembrandt. He is the idol of the connoisseur because of his superb mastery of technique, his miracles of chiaroscuro, his blending of colors. Those who do not understand these matters must, it is supposed, stand quite without the pale of his admirers. Too many people, accepting this as a dictum, take no pains to make the acquaintance of the great Dutch master. It may be that they are repelled at the outset by Rembrandt's indifference to beauty. His pictures lack altogether those superficial qualities which to some are the first requisites of a picture. Weary of the familiar commonplaces of daily life, the popular imagination looks to art for happier scenes and fairer forms. This taste, so completely gratified by Raphael, is at first strangely disappointed by Rembrandt. While Raphael peoples his canvases [vii] with beautiful creatures of another realm, Rembrandt draws his material from the common world about us. In place of the fair women and charming children with whom Raphael delights us, he chooses his models from wrinkled old men and beggars. Rembrandt is nevertheless a poet and a visionary in his own way. "For physical beauty he substitutes moral expression," says Fromentin. If in the first glance at his picture we see only a transcript of common life, a second look discovers something in this common life that we have never before seen there. We look again, and we see behind the commonplace exterior the poetry of the inner life. A vision of the ideal hovers just beyond the real. Thus we gain refreshment, not by being lifted out of the world, but by a revelation of the beauty which is in the world. Rembrandt becomes to us henceforth an interpreter of the secrets of humanity. As Raphael has been surnamed "the divine," for the godlike beauty of his creations, so Rembrandt is "the human," for his sympathetic insight into the lives of his fellow men. Even for those who are slow to catch the higher meaning of Rembrandt's work, there is still much to entertain and interest in his rare story-telling power—a gift which should in some measure compensate for his lack of superficial beauty. His story themes are almost exclusively Biblical, and his style is not less simple and direct than the narrative itself. Every detail counts for something in the development of the dramatic action. Probably no other artist has understood so well the pictorial qualities of patriarchal history. That singular union of poetry and prose, of mysticism and practical common sense, so striking in the Hebrew character, appealed powerfully to Rembrandt's imagination. It was peculiarly well represented in the scenes of angelic visitation. Jacob wrestling with the Angel affords a fine contrast between the strenuous realities of life and the pure white ideal rising majestically beyond. The homely group of Tobit's family is glorified by the light of the radiant angel soaring into heaven from the midst of them. Rembrandt's New Testament scenes are equally well adapted to emphasize the eternal immanence of the supernatural in the natural. The Presentation in the Temple is invested with solemn significance; the simple Supper at Emmaus is raised into a sacrament by the transfigured countenance of the Christ. For all these contrasts between the actual and the ideal, Rembrandt had a perfect vehicle of artistic expression in chiaroscuro. In the mastery of the art of light and shade he is supreme. His entire artistic career was devoted to this great problem, and we can trace his success through all the great pictures from the Presentation to the Syndics. Rembrandt apparently cared very little for the nude, for the delicate curves of the body and the exquisite colors of flesh. Yet to overbalance this disregard of beautiful form was his strong predilection for finery. None ever loved better the play of light upon jewels and satin and armor, the rich effectiveness of Oriental stuffs and ecclesiastical vestments. Unable to gratify this taste in the portraits which he painted to order, he took every opportunity to paint both himself and his wife, Saskia, in costume. Wherever the subject admitted, he introduced what he could of rich detail. In the picture of Israel Blessing the Sons of Joseph, Asenath, as the wife of an Egyptian official, is appropriately adorned with jewels and finery. In the Sortie of the Civic Guard, Captain Cocq is resplendent in his military regalia. With all this fondness for pretty things, Rembrandt never allowed his fancy to carry him beyond the limits of fitness in sacred art. The Venetian masters had represented the most solemn scenes of the New Testament with a pomp and magnificence entirely at variance with their meaning. Rembrandt understood better the real significance of Christianity, and made no such mistake. His Supper at Emmaus is the simple evening meal of three peasant pilgrims precisely as it is represented in the Gospel. His Christ Preaching includes a motley company of humble folk, such as the great Teacher loved to gather about him. It