The Sculpture and Mural Decorations of the Exposition Part 9

The great panels of the Golden Arts alternate, in the ceiling of the Rotunda of Fine Arts, with the Four Golds of California. All of these panels so tone their brilliancy into the great sweep of the ceiling that the beholder gets a sense of the beauty of the whole rather than that of any part. This arching, floating unity of the ceiling is an admirable example of the self-control of the muralist. The Golden Arts are interpreted by symbolic groups including a larger number of figures than The Four Golds. They are ent.i.tled "Inspirations of All Art," "Ideals in Art," "The Birth of European Art," and "Oriental Art," here ill.u.s.trated as typical. In this, against the soft but sparkling background of bright sky and clouds that supports all of the panels, are set with much verve the historical, legendary and romantic inspirations of Oriental art. The group is dominated by a contest between an eagle and a knight mounted upon a dragon - based upon a legend of the Ming dynasty. Fugi, the sacred mountain, is in the distance; the sacred dog attends the Chinese hero in the foreground. A beautiful j.a.panese woman - indicating the inspiration of romance, East and West - sits among flowers. The s.p.a.ce is filled in a manner appropriately and charmingly suggestive of Oriental composition.

The Arts of Peace Netherlands Pavilion

The Pavilion of The Netherlands is inevitably reminiscent of the Peace Palace of The Hague, by natural a.s.sociation of ideas and because of the spirit of its central mural painting, "The Arts of Peace." It is therefore an interesting fact that Hermann Rosse, the artist who painted this imposing work, and, indeed, designed the entire interior decoration of the pavilion, was also muralist and decorator of the Palace of Peace.

The pavilion walls and hangings - steel blue, olive green and silver grey, relieved by quaint conventional stencils of orange trees and tulips and severe s.h.i.+elds of the four divisions of the kingdom - has a broad, cool puritanism that lends itself well to the rich depth of the painting. Holland holds high the image of Peace, surrounded by the peace-nurtured arts and industries on whose support all human welfare rests. Among them stand not only representatives of trades and crafts, with their symbols and implements, but also the Art of Motherhood and the Art of Play shown by a happy child. s.h.i.+ps of all ages in side-panels and background tell of the maritime history of Holland which so largely and peacefully colonized the world. Beneath the painting is a comforting and inspiring legend.

Penn's Treaty with the Indians Pennsylvania Building

The Pennsylvania Building was designed with the patriotic purpose of enshrining the Liberty Bell. The Bell stands in a loggia between two wings, the architectural motif following that of Independence Hall. On the walls of the loggia are two mural lunettes of distinction by Edward Trumbull of Pittsburg. Their deep glowing color and ma.s.sive grouping mark Mr. Trumbull a worthy pupil of his master, Frank Brangwyn. "Penn's Treaty with the Indians," here given, shows William Penn and the foremost of his s.h.i.+pmates on "The Welcome" making with Chief Tamanend and his braves the Treaty of Shackamaxon in 1683, the treaty that never was broken. The plainness of the kindly Friends, the barbaric splendor of the Indians, the deep green of the overarching Treaty Elm and the lovely typical Pennsylvania landscape have enduring attraction. The panel is in contrast with Mr. Trumbull's vigorous and burning modern picture, "The Steel Workers," on the opposite wall. In the reception room of this building are seven delightful small panels by Charles J.

Taylor, showing the early life of Pennsylvania villages. They are painted in the quaint style of old colonial decorations and have charm, humor, naivete and beauty too pleasing to be overlooked.

Return from the Crusade Court, Italian Pavilion

The courts and palaces of Italy, with their appearance of age and their remote, sheltered calm, present an education in artistic reserve and decorative uses of s.p.a.ce that all who linger may learn. They represent four centuries of architecture, of three historic types. The lovely piazzetta with its antique well is the center of beauty. On one of its walls is what appears to be an ancient mural, soft, flat, with that faded, velvety coloring a.s.sociated with age. It was recently painted by Mathilde Festa-Piacentini, in the ancient manner to harmonize with the court. It represents "The Return from the Crusade" of one n.o.ble Pandolfo, and bears date and description in Latin. Quaint old-time stiffness and weather-worn coloring combine with modern correctness and fluency. The young artist is the wife of the architect of the pavilion and has won a silver medal in the Italian section of Fine Arts. Below this lunette stands a bronze copy of an antique David with the marble head of Goliath. Other interesting murals appear in Italy's pavilion, by Pierretto Banco and Bruno Ferrari, son of the sculptor, Ettore Ferrari.

The Riches of California Tea Room, California Building

The tea-room of the Auxiliary to the Woman's Board, in the California Building, was decorated by Florence Lundborg, a Californian whose work has won consideration in this country and in France. In her large mural, "The Riches of California," one of the most extensive ever painted by a woman, and in the supplementary medallions she has expressed the generous abundance of California's fruitage. Feeling a similarity between copious California and Sicily, where she has lived and painted, the artist chose for her text a line from Theocritus describing that country: All breathes the scent of the opulent summer, the season of fruits. This inscription, in old Spanish lettering, surrounds the great canvas. Across a restful, soft-toned landscape, bright but tempered, the peaceful, happy harvesters bear homeward the plenteous fruit. A mood of quiet gladness is over all. The window arches, throughout the soft gray walls of the room, are marked by brilliant medallions of fruit and flowers, sumptuously composed upon a gold background.

Here ends The Sculpture and Mural Decorations of the Exposition, with an introduction by A. Stirling Calder. The Descriptive t.i.tles have been written by Stella G. S. Perry. Edited by Paul Elder. Published by Paul Elder and Company and seen through their Tomoye Press under the typographical direction of H. A. Funke, in the city of San Francisco during the month of October, Nineteen Hundred and Fifteen