His father was a physician who removed to Germany, where Rubens spent his early years. After the death of the father Rubens' mother took her little family back to Antwerp, where she had previously lived. For awhile Peter Paul was placed in the family of a nobleman as page, but he soon induced his mother to let him study painting. Having finished his apprenticeship in Antwerp he went to Italy to study the great Italian masters in 1600. Here he soon fell under the notice of the Duke of Mantua who afforded him patronage for some years. Returning in haste upon news of his mother's illness, he arrived too late to find her living. Not desiring to return to Italy he opened his studio in Antwerp. Orders poured in to him; nobles and men of wealth sat for portraits. Honored and widely sought, he enjoyed prosperity and satisfaction.

In 1619 Rubens was sent on diplomatic business to Spain. The truth is that had Rubens not been an artist he would' probably have been remembered for his diplomatic skill. As it was, his gift for drawing and painting caused his other services to be forgotten. Upon his return he received his famous commission from Marie de Medici to paint scenes from her life for her new palace. Part of the work being done in France and all of it open for exhibition afterwards, Flemish art at this period acted directly upon French artists who thronged to study the works of the great master in color and human form.

After the completion of this work he visited Madrid on business of state, remaining to do some painting. Later he was received at the court of Charles I., who knighted him. While in England he decorated the dining hall of Whitehall with scenes from the life of James I.

In 1630, Rubens' first wife having been dead for some years, he married the beautiful Helen Fourmont, whose picture he painted so many times.

Rubens was fond of painting groups and often filled his canvases full to overflowing. In the use of color and reflected light, in form and outline and perfection of revealing the human form he stands out pre-eminent. The physical always predominated in his characters; one feels the old Greek exuberance of health and vigor and beauty. He who seeks for the spiritual in art must seek elsewhere. It was left for

Rubens' famous pupil to give back the soul to Flemish painting.

VAN DYCK.

Anthony Van Dyck was born in 1599 and died a year after Rubens. He too began his work in Antwerp. His father was a manufacturer of fine silk and woolen stuffs and his mother was celebrated for her skillful needle work. There is no doubt but that the young artist inherited much of his delicate sense of the artistic from his mother.

After Rubens returned from Italy, Van Dyck entered his studio. When nineteen he was admitted to the Guild of St. Luke-a Guild composed of skilled workmen of whatever vocation. About 1622 he set out for the usual trip to Italy, deemed prudent and certainly helpful for an aspiring painter; Venice particularly charmed him. His later success with colors was not a little due to the influence of this Queen of the Adriatic.

Van Dyck was very fond of painting luxurious fabrics, laces and jewels. The wealthy merchants of Genoa welcomed him and he made large sums from his portraits. It is to be remembered that before the invention of photography to obtain a portrait from a painter was the only means of leaving one's likeness for heirs and descendants. In spite of the wealth showered upon Van Dyck he spent most of it in extravagant living. He thought that by studying his subject unawares he was greatly aided in revealing his true qualities. For this reason he maintained wide hospitality, dining his favorite patrons. It was this lavish manner of life that aroused the censure and jealousy of his contemporary Flemish painters, so that later Van Dyck was glad to take refuge in England and escape their petty attacks.

Charles I. and members of his court welcomed the elegant' Flemish artist. Best known of all the Van Dyck paintings are the portraits made of this unfortunate monarch and his children. The queen, Henrietta Maria, was a favorite subject, as were many of the English nobles. With the troublous times that shortly overtook the realm, Van Duck suffered a financial falling off which seriously affected his extravagant habits. A marriage with a wealthy woman was negotiated

but two years later the artist died, only forty-two years of age. The work of master and pupil contrast very strikingly in certain particulars. Rubens was given to crowding his pictures; Van Dyck used only a few figures, often one alone. He chose to reveal in the one portrait the soul with its share of human experiences. Whereas Rubens allowed the animal spirits of his subjects to predominate, Van Dyck's people are more subtle and refined. While Van Dyck borrowed from his illustrious teacher, nevertheless he worked out his own individuality so thoroughly that it would never be possible to confuse the paintings of one with those of the other.

Since the seventeenth century, Belgium has produced few gifted artists. In very recent years Lawrence Alma-Tadema, born in Holland but trained in Antwerp, has gained renown by his Egyptian scenes. However, he has become English by adoption.

THE DUTCH SCHOOL.

