the city of domes-第21章

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　particularly　for　pageant　with　music；　opera；　for　example。〃

〃Of　course；〃　said　the　architect。　〃But　the　music　ought　not　to　come　as　it　does　now；　from　a　band。　It　ought　to　come　from　the　orchestra。　Violins　belong　there。　Put　brass　never！〃

〃Well；　what　happened　to　the　pageant　scheme？〃

〃Oh；　when　Mullgardt　showed　the　preliminary　sketches　it　was　ruled　out　as　too　expensive。　Then　he　removed　the　balcony　and　the　staircase　and；　in　place　of　the　staircase；　he　introduced　a　cascade；　keeping　the　rest　of　the　court　as　it　had　been　before。　His　idea　was　to　use　the　water　in　the　cascade　only　in　a　suggestive　way。　It　was　to　be　almost　completely　hidden　by　vines；　after　the　manner　of　Shasta　Falls；　and　to　symbolize　the　mysterious　appearance　and　disappearance　of　water　that　came　from　…　one　didn't　know　where。　But　that　scheme　was　rejected；　too；　as　too　expensive。　However；　Mullgardt　accepted　the　situation。　He　was　so　interested　that　he　worked　out　himself　many　of　the　details　that　most　architects　would　have　left　to　subordinates。　He　really　cared　enough　to　make　the　whole　effect　as　close　to　perfection　as　he　could。　Everything　he　did　he　had　a　reason　for　doing。　Not　one　thing　here　did　he　use　gratuitously。　He　evidently　doesn't　agree　with　the　idea　that；　in　architecture；　beauty　is　its　own　excuse　for　being；　he　wants　to　make　it　useful；　too。〃

Then　I　was　initiated　into　the　details　of　the　workmanship。　〃Observe　how　the　ideas　in　the　structure　of　the　walls　of　the　court　are　carried　on　in　the　ornamental　details　and　in　the　tower。〃　The　primitive　man　and　primitive　woman　repeated　in　a　row　along　the　upper　edge　had　been　finely　conceived　and　executed　by　Albert　Weinert。　And　the　nobility　of　outline　in　the　tower　was　sustained　by　the　three　pieces　of　sculpture　in　front　made　by　Chester　Beach。　That　top　figure　some　people　believed　to　be　Buddhistic　in　feeling。　But　it　belonged　to　no　particular　religion。　It　stood　for　the　Spirit　of　Intelligence。　The　ornamentation　on　the　head　was　not　an　aureole；　as　bad　been　reported；　but　a　wreath　of　laurel；　symbolic　of　success。　The　group　beneath　was　mediaeval；　depicting　mankind　struggling　for　the　light；　expressed　in　the　torches；　through　those　conflicts　that　so　pitifully　came　out　of　the　aspirations　of　the　soul；　expressed　in　religion。　The　lowest　group　showed　humanity　in　its　elemental　condition；　related　to　the　animal；　close　to　the　beasts。　So；　to　be　followed　in　sequence；　the　groups　ought　to　be　studied　from　the　lowest　to　the　highest；　and　then　the　eyes　should　be　able　to　catch　the　meaning　of　the　lovely　ornamentation；　crowning　the　tower；　the　petals　of　the　lily；　emblem　of　spirituality；　the　arrow…like　spires　above　expressing　the　aspirations　of　the　soul。

On　the　sides　of　the　tower　the　symbolism　was　consistently　maintained；　war　and　religion　marking　the　progress　of　man　toward　the　state　indicated　by　the　single　figure　of　The　Thinker。

〃And；　speaking　of　the　soul；〃　the　architect　went　on；　〃Observe　these　great　clusters　of　lights　that　illuminate　this　court　and　the　approach　on　the　other　side　of　the　tower。　They　look　like　stars；　don't　they？　And　the　intention　evidently　is　to　use　them　for　their　star…like　character。　But　there　is　history　behind　them。　They　are　like　the　monstrance　used　in　the　Catholic　Church；　to　hold　the　sacred　host；　the　wafer　that　is　accepted　by　the　faithful　as　the　body　and　blood　of　Jesus　Christ。　Since　the　sixteenth　century　it　has　been　used　by　the　church；　a　beautiful　emblem；　made　of　gold　and　designed　to　suggest　the　prayer　of　the　sun；　the　Spirit　of　God　in　radiance。　Its　use　here　helps　to　give　the　court　its　ecclesiastical　character。〃

As　we　made　our　way　toward　the　Marina　we　noted　how　much　the　court　gained　by　its　general　freedom　from　color。　In　the　colonnade；　to　be　sure；　Guerin　had　been　particularly　successful　with　the　shade　of　blue。　But　he　would　have　done　better　if　he　had　omitted　the　color；　in　fact　all　color；　from　the　niches　in　the　tower。

Viewed　from　the　Marina；　the　entrance　to　the　court　proved　to　be　a　vision　of　loveliness。　There　was　only　one　intrusive　note　to　jar　the　harmony；　the　coarse　sea　figure　by　Sherry　Fry；　presumably　Neptune's；　Daughter；　standing　in　the　center；　with　a　great　fish　at　her　feet；　plainly　out　of　place　here；　in　spite　of　the　court's　celebration　of　the　sea　as　the　source　of　human　life。



