Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-02-06

not be perceived in the most opposite forms
and proportions in objects of the same de-
scription by different persons Beauty. how
ever, consists in reminding US of certain
natural sympathies and objects of emotion
with which they have been habitually con-
nected. Thus we can understand how the
most different forms can be equally beautiful
Beauty" says Dresser in his Art of Decorative
Design. lis that quality of an object which de-
lights (satisIies) the mind through the agency
OF the eve"
The beauty that reigned among the Greeks ia
often spoken OF as absolute or conventional
but. as RGskin says, 1.-THE Greek statues not
casts, they types of the human shape"
Beauty is the symbol of the ideal.
WHAT ORNAMENT IS.
In using taste in the ornamentation Of a
dwelling, room or a wall, one should bear in
mind what ornament is Dresser gives us
probably as good definition as can be made
when lie said: Ornament is that which. SUPER
added to utility, renders the object more ac-
ceptable through bestowing on it an amount of
beauty which 1t would otherwise not possess"
1t gives to that which it invests new charm
as color bestows upon the flower a new love
Illness, and as the color cannot be said to be
essential to the existence of the flower so the
application Of ornament to objects cannot be
said to he absolutely necessary The progress
of ornament from the days of the Greeks is
growth to that higher form whose object
is to express Seddons in his 'Art and Archi-
lecture says. "Ihe feeling of delight which the
artist has taken in the subject of his choice"
Medieval architecture addressed itself not
only TO the sense and intellect of men, but
sought FRS to touch the more spiritual chords
of his being to excite the sympathy of his soul.
Ornament grew out OF mere imitation but it
has dlsOwned its parent. though even as high
authority as Ruskin says: Everything thel is
ornamental which is initiative"
But II imitation IL ornament then in truth he
VINO a hest ia the IaGt
the photographer must outrank the painter
and the maker OF casts supersede the sculptor.
What he evidently means Is what is suggestive
Of nature Is ornament. Ornament does not
initiate. 1t represents, suggests, typities.
From typifying nature ornament went on to
embody ideas and emotions. That is why even
the irreyerent are awed on entering the cathe-
draIs of the old world.
ORNAMENT NOT MERELY IMITATION
The idea that ornament is imitation has had
a mighty grip on the world. Eastlake. writing
thirty years ago, said: 1T is an established
principle in the theory of design that decora-
i've art is degraded when it passes into direct
imitation of natural Objects" Then he goes
on to speak of some of the ornamental mon
strosities of his day, which. unhappily are to
be seen even at the present time. 10 an edu-
Gated eye a literal reproduction in wood or
stone Of the forms assumed by vegetable life is
by no means agreeable. The truth is that I'M
or symbolized, but not actually initiated. We
copy the brorZes of France, the mosaics of
Italy. the pottery OF China, the carpets OF Tur-
key with indifferent success. but. not content
with this, We tumble, we invest objects con-
structed Of one material with the form and Or
namental character which should be the attri-
butte of another. By this means decorative art
has been degraded in this community to level
from which it is only now beginning to rise."
Truth and common sense must rule In orna-
H.. L..,z -lI-
tected statues placed on the most exposed parts
OF buildings. Common sense would suggest q
canopy which may form pinnacle, as on the
cathedral Of st. Marks. Regarding the renais-
sance vases stuck upon parapets, it has been
said that If they are not intended to catch the
distilled dew of heaven for the use OF the in
habltants, no other object for them can be con-
eeived, and the sooner they are knocked off the
better.
REQUISITES OF ORNAMENTS.
Common sense requires that regard should
be given to the purpose for which the orna-
ment is designed, the material of which it is
constructed and the object which it represents.
class OF decoration peculiar to one material
is misplaced when applied to another. That
always is best which is simplest and least
affected. Fretwork in stone loses the solidity
and massiveness suitable to stone, yet the cob
web-like tracery of the stone ceiling of the
chapel Of Henry VII in Westminster Abbey has
been highly praised. 1t has been written en-
Enthusiastically that 'stone seems by the cum
ming labor Of the chisel to have been robbed of
its weight and density, suspended aloft as il by
magic, and the fretted roof achieved with the
wonderful minuteness and airy security of q
cobweb."
All must indeed admire the skill Of the work
man, but one cannot help feeling that it has
been misplaced. Stone has indeed .'been
robbed of its weight and density" but those
attributes should have been allowed to remain
Yes, it is cunning labor; and when that il said
all is said.
ORNAMENT SHOULD NOT DECEIVE.
That ornament which is not what it pretends
to be is not truly ornamental 1t il sham.
Stucco work il probably the most frequently
encountered sham. But We see less Of it than
We used to. Eastlake says that it was an evil
hour when stucco was invented. This 10 how
he bewaiied its prevalence in England thirty
years ago: mot only Is plaster or cement used
as q covering for inferior brick work, but 1t 10
boldly employed for columns, parsPete and
at all an uncommon thing to see . would-be
Doric or Coriuthian shaft truncated Of its base
and actually hanging to the side Of house
| until the pedestal (Which, Of course, will also
| be of cement) is completed"
plaster, marked out In imitation Of stone,
when every one can tell ct glance that 1t 10
not stone house, 10 not seen % often now,
outside the small cities. We are growing more
honest in our work. Away with such prstsnse.
| Let work be honest.
The granting Of wood IL another sham. For .
few dollars one may have his poor pine wood
work transformed into CHARTERED oak or chest
| nut, but 1t remains pine and no one n de-
ceived. Far better to have good honest pine
or any cheap wood 20 prepared, that whatever
natural beauty the wood has can be seen and
admired than 70 ''ebonizs" IT. and the Arst
| time the poor sham topples over it. naked back
tells what eountsrfsit y 1. :.