The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-05-03

of the Nativity, for example, we
| knoed through fear and broken down by
! reverence ready, the climax of their worship,
| 10 fan to pieces at the Madonnas feet. Rational
| people find it hard to discover why glass, in
order to be lovely must begin with an outrage
! upon nature. The difficulties, however, involved
are avowedly great, for nature is compelled to
| submit to conventional treatment and geometric
| proportion before she can be brought into ser
| vice to the parent art of architecture, which de-
mands obedience, severity, moderation. DIFF
| ference of opinion will necessarily arise as to
whether these new windows have hit the happy
mean between archaicism and modernism, be-
tween the hard austerity of the one and the free
and easy manner of the other. We incline to
think that were Mr.. Winston, to whom all par
ties owe no small debt of gratitude, now living,
he would claim in these works decisive victory
for the cause which. especially i'm later
years, he espoused possibly too strongly. '"The
best picture glass-p painting, wrote Mr.. Winston
'is that which most fully combines the quality
of good picture with display of the diapha-
nous property of glass" Yet, for ourselves, we
scarcely see that these, the last and possibly
most successful products of the German school,
materially change the aspect of the controversy.
Diaphanous they are not. We have cndevOred
to give full credit for what is gained; but on
the other hand, we are bound to confess that the
new windows in st. Paul's like others of the
school, are wanting in that gem-likc lustre, that
jcwel-sparlle in light which remain the unap-
preached prerogatves of the choicest medieval
| glass. The highest praise that can be awarded
ever they may be as painted glass they are, as
! specimens of appropriate and religious decOra-
! ton, successful. Yet the windows in st. Pauls
may be accepted us the best of their kind even
though il be objected that the kind is bad.
Much has been done to mitigate the manner
ism of the school. The bane of Munich glass
has been that 1t seeks to paint pictures by means
of Opaque enamel colors. Three methods have
been known in the history of the art of glass
painting. First, the mosaic system, of transpa-
rent material, and in style identified with Gothic
architecture. Second, the enamel system, q
later development and decadence, of which the
| Reynolds windows in New College, Oxford, are
| the most debased and egregiOus examples. And
| third, ''the mosac-enamel method, which seeks
| to combine transparent 'pot-metal" glass with
! the use of Opaque enamel color This last has
till now been the process employed in the
| production of the picture-painted glass of Mu-
nich and the result, even when near to perfec-
| ton, can be best indicated by II somewhat
| violent comparisons; thus, while the best old
| glass may be said in deep-toned harmony and
| broken lustre to approach rich Oriental fabrics
modern German windows may be likened to the
thin smooth calicOes printed in Manchester.
But at length the Munich painters have begun
to amend the error of their way; thus the miti-
CATION OF vicious methods first observable in
Glasgow is now in London followed by still fur
| ther amelioration We believe that, somewhat
| through the representations received from Eng
| land, enamel colors have been all but abandoned
| in these new windows in favor OF transparent
| glass and the old mosaic method. Certainly we
| gladly observe return to the ancient "lead-
| ing" though we are not sure that in these win
| dOws some lining or pigment has not been APP
| piled to the exterior. In the worst decadence
of the art leading was discarded; large rectangu-
| lar sheets of glass were treated paper can
| vas favorable to the reception of pictures; and
| works thus weak have obtained unbounded APP
| plause from the democracies who crowd In
| ternatonal Exhibitions. We arc glad to find, in
the bold use of leading in the windows now
set up in ST. Paul's, some surety for the firm
on the license of Renaissance styles. Indeed,
there seems reason to hope that the distinguish
| ing merits of rival methods may yet be blended,
that the superior color of our English reyivalists
may be joined to the good drawing of Continen-
tai schools. Thus we may, even in the art of
glass painting, look Tor progress in place of
tnality.
A word must be given to the small and some
what feeble commencement of the proposed mo-
sale decorations. The eight spandrels beneath
the dome are to be filled by four major prophets
and four Evangelists. These figures, could they
but rise on their legs, would stand ten feet high.
| However. Mr.. Stevens "Isaiah' will never get
up; the figure evidently is broken in the back,
and the head gropes forward on the shoulders
if the ''major Prophet" were purblind. A couple
of angels being within call offer what help they
can; not being ornamental, they are willing to be
| useful.
These figures belong to the generic class of
| angels who addict themselves TO lie about i'll
! fine attitudes among clouds; they seem here to
have very specific yocation-they are SER
wants of all work. We know the species well
| though not in mosaic. In the time of Michael
Angelo such artistic properties abounded in the
purlieus of the Vatican. Mr.. Stevens is
genius and therefore we are all the more dis
appointed to find his Isaiah" a failure; the
artist evidently lost his way before he got
! through his compositions; his lines, FORMS and
masses are confused, his colors muddled. Mr..
Watts ''St. Matthew" is better, though the
masses are scarcely sufficiently pronounced
| for mural decoration. The composition in the
line of its relief against the gold ground
| always matter difficult of treatment-is not well
studied. We also incline to think that more of
the bas-relief and less of the pictorial method
would, considering the material and the
confessed that the figure, as a whole,
shares grandeur with Michael Angelo We trust
that the bold experiment may prosper. We
have not space to speak of the merits of the rival
mosaic manufactures Venetian and British, or
of the comparative advantages of glass and
ceramic tesserR. But, at all events, the best
authorities seem to be agreed that mosaic is des-
tined to take a most important part in the ar
chitectural decoration of the future, and assur-
edy there can be no field more fitting for the
display of this emincntly monumental art tn IN
Wren's grand interior.
From the good beginning already made we
incline to augur well for this truly national en-
teTprise, ''the renovation and decoration of st.
PauIs." 1t were almost impossible to commend
too highly the zeal shown by several Of the city
companies for the honor of the Cathedral,
justly the pride of London, and by the late Mr..
Brown-of the famous LOGgman, Hurst,
Rees, Ome, and Brown 1rm-who gave
the Great West window. Such timely
generosity, we trust, may provoke general emu
lation From the art point Of view we may add
= that there seems reasonable ground 10 belieye