was perhaps the obverse side of his fondness for finery, that Rembrandt had a strong leaning towards the picturesqueness of rags. A very interesting class of his etchings is devoted to genre studies and beggars. Here his disregard of the beautiful in the passion for expression reached an extreme. His subjects are often grotesque— sometimes repulsive—but always intensely human. Reading human character with rare sympathy, he was profoundly touched by the poetry and the pathos of these miserable lives. Through all these studies runs a quaint vein of humor, relieving the pathos of the situations. The picturesque costume of the old Rat Killer tickles the sense of humor, and conveys somehow a delightful suggestion of his humbuggery which offsets the touching squalor of the grotesque little apprentice. And none but a humorist could have created the swaggering hostler's boy holding the Good Samaritan's horse. As a revealer of character, Rembrandt reaches the climax of his power in his portraits. From this class of his pictures alone one can repeople Holland with the spirits of the seventeenth century. All classes and conditions and all ages came within the range of his magic brush and burin. The fresh girlhood of Saskia, the sturdy manhood of the Syndics, and the storied old age of his favorite old woman model show the scope of his power, and in Israel Blessing the Sons of Joseph he shows the whole range in a single composition. He is manifestly at his best when his sitter has pronounced features and wrinkled skin, a face full of character, which he understood so well how to depict. Obstacles stimulated him to his highest endeavor. Given the prosaic and hackneyed motif of the Syndics' composition, he rose to the highest point of artistic expression in a portrait group, in which a grand simplicity of technical style is united with a profound and intimate knowledge of human nature. II. ON BOOKS OF REFERENCE The history of modern Rembrandt bibliography properly begins with the famous work by C. Vosmaer, "Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn, sa Vie et ses Œuvres." Vosmaer profited by the researches of Kolloff and Burger to bring out a book which opened a new era in the appreciation of the great Dutch master. It was first issued in 1868, and was [viii] [ix] [x] [xi] republished in 1877 in an enlarged edition. This book was practically alone in the field until the recent work of Emile Michel appeared. In the English translation (by Florence Simmonds) edited by Walter Armstrong, Michel's "Rembrandt" is at the present moment our standard authority on the subject. It is in two large illustrated volumes full of historical information and criticism and containing a complete classified list of Rembrandt's works—paintings, drawings, and etchings. The "Complete Work of Rembrandt," by Wilhelm Bode, is now issuing from the press (1899), and will consist of eight volumes containing reproductions of all the master's pictures, with historical and descriptive text. It is to be hoped that this mammoth and costly work will be put into many large reference libraries, where students may consult it to see Rembrandt's work in its entirety. The series of small German monographs edited by H. Knackfuss and now translated into English has one number devoted to Rembrandt, containing nearly one hundred and sixty reproductions from his works, with descriptive text. Kugler's "Handbook of the German, Flemish, and Dutch Schools," revised by J. A. Crowe, includes a brief account of Rembrandt's life and work, which may be taken as valuable and trustworthy. For a critical estimate of the character of Rembrandt's art, its strength and weaknesses, and its peculiarities, nothing can be more interesting than what Eugene Fromentin, French painter and critic, has written in his "Old Masters of Belgium and Holland." Rembrandt's etchings have been the exclusive subject of many books. There are voluminous descriptive catalogues by Bartsch ("Le Peintre Graveur") Claussin, Wilson, Charles Blanc, Middleton, and Dutuit. A short monograph on "The Etchings of Rembrandt," by Philip Gilbert Hamerton (London, 1896), reviews the most famous prints in a very pleasant way. There are valuable prints from the original plates of Rembrandt in the Harvey D. Parker collection of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and in the Gray collection of the Fogg Museum at Cambridge, Massachusetts. Those who are not fortunate enough to have access to original prints will derive much satisfaction from the complete set of reproductions published in St. Petersburg (1890) with catalogue by Rovinski, and from the excellent reproductions of Amand Durand, Paris. To come in touch with the spirit of the times and of the country of Rembrandt, the reader is referred to Motley's "Rise of the Dutch Republic," condensed and continued by W. E. Griffis. III. HISTORICAL DIRECTORY OF THE PICTURES OF THIS COLLECTION Portrait Frontispiece. National Gallery, London. Signed and dated 1640. 