ed Christ-Offero--the Christ-bearer--from now
on."

[Illustration: FIG. 45. ST. CHRISTOPHER. TITIAN. DOGES' PALACE,
VENICE]

THE BLUE BOY

THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH (1727-1788)

Gainsborough began to draw and paint when he was a child. He often
entertained his companions by drawing pictures for them while they
read the lessons to him.

One morning Thomas got up with the sun and went out into the garden to
sketch. There was in the garden a wonderful pear-tree full of ripe
pears, and the pears had been disappearing very mysteriously. While
Thomas was making his drawings he saw a man's face appear suddenly
above the stone wall. He quickly made a sketch of the face, and
frightened the man before he could get away with the fruit. At the
breakfast-table the young artist told his father what he had done and
showed him the sketch. His father knew the man and sent for him. When
the man was accused of stealing the pears he denied it, but when he
was shown the picture Thomas had made of him he confessed that he had
taken the pears.

Artists, like all of us, want to lay down rules for every one to
follow who is doing their same kind of work. Sir Joshua Reynolds said,
"The masses of light in a picture ought to be always of a warm, mellow
colour--yellow, red, or yellowish white; and the blue, the grey, or
green colours should be kept almost entirely out of the masses."
Gainsborough did not agree with him. To show Sir Joshua that he was
wrong Gainsborough painted pictures in blue and green. The famous
"Blue Boy" alone proved that he was right. The boy has on a blue satin
suit and he stands out-of-doors in green grass with green foliage and
blue sky around him. When Sir Joshua saw Gainsborough's blue-green
pictures he said frankly, "I cannot think how he produces his
effects."

These two men were never good friends yet when Gainsborough was near
death Sir Joshua Reynolds came to his bedside, and when Gainsborough
died Reynolds was one of the pall-bearers.

[Illustration: FIG. 46. THE BLUE BOY. GAINSBOROUGH. Private Gallery,
Henry Huntington, Los Angeles, California]

THE SLEEPING GIRL

JAN VAN DER MEER OF DELFT (1632-1675)

I want you to know and love the Dutch pictures. The painters were
called "little masters," simply because they painted small pictures
for the homes. For the homes! The Dutch wanted pictures to hang on
their walls; pictures they could live with. Now what do you think of
the "Sleeping Girl"?