Questions to arouse interest. What occupies the most important part of this picture? Describe the trees bordering the road. Where does the road lead? What does it pass on its way to the village? Where must the artist have been standing? why do you think so? What can you say about the perspective of this road? How much of this picture is sky? What kind of lines predominate—curved, straight, vertical, or horizontal? In what country do you think it is? Why is it so level? What are the people in the picture doing? What do you like best about this picture?

The story of the picture. There is a little village in the Netherlands by the name of Middelharnis, and if we should go there to-day we should find just such an avenue of trees as this one in our picture. The artist, Hobbema, spent many years in this village, painting scenes in and around it. Probably he traveled over this very road countless times. It would seem as if we, too, were walking down the road guarded by those tall, slender trees which border each side of it. They are poplar trees, trimmed so high that we scarcely recognize them. They lead direct to the little village beyond, which we see between the tree trunks.

Since the village is almost surrounded by the North Sea, its high church tower is not only picturesque by day but useful at night as a lighthouse or beacon to guide the sailor to a safe port.

In our picture the sun is half hidden in a sky as full of fleecy clouds as the sky near the North Sea generally is.

We must expect no hills nor elevations of any kind in the Netherlands, a land lying lower than the ocean. The great protecting dikes and the many canals extending in every direction make it one of the most interesting of countries.

In the picture we see on each side of the road a deep ditch full of water. These ditches irrigate the land, flowing into deeper, wider canals on which sail boats of various sizes and kinds.

It is said that every true Hollander can skate. In the winter, when these canals are frozen, young and old go about upon their various errands on skates. It is a common sight then to see women skating to market, carrying upon their heads heavy baskets filled with rolls of butter, cheese, eggs, or other provisions. The children skate to school, and men go about their business in this same pleasant way. It is easy to reach all parts of the village or city by these canals, for there are so many of them; in some cities the people have no streets, but use canals instead.

At the right of our picture we catch a glimpse of a thrifty, well-kept nursery garden full of shrubs and fruit trees, which the man is busily trimming. He works contentedly, for all about him he sees the evidences of prosperity and peace.

Coming toward us along this straight and level road is a huntsman carrying his gun over his shoulder and preceded by his dog. A path leads away from the road to the picturesque little cottage or farmhouse at the right. Two peasants, a man and a woman, stand in the path talking. We do not doubt they will turn to greet our hunter, for it is a friendly countryside, where all are treated cordially.

We cannot see much on the extreme left of the picture except the trees which grow luxuriantly, and a flat meadow land which reaches almost to the village. It is a common, everyday sort of landscape, yet its charm seems to lie in this very fact.

We would know at once if the perspective were not correct, for we have solved just such problems ourselves with the tree tops, or perhaps telegraph poles, and it gives us an added sense of pleasure to be able to understand just the problem Hobbema had to solve as he placed his easel in the middle of the road and started to paint his great canvas.

The light is rather uncertain on this cloudy day. The artist used little color except grays and a peculiar green which he delighted in using in all his paintings. A touch of brighter color appears in the cheerful red of the roofs of his houses, which suggest something of the homely comfort and cleanliness that may be found in most Dutch homes.

The most striking characteristic of Hobbema’s painting is his severe combination of vertical and horizontal lines. The positive vertical lines of the tree trunks standing so tall and straight against the wide expanse of sky are reËchoed in the shorter but equally slender trunks of the fruit trees in the nursery garden, and of the trees at the side of the path leading to the farmhouse; also in the two straight figures standing in the path, and again in the church tower in the distance.

The horizontal lines are equally positive. They separate the garden from the road; they appear in the road itself, and in the horizon line beyond. If we make a sketch of the important lines in this picture, we find them either vertical or horizontal, and much more severe in outline than the usual diagonal or curving lines we have grown accustomed to looking for.

Critics seem to vary as to the feeling with which this picture inspires them, although all agree upon its value as a masterpiece. Some declare there is a sort of hopelessness in the landscape which suggests the unhappy life of the artist, who often went hungry, and whose paintings were not appreciated until after his death. To them the scene is full of hopeless beauty, suggesting all kinds of joys which are never realized, yet continue just out of reach throughout a long and cheerless life. So it is a sad beauty, and gives one a feeling of desolation even in a land where all is prosperity.

Other critics see only the thrifty, contented life of the Netherlands peasant, who by his intelligence and labor has overcome even the sea itself, and compelled it, by means of dikes and canals, to add to his safety and comfort.

We know how much Hobbema must have loved his work, for he received no return for it during his lifetime, unless it was the joy of work; and yet he persevered.

