[Footnote 22: This bill provided that no person should sit in either house of Parliament or hold any office without making declaration that he would stand by William and Mary against James and his adherents.]

There are other portraits by Van Dyck more vigorous than this, but none perhaps more charming. As we have seen in the portrait of the Duke of Lennox, the painter was nowhere more successful than in portraying the young courtier. We recognize the pose, with one arm akimbo, as a favorite device of Van Dyck. While in some cases it seems artificial, here it appears to be an attitude which the young man assumed of his own accord.

On his left arm he carries a tall shepherd's staff; it may be that he has sometime played a pastoral part in some masque. His costume, however, does not accord with such a part, and it is more likely that the staff is held merely to give some use to the left hand. We note in another illustration that the man called Richardot holds a book, with his hand in a similar position.

The texture painting of Lord Wharton's costume is skilfully rendered, and a rich satin hanging behind him throws a part of the figure into relief. On the other side is a glimpse of landscape lighting the composition pleasantly with a distant view.

Authorities.—Macaulay: History of England; Doyle's Official Baronage of England.



XV

THE LAMENTATION OVER CHRIST

A great company of people had followed Jesus to his crucifixion, including not only his enemies, but his friends. The beloved disciple John was accompanied by Mary. "And many women were beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him; among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.

"When the even was come there came a rich man of Arimathea named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple. He went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre and departed."[23]

[Footnote 23: St. Matthew, chapter XXVII., verses 55-60.]

During all this time two at least of the original company of women had lingered near while the body of Jesus was taken from the cross and made ready for burial. They were the mother Mary and Mary Magdalene. Even after Joseph's task was done and he had gone his way, they remained "sitting over against the sepulchre."

It is not unnatural to suppose that they may have had some share in the preparation of the body. Nicodemus, as we learn elsewhere, had brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, which it was the custom of the Jews to use in burial.[24] Both men must have been glad of the presence and help of the faithful women.

[Footnote 24: St. John, chapter XIX., verse 39.]

Poets and painters have dwelt much on these sad moments, supplying from the imagination the details omitted in the narrative. The women must at times have been unable to restrain their tears; natural grief must have its way. Then might the men have left them awhile alone with their dead, as they busied themselves with their task.

It is some such idea as this which inspired the painting of our illustration. The mother Mary supports the head of her son upon her bosom; Mary Magdalene stoops to kiss the lifeless hand; St. John approaches at one side with a mantle.

The body of Christ, wrapped in a cloth, has been laid upon a rock in a cavern. The agony of his cruel death is past, and the face is calm as of one who sleeps. The figure is, as we have seen it on the cross, robust and well knit. Only the nail prints in hands and feet show the manner of his dying. On the ground beside him is a basin with a sponge, surrounded by tokens of the crucifixion, the crown of thorns, the nails, and the superscription.



We see in the Madonna the same stately and beautiful woman who carried her babe on the journey to Egypt. Her veil is now drawn well over her head, entirely concealing her hair. She has borne the cares of life with courage, and the years have touched her face but lightly. Even in the hour of anguish she lifts her eyes to heaven with resignation, yet one hand is extended with a gesture which seems to implore mercy.

Mary Magdalene is a much younger woman. She has peculiar reason for her devotion to Jesus, for he saved her from a strange fate.[25] Her impulsive and loving nature is now overwhelmed with grief. Her rich costume is in disorder, and her hair falls in loose locks over her shoulders. Her lovely face is very sad. Half kneeling, she presses her lips to the wound in the left hand. Her attitude and manner are full of humility, as if she felt herself unworthy to approach too near.

[Footnote 25: St. Luke, chapter VIII., verse 2.]

St. John regards the group with gentle sympathy. He is spoken of as "the disciple whom Jesus loved," so intimate was the relation between them. To his care Jesus intrusted the Mother Mary, and he now remains near as one of the few most deeply bereaved. He is very young, with a sensitive face and delicately cut features.

The subject of the picture is one which Van Dyck treated in several compositions. The Flemish title is "Nood Godes," the suffering of God. The Italians call it the Pieta, which means, compassion. One of the most celebrated works of art devoted to the theme is the marble group in Rome by Michelangelo.[26] Van Dyck must have seen this work on his visit to the Eternal City, and was no doubt inspired in some measure by its grandeur. We notice that in his picture the Mother extends her left hand in a gesture similar to that of the marble figure.

[Footnote 26: See Chapter VI. in the volume on Michelangelo in the Riverside Art Series.]



XVI

PORTRAIT OF VAN DYCK

The painter Van Dyck was the son of a rich merchant of Antwerp, and lacked no opportunities for the training of his artistic gifts. He was fortunate also in meeting ready appreciation wherever he went. In Italy, in Flanders, and finally in England, his paintings were highly valued. His life was passed amid luxurious surroundings, in the society of noblemen and princes. His was a brilliant and successful career.