1. Jacob Wrestling with the Angel. Berlin Gallery. Signed and dated 1659. Figures life size. Size: 4 ft. 5-1/16 in. by 3 ft. 9-5/8 in. 2. Israel Blessing the Sons of Joseph. Cassel Gallery. Signed and dated 1656. Figures life size. Size: 5 ft. 8-9/16 in. by 6 ft. 6-3/4 in. 3. The Angel Raphael Leaving the Family of Tobit. Louvre, Paris. Signed and dated 1637. Size: 2 ft. 2-13/16 in. by 1 ft. 8-1/2 in. 4. The Rat Killer. Etching. Signed and dated 1632. Size: 5-1/2 in. by 4-9/16 in. 5. The Philosopher in Meditation. Louvre, Paris. Signed and dated 1633. Size: 11-7/16 in. by 13 in. 6. The Good Samaritan. Etching. Signed and dated 1633. Size: 10-1/5 in. by 8-3/5 in. 7. The Presentation in the Temple. At the Hague. Signed and dated 1631. Size: 2 ft. 4-11/16 in. by 1 ft. 6-7/8 in. 8. Christ Preaching. Etching. Date assigned by Michel, about 1652. Size: 6-1/5 in. by 8-1/5 in. 9. Christ at Emmaus. Louvre, Paris. Signed and dated 1648. Size: 2 ft. 2-13/16 in. by 2 ft. 1-5/8 in. 10. Portrait of Saskia. Cassel Gallery. Painted about 1632-1634. Life size. Size: 3 ft. 2-11/16 in. by 2 ft. 1-3/5 in. 11. Sortie of the Civic Guard. Ryks Museum (Trippenhuis), Amsterdam. Signed and dated 1642. Life size figures. Size: 11 ft. 9-3/8 in. by 14 ft. 3-5/16 in. 12. Portrait of Jan Six. Etching. Signed and dated 1647. Size: about 9-3/8 in. by 7-3/8 in. 13. Portrait of an Old Woman. Hermitage Gallery, St. Petersburg. Signed and dated 1654. Size: 3 ft. 6-7/8 in. by 2 ft. 9 in. 14. The Syndics of the Cloth Guild. Ryks Museum (Trippenhuis), Amsterdam. Signed and dated 1661. Life size figures. Size: 6 ft. 7/8 in. by 8 ft. 11-15/16 in. 15. The Three Trees. Etching, 1643. Size: 8-2/5 in. by 11 in. IV. OUTLINE TABLE OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS IN REMBRANDT'S LIFE [xii] [xiii] [xiv] 1606.[1] Rembrandt born in Leyden. 1621. Rembrandt apprenticed to the painter, Jacob van Swanenburch. 1624. Rembrandt studied six months with Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam. 1627. Rembrandt's earliest known works, St. Paul in Prison, (Stuttgart Museum); The Money Changers (Berlin Gallery). 1631. Rembrandt removed to Amsterdam. 1631. The Presentation painted. 1632. The Anatomy Lecture painted. 1633. The portrait of the Shipbuilder and his Wife painted. 1634. Rembrandt married Saskia van Uylenborch, June 22, in Bildt. 1635. Rembrandt's son Rombertus baptized December 15. (Died in infancy.) 1637. Angel Raphael Leaving Family of Tobit painted. 1638. Rembrandt's daughter Cornelia born. (Died in early childhood.) 1639. Rembrandt bought a house in the Joden Breestraat. 1640. Rembrandt's second daughter born and died. 1640. Rembrandt's mother died. 1640. The Carpenter's Household painted. 1641. Manoah's Prayer painted. 1641. Rembrandt's son Titus baptized. 1642. Sortie of the Civic Guard (The Night Watch) painted for the hall of the Amsterdam Musketeers. Authorities are not entirely unanimous as to the date of Rembrandt's birth. 1642. Rembrandt's wife, Saskia, died. 1648. Christ at Emmaus painted. 1649. The Hundred Guilder print etched. 1651. Christ Appearing to Magdalen painted. 1652. Christ Preaching etched. 1656. Rembrandt's bankruptcy. 1656. Israel Blessing the Sons of Joseph painted. 1661. Portrait of the Syndics painted for the Guild of Drapers, Amsterdam. 1668. Rembrandt's son Titus died. 1669. Rembrandt died. V. SOME OF REMBRANDT'S FAMOUS CONTEMPORARIES IN HOLLAND Frederick Henry of Orange, stadtholder, 1625. Princess Amalia of Solms, wife of Frederick Henry, built the Huis ten Bosch (House in the Woods) at the Hague, 1647. William II of Orange, stadtholder, 1647. In 1650 the stadt-holderate was suppressed, and John de Witt became in 1653 chief executive of the republic for twenty years. Murdered in 1672. John of Barneveld, Grand Pensioner, "the greatest statesman in all the history of the Netherlands" (Griffis). Executed May 24, 1619. Michael de Ruyter, "the Dutch Nelson," died 1676. Marten Harpertzoon von Tromp, admiral. Born 1597; died 1691. (He defeated the English fleet under Blake.) Cornelius Evertsen, admiral. Floriszoon, admiral. [1] [xv] Witte de With, admiral. Hendrik Hudson, navigator and discoverer; first voyage, 1607, last voyage, 1610. Captain Zeachen, discoverer. Hugo Grotius, father of international law, 1583-1645. Jan Six, burgomaster, bibliophile, art connoisseur, and dramatist, 1618-1700. Spinoza, philosopher, 1622-1677. Joost van den Vondel, poet and dramatist, 1587-1679. Jacob Cats, Grand Pensionary and poet, 1577-1660. Constantine Huyghens, poet. Gysbart Voet (Latin, Voetius) 1588-1678, professor of theology at Utrecht. Cornelis Jansen, born 1585. Professor of scripture interpretation at Louvain. Johannes Koch (Latin, Coccejus), 1603-1669, professor of theology at Leyden and, "after Erasmus, the father of modern Biblical criticism." J. van Kampen, architect, built the Het Palais (Royal Palace) in Amsterdam, 1648. Jansz Vinckenbrink, sculptor. Hendrik de Keyser, sculptor. Crabeth brothers, designers of