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diff --git a/40367-8.txt b/40367-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index bb6c721..0000000 --- a/40367-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7976 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Decoration of Houses, by -Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman Jr. - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The Decoration of Houses - -Author: Edith Wharton - Ogden Codman Jr. - -Release Date: July 29, 2012 [EBook #40367] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DECORATION OF HOUSES *** - - - - -Produced by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Note: - - Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have - been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. - - - - -THE DECORATION OF HOUSES - - - - - Charles Scribner's - Sons - New York - 1914 - - The - Decoration of - Houses - - By - - Edith Wharton - and - Ogden Codman Jr. - - - - -Copyright, 1897, by CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS - - - - -"_Une forme doit être belle en elle-même et on ne doit jamais compter -sur le décor appliqué pour en sauver les imperfections._" - - HENRI MAYEUX: _La Composition Décorative_. - - - - -TABLE OF CONTENTS - - - PAGE - INTRODUCTION xix - - I THE HISTORICAL TRADITION 1 - - II ROOMS IN GENERAL 17 - - III WALLS 31 - - IV DOORS 48 - - V WINDOWS 64 - - VI FIREPLACES 74 - - VII CEILINGS AND FLOORS 89 - - VIII ENTRANCE AND VESTIBULE 103 - - IX HALL AND STAIRS 106 - - X THE DRAWING-ROOM, BOUDOIR, AND MORNING-ROOM 122 - - XI GALA ROOMS: BALL-ROOM, SALOON, MUSIC-ROOM, GALLERY 134 - - XII THE LIBRARY, SMOKING-ROOM, AND "DEN" 145 - - XIII THE DINING-ROOM 155 - - XIV BEDROOMS 162 - - XV THE SCHOOL-ROOM AND NURSERIES 173 - - XVI BRIC-À-BRAC 184 - - CONCLUSION 196 - - INDEX 199 - - - - -LIST OF PLATES - - - FACING PAGE - - I ITALIAN GOTHIC CHEST 1 - - II FRENCH ARM-CHAIRS, XV AND XVI CENTURIES 6 - - III FRENCH _Armoire_, XVI CENTURY 10 - - IV FRENCH SOFA AND ARM-CHAIR, LOUIS XIV PERIOD 12 - - V ROOM IN THE GRAND TRIANON, VERSAILLES 14 - - VI FRENCH ARM-CHAIR, LOUIS XV PERIOD 16 - - VII FRENCH _Bergère_, LOUIS XVI PERIOD 20 - - VIII FRENCH _Bergère_, LOUIS XVI PERIOD 24 - - IX FRENCH SOFA, LOUIS XV PERIOD 28 - - X FRENCH MARQUETRY TABLE, LOUIS XVI PERIOD 30 - - XI DRAWING-ROOM, HOUSE IN BERKELEY SQUARE, LONDON 34 - - XII ROOM IN THE VILLA VERTEMATI 38 - - XIII DRAWING-ROOM AT EASTON NESTON HALL 42 - - XIV DOORWAY, DUCAL PALACE, MANTUA 48 - - XV SALA DEI CAVALLI, PALAZZO DEL T 54 - - XVI DOOR IN THE SALA DELLO ZODIACO, DUCAL PALACE, - MANTUA 58 - - XVII EXAMPLES OF MODERN FRENCH LOCKSMITHS' WORK 60 - - XVIII CARVED DOOR, PALACE OF VERSAILLES 62 - - XIX SALON DES MALACHITES, GRAND TRIANON, VERSAILLES 68 - - XX MANTELPIECE, DUCAL PALACE, URBINO 74 - - XXI MANTELPIECE, VILLA GIACOMELLI 78 - - XXII FRENCH FIRE-SCREEN, LOUIS XIV PERIOD 86 - - XXIII CARVED WOODEN CEILING, VILLA VERTEMATI 90 - - XXIV CEILING IN PALAIS DE JUSTICE, RENNES 92 - - XXV CEILING OF THE SALA DEGLI SPOSI, DUCAL PALACE, - MANTUA 96 - - XXVI CEILING IN THE STYLE OF BÉRAIN 100 - - XXVII CEILING IN THE CHÂTEAU OF CHANTILLY 102 - - XXVIII ANTECHAMBER, VILLA CAMBIASO, GENOA 104 - - XXIX ANTECHAMBER, DURAZZO PALACE, GENOA 106 - - XXX STAIRCASE, PARODI PALACE, GENOA 108 - - XXXI STAIRCASE, HÔTEL DE VILLE, NANCY 112 - - XXXII STAIRCASE, PALACE OF FONTAINEBLEAU 116 - - XXXIII FRENCH _Armoire_, LOUIS XIV PERIOD 120 - - XXXIV SALA DELLA MADDALENA, ROYAL PALACE, GENOA 122 - - XXXV CONSOLE IN PETIT TRIANON, VERSAILLES 124 - - XXXVI SALON, PALACE OF FONTAINEBLEAU 126 - - XXXVII ROOM IN THE PALACE OF FONTAINEBLEAU 128 - - XXXVIII _Lit de Repos_, EARLY LOUIS XV PERIOD 130 - - XXXIX _Lit de Repos_, LOUIS XV PERIOD 130 - - XL PAINTED WALL-PANEL AND DOOR, CHANTILLY 132 - - XLI FRENCH BOUDOIR, LOUIS XVI PERIOD 132 - - XLII _Salon à l'italienne_ 136 - - XLIII BALL-ROOM, ROYAL PALACE, GENOA 138 - - XLIV SALOON, VILLA VERTEMATI 140 - - XLV SALA DELLO ZODIACO, DUCAL PALACE, MANTUA 140 - - XLVI FRENCH TABLE, TRANSITION BETWEEN LOUIS XIV AND - LOUIS XV PERIODS 142 - - XLVII LIBRARY OF LOUIS XVI, PALACE OF VERSAILLES 144 - - XLVIII SMALL LIBRARY, AUDLEY END 146 - - XLIX FRENCH WRITING-CHAIR, LOUIS XV PERIOD 150 - - L DINING-ROOM, PALACE OF COMPIÈGNE 154 - - LI DINING-ROOM FOUNTAIN, PALACE OF FONTAINEBLEAU 156 - - LII FRENCH DINING-CHAIR, LOUIS XIV PERIOD 158 - - LIII FRENCH DINING-CHAIR, LOUIS XVI PERIOD 158 - - LIV BEDROOM, PALACE OF FONTAINEBLEAU 162 - - LV BATH-ROOM, PITTI PALACE, FLORENCE 168 - - LVI BRONZE ANDIRON, XVI CENTURY 184 - - - - -BOOKS CONSULTED - - -FRENCH - - ANDROUET DU CERCEAU, JACQUES. - - Les Plus Excellents Bâtiments de France. _Paris, 1607._ - - LE MUET, PIERRE. - - Manière de Bien Bâtir pour toutes sortes de Personnes. - - OPPENORD, GILLES MARIE. - - Oeuvres. _1750._ - - MARIETTE, PIERRE JEAN. - - L'Architecture Françoise. _1727._ - - BRISEUX, CHARLES ÉTIENNE. - - L'Art de Bâtir les Maisons de Campagne. _Paris, 1743._ - - LALONDE, FRANÇOIS RICHARD DE. - - Recueil de ses Oeuvres. - - AVILER, C. A. D'. - - Cours d'Architecture. _1760._ - - BLONDEL, JACQUES FRANÇOIS. - - Architecture Françoise. _Paris, 1752._ - - Cours d'Architecture. _Paris, 1771-77._ - - De la Distribution des Maisons de Plaisance et de la - Décoration des Édifices. _Paris, 1737._ - - ROUBO, A. J., FILS. - - L'Art du Menuisier. - - HÉRÉ DE CORNY, EMMANUEL. - - Recueil des Plans, Élévations et Coupes des Châteaux, - Jardins et Dépendances que le Roi de Pologne occupe en - Lorraine. _Paris, n. d._ - - PERCIER ET FONTAINE. - - Choix des plus Célèbres Maisons de Plaisance de Rome et de - ses Environs. _Paris, 1809._ - - Palais, Maisons, et autres Édifices Modernes dessinés à - Rome. _Paris, 1798._ - - Résidences des Souverains. _Paris, 1833._ - - KRAFFT ET RANSONNETTE. - - Plans, Coupes, et Élévations des plus belles Maisons et - Hôtels construits à Paris et dans les Environs. _Paris, - 1801._ - - DURAND, JEAN NICOLAS LOUIS. - - Recueil et Parallèle des Édifices de tout Genre. _Paris, - 1800._ - - Précis des Leçons d'Architecture données à l'École Royale - Polytechnique. _Paris, 1823._ - - QUATREMÈRE DE QUINCY, A. C. - - Histoire de la Vie et des Ouvrages des plus Célèbres - Architectes du XIe siècle jusqu'à la fin du XVIII siècle. - _Paris, 1830._ - - PELLASSY DE L'OUSLE. - - Histoire du Palais de Compiègne. _Paris, n. d._ - - LETAROUILLY, PAUL MARIE. - - Édifices de Rome Moderne. _Paris, 1825-57._ - - RAMÉE, DANIEL. - - Histoire Générale de l'Architecture. _Paris, 1862._ - - Meubles Religieux et Civils Conservés dans les principaux - Monuments et Musées de l'Europe. - - VIOLLET LE DUC, EUGÈNE EMMANUEL. - - Dictionnaire Raisonné de l'Architecture Française du XIe au - XVIe siècle. _Paris, 1868._ - - SAUVAGEOT, CLAUDE. - - Palais, Châteaux, Hôtels et Maisons de France du XVe au - XVIIIe siècle. - - DALY, CÉSAR. - - Motifs Historiques d'Architecture et de Sculpture - d'Ornement. - - ROUYER ET DARCEL. - - L'Art Architectural en France depuis François Ier jusqu'à - Louis XIV. - - HAVARD, HENRY. - - Dictionnaire de l'Ameublement et de la Décoration depuis le - XIIIe siècle jusqu'à nos Jours. _Paris, n. d._ - - Les Arts de l'Ameublement. - - GUILMARD, D. - - Les Maîtres Ornemanistes. _Paris, 1880._ - - BAUCHAL, CHARLES. - - Dictionnaire des Architectes Français. _Paris, 1887._ - - ROUAIX, PAUL. - - Les Styles. _Paris, n. d._ - - BIBLIOTHÈQUE DE L'ENSEIGNEMENT DES BEAUX ARTS. - - Maison Quantin, _Paris_. - - -ENGLISH - - WARE, ISAAC. - - A Complete Body of Architecture. _London, 1756._ - - BRETTINGHAM, MATTHEW. - - Plans, Elevations and Sections of Holkham in Norfolk, the - Seat of the late Earl of Leicester. _London, 1761._ - - CAMPBELL, COLEN. - - Vitruvius Britannicus; or, The British Architect. _London, - 1771._ - - ADAM, ROBERT AND JAMES. - - The Works in Architecture. _London, 1773-1822._ - - HEPPLEWHITE, A. - - The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide. - - SHERATON, THOMAS. - - The Cabinet-Maker's Dictionary. _London, 1803._ - - PAIN, WILLIAM. - - The British Palladio; or The Builder's General Assistant. - _London, 1797._ - - SOANE, SIR JOHN. - - Sketches in Architecture. _London, 1793._ - - HAKEWILL, ARTHUR WILLIAM. - - General Plan and External Details, with Picturesque - Illustrations, of Thorpe Hall, Peterborough. - - LEWIS, JAMES. - - Original Designs in Architecture. - - PYNE, WILLIAM HENRY. - - History of the Royal Residences of Windsor Castle, St. - James's Palace, Carlton House, Kensington Palace, Hampton - Court, Buckingham Palace, and Frogmore. _London, 1819._ - - GWILT, JOSEPH. - - Encyclopedia of Architecture. New edition. _Longman's, - 1895._ - - FERGUSSON, JAMES. - - History of Architecture. _London, 1874._ - - History of the Modern Styles of Architecture. Third edition, - revised by Robert Kerr. _London, 1891._ - - GOTCH, JOHN ALFRED. - - Architecture of the Renaissance in England. - - HEATON, JOHN ALDAM. - - Furniture and Decoration in England in the Eighteenth - Century. - - ROSENGARTEN. - - Handbook of Architectural Styles. _New York, 1876._ - - HORNE, H. P. - - The Binding of Books. _London, 1894._ - - LOFTIE, W. J. - - Inigo Jones and Christopher Wren. _London, 1893._ - - KERR, ROBERT. - - The English Gentleman's House. _London, 1865._ - - STEVENSON, J. J. - - House Architecture. _London, 1880._ - - -GERMAN AND ITALIAN - - BURCKHARDT, JACOB. - - Architektur der Renaissance in Italien. _Stuttgart, 1891._ - - REINHARDT. - - Palast Architektur von Ober Italien und Toskana. - - GURLITT, CORNELIUS. - - Geschichte des Barockstiles in Italien. _Stuttgart, 1887._ - - EBE, GUSTAV. - - Die Spät-Renaissance. _Berlin, 1886._ - - LA VILLA BORGHESE, FUORI DI PORTA PINCIANA, CON L'ORNAMENTI - CHE SI OSSERVANO NEL DI LEI PALAZZO. _Roma, 1700._ - - INTRA, G. B. - - Mantova nei suoi Monumenti. - - LUZIO E RENIER. - - Mantova e Urbino. _Torino-Roma, 1893._ - - MOLMENTI, POMPEO. - - La Storia di Venezia nella Vita Privata. _Torino, 1885._ - - MALAMANI, VITTORIO. - - Il Settecento a Venezia. _Milano, 1895._ - - LA VITA ITALIANA NEL SEICENTO. CONFERENZE TENUTE A FIRENZE - NEL 1890. - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -Rooms may be decorated in two ways: by a superficial application of -ornament totally independent of structure, or by means of those -architectural features which are part of the organism of every house, -inside as well as out. - -In the middle ages, when warfare and brigandage shaped the conditions -of life, and men camped in their castles much as they did in their -tents, it was natural that decorations should be portable, and that -the naked walls of the mediæval chamber should be hung with arras, -while a _ciel_, or ceiling, of cloth stretched across the open timbers -of its roof. - -When life became more secure, and when the Italian conquests of the -Valois had acquainted men north of the Alps with the spirit of classic -tradition, proportion and the relation of voids to masses gradually -came to be regarded as the chief decorative values of the interior. -Portable hangings were in consequence replaced by architectural -ornament: in other words, the architecture of the room became its -decoration. - -This architectural treatment held its own through every change of -taste until the second quarter of the present century; but since then -various influences have combined to sever the natural connection -between the outside of the modern house and its interior. In the -average house the architect's task seems virtually confined to the -elevations and floor-plan. The designing of what are to-day regarded -as insignificant details, such as mouldings, architraves, and -cornices, has become a perfunctory work, hurried over and unregarded; -and when this work is done, the upholsterer is called in to "decorate" -and furnish the rooms. - -As the result of this division of labor, house-decoration has ceased -to be a branch of architecture. The upholsterer cannot be expected to -have the preliminary training necessary for architectural work, and it -is inevitable that in his hands form should be sacrificed to color and -composition to detail. In his ignorance of the legitimate means of -producing certain effects, he is driven to all manner of expedients, -the result of which is a piling up of heterogeneous ornament, a -multiplication of incongruous effects; and lacking, as he does, a -definite first conception, his work becomes so involved that it seems -impossible for him to make an end. - -The confusion resulting from these unscientific methods has reflected -itself in the lay mind, and house-decoration has come to be regarded -as a black art by those who have seen their rooms subjected to the -manipulations of the modern upholsterer. Now, in the hands of -decorators who understand the fundamental principles of their art, the -surest effects are produced, not at the expense of simplicity and -common sense, but by observing the requirements of both. These -requirements are identical with those regulating domestic -architecture, the chief end in both cases being the suitable -accommodation of the inmates of the house. - -The fact that this end has in a measure been lost sight of is perhaps -sufficient warrant for the publication of this elementary sketch. No -study of _house-decoration as a branch of architecture_ has for at -least fifty years been published in England or America; and though -France is always producing admirable monographs on isolated branches -of this subject, there is no modern French work corresponding with -such comprehensive manuals as d'Aviler's _Cours d'Architecture_ or -Isaac Ware's _Complete Body of Architecture_. - -The attempt to remedy this deficiency in some slight degree has made -it necessary to dwell at length upon the strictly architectural -principles which controlled the work of the old decorators. The -effects that they aimed at having been based mainly on the due -adjustment of parts, it has been impossible to explain their methods -without assuming their standpoint--that of _architectural -proportion_--in contradistinction to the modern view of -house-decoration as _superficial application of ornament_. When -house-decoration was a part of architecture all its values were -founded on structural modifications; consequently it may seem that -ideas to be derived from a study of such methods suggest changes too -radical for those who are not building, but are merely decorating. -Such changes, in fact, lie rather in the direction of alteration than -of adornment; but it must be remembered that the results attained will -be of greater decorative value than were an equal expenditure devoted -to surface-ornament. Moreover, the great decorators, if scrupulous in -the observance of architectural principles, were ever governed, in the -use of ornamental detail, by the [Greek: sôphrosynê], the "wise -moderation," of the Greeks; and the rooms of the past were both -simpler in treatment and freer from mere embellishments than those of -to-day. - -Besides, if it be granted for the sake of argument that a reform in -house-decoration, if not necessary, is at least desirable, it must be -admitted that such reform can originate only with those whose means -permit of any experiments which their taste may suggest. When the rich -man demands good architecture his neighbors will get it too. The -vulgarity of current decoration has its source in the indifference of -the wealthy to architectural fitness. Every good moulding, every -carefully studied detail, exacted by those who can afford to indulge -their taste, will in time find its way to the carpenter-built cottage. -Once the right precedent is established, it costs less to follow than -to oppose it. - -In conclusion, it may be well to explain the seeming lack of accord -between the arguments used in this book and the illustrations chosen -to interpret them. While much is said of simplicity, the illustrations -used are chiefly taken from houses of some importance. This has been -done in order that only such apartments as are accessible to the -traveller might be given as examples. Unprofessional readers will -probably be more interested in studying rooms that they have seen, or -at least heard of, than those in the ordinary private dwelling; and -the arguments advanced are indirectly sustained by the most ornate -rooms here shown, since their effect is based on such harmony of line -that their superficial ornament might be removed without loss to the -composition. - -Moreover, as some of the illustrations prove, the most magnificent -palaces of Europe contain rooms as simple as those in any private -house; and to point out that simplicity is at home even in palaces is -perhaps not the least service that may be rendered to the modern -decorator. - - [Illustration: _PLATE I._ - - ITALIAN GOTHIC CHEST. - MUSEUM OF THE BARGELLO, FLORENCE.] - - - - -I - -THE HISTORICAL TRADITION - - -The last ten years have been marked by a notable development in -architecture and decoration, and while France will long retain her -present superiority in these arts, our own advance is perhaps more -significant than that of any other country. When we measure the work -recently done in the United States by the accepted architectural -standards of ten years ago, the change is certainly striking, -especially in view of the fact that our local architects and -decorators are without the countless advantages in the way of schools, -museums and libraries which are at the command of their European -colleagues. In Paris, for instance, it is impossible to take even a -short walk without finding inspiration in those admirable buildings, -public and private, religious and secular, that bear the stamp of the -most refined taste the world has known since the decline of the arts -in Italy; and probably all American architects will acknowledge that -no amount of travel abroad and study at home can compensate for the -lack of daily familiarity with such monuments. - -It is therefore all the more encouraging to note the steady advance in -taste and knowledge to which the most recent architecture in America -bears witness. This advance is chiefly due to the fact that American -architects are beginning to perceive two things that their French -colleagues, among all the modern vagaries of taste, have never quite -lost sight of: first that architecture and decoration, having wandered -since 1800 in a labyrinth of dubious eclecticism, can be set right -only by a close study of the best models; and secondly that, given the -requirements of modern life, these models are chiefly to be found in -buildings erected in Italy after the beginning of the sixteenth -century, and in other European countries after the full assimilation -of the Italian influence. - -As the latter of these propositions may perhaps be questioned by those -who, in admiring the earlier styles, sometimes lose sight of their -relative unfitness for modern use, it must be understood at the outset -that it implies no disregard for the inherent beauties of these -styles. It would be difficult, assuredly, to find buildings better -suited to their original purpose than some of the great feudal -castles, such as Warwick in England, or Langeais in France; and as -much might be said of the grim machicolated palaces of republican -Florence or Siena; but our whole mode of life has so entirely changed -since the days in which these buildings were erected that they no -longer answer to our needs. It is only necessary to picture the lives -led in those days to see how far removed from them our present social -conditions are. Inside and outside the house, all told of the -unsettled condition of country or town, the danger of armed attack, -the clumsy means of defence, the insecurity of property, the few -opportunities of social intercourse as we understand it. A man's house -was in very truth his castle in the middle ages, and in France and -England especially it remained so until the end of the sixteenth -century. - -Thus it was that many needs arose: the tall keep of masonry where the -inmates, pent up against attack, awaited the signal of the watchman -who, from his platform or _échauguette_, gave warning of assault; the -ponderous doors, oak-ribbed and metal-studded, with doorways often -narrowed to prevent entrance of two abreast, and so low that the -incomer had to bend his head; the windows that were mere openings or -slits, narrow and high, far out of the assailants' reach, and piercing -the walls without regard to symmetry--not, as Ruskin would have us -believe, because irregularity was thought artistic, but because the -mediæval architect, trained to the uses of necessity, knew that he -must design openings that should afford no passage to the besiegers' -arrows, no clue to what was going on inside the keep. But to the -reader familiar with Viollet-le-Duc, or with any of the many excellent -works on English domestic architecture, further details will seem -superfluous. It is necessary, however, to point out that long after -the conditions of life in Europe had changed, houses retained many -features of the feudal period. The survival of obsolete customs which -makes the study of sociology so interesting, has its parallel in the -history of architecture. In the feudal countries especially, where the -conflict between the great nobles and the king was of such long -duration that civilization spread very slowly, architecture was -proportionately slow to give up many of its feudal characteristics. In -Italy, on the contrary, where one city after another succumbed to some -accomplished condottiere who between his campaigns read Virgil and -collected antique marbles, the rugged little republics were soon -converted into brilliant courts where, life being relatively secure, -social intercourse rapidly developed. This change of conditions -brought with it the paved street and square, the large-windowed -palaces with their great court-yards and stately open staircases, and -the market-place with its loggia adorned with statues and marble -seats. - -Italy, in short, returned instinctively to the Roman ideal of civic -life: the life of the street, the forum and the baths. These very -conditions, though approaching so much nearer than feudalism to our -modern civilization, in some respects make the Italian architecture of -the Renaissance less serviceable as a model than the French and -English styles later developed from it. The very dangers and -barbarities of feudalism had fostered and preserved the idea of home -as of something private, shut off from intrusion; and while the Roman -ideal flowered in the great palace with its galleries, loggias and -saloons, itself a kind of roofed-in forum, the French or English -feudal keep became, by the same process of growth, the modern private -house. The domestic architecture of the Renaissance in Italy offers -but two distinctively characteristic styles of building: the palace -and the villa or hunting-lodge.[1] There is nothing corresponding in -interior arrangements with the French or English town house, or the -_manoir_ where the provincial nobles lived all the year round. The -villa was a mere perch used for a few weeks of gaiety in spring or -autumn; it was never a home as the French or English country-house -was. There were, of course, private houses in Renaissance Italy, but -these were occupied rather by shopkeepers, craftsmen, and the -_bourgeoisie_ than by the class which in France and England lived in -country houses or small private hôtels. The elevations of these small -Italian houses are often admirable examples of domestic architecture, -but their planning is rudimentary, and it may be said that the -characteristic tendencies of modern house-planning were developed -rather in the mezzanin or low-studded intermediate story of the -Italian Renaissance palace than in the small house of the same period. - -It is a fact recognized by political economists that changes in -manners and customs, no matter under what form of government, usually -originate with the wealthy or aristocratic minority, and are thence -transmitted to the other classes. Thus the _bourgeois_ of one -generation lives more like the aristocrat of a previous generation -than like his own predecessors. This rule naturally holds good of -house-planning, and it is for this reason that the origin of modern -house-planning should be sought rather in the prince's mezzanin than -in the small middle-class dwelling. The Italian mezzanin probably -originated in the habit of building certain very high-studded saloons -and of lowering the ceiling of the adjoining rooms. This created an -intermediate story, or rather scattered intermediate rooms, which -Bramante was among the first to use in the planning of his palaces; -but Bramante did not reveal the existence of the mezzanin in his -façades, and it was not until the time of Peruzzi and his -contemporaries that it became, both in plan and elevation, an accepted -part of the Italian palace. It is for this reason that the year 1500 -is a convenient point from which to date the beginning of modern -house-planning; but it must be borne in mind that this date is purely -arbitrary, and represents merely an imaginary line drawn between -mediæval and modern ways of living and house-planning, as exemplified -respectively, for instance, in the ducal palace of Urbino, built by -Luciano da Laurano about 1468, and the palace of the Massimi alle -Colonne in Rome, built by Baldassare Peruzzi during the first half of -the sixteenth century. - -The lives of the great Italian nobles were essentially open-air lives: -all was organized with a view to public pageants, ceremonies and -entertainments. Domestic life was subordinated to this spectacular -existence, and instead of building private houses in our sense, they -built palaces, of which they set aside a portion for the use of the -family. Every Italian palace has its mezzanin or private apartment; -but this part of the building is now seldom seen by travellers in -Italy. Not only is it usually inhabited by the owners of the palace -but, its decorations being simpler than those of the _piano nobile_, -or principal story, it is not thought worthy of inspection. As a -matter of fact, the treatment of the mezzanin was generally most -beautiful, because most suitable; and while the Italian Renaissance -palace can seldom serve as a model for a modern private house, the -decoration of the mezzanin rooms is full of appropriate suggestion. - -In France and England, on the other hand, private life was gradually, -though slowly, developing along the lines it still follows in the -present day. It is necessary to bear in mind that what we call modern -civilization was a later growth in these two countries than in Italy. -If this fact is insisted upon, it is only because it explains the -relative unsuitability of French Renaissance or Tudor and Elizabethan -architecture to modern life. In France, for instance, it was not until -the Fronde was subdued and Louis XIV firmly established on the throne, -that the elements which compose what we call modern life really began -to combine. In fact, it might be said that the feudalism of which the -Fronde was the lingering expression had its counterpart in the -architecture of the period. While long familiarity with Italy was -beginning to tell upon the practical side of house-planning, many -obsolete details were still preserved. Even the most enthusiastic -admirer of the French Renaissance would hardly maintain that the -houses of that period are what we should call in the modern sense -"convenient." It would be impossible for a modern family to occupy -with any degree of comfort the Hôtel Voguë at Dijon, one of the best -examples (as originally planned) of sixteenth-century domestic -architecture in France.