Our portrait frontispiece was painted during his residence in England, when he was about forty years of age. He is described as short in stature, with a slender figure. His hands were long, with the straight sensitive fingers of the artist. He had a fresh delicate face, with well-cut features, and light chestnut-colored hair, which he wore long, like the English Cavaliers. The upturned mustache and small pointed beard were also fashionable among the English nobility, as we infer from the portrait of Charles I.

The face has the characteristic qualities of the artistic nature, the high forehead, the dreamy eyes, and the pensive expression. The head is lifted a little, in an imaginative pose. We should know this man at once for a poet or a painter.

It must be confessed that we do not find much strength of character in the face. Van Dyck indeed lacked the nobler qualities of manliness, and was decidedly worldly in his tastes. He lived in princely magnificence in his house at Blackfriars, spending money lavishly. A biographer tells how "he always went magnificently Drest, had a numerous and gallant Equipage, and kept so noble a Table in his Apartment that few Princes were more visited or better serv'd."

To maintain this expensive establishment the painter was obliged to devote his mornings to hard work in his studio. The nights were spent in banquets and revelry. Naturally his health gave way under the strain of this double life. While he still cherished ambitious projects for greater works of art, he sickened and died in London at the age of forty-two.

Two years before this he had married an English lady, Mary Ruthven, and they had one child, a daughter.

Our frontispiece is a detail of a double portrait representing, in half-length figures, the painter and a patron, John Digby, Earl of Bristol.

* * * * *



PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY OF PROPER NAMES AND FOREIGN WORDS

The Diacritical Marks given are those found in the latest edition of Webster's International Dictionary.

EXPLANATION OF DIACRITICAL MARKS.

A Dash ([]) above the vowel denotes the long sound, as in fāte, ēve, tīme, nōte, ūse. A Dash and a Dot ([.]) above the vowel denote the same sound, less prolonged. A Curve ([)]) above the vowel denotes the short sound, as in ădd, ĕnd, ĭll, ŏdd, ŭp.

A Dot ([.]) above the vowel a denotes the obscure sound of a in pȧst, ȧbāte, Amĕricȧ.

A Double Dot (") above the vowel a denotes the broad sound of a in faether, aelms.

A Double Dot ([:]) below the vowel a denotes the sound of a in ball.

A Wave (~) above the vowel e denotes the sound of e in hẽr.

A Circumflex Accent (^) above the vowel o denotes the sound of o in born.

A dot (.) below the vowel u denotes the sound of u in the French language.

N indicates that the preceding vowel has the French nasal tone.

G and K denote the guttural sound of ch in the German language.

th denotes the sound of th in the, this.

c sounds like s.

ȼ sounds like k.

[s.=] sounds like z.

ḡ is hard as in ḡet.

ġ is soft as in ġem.

Amiens (ä-mĕ-ăN').

Andreas (än-drā'äs).

Anne (ăn).

Anthony (ăn'tō-nĭ).

Antwerp (ănt'wērp).

Arimathea (ăr-ĭ-mȧ-thē'ȧ).

Assisi (ä-sē'sē).

Astolat (ăs't[=.o]-lăt).

Athens (ăth'ĕnz).

Bedloe (bĕd'lō).

Belgium (bĕl'jĭ-ŭm).

Bentivoglio (bĕn-tē-vōl'yō).

Bethesda (bĕ-thĕz'dȧ).

Bethlehem (Bĕth'lēhĕm).

Biographie Nationale (b[=.e]-[=.o]-grae-fē' nae-s[=.e]-[=.o]-nael').

Blackfriars (blăk'frī-ẽrz).

Bologna (bō-lōn'yȧ).

Bristol (brĭs'tol).

Brussels (brŭs'ĕlz).

Buckingham (bŭk'ĭng-ȧm).

Caesar (sē'zȧr).

Calvary (kăl'vȧ-rĭ).

Carmine (kaer'mē-nā).

Cavaliers (kăv-ȧ-lērz').

Caxton (kăks'tŭn).

Cecilia (sē-sĭl-ĭ-a).

Colyns de Nole (k[=.o]-lăn dẽ Nōl).

Constantine (kŏn'stȧn-tīn).

Cromwell (Crŏm'wĕll).

Crowe (krō).

Cupid (Cū'pĭd).

Cust, Lionel (kŭst lī'ō-nĕl).

Daedalus (dĕd'ȧ-lŭs or dē'dȧ-lŭs).

Digby (dĭg'bĭ).

D'Israeli (dĭz-rā'lĭ).

Doyle (doil).

Dresden (drĕz'den).

Edgehill (ĕj'hĭl).

Egypt (ē'jĭpt).

