The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1903-07-01
THE CITY OF COLOR.
NEW YORK a PICTURE OF PLEASING
CONTRASTS IN AUES.
The American Metropolis In This
Respect Surpasses All the Great
Monotone Tinted Capitals OF the
Occidental World,

Respect surpasses All the Great
Monotone Tinted Capitals of the
Occidental World
New York has been written about
from almost every possible point OF
view architectural, commercial, polit-
ical and social. Yet SO fur as we know
1t has never been properly appreciated
for the one thing In which IL surpasses
all the other great capitals of the occl-
dental world, and that Is for its color.
Those of us who live here all our lives
or who absent ourselves for only brief
and inconsidernble periods OF time
never know how extraordinary is the
environment In which we have been
placed. 1t Is only the stranger with an
artistic sense or the native who has
been long away who gets the full eff
feet of this city of ours In Its unique
prlsmatic tiorldity OF hue such as vivi-
ilcs no other city Of It's kind.
II you Will think for IL moment and
visualize from memory the great cities
of Europe as IL colorist would see them
you will be struck by the fact that each
one Is Il monotone. London has the
dull dingy, smoky hue of its own No
Vember togs, and as you pass along its
miles and miles of streets "A weller of
unvnregated facades and homely chin
ney pots, your impression Will be
more and more that London Is one
great smudge, hideous and unrelieved
beneath II Sky of watery paleness
which merely accentuates little more
the dinsy hue OF everything beneath II.
Paris equally represents n monotone, IL
delicate gray that is neat and clean and
that adds 10 the symmetry and har-
moniousncss of the whole effect, but
that Is seldom diversified by warmer
tones Berlin Is monotone In bur.
and Rome. Hike Paris, for the most
part, monotone in gray.
one thinks Mt first of Naples as
city brilliant with the hucs of the
south, but little reflection viii show
that II Is not the city itself which can
be rightly No regarded, but rather the
setting of the city as one perccives II
from the ship on which he enters the
glorious bay or from the Capo di Posi-
lipo The intense blue of the sky, the
emerald of the surrounding hills, the
sparkle on the waters that lap Its
crescent shore, the huge dun slope of
Ncsuvius, with its golden smoke, and
Capri In the distance swimming In II
golden mist these things afford an I'M
forgcttable dream Of perfect colorlng,
But Naples Itself! The place Is as
commonplace and dirty and depress-
Ing as Constantinople which also from
II distance cheats you into thinking 1t
n colorists paradise.
1t Is New York alone which, after
delightlng the eye with the beauty OF
Its harbor, embraced by the long
slopes of billowy green, fascinates the
eye by the briliancy and diversity OF
its color scheme. The sky IL as blue
as that which is arched above the
Mediterranean. Its sunshine is as
bright, and II Is slfted down upon the
city like gold dust scattered by Il law
ish hand. But the sky and the sun
light merely intensity the vivldness OF
the color contrasts which are visible
at every turn. Here Is no convention,
no conformity no desire for harm0-
Nous effect. The snowy wilderness of
marble and the clean gray of granite
are everywhere intermingled with the
cheerful buff or the warm, rich reds
Of brick. Patches OF green appear Mt
the end of every vista
The enormous display windows of
the shops are II riot of blues ana vel
lows and pale rose and heliotrope and
scarlet. Gliding catches and reflects
the sunlight at every turn. Flags and
strcamcrs and multicolorcd awnings
add to the effect, so that every street
Is II verltable spectrum Throughout
the whole length and breadth of the
island city color abounds In flecks and
splashcs 1t Is just bit bnrbarie,
possibly. but II Is also wonderful and
striking.
70 the sober dizziness of Madrid or
Rome or London ii Is what the Pom
peiian wall paintings are to the quiet
canvascs of Iarpignies not art, but
instinct nevertheless with sensuous
ness and glow that stir one strange
Is. If you are native Of New York
perhaps you never noticed this Yet
all the same ii Is set before you every
day, and II you viii only think of II
the next time you 20 out of doors you
will perceive II as revelation and
will know that whatever else New
York may be II Is, ut any rate, color
city, and ms such it Is one That has no
iuI A.
tiser.