Excerpt from Illustrated Catalogue of the Notable Paintings by Great Masters: Belonging to the Estate of the Late M.C.D. Borden, Esq. We may wonder how it came about that an artist like Frans Hals, whom we picture mentally as a manner Of Falstaff, should be particularly successful in portraying ministers Of the Gospel; yet he painted many of them. It is clear that an under standing Of malve piety, such as was imparted by gentle preach ers, was not incompatible with the rough belligerent natures of that time. In fact, war itself aided in furthering the influence of the priests, for a nation whose chief preoccupation is the defense Of its territory is more apt to give the church its rights than a people living in peace and having time for reflection and therefore for scepticism. These Dutch ministers also seem to have fostered a simple conception of life quite in accordance with the practical problems so close at hand, and by means Of a jovial cordiality to have brought themselves close to their flock. Sibelius is not portrayed as a complex nature; on the contrary, his friendly bearing, the clear, intelligent look in his small eyes, the encouraging, eloquent position Of his hands, do not reveal a man of philosophical and speculative mind with thoughts running in deep channels, but one Of simple nature who understands his immediate task of heartening and com forting. The artist himself was the same sort Of man as his sitter. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.