[2] The same objection applies to the furniture -of the period. This arose from the fact that, owing to the unsettled -state of the country, the landed proprietor always carried his -furniture with him when he travelled from one estate to another. -Furniture, in the vocabulary of the middle ages, meant something which -may be transported: "Meubles sont apelez qu'on peut transporter";--hence -the lack of variety in furniture before the seventeenth century, and -also its unsuitableness to modern life. Chairs and cabinets that had -to be carried about on mule-back were necessarily somewhat stiff and -angular in design. It is perhaps not too much to say that a -comfortable chair, in our self-indulgent modern sense, did not exist -before the Louis XIV arm-chair (see Plate IV); and the cushioned -_bergère_, the ancestor of our upholstered easy-chair, cannot be -traced back further than the Regency. Prior to the time of Louis XIV, -the most luxurious people had to content themselves with hard -straight-backed seats. The necessities of transportation permitted -little variety of design, and every piece of furniture was constructed -with the double purpose of being easily carried about and of being -used as a trunk (see Plate I). As Havard says, "Tout meuble se -traduisait par un coffre." The unvarying design of the cabinets is -explained by the fact that they were made to form two trunks,[3] and -even the chairs and settles had hollow seats which could be packed -with the owners' wardrobe (see Plate II). The king himself, when he -went from one château to another, carried all his furniture with him, -and it is thus not surprising that lesser people contented themselves -with a few substantial chairs and cabinets, and enough arras or cloth -of Douai to cover the draughty walls of their country-houses. One of -Madame de Sévigné's letters gives an amusing instance of the -scarceness of furniture even in the time of Louis XIV. In describing a -fire in a house near her own hôtel in Paris, she says that one or two -of the persons from the burning house were brought to her for shelter, -because it was known in the neighborhood (at that time a rich and -fashionable one) that she had _an extra bed_ in the house! - - [Illustration: _PLATE II._ - - FRENCH CHAIRS, XV AND XVI CENTURIES. - FROM THE GAVET COLLECTION.] - -It was not until the social influences of the reign of Louis XIV were -fully established that modern domestic life really began. Tradition -ascribes to Madame de Rambouillet a leading share in the advance in -practical house-planning; but probably what she did is merely typical -of the modifications which the new social conditions were everywhere -producing. It is certain that at this time houses and rooms first -began to be comfortable. The immense cavernous fireplaces originally -meant for the roasting of beeves and the warming of a flock of frozen -retainers,--"les grandes antiquailles de cheminées," as Madame de -Sévigné called them,--were replaced by the compact chimney-piece of -modern times. Cushioned _bergères_ took the place of the throne-like -seats of Louis XIII, screens kept off unwelcome draughts, Savonnerie -or moquette carpets covered the stone or marble floors, and grandeur -gave way to luxury.[4] - -English architecture having followed a line of development so similar -that it need not here be traced, it remains only to examine in detail -the opening proposition, namely, that modern architecture and -decoration, having in many ways deviated from the paths which the -experience of the past had marked out for them, can be reclaimed only -by a study of the best models. - -It might of course be said that to attain this end originality is more -necessary than imitativeness. To this it may be replied that no lost -art can be re-acquired without at least for a time going back to the -methods and manner of those who formerly practised it; or the -objection may be met by the question, What is originality in art? -Perhaps it is easier to define what it is _not_; and this may be done -by saying that it is never a wilful rejection of what have been -accepted as the necessary laws of the various forms of art. Thus, in -reasoning, originality lies not in discarding the necessary laws of -thought, but in using them to express new intellectual conceptions; in -poetry, originality consists not in discarding the necessary laws of -rhythm, but in finding new rhythms within the limits of those laws. -Most of the features of architecture that have persisted through -various fluctuations of taste owe their preservation to the fact that -they have been proved by experience to be necessary; and it will be -found that none of them precludes the exercise of individual taste, -any more than the acceptance of the syllogism or of the laws of rhythm -prevents new thinkers and new poets from saying what has never been -said before. Once this is clearly understood, it will be seen that the -supposed conflict between originality and tradition is no conflict at -all.[5] - -In citing logic and poetry, those arts have been purposely chosen of -which the laws will perhaps best help to explain and illustrate the -character of architectural limitations. A building, for whatever -purpose erected, must be built in strict accordance with the -requirements of that purpose; in other words, it must have a reason -for being as it is and must be as it is for that reason. Its -decoration must harmonize with the structural limitations (which is by -no means the same thing as saying that all decoration must be -structural), and from this harmony of the general scheme of decoration -with the building, and of the details of the decoration with each -other, springs the rhythm that distinguishes architecture from mere -construction. Thus all good architecture and good decoration (which, -it must never be forgotten, _is only interior architecture_) must be -based on rhythm and logic. A house, or room, must be planned as it is -because it could not, in reason, be otherwise; must be decorated as it -is because no other decoration would harmonize as well with the plan. - - [Illustration: _PLATE III._ - - FRENCH ARMOIRE, XVI CENTURY.] - -Many of the most popular features in modern house-planning and -decoration will not be found to stand this double test. Often (as will -be shown further on) they are merely survivals of earlier social -conditions, and have been preserved in obedience to that instinct that -makes people cling to so many customs the meaning of which is lost. -In other cases they have been revived by the archæologizing spirit -which is so characteristic of the present time, and which so often -leads its possessors to think that a thing must be beautiful because -it is old and appropriate because it is beautiful. - -But since the beauty of all such features depends on their -appropriateness, they may in every case be replaced by a more suitable -form of treatment without loss to the general effect of house or room. -It is this which makes it important that each room (or, better still, -all the rooms) in a house should receive the same style of decoration. -To some people this may seem as meaningless a piece of archaism as the -habit of using obsolete fragments of planning or decoration; but such -is not the case. It must not be forgotten, in discussing the question -of reproducing certain styles, that the essence of a style lies not in -its use of ornament, but in its handling of proportion. Structure -conditions ornament, not ornament structure. That is, a room with -unsuitably proportioned openings, wall-spaces and cornice might -receive a surface application of Louis XV or Louis XVI ornament and -not represent either of those styles of decoration; whereas a room -constructed according to the laws of proportion accepted in one or the -other of those periods, in spite of a surface application of -decorative detail widely different in character,--say Romanesque or -Gothic,--would yet maintain its distinctive style, because the detail, -in conforming with the laws of proportion governing the structure of -the room, must necessarily conform with its style. In other words, -decoration is always subservient to proportion; and a room, whatever -its decoration may be, must represent the style to which its -proportions belong. The less cannot include the greater. Unfortunately -it is usually by ornamental details, rather than by proportion, that -people distinguish one style from another. To many persons, garlands, -bow-knots, quivers, and a great deal of gilding represent the Louis -XVI style; if they object to these, they condemn the style. To an -architect familiar with the subject the same style means something -absolutely different. He knows that a Louis XVI room may exist without -any of these or similar characteristics; and he often deprecates their -use as representing the cheaper and more trivial effects of the -period, and those that have most helped to vulgarize it. In fact, in -nine cases out of ten his use of them is a concession to the client -who, having asked for a Louis XVI room, would not know he had got it -were these details left out.[6] - -Another thing which has perhaps contributed to make people distrustful -of "styles" is the garbled form in which they are presented by some -architects. After a period of eclecticism that has lasted long enough -to make architects and decorators lose their traditional habits of -design, there has arisen a sudden demand for "style." It necessarily -follows that only the most competent are ready to respond to this -unexpected summons. Much has to be relearned, still more to be -unlearned. The essence of the great styles lay in proportion and the -science of proportion is not to be acquired in a day. In fact, in such -matters the cultivated layman, whether or not he has any special -familiarity with the different schools of architecture, is often a -better judge than the half-educated architect. It is no wonder that -people of taste are disconcerted by the so-called "colonial" houses -where stair-rails are used as roof-balustrades and mantel-friezes -as exterior entablatures, or by Louis XV rooms where the wavy movement -which, in the best rococo, was always an ornamental incident and never -broke up the main lines of the design, is suffered to run riot through -the whole treatment of the walls, so that the bewildered eye seeks in -vain for a straight line amid the whirl of incoherent curves. - - [Illustration: _PLATE IV._ - - FRENCH SOFA AND ARMCHAIR, LOUIS XIV PERIOD. - FROM THE CHÂTEAU DE BERCY.] - -To conform to a style, then, is to accept those rules of proportion -which the artistic experience of centuries has established as the -best, while within those limits allowing free scope to the individual -requirements which must inevitably modify every house or room adapted -to the use and convenience of its occupants. - -There is one thing more to be said in defence of conformity to style; -and that is, the difficulty of getting rid of style. Strive as we may -for originality, we are hampered at every turn by an artistic -tradition of over two thousand years. Does any but the most -inexperienced architect really think that he can ever rid himself of -such an inheritance? He may mutilate or misapply the component parts -of his design, but he cannot originate a whole new architectural -alphabet. The chances are that he will not find it easy to invent one -wholly new moulding. - -The styles especially suited to modern life have already been roughly -indicated as those prevailing in Italy since 1500, in France from the -time of Louis XIV, and in England since the introduction of the -Italian manner by Inigo Jones; and as the French and English styles -are perhaps more familiar to the general reader, the examples given -will usually be drawn from these. Supposing the argument in favor of -these styles to have been accepted, at least as a working hypothesis, -it must be explained why, in each room, the decoration and furniture -should harmonize. Most people will admit the necessity of harmonizing -the colors in a room, because a feeling for color is more general than -a feeling for form; but in reality the latter is the more important in -decoration, and it is the feeling for form, and not any archæological -affectation, which makes the best decorators insist upon the necessity -of keeping to the same style of furniture and decoration. Thus the -massive dimensions and heavy panelling of a seventeenth-century room -would dwarf a set of eighteenth-century furniture; and the wavy, -capricious movement of Louis XV decoration would make the austere yet -delicate lines of Adam furniture look stiff and mean. - -Many persons object not only to any attempt at uniformity of style, -but to the use of any recognized style in the decoration of a room. -They characterize it, according to their individual views, as -"servile," "formal," or "pretentious." - -It has already been suggested that to conform within rational limits -to a given style is no more servile than to pay one's taxes or to -write according to the rules of grammar. As to the accusations of -formality and pretentiousness (which are more often made in America -than elsewhere), they may probably be explained by the fact that most -Americans necessarily form their idea of the great European styles -from public buildings and palaces. Certainly, if an architect were to -propose to his client to decorate a room in a moderate-sized house in -the Louis XIV style, and if the client had formed his idea of that -style from the state apartments in the palace at Versailles, he would -be justified in rejecting the proposed treatment as absolutely -unsuitable to modern private life; whereas the architect who had gone -somewhat more deeply into the subject might have singled out the style -as eminently suitable, having in mind one of the simple panelled -rooms, with tall windows, a dignified fireplace, large tables and -comfortable arm-chairs, which were to be found in the private houses -of the same period (see Plate V). It is the old story of the two -knights fighting about the color of the shield. Both architect and -client would be right, but they would be looking at the different -sides of the question. As a matter of fact, the bed-rooms, -sitting-rooms, libraries and other private apartments in the smaller -dwelling-houses built in Europe between 1650 and 1800 were far -simpler, less pretentious and more practical in treatment than those -in the average modern house. - - [Illustration: _PLATE V._ - - ROOM IN THE GRAND TRIANON, VERSAILLES. - (EXAMPLE OF SIMPLE LOUIS XIV DECORATION.)] - -It is therefore hoped that the antagonists of "style," when they are -shown that to follow a certain style is not to sacrifice either -convenience or imagination, but to give more latitude to both, will -withdraw an opposition which seems to be based on a misapprehension of -facts. - -Hitherto architecture and decoration have been spoken of as one, as in -any well-designed house they ought to be. Indeed, it is one of the -numerous disadvantages of the present use of styles, that unless the -architect who has built the house also decorates it, the most hopeless -discord is apt to result. This was otherwise before our present desire -for variety had thrown architects, decorators, and workmen out of the -regular routine of their business. Before 1800 the decorator called -upon to treat the interior of a house invariably found a suitable -background prepared for his work, while much in the way of detail was -intrusted to the workmen, who were trained in certain traditions -instead of being called upon to carry out in each new house the -vagaries of a different designer. - -But it is with the decorator's work alone that these pages are -concerned, and the above digression is intended to explain why his -task is now so difficult, and why his results are so often -unsatisfactory to himself as well as to his clients. The decorator of -the present day may be compared to a person who is called upon to -write a letter in the English language, but is ordered, in so doing, -to conform to the Chinese or Egyptian rules of grammar, or possibly to -both together. - -By the use of a little common sense and a reasonable conformity to -those traditions of design which have been tested by generations of -architects, it is possible to produce great variety in the decoration -of rooms without losing sight of the purpose for which they are -intended. Indeed, the more closely this purpose is kept in view, and -the more clearly it is expressed in all the details of each room, the -more pleasing that room will be, so that it is easy to make a room -with tinted walls, deal furniture and dimity curtains more beautiful, -because more logical and more harmonious, than a ball-room lined with -gold and marbles, in which the laws of rhythm and logic have been -ignored. - - [Illustration: _PLATE VI._ - - FRENCH ARMCHAIR, LOUIS XV PERIOD.] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Charming as the Italian villa is, it can hardly be used in our -Northern States without certain modifications, unless it is merely -occupied for a few weeks in mid-summer; whereas the average French or -English country house built after 1600 is perfectly suited to our -climate and habits. The chief features of the Italian villa are the -open central _cortile_ and the large saloon two stories high. An -adaptation of these better suited to a cold climate is to be found in -the English country houses built in the Palladian manner after its -introduction by Inigo Jones. See Campbell's _Vitruvius Britannicus_ -for numerous examples. - -[2] The plan of the Hôtel Voguë has been greatly modified. - -[3] Cabinets retained this shape after the transporting of furniture -had ceased to be a necessity (see Plate III). - -[4] It must be remembered that in describing the decoration of any -given period, we refer to the private houses, not the royal palaces, -of that period. Versailles was more splendid than any previous palace; -but private houses at that date were less splendid, though far more -luxurious, than during the Renaissance. - -[5] "Si l'on dispose un édifice d'une manière convenable à l'usage -auquel on le destine, ne différera-t-il pas sensiblement d'un autre -édifice destiné à un autre usage? N'aura-t-il pas naturellement un -caractère, et, qui plus est, son caractère propre?" J. L. N. Durand. -_Précis des Leçons d'Architecture données à l'École Royale -Polytechnique._ Paris, 1823. - -[6] It must not be forgotten that the so-called "styles" of Louis XIV, -Louis XV and Louis XVI were, in fact, only the gradual development of -one organic style, and hence differed only in the superficial use of -ornament. - - - - -II - -ROOMS IN GENERAL - - -Before beginning to decorate a room it is essential to consider for -what purpose the room is to be used. It is not enough to ticket it -with some such general designation as "library," "drawing-room," or -"den." The individual tastes and habits of the people who are to -occupy it must be taken into account; it must be not "a library," or -"a drawing-room," but the library or the drawing-room best suited to -the master or mistress of the house which is being decorated. -Individuality in house-furnishing has seldom been more harped upon -than at the present time. That cheap originality which finds -expression in putting things to uses for which they were not intended -is often confounded with individuality; whereas the latter consists -not in an attempt to be different from other people at the cost of -comfort, but in the desire to be comfortable in one's own way, even -though it be the way of a monotonously large majority. It seems easier -to most people to arrange a room like some one else's than to analyze -and express their own needs. Men, in these matters, are less exacting -than women, because their demands, besides being simpler, are -uncomplicated by the feminine tendency to want things because other -people have them, rather than to have things because they are wanted. - -But it must never be forgotten that every one is unconsciously -tyrannized over by the wants of others,--the wants of dead and gone -predecessors, who have an inconvenient way of thrusting their -different habits and tastes across the current of later existences. -The unsatisfactory relations of some people with their rooms are often -to be explained in this way. They have still in their blood the -traditional uses to which these rooms were put in times quite -different from the present. It is only an unconscious extension of the -conscious habit which old-fashioned people have of clinging to their -parents' way of living. The difficulty of reconciling these instincts -with our own comfort and convenience, and the various compromises to -which they lead in the arrangement of our rooms, will be more fully -dealt with in the following chapters. To go to the opposite extreme -and discard things because they are old-fashioned is equally -unreasonable. The golden mean lies in trying to arrange our houses -with a view to our own comfort and convenience; and it will be found -that the more closely we follow this rule the easier our rooms will be -to furnish and the pleasanter to live in. - -People whose attention has never been specially called to the _raison -d'être_ of house-furnishing sometimes conclude that because a thing is -unusual it is artistic, or rather that through some occult process the -most ordinary things become artistic by being used in an unusual -manner; while others, warned by the visible results of this theory of -furnishing, infer that everything artistic is unpractical. In the -Anglo-Saxon mind beauty is not spontaneously born of material wants, -as it is with the Latin races. We have to _make_ things beautiful; -they do not grow so of themselves. The necessity of making this effort -has caused many people to put aside the whole problem of beauty and -fitness in household decoration as something mysterious and -incomprehensible to the uninitiated. The architect and decorator are -often aware that they are regarded by their clients as the possessors -of some strange craft like black magic or astrology. - -This fatalistic attitude has complicated the simple and intelligible -process of house-furnishing, and has produced much of the discomfort -which causes so many rooms to be shunned by everybody in the house, in -spite (or rather because) of all the money and ingenuity expended on -their arrangement. Yet to penetrate the mystery of house-furnishing it -is only necessary to analyze one satisfactory room and to notice -wherein its charm lies. To the fastidious eye it will, of course, be -found in fitness of proportion, in the proper use of each moulding and -in the harmony of all the decorative processes; and even to those who -think themselves indifferent to such detail, much of the sense of -restfulness and comfort produced by certain rooms depends on the due -adjustment of their fundamental parts. Different rooms minister to -different wants and while a room may be made very livable without -satisfying any but the material requirements of its inmates it is -evident that the perfect room should combine these qualities with what -corresponds to them in a higher order of needs. At present, however, -the subject deals only with the material livableness of a room, and -this will generally be found to consist in the position of the doors -and fireplace, the accessibility of the windows, the arrangement of -the furniture, the privacy of the room and the absence of the -superfluous. - -The position of doors and fireplace, though the subject comes properly -under the head of house-planning, may be included in this summary, -because in rearranging a room it is often possible to change its -openings, or at any rate, in the case of doors, to modify their -dimensions. - -The fireplace must be the focus of every rational scheme of -arrangement. Nothing is so dreary, so hopeless to deal with, as a room -in which the fireplace occupies a narrow space between two doors, so -that it is impossible to sit about the hearth.