The Penn's Grove record., 1923-01-19
Art is Beauty
Cultivate 1t
Interesting Lecture On a New
Subject For Women To
Think About

der the auspices of the Woman's Club,
of Penns Grove, was the subject Of
"The Art of the Renaissance, by
Dr.. Laura H. CARMEL, Dean Of TEN
pie College, Philadelphia.
Altho the subject limited the con
sideration of art to the limited period
Of the Renaissance, Dr.. CARMEL be
gan by giving an aspect Of the origin
of art and outlined its development
from the beginning Of man down to
the Renaissance, which was then
presented in more detail to comprise
most of the lecture. But after the
Renaissance she carried the signifi-
canoe to the viewpoint OF the present
day as an application of art.
1t was a most beneficial lecture in
that it gave all in the audience, not
only an appreciation of the Renais-
sance, but also of art as a whole.
The lecturer had brought stereopticon
views of the paintings talked about
but the auditorium could not be suf-
ficiently darkened to put them on the
screen, an incident that was regretted.
In the beginning it was asked,
why Is Art" and then shown that it
was a fundamental from the begin
ming of life and not to be separated
as an extant part of man. As there
were several definitions the last vas
considered the finest. First, art Is
beauty. 1t is truth. 1t is consistency.
Rodin, the famous sculptor of France,
who died but a few years ago, defined
Art as "The pursuit of beauty; beauty
being the expression of that which is
best in man, and man needs to eX-
press in a perfect form of art all his
intuitive longings toward the I'M
movable" Art in its eSsence is the
power of bridging between heart and
heart. Finally, Henry Sedgwick, de-
fines it as the conscious purpose of
man to make the world more beauti-
full.
Primitive man decorated himself
and everything he loved or feared.
He used the materials at hand as
have all peoples. The Assyrians sym
bolized the fundamentals of strength
in the building constructed with sun
baked bricks. The Egyptians gave
durability to a different art shown in
the constructions of tombs, as they
were believed to be reinhabited. The
earlier art of the Egyptians vas
greater than the later art. The
Greek art was best in sculpture and
architecture of all times. The early
Christians were not artistic.
Rome inherited the foregoing quail
tiles of art but then declined in civil
zation by being over-run, but i'll the
18th century settled down and began
to realize its inheritance of beautiful
art. At this time the Byzatine infu-
ence was of stiff and formal restric-
tons with regulations made by priests,
as they had been done in Egypt.
The Hebrew felt it wrong to make
images, and early Christianity decried
the study of the art. However, reli-
gion needed the aid of art in its
teachings, and pictures were again
painted, but We're stiff and formal,
especially during the early stages of
Christianity.
As the 18th century began Gina
bue, a Florentine, broke away from
the antiquity into an unaffected spOn-
taneity inspired by pure delight in
beauty and loneliness for their own
sakes and was the first to make
painting the best expression of this
new enthusiasm of civilization at the
time.
lotto was an early Renaissance
artist in painting the story of St.
Francis. Then followed the masters
with full achievements. Savonorola,
who gave a full achievement of beauty
to everything; Raphael, known by his
paintings, Holy Night and Sistene
madonna; Michael Angelo, with the
Prophet and Seer, and Mona Lisa.
These were all men from near Flor
ence.
The Venetians emphasized splendor,
pomp and power by exceptional color
ing. Titan made masterful express
sions in portraits. Andrea del Sarto
painted the Last Supper. The four
greatest colorists were Venetians, Ii
tian, Giorgione, Tintorretto and Paul
Veronese.
After the Renaissance period there
came in the 18th century the Jesuit
Period of fired art limitations Of the
great masters.
So art has fallen from its high
estate and passed thru many phases.
In cur own country We seem to be
developing a sense of beauty. We
are at least conscious of ugliness and
are trying to bring beauty into our
towns.
The poem by Vachel Lindsay, en-
titled "On the Building of Spring
field" gives a good closing:
Let not our town be large, remem
bering
That little Athens was the MUSES.
home;
That Oxford rules the heart of London
still.
That Florence gave the Renaissance
to Rome.
Now let each child bejoined to a
Church;
To her perpetual hopes, each mar
ordained:
Let every street be made a reverent
Where music grows and beauty IS
unclaimed.