The little land of Holland, scarcely one-third the size of Ohio, has produced a plucky race of thrifty, industrious people. With its dikes and windmills, for pumping the water out of the land, the country presents an unusual appearance. Part of its wealth has been produced by its butter and cheese, unrivaled in the world. The herds of peaceful cattle browsing in the fields or drinking by the streams are a part of many a Holland landscape. In no country has the art been more naturally an outgrowth of conditions than here.

The struggle between Catholic and Protestant resulted in the destruction of pre-Reformation art for the most part. Otherwise there would probably have been a fair amount of early work, as in Flanders.

LUCAS VAN LEYDEN.

Lucas van Leyden (1494-1533) was the first distinctly Dutch artist. While Dürer was much older, the two painters were friends. By strongly contrasting colors Van Leyden obtained surprising results. Although he lived before the bcginnings of reformed faith, the hold of the Church was not so strong as it had once been and artists were no longer confined to sacred subjects. Following his true bent, Van Leyden painted scenes from the life of the people.

We have seen how prominent a place the Guilds held in mediaeval times. Since Holland was peopled by men who were preeminently tradespeople, the Guilds were particularly strong and the life of the Guild was important in the eyes of the members. It was long the custom for the members of these Guilds to pay some artist who should paint their group for the Guild Hall. These so-called "corporation" pictures were painted by Hals, Rembrandt and plenty of lesser painters. FRANZ HALS.

Franz Hals (1580-1666) was successful with these Guild pictures. He happily gave sufficient attention to each individual so that all were equally prominent. Hals was a frequenter of alehouses and places where people of the lower class gathered for a social cup; indeed, he appears to have been able to paint quite as well when half-tipsy as when sober.

One fact is apparent upon slightest examination of Hals' pictures: he painted nothing but that which he saw and he left nothing out. Van Dyck frequently softened features and idealized faces. Hals painted them as he saw them, imperfections as well as perfections. It is a wholesome feeling one experiences when standing before some of Hals' men and women. People of toil, invariably; careworn and sometimes bent with labor but contented, often happy. Straight forward, Straightforward, sincere, true to nature, Hals exercised an influence for good on the later development of national art in the Netherlands.

REMBRANDT.

Rembrandt van Ryn (1606-1669) was an individual painter who stands out distinctly on the pages of art history as one who belonged to no time or place. Sent to the University of Leyden, he never accomplished much in literary study. For this reason he was sent to Amsterdam to enter the studio of Peter Lastman. Instinctively Rembrandt realized that he never would accomplish anything under this man's instruction and in six months he returned to work out his own method of giving to others what he himself saw and felt. Over and over again he sketched and painted his family, feeling that various expressions and revelations of the inner nature could only be gained by repeated portrayals. He was especially fond of

painting old people and one of his most delightful portraits is a picture of his own mother.

His fame spread and in time he took up his residence in Amsterdam. Students flocked to him and he shortly had quite a following.

His first Guild picture was his famous Anatomy Lesson in which he painted Dr. Tulp lecturing to his seven students. Rembrandt visited the class again and again and painted the faces from memory. All were gratified with the natural air of the painting and Rembrandt's fame grew apace.

In 1642 he was chosen to paint the Banning Cock Company-a band of militia men. Rembrandt could not think of a mere series of portraits and conceived the idea of having the company suddenly called out, preparing their arms as they went and confused with the passersby, so abrupt was the summons. The result was the celebrated Sortie of the Banning Cock Company. Unfortunately for the painter the members of this company were not at all pleased with the picture. They claimed that each had paid an equal amount and only a few were given prominence. Rembrandt was made quite miserable by their complaints. The picture was hung in the hall where it accumulated so much dirt and smoke that long afterwards when it was discovered it was thought to represent a night scene and was given the name The Night Watch by which it is incorrectly known today. Many years after Rembrandt painted the Cloth Makers.

Frequent pictures were made by the artist of his wife, Saskia, and he made many of himself-less from vanity, as is sometimes asserted, than from a habit of painting the same subject again and again.

Rembrandt's later years were far from happy. His much loved wife died and the artist was most impractical regarding every day affairs. While he received large sums of money he made extravagant collections of art and jewels which consumed all he acquired. Debts and other anxieties attended his old age and he was saddened still more by the death of his only son-a young man of twenty-five.

In the portrayal of human passions and emotions Rembrandt probably stands above all other artists. In his happier days he pictured joy and happiness; during the darker years,