[7] Next in importance -come the windows. In town houses especially, where there is so little -light that every ray is precious to the reader or worker, window-space -is invaluable. Yet in few rooms are the windows easy of approach, free -from useless draperies and provided with easy-chairs so placed that -the light falls properly on the occupant's work. - -It is no exaggeration to say that many houses are deserted by the men -of the family for lack of those simple comforts which they find at -their clubs: windows unobscured by layers of muslin, a fireplace -surrounded by easy-chairs and protected from draughts, well-appointed -writing-tables and files of papers and magazines. Who cannot call to -mind the dreary drawing-room, in small town houses the only possible -point of reunion for the family, but too often, in consequence of its -exquisite discomfort, of no more use as a meeting-place than the -vestibule or the cellar? The windows in this kind of room are -invariably supplied with two sets of muslin curtains, one hanging -against the panes, the other fulfilling the supererogatory duty of -hanging against the former; then come the heavy stuff curtains, so -draped as to cut off the upper light of the windows by day, while it -is impossible to drop them at night: curtains that have thus ceased to -serve the purpose for which they exist. Close to the curtains -stands the inevitable lamp or jardinière, and the wall-space -between the two windows, where a writing-table might be put, is -generally taken up by a cabinet or console, surmounted by a picture -made invisible by the dark shadow of the hangings. The writing-table -might find place against the side-wall near either window; but these -spaces are usually sacred to the piano and to that modern futility, -the silver-table. Thus of necessity the writing-table is either -banished or put in some dark corner, where it is little wonder that -the ink dries unused and a vase of flowers grows in the middle of the -blotting-pad. - - [Illustration: _PLATE VII._ - - FRENCH BERGÈRE, LOUIS XVI PERIOD.] - -The hearth should be the place about which people gather; but the -mantelpiece in the average American house, being ugly, is usually -covered with inflammable draperies; the fire is, in consequence, -rarely lit, and no one cares to sit about a fireless hearth. Besides, -on the opposite side of the room is a gap in the wall eight or ten -feet wide, opening directly upon the hall, and exposing what should be -the most private part of the room to the scrutiny of messengers, -servants and visitors. This opening is sometimes provided with doors; -but these, as a rule, are either slid into the wall or are unhung and -replaced by a curtain through which every word spoken in the room must -necessarily pass. In such a room it matters very little how the rest -of the furniture is arranged, since it is certain that no one will -ever sit in it except the luckless visitor who has no other refuge. - -Even the visitor might be thought entitled to the solace of a few -books; but as all the tables in the room are littered with -knick-knacks, it is difficult for the most philanthropic hostess to -provide even this slight alleviation. - -When the town-house is built on the basement plan, and the -drawing-room or parlor is up-stairs, the family, to escape from its -discomforts, habitually take refuge in the small room opening off the -hall on the ground floor; so that instead of sitting in a room twenty -or twenty-five feet wide, they are packed into one less than half that -size and exposed to the frequent intrusions from which, in basement -houses, the drawing-room is free. But too often even the "little room -down-stairs" is arranged less like a sitting-room in a private house -than a waiting-room at a fashionable doctor's or dentist's. It has the -inevitable yawning gap in the wall, giving on the hall close to the -front door, and is either the refuge of the ugliest and most -uncomfortable furniture in the house, or, even if furnished with -taste, is arranged with so little regard to comfort that one might as -well make it part of the hall, as is often done in rearranging old -houses. This habit of sacrificing a useful room to the useless -widening of the hall is indeed the natural outcome of furnishing rooms -of this kind in so unpractical a way that their real usefulness has -ceased to be apparent. The science of restoring wasted rooms to their -proper uses is one of the most important and least understood branches -of house-furnishing. - -Privacy would seem to be one of the first requisites of civilized -life, yet it is only necessary to observe the planning and arrangement -of the average house to see how little this need is recognized. Each -room in a house has its individual uses: some are made to sleep in, -others are for dressing, eating, study, or conversation; but whatever -the uses of a room, they are seriously interfered with if it be not -preserved as a small world by itself. If the drawing-room be a part of -the hall and the library a part of the drawing-room, all three will be -equally unfitted to serve their special purpose. The indifference to -privacy which has sprung up in modern times, and which in France, for -instance, has given rise to the grotesque conceit of putting sheets -of plate-glass between two rooms, and of replacing doorways by -openings fifteen feet wide, is of complex origin. It is probably due -in part to the fact that many houses are built and decorated by people -unfamiliar with the habits of those for whom they are building. It may -be that architect and decorator live in a simpler manner than their -clients, and are therefore ready to sacrifice a kind of comfort of -which they do not feel the need to the "effects" obtainable by vast -openings and extended "vistas." To the untrained observer size often -appeals more than proportion and costliness than suitability. In a -handsome house such an observer is attracted rather by the ornamental -detail than by the underlying purpose of planning and decoration. He -sees the beauty of the detail, but not its relation to the whole. He -therefore regards it as elegant but useless; and his next step is to -infer that there is an inherent elegance in what is useless. - -Before beginning to decorate a house it is necessary to make a -prolonged and careful study of its plan and elevations, both as a -whole and in detail. The component parts of an undecorated room are -its floor, ceiling, wall-spaces and openings. The openings consist of -the doors, windows and fireplace; and of these, as has already been -pointed out, the fireplace is the most important in the general scheme -of decoration. - -No room can be satisfactory unless its openings are properly placed -and proportioned, and the decorator's task is much easier if he has -also been the architect of the house he is employed to decorate; but -as this seldom happens his ingenuity is frequently taxed to produce a -good design upon the background of a faulty and illogical structure. -Much may be done to overcome this difficulty by making slight changes -in the proportions of the openings; and the skilful decorator, before -applying his scheme of decoration, will do all that he can to correct -the fundamental lines of the room. But the result is seldom so -successful as if he had built the room, and those who employ different -people to build and decorate their houses should at least try to -select an architect and a decorator trained in the same school of -composition, so that they may come to some understanding with regard -to the general harmony of their work. - -In deciding upon a scheme of decoration, it is necessary to keep in -mind the relation of furniture to ornament, and of the room as a whole -to other rooms in the house. As in a small house a very large room -dwarfs all the others, so a room decorated in a very rich manner will -make the simplicity of those about it look mean. Every house should be -decorated according to a carefully graduated scale of ornamentation -culminating in the most important room of the house; but this plan -must be carried out with such due sense of the relation of the rooms -to each other that there shall be no violent break in the continuity -of treatment. If a white-and-gold drawing-room opens on a hall with a -Brussels carpet and papered walls, the drawing-room will look too fine -and the hall mean. - -In the furnishing of each room the same rule should be as carefully -observed. The simplest and most cheaply furnished room (provided the -furniture be good of its kind, and the walls and carpet -unobjectionable in color) will be more pleasing to the fastidious eye -than one in which gilded consoles and cabinets of buhl stand side by -side with cheap machine-made furniture, and delicate old marquetry -tables are covered with trashy china ornaments. - - [Illustration: _PLATE VIII._ - - FRENCH BERGÈRE, LOUIS XVI PERIOD.] - -It is, of course, not always possible to refurnish a room when it is -redecorated. Many people must content themselves with using their -old furniture, no matter how ugly and ill-assorted it may be; and it -is the decorator's business to see that his background helps the -furniture to look its best. It is a mistake to think that because the -furniture of a room is inappropriate or ugly a good background will -bring out these defects. It will, on the contrary, be a relief to the -eye to escape from the bad lines of the furniture to the good lines of -the walls; and should the opportunity to purchase new furniture ever -come, there will be a suitable background ready to show it to the best -advantage. - -Most rooms contain a mixture of good, bad, and indifferent furniture. -It is best to adapt the decorative treatment to the best pieces and to -discard those which are in bad taste, replacing them, if necessary, by -willow chairs and stained deal tables until it is possible to buy -something better. When the room is to be refurnished as well as -redecorated the client often makes his purchases without regard to the -decoration. Besides being an injustice to the decorator, inasmuch as -it makes it impossible for him to harmonize his decoration with the -furniture, this generally produces a result unsatisfactory to the -owner of the house. Neither decoration nor furniture, however good of -its kind, can look its best unless each is chosen with reference to -the other. It is therefore necessary that the decorator, before -planning his treatment of a room, should be told what it is to -contain. If a gilt set is put in a room the walls of which are treated -in low relief and painted white, the high lights of the gilding will -destroy the delicate values of the mouldings, and the walls, at a -little distance, will look like flat expanses of whitewashed plaster. - -When a room is to be furnished and decorated at the smallest possible -cost, it must be remembered that the comfort of its occupants depends -more on the nature of the furniture than of the wall-decorations or -carpet. In a living-room of this kind it is best to tint the walls and -put a cheerful drugget on the floor, keeping as much money as possible -for the purchase of comfortable chairs and sofas and substantial -tables. If little can be spent in buying furniture, willow -arm-chairs[8] with denim cushions and solid tables with stained legs -and covers of denim or corduroy will be more satisfactory than the -"parlor suit" turned out in thousands by the manufacturer of cheap -furniture, or the pseudo-Georgian or pseudo-Empire of the dealer in -"high-grade goods." Plain bookcases may be made of deal, painted or -stained; and a room treated in this way, with a uniform color on the -wall, and plenty of lamps and books, is sure to be comfortable and can -never be vulgar. - -It is to be regretted that, in this country and in England, it should -be almost impossible to buy plain but well-designed and substantial -furniture. Nothing can exceed the ugliness of the current designs: the -bedsteads with towering head-boards fretted by the versatile jig-saw; -the "bedroom suits" of "mahoganized" cherry, bird's-eye maple, or some -other crude-colored wood; the tables with meaninglessly turned legs; -the "Empire" chairs and consoles stuck over with ornaments of cast -bronze washed in liquid gilding; and, worst of all, the supposed -"Colonial" furniture, that unworthy travesty of a plain and dignified -style. All this showy stuff has been produced in answer to the -increasing demand for cheap "effects" in place of unobtrusive merit in -material and design; but now that an appreciation of better things in -architecture is becoming more general, it is to be hoped that the -"artistic" furniture disfiguring so many of our shop-windows will no -longer find a market. - -There is no lack of models for manufacturers to copy, if their -customers will but demand what is good. France and England, in the -eighteenth century, excelled in the making of plain, inexpensive -furniture of walnut, mahogany, or painted beechwood (see Plates -VII-X). Simple in shape and substantial in construction, this kind of -furniture was never tricked out with moulded bronzes and machine-made -carving, or covered with liquid gilding, but depended for its effect -upon the solid qualities of good material, good design and good -workmanship. The eighteenth-century cabinet-maker did not attempt -cheap copies of costly furniture; the common sense of his patrons -would have resented such a perversion of taste. Were the modern public -as fastidious, it would soon be easy to buy good furniture for a -moderate price; but until people recognize the essential vulgarity of -the pinchbeck article flooding our shops and overflowing upon our -sidewalks, manufacturers will continue to offer such wares in -preference to better but less showy designs. - -The worst defects of the furniture now made in America are due to an -Athenian thirst for novelty, not always regulated by an Athenian sense -of fitness. No sooner is it known that beautiful furniture was made in -the time of Marie-Antoinette than an epidemic of supposed -"Marie-Antoinette" rooms breaks out over the whole country. Neither -purchaser nor manufacturer has stopped to inquire wherein the -essentials of the style consist. They know that the rooms of the -period were usually painted in light colors, and that the furniture -(in palaces) was often gilt and covered with brocade; and it is taken -for granted that plenty of white paint, a pale wall-paper with -bow-knots, and fragile chairs dipped in liquid gilding and covered -with a flowered silk-and-cotton material, must inevitably produce a -"Marie-Antoinette" room. According to the creed of the modern -manufacturer, you have only to combine certain "goods" to obtain a -certain style. - -This quest of artistic novelties would be encouraging were it based on -the desire for something better, rather than for something merely -different. The tendency to dash from one style to another, without -stopping to analyze the intrinsic qualities of any, has defeated the -efforts of those who have tried to teach the true principles of -furniture-designing by a return to the best models. If people will buy -the stuff now offered them as Empire, Sheraton or Louis XVI, the -manufacturer is not to blame for making it. It is not the maker but -the purchaser who sets the standard; and there will never be any -general supply of better furniture until people take time to study the -subject, and find out wherein lies the radical unfitness of what now -contents them. - -Until this golden age arrives the householder who cannot afford to buy -old pieces, or to have old models copied by a skilled cabinet-maker, -had better restrict himself to the plainest of furniture, relying for -the embellishment of his room upon good bookbindings and one or two -old porcelain vases for his lamps. - -Concerning the difficult question of color, it is safe to say that the -fewer the colors used in a room, the more pleasing and restful the -result will be. A multiplicity of colors produces the same effect as a -number of voices talking at the same time. The voices may not be -discordant, but continuous chatter is fatiguing in the long run. Each -room should speak with but one voice: it should contain one color, -which at once and unmistakably asserts its predominance, in obedience -to the rule that where there is a division of parts one part shall -visibly prevail over all the others. - - [Illustration: _PLATE IX._ - - FRENCH SOFA, LOUIS XV PERIOD. - TAPESTRY DESIGNED BY BOUCHER.] - -To attain this result, it is best to use the same color and, if -possible, the same material, for curtains and chair-coverings. This -produces an impression of unity and gives an air of spaciousness to -the room. When the walls are simply panelled in oak or walnut, or are -painted in some neutral tones, such as gray and white, the carpet may -contrast in color with the curtains and chair-coverings. For instance, -in an oak-panelled room crimson curtains and chair-coverings may be -used with a dull green carpet, or with one of dark blue patterned in -subdued tints; or the color-scheme may be reversed, and green hangings -and chair-coverings combined with a plain crimson carpet. - -Where the walls are covered with tapestry, or hung with a large number -of pictures, or, in short, are so treated that they present a variety -of colors, it is best that curtains, chair-coverings and carpet should -all be of one color and without pattern. Graduated shades of the same -color should almost always be avoided; theoretically they seem -harmonious, but in reality the light shades look faded in proximity -with the darker ones. Though it is well, as a rule, that carpet and -hangings should match, exception must always be made in favor of a -really fine old Eastern rug. The tints of such rugs are too subdued, -too subtly harmonized by time, to clash with any colors the room may -contain; but those who cannot cover their floors in this way will do -well to use carpets of uniform tint, rather than the gaudy rugs now -made in the East. The modern red and green Smyrna or Turkey carpet is -an exception. Where the furniture is dark and substantial, and the -predominating color is a strong green or crimson, such a carpet is -always suitable. These Smyrna carpets are usually well designed; and -if their colors be restricted to red and green, with small admixture -of dark blue, they harmonize with almost any style of decoration. It -is well, as a rule, to shun the decorative schemes concocted by the -writers who supply our newspapers with hints for "artistic interiors." -The use of such poetic adjectives as jonquil-yellow, willow-green, -shell-pink, or ashes-of-roses, gives to these descriptions of the -"unique boudoir" or "ideal summer room" a charm which the reality -would probably not possess. The arrangements suggested are usually -cheap devices based upon the mistaken idea that defects in structure -or design may be remedied by an overlaying of color or ornament. This -theory often leads to the spending of much more money than would have -been required to make one or two changes in the plan of the room, and -the result is never satisfactory to the fastidious. - -There are but two ways of dealing with a room which is fundamentally -ugly: one is to accept it, and the other is courageously to correct -its ugliness. Half-way remedies are a waste of money and serve rather -to call attention to the defects of the room than to conceal them. - - [Illustration: _PLATE X._ - - FRENCH MARQUETRY TABLE, LOUIS XVI PERIOD.] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[7] There is no objection to putting a fireplace between two doors, -provided both doors be at least six feet from the chimney. - -[8] Not rattan, as the models are too bad. - - - - -III - -WALLS - - -Proportion is the good breeding of architecture. It is that something, -indefinable to the unprofessional eye, which gives repose and -distinction to a room: in its origin a matter of nice mathematical -calculation, of scientific adjustment of voids and masses, but in its -effects as intangible as that all-pervading essence which the ancients -called the soul. - -It is not proposed to enter here into a technical discussion of the -delicate problem of proportion. The decorator, with whom this book is -chiefly concerned, is generally not consulted until the house that he -is to decorate has been built--and built, in all probability, quite -without reference to the interior treatment it is destined to receive. -All he can hope to do is, by slight modifications here and there in -the dimensions or position of the openings, to re-establish that -harmony of parts so frequently disregarded in modern house-planning. -It often happens, however, that the decorator's desire to make these -slight changes, upon which the success of his whole scheme depends, is -a source of perplexity and distress to his bewildered client, who sees -in it merely the inclination to find fault with another's work. -Nothing can be more natural than this attitude on the part of the -client. How is he to decide between the architect, who has possibly -disregarded in some measure the claims of symmetry and proportion in -planning the interior of the house, and the decorator who insists upon -those claims without being able to justify his demands by any -explanation comprehensible to the unprofessional? It is inevitable -that the decorator, who comes last, should fare worse, especially as -he makes his appearance at a time when contractors' bills are pouring -in, and the proposition to move a mantelpiece or change the dimensions -of a door opens fresh vistas of expense to the client's terrified -imagination. - -Undoubtedly these difficulties have diminished in the last few years. -Architects are turning anew to the lost tradition of symmetry and to a -scientific study of the relation between voids and masses, and the -decorator's task has become correspondingly easier. Still, there are -many cases where his work is complicated by some trifling obstacle, -the removal of which the client opposes only because he cannot in -imagination foresee the improvement which would follow. If the client -permits the change to be made, he has no difficulty in appreciating -the result: he cannot see it in advance. - -A few words from Isaac Ware's admirable chapter on "The Origin of -Proportions in the Orders"[9] may serve to show the importance of -proportion in all schemes of decoration, and the necessity of -conforming to certain rules that may at first appear both arbitrary -and incomprehensible. - -"An architect of genius," Ware writes (alluding to the latitude which -the ancients allowed themselves in using the orders), "will think -himself happy, in designing a building that is to be enriched with the -Doric order, that he has all the latitude between two and a half and -seventeen for the projecture of its capital; that he can proportion -this projecture to the general idea of his building anywhere between -these extremes and show his authority. This is an happiness to the -person of real genius;... but as all architects are not, nor can be -expected to be, of this stamp, it is needful some standard should be -established, founded upon what a good taste shall most admire in the -antique, and fixed as a model from which to work, or as a test to -which we may have recourse in disputes and controversies." - -If to these words be added his happy definition of the sense of -proportion as "fancy under the restraint and conduct of judgment," and -his closing caution that "it is mean in the undertaker of a great work -to copy strictly, and it is dangerous to give a loose to fancy -_without a perfect knowledge how far a variation may be justified_," -the unprofessional reader may form some idea of the importance of -proportion and of the necessity for observing its rules. - -If proportion is the good breeding of architecture, symmetry, or the -answering of one part to another, may be defined as the sanity of -decoration. The desire for symmetry, for balance, for rhythm in form -as well as in sound, is one of the most inveterate of human instincts. -Yet for years Anglo-Saxons have been taught that to pay any regard to -symmetry in architecture or decoration is to truckle to one of the -meanest forms of artistic hypocrisy. The master who has taught this -strange creed, in words magical enough to win acceptance for any -doctrine, has also revealed to his generation so many of the forgotten -beauties of early art that it is hard to dispute his principles of -æsthetics. As a guide through the byways of art, Mr. Ruskin is -entitled to the reverence and gratitude of all; but as a logical -exponent of the causes and effects of the beauty he discovers, his -authority is certainly open to question. For years he has spent the -full force of his unmatched prose in denouncing the enormity of -putting a door or a window in a certain place in order that it may -correspond to another; nor has he scrupled to declare to the victims -of this practice that it leads to abysses of moral as well as of -artistic degradation. - -Time has taken the terror from these threats and architects are -beginning to see that a regard for external symmetry, far from -interfering with the requirements of house-planning, tends to produce -a better, because a more carefully studied, plan, as well as a more -convenient distribution of wall-space; but in the lay mind there still -lingers not only a vague association between outward symmetry and -interior discomfort, between a well-balanced facade and badly -distributed rooms, but a still vaguer notion that regard for symmetry -indicates poverty of invention, lack of ingenuity and weak -subservience to a meaningless form. - -What the instinct for symmetry means, philosophers may be left to -explain; but that it does exist, that it means something, and that it -is most strongly developed in those races which have reached the -highest artistic civilization, must be acknowledged by all students of -sociology. It is, therefore, not superfluous to point out that, in -interior decoration as well as in architecture, a regard for symmetry, -besides satisfying a legitimate artistic requirement, tends to make -the average room not only easier to furnish, but more comfortable to -live in. - - [Illustration _PLATE XI._ - - DRAWING-ROOM IN BERKELEY SQUARE, LONDON. XVIII CENTURY.] - -As the effect produced by a room depends chiefly upon the distribution -of its openings, it will be well to begin by considering the treatment -of the walls. It has already been said that the decorator can often -improve a room, not only from the artistic point of view, but as -regards the comfort of its inmates, by making some slight change in -the position of its openings. Take, for instance, a library in which -it is necessary to put the two principal bookcases one on each side of -a door or fireplace. If this opening is in the _centre_ of one side