PRICE, TEN CENTS.

THE USE OF PICTURES

IN THE

SCHOOLROOM

(ILLUSTRATED.

SARAH LOUISE ARNOLD.

Supervisor of Schools, Boston.

PUBLISHED BY
E A. PERRY, MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS.
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THE USE OF PICTURES IN THE
SCHOOLROOM.*

The schoolroom was dingy, the day was dark and
heavy, but the children, whom I remember well, turned
the sunniest faces to greet me as I entered. The teacher,
a gracious, high-minded woman, smiled at their eager re-
quests to be allowed to tell me what they had been doing.
and readily assented to them.

"We have been to see the pictures in Mr. Bray's gal-
lery," they cried, almost in unison. "Miss Brown asked
him, and he let us all in! You ought to see them!"
Then the descriptions hurried pell-mell, in their eagerness
to be first, and Miss Brown was obliged to interpose and
choose the speakers.

Ragged, unkempt little fellows they were, whose
homes were barren and unlovely, and whose wayward feet
were used to all the streets and alleys of the crowded city.
What would they — could they — care for a picture gallery?

Their eager interest left no doubt in my mind, as they
described the treasures of the gallery. There were a hun-
dred pictures, they said, but they liked some better than
others. Best of all, they liked the picture of a mother,
sitting by the fire and holding her baby "just so," they

* Copyright, 1S9S, by E. A. Perry, Maiden, Mass.

The Perry Pictures. From Painting by Raphael. 1483-1520.

SISTINE MADONNA.

said, folding their arms about an imaginary baby, and
looking lovingly into its face. "You would know she
loved the baby from the way she looked at it ; and it
looked so warm and pleasant in the room where she sat.
But it wasn't a rich room, — it was a poor room, — yet it
looked pleasant and happy."

" And then, you ought to see that other picture of the
sheep out in the storm. It looked so dark and lonesome,
and the sheep were all huddled together, and I shivered
when I looked at it!"

I wish the artist might have heard that comment.

As I left the room, I wondered if the teacher knew h<>\\
much she had done for those children. Into lives that
w r ere barren and shut in she had entered with her love of
the beautiful, and had made it possible for the wealth
which she enjoyed to be shared by the children.

"Why not?" she had said, very simply. "We are
trying to teach our children to enjoy literature and music,
and we are succeeding in our efforts. Why should they
not learn to love good pictures as well?"

This incident happened years ago. Happily, the hope
of that teacher was shared by many others, and to-day it is
possible to make our children at home with good pictures,
as well as with good books. It is no longer a rare thing to
see the walls of the schoolroom hung with fine copies of
the works of the masters. These unconsciously make their
presence felt, as does a pure and gracious character, and the
children, accustomed to the charm of such companionship,
turn instinctively to beautiful things when they are enabled
to choose for themselves.

But aside from the influence of the pictures upon the
walls, much has been accomplished by the use of smaller
reproductions, which fortunately have been placed within
the reach of the lightest purse. No one can observe the
common use of such pictures without rejoicing, — for these

not only make their influence felt in the schoolroom, but
they go out with the children into their homes, where they
brighten the walls and multiply their teaching. I have
visited schools where the Perry Pictures had been bought
by the children, with money which otherwise would have
been appropriated to pickles, gum, or candy. The teacher
had placed some of the pictures about the walls of the
room, and had allowed the children to choose " one apiece"
to remain upon their desks during the day. She said the
pupils hung over the pictures with delight, slowly making
their choices, loth to leave any, when all seemed to them so
attractive. After keeping their pictures all day upon their
desks, they wrote about them. The proposition to buy
them was their own. "We can save our own money,"
they said. And so their books were made, picture and
composition alternating upon the pages. The children
showed them with pride, and described their pictures with
affection and discernment as well.

I remember with pleasure one school, where a class of
third-grade children showed me their pictures, and told me
about them. "This is the Angelus," one said; "Mr.
Millet painted it, — Jean Francois Millet. He lived in
France, and he loved to paint the peasants, — the poor peo-
ple. This man and woman are out in 'the field, where they
have been digging potatoes. You know that is hard
work. You can see the rough field and the potato tops.
There is a wheelbarrow, with sacks of potatoes in it.
And you can see the man's heavy fork, stuck into the
ground. Do you see the little church, far off in the dis-
tance? The Angelus bell is ringing, calling to prayer.
They have stopped their work, and are lifting their hearts
in prayer. They are all alone in the field, but they re-
member that God is with them. I am sure their work
would be sad as well as heavy if it were not for the
thought of Him."

