New-York tribune., 1910-07-18
Professor Goodyear Tells
Treasures for Brooklyn.

Professor William II. Goodyear, curator
of the Fine Arts Museum OF the Brooklyn
Institute, returned yesterday on the steaU'-
er Cleveland, of the Hamburg American
Line. from -hree months trip TO Europe
in the interests OF the institute and To
continue his inv .stigations Of architectural
refnements. IN Pisa, where he spent h'e
weeks he met A. Augustus Healy, president
OF the institute and his week In Florence
was devoted entirely to museuiL study IN
Mr.. Healys company.
Speaking of he benefits that would re-
suit to the institute from his trip. Professor
Goodyear said
MY time generally was divided between
study of the galleries and museums and
supplementary work in procuring architect
uraI exhibits for the museum. In Paris
completed arrangements already initiated
with the museum Of St. Germain-en-Laye
regarding excnanges of duplicates of tie
prehistoric Egyptian collection excavated
for the museum by Henry de Morgan
In return for these duplicates and for
the privilege of taking casts Of important
originals of prehistoric Egyptian art the
Brooklyn museum will receive type col
lection of casts from the remarkable carv-
ings on stone and ivory OF the quatenary
period.
Among these casts are a number quite
recently acquired by the st. German
museum with the Petite collection. Inc
originals of these carvings and drawings
are dated by biologists 10 period which
may roughly be stated as having an an
tiquity of forty thousand years The Sc
quence of evolution ana decadence ex-
hibited by these carvings is Of great IN
terest. as the races which produced them
have entirely disappeared There Is gap
or hiatus. of unknown duration between
their art and that of the earliest neolithic
races, which again preceded the earliest
bronze period by many thousand years The
ST Gernain museum is the only one
which is able 10 illustrate this sequence
Illustrating his observations OF arcni-
tecturaI refinemeuts'' in medieval churches
in Europe, Professor Goodyear mas brought
back 1Ss negatives and prints, of which
Twenty-Five were enlarged in Pisa and
about seventy-five were taken in Northern
France.
Generally speaking. said Professor
Good year. the modern period has attempt
ed to explain The methods of the mediaval
builders by arguments based on the pref
udices OF modern builders. The great
freedom and versatility of mediseval
building have not received the credit which
Is it's due This freedom and versatility
frequently accepted irregularities which
were inherent in the earlier conformauons
ofsthe site. II has been argued in conse-
qUence that all irregularities of medieval
planning were the result Of such acct
dents.
1T nov appears that these trreguiari-
ties were also consciously planned as
means TO A more lively and more varied
effect of outline and of detail Every one
realizes the superiority OF sketch TO a
mechanically measured drawing The re-
Iation Of the medieval building TO the
modern copy is the relation of the sketch
to the rnecha meal drawing
II had the pleasure of prearrangeo
meeting in Pisa with William W B0s-
worth the architect of the new Fifth Ave
nue. Baptist Church. 1t is understood that
Mr. RosWorth hopes TO introduce in the
facade of that church such varieties OF
alignment and dimension as we're fire.
duantly employed in medieval art as far
as this may be found compatible with the
training of the modern mason and with
the economic conditions of the work.