stained glass. Painters:— Franz Hals, 1584-1666. Gerard Honthorst, 1590-1656. Albert Cuyp, 1605-1691. Jan van Goyen, 1596-1656. Jacob Ruysdael, 1625-1682. Paul Potter, 1625-1654. Jan Lievens, born 1607; died after 1672. Salomon Koning, 1609-1668. Gerard Terburg, 1608-1681. Nicolas Berghem, 1620-1683. Jan Steen, 1626-1679. Adrian van Ostade, 1610-1685. Rembrandt's pupils:— Ferdinand Bol, 1616-1680. Govert Flinck, 1615-1660. Van den Eeckhont, 1620-1674. Gerard Don, 1613-1680. Nicolas Maes, 1632-1693. Juriaen Ovens, 1623. Hendrick Heerschop, born 1620, entered Rembrandt's studio, 1644. Carl Fabritius, 1624-1654. Samuel van Hoogstraaten, born 1627, with Rembrandt, 1640-1650. Aert de Gelder, 1645-1727. Less important names: Jan van Glabbeck, Jacobus Levecq, Heyman Dullaert, Johan Hendricksen, Adriaen Verdael, Cornelis Drost. VI. FOREIGN CONTEMPORARY PAINTERS [xvi] [xvii] Flemish:— Peter Paul Rubens, 1577-1640. Anthony Van Dyck, 1599-1641. Jacob Jordaens, 1594-1678. Franz Snyders, 1574-1657. Gaspard de Craeyer, 1582-1669. David Teniers, 1610-1690. Spanish:— Velasquez, 1599-1660. Pacheco, 1571-1654. Cano, 1601-1676. Herrera, 1576-1656. Zurbaran, 1598-1662. Murillo, 1618-1682. French:— Simon Vouet, 1582-1641. Charles Le Brun, 1619-1690. Eustache Le Sueur, 1617-1655. Italian:— Carlo Dolci, 1616-1686. Guido Reni, 1575-1642. Domenichino, 1581-1641. Francesco Albani, 1578-1660. Guercino, 1591-1666. Sassoferrato, 1605-1685. I JACOB WRESTLING WITH THE ANGEL The history of the Old Testament patriarch Jacob reads like a romance. He was the younger of the two sons of Isaac, and was at a great disadvantage on this account. Among his people the eldest son always became the family heir and also received the choicest blessing from the father, a privilege coveted as much as wealth. In this case therefore the privileged son was Jacob's brother Esau. Jacob resented keenly the inequality of his lot; and his mother sympathized with him, as he was her favorite. A feeling of enmity grew up between the brothers, and in the end Jacob did Esau a great wrong. One day Esau came in from hunting, nearly starved, and finding his younger brother cooking some lentils, begged a portion of it for himself. Jacob seized the chance to make a sharp bargain. He offered his brother the food—which is called in the quaint Bible language a "mess of pottage"—making him promise in return that he would let their father give his blessing to the younger instead of the older son. Esau was a careless fellow, too hungry to think what he was saying, and so readily yielded. But though Esau might sell his birthright in this fashion, the father would not have been willing to give the blessing to the younger son, had it not been for a trick planned by the mother. The old man was nearly blind, and knew his sons apart by the touch of their skin, as Esau had a rough, hairy skin and Jacob a smooth one. The mother put skins of kids upon Jacob's hands and neck and bade him go to his father pretending to be Esau, and seek his blessing. The trick was successful, and when a little later Esau himself came to his father on the same errand, he found that he had been superseded. Naturally he was very angry, and vowed vengeance on his brother. Jacob, fearing for his life, fled into a [1] [2] place called Padanaram. In this place he became a prosperous cattle farmer and grew very rich. He married there also and had a large family of children. After fourteen years he bethought himself of his brother Esau and the great wrong he had done him. He resolved to remove his family to his old home, and to be reconciled with his brother. Hardly daring to expect to be favorably received, he sent in advance a large number of cattle in three droves as a gift to Esau. Then he awaited over night some news or message from his brother. In the night a strange adventure befell him. This is the way the story is told in the book of Genesis.[2] Genesis, chapter xxxii. verses 24-31. JACOB WRESTLING WITH THE ANGEL Berlin Gallery JACOB WRESTLING WITH THE ANGEL Berlin Gallery Please click on the image for a larger image. Please click here for a modern color image "There wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, 'Let me go, for the day breaketh.' And he said, 'I will not let thee go, except thou bless me,' And he said unto him, 'What is thy name?' And he said, 'Jacob,' And he said, 'Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.'