St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1889-06-15
DECORATIVE ART.

OeVOUAJuve AHUs
Great All-Arosaa Progress Aaas Dsrias
the Past Twsaty.0ve Years.
Art that Il essentially decorative has
. natural analogy with essentially Tyr.
ical poetry. A form Of versiacation
once chosen. the necessary condition.
Of meter and rhyme become to the
poet. - the qualities OF his material
to the artist opportunities, not re-
strictions; not only opportunities for
beauty Of meter and rhyme. but for an
emphasis on the utterance Of his
thought not attaipable outside that
form Of verse. Heis no poet who finds
rhyme and meter hamper his imacin-
alton, nor is he who is not inspired by
the conditions Of his material q deco
rator. From the exalted position as
sumed to-day by realistic painting.
decorative art seems to run some risk
OF being shouldered into an altogether
secondary and Insignificant place. 1t
can only be saved by its material, as
poetry by its lyrical qualities from the
assumptions OF realistic prose. We
must sing. and have fresh words to
sing; and A. song may touch our
hearts as nearly a. novel. We shall
not care to think OF it as on lower
artistic level than the stories We get
from the circulating library. Lese
deliberately initiative Of the details Of
reality It will certainly be. but there
Is room in it for as much Of art. and
perhaps, in . more highly-distilled
form. for as much OF nature ton And
so with the adjournment Of our rooms
and the windows that we MI with color
in our churches; NO should not. il We
can help it. wish that though different
from, they should be intellectually be-
meath. the pictures that We pay shill-
ings 70 look at nov aad then. Art
then can express itself not only in the
completely flexible media that admit
the so-called realism Of representation.
but in materials that impose their own
limits. In art as In life. there is no.
bility in. and compensation for. self-rc-
straint as we'll as for the wise acknowl-
edgment OF external restraining neces-
sites. The actor, for instance. who
reveals too soon the whole compass
OF his emotional resources has lost his
hold over US. the really impressive
man showing US that only at the cul.
minating instant-perhaps not the
whole Of it even then. Many human
interests cling close to the productions
Of the decorative arts Of tho homo and
Ereside. which enshrine memories oi
happiness or sorrow. crafty innocent
vanitics. recall pleasant hospitalities.
and teen with homely everyday ssso.
Citations It il to their advantage, ~
we'll - 70 their posseesors', il. beyond
this. the art In them is OF . vital and
clearspeaking nature that Is intelligi.
BILE. not only after death. as It were. IA
the connoisseur who entombs them in
a collection. but during their lifetime
to the people who possess and live with
them. In this direction we have made
great all-round progress in the last
twenty-five years, having struggled
pretty clear OF the worst period Of dec
Grafton that ever existed. A comparison
OF the furniture curtains, carpets, and
the like in general use now with
those Of quarter Of . century ago hal
been too often made to need repeti.
ton here. but one vital point in the
change is well worth noting. People
not only use better colors than they
did. and more graceful furniture, but
they appreciate them. taking real
pleasure in the soft colors Of their
curtains aud dress materials. The
artistic revival has run its course.
gained its nickname. been taken up BY
society. satirized and dropped; but tho
preference for delicate color over
crude survives it and remains q per
-aanent possession. Not now. in tho
,.ost out-of-the-way country place. do
the least sophisticated natives walk to
church clad in those ghastly aniline
colors that once shocked the land
scape, abashing the sober tints Of
tura-Contemporarv Review.