Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-04-08

mother of Christ. To say that Jules
fell in love with her would perhaps
not be stating the case correctly. He
came. rather. 70 adore her. He was
like a chameleon. which takes the color
of any object on which IL is placed.
Ferrand was transformed through
his imagination. But in this case the
process was different from his paint
ing of the picture of Clotilde. In that
he was tied down to the reality; in
this it was his object to idealize his
model. And this is why an artist
needs Imagination.
Jules painted for months on the pic
ture. occasionally taking his model TO
the barn and placing her in the man
ger. At last the picture, except the
babe. was finished. Jules was dissat-
listed with it. There was not the
true maternal expression in the Vir-
gins face. He knew that this was
because the babe Maria had held was
not her own. Another difficulty &C.
CURED to him-any babe he might
find for a model OF the infant Jesus
would not resemble his mother.
Jules was called to Paris on some
private affairs and discovered while
absent from Maria that she had so
far been absorbed into his being that
she could not be dislodged He re-
turned to her and asked her to marry
him.
Maria was not only pleased to Sc
cure a husband above her station, but
had been captivated by the artist
They were married, and Jules, who
now had a wife to support, took her
to Paris with him and devoted him
self to painting such pictures as he
could sell for a small price.
A son was born to the couple. One
day when the boy was about a year
old Jules went into his wife's bed
room and saw her cooling to the child.
who lay in her lap kicking up his
heels and feeling her chin with his
little waxen fingers. This happened
to be the position in which he had
placed the figures in his picture of the
Madonna and Child"
81 have it." he said exuItingly.
Have what?' asked his wife.
Fame, and fame for an artist pro-
duces comfort"
what do you meanT
Jules ran of to a closet where he
had placed the unfinished picture and
brought It to his wife's room.
mo alteration is needed" he said,
'fn the pose OF the figures. 1 have
but to put in that motherly express
sion, copy your boys features and the
work is finished"
He would not permit either the
mother or child to move until he had
had a sitting from which, either by
accident or genius, he caught express
sions on both faces that satisfied him
exactly.
Jules did all his work on the pic
ture in his wife's room while she
held her babe on her lap and when
the little fellow was smiling up at his
mother. Every time he touched 1t he
improved it till at last one day a
friend. looking at it, said to him:
at is perfect Any touch you give
it hereafter win mar It and may spoil
it."
Maria took the brush from her hus-
bands hands and playfully forbade
him to touch the picture again.
The Madonna and Child" of Jules
Ferrand was hung that year in the
French salon and produced a sensa-
ton. 1t was bought by an American
Catholic for an altar piece in
a church in the United States for $20.-
600. This sum set up the artist very
nicely, and whatever pictures he
painted after that brought a good
price.
One thing surprised Jules. When he
took his wife TO Paris every one
exclaimed, How beautiful Jules
had not realized her beauty when he
met her, for his heart was full Of that
imaginary beauty with which he had
endowed his ClOhlde And since 1t
did not occur to him then it did not
He had painted her, ideal
ling her as the mother of Christ, not
as a woman Of physical beauty.
When Jules mother died he went
to his former home to remove what
was valuable and to destroy what he
considered worthless. Many Of his
pictures that had accumulated while
be was studying TO be a painter he
and made a bonfire of them
One OF them he looked at. thinking
Taking 1t to the light, he scrutinized
t more closely.
Ugh" he exclaimed, what nom"
y womanw
He continued TO gaze upon II, and
presently IL dawned upon him that it
was the picture he had painted Of
ylotilde.
He stood looking on the face Of the !
he had loved as one awakened |
rom a dream-a dream that at one
ime had been supremacy happy.
The years had dispelled the Illusion
which be had supposed he was pu5-
ing on the canvas and had left the |
'eality He was shocked. not with |
Jlotilde or her picture, but with him /
elf A wave Of melancholy swept 4
,ver him. Then he wrapped the por (
raft carefully. took It home with him |
md laid it reyerently in a closet 1t |
las since then never seen the light