of -the room, the wall-decorations may be made to balance, and the -bookcases may be of the same width,--an arrangement which will give to -the room an air of spaciousness and repose. Should the wall-spaces on -either side of the opening be of unequal extent, both decorations and -bookcases must be modified in size and design; and not only does the -problem become more difficult, but the result, because necessarily -less simple, is certain to be less satisfactory. Sometimes, on the -other hand, convenience is sacrificed to symmetry; and in such cases -it is the decorator's business to remedy this defect, while preserving -to the eye the aspect of symmetry. A long narrow room may be taken as -an example. If the fireplace is in the centre of one of the long sides -of the room, with a door directly opposite, the hearth will be without -privacy and the room virtually divided into two parts, since, in a -narrow room, no one cares to sit in a line with the doorway. This -division of the room makes it more difficult to furnish and less -comfortable to live in, besides wasting all the floor-space between -the chimney and the door. One way of overcoming the difficulty is to -move the door some distance down the long side of the room, so that -the space about the fireplace is no longer a thoroughfare, and the -privacy of the greater part of the room is preserved, even if the door -be left open. The removal of the door from the centre of one side of -the room having disturbed the equilibrium of the openings, this -equilibrium may be restored by placing in a line with the door, at the -other end of the same side-wall, a piece of furniture corresponding as -nearly as possible in height and width to the door. This will satisfy -the eye, which in matters of symmetry demands, not absolute similarity -of detail, but merely correspondence of outline and dimensions. - -It is idle to multiply examples of the various ways in which such -readjustments of the openings may increase the comfort and beauty of a -room. Every problem in house decoration demands a slightly different -application of the same general principles, and the foregoing -instances are intended only to show how much depends upon the placing -of openings and how reasonable is the decorator's claim to have a -share in planning the background upon which his effects are to be -produced. - -It may surprise those whose attention has not been turned to such -matters to be told that in all but the most cheaply constructed houses -the interior walls are invariably treated as an order. In all houses, -even of the poorest kind, the walls of the rooms are finished by a -plain projecting board adjoining the floor, surmounted by one or more -mouldings. This base, as it is called, is nothing more nor less than -the part of an order between shaft and floor, or shaft and pedestal, -as the case may be. If it be next remarked that the upper part of the -wall, adjoining the ceiling, is invariably finished by a moulded -projection corresponding with the crowning member of an order, it will -be clear that the shaft, with its capital, has simply been omitted, or -that the uniform wall-space between the base and cornice has been -regarded as replacing it. In rooms of a certain height and importance -the column or pilaster is frequently restored to its proper place -between base and cornice; but where such treatment is too monumental -for the dimensions of the room, the main lines of the wall-space -should none the less be regarded as distinctly architectural, and the -decoration applied should be subordinate to the implied existence of -an order. (For the application of an order to walls, see Plates XLII -and L.) - -Where the shafts are omitted, the eye undoubtedly feels a lack of -continuity in the treatment: the cornice seems to hang in air and the -effect produced is unsatisfactory. This is obviated by the use of -panelling, the vertical lines carried up at intervals from base to -cornice satisfying the need for some visible connection between the -upper and lower members of the order. Moreover, if the lines of the -openings are carried up to the cornice (as they are in all -well-designed schemes of decoration), the openings may be considered -as intercolumniations and the intermediate wall-spaces as the shafts -or piers supporting the cornice. - -In well-finished rooms the order is usually imagined as resting, not -on the floor, but on pedestals, or rather on a continuous pedestal. -This continuous pedestal, or "dado" as it is usually called, is -represented by a plinth surmounted by mouldings, by an intermediate -member often decorated with tablets or sunk panels with moulded -margins, and by a cornice. The use of the dado raises the chief -wall-decoration of the room to a level with the eye and prevents its -being interrupted or concealed by the furniture which may be placed -against the walls. This fact makes it clear that in all well-designed -rooms there should be a dado about two and a half feet high. If lower -than this, it does not serve its purpose of raising the -wall-decoration to a line above the furniture; while the high dado -often seen in modern American rooms throws all the rest of the -panelling out of scale and loses its own significance as the pedestal -supporting an order. - -In rooms of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when little -furniture was used, the dado was often richly ornamented, being -sometimes painted with delicate arabesques corresponding with those on -the doors and inside shutters. As rooms grew smaller and the quantity -of furniture increased so much that the dado was almost concealed, the -treatment of the latter was wisely simplified, being reduced, as a -rule, to sunk panels and a few strongly marked mouldings. The -decorator cannot do better than plan the ornamentation of his dado -according to the amount of furniture to be placed against the walls. -In corridor or antechamber, or in a ball-room, the dado may receive a -more elaborate treatment than is necessary in a library or -drawing-room, where probably much less of it will be seen. It was not -unusual, in the decoration of lobbies and corridors in old French and -Italian houses, to omit the dado entirely if an order was used, thus -bringing the wall-decoration down to the base-board; but this was done -only in rooms or passage-ways not meant to contain any furniture. - -The three noblest forms of wall-decoration are fresco-painting, -panelling, and tapestry hangings. In the best period of decoration all -three were regarded as subordinate to the architectural lines of the -room. The Italian fresco-painters, from Giotto to Tiepolo, never lost -sight of the interrelation between painting and architecture. It -matters not if the connection between base and cornice be maintained -by actual pilasters or mouldings, or by their painted or woven -imitations. The line, and not the substance, is what the eye demands. -It is a curious perversion of artistic laws that has led certain -critics to denounce painted architecture or woven mouldings. As in -imaginative literature the author may present to his reader as -possible anything that he has the talent to make the reader accept, so -in decorative art the artist is justified in presenting to the eye -whatever his skill can devise to satisfy its requirements; nor is -there any insincerity in this proceeding. Decorative art is not an -exact science. The decorator is not a chemist or a physiologist; it is -part of his mission, not to explain illusions, but to produce them. -Subject only to laws established by the limitations of the eye, he is -master of the domain of fancy, of that _pays bleu_ of the impossible -that it is his privilege to throw open to the charmed imagination. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XII._ - - ROOM IN THE VILLA VERTEMATI, NEAR CHIAVENNA. - XVI OR EARLY XVII CENTURY. - (EXAMPLE OF FRESCOED CEILING.)] - -Of the means of wall-decoration already named, fresco-painting and -stucco-panelling were generally preferred by Italian decorators, and -wood-panelling and tapestries by those of northern Europe. The use of -arras naturally commended itself to the northern noble, shivering in -his draughty castles and obliged to carry from one to another the -furniture and hangings that the unsettled state of the country made it -impossible to leave behind him. Italy, however, long supplied the -finest designs to the tapestry-looms of northern Europe, as the -Italian painters provided ready-made backgrounds of peaked hills, -winding torrents and pinnacled cities to the German engravers and the -Flemish painters of their day. - -Tapestry, in the best periods of house-decoration, was always -subordinated to the architectural lines of the room (see Plate XI). -Where it was not specially woven for the panels it was intended to -fill, the subdivisions of the wall-spaces were adapted to its -dimensions. It was carefully fitted into the panelling of the room, -and never made to turn an angle, as wall-paper does in modern rooms, -nor combined with other odds and ends of decoration. If a room was -tapestried, it was tapestried, not decorated in some other way, with -bits of tapestry hung here and there at random over the fundamental -lines of the decoration. Nothing can be more beautiful than tapestry -properly used; but hung up without regard to the composition of the -room, here turning an angle, there covering a part of the dado or -overlapping a pilaster, it not only loses its own value, but destroys -the whole scheme of decoration with which it is thus unmeaningly -combined. - -Italian panelling was of stone, marble or stucco, while in northern -Europe it was so generally of wood that (in England especially) the -term _panelling_ has become almost synonymous with _wood-panelling_, -and in some minds there is a curious impression that any panelling not -of wood is a sham. As a matter of fact, wood-panelling was used in -northern Europe simply because it kept the cold out more successfully -than a _revêtement_ of stone or plaster; while south of the Alps its -use was avoided for the equally good reason that in hot climates it -attracts vermin. - -If priority of use be held as establishing a standard in decoration, -wood-panelling should be regarded as a sham and plaster-panelling as -its lawful prototype; for the use of stucco in the panelling of walls -and ceilings is highly characteristic of Roman interior decoration, -and wood-panelling as at present used is certainly of later origin. -But nothing can be more idle than such comparisons, nor more -misleading than the idea that stucco is a sham because it seeks to -imitate wood. It does not seek to imitate wood. It is a recognized -substance, of incalculable value for decorative effect, and no more -owes its place in decoration to a fancied resemblance to some other -material than the nave of a cathedral owes its place in architecture -to the fancied resemblance to a ship. - -In the hands of a great race of artistic _virtuosi_ like the Italians, -stucco has produced effects of beauty which in any other substance -would have lost something of their freshness, their plastic -spontaneity. From the delicate traceries of the Roman baths and the -loveliness of Agostino da Duccio's chapel-front at Perugia, to the -improvised bravura treatment of the Farnese theatre at Parma, it has -served, through every phase of Italian art, to embody the most refined -and studied, as well as the most audacious and ephemeral, of -decorative conceptions. - -It must not be supposed that because painting, panelling and tapestry -are the noblest forms of wall-decoration, they are necessarily the -most unattainable. Good tapestry is, of course, very expensive, and -even that which is only mediocre is beyond the reach of the average -purchaser; while stuff hangings and wall-papers, its modern -successors, have less to recommend them than other forms of -wall-decoration. With painting and panelling the case is different. -When painted walls were in fashion, there existed, below the great -creative artists, schools of decorative designers skilled in the art -of fresco-decoration, from the simplest kind to the most ornate. The -demand for such decoration would now call forth the same order of -talent, and many artists who are wasting their energies on the -production of indifferent landscapes and unsuccessful portraits might, -in the quite different field of decorative painting, find the true -expression of their talent. - -To many minds the mention of a frescoed room suggests the image of a -grandiose saloon, with gods and goddesses of heroic size crowding the -domed ceiling and lofty walls; but the heroic style of fresco-painting -is only one of its many phases. To see how well this form of -decoration may be adapted to small modern rooms and to our present way -of living, it is only necessary to study the walls of the little -Pompeian houses, with their delicate arabesques and slender, fanciful -figures, or to note the manner in which the Italian painters treated -the small rooms of the casino or garden-pavilion which formed part of -every Italian country-seat. Examples of this light style of decoration -may be found in the Casino del grotto in the grounds of the Palazzo -del T at Mantua, in some of the smaller rooms of the hunting-lodge of -Stupinigi near Turin, and in the casino of the Villa Valmarana near -Vicenza, where the frescoes are by Tiepolo; while in France a pleasing -instance of the same style of treatment is seen in the small octagonal -pavilion called the Belvédère, frescoed by Le Riche, in the gardens of -the Petit Trianon at Versailles. - -As regards panelling, it has already been said that if the effect -produced be satisfactory to the eye, the substance used is a matter of -indifference. Stone-panelling has the merit of solidity, and the -outlines of massive stone mouldings are strong and dignified; but the -same effect may be produced in stucco, a material as well suited to -the purpose as stone, save for its greater fragility. Wood-panelling -is adapted to the most delicate carving, greater sharpness of edge and -clearness of undercutting being obtainable than in stucco: though this -qualification applies only to the moulded stucco ornaments used from -economy, not to those modelled by hand. Used in the latter way, stucco -may be made to produce the same effects as carved wood, and for -delicacy of modelling in low relief it is superior to any other -material. There is, in short, little to choose between the different -substances, except in so far as one or the other may commend itself to -the artist as more peculiarly suited to the special requirements of -his design, or to the practical conditions regulating his work. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XIII._ - - DRAWING-ROOM AT EASTON NESTON HALL, ENGLAND. - BUILT BY NICHOLAS HAWKESMOOR, 1702. - (EXAMPLE OF STUCCO DECORATION.)] - -It is to this regard for practical conditions, and not to any fancied -superiority over other materials, that the use of wood-panelling in -northern Europe may most reasonably be attributed. Not only was wood -easy to obtain, but it had the additional merit of keeping out the -cold: two qualities sufficient to recommend it to the common sense of -French and English architects. From the decorative point of view it -has, when unpainted, one undeniable advantage over stucco--that is, -beauty of color and veining. As a background for the dull gilding of -old picture-frames, or as a setting for tapestry, nothing can surpass -the soft rich tones of oak or walnut panelling, undefaced by the -application of a shiny varnish. - -With the introduction of the orders into domestic architecture and the -treatment of interior walls with dado and cornice, the panelling of -the wall-space between those two members began to assume definite -proportions. In England and France, before that time, wall-panels were -often divided into small equal-sized rectangles which, from lack of -any central motive, produced a most inadequate impression. Frequently, -too, in the houses of the Renaissance the panelling, instead of being -carried up to the ceiling, was terminated two or three feet below it a -form of treatment that reduced the height of the room and broke the -connection between walls and ceiling. This awkward device of stunted -panelling, or, as it might be called, of an unduly heightened dado, -has been revived by modern decorators; and it is not unusual to see -the walls of a room treated, as regards their base-board and cornice, -as part of an order, and then panelled up to within a foot or two of -the cornice, without apparent regard to the true _raison d'être_ of -the dado (see Plate XII). - -If, then, the design of the wall-panelling is good, it matters little -whether stone, stucco, or wood be used. In all three it is possible to -obtain effects ranging from the grandeur of the great loggia of the -Villa Madama to the simplicity of any wood-panelled parlor in a New -England country-house, and from the greatest costliness to an outlay -little larger than that required for the purchase of a good -wall-paper. - -It was well for the future of house-decoration when medical science -declared itself against the use of wall-papers. These hangings have, -in fact, little to recommend them. Besides being objectionable on -sanitary grounds, they are inferior as a wall-decoration to any form -of treatment, however simple, that maintains, instead of effacing, the -architectural lines of a room. It was the use of wall-paper that led -to the obliteration of the over-door and over-mantel, and to the -gradual submerging under a flood of pattern of all the main lines of -the wall-spaces. Its merits are that it is cheap, easy to put on and -easy to remove. On the other hand, it is readily damaged, soon fades, -and cannot be cleaned; while from the decorative point of view there -can be no comparison between the flat meanderings of wall-paper -pattern and the strong architectural lines of any scheme of panelling, -however simple. Sometimes, of course, the use of wall-paper is a -matter of convenience, since it saves both time and trouble; but a -papered room can never, decoratively or otherwise, be as satisfactory -as one in which the walls are treated in some other manner. - -The hanging of walls with chintz or any other material is even more -objectionable than the use of wall-paper, since it has not the saving -merit of cheapness. The custom is probably a survival of the time when -wall-decorations had to be made in movable shape; and this facility of -removal points to the one good reason for using stuff hangings. In a -hired house, if the wall-decorations are ugly, and it is necessary to -hide them, the rooms may be hung with stuff which the departing tenant -can take away. In other words, stuff hangings are serviceable if used -as a tent; as a permanent mode of decoration they are both unhealthy -and inappropriate. There is something unpleasant in the idea of a -dust-collecting fabric fixed to the wall, so that it cannot be shaken -out at will like a curtain. Textile fabrics are meant to be moved, -folded, shaken: they have none of the qualities of permanence and -solidity which we associate with the walls of a room. The much-derided -marble curtains of the Jesuit church in Venice are no more illogical -than stuff wall-hangings. - -In decorating the walls of a room, the first point to be considered is -whether they are to form a background for its contents, or to be in -themselves its chief decoration. In many cases the disappointing -effects of wall-decoration are due to the fact that this important -distinction has been overlooked. In rooms that are to be hung with -prints or pictures, the panelling or other treatment of the walls -should be carefully designed with a view to the size and number of the -pictures. Pictures should never be hung against a background of -pattern. Nothing is more distressing than the sight of a large -oil-painting in a ponderous frame seemingly suspended from a spray of -wild roses or any of the other naturalistic vegetation of the modern -wall-paper. The overlaying of pattern is always a mistake. It produces -a confusion of line in which the finest forms lose their individuality -and significance. - -It is also important to avoid hanging pictures or prints too close to -each other. Not only do the colors clash, but the different designs of -the frames, some of which may be heavy, with deeply recessed -mouldings, while others are flat and carved in low relief, produce an -equally discordant impression. Every one recognizes the necessity of -selecting the mouldings and other ornamental details of a room with a -view to their position in the scheme of decoration; but few stop to -consider that in a room hung with pictures, the frames take the place -of wall-mouldings, and consequently must be chosen and placed as -though they were part of a definite decorative composition. - -Pictures and prints should be fastened to the wall, not hung by a cord -or wire, nor allowed to tilt forward at an angle. The latter -arrangement is specially disturbing since it throws the picture-frames -out of the line of the wall. It must never be forgotten that pictures -on a wall, whether set in panels or merely framed and hung, inevitably -become a part of the wall-decoration. In the seventeenth and -eighteenth centuries, in rooms of any importance, pictures were always -treated as a part of the decoration, and frequently as panels sunk in -the wall in a setting of carved wood or stucco mouldings (see -paintings in Plates V and XIX). Even when not set in panels, they were -always fixed to the wall, and their frames, whether of wood or stucco, -were made to correspond with the ornamental detail of the rest of the -room. Beautiful examples of this mode of treatment are seen in many -English interiors of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,[10] and -some of the finest carvings of Grinling Gibbons were designed for this -purpose. - -Even where the walls are not to be hung with pictures, it is necessary -to consider what kind of background the furniture and objects of art -require. If the room is to be crowded with cabinets, bookcases and -other tall pieces, and these, as well as the tables and mantel-shelf, -are to be covered with porcelain vases, bronze statuettes, ivories, -Chinese monsters and Chelsea groups, a plain background should be -provided for this many-colored medley. Should the room contain only a -few important pieces of furniture, and one or two vases or busts, the -walls against which these strongly marked objects are to be placed may -receive a more decorative treatment. It is only in rooms used for -entertaining, dining, or some special purpose for which little -furniture is required, that the walls should receive a more elaborate -scheme of decoration. - -Where the walls are treated in an architectural manner, with a -well-designed dado and cornice, and an over-mantel and over-doors -connecting the openings with the cornice, it will be found that in a -room of average size the intervening wall-spaces may be tinted in a -uniform color and left unornamented. If the fundamental lines are -right, very little decorative detail is needed to complete the effect; -whereas, when the lines are wrong, no overlaying of ornamental odds -and ends, in the way of pictures, bric-à-brac and other improvised -expedients, will conceal the structural deficiencies. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[9] _A Complete Body of Architecture_, Book II, chap. iii. - -[10] See the saloon at Easton Neston, built by Nicholas Hawkesmoor -(Plate XIII), and various examples given in Pyne's _Royal Residences_. - - - - -IV - -DOORS - - -The fate of the door in America has been a curious one, and had the -other chief features of the house--such as windows, fireplaces, and -stairs--been pursued with the same relentless animosity by architects -and decorators, we should no longer be living in houses at all. First, -the door was slid into the wall; then even its concealed presence was -resented, and it was unhung and replaced by a portière; while of late -it has actually ceased to form a part of house-building, and many -recently built houses contain doorways _without doors_. Even the front -door, which might seem to have too valid a reason for existence to be -disturbed by the variations of fashion, has lately had to yield its -place, in the more pretentious kind of house, to a wrought-iron -gateway lined with plate-glass, against which, as a climax of -inconsequence, a thick curtain is usually hung. - -It is not difficult to explain such architectural vagaries. In -general, their origin is to be found in the misapplication of some -serviceable feature and its consequent rejection by those who did not -understand that it had ceased to be useful only because it was not -properly used. