The story of the artist. Anton Mauve was born near the sea in a little village called Zaandam, the Netherlands. His father was a Protestant clergyman in this thriving little town known for its oil and paper mills and its extensive timber trade. When Anton was but a boy, the family moved to Haarlem where he grew to manhood.
His talent for drawing was soon discovered, but it did not meet with any favor at home. His father’s strong objections to his becoming an artist were finally overcome by a compromise. If Anton would promise to win a diploma as a drawing master, so that he would be sure of earning his living in case he failed as an artist, then his father would give his consent. As definite rules were laid down for teaching drawing, and these rules permitted little or no originality, Anton Mauve found his promise very hard to keep. However, he persevered. When the course was finished, he packed his grip and with little in his purse started for the village of Oosterbeek where a number of other artists lived and worked. Later he settled in Amsterdam where he worked hard, earning enough with his painting to support himself.
Mauve painted a great number of pictures, many of them in water color. He is best known by his flocks of sheep, which he represents in all seasons and in every kind of weather. Although he lived by the sea, very few of Mauve’s pictures were of the sea, for he preferred the country roads leading through green fields, with here and there a flock of sheep or herd of cattle. He seldom painted a landscape without some figure in it—a wood-cart, a man on horseback, a peasant woman, or a woodcutter were his most frequent models. The birch tree, with its graceful, silvery stem was his favorite tree.
It is said that Mauve was in the habit of making his sketches on his cuffs, and by keeping the colors in his mind he was able from these suggestions to paint the pictures which soon brought him fame and honor.
Questions about the artist. Who painted this picture? Where was he born? What compromise did he make with his father? Why did he find it difficult to do his part? What did he do then? What subjects might we have expected him to choose for his paintings? What subjects did he choose? Upon what did he often make his first sketches? How did he finish these pictures? What were his favorite models? What was his favorite tree?
THE SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS
Studying the picture. Several days before the lesson is to be taken up, the picture to be studied should be placed where every pupil can see it.
First of all, the children should find out for themselves what is in the picture. The questions accompanying the story of each picture are intended to help them to do this.
Language work. The pupils should be encouraged in class to talk freely and naturally. In this way the lesson becomes a language exercise in which the pupils will gain in freedom of expression and in the ability to form clear mental images.