... And he blessed him there. "And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. And as he passed over Penuel, the sun rose upon him and he halted upon his thigh;" that is, he walked halt, or lame. The crisis in Jacob's life was passed, for hardly had he set forth on this morning when he saw his brother whom he had wronged advancing with four hundred men to meet him. "And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him: and they wept." So were the brothers reconciled. The picture represents Jacob wrestling with his mysterious adversary. We have seen from his history how determined he was to have his own way, and how he wrested worldly prosperity even from misfortunes. Now he is equally determined in this higher and more spiritual conflict. It is a very real struggle, and Jacob has prevailed only by putting forth his utmost energy. It is the moment when the grand angel, pressing one knee into the hollow of Jacob's left thigh and laying his hand on his right side, looks into his face and grants the blessing demanded as a condition for release. Strong and tender is his gaze, and the gift he bestows is a new name, in token of the new character of brotherly love of which this victory is the beginning. The story of St. Michael and the Dragon, which Raphael has painted, stands for the everlasting conflict between good and evil in the world. There is a like meaning in the story of Jacob's wrestling with the angel. The struggle is in the human [2] [3] [5] [6] heart between selfish impulses and higher ideals. The day when one can hold on to the good angel long enough to win a blessing, is the day which begins a new chapter in a man's life. II ISRAEL BLESSING THE SONS OF JOSEPH When Jacob wrestled with the angel he received a new name, Israel, or a prince, a champion of God. Israel became the founder of the great Israelite nation, and from his twelve sons grew up the twelve tribes of Israel, among whom was distributed the country now called Palestine. Among these sons the father's favorite was Joseph, who was next to the youngest. This favoritism aroused the anger and jealousy of the older brothers, and they plotted to get rid of him. One day when they were all out with some flocks in a field quite distant from their home, they thought they were rid forever of the hated Joseph by selling him to a company of men who were journeying to Egypt. Then they dipped the lad's coat in goat's blood and carried it to Israel, who, supposing his son to have been devoured by a wild beast, mourned him as dead. When Joseph had grown to manhood in Egypt, a singular chain of circumstances brought the brothers together again. There was a sore famine, and Egypt was the headquarters for the sale of corn. Joseph had shown himself so able and trustworthy that he was given charge of selling and distributing the stores of food. So when Israel's older sons came from their home to Egypt to buy corn they had to apply to Joseph, whom they little suspected of being the brother they had so cruelly wronged. There is a pretty story, too long to repeat here, of how Joseph disclosed himself to his astonished brethren, and forgave them their cruelty, how he sent for his father to come to Egypt to live near him, how there was a joyful reunion, and how "they all lived happily ever after." When the time drew near for Israel to die, he desired to bestow his last blessing on his sons. And first of all his beloved son Joseph brought him his own two boys, Ephraim and Manasseh. Now according to the traditions of the patriarchs, it was the eldest son who should receive the choicest blessing from his father. Israel, however, had found among his own sons that it was a younger one, Joseph, who had proved himself the most worthy of love. This may have shaken his faith in the wisdom of the old custom. Perhaps, too, he remembered how his own boyhood had been made unhappy because he was the younger son, and how he had on that account been tempted to deceit. Whatever the reason, he surprised Joseph at the last moment by showing a preference for the younger of the two grandsons, Ephraim, expressing this preference by laying the right hand, instead of the left, on his head. The blessing was spoken in these solemn words: "God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads." ISRAEL BLESSING THE SONS OF JOSEPH Cassel Gallery ISRAEL BLESSING THE SONS OF JOSEPH Cassel Gallery Please click on the image for a larger image. Please click here for a modern color image The narrative relates[3] that "When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased [7] [8] [11] him; and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. And Joseph said unto his father, 'Not so, my father: for this is the first-born; put thy right hand upon his head.' And his father refused, and said, 'I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.' And he blessed them that day, saying, 'In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim, and as Manasseh;' and he set Ephraim before Manasseh." Genesis, chapter xlviii. verses 17-20. As we compare the picture with the story, it is easy to identify the figures. We are naturally interested in Joseph as the hero of so many romantic adventures. As a high Egyptian official, he makes a dignified appearance and wears a rich turban. His face is gentle and amiable, as we should expect of a loving son and forgiving brother. In the old man we see the same Jacob who wrestled by night with the Angel and was redeemed from his life of selfishness. The same strong face is here, softened by sorrow and made tender by love. The