Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-12-27
DOMESTIC ART.
THarDeris paZar. I


Cieeper and more refined. We all feel this to a
certain extent. We all love warm room. q
CHEEKY fre, a comfortable armchair, cleanliness
and brightness. These are the groSser parts OF
household comfort which all can enjoy. And we
cherish and grow fond OF the things that have
m1nfstered to our material wants-of the chair
we are accustomed to repose in after our days
work, OF the fire that casts rudy light round
Our room as we sit and warm ourselves after we
have been chilled through in the cold outside,
when the Sleet and the snow are beating against
the windows, and the wind is waiting drearily
round the corners OF the house. But these COM
forts, or rather Injuries, are not amongst the re-
Anements OF domestic life They belong to
modest houses as much as to stately houses, or
perhaps more
We osnament our walls with paper and paint,
Our doors with mOuldingS our ceilings and cor
niceS with plaSter-wOrk, our floors with carpets,
our fireplace with marbles, our chairs with
chintzes. and most things with vulgarity And
the consequence OF all this is that we Spen1
good deal OF money in making ourselves less
comfortable than we should have been II we
had spent very little believe the motive o
this outlay usually to be a desire to obtain
cheap magnifcence, to initiate with our little
what our richer neighbors have bought with
their plenty. And we certainly succeed in mi
taing their gaudneSS. only we forget one O
the essential principles OF all good art, that If
thing is conspicuous ii should be able to bea
close examination. How much better it would b
II, instead of trying to produce cheap limitations
Of things which properly belong only to loa5
suites OF reeeption-roomS and stately galleries,
we could contrive TO form a style of decoration
which should be In keeping with the hOrseS In
which We live, aud with our manner OF life. But
perhaps il is new light TO many of our readers
that they are living surrounded by vulgar furnl-
ture and il vulgar rooms. Let Us. then. con-
slider what things In everyday life we are In the
habit OF calling vulgar: If we were to meet a
poor girl tidily, cleanly, and quietly dressed,
we might remark her as person whom we
would be glad to take into our own service, or
perhaps attend to our own children. We should
feel It probable that she would do her work dill
gently, and, above all, honestly. We should feel
1t probable that our childrens characters would
be safe in her hands, that she was possessed OF
natural refinement which would prevent her
dong or saying anything which we should fear
might have bad influence on the tone of their
minds If, on the other hand,we were to meet
girl of the same class gaudily dressed, with false
jewelry and fiowery bonnet, we should proba-
bly, be exactly as much prejudiCed against her
as we were in favor OF the tidy girl. Our judg
ments In each case might be false, but they
would be instructive, that is to say, founded ON
our universal experience. And the difference
between the two girls would be the difference
between refinement and vulgaTity. Few will
disagree with me on this point. Now let us try
to And out from this instance of 1t what we
mean by the term rulgdl1tH or at least some of
its characteristics, as applied to things that are
seen.
The first that strikes us is the love of show
But II is the love of show for it's own sake that
is vulgar here. II is not the beauty OF the thing
shown. but the desire to create a sensation; and
this becomes at times such passion that ii is
binding to all discrimination between beauty
and ugliness. To show beautiful thing be-
cause 1t is beautiful, there is no vulgarity in
that; but to show anything. whether beautiful
o. ugly for the sake of Show that Is vulgar
his then, is the first characteristic OF vulgar
5ty The second is subordinate TO and depends
ON the first. 1t consists In the faseneSs of the
thing Shown--a falSeneSS that takes in no one
but the creature who produces the sham, and
only deceiveS her in this sense, that she be-
lieveS she is deceiying Others. Her passion for
show is so great that she prefers the pretenSe of
richness to the reality of neatness, and the ey-
hibition of tawdrineSS 10 the comfort Of quiet
ness. Now, there are few men or women who
would not consider that cheap gaudineSs in
dress, with all its Accomplishments OF false
iewelIy and what is called Goodness" was to
the last degree vulgar. But the strange thing is
that these very men and women, who are really
in many ways cultured and refined, do not see
that they themselves commit the very same
faults in the decoration OF their drawing rooms
that they blame with such severity in the dress
ing OF their maid servants.
