Deming graphic., 1919-07-15
ANTIQUITY OF
Decorative ART
sirasss Sources From WhIot
PIgments Used BY Modern
Painters Are Derived.
PRESERVATION OF SURFACES
crsds bst EmsstIvs Prsesssss EmpIsy
- BY the EsypsIsns and Greeks sf
PlInys pay-Nsah Prudsntiy
Watsrprsefsd the ARK

Wheeher paint was invented n ~
swsr 10 need for . prsssrvative ~ -
meet . desire for beauty IL = question
fully ~ knotty a. the ancient enc about
the relative time Of arrival Of TIE
chicken or the sss. II was Invented.
thsush. and Il serves both purposes
equally; 20 whether It IL as ofspring
4 mother necessity or an adopted son
q beauty remains forever q disputed
question.
The first ncn, covering under the
SERGE and glaring suns Of the biblical
countries. constructed rude huts Of
wood to shelter them. The perishabls
naturs Of these structures caused rapid
Decay, and It IL probable that the oc-
cupants. seeking some artificial means
q preservation. hit upon the pigments
sf the earth IN their search. II II per
Aaps natural to suppose that II was
ths instinct Of preservation that led
nss to the search, although the Elories
q the sunsets and the beauties Of the
rainbow may have created desire to
initiate those wonders In their own
dwellings
The earliest record Of the applica-
tisa Of . pressrvativs to Q wooden
structure dates from the ark, which
was, according to the Bible. pitched
within and without" The pitch was .
triumph Of prsssrvatisn whatever 1t
lacked a. q thing Of beauty.
Decoration applied to buildings hrst
comes to light with ancient Babylon,
whose walls were covered with repre-
sensations Of hunting scenes aad Of
combat These were done In red and
the method followed was to paint the
scene on the bricks at the time Of
manufacture. assuring permanence By
baking. Strictly speaking. this was
not painting 20 much a. II was the
earliest manifestation Of eur own IA
miliar kalsomiping.
The hrst Hebrew to mention paint
ing IL Moses. In the thirty-third chap
ter Of the book OF Numbers no In
structs the Israelites. "when 70 have
passed over the Jordan Into the land
Of Canaan. then shall ye drive out all
the inhabitants Of the land from be-
fore you and destroy all their pic
tures. :"
At later periods the Jews adopted
many customs Of the peoples who sue
csssively obtained power over them
and In the apocryphal book Of the
Maccabses In found this allusion to
the art Of decorating. "For as the mas
ter builder Of q new house must care
for the whole building. but he that
undertaketh to set II out and paint II.
must seek out things for the adornins
thereof"
Although Homer gives credit 10 q
Greek for the discovery Of paint, the
allusions to II In the books Of Moses.
the painted mummy cases Of the Egyp-
tians and the decorated walls Of Baby
lon and Thebes AZ its origin st .
period long antecedent to the 0recian
era. The walls Of Thebes were paint
ID 1000 years before the coming Of
Christ and e96 years before -'omer
smots his bloomin' Tyre"
The Greeks recognized the value Of
paint ss q prsservativs and made use
Of something akin to II on their ships.
Pliny writes Of the mode Of Boiling
wax and painting ships with Il, after
which, he continues neither the sea,
nor the wind, nor the sun can destroy
the wood thus protected"
The Romans, bsing essentially q
warliks people. never brought the dec
GRAFTON Of buildings to the high plane
II had reached with the GreekA For
all that the ruins Of Pompcii show
many structures whose mural decora-
lions are In fair shape today. The
colors used were glaring. A black
background was the usual one and the
eonbinations worked thereon red, ysl-
low and blue.
In the early Christian era the use Of
mosaics for churches somewhat sup
planted mural paintips. Still. during
the reign Of Justinian the Church Of
Saint Sophia was built at Constantino-
pie and its walls were adorned with
paintings.
In modern times the uses Of paint
have come to be a. numerous a. its
myriad shades and tints. Paint 10
unique In that its name aas no syno-
nyn ana for Il thsre u no substitute
material. Bread In the stan Of life. but
paint is the life Of the stsff.
No one TANKS Of the exterior Of Q
wooden building now except in terms
Of paint coated. Interiors. toe. from
paintsd walls and stained furniture
down to the lowiiest kitchen utensil.
all rsce,ve their protective covering.
Steel, 90 often associated with cement
re-cnforcinE. II painted before II goes'
to give solidlty 70 the manufactured
stone. The huge girders Of the sky
scrapsrs are daubed an ugly but EN-
cis.t red underneath the surface csst
Of black. Perhaps the best example
Of the value Of paint On steel II found
In the venerable Brooklyn bridge. On
which q gang Of painters 10 kept go
ing cehtinunlly. II IL scarce possible
to tAink Of a sinEls manufactured ar
ticls vhich does not meet paint sorae-