years have cut deep lines of character in the forehead, and the flowing beard has become snowy white. The dying patriarch has "strengthened himself," to sit up on the bed for his last duty, and his son Joseph supports him. The children kneel together by the bedside, the little Ephraim bending his fair head humbly to receive his grandfather's right hand, Manasseh looking up alertly, almost resentfully, as he sees that hand passing over his own head to his brother's. Joseph's wife Asenath, the children's mother, stands beyond, looking on musingly. We see that it is a moment of very solemn interest to all concerned. Though the patriarch's eyes are dim and his hand trembles, his old determined spirit makes itself manifest. Joseph is in perplexity between his filial respect and his solicitude for his first-born. He puts his fingers gently under his father's wrist, trying to lift the hand to the other head. The mother seems to smile as if well content. Perhaps she shares the grandfather's preference for little Ephraim. The picture is a study in the three ages of man, childhood, manhood, and old age, brought together by the most tender and sacred ties of human life, in the circle of the family. III THE ANGEL RAPHAEL LEAVING THE FAMILY OF TOBIT The story of Tobit is found in what is called the Apocrypha, that is, a collection of books written very much in the manner of the Bible, and formerly bound in Bibles between the Old and the New Testament. The story goes that when Enemessar, King of Assyria, conquered the people of Israel, he led away many of them captive into Assyria, among them the family of Tobit, his wife Anna, and their son Tobias. They settled in Nineveh, and Tobit, being an honest man, was made purveyor to the king. That is, it was his business to provide food for the king's household. In this office he was able to lay up a good deal of money, which he placed for safe keeping in the hands of Gabael, an Israelite who lived at Rages in Media. Tobit was a generous man, and he did many kind deeds for his less fortunate fellow exiles; he delighted in feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. When Sennacherib was king of Assyria, many Jews were slain and left lying in the street, and Tobit, finding their neglected bodies, buried them secretly. One night, after some such deed of mercy, a sad affliction befell him. White films came over his eyes, causing total blindness. In his distress he prayed that he might die, and began to make preparations for death. He called his son Tobias to him and gave him much good advice as to his manner of life, and then desired him to go to Rages to obtain the money left there with Gabael. But Tobias must first seek a guide for the journey. "Therefore," says the story, "when he went to seek a man, he found Raphael that was an angel. But he knew not; and he said unto him, 'Canst thou go with me to Rages? and knowest thou those places well?' To whom the angel said, 'I will go with thee, and I know the way well: for I have lodged with our brother Gabael,'" The angel gave himself the name Azarias. "So they went forth both, and the young man's dog with them." "As they went on their journey, they came in the evening to the river Tigris, and they lodged there. And when the young man went down to wash himself, a fish leaped out of the river, and would have devoured him. Then the angel said unto him, 'Take the fish,' And the young man laid hold of the fish, and drew it to land. To whom the angel said, 'Open the fish and take the gall, and put it up safely.' So the young man did as the angel commanded him, and when they had roasted the fish, they did eat it: then they both went on their way, till they drew near to Ecbatane. Then the young man said to the angel, 'Brother Azarias, to what use is the gall of the fish?' And he said unto him, 'It is good to anoint a man that hath whiteness in his eyes, and he shall be healed.'" [3] [12] [13] [14] [15] THE ANGEL RAPHAEL LEAVING THE FAMILY OF TOBIT The Louvre, Paris Please click on the image for a larger image. Please click here for a modern color image After this curious incident there were no further adventures till they came to Ecbatane. Here they lodged with Raguel, a kinsman of Tobit, and when Tobias saw Sara, the daughter, he loved her and determined to make her his wife. He therefore tarried fourteen days at Ecbatane, sending Azarias on to Rages for the money. This delay lengthened the time allotted for the journey, but at last the company drew near to Nineveh,—Azarias or Raphael, and Tobias, with the bride, the treasure, and the precious fishgall. Raphael then gave Tobias directions to use the gall for his father's eyes. Their arrival was the cause of great excitement. "Anna ran forth, and fell upon the neck of her son. Tobit also went forth toward the door, and stumbled: but his son ran unto him, and took hold of his father: and he strake of the gall on his father's eyes, saying, 'Be of good hope, my father.' And when his eyes began