Elizabeth ([=.e]-lĭz'ȧ-bĕth).

Ephesians (ē-fē'zhȧnz).

Eugenia (ū-jē'nĭ-ȧ).

Flanders (flǎn'dẽrz).

Florence (Flôr'ĕnce).

Fortunatus (Fôrtūnā'tŭs).

Franciscan (frăn-sĭs'kȧn).

frere (frăr).

Fromentin (fr[=.o]-mŏN-tăN').

Galilee (găl'ĭ-lē).

Genoa (jĕn'ō-ȧ).

Hampton (hămp'ton).

Heirkte (hīrk'tē).

Henrietta Maria (Hĕnrĭĕt'tȧ Mȧrī'ȧ).

Herod (Hĕr'od).

Honi soit qui mal y pense (ŏn-ē' swae kē mael ē paeNs).

Hudson, Geoffrey (hŭd'son jĕf'frī).

Icaria (ī-kā'rĭ-[a]).

Icarus (ĭk'a-rŭs).

Italy (ĭt'ȧ-lĭ).

Jacques (zhaek).

Jameson (Jā'me-son).

Jerusalem (Jĕrū'sȧlĕm).

Joses (jō'sēz).

Judaea (jū-dē'ȧ).

Knackfuss (knaek'f[=oo]s).

Kugler (k[=oo]G-lẽr).

Laud (lad).

Lely (lē'lĭ).

Lennox (Lĕn'nox).

Louvre (l[=oo]'vr).

Luebke (lụb'ke).

Macaulay (mȧ-ka'lĭ).

Madonna (Mȧdŏn'nȧ).

Magdalene (măg'd[=.a]-l[=.e]n).

Masaccio (mae-saet'chō).

Medicis, Marie de (mae-rē' dẽ m[=.a]-d[=.e]-sēs').

Metamorphoses (Mĕtȧmôr'phōsēs).

Michelangelo (mē-kĕl-aen'j[=.a]-lō).

Minos (Mī'nŏs).

Naseby (nāz'bĭ).

Netherlands (nĕth'ẽr-lȧndz).

Newcastle (nū'kȧsl).

Nicodemus (nĭk-ō-dē'mŭs).

Nood Godes (nōt gō'dĕs).

Notre Dame (nō'tr daem).

Ober-Ammergau (ō'bẽr ām'mẽr-gow).

Ovid (ŏv'ĭd).

Padua (Păd'ūȧ).

Palatine (păl'ȧ-tīn).

Palermo (Pȧlẽr'mō).

Paradise (Păr'ȧdīse).

Parliamentarians (paer-lĭ-mĕn-tā'rī-ȧnz).

Pellegrino, Monte (mōn't[=.a] pĕl-l[=.a]-grē'-nō).

Pesaro (pā-sae'rō).

Peveril (Pĕv'erĭl).

Phillips, Claude (klad fil'ĭps).

Pieta (pē-[=.a]-tae').

Plantin (plaeN-tăN).

Pontius Pilate (pŏn'shĭ-ŭs pī'l[=.a]t).

Portuguese (pōr'tū-gēz).

Puritans (pū'rĭ-tȧnz).

Raphael (rae'f[=.a]-ēl).

Reynolds (rĕn'olz).

Richardot, Jean Grusset (zhaeN grụs-sā' rē-shaer-dō').

Richmond (Rĭch'mond).

Rosalia (rō-zā'lĭ-ȧ).

Rubens (r[=oo]'bĕnz).

Rupert (r[=oo]'pert).

Ruthven (Rūth'vĕn).

Samothrace (săm'[=.o]-thrās).

Scone (sk[=oo]n).

Sheffield (shĕf'ēld).

Sicilians (sĭ-sĭl'ĭ-ȧnz or sĭ-sĭl'yȧnz).

Sicily (sĭs'ĭ-lĭ).

Strickland (Strĭck'lȧnd).

Stuart (Stū'ȧrt).

Thames (tĕmz).

Titian (tĭsh'ȧn).

Toulouse (t[=oo]-l[=oo]z').

Tours (t[=oo]r).

Vaen Baelĕn.

Van der Geest (vaen dār gāst).

Van Dyck (văn dīk).

Vatican (văt'ĭ-kȧn).

Vaughn (van).

Venetian (v[.)e]-nē'shȧn).

von Ranke (f[=.o]n raen'ke).

Wake (wāk).

Wandesford, Rowland (wŏnz'ford rō'lȧnd).

Warwick (war'ĭk).

Wentworth Wĕnt'worth.

Wharton Whar'ton.

Winchendon Wĭn'chĕndon.

Windsor (wĭn'zor).

Woerman (w[=oo]r'maen).

Woltman (Wŏlt'maen).

Zebedee (zĕb'ĕ-dē).

Zeus (zūs).

* * * * *

THE END