Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1868-11-20
Picture Pictures sicu.t)uIt for Our Homes. Homes.

THEREarc certain families we wot' Of,
where the engravings on. the walls are
mostly en reproiuetions of highly clas-
SoAt IONS Of art from the Vatican or
other art galleries Of Europe. Thereis
nothin9 which would strike q simple
minded sensitive person rs particularly
9enhtiftl \ or \ interesting inA these
representations, though to educated eyfs
qnd artists they are full of interest Such
aarniture II II be the sincere expression
81 cultivated taste, Is all very proper,
nut its whole value as household orne-
Irent depends on this fact II 70 tAe fam.
ng tits full ofpleasafit associations Of art,
study and travel. II the mere diagram ol
hg picture tkfo them filed up and color.
edhy the enthusiastic memories OF The glo.
tlea of The original, such apartments arc
properly decorated. ~-
But Il some painstaking business imam,
and his plain, excellent housekeeping
vile, have apartments furnished for them
in the same way, by the busy Supervision
of some neighbor who assures them what
is the thing to buy, even though they have
laboriously read up all about them In
Murray's handbook, still their pictures
are not so good for them as poorer ones
might be. A genuine picture Of = smil-
of flowers, are worth the whole Vatican
to such a family, and It Is neither sorrow
nor shame to say IT,
Can there be but Que sort of thing In
this worlds and Is not tuft of moss, in
its way, as good as an oak.treeH Is It any
sin not TO have been in Rome and lived,
or any merit to have done so 2 II your
neighbor is stepped TO the lips in "high
art, and so classical that his very chairs
have ages of good authority for his pat
terms, let us not despise him therefor, and
let him not snub and predominant over
his weaker brother, who has got so far as
sincere admiration for the pretty things
the Lord makes, when genuinely repre-
sented. Hast thou faith have II TO thy
self" Applaud and glorify thy own col
lection with full heart, but be gentle TO
thy neXt-door neighbor who cateth only
herbs.
There are certain humble walks of art
in which excellence consists simply In q
faithful and truthful imitation of nature,
in which the excellence is of kind Of
which common people become good
judges. 1t takes very little artistic skill
or sense to Judge whether stalk of blue
gentian is faithfully painted, or the copy
OF bunch of apple blossoms Is true to the
such simple inexpensive ornaments are
given by Prang in his lithography, A
bunch of apple-blossoms, blue gentian,
so represented as to excel average paint
ing, forms charming domestic ornament,
anpretending, unambitious and always
beautiful. Never do our hearts cease to
thrill when the time of year comes round
for their fair originals to smile on US, and
never can We lose the sense of beauty in
their limitations t,.. -
II is one Of the signs of the millennium
that real good art, correct and pure as far
asit goes, is being made the inheritance Of
the million, as II is now being done by the
chrome .lithograph; and we have little
sympathy with the scornful style in which
some selfimportant artCritics have con-
domned or ridiculed efforts that are bring
ing beauty and pleasure to so many thous.
aud homes that otherwise poverty would
keep bare.
There are delicacies about the arrange.
ment Of pictures as to character, which
befit certain rooms Of houses. As gene
raj rule solemn and religious pictures
should not be conspiculously placed in re-
coption rooms, or parts OF the house where
the mere surface.intercourse OF life goes
ong ALBERT Durers exquisite engraving
4
of death on the face of the crucifed Re-
deemer, should not be suspended over the
mantelpieoe in q family sitting-room, but
in q library, boudoir, a chamber. To
those who can bear at all that kind of re-
ligious representation, II may do silent
work in many sad hour Of life, and utter
from the wall prophecy that those who
bravely endure shall come also to the final
rest-the moment OF saying, =" II Is fin
iShed."
Family portraits seem an appropriate
ornament for the walls of dining.room
1t is pleasant there TO meet at meal times
the faces of the family group, whom death
or rabsehce may hold apart from us. Fruit
flower and bird pieces seem also naturA
and cheerful subjects for what should be
room full OF agreeable associations.
AS to parlors, as a general rule they arr
about the worst place In which to ham
any work of real merit, as light is a thin
strictly prohibited, and curtains are thu
principal objects in the minds of all par
ties concerned. A good picture in fash
ionable parlor is about as thoroughly hid
den and smothered as If II were behind AT
altar in a European cathedral, chiefly use
full in being smoked with incense.
We will recommend to every family L
aim to have at least one good picture some
where, by some living artist. A couple O
hundred dollars is often spent in small
sums, five dollars at time, In little orna
ments and frames and captivating objects
which are always breaking and being lost
The same two hundred, bravely investe,
in buying the first careful picture of
rising artist may be great help bot
ways-to the buyer and tho artist; tn
artist whom II helps into notice; and tn
family, who gain picture which become
astandard and rallying,point for other pi'
tures.-Nrs St0ioe, in AtlaRtic Almdnd