to smart, he rubbed them; and the whiteness pilled away from the corners of his eyes: and when he saw his son, he fell upon his neck." Now Tobit and Tobias were full of gratitude to Azarias for all that he had done for them, and, consulting together as to how they could reward him, decided to give him half the treasure. So the old man called the angel, and said, "Take half of all that ye have brought, and go away in safety." Then Raphael took them both apart, and said unto them, "Bless God, praise him, and magnify him, and praise him for the things which he hath done unto you in the sight of all that live." With this solemn introduction the angel goes on to tell Tobit that he had been with him when he had buried his dead countrymen, and that his good deeds were not hid from him, and that his prayers were remembered. He concludes by showing who he really is. "I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One." "Then they were both troubled, and fell upon their faces: for they feared God. But he said unto them, 'Fear not, for it shall go well with you; praise God therefore. For not of any favor of mine, but by the will of our God I came; wherefore praise him for ever. All these days I did appear unto you; but I did neither eat nor drink, but ye did see a vision. Now therefore give God thanks: for I go up to him that sent me.'" "And when they arose, they saw him no more." The picture shows us the moment when the angel suddenly rises from the midst of the little company and strikes out on his flight through the air like a strong swimmer. Tobit and Tobias fall on their knees without, while Anna and the bride Sara stand in the open door with the frightened little dog cowering beside them. The older people are overcome with wonder and awe, but Tobias and Sara, more bold, follow the radiant vision with rapturous gaze. [17] [18] IV THE RAT KILLER The pictures we have examined thus far in this collection have been reproductions from Rembrandt's paintings. You will see at once that the picture of the Rat Killer is of another kind. The figures and objects are indicated by lines instead of by masses of color. You would call it a drawing, and it is in fact a drawing of one kind, but properly speaking, an etching. An etching is a drawing made on copper by means of a needle. The etcher first covers the surface of the metal with a layer of some waxy substance and draws his picture through this coating, or "etching ground," as it is called. Next he immerses the copper plate in an acid bath which "bites," or grooves, the metal along the lines he has drawn without affecting the parts protected by the etching ground. The plate thus has a picture cut into its surface, and impressions of this picture may be taken by filling the lines with ink and pressing wet paper to the surface of the plate. You will notice that the difference between the work of an engraver and that of an etcher is that the former cuts the lines in his plate with engraving tools, while the latter only draws his picture on the plate and the acid cuts the lines. The word etching is derived from the Dutch etzen, and the most famous etchers in the world have been among Dutch and German artists. THE RAT KILLER Museum of Fine Arts, Boston THE RAT KILLER Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Please click on the image for a larger image. Please click here for a modern image Rembrandt is easily first of these, and we should have but a limited idea of his work if we did not examine some of his pictures of this kind. Impressions made directly from the original plates, over two centuries ago, are, of course, very rare and valuable, and are carefully preserved in the great libraries and museums of the world. There is a collection in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where this etching of the Rat Killer may be seen. The Rat Killer is one of many subjects from the scenes of common life which surrounded the artist. In smaller towns and villages, then as well as now, there were no large shops where goods were to be bought. Instead, all sorts of peddlers and traveling mechanics went from house to house—the knife grinder, the ragman, the fiddler, and many others. This picture of the Rat Killer suggests a very odd occupation. The pest of rats is, of course, much greater in old than in new countries. In Europe, and perhaps particularly in the northern countries of Holland and Germany, the old towns and villages have long been infested with these troublesome creatures. There are some curious legends about them. One relates how a certain Bishop Hatto, as a judgment for his sins, was attacked by an army of rats which swam across the Rhine and invaded him in his island tower, where they made short work of their victim.[4] Another tells how a town called Hamelin was overrun with rats until a magic piper appeared [19] [20] [23] who so charmed them with his enchanted music that they gathered about him and followed his leading till they came to the river and were drowned.