Can we not imagine him on a pleasant day, seated or standing at his easel in the middle of this road, quite forgetting poverty and even hunger, as he painted this beautiful landscape before him? Hobbema was certainly daring and full of courage when he attempted so severe and unusual a composition as this. He has placed his road almost exactly in the center of the picture, balancing the sides quite evenly, yet he has not made it monotonous or tiresome. The eye is constantly discovering new beauties in the landscape or the inclosing sky. Only a master could produce a work such as this.

Questions to help the pupil understand the picture. What country is represented in this picture? What kind of trees are those bordering the road? To what do they lead the eye?

Of what use could the church tower, in the distance, be? Why is the Netherlands such a level country? What can you see on each side of the road? Of what use are the canals? What is the man doing in the garden? Who else can you see in the picture? What colors did the artist use? How can you tell whether the perspective of the road is correct or not? What can you say of the sky? What can you say of the balance in the composition? the kinds of lines? What kind of a day is represented? What do some of the critics say about this picture? What is so unusual about this composition? Why do most artists avoid placing the center of interest in the middle of the picture? Why do you like this picture?

The story of the artist. We know very little about the artist, Meyndert Hobbema, except that he was a Hollander possessing so great a love for his native land that he continued to represent it on canvas in spite of the fact that his countrymen were quite indifferent to him and his work. His pictures were disposed of somehow, perhaps given away, for when a hundred years after his death the world suddenly began to value them, it was found that he had left enough canvases to have made him the wealthiest man in the country. Yet he died in the almshouse, and was buried beside his wife in a pauper’s grave. Now all the Netherlands would give him honor, but so neglected was he during his life that it is impossible to find out even where he was born. Three cities claim this honor, but it is generally conceded that he was born at Amsterdam. It is certain he was married and died there. We determine the date of his birth by the date and his age as given in the record of his marriage.

Hobbema’s paintings were so real that the people, who were used to more fanciful, idealized pictures, thought his commonplace and of no especial interest. Now they recognize the great sympathy with, and insight into, the very life of their country which Hobbema possessed in rare measure. He made it real to us, too, in his scenes of thrift and industry, prosperity, and smiling peace.

We are told that Hobbema was “a plain, practical, matter-of-fact” man and his pictures make us think he must have been. Like him, they are plain, unassuming, and natural; free from artificial grace or fancy. He did not hunt for scenes of unusual beauty with romantic or weird stories, but chose some pleasing view near at hand and painted it just as it was.

Sometimes he painted the same scene several times from exactly the same position. If all his works could be placed in one gallery for exhibition, we might find it rather monotonous to see so many just alike.

But although he did not have the inventive genius of Burne-Jones or of many other artists, his paintings were always true to nature. He has been called the painter of the afternoon sun because he seemed so fond of the sunlight showing through the trees and casting long shadows across the fields.

Many believe that Hobbema must have been a pupil of Ruysdael’s because their work was so much alike. We know that they lived in the same place at the same time and it is generally believed they were friends. Dealers often substituted the name of one for that of the other and later, when corrections were attempted, it was impossible to tell which was Hobbema’s work and which Ruysdael’s, because both had painted the same subjects.

At one time Hobbema was appointed gauger for the town. It was his duty to measure the quantity of all liquids imported into Holland. This position must have paid a fairly good salary, for Hobbema was married directly after his appointment. It must have taken all his time, too, for he painted very little for nearly twenty years. The fact that he had a means of livelihood did not spur him on to greater efforts. He painted only when he felt like it, not very often, and small, unimportant pictures. Whether he lost this office before or after his wife’s death is not known, but for some reason or other his last years were spent in extreme poverty.

Twenty-six years after his death his pictures began to sell, and soon picture dealers were scouring the country for his works.

His landscapes are not full of people, animals, or anything that might disturb the calm, quiet restfulness of the scenes. Like Ruysdael, he too was compelled to call upon other artists to draw the few figures he did use, as he found this part most difficult.

One thing we may be sure of when we look at his paintings, and that is, they were faithful representations of the place before him. So we may know just how this road leading to the village of Middelharnis really looked more than two centuries ago.

Other famous paintings by Hobbema are entitled: “Showery Weather,” “Village with Water Mills,” “Woody Landscape,” “Ruins of Brederode Castle,” “Forest Scene,” “Cottage in a Wood,” and “Entrance to a Wood.”

Questions about the artist. What kind of a man do you think Hobbema must have been? Why? In what ways do his pictures resemble him? What kind of pictures did he like to paint? What time of day? Why might an exhibition of all his paintings prove monotonous?

What would you consider one of the best things about his paintings? What other great artist lived at this time and in the same place? How did their paintings resemble each other? What office did Hobbema hold? What were some of his duties? How did this position affect his work? What became of his paintings? Why was he so poor? Why were his paintings not appreciated? How are they regarded now? Why do you think Hobbema must have loved his work?