Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1886-07-29
ARCHITECTURE IN rnAvc,

- hANCE
Now in the modern arebit.o,,.-,
chaos there appears to be a uotabio
ception in the work of the Fran,.L W.
pie. In Paris, archaeology and ~ ~ ~
DRY of architecture arc taupbt ''e-
official school of fine arts. which /, Iu
guardian of the national traditio,s 'e
this school the basis of stpdy i - ~
classic formula OF dogma Of M n,.a we
received in the fifteenth ccntu,. 49,.
Italy, and since then adorned ana ,f,i
fled so rs 10 form great body Of w.
tional precedent, rejecting the advon",
and character of French ciyilir,fN'
through all its stages Archtectnro
in this way officially organized and to's
in steady line OF academic devclopp'
ment. Thus confined, French oonins
not, ms elsewhere, exhausted in evnor;
ments, or spread thin over fields III on
terprise too extensive for ,iisnloy ot
effective progress, nor Is it distracted
by capricious archaeological revival.
This concentration OF energy eynrosso,
itself in degree of refinement In do
tail, a degree of clearncss and diroct
ness of thought, q degree of self-rcstroin,
and reposc, which are quite nor,
preached in the practice of any Other
nation. Under this dispensation tocb
nical qualities of design are naturali,
carried TO the highest perfection. r..
tinement is otter pressed to the VERGE Of
etieminacy The highest results oh.
tanned under this system are, on the one
hand, extreme dignity and repose. rs IN
the Palace Of Justice; and, on the other
n poetic and ilorid. but always cDrrect
brllliancy as in the Hotel dc Vile. Of
Paris, and the New Opera. Ii the arch.
ltectural Conyentionalism which if fo,.
tiers IS sometimes commonplace, it is al.
ways correct, never illitorate, and Otter
scholarly, If it disciplinos individuality
OF thought so that the style. in the
hands OF inferior artists, becomes IN.
duly uniform and unintercsting. ii pro
tects common work from the dangerous
vagaries OF invention, and keeps ii pure.
Originality is not sought after with the
feyerish eagcrness which must be the
prevailing characteristic Of work done
under q condition Of liberty. The
school, in fact is Propaganda of faith
in an arbitrary type of art. While il
narroWs the range Of expression, it en-.
courages academic precision, foster,
beautiful invention in detail, and leads
to II study of ornament far more delicate
and precious in its results than is else.
where possible AS school for practice
and education, it maintains a con>picu.
Gus adYan,agc. Niollet-le-Duc, with all
his knowledge and all his convictions,
cloquently urged in favor Of return to
Greek and medieval methods in de.
sign, was unable to create successful
revolt from the national STYLES rs cstab-
lishcd under this official system On
the whole. modern French Renaissance,
with lis vast accumulation OF motifs. le-
sHlting from five centuries OF constant
use in the hands of naturally inyen-
tive and imaginative race, constitutes
language OF art, ut once homogeneous
and copious. Ii It's essential paganism
makes it less fit for the expression OF
romantic, picturesque. or religious
thought, and perhaps. by reason OF its
academical character, less adaptable for
domestic purposes, this quality renders
1t more elastic than any other for monu-
mental and civic uses. 1t can be Gay
or grave, profuse or severe, stately or
poetic, without straining its resources OF
expression, and it still continues to re-
fleet the spirit of the times with the
same fidelity that has characterized it in
all its historic phases from the style OF
Francis |. to that Of Napoleon III; yet,
when used ont of France, it becomes an
unfruitful exotic. and degencrates into
cold convcntionalsm. lis blossoms in
variably die III crossing the English
Channel, and when imported to this
side of the Atlantic there is nothing left
of it but branches aud withcred leaves
-Hcary T'0R BlUHt III NWch atlantic