The Weston leader. [volume] (Weston, Umatilla County, Or.) 189?-1946, 1919-05-23
ANTIQUITY OF PAINTING


the relative time OF arrival Of the
chicken or the egg. II was invented.
though, and II serves both purposes
equally; 90 whether II Is an offspring
Of mother necessity or an adopted son
Of beauty remains forever a disputed
question.
The nrst men. covering under the
fierce and glaring suns OF the biblical
countries, constructed rude huts OF
wood to shelter them. The perishable
nature Of these structures caused rapid
decay. and II is probable that the oc-
cupants. seeking some artificial means
OF preservation. hit upon the pigments
OF the earth In their search. II is per
baps natural TO suppose that u was
the instinct OF preservation thnt led
men to the search. although the glories
Of the sunsets and the beauties Of the
rainbow may have created q desire 10
initiate those wonders in their own
dwellings.
The earliest record Of the appiica-
tion Of a preseryative TO q wooden
structure dates from the ark, which
was, according 20 the Bible, pitched
within and without" The pitch was a
triumph Of preservation whatever II
lacked as a thing Of beauty.
Decoration applied to buildings first
comes to light with ancient Babylon.
whose walls were covered with repre-
scntauons OF hunting scenes md Of
combat. These were done in red and
the method followed was 10 paint the
scene on the bricks at the time Of
manufacture, assuring permanence by
baking. Strictly speaking, this was
not painting so much as II was the
earliest manifestation Of our own IA
mIllar kalsomlning.
The flrst Hebrew to mention paint
ing is Moses In the thirty-thlrd chap
ter OF the book OF Numbers he In
structs the IsraelItes, "When We have
passed over the Jordan into the land
Of Canaan. then shall re drive out all
the Inhabitants OF the land from be.
fore you and destroy all their pic
lures. !"
At later periods the Jews adopted
many customs Of the peoples who sue
cessively obtained power over them
and in the apocrynhal book OF the
Maccabees lis found this allusIon TO
the art OF decorating, "For rs the mas
ter builder OF a new house must care
for the whole building, but he that
undertaken to set 1t out and paint It.
must seek out things for the adornlng
thereof"
Although Homer gives credit to
Greek for the discovery OF paint, the
illusions to 1t In the books OF Moses.
the painted mummy cases Of the Egyp-
tians and the decorated walls Of Baby
lon and Thebes fix its origin at a
period long antecedent to the Grecian
era. The walls OF Thebes were paint
ed 1000 years before the coming Of
Christ and 996 years before .'0mer
smote his bloomln' Tyre"
The Greeks recognized the value of
paint as preservatise and made use
OF something akin to 1t on their ships
Pllny writes of the mode OF boiling
wax and painting ships with It, after
which, he continues, neither the sea,
nor the wind. nor the sun can destroy
the wood thus protected"
The Romans. being essentially a
wurlike people, never brought the dec
grafton of buildings TO the high plane
It had reached with the Greeks. For
nil that the ruins Of pompeii show
many structures whose mural decora
tions are In fair shape today. The
colors used were glarinE. A black
BACKGROUND was the usual one and the
combinations worked thereon red, yell
low and blue.
In the early Christian era the use Of
mosaics for churches somewhat sup
planted mural painting. Still, during
the reign OF Justinian the Church of
Saint Sophia was built at Constantine
ple and Its walls were adorned with
paintings.
In modern times the uses Of paint
have come to be as numerous as its
MYRIAD shades and tints, Paint Is
uuiVue III thtIN ITO Huhic -h0S hV SShu
nym and for Il there Is no substitute
material. Bread Is the stnif OF life, but
paint Is the life of the staff,
No one thinks OF the exterior Of a
wooden building now except In terms
of paint coated. Interiors, too, from
painted walls and stained furniture
down to the lowliest kitchen utensil,
all receive their protective covering.
Steel, so often associated with cement
reinforcing. Is painted before II goes
to give solidiiy to the manufactured
stone. The huge glrders Of the sky
scrapers are daubed an ugly but ell
cient red underneath the surface coat
OF black. Perhaps the best example
Of the value of paint on steel Is found
In the venerable Brooklyn bridge, ON
which a gang OF painters is kept go-
ing continually. Il is scarce possible
10 think of single manufactured ar
tIcle which does not meet paint some
where in the course Of its construc-
tion. SO has paint grown into the
very marrow Of our lives