1t would be impossible, within the limits Of
the present paper, to discuss, on the one hand,
all the vulgarities OF ordinary furnishing, or to
describe, on the other hand, more desirable re-
fnements in 1t; but a few instances we may
deal with. We will suppose that we are in a
drawing-room about twenty feet square (the
size OF an ordinary draw1ng-rOom in q moder-
ately sized house.) The first object that strikes
us as we enter, perhaps, Is gigantic looking
/, glass, about four feet wide and six feet hig1.
placed over the mantel piece 1t is surrounded
with rather elaborate and very coarse gilt
moulding. Such a mirror is the first thing that
is thought of to decorate the walls, and to pre-
vent the room looking bare. II we ask why a
large mirror over the chimney-piece Tor any
where else is thought desirable, we probably
hear that 't gives size to the room. or that eft
brightenS 1t up" When We arc told that it
gives size to the room, i suppose we are TO un-
derstand that It makes US believe that there IS a
second room over the chimney-pface Just Ike the
INST. OF course. we are never thus taken in
by ordinarily arranged mirrors, and II
we Were, IL would be very unpleasant. SO that
the first reason given lii defense OF them falls TO
the ground. With respect to the second excuse
for their existence, we must observe that they
undoubtedly Goto certain extent reflect, and
therefore do increase the amount OF light in the
room, but that they diminish the amount Of
light that there appears TO be by rejecting
darker parts OF the room only TO the spectator
owing TO their POSITIONS And it is the amount
of light that there appears 10 De- not the amount
Of light that there is, in a room that is import
ant. So much for the supposed advantages and
objections 10 them. We have seen that gloomi-
ness is one. Another is the appearance OF small
ness in rooms which they invariably produce.
II is almost always possible TO increase the ap-
parent size OF small room in legltt-
mate way by avoiding large objects.
A large statue or. large picture makes
filing IL up a. by destroying lis scale. the ess
naturally compares one thing With another,
and measures one thing by another. AS rule,
biz pattern on Wallpaper, n large door, d
large sheet OF plate-glass in e window, all toad
10 make room smaller. Thus the yulgarity or
cheap magnif1cence defeats its own object, and
only In making evident the very thing 1, Is most
anxious TO hide. Another serious objection that
may DC mace 10 large mirrors as usually placed
is the unpleasant way in which we catch sigLt
OF ourselves reflected III them. This, OF course
Is pure matter OF taste, but believe thar III )st
people share this dislike OF having their own
personality suddenly brought under their no.
lice.
8 Tie use OF gliding requires very great care
GOld-leaf in the hands OF an artist may be en-
ployed with wonderful effect. 1t may BE- made
TO give lightnesS or heaVtneSS. brightness Or
shadow. IL may be made 10 harmonic IL SyS-
tenn OF colOring that would be crude without it,
and IL may produce a marvellous richness; bat
exactly In proportion as it may be used TO
adorn, In that proportion It may be used to de-
stroy beauty. and 10 draw attention to ugnesS.
And II must be admitted that the way In which
gliding is generally used displays an eXtTaordi-
nary ignorance OF its artistic properties In
the first place, IL makes the objects IL covers
more conspicuous. There are some things
(Some carvings for instaucel which are very
good, both In design and worSma nship, but
which require some OF their parts To be en-
phaSiZed and made 10 stand out against other
DartS. IN these cases we may gid either OF the
parts, and SO produce the desired contrast. AS
rule IL Will be found best to gid those ill.,
tended TO catch the light IL will be found in
almost all cases that he use OF gold should N
decoration be reserved for the accIntua-
ton of form. This is or course only gen
eral rule. and is liable TO many exceptions
under peculiar circumstances Bit how IS gold
! generally used? Let us look round the room
and see. Ii IS TO b. seen on the francs OF the
mirrors above mentioned. The corniceS above
the yaiancpS q q aims Ino. Thpy- bad