[5] See Southey's poem, Bishop Hatto. See Browning's poem, The Pied Piper of Hamelin. The old Rat Killer in the picture looks suspiciously like a magician. It seems as if he must have bewitched the rats which crawl friskily about him, one perching on his shoulders. He reminds one of some ogre out of a fairy tale, with his strange tall cap, his kilted coat, and baggy trousers, the money pouch at his belt, the fur mantle flung over one shoulder, and the fierce-looking sword dangling at his side. But there is no magic in his way of killing rats. He has some rat poison to sell which his apprentice, a miserable little creature, carries in a large box. The picture gives us an idea of an old Dutch village street. The cottages are built very low, with steep overhanging roofs. The walls are of thick masonry, for these were days when in small villages and outlying districts "every man's house was his castle," that is, every man's house was intended, first of all, as a place of defense against outlawry. The entrance doors were made in two sections, an upper and a lower part, or wing, each swinging on its own hinges. Whenever a knock came, the householder could open the upper wing and address the caller as through a window, first learning who he was and what his errand, before opening the lower part to admit him. Thus an unwelcome intruder could not press his way into the house by the door's being opened at his knock, and the family need not be taken unawares. In many of our modern houses we see doors made after the same plan, and known as "Dutch doors." The cautious old man in the picture has no intention of being imposed upon by wandering fakirs. He has opened only the upper door and leans on the lower wing, as on a gate, while he listens to the Rat Killer's story. The latter must have a marvellous tale to tell of the effects of the poison, from the collection of dead rats which he carries as trophies in the basket fastened to the long pole in his hand. But the householder impatiently pushes his hand back, and turns away as if with disgust. The apprentice, grotesque little rat himself, looks up rather awestruck at this grand, turbaned figure above him. V THE PHILOSOPHER IN MEDITATION Ever since the beginning of human history there have been people who puzzled their brains about the reasons of things. Why things are as they are, whence we came, and whither we are going are some of the perplexing questions they have tried to answer. Some men have given all their lives to the study of these problems as a single occupation or profession. Among the ancient Greeks, who were a very intellectual nation, such men were quite numerous and were held in great esteem as teachers. They were called philosophers, that is, lovers of wisdom, and this word has been passed down to our own times in various modern languages. In the passing of the centuries men found more and more subjects to think about. Some studied the movements of the stars and tried to discover if they had any influence in human affairs. These men were called astrologers, and they drew plans, known as horoscopes, mapping out the future destiny of persons as revealed by the position of the constellations. There were other men who examined the various substances of which the earth is composed, putting them together to make new things. These were alchemists, and their great ambition was to find some preparation which would change baser metals into gold. This hoped-for preparation was spoken of as the "philosopher's stone." Now modern learning has changed these vague experiments into exact science; astronomy has replaced astrology, and chemistry has taken the place of alchemy. Nevertheless these changes were brought about only very gradually, and in the 17th century, when Rembrandt lived and painted this picture, a great stir was made by the new ideas of astronomy taught by Galileo in Italy, and the new discoveries in chemistry made by Van Helmont in Belgium. Many philosophers still held to the old beliefs of astrology and alchemy. It is not likely that Rembrandt had any one philosopher in mind as the subject of his picture. That his philosopher is something of a scholar, we judge from the table at which he sits, littered with writing materials. Yet he seems to care less for reading than for thinking, as he sits with hands clasped in his lap and his head sunk upon his breast. He wears a loose, flowing garment like a dressing-gown, and his bald head is protected by a small skull cap. His is an ideal place for a philosopher's musings. The walls are so thick that they shut out all the confusing noise of the world. A single window lets in light enough to read by through its many tiny panes. It is a bare little room, to be sure, with its ungarnished walls and stone-paved floor, but if a philosopher has the ordinary needs of life supplied he wants no luxuries. He asks for nothing more than quiet and uninterrupted leisure in which to pursue his meditations. [4] [5] [24] [25] [26] [29]