CHILDREN OF THE SHELL
Questions to arouse interest. Where do these children seem to be? Which of the two children seems to be the older? What is the boy at the right doing? From what is he drinking? Why do you think the boy at the left has given him a drink? How is he helping him now? What does the boy who is drinking hold in his left hand? How is he standing? What is the lamb doing? Who else seems to be watching them? Why do you think the picture is called "Children of the Shell"? Do you like this picture? why?
Original Picture: Prado Gallery, Madrid, Spain.
Artist: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (mo͞o rēl´´yō).
Birthplace: Seville, Spain.
Dates: Born, 1618; died, 1682.
The story of the picture. The great religious painter, Murillo, has given us many pictures of the Christ child and John the Baptist, but perhaps none more pleasing than this one which critics have so often declared the most beautiful picture of children ever painted.
We must go back in our Bible history to the time when the wicked King Herod reigned over Judea, for it was then that our story begins. This proud king had conquered all his enemies and expected to live at ease in his rich and beautiful palace, surrounded by all that would give him comfort and pleasure. But one day he was made very unhappy when a messenger appeared bringing him most unwelcome news. It was that a child had been born in Bethlehem at just the time and place it had been prophesied that a child should be born who would one day be king over all the world. In a manger of a stable, true to the prophecy, the baby Jesus was born. The three wise men of the East and many others who already worshiped him as king sought and found him there. The thought that the child would grow up to rule over his kingdom alarmed King Herod, and he resolved to remove this possible rival before it was too late. Fearful lest the child should escape, Herod sent out a terrible decree that all boy babies under two years of age should be killed. That must have been a dreadful day, for there was little hope of escape or concealment.
However, Mary and Joseph had been warned by an angel several days before, and with the child Jesus they were already safe on their way to Egypt. They had left in the night, and no one could tell anything about them, or where to look for them. Several years later King Herod died, and almost immediately Mary, Joseph, and the boy Jesus started on the homeward journey. It was during this journey, we are told, that the boy, running on ahead of the donkey Mary was riding, found a cool little spring where he could quench his thirst. Suddenly there appeared another boy wearing a camel's-hair cloak and carrying a wooden stick with a cross carved upon it. He was followed by a lamb. It was John the Baptist, who, although only a child, was living among the hills, eating locusts and wild honey, preparing for the great work he was to do. It is supposed that as the mothers of these two boys often visited each other, the children must have met before. In the picture we see them standing near the cool little spring. Jesus has in his hand a shell which, straightway forgetting his own thirst, he has filled and now offers to his cousin John.
John the Baptist is bending over to drink from the shell which Jesus holds for him. The lamb watches them contentedly, while from the sky above the angels, with clasped hands and smiling faces, look down in silent adoration. Although he does not look at them, Jesus seems conscious of their presence, for he points toward them with his little hand. Light radiates from the clouds and the angels, while deep shadows at the left and the right serve to heighten the effectiveness of the central part of the picture. The lamb, as the symbol of innocence, is the natural playmate of these two healthy, sturdy boys. The little John drinks eagerly, as if he were indeed thirsty and weary, while Jesus, although younger in years, has the kind and thoughtful look of an elder brother caring for a younger.
At this moment they seem to be merely two thirsty boys, little knowing the great work before them or thinking of anything but to quench their thirst. Yet some of the coming greatness shows itself in the generous action of the child Jesus and the gentle acceptance of John the Baptist.
Questions to help the pupil understand the picture. Whom does this picture represent? For what kind of paintings is Murillo famous? what subjects? Tell about King Herod. Why was he worried when he heard of the birth of Jesus? What did he do in order to be sure the child would be killed? What did the parents of the baby Jesus do? When was it safe for the boy Jesus to return? How did he happen to meet John at the spring? How was John dressed? What followed him? For what does the lamb stand? Who has the shell? What does he do with it? Why do you suppose he did not drink first? To whom does Jesus point or beckon with his left hand? Which boy was the younger? For what is this picture famous?
The story of the artist. A little Spanish boy, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, born into the home of a poor mechanic, and with no opportunities save those of his own making, grew to be one of the greatest of Spanish painters. Both his parents died before he was eleven years old, and he seems to have been left quite to his own devices. Until that time he had attended school, where his ability to draw had shown itself in pictures drawn on the walls of the school building.
After school and on Saturdays he had assisted an artist, doing such work as cleaning brushes, grinding paints, and running errands. An uncle had secured this position for him, but seemed to be unable to help him further. By these means and by painting banners and pictures for the weekly market, the boy earned his own living. The peasants came to Seville from all the country around, bringing in their fruits, vegetables, and wares to sell. Here the young Murillo took his paintings, which were on coarse, cheap cloth instead of on canvas, which he could not afford. Sometimes it was a Madonna, sometimes a portrait of the buyer which he would finish quickly while the crowd watched, or sometimes one of the beggar boys in the gypsy quarters of the city.
But Murillo had a boy friend who went to London to study with the great Sir Anthony Van Dyck, and who, when he returned, brought such news of the wonderful paintings in the galleries of London and Paris that Murillo began to dream of seeing them. Before he had saved enough money to go, however, the artist Van Dyck died, and Murillo decided to go to Madrid, where one of his own countrymen, Velásquez, had won great fame. He walked nearly all the way, presenting his letter of introduction to Velásquez, who received him most kindly.
Murillo was now twenty-four years old, enthusiastic, ambitious, and manly. Velásquez soon discovered his great talent, and not only received him as a pupil but took him into his own home, where he remained three years. When, at the end of that time, he returned to Seville, his fame as an artist was established and pupils came to him from all over the country. His friends could be found among the very poorest beggars as well as among the most influential men of the city, and he was idolized by his pupils. Always of a deeply religious nature, he chose religious subjects for most of his paintings. In his studio all swearing and ill conduct were forbidden, and his religious paintings were produced only after much prayerful meditation.
He gave so generously to the poor about him that it was said he gave away all he earned.
Often his wife, who was very beautiful, his lovely daughter, or his two handsome sons posed for his paintings, and so we find the same faces repeated in several pictures.
One day when Murillo was painting on the walls of a convent the cook there asked him to paint a small picture for him on a napkin, which was all he had to offer for a canvas. Without hesitation Murillo painted a beautiful Madonna and Child which has since become famous as the "Virgin of the Napkin."
While painting the ceiling in a church in Cadiz the scaffolding broke and he fell, injuring himself so seriously that he died shortly after.
Every Sunday afternoon, which is a free day at the gallery in Madrid, crowds of the poor, men, women, and children, may be seen gathered around the paintings by Murillo, which they regard with an admiration which is almost worship. To them Murillo is little less than a saint.
Questions about the artist. In what country did Murillo live? What nationality do his pictures represent? Tell about his boyhood. In what did he excel at school? What work did he do after school and on Saturdays? What else did Murillo do to earn money? Tell about the weekly market. What did Murillo paint for the market? Whom did he paint? What did his boy friend tell him that made him want to go to London? Why did he not go? What happened before he had saved enough money to go? To whom did he go then? How did he go? How old was he by that time? What did the artist Velásquez do for him? What kind of people were Murillo's friends? What kind of pictures did he like to paint best? How did he prepare for this? What rules did he have in his studio? Tell about the cook at the convent and the napkin. What is this picture called? How was Murillo hurt? How do some of the Spanish people regard Murillo?