The Perry Pictures.

From Painting; by Millet. 1818-1875.

THE SOWER.

The Perry Pictures.

From Painting by Millet. 1818-1875.
FEEDING HER BIRDS.

The words were simple, her description broken, but no
comment was made. The child felt the beauty of the
picture, and had begun to spell out the artist's message.

"Feeding her Birds," another child said, was his
favorite. " I don't know why Mr. Millet called it 'feed-
ing her birds,' because the picture shows a mother sitting
in a doorway of a cottage, feeding her children. She has
a bowl in her lap, and holds a spoon in her hand. She
feeds them by turns, and one child is holding her mouth
ready for her spoonful now. The others look as if they
were anxious for their turn. You can see hens eating
about the yard, and behind the house the father is chop-
ping wood. I like to see the mother taking care of her
children. It makes you feel happy and comfortable. It
is just the way the mother bird feeds her young. Miss
Smith taught us to recite this : ' Behold the fowls of the
air : they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into
barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.' This
isn't a rich home, but don't you think it is a happy one?"

Others told of " The Gleaners," " The Churner," and
" The Sower." I was not surprised afterward when the
children recited " The Village Blacksmith," without note
or comment on the part of the teacher.

In another class the teacher had placed before the
pupils copies of Rosa Bonheur's paintings, and the chil-
dren were talking about them. "You would know from
the pictures that she loved animals, just to see the pic-
tures," said one. "And she makes you love them, too,"
said another. " See how noble her lion looks! And you
feel proud of her horses." Then the class fell to ques-
tioning about the Highland cattle, and the Scotch moors
and hills. " She must have stayed with them to know
how to paint them so well," one commented. " I wonder
how she did it." The teacher replied to their questions,
and In' her comments awakened more.

" How much more thoughtfully the children will ques-
tion pictures after this," I thought.

Not long ago a seven-year-old girl came into my home,
for a friendly visit. "Oh, you have Raphael's Sistine
Madonna," said the child. "I am glad. I always liked
that." My young friend lived in the country, and attended
a village school. Her teacher had taught her about the
picture, she said, and she had a little one of her own. I
fancied the last named fact was one secret of her interest,
and I again rejoiced in the thought that such possession
could now become a common privilege.

" Beauty, which is the natural food of a healthy
imagination, should be sought after by every one who
wishes to achieve the great end of existence, that is, to
make the most of himself. Cultivate admiration. It is
by admiration only of what is beautiful and sublime that
we can mount up a few steps toward the likeness of what
we admire."

Shall we not, as teachers, rejoice in the common recog-
nition of the most fruitful tendencies of such teaching,
and do all in our power to open the eyes of our children,
that they may behold the beautiful, and be inspired by
beholding it? "Whatsoever things are lovely, — think on
these things."

The Perry Pictures.

From Painting by Herring. i795' 1 S65-
THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH.

ALL THE PICTURES IN THIS PAMPHLET ARE

THE • PERRY- PICTURES

FOR USE IN

Kindergarten, Primary, Grammar,
and High Schools,

FOR PICTURE STUDY, LANGUAGE, LITERATURE,
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY,

400

Subjects.

ONE CENT EACH

BY THE HUNDRED.

TWENTY for 30 cents, postpaid, assorted as desired. On paper the
q size of this page.

Of the Perry Pictures, Henry Turner Bailey, State Director of Drawing of Massachusetts,
says : —
" I congratulate you upon the quality of the reproductions, and upon making the masterpieces
available for even the humblest student."

James Frederick Hopkins, Director of Drawing in Boston Public Schools, says : —

"The reproductions are well engraved and beautifully printed, and represent a series which
cannot help being of great value."

Send 39 cents in stamps for the 29 Pictures recommended by Henry Turner Bailey

for Picture Study in the first nine grades of the Grammar

Schools of Massachusetts.

FIVE CHOICE GIFT BOOKS.

Art Gallery, Poets and their Homes, Old Masters, Old Ironsides.

MADONNAS. Sixteen Madonnas, all different. With an Introduction
by Irene Weir, Art Director of Public Schools of Brookline, Massachusetts.
Price, 25 cents each, postpaid.

BEAUTIFUL FOR CHRISTMAS GIFTS.

Send stamp for Illustrated Catalogue. Address,

MRS. E. M. PERRY,

10 Tremont Street,

Send stamp for Catalogue of 300 large pictures __. . .__

for schoolroom decoration. Maiden, Mass.

APR 6 1899

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

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