the past made any attempt to represent Bible scenes with historical accuracy. They knew and cared nothing about the customs and topography of Palestine in the first century. Happily, however, our children have no archeological prejudices. Their interest centers upon the babe, who lies serenely on his bed of straw in the company of the ox and the ass, who receives his first gifts with eager delight, who is borne in his mother’s arms on their long donkey ride into a far country, and who later discusses gravely with the gray-beards of the Temple the great volume of the Scriptures.
Another class of attractive child pictures emanating from the old masters is the joyous company of angels who figure so conspicuously in religious compositions. They fill the heavenly spaces with their choirs and make music before the Madonna’s throne. They sport playfully in the clouds or make themselves useful on the earth, companions and playmates of the Christ-child, or attendants upon sacred personages. And always, whether praying, adoring, singing, serving, they are the perfect embodiment of the eternal child spirit. Correggio is easily first in this peculiar field, as the creator of the most fascinating elflike sprites, bubbling over with mischief. The same elfin creature is by turns angel or cupid, playing with the helmet and sword of St. George, or sharpening an arrow by the couch of Danaë.
The child angel as a musician belongs especially to the Venetian art, placed at the bottom of a formal altar piece. Some of the best-loved figures of painting
