Anthony's mother made the most exquisite embroidery and painted beautiful flowers. She gave the little boy his first lessons in painting. By the time Anthony was old enough to go to school his parents had become very rich, and nothing was too good for their little boy. He liked to draw better than anything else, and so when he was fourteen years old they sent him to a good teacher to learn how to draw and paint. Here he worked very hard. He did so well that in two years, when he wanted to study with the great Dutch artist, Rubens, the artist was glad to have him as his pupil.
There were a good many boys in the class. One day their teacher, Rubens, went out for a long walk. He always locked the door of his private studio and no one else had a key, except a servant. The boys wanted so much to see what was in that room that they finally persuaded the servant to let them in. Once inside the studio, they crowded close around the new picture Rubens was painting, and one of the boys was pushed against it. His coat sleeve rubbed off the chin and arm of the Virgin the artist was painting. The boys were terribly frightened, and did not know what to do. Finally they decided that the chin and arm must be painted in again. All said that Anthony could do it better than any of the rest.
So well did he paint that even Rubens did not know anything had happened. When he did find out about it he was so pleased to know that his pupil could paint so well he did not scold the boys at all. After that he often let Anthony help him paint his pictures.
Sir Anthony Van Dyck went on many long journeys to see the work of other artists. He had eleven brothers and sisters, for whom he was always doing helpful things. He admired beautiful silks, satins, velvets, and lace, and liked best to paint people wearing fine clothes. He did it so well, too, that all the people of King Charles's court wanted him to paint their portraits. He could always make them good looking, for even if they had very ugly faces, he painted such beautiful clothes on them that they made lovely pictures.
He must have loved children, for all his paintings of them look as if he did.
=Questions about the artist.= Who painted this picture? Tell about his mother and father. What did Sir Anthony Van Dyck like to do when he was a little boy? Who taught him to draw? With what great artist did he study when he was older? What happened to one of Rubens's pictures? Who painted it over again? Why did Rubens not scold him? What did Sir Anthony Van Dyck like to paint best? What makes you think he must have loved children?