Questions about the artist. Tell about Sir Edwin Landseer's father. What did he do? Why were engravers not allowed to exhibit their work? What did Edwin's father do to defend his art? What did Edwin's brother, Thomas, accomplish? Why are we so indebted to him? Who taught Edwin how to draw? Tell about his brothers and their walks in the fields. What animal did Edwin draw first? Where was "Edwin's studio"? Which two of his pictures were exhibited when he was only thirteen years old? What became of the sketches he made when he was a boy? Tell about his two studios. Tell about his picture of the old white horse. With whom did Sir Edwin Landseer travel through Scotland? What did Sir Walter Scott say about Landseer's dogs? How did Landseer happen to name his studio "Maida Vale"? What weapons did Sir Edwin use when he hunted? Why did he not shoot the animals? Tell about his drawing with both hands. In what ways are animals like people according to Landseer's judgment?
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.