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XIV._ - - DOORWAY WITH MARBLE ARCHITRAVE, - DUCAL PALACE, MANTUA. XVI CENTURY.] - -In the matter of doors, such an explanation at once presents itself. -During the latter half of the eighteenth century it occurred to -some ingenious person that when two adjoining rooms were used for -entertaining, and it was necessary to open the doors between them, -these doors might be in the way; and to avoid this possibility, a -recess was formed in the thickness of the wall, and the door was made -to slide into it. - -This idea apparently originated in England, for sliding doors, even in -the present day, are virtually unknown on the continent; and Isaac -Ware, in the book already quoted, speaks of the sliding door as having -been used "at the house, late Mr. de Pestre's, near Hanover Square," -and adds that "the manner of it there may serve as an example to other -builders," showing it to have been a novelty which he thought worthy -of imitation. - -English taste has never been so sure as that of the Latin races; and -it has, moreover, been perpetually modified by a passion for -contriving all kinds of supposed "conveniences," which instead of -simplifying life not unfrequently tend to complicate it. Americans -have inherited this trait, and in both countries the architect or -upholsterer who can present a new and more intricate way of planning a -house or of making a piece of furniture, is more sure of a hearing -than he who follows the accepted lines. - -It is doubtful if the devices to which so much is sacrificed in -English and American house-planning always offer the practical -advantages attributed to them. In the case of the sliding door these -advantages are certainly open to question, since there is no reason -why a door should not open into a room. Under ordinary circumstances, -doors should always be kept shut; it is only, as Ware points out, when -two adjoining rooms are used for entertaining that it is necessary to -leave the door between them open. Now, between two rooms destined for -entertaining, a double door (_à deux battants_) is always preferable -to a single one; and as an opening four feet six inches wide is -sufficient in such cases, each of the doors will be only two feet -three inches wide, and therefore cannot encroach to any serious extent -on the floor-space of the room. On the other hand, much has been -sacrificed to the supposed "convenience" of the sliding door: first, -the decorative effect of a well-panelled door, with hinges, box-locks -and handle of finely chiselled bronze; secondly, the privacy of both -rooms, since the difficulty of closing a heavy sliding door always -leads to its being left open, with the result that two rooms are -necessarily used as one. In fact, the absence of privacy in modern -houses is doubtless in part due to the difficulty of closing the doors -between the rooms. - -The sliding door has led to another abuse in house-planning: the -exaggerated widening of the doorway. While doors were hung on hinges, -doorways were of necessity restricted to their proper dimensions; but -with the introduction of the sliding door, openings eight or ten feet -wide became possible. The planning of a house is often modified by a -vague idea on the part of its owners that they may wish to give -entertainments on a large scale. As a matter of fact, general -entertainments are seldom given in a house of average size; and those -who plan their houses with a view to such possibilities sacrifice -their daily comfort to an event occurring perhaps once a year. But -even where many entertainments are to be given large doorways are of -little use. Any architect of experience knows that ease of circulation -depends far more on the planning of the house and on the position of -the openings than on the actual dimensions of the latter. Indeed, two -moderate-sized doorways leading from one room to another are of much -more use in facilitating the movements of a crowd than one opening ten -feet wide. - -Sliding doors have been recommended on the ground that their use -preserves a greater amount of wall-space; but two doorways of moderate -dimensions, properly placed, will preserve as much wall-space as one -very large opening and will probably permit a better distribution of -panelling and furniture. There was far more wall-space in seventeenth -and eighteenth-century rooms than there is in rooms of the same -dimensions in the average modern American house; and even where this -space was not greater in actual measurement, more furniture could be -used, since the openings were always placed with a view to the proper -arrangement of what the room was to contain. - -According to the best authorities, the height of a well-proportioned -doorway should be twice its width; and as the height is necessarily -regulated by the stud of the room, it follows that the width varies; -but it is obvious that no doorway should be less than six feet high -nor less than three feet wide. - -When a doorway is over three feet six inches wide, a pair of doors -should always be used; while a single door is preferable in a narrow -opening. - -In rooms twelve feet or less in height, doorways should not be more -than nine feet high. The width of openings in such rooms is therefore -restricted to four feet six inches; indeed, it is permissible to make -the opening lower and thus reduce its width to four feet; six inches -of additional wall-space are not to be despised in a room of average -dimensions. - -The treatment of the door forms one of the most interesting chapters -in the history of house-decoration. In feudal castles the interior -doorway, for purposes of defense, was made so small and narrow that -only one person could pass through at a time, and was set in a plain -lintel or architrave of stone, the door itself being fortified by -bands of steel or iron, and by heavy bolts and bars. Even at this -early period it seems probable that in the chief apartments the lines -of the doorway were carried up to the ceiling by means of an over-door -of carved wood, or of some painted decorative composition.[11] This -connection between the doorway and the ceiling, maintained through all -the subsequent phases of house-decoration, was in fact never -disregarded until the beginning of the present century. - -It was in Italy that the door, in common with the other features of -private dwellings, first received a distinctly architectural -treatment. In Italian palaces of the fifteenth century the doorways -were usually framed by architraves of marble, enriched with -arabesques, medallions and processional friezes in low relief, -combined with disks of colored marble. Interesting examples of this -treatment are seen in the apartments of Isabella of Este in the ducal -palace at Mantua (see Plate XIV), in the ducal palace at Urbino, and -in the Certosa of Pavia--some of the smaller doorways in this -monastery being decorated with medallion portraits of the Sforzas, and -with other low reliefs of extraordinary beauty. - -The doors in Italian palaces were usually of inlaid wood, elaborate in -composition and affording in many cases beautiful instances of that -sense of material limitation that preserves one art from infringing -upon another. The intarsia doors of the palace at Urbino are among the -most famous examples of this form of decoration. It should be noted -that many of the woods used in Italian marquetry were of a light -shade, so that the blending of colors in Renaissance doors produces a -sunny golden-brown tint in perfect harmony with the marble architrave -of the doorway. The Italian decorator would never have permitted so -harsh a contrast as that between the white trim and the mahogany doors -of English eighteenth-century houses. This juxtaposition of colors was -disapproved by French decorators also, and was seldom seen except in -England and in the American houses built under English influence. It -should be observed, too, that the polish given to hard-grained wood in -England, and imitated in the wood-varnish of the present day, was -never in favor in Italy and France. Shiny surfaces were always -disliked by the best decorators. - -The classic revival in Italy necessarily modified the treatment of the -doorway. Flat arabesques and delicately chiselled medallions gave way -to a plain architrave, frequently masked by an order; while the -over-door took the form of a pediment, or, in the absence of shafts, -of a cornice or entablature resting on brackets. The use of a pediment -over interior doorways was characteristic of Italian decoration. - -In studying Italian interiors of this period from photographs or -modern prints, or even in visiting the partly dilapidated palaces -themselves, it may at first appear that the lines of the doorway were -not always carried up to the cornice. Several causes have combined to -produce this impression. In the first place, the architectural -treatment of the over-door was frequently painted on the wall, and has -consequently disappeared with the rest of the wall-decoration (see -Plate XV). Then, again, Italian rooms were often painted with -landscapes and out-of-door architectural effects, and when this was -done the doorways were combined with these architectural compositions, -and were not treated as part of the room, but as part of what the room -_pretended to be_. In the suppressed Scuola della Carità (now the -Academy of Fine Arts) at Venice, one may see a famous example of this -treatment in the doorway under the stairs leading up to the temple, in -Titian's great painting of the "Presentation of the Virgin."[12] -Again, in the high-studded Italian saloons containing a musician's -gallery, or a clerestory, a cornice was frequently carried around the -walls at suitable height above the lower range of openings, and the -decorative treatment above the doors, windows and fireplace extended -only to this cornice, not to the actual ceiling of the room. - -Thus it will be seen that the relation between the openings and -cornice in Italian decoration was in reality always maintained except -where the decorator chose to regard them as forming a part, not of the -room, but of some other architectural composition. - -In the sixteenth century the excessive use of marquetry was abandoned, -doors being panelled, and either left undecorated or painted with -those light animated combinations of figure and arabesque which -Raphael borrowed from the Roman fresco-painters, and which since his -day have been peculiarly characteristic of Italian decorative -painting.[13] - -Wood-carving in Italy was little used in house-decoration, and, as a -rule, the panelling of doors was severely architectural in character, -with little of the delicate ornamentation marking the French work of -the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.[14] - - [Illustration: _PLATE XV._ - - SALA DEI CAVALLI, PALAZZO DEL T, MANTUA. XVI CENTURY. - (EXAMPLE OF PAINTED ARCHITECTURAL DECORATION.)] - -In France the application of the orders to interior doorways was never -very popular, though it figures in French architectural works of -the eighteenth century. The architrave, except in houses of great -magnificence, was usually of wood, sometimes very richly carved. It -was often surmounted by an entablature with a cornice resting on -carved brackets; while the panel between this and the ceiling-cornice -was occupied by an over-door consisting either of a painting, of a -carved panel or of a stucco or marble bas-relief. These over-doors -usually corresponded with the design of the over-mantel. - -Great taste and skill were displayed in the decoration of door-panels -and embrasure. In the earlier part of the seventeenth century, doors -and embrasures were usually painted, and nothing in the way of -decorative painting can exceed in beauty and fitness the French -compositions of this period.[15] - -During the reign of Louis XIV, doors were either carved or painted, -and their treatment ranged from the most elaborate decoration to the -simplest panelling set in a plain wooden architrave. In some French -doors of this period painting and carving were admirably combined; and -they were further ornamented by the chiselled locks and hinges for -which French locksmiths were famous. So important a part did these -locks and hinges play in French decoration that Lebrun himself is said -to have designed those in the Galerie d'Apollon, in the Louvre, when -he composed the decoration of the room. Even in the simplest private -houses, where chiselled bronze was too expensive a luxury, and -wrought-iron locks and hinges, with plain knobs of brass or iron, were -used instead, such attention was paid to both design and execution -that it is almost impossible to find in France an old lock or hinge, -however plain, that is not well designed and well made (see Plate -XVII). The miserable commercial article that disgraces our modern -doors would not have been tolerated in the most unpretentious -dwelling. - -The mortise-lock now in use in England and America first made its -appearance toward the end of the eighteenth century in England, where -it displaced the brass or iron box-lock; but on the Continent it has -never been adopted. It is a poor substitute for the box-lock, since it -not only weakens but disfigures the door, while a well-designed -box-lock is both substantial and ornamental (see Plate XVII). - -In many minds the Louis XV period is associated with a general -waviness of line and excess of carving. It has already been pointed -out that even when the rocaille manner was at its height the main -lines of a room were seldom allowed to follow the capricious movement -of the ornamental accessories. Openings being the leading features of -a room, their main lines were almost invariably respected; and while -considerable play of movement was allowed in some of the accessory -mouldings of the over-doors and over-mantels, the plan of the panel, -in general symmetrical, was in many cases a plain rectangle.[16] - -During the Louis XV period the panelling of doors was frequently -enriched with elaborate carving; but such doors are to be found only -in palaces, or in princely houses like the Hôtels de Soubise, de -Rohan, or de Toulouse (see Plate XVIII). In the most magnificent -apartments, moreover, plain panelled doors were as common as those -adorned with carving; while in the average private hôtel, even where -much ornament was lavished on the panelling of the walls, the doors -were left plain. - -Towards the close of this reign, when the influence of Gabriel began -to simplify and restrain the ornamental details of house-decoration, -the panelled door was often made without carving and was sometimes -painted with attenuated arabesques and grisaille medallions, relieved -against a gold ground. Gabriel gave the key-note of what is known as -Louis XVI decoration, and the treatment of the door in France followed -the same general lines until the end of the eighteenth century. As the -classic influence became more marked, paintings in the over-door and -over-mantel were replaced by low or high reliefs in stucco: and -towards the end of the Louis XVI period a processional frieze in the -classic manner often filled the entablature above the architrave of -the door (see Plate XVI). - -Doors opening upon a terrace, or leading from an antechamber into a -summer-parlor, or _salon frais_, were frequently made of glass; while -in gala rooms, doors so situated as to correspond with the windows of -the room were sometimes made of looking-glass. In both these instances -the glass was divided into small panes, with such strongly marked -mouldings that there could not be a moment's doubt of the apparent, as -well as the actual, solidity of the door. In good decorative art first -impressions are always taken into account, and the immediate -satisfaction of the eye is provided for. - -In England the treatment of doorway and door followed in a general way -the Italian precedent. The architrave, as a rule, was severely -architectural, and in the eighteenth century the application of an -order was regarded as almost essential in rooms of a certain -importance. The door itself was sometimes inlaid,[17] but oftener -simply panelled (see Plate XI). - -In the panelling of doors, English taste, except when it closely -followed Italian precedents, was not always good. The use of a pair of -doors in one opening was confined to grand houses, and in the average -dwelling single doors were almost invariably used, even in openings -over three feet wide. The great width of some of these single doors -led to a curious treatment of the panels, the door being divided by a -central stile, which was sometimes beaded, as though, instead of a -single door, it were really a pair held together by some invisible -agency. This central stile is almost invariably seen in the doors of -modern American houses. - -Towards the middle of the eighteenth century the use of highly -polished mahogany doors became general in England. It has already been -pointed out that the juxtaposition of a dark-colored door and a white -architrave was not approved by French and Italian architects. Blondel, -in fact, expressly states that such contrasts are to be avoided, and -that where walls are pale in tint the door should never be dark: thus -in vestibules and antechambers panelled with Caen stone he recommends -painting the doors a pale shade of gray. - -In Italy, when doors were left unpainted they were usually made of -walnut, a wood of which the soft, dull tone harmonizes well with -almost any color, whether light or dark; while in France it would not -be easy to find an unpainted door, except in rooms where the -wall-panelling is also of natural wood. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XVI._ - - DOOR IN THE SALA DELLO ZODIACO, - DUCAL PALACE, MANTUA. XVIII CENTURY.] - -In the better type of house lately built in America there is seen a -tendency to return to the use of doors hung on hinges. These, however, -have been so long out of favor that the rules regulating their -dimensions have been lost sight of, and the modern door and architrave -are seldom satisfactory in these respects. The principles of -proportion have been further disturbed by a return to the confused -and hesitating system of panelling prevalent in England during the -Tudor and Elizabethan periods. - -The old French and Italian architects never failed to respect that -rule of decorative composition which prescribes that where there is -any division of parts, one part shall unmistakably predominate. In -conformity with this rule, the principal panel in doors of French or -Italian design is so much higher than the others that these are at -once seen to be merely accessory; whereas many of our modern doors are -cut up into so many small panels, and the central one so little -exceeds the others in height, that they do not "compose." - -The architrave of the modern door has been neglected for the same -reasons as the window-architrave. The use of the heavy sliding door, -which could not be opened or shut without an effort, led to the -adoption of the portière; and the architrave, being thus concealed, -was no longer regarded as a feature of any importance in the -decoration of the room. - -The portière has always been used, as old prints and pictures show; -but, like the curtain, in earlier days it was simply intended to keep -out currents of air, and was consequently seldom seen in well-built -houses, where double sets of doors served far better to protect the -room from draughts. In less luxurious rooms, where there were no -double doors, and portières had to be used, these were made as scant -and unobtrusive as possible. The device of draping stuffs about the -doorway, thus substituting a textile architrave for one of wood or -stone, originated with the modern upholsterer; and it is now not -unusual to see a wide opening with no door in it, enclosed in yards -and yards of draperies which cannot even be lowered at will. - -The portière, besides causing a break in architectural lines, has -become one of the chief expenses in the decoration of the modern room; -indeed, the amount spent in buying yards of plush or damask, with the -addition of silk cord, tassels, gimp and fringe, often makes it -necessary to slight the essential features of the room; so that an -ugly mantelpiece or ceiling is preserved because the money required to -replace it has been used in the purchase of portières. These -superfluous draperies are, in fact, more expensive than a well-made -door with hinges and box-lock of chiselled bronze. - -The general use of the portière has also caused the disappearance of -the over-door. The lines of the opening being hidden under a mass of -drapery, the need of connecting them with the cornice was no longer -felt, and one more feature of the room passed out of the architect's -hands into those of the upholsterer, or, as he might more fitly be -called, the house-dressmaker. - -The return to better principles of design will do more than anything -else to restore the architectural lines of the room. Those who use -portières generally do so from an instinctive feeling that a door is -an ugly thing that ought to be hidden, and modern doors are in fact -ugly; but when architects give to the treatment of openings the same -attention they formerly received, it will soon be seen that this -ugliness is not a necessity, and portières will disappear with the -return of well-designed doors. - -Some general hints concerning the distribution of openings have been -given in the chapter on walls. It may be noted in addition that while -all doorways in a room should, as a rule, be of one height, there are -cases where certain clearly subordinate openings may be lower than -those which contain doors _à deux battants_. In such cases the -panelling of the door must be carefully modified in accordance with -the dimensions of the opening, and the treatment of the over-doors -in their relation to each other must be studied with equal attention. -Examples of such adaptations are to be found in many old French and -Italian rooms.[18] - - [Illustration: _PLATE XVII._ - - EXAMPLES OF MODERN FRENCH LOCKSMITHS' WORK.] - -Doors should always swing _into_ a room. This facilitates entrance and -gives the hospitable impression that everything is made easy to those -who are coming in. Doors should furthermore be so hung that they -screen that part of the room in which the occupants usually sit. In -small rooms, especially those in town houses, this detail cannot be -too carefully considered. The fact that so many doors open in the -wrong way is another excuse for the existence of portières. - -A word must also be said concerning the actual making of the door. -There is a general impression that veneered doors or furniture are -cheap substitutes for articles made of solid blocks of wood. As a -matter of fact, owing to the high temperature of American houses, all -well-made wood-work used in this country is of necessity composed of -at least three, and often of five, layers of wood. This method of -veneering, in which the layers are so placed that the grain runs in -different directions, is the only way of counteracting the shrinking -and swelling of the wood under artificial heat. - -To some minds the concealed door represents one of those architectural -deceptions which no necessity can excuse. It is certain that the -concealed door is an expedient, and that in a well-planned house there -should be no need for expedients, unless the architect is hampered by -limitations of space, as is the case in designing the average American -town house. Architects all know how many principles of beauty and -fitness must be sacrificed to the restrictions of a plot of ground -twenty-five feet wide by seventy-five or a hundred in length. Under -such conditions, every device is permissible that helps to produce an -effect of spaciousness and symmetry without interfering with -convenience: chief among these contrivances being the concealed door. - -Such doors are often useful in altering or adding to a badly planned -house. It is sometimes desirable to give increased facilities of -communication without adding to the visible number of openings in any -one room; while in other cases the limited amount of wall-space may -make it difficult to find place for a doorway corresponding in -dimensions with the others; or, again, where it is necessary to make a -closet under the stairs, the architrave of a visible door may clash -awkwardly with the stringboard. - -Under such conditions the concealed door naturally suggests itself. To -those who regard its use as an offense against artistic integrity, it -must once more be pointed out that architecture addresses itself not -to the moral sense, but to the eye. The existing confusion on this -point is partly due to the strange analogy drawn by modern critics -between artistic sincerity and moral law. Analogies are the most -dangerous form of reasoning: they connect resemblances, but disguise -facts; and in this instance nothing can be more fallacious than to -measure the architect's action by an ethical standard. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XVIII._ - - CARVED DOOR, PALACE OF VERSAILLES. - LOUIS XV PERIOD. - (SHOWING PAINTED OVER-DOOR.)] - -"Sincerity," in many minds, is chiefly associated with speaking the -truth; but architectural sincerity is simply obedience to certain -visual requirements, one of which demands that what are at once seen -to be the main lines of a room or house shall be acknowledged as such -in the application of ornament. The same architectural principles -demand that the main lines of a room shall not be unnecessarily -interrupted; and in certain cases it would be bad taste to disturb the -equilibrium of wall-spaces and decoration by introducing a visible -door leading to some unimportant closet or passageway, of which the -existence need not be known to any but the inmates of the house. It is -in such cases that the concealed door is a useful expedient. It can -hardly be necessary to point out that it would be a great mistake to -place a concealed door in a main opening. These openings should always -be recognized as one of the chief features of the room, and so treated -by the decorator; but this point has already been so strongly insisted -upon that it is reverted to here only in order to show how different -are the requirements which justify concealment. - -The concealed door has until recently been used so little by American -architects that its construction is not well understood, and it is -often hung on ordinary visible hinges, instead of being swung on a -pivot. There is no reason why, with proper care, a door of this kind -should not be so nicely adjusted to the wall-panelling as to be -practically invisible; and to fulfil this condition is the first -necessity of its construction (see concealed door in Plate XLV). - -FOOTNOTES: - -[11] See Viollet-le-Duc, _Dictionnaire raisonné de l'Architecture -française_, under _Porte_. - -[12] This painting has now been restored to its proper position in the -Scuola della Carità, and the door which had been _painted in_ under -the stairs has been removed to make way for the actual doorway around -which the picture was originally painted. - -[13] See the doors of the Sala dello Zodiaco in the ducal palace at -Mantua (Plate XVI). - -[14] Some rooms of the rocaille period, however, contain doors as -elaborately carved as those seen in France (see the doors in the royal -palace at Genoa, Plate XXXIV). - -[15] See the doors at Vaux-le-Vicomte and in the Palais de Justice at -Rennes. - -[16] Only in the most exaggerated German baroque were the vertical -lines of the door-panels sometimes irregular. - -[17] The inlaid doors of Houghton Hall, the seat of Sir Robert -Walpole, were noted for their beauty and costliness. The price of each -was £200. - -[18] See a room in the Ministère de la Marine at Paris, where a -subordinate door is cleverly treated in connection with one of more -importance. - - - - -V - -WINDOWS - - -In the decorative treatment of a room the importance of openings can -hardly be overestimated. Not only do they represent the three chief -essentials of its comfort,--light, heat and means of access,--but they -are the leading features in that combination of voids and masses that -forms the basis of architectural harmony. In fact, it is chiefly -because the decorative value of openings has ceased to be recognized -that modern rooms so seldom produce a satisfactory and harmonious -impression. It used to be thought that the effect of a room depended -on the treatment of its wall-spaces and openings; now it is supposed -to depend on its curtains and furniture. Accessory details have -crowded out the main decorative features; and, as invariably happens -when the relation of parts is disturbed, everything in the modern room -has been thrown out of balance by this confusion between the essential -and the incidental in decoration.