XVI

The　Brangwyns



We　lingered　in　the　colonnade　to　view　the　eight　mural　decorations　by　Frank　Brangwyn；　of　London。　In　front　of　The　Bowmen　we　found　a　friend；　a　gifted　woman　painter；　fairly　bursting　with　enthusiasm。　〃What　delights　me　in　Brangwyn；〃　she　said；　〃is　his　artistic　courage。　He　dares　to　put　down　just　what　he　feels。　This　sturdy　figure　in　the　foreground；　for　example；　peering　through　the　trees；　how　many　other　painters　would　have　allowed　him　to　turn　his　back　on　the　spectator？　And　yet　how　interesting　he　is　and　how　alive。〃

〃Some　of　those　heads　strike　me　as　curious；〃　I　remarked。　〃That　fellow　closest　to　the　center；　just　about　to　let　his　arrow　fly；　seems　to　have　no　head　to　speak　of。〃

〃Sometimes　he's　careless　with　his　drawing。　And　yet　he　can　draw　magnificently；　too。　He　evidently　had　a　purpose　in　making　so　many　of　the　heads　in　these　murals　almost　deformed。　He　wanted　to　suggest　that　these　types　were　in　no　way　mental。　They　were　wholly　physical。　Notice　the　care　he　has　lavished　on　their　muscular　bodies；　their　great　shoulders　and　legs。〃

〃It　doesn't　seem　like　English　work；　does　it？〃　said　the　architect。

〃No；　there's　something　almost　Oriental　about　it　both　in　the　feeling　and　the　coloring。　And　there's　the　Pagan　love　of　the　elemental　life。〃

〃But　what　a　chance　Brangwyn　had　to　do　something　new　with　this　magnificent　subject；〃　the　architect　went　on。　〃At　last；　after　centuries　of　effort；　men　are　actually　conquering　the　air。　They've　learned　to　fly。　They've　become　birds。　Now　why　didn't　Brangwyn　give　us　a　pictorial　expression　of　that　miracle？　Why　didn't　the　artist　have　as　much　sense　as　the　man　of　affairs　who　pays　Art　Smith　to　come　out　here　and　fly　before　the　multitude？〃

I　argued　that　Brangwyn　preferred　to　deal　with　antique　themes　…　they　were　so　much　more　pictorial。

The　architect　interrupted　with　some　impatience。　〃But　that's　exactly　what　they're　not。　In　my　opinion　Whistler　was　perfectly　right　when　he　said　that　if　a　mural　decorator　couldn't　make　modern　life　pictorial　he　didn't　know　his　business。　Flying　through　the　air　is　only　one　of　many　wonders　in　the　life　of　today　that　cry　out　for　expression　in　art；　but　you　scarcely　catch　a　note　of　them　here。〃

〃For　example？〃　said　the　painter。

〃Industry　…　our　great　machines；　the　new　power　they　bring　into　the　world；　the　change　in　industrial　relations　and　social　and　moral　ideals。　Now　in　these　murals；　Brangwyn　has　simply　repeated　himself　and　he　hasn't　by　any　means　done　his　best　work。　And　I　question　whether　his　observation　is　so　accurate　as　you　admirers　of　his　try　to　make　it　appear。　Look　at　the　way　those　fellows　are　holding　their　bows　…　with　the　left　hand；　presumably　for　the　pictorial　effect　of　the　composition。　Well；　let　that　point　pass。　One　fellow　has　shot　his　arrow。　The　other　is　holding　his　arrow　between　the　fore　finger　and　the　middle　finger。　Well；　it　won't　go　very　far。　The　Indians　know　better。　They　let　the　arrow　rest　on　the　thumb　to　give　it　plenty　of　freedom　to　fly。　One　of　those　bows；　by　the　way；　has　no　string。　Brangwyn　probably　thought　it　wouldn't　be　missed。〃

As　we　looked　at　the　other　panels　the　architect　conceded　that　the　points　the　painter　raised　for　Brangwyn；　the　brilliant　use　of　color；　the　dramatic　grouping　and　the　fineness　of　characterization；　were　true　enough。　〃But　he's　too　monotonous。　Though　his　groups　are　of　different　periods；　some　of　them　ages　apart；　they're　all　essentially　alike　and　the　figures　are　even　dressed　alike。　I'm　perfectly　willing　to　make　allowance　for　artistic　convention。　But　why　should　an　artist　limit　himself　unnecessarily　when　he　has　all　the　ages　to　draw　on？　Why　should　he　neglect　the　present；　the　greatest　of　all　the　ages？〃

〃Ah；　I'm　afraid　you're　too　literal　said　the　painter。　〃You　want　to　limit　a　genius　to　rules。〃

We　turned　from　The　Bowmen　to　study　in　detail　the　second　illustration　of　Air；　much　more　modern　and　yet　charmingly　old…fashioned；　the　windmill　and　the　little　mill　high　in　the　background；　the　group　of　naked　boys　flying　kites；　the　toilers　and　their　children；　going　home　as　fast　as　they　could；　fighti