PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 4, No. 4, SERIAL No. 104 COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
By JOHN C. VAN DYKE, _Professor of the History of Art, Rutgers College_
SAINT GEORGE AND THE DRAGON _By Tintoretto_
LADY COCKBURN AND CHILDREN _By Sir Joshua Reynolds_
Entered at the postoffice at New York, N. Y., as second-class matter. Copyright, 1916, by The Mentor Association, Inc.
The National Gallery, whether the tourist sees it first or last in his trip around Europe, is sure to make an impression. It is one of the famous galleries of the world, and has a rarefied atmosphere about it, even to those who know the galleries by heart. The walk up the wide stone steps approaching the first room excites a wonder that is almost amazement. The pictures have a richness--a jewel quality about them--that seems preternaturally splendid. You have not perhaps noticed such depth and mellowness of color in other galleries. What does it mean? Well, in some cases it may mean merely that the pictures are framed under glass, and get a certain tone and richness from that; but it more often means that you are looking at very unusual pictures. The National Gallery is full of masterpieces.
[Illustration: THE VIRGIN AND CHILD, SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST AND SAINT NICHOLAS OF BARI
[Illustration: SAINT HELENA--THE VISION OF THE CROSS
Where did they come from? Out of the famous private collections of England. When nobility dies without an heir, or the heir himself needs money, then the pictures collected by the art-loving elders of perhaps a dozen generations come by bequest to the National Gallery, or find their way to the auction room and are purchased for the gallery. Thus it is that the National Gallery has been the natural inheritor of the rich collections of England. It started less than a hundred years ago (in 1824) with the Angerstein collection, and has been growing ever since with gifts of collections such as those of Vernon, Wynn Ellis, Vaughan, Salting. If it is found necessary to bid for a picture at auction, a government grant or the subscriptions of wealthy art patrons, or both, generally carries the day against any private collector. Thus such famous pictures as Raphael’s “Ansidei Madonna,” Titian’s (tish´-an) “Ariosto,” Holbein’s “Duchess of Milan” were bought for the gallery at enormous prices--the Raphael bringing over $350,000, and the others some $150,000 each.