[19] - -The return to a more architectural treatment of rooms and to a -recognition of the decorative value of openings, besides producing -much better results, would undoubtedly reduce the expense of -house-decoration. A small quantity of ornament, properly applied, will -produce far more effect than ten times its amount used in the wrong -way; and it will be found that when decorators rely for their effects -on the treatment of openings, the rest of the room will require little -ornamentation. The crowding of rooms with furniture and bric-à-brac is -doubtless partly due to an unconscious desire to fill up the blanks -caused by the lack of architectural composition in the treatment of -the walls. - -The importance of connecting the main lines of the openings with the -cornice having been explained in the previous chapter, it is now -necessary to study the different openings in turn, and to see in how -many ways they serve to increase the dignity and beauty of their -surroundings. - -As light-giving is the main purpose for which windows are made, the -top of the window should be as near the ceiling as the cornice will -allow. Ventilation, the secondary purpose of the window, is also -better served by its being so placed, since an opening a foot wide -near the ceiling will do more towards airing a room than a space twice -as large near the floor. In our northern States, where the dark winter -days and the need of artificial heat make light and ventilation so -necessary, these considerations are especially important. In Italian -palaces the windows are generally lower than in more northern -countries, since the greater intensity of the sunshine makes a much -smaller opening sufficient; moreover, in Italy, during the summer, -houses are not kept cool by letting in the air, but by shutting it -out. - -Windows should not exceed five feet in width, while in small rooms -openings three feet wide will be found sufficient. There are -practical as well as artistic reasons for observing this rule, since a -sash-window containing a sheet of glass more than five feet wide -cannot be so hung that it may be raised without effort; while a -casement, or French window, though it may be made somewhat wider, is -not easy to open if its width exceeds six feet. - -The next point to consider is the distance between the bottom of the -window and the floor. This must be decided by circumstances, such as -the nature of the view, the existence of a balcony or veranda, or the -wish to have a window-seat. The outlook must also be considered, and -the window treated in one way if it looks upon the street, and in -another if it gives on the garden or informal side of the house. In -the country nothing is more charming than the French window opening to -the floor. On the more public side of the house, unless the latter -gives on an enclosed court, it is best that the windows should be -placed about three feet from the floor, so that persons approaching -the house may not be able to look in. Windows placed at this height -should be provided with a fixed seat, or with one of the little -settees with arms, but without a back, formerly used for this purpose. - -Although for practical reasons it may be necessary that the same room -should contain some windows opening to the floor and others raised -several feet above it, the tops of all the windows should be on a -level. To place them at different heights serves no useful end, and -interferes with any general scheme of decoration and more specially -with the arrangement of curtains. - -Mullions dividing a window in the centre should be avoided whenever -possible, since they are an unnecessary obstruction to the view. The -chief drawback to a casement window is that its sashes join in the -middle; but as this is a structural necessity, it is less -objectionable. If mullions are required, they should be so placed as -to divide the window into three parts, thus preserving an unobstructed -central pane. The window called Palladian illustrates this point. - -Now that large plate-glass windows have ceased to be a novelty, it -will perhaps be recognized that the old window with subdivided panes -had certain artistic and practical merits that have of late been -disregarded. - -Where there is a fine prospect, windows made of a single plate of -glass are often preferred; but it must be remembered that the -subdivisions of a sash, while obstructing the view, serve to establish -a relation between the inside of the house and the landscape, making -the latter what, _as seen from a room_, it logically ought to be: a -part of the wall-decoration, in the sense of being subordinated to the -same general lines. A large unbroken sheet of plate-glass interrupts -the decorative scheme of the room, just as in verse, if the distances -between the rhymes are so great that the ear cannot connect them, the -continuity of sound is interrupted. Decoration must rhyme to the eye, -and to do so must be subject to the limitations of the eye, as verse -is subject to the limitations of the ear. Success in any art depends -on a due regard for the limitations of the sense to which it appeals. - -The effect of a perpetually open window, produced by a large sheet of -plate-glass, while it gives a sense of coolness and the impression of -being out of doors, becomes for these very reasons a disadvantage in -cold weather. - -It is sometimes said that the architects of the eighteenth century -would have used large plates of glass in their windows had they been -able to obtain them; but as such plates were frequently used for -mirrors, it is evident that they were not difficult to get, and that -there must have been other reasons for not employing them in windows; -while the additional expense could hardly have been an obstacle in an -age when princes and nobles built with such royal disregard of cost. -The French, always logical in such matters, having tried the effect of -plate-glass, are now returning to the old fashion of smaller panes; -and in many of the new houses in Paris, where the windows at first -contained large plates of glass, the latter have since been subdivided -by a network of narrow mouldings applied to the glass. - -As to the comparative merits of French, or casement, and sash windows, -both arrangements have certain advantages. In houses built in the -French or Italian style, casement windows are best adapted to the -general treatment; while the sash-window is more in keeping in English -houses. Perhaps the best way of deciding the question is to remember -that "les fenêtres sont intimement liées aux grandes lignes de -l'architecture," and to conform to the rule suggested by this axiom. - -The two common objections to French windows--that they are less -convenient for ventilation, and that they cannot be opened without -letting in cold air near the floor--are both unfounded. All properly -made French windows have at the top an impost or stationary part -containing small panes, one of which is made to open, thus affording -perfect ventilation without draught. Another expedient, seen in one of -the rooms of Mesdames de France at Versailles, is a small pane in the -main part of the window, opening on hinges of its own. (For examples -of well-designed French windows, see Plates XXX and XXXI.) - - [Illustration: _PLATE XIX._ - - SALON DES MALACHITES, GRAND TRIANON, VERSAILLES. - LOUIS XIV PERIOD. - (SHOWING WELL-DESIGNED WINDOW WITH SOLID INSIDE SHUTTER, AND - PICTURES FORMING PART OF WALL-DECORATION.)] - -Sash-windows have the disadvantage of not opening more than half-way, -a serious drawback in our hot summer climate. It is often said that -French windows cannot be opened wide without interfering with the -curtains; but this difficulty is easily met by the use of curtains -made with cords and pulleys, in the sensible old-fashioned manner. The -real purpose of the window-curtain is to regulate the amount of light -admitted to the room, and a curtain so arranged that it cannot be -drawn backward and forward at will is but a meaningless accessory. It -was not until the beginning of the present century that curtains were -used without regard to their practical purpose. The window-hangings of -the middle ages and of the Renaissance were simply straight pieces of -cloth or tapestry hung across the window without any attempt at -drapery, and regarded not as part of the decoration of the room, but -as a necessary protection against draughts. It is probably for this -reason that in old prints and pictures representing the rooms of -wealthy people, curtains are so seldom seen. The better the house, the -less need there was for curtains. In the engravings of Abraham Bosse, -which so faithfully represent the interior decoration of every class -of French house during the reign of Louis XIII, it will be noticed -that in the richest apartments there are no window-curtains. In all -the finest rooms of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the -inside shutters and embrasures of the windows were decorated with a -care which proves that they were not meant to be concealed by curtains -(see the painted embrasures of the saloon in the Villa Vertemati, -Plate XLIV). The shutters in the state apartments of Fouquet's château -of Vaux-le-Vicomte, near Melun, are painted on both sides with -exquisite arabesques; while those in the apartments of Mesdames de -France, on the ground floor of the palace of Versailles, are examples -of the most beautiful carving. In fact, it would be more difficult to -cite a room of any importance in which the windows were not so -treated, than to go on enumerating examples of what was really a -universal custom until the beginning of the present century. It is -known, of course, that curtains were used in former times: prints, -pictures and inventories alike prove this fact; but the care expended -on the decorative treatment of windows makes it plain that the -curtain, like the portière, was regarded as a necessary evil rather -than as part of the general scheme of decoration. The meagreness and -simplicity of the curtains in old pictures prove that they were used -merely as window shades or sun-blinds. The scant straight folds pushed -back from the tall windows of the Prince de Conti's salon, in -Olivier's charming picture of "Le Thé à l'Anglaise chez le Prince de -Conti," are as obviously utilitarian as the strip of green woollen -stuff hanging against the leaded casement of the mediæval bed-chamber -in Carpaccio's "Dream of St. Ursula." - -Another way of hanging window-curtains in the seventeenth and -eighteenth centuries was to place them inside the architrave, so that -they did not conceal it. The architectural treatment of the trim, and -the practice prevalent at that period of carrying the windows up to -the cornice, made this a satisfactory way of arranging the curtain; -but in the modern American house, where the trim is usually bad, and -where there is often a dreary waste of wall-paper between the window -and the ceiling, it is better to hang the curtains close under the -cornice. - -It was not until the eighteenth century that the window-curtain was -divided in the middle; and this change was intended only to facilitate -the drawing of the hangings, which, owing to the increased size of the -windows, were necessarily wider and heavier. The curtain continued to -hang down in straight folds, pulled back at will to permit the opening -of the window, and drawn at night. Fixed window-draperies, with -festoons and folds so arranged that they cannot be lowered or raised, -are an invention of the modern upholsterer. Not only have these fixed -draperies done away with the true purpose of the curtain, but they -have made architects and decorators careless in their treatment of -openings. The architrave and embrasure of a window are now regarded as -of no more importance in the decorative treatment of a room than the -inside of the chimney. - -The modern use of the lambrequin as an ornamental finish to -window-curtains is another instance of misapplied decoration. Its -history is easy to trace. The mediæval bed was always enclosed in -curtains hanging from a wooden framework, and the lambrequin was used -as a kind of cornice to conceal it. When the use of gathered -window-shades became general in Italy, the lambrequin was transferred -from the bed to the window, in order to hide the clumsy bunches of -folds formed by these shades when drawn up. In old prints, lambrequins -over windows are almost always seen in connection with Italian shades, -and this is the only logical way of using them; though they are often -of service in concealing the defects of badly-shaped windows and -unarchitectural trim. - -Those who criticize the architects and decorators of the past are -sometimes disposed to think that they worked in a certain way because -they were too ignorant to devise a better method; whereas they were -usually controlled by practical and artistic considerations which -their critics are prone to disregard, not only in judging the work of -the past, but in the attempt to make good its deficiencies. Thus the -cabinet-makers of the Renaissance did not make straight-backed wooden -chairs because they were incapable of imagining anything more -comfortable, but because the former were better adapted than cushioned -arm-chairs to the _déplacements_ so frequent at that period. In like -manner, the decorator who regarded curtains as a necessity rather than -as part of the decoration of the room knew (what the modern -upholsterer fails to understand) that, the beauty of a room depending -chiefly on its openings, to conceal these under draperies is to hide -the key of the whole decorative scheme. - -The muslin window-curtain is a recent innovation. Its only purpose is -to protect the interior of the room from public view: a need not felt -before the use of large sheets of glass, since it is difficult to look -through a subdivided sash from the outside. Under such circumstances -muslin curtains are, of course, useful; but where they may be -dispensed with, owing to the situation of the room or the subdivision -of panes, they are no loss. Lingerie effects do not combine well with -architecture, and the more architecturally a window is treated, the -less it need be dressed up in ruffles. To put such curtains in a -window, and then loop them back so that they form a mere frame to the -pane, is to do away with their real purpose, and to substitute a -textile for an architectural effect. Where muslin curtains are -necessary, they should be a mere transparent screen hung against the -glass. In town houses especially all outward show of richness should -be avoided; the use of elaborate lace-figured curtains, besides -obstructing the view, seems an attempt to protrude the luxury of the -interior upon the street. It is needless to point out the futility of -the second layer of muslin which, in some houses, hangs inside the -sash-curtains. - -The solid inside shutter, now so generally discarded, save in France, -formerly served the purposes for which curtains and shades are used, -and, combined with outside blinds, afforded all the protection that a -window really requires (see Plate XIX). These shutters should be made -with solid panels, not with slats, their purpose being to darken the -room and keep out the cold, while the light is regulated by the -outside blinds. The best of these is the old-fashioned hand-made -blind, with wide fixed slats, still to be seen on old New England -houses and always used in France and Italy: the frail machine-made -substitute now in general use has nothing to recommend it. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[19] As an example of the extent to which openings have come to be -ignored as factors in the decorative composition of a room, it is -curious to note that in Eastlake's well-known _Hints on Household -Taste_ no mention is made of doors, windows or fireplaces. Compare -this point of view with that of the earlier decorators, from Vignola -to Roubo and Ware. - - - - -VI - -FIREPLACES - - -The fireplace was formerly always regarded as the chief feature of the -room, and so treated in every well-thought-out scheme of decoration. - -The practical reasons which make it important that the windows in a -room should be carried up to the cornice have already been given, and -it has been shown that the lines of the other openings should be -extended to the same height. This applies to fireplaces as well as to -doors, and, indeed, as an architectural principle concerning all kinds -of openings, it has never been questioned until the present day. The -hood of the vast Gothic fireplace always descended from the springing -of the vaulted roof, and the monumental chimney-pieces of the -Renaissance followed the same lines (see Plate XX). The importance of -giving an architectural character to the chimney-piece is insisted on -by Blondel, whose remark, "Je voudrais n'appliquer à une cheminée que -des ornements convenables à l'architecture," is a valuable axiom for -the decorator. It is a mistake to think that this treatment -necessitates a large mantel-piece and a monumental style of panelling. -The smallest mantel, surmounted by a picture or a mirror set in simple -mouldings, may be as architectural as the great chimney-pieces at -Urbino or Cheverny: all depends on the spirit of the treatment and -on the proper relation of the different members used. Pajou's monument -to Madame du Barry's canary-bird is far more architectural than the -Albert Memorial. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XX._ - - MANTELPIECE IN DUCAL PALACE, URBINO. - XV CENTURY. - (TRANSITION BETWEEN GOTHIC AND RENAISSANCE.)] - -When, in the middle ages, the hearth in the centre of the room was -replaced by the wall-chimney, the fireplace was invariably constructed -with a projecting hood of brick or stone, generally semicircular in -shape, designed to carry off the smoke which in earlier times had -escaped through a hole in the roof. The opening of the fireplace, at -first of moderate dimensions, was gradually enlarged to an enormous -size, from the erroneous idea that the larger the fire the greater -would be the warmth of the room. By degrees it was discovered that the -effect of the volume of heat projected into the room was counteracted -by the strong draught and by the mass of cold air admitted through the -huge chimney; and to obviate this difficulty iron doors were placed in -the opening and kept closed when the fire was not burning (see Plate -XXI). But this was only a partial remedy, and in time it was found -expedient to reduce the size of both chimney and fireplace. - -In Italy the strong feeling for architectural lines and the invariable -exercise of common sense in construction soon caused the fireplace to -be sunk into the wall, thus ridding the room of the Gothic hood, while -the wall-space above the opening received a treatment of panelling, -sometimes enclosed in pilasters, and usually crowned by an entablature -and pediment. When the chimney was not sunk in the wall, the latter -was brought forward around the opening, thus forming a flat -chimney-breast to which the same style of decoration could be applied. -This projection was seldom permitted in Italy, where the thickness of -the walls made it easy to sink the fireplace, while an unerring -feeling for form rejected the advancing chimney-breast as a needless -break in the wall-surface of the room. In France, where Gothic -methods of construction persisted so long after the introduction of -classic ornament, the habit of building out the chimney-breast -continued until the seventeenth century, and even a hundred years -later French decorators described the plan of sinking the fireplace -into the thickness of the wall as the "Italian manner." The thinness -of modern walls has made the projecting chimney-breast a structural -necessity; but the composition of the room is improved by "furring -out" the wall on each side of the fireplace in such a way as to -conceal the projection and obviate a break in the wall-space. Where -the room is so small that every foot of space is valuable, a niche may -be formed in either angle of the chimney-breast, thus preserving the -floor-space which would be sacrificed by advancing the wall, and yet -avoiding the necessity of a break in the cornice. The Italian plan of -panelling the space between mantel and cornice continued in favor, -with various modifications, until the beginning of the present -century. In early Italian Renaissance over-mantels the central panel -was usually filled by a bas-relief; but in the sixteenth century this -was frequently replaced by a picture, not hung on the panelling, but -forming a part of it.[20] In France the sculptured over-mantel -followed the same general lines of development, though the treatment, -until the time of Louis XIII, showed traces of the Gothic tendency to -overload with ornament without regard to unity of design, so that the -main lines of the composition were often lost under a mass of -ill-combined detail. - -In Italy the early Renaissance mantels were usually of marble. French -mantels of the same period were of stone; but this material was so -unsuited to the elaborate sculpture then in fashion that wood was -sometimes used instead. For a season richly carved wooden -chimney-pieces, covered with paint and gilding, were in favor; but -when the first marble mantels were brought from Italy, that sense of -fitness in the use of material for which the French have always been -distinguished, led them to recognize the superiority of marble, and -the wooden mantel-piece was discarded: nor has it since been used in -France. - -With the seventeenth century, French mantel-pieces became more -architectural in design and less florid in ornament, and the ponderous -hood laden with pinnacles, escutcheons, fortified castles and statues -of saints and warriors, was replaced by a more severe decoration. - -Thackeray's gibe at Louis XIV and his age has so long been accepted by -the English-speaking races as a serious estimate of the period, that -few now appreciate the artistic preponderance of France in the -seventeenth century. As a matter of fact, it is to the schools of art -founded by Louis XIV and to his magnificent patronage of the -architects and decorators trained in these schools that we owe the -preservation, in northern Europe, of that sense of form and spirit of -moderation which mark the great classic tradition. To disparage the -work of men like Levau, Mansart, de Cotte and Lebrun, shows an -insufficient understanding, not only of what they did, but of the -inheritance of confused and turgid ornament from which they freed -French art.[21] Whether our individual tastes incline us to the Gothic -or to the classic style, it is easy to see that a school which tried -to combine the structure of the one with the ornament of the other was -likely to fall into incoherent modes of expression; and this was -precisely what happened to French domestic architecture at the end of -the Renaissance period. It has been the fashion to describe the art of -the Louis XIV period as florid and bombastic; but a comparison of the -designs of Philibert de Lorme and Androuet Ducerceau with those of -such men as Levau and Robert de Cotte will show that what the latter -did was not to introduce a florid and bombastic manner, but to discard -it for what Viollet-le-Duc, who will certainly not be suspected of -undue partiality for this school of architects, calls "une grandeur -solide, sans faux ornements." No better illustration of this can be -obtained than by comparing the mantel-pieces of the respective -periods.[22] The Louis XIV mantel-pieces are much simpler and more -coherent in design. The caryatides supporting the entablature above -the opening of the earlier mantels, and the full-length statues -flanking the central panel of the over-mantel, are replaced by massive -and severe mouldings of the kind which the French call _mâle_ (see -mantels in Plates V and XXXVI). Above the entablature there is usually -a kind of attic or high concave member of marble, often fluted, and -forming a ledge or shelf just wide enough to carry the row of -porcelain vases with which it had become the fashion to adorn the -mantel. These vases, and the bas-relief or picture occupying the -central panel above, form the chief ornament of the chimney-piece, -though occasionally the crowning member of the over-mantel is treated -with a decoration of garlands, masks, trophies or other strictly -architectural ornament, while in Italy and England the broken -pediment is frequently employed. The use of a mirror over the -fireplace is said to have originated with Mansart; but according to -Blondel it was Robert de Cotte who brought about this innovation, thus -producing an immediate change in the general scheme of composition. -The French were far too logical not to see the absurdity of placing a -mirror too high to be looked into; and the concave Louis XIV member, -which had raised the mantel-shelf six feet from the floor, was -removed[23] and the shelf placed directly over the entablature. