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THE MENTOR 1916.04.01, No. 104, The National Gallery

LEARN ONE THING EVERY DAY

APRIL 1 1916 SERIAL No. 104

THE MENTOR

GREAT GALLERIES OF THE WORLD

THE NATIONAL GALLERY

LONDON

DEPARTMENT OF VOLUME 4 FINE ARTS NUMBER 4

FIFTEEN CENTS A COPY

Why Knowledge?

"Knowledge gives power," says the philosopher. "Knowledge enriches," says the scholar. But the practical individual exclaims: "Special expert knowledge is a personal asset, but how does general knowledge enrich?"

"Knowledge makes life fuller and more interesting." And what does that mean? It means that life, through knowledge, may be made a joy and a blessing in spite of what the cynics say. It means that through knowledge we learn to appraise things at their true value. Our eyes are opened to see other colors than purple and gold, our ears to hear understandingly other sounds than the roar of traffic, the shriek of an automobile horn, or syncopated music. Knowledge reveals to us the nicer shades of color that give us quiet satisfaction--the finer and gentler tones of Nature and of human life that afford us a lasting enjoyment. It teaches us that there are things more "worth while" than ourselves.

Why do some of us ignore fine art, dismiss good books with indifference, yawn at good music, speed through a ravishing landscape at sixty miles an hour, and neglect a friendship that would bring us self-improvement? The sky and mountains have a thousand messages for us, if we pause to listen to them. The sea is an oracle if we study it. A good book is a mine of information if we search it. A fine painting is an inspiration if we cherish it. Good music is a constant joy if we give attention to it. And the voices of our fellow creatures are filled with precious confidences if we give our ears and hearts to them.

Let us then seek knowledge with the eager mind of a child; for indeed, as Robert Louis Stevenson sang:

The world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.

THE NATIONAL GALLERY

GIOVANNI BELLINI

Monograph Number One in The Mentor Reading Course

There were three famous painters in the Bellini family. Jacopo Bellini was the father, and his two sons were Gentile and Giovanni , the latter being the younger and the greater.

He is supposed to have been born at Venice either in 1430 or 1431, and was brought up in his father's house, serving with his brother as his father's assistant until he was nearly thirty years old. However, Giovanni seems to have been influenced more by his brother-in-law, Mantegna, than by his father. This influence lasted until Mantegna departed for the Court of Mantua in 1460. In 1470 Giovanni was commissioned to paint a Deluge with Noah's Ark. After this he painted many pictures, among them the famous altar-piece for the Church of S. Giovanni e Paolo, which was destroyed by a disastrous fire in 1867, along with Titian's "Peter Martyr" and "The Crucifixion" by Tintoretto.

After 1480 a great deal of Giovanni's time and energy was taken up by his duties as conservator of the paintings in the great hall of the Ducal Palace at Venice. His duties were to repair and renew the works of his predecessors. In addition, he was commissioned to paint a number of new subjects himself. These pictures illustrated the part played by Venice in the wars of Barbarossa. The works were much admired, but none of them survived the fire of 1577.

About the end of the year 1505 Giovanni painted the portrait of the Doge Loredano. This is the only portrait of his which has been preserved. It is one of the most masterly in the whole range of painting. Loredano was the man who carried the Venetian republic through the most trying period of its existence. He became the doge, or ruler, in 1501. France and Spain combined in an attempt to destroy his power, but in vain. This firm man fought hard, although Venice was impoverished and deprived of many of its possessions.

The last ten or twelve years of Bellini's life were filled with more commissions than he could handle. Albrecht D?rer, the famous German painter, visited Venice for a second time in 1506. He reported that Bellini was still the best painter in the city, and he also spoke of the hospitality and courtesy of the artist. Bellini died in 1516.

As pupils he had many of the most famous artists of his time. Two of them, in fact, surpassed him later on--Giorgione and Titian. Bellini may be called the true founder of Venetian painting.

THE NATIONAL GALLERY

TITIAN

Monograph Number Two in The Mentor Reading Course

One day a great emperor was watching an artist paint, when one of the painter's brushes rolled to the floor. The king stooped and picked up the brush, saying as he did so, "It becomes Caesar to serve Titian."

It was in such esteem that the Emperor Charles V held the great artist. "There are many princes, but there is only one Titian," he said.

During the ninety-nine years of the life of Tiziano Vecello, or Titian , as he is known today, some of the greatest events in the history of mankind took place. The year that he was born, 1477, at Cadore in Italy, the first dated English book was printed on the press of William Caxton. When Titian was fifteen Columbus discovered America. Hardly twenty-five years later Charles V, King of Spain, was crowned Emperor of most of Europe. Then came the Reformation, with Luther as its leader, and toward the end of the artist's life the great revolt of the Netherlands which freed them forever from the dominion of Spain. Living in such stirring times, it was natural that Titian gave to the world art that combined many truths of a universal nature.

