Evening star., 1937-06-12

AAo uHucI stAHuluB ME. ADAMS SuG-
gests that this earliest glass was the
best because the makers were new At
the work. and spent on it "an infinite
amount OF trouble" but he probably
comes nearer the truth when he re-
marks that they had an appetite" for
the work which amounted to greed, and
that they did their utmost because
they were exalted by the conviction
that they were serving the Diety. Ger
tainly they were simple-minded, sin
cere, and what is more, they had taste
all OF which. with due respect to the
few so endowed, are rare qualities to-
day.
Motiuating Force
In Modern Art.
A ND yet, strange as it may seem. in
his study Of the work Of these
inspired twelfth century artists
Henry Adams stumbled across and
gives us what may be regarded as an
explanation Of the motivating force in
modern art. He says the twelfth CEN
tury artists never hesitated to put
their color where they wanted it,
knowing that the first point In color
decoration was color. They cared not
whether a green camel or a pink lion
looked like dog or a donkey, pro-
Vloed they got their harmony or value.
Everything except color was sacrificed
to line in the large sense, but details
of drawing were conventional and
subordinate. So it is that we laugh
to see knight with blue face or q
green horse, that looks as though
drawn by 4 4-year-old child, and
probably the artist laughed, too, but he
was colorist, and never sacrificed his
color for q laugh" Is this what the
modernists are striving for? Perhaps
out II so they must be colorists-
they must be able to laugh.
One modernkt "A Frenchman,
Rouault-has gone back to the Gothic
glass not merely for inspiration but
type and style. He paints his fig
ures grotesquely, outlining them in
black paint in the place of leads and
thereby heightens his color effects.
But this Is mere borrowing. The truth
Of the matter is that with sufficient
gilt and inspiration laws and prece-
dents may safely be set aside-but not
otherwise.
Designed as Decoration
In One Plane.
A MOTHER fact which the twelfth
century glassmakers teach us is
that windows are part of the wall
and must be treated accordingly-not
as easel paintings setting forth scenes
in perspective but As decorations in a
single plane. To this requirement the
new Daniel window in the Washing
ton Cathedral admirably conforms.
Also in scale is it in keeping with the
architecture. And still further to its
credit the story 1t has to tell is 80
simply related that 1t is intelligible
to all. These are fundamental things.
but their common possession does not
create similarity between this late
work and its early prototype. The
twelfth century glassmakers purposely
employed broken color and very ir-
regular leading, and the "jeweled per-
lection" Of their windows suited the
buildings for which they were created,
but not As well As those more massive
In proportions erected later. Dazzled
oy the brilliancy of their achievement.
We have In this later day tried to COPY
them, At times with slavish ignorance,
but return to old ideals has materially
bettered much of our contemporarv
product.
From the thirteenth century to the
late nineteenth century the art of
stained glass making steadily retro
gressed. Its lowest level was the
painted window Of the eighteen seven
ties, eighties and nineties, for which,
IN = heavenly conclave of artists. We
can only hope but with small measure
OF assurance to be forgiven. The pre-
Raphaelites in England had q try At
1t. but made no notable contribution
Affecting the art. In this country
Louis Tiffany's invention OF opalescent
glass had = very deleterious effect
through misuse on the part OF the
majority Of glass workers which even
the genius Of John La FARCE could
not, through his splendid creations.
onset or stem. La Fargo had taste
and color sense and some OF the win
dows he designed and executed ir
opalescent glass possess "jeweled
perfection"
The Reuiual of the Art
In America and Elsewhere.
COME excellent windows, largely
painted, were produced by Henry
Holiday, An Englishman, during the
last two decades OF the nineteenth
century. To his credit stand the beau
tiful chancel window in the Church
OF the Epiphany In this city and q
series in the nave OF Christ Church
Georgetown. With the beginning OF
the present century came 4 renaissance
in stained glass making, a return to
the ideals and to a degree the meth
DDS OF the workers in the Gothic
period. An example of the work OF
William Willet, who designed the
great west window in the Graduate
School at Princeton and the windows
in the chapel at West Point. is now on
view at the National Museum in the
National Art Collection. He was one
OF the first to institute this revival
Others have ably carried it on. Here
In the United States today We have
coterie OF glassworkers producing
work OF very distinguished character
Among these are Joseph Reynold,
and his partners: Charles Connick
also Of Boston: Nicola d'Ascenzo Of
Philadelphia. represented in the
Washington Cathedral, but more