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXI._ - - MANTELPIECE IN THE VILLA GIACOMELLI, - AT MASER, NEAR TREVISO. XVI CENTURY. - (SHOWING IRON DOORS IN OPENING.)] - -Somewhat later the introduction of clocks and candelabra as mantel -ornaments made it necessary to widen the shelf, and this further -modified the general design; while the suites of small rooms which had -come into favor under the Regent led to a reduction in the size of -mantel-pieces, and to the use of less massive and perhaps less -architectural ornament. - -In the eighteenth century, mantel-pieces in Italy and France were -almost always composed of a marble or stone architrave surmounted by a -shelf of the same material, while the over-mantel consisted of a -mirror, framed in mouldings varying in design from the simplest style -to the most ornate. This over-mantel, which was either of the exact -width of the mantel-shelf or some few inches narrower, ended under the -cornice, and its upper part was usually decorated in the same way as -the over-doors in the room. If these contained paintings, a picture -carrying out the same scheme of decoration was often placed in the -upper part of the over-mantel; or the ornaments of carved wood or -stucco filling the panels over the doors were repeated in the upper -part of the mirror-frame. - -In France, mirrors had by this time replaced pictures in the central -panel of the over-mantel; but in Italian decoration of the same period -oval pictures were often applied to the centre of the mirror, with -delicate lines of ornament connecting the picture and mirror -frames.[24] - -The earliest fireplaces were lined with stone or brick, but in the -sixteenth century the more practical custom of using iron fire-backs -was introduced. At first this fire-back consisted of a small plaque of -iron, shaped like a headstone, and fixed at the back of the fireplace, -where the brick or stone was most likely to be calcined by the fire. -When chimney-building became more scientific, the size of the -fireplace was reduced, and the sides of the opening were brought much -nearer the flame, thus making it necessary to extend the fire-back -into a lining for the whole fireplace. - -It was soon seen that besides resisting the heat better than any other -substance, the iron lining served to radiate it into the room. The -iron back consequently held its own through every subsequent change in -the treatment of the fireplace; and the recent return, in England and -America, to brick or stone is probably due to the fact that the modern -iron lining is seldom well designed. Iron backs were adopted because -they served their purpose better than any others; and as no new -substance offering greater advantages has since been discovered, there -is no reason for discarding them, especially as they are not only more -practical but more decorative than any other lining. The old -fire-backs (of which reproductions are readily obtained) were -decorated with charming bas-reliefs, and their dark bosses, in the -play of the firelight, form a more expressive background than the -dead and unresponsive surface of brick or stone. - -It was not uncommon in England to treat the mantel as an order crowned -by its entablature. Where this was done, an intermediate space was -left between mantel and over-mantel, an arrangement which somewhat -weakened the architectural effect. A better plan was that of -surmounting the entablature with an attic, and making the over-mantel -spring directly from the latter. Fine examples of this are seen at -Holkham, built by Brettingham for the Earl of Leicester about the -middle of the eighteenth century. - -The English fireplace was modified at the end of the seventeenth -century, when coal began to replace wood. Chippendale gives many -designs for beautiful basket-grates, such as were set in the large -fireplaces originally intended for wood; for it was not until later -that chimneys with smaller openings were specially constructed to -receive the fixed grate and the hob-grate. - -It was in England that the architectural treatment of the over-mantel -was first abandoned. The use of a mirror framed in a panel over the -fireplace had never become general in England, and toward the end of -the eighteenth century the mantel-piece was frequently surmounted by a -blank wall-space, on which a picture or a small round mirror was hung -high above the shelf (see Plate XLVII). Examples are seen in -Moreland's pictures, and in prints of simple eighteenth-century -English interiors; but this treatment is seldom found in rooms of any -architectural pretensions. - -The early American fireplace was merely a cheap provincial copy of -English models of the same period. The application of the word -"Colonial" to pre-Revolutionary architecture and decoration has -created a vague impression that there existed at that time an American -architectural style. As a matter of fact, "Colonial" architecture is -simply a modest copy of Georgian models; and "Colonial" mantel-pieces -were either imported from England by those who could afford it, or -were reproduced in wood from current English designs. Wooden mantels -were, indeed, not unknown in England, where the use of a wooden -architrave led to the practice of facing the fireplace with Dutch -tiles; but wood was used, both in England and America, only from -motives of cheapness, and the architrave was set back from the opening -only because it was unsafe to put an inflammable material so near the -fire. - -After 1800 all the best American houses contained imported marble -mantel-pieces. These usually consisted of an entablature resting on -columns or caryatides, with a frieze in low relief representing some -classic episode, or simply ornamented with bucranes and garlands. In -the general decline of taste which marked the middle of the present -century, these dignified and well-designed mantel-pieces were replaced -by marble arches containing a fixed grate. The hideousness of this -arched opening soon produced a distaste for marble mantels in the -minds of a generation unacquainted with the early designs. This -distaste led to a reaction in favor of wood, resulting in the -displacement of the architrave and the facing of the space between -architrave and opening with tiles, iron or marble. - -People are beginning to see that the ugliness of the marble -mantel-pieces of 1840-60 does not prove that wood is the more suitable -material to employ. There is indeed something of unfitness in the use -of an inflammable material surrounding a fireplace. Everything about -the hearth should not only be, but _look_, fire-proof. The chief -objection to wood is that its use necessitates the displacement of the -architrave, thus leaving a flat intermediate space to be faced with -some fire-proof material. This is an architectural fault. A door of -which the architrave should be set back eighteen inches or more to -admit of a facing of tiles or marble would be pronounced -unarchitectural; and it is usually admitted that all classes of -openings should be subject to the same general treatment. - -Where the mantel-piece is of wood, the setting back of the architrave -is a necessity; but, curiously enough, the practice has become so -common in England and America that even where the mantel is made of -marble or stone it is set back in the same way; so that it is unusual -to see a modern fireplace in which the architrave defines the opening. -In France, also, the use of an inner facing (called a _retrécissement_) -has become common, probably because such a device makes it possible to -use less fuel, while not disturbing the proportions of the mantel as -related to the room. - -The reaction from the bare stiff rooms of the first quarter of the -present century--the era of mahogany and horsehair--resulted, some -twenty years since, in a general craving for knick-knacks; and the -latter soon spread from the tables to the mantel, especially in -England and America, where the absence of the architectural -over-mantel left a bare expanse of wall above the chimney-piece. - -The use of the mantel as a bric-à-brac shelf led in time to the -lengthening and widening of this shelf, and in consequence to the -enlargement of the whole chimney-piece. - -Mantels which in the eighteenth century would have been thought in -scale with rooms of certain dimensions would now be considered too -small and insignificant. The use of large mantel-pieces, besides -throwing everything in the room out of scale, is a structural mistake, -since the excessive projection of the mantel has a tendency to make -the fire smoke; indeed, the proportions of the old mantels, far from -being arbitrary, were based as much on practical as on artistic -considerations. Moreover, the use of long, wide shelves has brought -about the accumulation of superfluous knick-knacks, whereas a smaller -mantel, if architecturally designed, would demand only its -conventional _garniture_ of clock and candlesticks. - -The device of concealing an ugly mantel-piece by folds of drapery -brings an inflammable substance so close to the fire that there is a -suggestion of danger even where there is no actual risk. The lines of -a mantel, however bad, represent some kind of solid architrave,--a -more suitable setting for an architectural opening than flimsy -festoons of brocade or plush. Any one who can afford to replace an -ugly chimney-piece by one of good design will find that this change -does more than any other to improve the appearance of a room. Where a -badly designed mantel cannot be removed, the best plan is to leave it -unfurbelowed, simply placing above it a mirror or panel to connect the -lines of the opening with the cornice. - -The effect of a fireplace depends much upon the good taste and -appropriateness of its accessories. Little attention is paid at -present to the design and workmanship of these and like necessary -appliances; yet if good of their kind they add more to the adornment -of a room than a multiplicity of useless knick-knacks. - -Andirons should be of wrought-iron, bronze or ormolu. Substances which -require constant polishing, such as steel or brass, are unfitted to a -fireplace. It is no longer easy to buy the old bronze andirons of -French or Italian design, with pedestals surmounted by statuettes of -nymph or faun, to which time has given the iridescence that modern -bronze-workers vainly try to reproduce with varnish. These bronzes, -and the old ormolu andirons, are now almost _introuvables_; but the -French artisan still copies the old models with fair success (see -Plates V and XXXVI). Andirons should not only harmonize with the -design of the mantel but also be in scale with its dimensions. In the -fireplace of a large drawing-room, boudoir andirons would look -insignificant; while the monumental Renaissance fire-dogs would dwarf -a small mantel and make its ornamentation trivial. - -If andirons are gilt, they should be of ormolu. The cheaper kinds of -gilding are neither durable nor good in tone, and plain iron is -preferable to anything but bronze or fire-gilding. The design of -shovel and tongs should accord with that of the andirons: in France -such details are never disregarded. The shovel and tongs should be -placed upright against the mantel-piece, or rest upon hooks inserted -in the architrave: the brass or gilt stands now in use are seldom well -designed. Fenders, being merely meant to protect the floor from -sparks, should be as light and easy to handle as possible: the folding -fender of wire-netting is for this reason preferable to any other, -since it may be shut and put away when not in use. The low guards of -solid brass in favor in England and America not only fail to protect -the floor, but form a permanent barrier between the fire and those who -wish to approach it; and the latter objection applies also to the -massive folding fender that is too heavy to be removed. - -Coal-scuttles, like andirons, should be made of bronze, ormolu or -iron. The unnecessary use of substances which require constant -polishing is one of the mysteries of English and American -housekeeping: it is difficult to see why a housemaid should spend -hours in polishing brass or steel fenders, andirons, coal-scuttles and -door-knobs, when all these articles might be made of some substance -that does not need daily cleaning. - -Where wood is burned, no better wood-box can be found than an old -carved chest, either one of the Italian _cassoni_, with their painted -panels and gilded volutes, or a plain box of oak or walnut with -well-designed panels and old iron hasps. The best substitute for such -a chest is a plain wicker basket, without ornamentation, enamel paint -or gilding. If an article of this kind is not really beautiful, it had -better be as obviously utilitarian as possible in design and -construction. - -A separate chapter might be devoted to the fire-screen, with its -carved frame and its panel of tapestry, needlework, or painted -arabesques. Of all the furniture of the hearth, it is that upon which -most taste and variety of invention have been spent; and any of the -numerous French works on furniture and house-decoration will supply -designs which the modern decorator might successfully reproduce (see -Plate XXII). So large is the field from which he may select his -models, that it is perhaps more to the purpose to touch upon the -styles of fire-screens to be avoided: such as the colossal brass or -ormolu fan, the stained-glass screen, the embroidered or painted -banner suspended on a gilt rod, or the stuffed bird spread out in a -broiled attitude against a plush background. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXII._ - - FRENCH FIRE-SCREEN, LOUIS XIV PERIOD. - FROM THE CHÂTEAU OF ANET.] - -In connection with the movable fire-screen, a word may be said of the -fire-boards which, until thirty or forty years ago, were used to close -the opening of the fireplace in summer. These fire-boards are now -associated with old-fashioned boarding-house parlors, where they are -still sometimes seen, covered with a paper like that on the walls, and -looking ugly enough to justify their disuse. The old fire-boards -were very different: in rooms of any importance they were beautifully -decorated, and in Italian interiors, where the dado was often painted, -the same decoration was continued on the fire-boards. Sometimes the -latter were papered; but the paper used was designed expressly for the -purpose, with a decorative composition of flowers, landscapes, or the -ever-amusing _chinoiseries_ on which the eighteenth-century designer -played such endless variations. - -Whether the fireplace in summer should be closed by a board, or left -open, with the logs laid on the irons, is a question for individual -taste; but it is certain that if the painted fire-board were revived, -it might form a very pleasing feature in the decoration of modern -rooms. The only possible objection to its use is that it interferes -with ventilation by closing the chimney-opening; but as fire-boards -are used only at a season when all the windows are open, this drawback -is hardly worth considering. - -In spite of the fancied advancement in refinement and luxury of -living, the development of the modern heating apparatus seems likely, -especially in America, to do away with the open fire. The temperature -maintained in most American houses by means of hot-air or hot-water -pipes is so high that even the slight additional warmth of a wood fire -would be unendurable. Still there are a few exceptions to this rule, -and in some houses the healthy glow of open fires is preferred to the -parching atmosphere of steam. Indeed, it might almost be said that the -good taste and _savoir-vivre_ of the inmates of a house may be guessed -from the means used for heating it. Old pictures, old furniture and -fine bindings cannot live in a furnace-baked atmosphere; and those who -possess such treasures and know their value have an additional motive -for keeping their houses cool and well ventilated. - -No house can be properly aired in winter without the draughts produced -by open fires. Fortunately, doctors are beginning to call attention to -this neglected detail of sanitation; and as dry artificial heat is the -main source of throat and lung diseases, it is to be hoped that the -growing taste for open-air life and out-door sports will bring about a -desire for better ventilation, and a dislike for air-tight stoves, -gas-fires and steam-heat. - -Aside from the question of health and personal comfort, nothing can be -more cheerless and depressing than a room without fire on a winter -day. The more torrid the room, the more abnormal is the contrast -between the cold hearth and the incandescent temperature. Without a -fire, the best-appointed drawing-room is as comfortless as the shut-up -"best parlor" of a New England farm-house. The empty fireplace shows -that the room is not really lived in and that its appearance of luxury -and comfort is but a costly sham prepared for the edification of -visitors. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[20] In Italy, where the walls were frescoed, the architectural -composition over the mantel was also frequently painted. Examples of -this are to be seen at the Villa Vertemati, near Chiavenna, and at the -Villa Giacomelli, at Maser, near Treviso. This practice accounts for -the fact that in many old architectural drawings of Italian interiors -a blank wall-space is seen over the mantel. - -[21] It is to be hoped that the recently published English translation -of M. Émile Bourgeois's book on Louis XIV will do much to remove this -prejudice. - -[22] It is curious that those who criticize the ornateness of the -Louis XIV style are often the warmest admirers of the French -Renaissance, the style of all others most remarkable for its excessive -use of ornament, exquisite in itself, but quite unrelated to structure -and independent of general design. - -[23] It is said to have been put at this height in order that the -porcelain vases should be out of reach. See Daviler, "Cours -d'Architecture." - -[24] Examples are to be seen in several rooms of the hunting-lodge of -the kings of Savoy, at Stupinigi, near Turin. - - - - -VII - -CEILINGS AND FLOORS - - -To attempt even an outline of the history of ceilings in domestic -architecture would exceed the scope of this book; nor would it serve -any practical purpose to trace the early forms of vaulting and -timbering which preceded the general adoption of the modern plastered -ceiling. To understand the development of the modern ceiling, however, -one must trace the two very different influences by which it has been -shaped: that of the timber roof of the North and that of the brick or -stone vault of the Latin builders. This twofold tradition has -curiously affected the details of the modern ceiling. During the -Renaissance, flat plaster ceilings were not infrequently coffered with -stucco panels exactly reproducing the lines of timber framing; and in -the Villa Vertemati, near Chiavenna, there is a curious and -interesting ceiling of carved wood made in imitation of stucco (see -Plate XXIII); while one of the rooms in the Palais de Justice at -Rennes contains an elaborate vaulted ceiling constructed entirely of -wood, with mouldings nailed on (see Plate XXIV). - -In northern countries, where the ceiling was simply the under side of -the wooden floor,[25] it was natural that its decoration should -follow the rectangular subdivisions formed by open timber-framing. In -the South, however, where the floors were generally of stone, resting -on stone vaults, the structural conditions were so different that -although the use of caissons based on the divisions of timber-framing -was popular both in the Roman and Renaissance periods, the architect -always felt himself free to treat the ceiling as a flat, undivided -surface prepared for the application of ornament. - -The idea that there is anything unarchitectural in this method comes -from an imperfect understanding of the construction of Roman ceilings. -The vault was the typical Roman ceiling, and the vault presents a -smooth surface, without any structural projections to modify the -ornament applied to it. The panelling of a vaulted or flat ceiling was -as likely to be agreeable to the eye as a similar treatment of the -walls; but the Roman coffered ceiling and its Renaissance successors -were the result of a strong sense of decorative fitness rather than of -any desire to adhere to structural limitations. - -Examples of the timbered ceiling are, indeed, to be found in Italy as -well as in France and England; and in Venice the flat wooden ceiling, -panelled upon structural lines, persisted throughout the Renaissance -period; but in Rome, where the classic influences were always much -stronger, and where the discovery of the stucco ceilings of ancient -baths and palaces produced such lasting effects upon the architecture -of the early Renaissance, the decorative treatment of the stone vault -was transferred to the flat or coved Renaissance ceiling without a -thought of its being inapplicable or "insincere." The fear of -insincerity, in the sense of concealing the anatomy of any part of a -building, troubled the Renaissance architect no more than it did his -Gothic predecessor, who had never hesitated to stretch a "ciel" of -cloth or tapestry over the naked timbers of the mediæval ceiling. The -duty of exposing structural forms--an obligation that weighs so -heavily upon the conscience of the modern architect--is of very recent -origin. Mediæval as well as Renaissance architects thought first of -adapting their buildings to the uses for which they were intended and -then of decorating them in such a way as to give pleasure to the eye; -and the maintenance of that relation which the eye exacts between main -structural lines and their ornamentation was the only form of -sincerity which they knew or cared about. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXIII._ - - CARVED WOODEN CEILING, VILLA VERTEMATI. - XVI CENTURY. - (SHOWING INFLUENCE OF STUCCO DECORATION.)] - -If a flat ceiling rested on a well-designed cornice, or if a vaulted -or coved ceiling sprang obviously from walls capable of supporting it, -the Italian architect did not allow himself to be hampered by any -pedantic conformity to structural details. The eye once satisfied that -the ceiling had adequate support, the fit proportioning of its -decoration was considered far more important than mere technical -fidelity to the outline of floor-beams and joists. If the Italian -decorator wished to adorn a ceiling with carved or painted panels he -used the lines of the timbering to frame his panels, because they -naturally accorded with his decorative scheme; while, were a large -central painting to be employed, or the ceiling to be covered with -reliefs in stucco, he felt no more hesitation in deviating from the -lines of the timbering than he would have felt in planning the pattern -of a mosaic or a marble floor without reference to the floor-beams -beneath it. - -In France and England it was natural that timber-construction should -long continue to regulate the design of the ceiling. The Roman vault -lined with stone caissons, or with a delicate tracery of stucco-work, -was not an ever-present precedent in northern Europe. Tradition -pointed to the open-timbered roof; and as Italy furnished numerous and -brilliant examples of decorative treatment adapted to this form of -ceiling, it was to be expected that both in France and England the -national form should be preserved long after Italian influences had -established themselves in both countries. In fact, it is interesting -to note that in France, where the artistic feeling was much finer, and -the sense of fitness and power of adaptation were more fully -developed, than in England, the lines of the timbered ceiling -persisted throughout the Renaissance and Louis XIII periods; whereas -in England the Elizabethan architects, lost in the mazes of Italian -detail, without a guiding perception of its proper application, -abandoned the timbered ceiling, with its eminently architectural -subdivisions, for a flat plaster surface over which geometrical -flowers in stucco meandered in endless sinuosities, unbroken by a -single moulding, and repeating themselves with the maddening -persistency of wall-paper pattern. This style of ornamentation was -done away with by Inigo Jones and his successors, who restored the -architectural character of the ceiling, whether flat or vaulted; and -thereafter panelling persisted in England until the French Revolution -brought about the general downfall of taste.[26] - -In France, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, the liking for -_petits appartements_ led to greater lightness in all kinds of -decorative treatment; and the ceilings of the Louis XV period, while -pleasing in detail, are open to the criticism of being somewhat weak -in form. Still, they are always _compositions_, and their light -traceries, though perhaps too dainty and fragile in themselves, are so -disposed as to form a clearly marked design, instead of being allowed -to wander in a monotonous network over the whole surface of the -ceiling, like the ubiquitous Tudor rose. Isaac Ware, trained in the -principles of form which the teachings of Inigo Jones had so deeply -impressed upon English architects, ridicules the "petty wildnesses" of -the French style; but if the Louis XV ceiling lost for a time its -architectural character, this was soon to be restored by Gabriel and -his followers, while at the same period in England the forcible -mouldings of Inigo Jones's school were fading into the ineffectual -grace of Adam's laurel-wreaths and velaria. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXIV._ - - CEILING IN THE PALAIS DE JUSTICE, RENNES. - LOUIS XIV PERIOD. - (WOODEN CEILING IMITATING MASONRY VAULTING AND STUCCO - ORNAMENTATION.)] - -In the general effect of the room, the form of the ceiling is of more -importance than its decoration. In rooms of a certain size and height, -a flat surface overhead looks monotonous, and the ceiling should be -vaulted or coved.