ls in loose locks over her
shoulders. Her lovely face is very sad. Half kneeling, she presses her
lips to the wound in the left hand. Her attitude and manner are full
of humility, as if she felt herself unworthy to approach too near.

[Footnote 25: St. Luke, chapter VIII., verse 2.]

St. John regards the group with gentle sympathy. He is spoken of as
"the disciple whom Jesus loved," so intimate was the relation between
them. To his care Jesus intrusted the Mother Mary, and he now remains
near as one of the few most deeply bereaved. He is very young, with a
sensitive face and delicately cut features.

The subject of the picture is one which Van Dyck treated in several
compositions. The Flemish title is "Nood Godes," the suffering of God.
The Italians call it the Pieta, which means, compassion. One of the
most celebrated works of art devoted to the theme is the marble group
in Rome by Michelangelo.[26] Van Dyck must have seen this work on his
visit to the Eternal City, and was no doubt inspired in some measure
by its grandeur. We notice that in his picture the Mother extends her
left hand in a gesture similar to that of the marble figure.

[Footnote 26: See Chapter VI. in the volume on _Michelangelo_ in the
Riverside Art Series.]

XVI

PORTRAIT OF VAN DYCK

The painter Van Dyck was the son of a rich merchant of Antwerp, and
lacked no opportunities for the training of his artistic gifts. He was
fortunate also in meeting ready appreciation wherever he went. In
Italy, in Flanders, and finally in England, his paintings were highly
valued. His life was passed amid luxurious surroundings, in the
society of noblemen and princes. His was a brilliant and successful
career.

Our portrait frontispiece was painted during his residence in England,
when he was about forty years of age. He is described as short in
stature, with a slender figure. His hands were long, with the straight
sensitive fingers of the artist. He had a fresh delicate face, with
well-cut features, and light chestnut-colored hair, which he wore
long, like the English Cavaliers. The upturned mustache and small
pointed beard were also fashionable among the English nobility, as we
infer from the portrait of Charles I.

The face has the characteristic qualities of the artistic nature, the
high forehead, the dreamy eyes, and the pensive expression. The head
is lifted a little, in an imaginative pose. We should know this man at
once for a poet or a pai