Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-04-14
THE ART OF JAPAN.
Oriental Decorations Employed in
Beautifying Our Homes
WITH THEIR UNIQUE BRILLIANCY.
Magnificent Rooms in the Vanderbilt and
Marquand Houses.
DR.. HAMNOND'S JAPANESE BEDROOM
WRITTEN FOR THE DIsPATCH.I

The most rational of all the manias which
from time to time ravage the community
has been the Japanese. The fan and stick
less parasol contain elements of decoration
which are difficult to abuse and which in
the proper hands are capable of the most
pleasing decorative effects.
We saw that at the last exhibition Of the
water color society when the National
Academy of Design received an unusual
touch in view of the costume ball. Then
the large south room had a frieze of gold
Japanese cloth in which dead gold parasols
were placed as disks between branches of
palm, the gold and dull green mingling in
beautiful harmony.
DR.. William Hammond years ago had a
Japanese bedroom with frieze of fans that
showed what could be done in this way,
The merit of Japanese decorations is that 1t
never looks cheap if managed with any de-
gree of skill; and the reason why it is so
difficult to offend in using Japanese mater
ials is because the Japanese are so thor
oughly an artistic people that they show it
on the commonest paper, the cheapest cot
tons and the simplest wares.
Drawing is with them practically an in
stinct, and their knowledge of natural forms
amounts to omniscence, The truth to ma
lures freshness and sense of spontaneity
that one finds in every turn of dry and
broken branch conveys a lively sense of
pleasure. The skill and assurance with
which they juxtapose colors defy laws and
harmonic the irreconcilable with an
audacity which captures us.
So far removed as the east is from the west
is the Japanese theory of decoration from
that OF medieval Europe, the source of that
modern decoration we have received filtered
through William Morris and his school.
1t is the old conflict in modern guise be-
tween our art and natural command long
ago strengthened on the one side by the
third commandment, as in Arabia, it was
by the command of the prophet, so pro-
ioundly influencing the directions of Moor
ish ornaments. The position of naturalism
to-day both in art and literature has been
strengthened by and reacted in favor of
japanese art.
BEAUTIFUL EFFECTS.
Mr.. John La Fargo was the first man in
this country and at least 25 years ago to ap-
preciate japanese art. At that time it was
not only difficult to carry anyone beyond
the belief that the japanese didn't know
anything about perspective, but the de-
mand for artistic surroundings had not set
in.
One of the first and equivalent results of
our American stained glass were three panels
made by Mr.. La Fargo for the nursery of
Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt. They were jap
anese effects in which a mountain,
Fusivama. moonlight, lake and a house
combined in a beautiful piece of color, and
in which lay that suggestiveness of story
and legend that always find place in jap
anese art The most independent adapter
of Japanese art has been Mr.. Robert Blum
the artist. His first efforts were seen in
studio occupied by Mr.. Blum and Mr..
Lungren, and its novelty as well as beauty
captured every one who entered it. There
was a coarse canvas frieze on which were
painted branches of cherry and apple,
skimming birds, japanese emblems and
japanese stuffs and wares assisted the deco
ration.
Mr.. Blum was then called upon to decor
ate the dining room of the house now occu-
pied by Mr.. George Blanchard on Wash
ington Square, which was done on a more
elaborate scale. And he is the decorator of
the tower room in Mr.. Charles J. Osborne's
villa at Mamaroneck. Mr.. Osborne's villa
is beautifully situated on the Sound, and
this tower room overlooks the prospect of
wood and lake. 1t is conical and the dec
oration begins above the matted dado. This
seems to be taken from cloud effects that
are seen on cheap japanese fans 1t con-
sists of waving bands of shaded gray, blue
and pink. Their irregular outlines are
further defined on the one side by dull
silvered cord about the size of a clothesline
The color lightens toward the apex of the
cone, when it suddenly darkens by the in
PRODUCTION of browns and hangs above like
a storm cloud, and out of the threatening
mass at the very top three giided dragons
Lift their heads.
4 CLEVER DEVICE.
I saw this room before it was furnished,
and happening to speak while standing in
the center of the room was startled bv Gu
rious response above. Looking hastily up
I saw for the first time these angry beasts.
The sound appeared to come SO directly
from their mouths that for the moment nv
heart stood still. A more cleverly conceived
echo could not be devised.
japanese fans and stuffs and paper of the
commonest sort teen with notions that he
used successfully. i have seen a mating
dado in a nursery ornamented with clever
copies of the curious domestic groups that
make so interesting and familiar a part of
Japanese decoration. Kakimonos, which
are the Japanese pictures, and are used to
hang on the walls, are infinitely better than
poor pictures. Some of these are very mag
nifcent, and the Japanese have their old
masters who painted kaklmonos as we
have our old masters in oil. They bring
high prices both in Europe and this coun-
try, but the Japanese have this advantage
that the kakimonos are also good art and
cheap pictures with us usually mean bad
art.
DR.. E. h. Williams, of PHILADELPHIA, has
Japanese room that carries with it that
interesting and fruitful suggestlveness
which always is found in Japanese art
The principal part of the decoration is the
frieze, the room being hung below in Japan
ese stuffs. The trieze is gilded and painted
upon with branches of blossoming cherry
and plum. Inserted among this decoration
and assisting it, is a japanese poem cele-
brating the delights of love and spring.
The Japanese room as it is commonly
found is a sort of show room for japanese
objects of art. Such is the famous Japanese
room of Mrs W. II. Vanderbilt, which is a
cabinet of a magnificent kind for Japanese
curios. The wood is cherry but painted to
represent red lacquer and occupies promi-
nent place above as trusses beneath the
ceiling of interlaced bamboo. The walls
are hung in japanese gold brocade and are
divided into irregular shelves such as we
see in the teak wood cabinets. These
shelves and the little curtained receptacles
hold the precious wares, jade porcelains and
bronzes and here and there CLEAN brilliant
pieces OF embroidery.
This use of wood Stimulating red LACQUER
is not confined to japanese rooms, but is
used where certain color schemes in red are
desired. There is a richness in the color of
red lacquer, a certain sense of yellow in the