Titian first studied at Venice. Giovanni Bellini, the great Venetian master, was one of his teachers. Later on Titian formed a partnership with Giorgione, the famous Italian painter. Albrecht D?rer, who visited Venice after Giorgione died, also made a great impression on Titian.

Titian's style formed itself early. He was famous before the age of thirty. From this time on he lived in princely style, surrounded by friends, and with honors and commissions from all sides. He was considered the greatest portrait painter living; and he never let up in his work--he was still a powerful artist when most men fail in strength.

Lodovico Ariosto, the Italian poet, was one of Titian's friends. This man was born at Reggio, in Lombardy, on September 8, 1474. He inclined strongly to poetry from his earliest years; but his father made him study law. At last, however, he was allowed to follow his inclination and overjoyed, he threw himself heartily into the study of the classics. He worked hard, but when his father died he was compelled to give up literature to manage his family, whose affairs were in a poor way.

But he managed to write at this time some comedies and prose, and a few lyrical pieces. Later on he was more successful, particularly when a brother of the Cardinal Ippolito d'Este took him under his patronage. He not only distinguished himself as a poet, but also as a diplomatist.

There is a story told of Ariosto that when walking one day in a deserted spot he fell in with bandits. They took him captive, but discovering that he was the author of "Orlando Furioso," they humbly apologized for not having shown him the respect due him.

Ariosto spent the last part of his life at Ferrara, writing comedies, and correcting his "Orlando Furioso," of which the complete edition was published only a year before his death, which occurred on June 6, 1533.

This was Titian's friend and the man whose portrait is reproduced herewith. The great artist did not spend his last years in happiness. He lost his daughter, Lavinia, who had been his model for many beautiful pictures. Most of his companions had passed away. His son, Pomponio, was a worthless profligate; his son, Orazio, however, attended his father with true affection. In 1575 the plague struck Venice. The following year Titian was stricken. He died on August 27, and was buried with great honor in the Church of St. Maria dei Frari, for which he had painted his famous picture of the "Assumption."

THE NATIONAL GALLERY

HANS HOLBEIN

Monograph Number Three in The Mentor Reading Course

It was at the end of the fifteenth century, about 1495, that one of the greatest geniuses in German painting was born at Augsburg. He is known as Hans Holbein the Younger, as his father is called Hans Holbein the Elder, for he too was an excellent artist.

Hans and his brother, Ambrosius, worked under Holbein the Elder until 1516. They undoubtedly helped their father on his pictures. Later the two brothers went to Basel, where Hans met his powerful patron, Jacob Meier, who commissioned him to paint a picture which is now considered one of his greatest works, "The Meier Madonna."

The last part of Hans Holbein's life is enveloped in mystery. In 1543 the dreaded plague broke out in London once more. The city was still a dirty, crowded town of the Middle Ages. The streets were narrow and the houses and little shops were set close together. Consequently, London was just the kind of a city in which the plague might take its terrible course unchecked. On the 7th of October, 1543, Holbein made his will. This was found some years ago in London. Not long after making his will the great artist died. No one knows the details of his death, nor the place of his burial.

But though Holbein was dead, his works lived on. They are known and valued today as those of few other artists. He belongs among the immortals of German art.

His portrait of the "Duchess of Milan" is a marvel of beauty in its exquisite simplicity of rendering. "Both paint and painter are forgotten in looking at a work like this; you see only the incarnate spirit, and feel its very sphere. Though the woman is really not beautiful, her expression is fascinating in the highest degree. The rich brown eyes, with the yellow ring immediately around the pupil, seem to admit you to the secrets of her thoughts, and the full pouting lips irresistibly command admiration."

THE NATIONAL GALLERY

TINTORETTO

Monograph Number Four in The Mentor Reading Course

Tintoretto was called by his contemporaries "Il Furioso," or "the furious." This was because of the passionate, fiery style which marked his work.

His real name was Jacopo Robusti. He received his nickname from the fact that his father was a dyer, or Tintore. Jacopo used to help him, and so they called him Tintoretto, or "little dyer."

He was born in Venice in 1518. Even as a child he daubed pictures on the walls of his father's dye house. His father soon noticed this, and took him around to the studio of Titian, to see if he could be trained as an artist. The famous old painter agreed to attempt it, but Jacopo had only been ten days in the studio when Titian sent him home for good. It is said that the great master did this out of jealousy, believing that the boy might become his rival. However, it may be fairer to presume that Titian really did not think that the young dyer would ever become an artist. It is a well-known fact, however, that Titian was a bad teacher.

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