[27] Endless modifications of this form of treatment -are to be found in the architectural treatises of the seventeenth and -eighteenth centuries, as well as in the buildings of that period. - -A coved ceiling greatly increases the apparent height of a low-studded -room; but rooms of this kind should not be treated with an order, -since the projection of the cornice below the springing of the cove -will lower the walls so much as to defeat the purpose for which the -cove has been used. In such rooms the cove should rise directly from -the walls; and this treatment suggests the important rule that where -the cove is not supported by a cornice the ceiling decoration should -be of very light character. A heavy panelled ceiling should not rest -on the walls without the intervention of a strongly profiled cornice. -The French Louis XV decoration, with its fanciful embroidery of stucco -ornament, is well suited to coved ceilings springing directly from -the walls in a room of low stud; while a ceiling divided into panels -with heavy architectural mouldings, whether it be flat or vaulted, -looks best when the walls are treated with a complete order. - -Durand, in his lectures on architecture, in speaking of cornices lays -down the following excellent rules: "Interior cornices must -necessarily differ more or less from those belonging to the orders as -used externally, though in rooms of reasonable height these -differences need be but slight; but if the stud be low, as sometimes -is inevitable, the cornice must be correspondingly narrowed, and given -an excessive projection, in order to increase the apparent height of -the room. Moreover, as in the interior of the house the light is much -less bright than outside, the cornice should be so profiled that the -juncture of the mouldings shall form not right angles, but acute -angles, with spaces between the mouldings serving to detach the latter -still more clearly from each other." - -The choice of the substance out of which a ceiling is to be made -depends somewhat upon the dimensions of the room, the height of the -stud and the decoration of the walls. A heavily panelled wooden -ceiling resting upon walls either frescoed or hung with stuff is -likely to seem oppressive; but, as in all other kinds of decoration, -the effect produced depends far more upon the form and the choice of -ornamental detail than upon the material used. Wooden ceilings, -however, both from the nature of the construction and the kind of -ornament which may most suitably be applied to them, are of necessity -rather heavy in appearance, and should therefore be used only in large -and high-studded rooms the walls of which are panelled in wood.[28] - -Stucco and fresco-painting are adapted to every variety of decoration, -from the light traceries of a boudoir ceiling to the dome of the -_salon à l'Italienne_; but the design must be chosen with strict -regard to the size and height of the room and to the proposed -treatment of its walls. The cornice forms the connecting link between -walls and ceiling and it is essential to the harmony of any scheme of -decoration that this important member should be carefully designed. It -is useless to lavish money on the adornment of walls and ceiling -connected by an ugly cornice. - -The same objections extend to the clumsy plaster mouldings which in -many houses disfigure the ceiling. To paint or gild a ceiling of this -kind only attracts attention to its ugliness. When the expense of -removing the mouldings and filling up the holes in the plaster is -considered too great, it is better to cover the bulbous rosettes and -pendentives with kalsomine than to attempt their embellishment by -means of any polychrome decoration. The cost of removing plaster -ornaments is not great, however, and a small outlay will replace an -ugly cornice by one of architectural design; so that a little economy -in buying window-hangings or chair-coverings often makes up for the -additional expense of these changes. One need only look at the -ceilings in the average modern house to see what a thing of horror -plaster may become in the hands of an untrained "designer." - -The same general principles of composition suggested for the treatment -of walls may be applied to ceiling-decoration. Thus it is essential -that where there is a division of parts, one part shall perceptibly -predominate; and this, in a ceiling, should be the central division. -The chief defect of the coffered Renaissance ceiling is the lack of -this predominating part. Great as may have been the decorative skill -expended on the treatment of beams and panels, the coffered ceiling -of equal-sized divisions seems to press down upon the spectator's -head; whereas the large central panel gives an idea of height that the -great ceiling-painters were quick to enhance by glimpses of cloud and -sky, or some aerial effect, as in Mantegna's incomparable ceiling of -the Sala degli Sposi in the ducal palace of Mantua. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXV._ - - CEILING OF THE SALA DEGLI SPOSI, DUCAL PALACE, MANTUA. - BY ANDREA MANTEGNA, 1474.] - -Ceiling-decoration should never be a literal reproduction of -wall-decoration. The different angle and greater distance at which -ceilings are viewed demand a quite different treatment and it is to -the disregard of this fact that most badly designed ceilings owe their -origin. Even in the high days of art there was a tendency on the part -of some decorators to confound the two plane surfaces of wall and -ceiling, and one might cite many wall-designs which have been -transferred to the ceiling without being rearranged to fit their new -position. Instances of this kind have never been so general as in the -present day. The reaction from the badly designed mouldings and -fungoid growths that characterized the ceilings of forty years ago has -led to the use of attenuated laurel-wreaths combined with other puny -attributes taken from Sheraton cabinets and Adam mantel-pieces. These -so-called ornaments, always somewhat lacking in character, become -absolutely futile when viewed from below. - -This pressed-flower ornamentation is a direct precedent to the modern -ceiling covered with wall-paper. One would think that the -inappropriateness of this treatment was obvious; but since it has -become popular enough to warrant the manufacture of specially designed -ceiling-papers, some protest should be made. The necessity for hiding -cracks in the plaster is the reason most often given for papering -ceilings; but the cost of mending cracks is small and a plaster -ceiling lasts much longer than is generally thought. It need never -be taken down unless it is actually falling; and as well-made repairs -strengthen and improve the entire surface, a much-mended ceiling is -stronger than one that is just beginning to crack. If the cost of -repairing must be avoided, a smooth white lining-paper should be -chosen in place of one of the showy and vulgar papers which serve only -to attract attention. - -Of all forms of ceiling adornment painting is the most beautiful. -Italy, which contains the three perfect ceilings of the world--those -of Mantegna in the ducal palace of Mantua (see Plate XXV), of Perugino -in the Sala del Cambio at Perugia and of Araldi in the Convent of St. -Paul at Parma--is the best field for the study of this branch of art. -From the semi-classical vaults of the fifteenth century, with their -Roman arabesques and fruit-garlands framing human figures detached as -mere ornament against a background of solid color, to the massive -goddesses and broad Virgilian landscapes of the Carracci and to the -piled-up perspectives of Giordano's school of prestidigitators, -culminating in the great Tiepolo, Italian art affords examples of -every temperament applied to the solution of one of the most -interesting problems in decoration. - -Such ceilings as those on which Raphael and Giovanni da Udine worked -together, combining painted arabesques and medallions with stucco -reliefs, are admirably suited to small low-studded rooms and might -well be imitated by painters incapable of higher things. - -There is but one danger in adapting this decoration to modern -use--that is, the temptation to sacrifice scale and general -composition to the search after refinement of detail. It cannot be -denied that some of the decorations of the school of Giovanni da Udine -are open to this criticism. The ornamentation of the great loggia of -the Villa Madama is unquestionably out of scale with the dimensions -of the structure. Much exquisite detail is lost in looking up past the -great piers and the springing of the massive arches to the lace-work -that adorns the vaulting. In this case the composition is less at -fault than the scale: the decorations of the semi-domes at the Villa -Madama, if transferred to a small mezzanin room, would be found to -"compose" perfectly. Charming examples of the use of this style in -small apartments may be studied in the rooms of the Casino del Grotto, -near Mantua. - -The tendency of many modern decorators to sacrifice composition to -detail, and to neglect the observance of proportion between ornament -and structure, makes the adaptation of Renaissance stucco designs a -somewhat hazardous undertaking; but the very care required to preserve -the scale and to accentuate the general lines of the design affords -good training in the true principles of composition. - -Equally well suited to modern use are the designs in arabesque with -which, in France, Bérain and his followers painted the ceilings of -small rooms during the Louis XIV period (see Plate XXVI). With the -opening of the eighteenth century the Bérain arabesques, animated by -the touch of Watteau, Huet and J.-B. Leprince, blossomed into -trellis-like designs alive with birds and monkeys, Chinese mandarins -balancing umbrellas, and nymphs and shepherdesses under slender -classical ruins. Side by side with the monumental work of such artists -as Lebrun and Lesueur, Coypel, Vouet and Natoire, this light style of -composition was always in favor for the decoration of _petits -appartements_: the most famous painters of the day did not think it -beneath them to furnish designs for such purposes (see Plate XXVII). - -In moderate-sized rooms which are to be decorated in a simple and -inexpensive manner, a plain plaster ceiling with well-designed -cornice is preferable to any device for producing showy effects at -small cost. It may be laid down as a general rule in house-decoration -that what must be done cheaply should be done simply. It is better to -pay for the best plastering than to use a cheaper quality and then to -cover the cracks with lincrusta or ceiling-paper. This is true of all -such expedients: let the fundamental work be good in design and -quality and the want of ornament will not be felt. - -In America the return to a more substantial way of building and the -tendency to discard wood for brick or stone whenever possible will -doubtless lead in time to the use of brick, stone or marble floors. -These floors, associated in the minds of most Americans with shivering -expeditions through damp Italian palaces, are in reality perfectly -suited to the dry American climate, and even the most anæmic person -could hardly object to brick or marble covered by heavy rugs. - -The inlaid marble floors of the Italian palaces, whether composed of -square or diamond-shaped blocks, or decorated with a large design in -different colors, are unsurpassed in beauty; while in high-studded -rooms where there is little pattern on the walls and a small amount of -furniture, elaborately designed mosaic floors with sweeping arabesques -and geometrical figures are of great decorative value. - -Floors of these substances have the merit of being not only more -architectural in character, more solid and durable, but also easier to -keep clean. This should especially commend them to the -hygienically-minded American housekeeper, since floors that may be -washed are better suited to our climate than those which must be -covered with a nailed-down carpet. - -Next in merit to brick or marble comes the parquet of oak or other -hard wood; but even this looks inadequate in rooms of great -architectural importance. In ball-rooms a hard-wood floor is generally -regarded as a necessity; but in vestibule, staircase, dining-room or -saloon, marble is superior to anything else. The design of the parquet -floor should be simple and unobtrusive. The French, who brought this -branch of floor-laying to perfection, would never have tolerated the -crudely contrasted woods that make the modern parquet so aggressive. -Like the walls of a room, the floor is a background: it should not -furnish pattern, but set off whatever is placed upon it. The -perspective effects dear to the modern floor-designer are the climax -of extravagance. A floor should not only be, but appear to be, a -perfectly level surface, without simulated bosses or concavities. - -In choosing rugs and carpets the subject of design should be carefully -studied. The Oriental carpet-designers have always surpassed their -European rivals. The patterns of Eastern rugs are invariably well -composed, with skilfully conventionalized figures in flat unshaded -colors. Even the Oriental rug of the present day is well drawn; but -the colors used by Eastern manufacturers since the introduction of -aniline dyes are so discordant that these rugs are inferior to most -modern European carpets. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXVI._ - - CEILING IN THE STYLE OF BÉRAIN. - LOUIS XIV PERIOD.] - -In houses with deal floors, nailed-down carpets are usually considered -a necessity, and the designing of such carpets has improved so much in -the last ten or fifteen years that a sufficient choice of unobtrusive -geometrical patterns may now be found. The composition of European -carpets woven in one piece, like rugs, has never been satisfactory. -Even the splendid _tapis de Savonnerie_ made in France at the royal -manufactory during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were not -so true to the best principles of design as the old Oriental rugs. In -Europe there was always a tendency to transfer wall or ceiling-decoration -to floor-coverings. Such incongruities as architectural mouldings, -highly modelled trophies and human masks appear in most of the -European carpets from the time of Louis XIV to the present day; and -except when copying Eastern models the European designers were subject -to strange lapses from taste. There is no reason why a painter should -not simulate loggia and sky on a flat plaster ceiling, since no one -will try to use this sham opening as a means of exit; but the -carpet-designer who puts picture-frames and human faces under foot, -though he does not actually deceive, produces on the eye a momentary -startling sense of obstruction. Any _trompe-l'oeil_ is permissible in -decorative art if it gives an impression of pleasure; but the inherent -sense of fitness is shocked by the act of walking upon upturned faces. - -Recent carpet-designs, though usually free from such obvious -incongruities, have seldom more than a negative merit. The -unconventionalized flower still shows itself, and even when banished -from the centre of the carpet lingers in the border which accompanies -it. The vulgarity of these borders is the chief objection to using -carpets of European manufacture as rugs, instead of nailing them to -the floor. It is difficult to find a border that is not too wide, and -of which the design is a simple conventional figure in flat unshaded -colors. If used at all, a carpet with a border should always be in the -form of a rug, laid in the middle of the room, and not cut to follow -all the ins and outs of the floor, as such adaptation not only narrows -the room but emphasizes any irregularity in its plan. - -In houses with deal floors, where nailed-down carpets are used in all -the rooms, a restful effect is produced by covering the whole of each -story with the same carpet, the door-sills being removed so that the -carpet may extend from one room to another. In small town houses, -especially, this will be found much less fatiguing to the eye than the -usual manner of covering the floor of each room with carpets differing -in color and design. - -Where several rooms are carpeted alike, the floor-covering chosen -should be quite plain, or patterned with some small geometrical figure -in a darker shade of the foundation color; and green, dark blue or red -will be found most easy to combine with the different color-schemes of -the rooms. - -Pale tints should be avoided in the selection of carpets. It is better -that the color-scale should ascend gradually from the dark tone of -floor or carpet to the faint half-tints of the ceiling. The opposite -combination--that of a pale carpet with a dark ceiling--lowers the -stud and produces an impression of top-heaviness and gloom; indeed, in -a room where the ceiling is overladen, a dark rich-toned carpet will -do much to lighten it, whereas a pale floor-covering will bring it -down, as it were, on the inmates' heads. - -Stair-carpets should be of a strong full color and, if possible, -without pattern. It is fatiguing to see a design meant for a -horizontal surface constrained to follow the ins and outs of a flight -of steps; and the use of pattern where not needed is always -meaningless, and interferes with a decided color-effect where the -latter might have been of special advantage to the general scheme of -decoration. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXVII._ - - CEILING IN THE CHÂTEAU OF CHANTILLY. - LOUIS XV PERIOD. - (EXAMPLE OF CHINOISERIE DECORATION.)] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[25] In France, until the sixteenth century, the same -word--_plancher_--was used to designate both floor and ceiling. - -[26] For a fine example of an English stucco ceiling, see Plate XIII. - -[27] The flat Venetian ceilings, such as those in the ducal palace, -with their richly carved wood-work and glorious paintings, beautiful -as they have been made by art, are not so fine architecturally as a -domed or coved ceiling. - -[28] For an example of a wooden ceiling which is too heavy for the -wall-decoration below it, see Plate XLIV. - - - - -VIII - -ENTRANCE AND VESTIBULE - - -The decoration of the entrance necessarily depends on the nature of -the house and its situation. A country house, where visitors are few -and life is simple, demands a less formal treatment than a house in a -city or town; while a villa in a watering-place where there is much in -common with town life has necessarily many points of resemblance to a -town house. - -It should be borne in mind of entrances in general that, while the -main purpose of a door is to admit, its secondary purpose is to -exclude. The outer door, which separates the hall or vestibule from -the street, should clearly proclaim itself an effectual barrier. It -should look strong enough to give a sense of security, and be so plain -in design as to offer no chance of injury by weather and give no -suggestion of interior decoration. - -The best ornamentation for an entrance-door is simple panelling, with -bold architectural mouldings and as little decorative detail as -possible. The necessary ornament should be contributed by the design -of locks, hinges and handles. These, like the door itself, should be -strong and serviceable, with nothing finikin in their treatment, and -made of a substance which does not require cleaning. For the latter -reason, bronze and iron are more fitting than brass or steel. - -In treating the vestibule, careful study is required to establish a -harmony between the decorative elements inside and outside the house. -The vestibule should form a natural and easy transition from the plain -architecture of the street to the privacy of the interior (see Plate -XXVIII). - -No portion of the inside of the house being more exposed to the -weather, great pains should be taken to avoid using in its decoration -materials easily damaged by rain or dust, such as carpets or -wall-paper. The decoration should at once produce the impression of -being weather-proof. - -Marble, stone, scagliola, or painted stucco are for this reason the -best materials. If wood is used, it should be painted, as dust and -dirt soon soil it, and unless its finish be water-proof it will -require continual varnishing. The decorations of the vestibule should -be as permanent as possible in character, in order to avoid incessant -small repairs. - -The floor should be of stone, marble, or tiles; even a linoleum or -oil-cloth of sober pattern is preferable to a hard-wood floor in so -exposed a situation. For the same reason, it is best to treat the -walls with a decoration of stone or marble. In simpler houses the same -effect may be produced at much less cost by dividing the wall-spaces -into panels, with wooden mouldings applied directly to the plaster, -the whole being painted in oil, either in one uniform tint or in -varying shades of some cold sober color. This subdued color-scheme -will produce an agreeable contrast with the hall or staircase, which, -being a degree nearer the centre of the house, should receive a gayer -and more informal treatment than the vestibule. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXVIII._ - - ANTECHAMBER IN THE VILLA CAMBIASO, GENOA. - BUILT BY ALESSI, XVI CENTURY.] - -The vestibule usually has two doors: an outer one opening toward the -street and an inner one giving into the hall; but when the outer is -entirely of wood, without glass, and must therefore be left open -during the day, the vestibule is usually subdivided by an inner glass -door placed a few feet from the entrance. This arrangement has the -merit of keeping the house warm and of affording a shelter to the -servants who, during an entertainment, are usually compelled to wait -outside. The French architect always provides an antechamber for this -purpose. - -No furniture which is easily soiled or damaged, or difficult to keep -clean, is appropriate in a vestibule. In large and imposing houses -marble or stone benches and tables should be used, and the -ornamentation may consist of statues, vases, or busts on pedestals -(see Plate XXIX). When the decoration is simpler and wooden benches -are used, they should resemble those made for French gardens, with -seats of one piece of wood, or of broad thick slats; while in small -vestibules, benches and chairs with cane seats are appropriate. - -The excellent reproductions of Robbia ware made by Cantagalli of -Florence look well against painted walls; while plaster or terra-cotta -bas-reliefs are less expensive and equally decorative, especially -against a pale-blue or green background. - -The lantern, the traditional form of fixture for lighting vestibules, -is certainly the best in so exposed a situation; and though where -electric light is used draughts need not be considered, the sense of -fitness requires that a light in such a position should always have -the semblance of being protected. - - - - -IX - -HALL AND STAIRS - - -What is technically known as the staircase (in German the -_Treppenhaus_) has, in our lax modern speech, come to be designated as -the hall. - -In Gwilt's _Encyclopedia of Architecture_ the staircase is defined as -"that part or subdivision of a building containing the stairs which -enable people to ascend or descend from one floor to another"; while -the hall is described as follows: "The first large apartment on -entering a house.... In magnificent edifices, where the hall is larger -and loftier than usual, and is placed in the middle of the house, it -is called a saloon; and a royal apartment consists of a hall, or -chamber of guards, etc." - -It is clear that, in the technical acceptance of the term, a hall is -something quite different from a staircase; yet the two words were -used interchangeably by so early a writer as Isaac Ware, who, in his -_Complete Body of Architecture_, published in 1756, continually speaks -of the staircase as the hall. This confusion of terms is difficult to -explain, for in early times the staircase was as distinct from the -hall as it continued to be in France and Italy, and, with rare -exceptions, in England also, until the present century. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXIX._ - - ANTECHAMBER IN THE DURAZZO PALACE, GENOA. - DECORATED BY TORRIGIANI. LATE XVIII CENTURY.] - -In glancing over the plans of the feudal dwellings of northern Europe -it will be seen that, far from being based on any definite -conception, they were made up of successive accretions about the -nobleman's keep. The first room to attach itself to the keep was the -"hall," a kind of microcosm in which sleeping, eating, entertaining -guests and administering justice succeeded each other or went on -simultaneously. In the course of time various rooms, such as the -parlor, the kitchen, the offices, the muniment-room and the lady's -bower, were added to the primitive hall; but these were rather -incidental necessities than parts of an organized scheme of -planning.[29] In this agglomeration of apartments the stairs found a -place where they could. Space being valuable, they were generally -carried up spirally in the thickness of the wall, or in an -angle-turret. Owing to enforced irregularity of plan, and perhaps to -the desire to provide numerous separate means of access to the -different parts of the dwelling, each castle usually contained several -staircases, no one of which was more important than the others. - -It was in Italy that stairs first received attention as a feature in -the general composition of the house. There, from the outset, all the -conditions had been different. The domestic life of the upper classes -having developed from the eleventh century onward in the comparative -security of the walled town, it was natural that house-planning should -be less irregular,[30] and that more regard should be given to -considerations of comfort and dignity. In early Italian palaces the -stairs either ascended through the open central _cortile_ to an -arcaded gallery on the first floor, as in the Gondi palace and the -Bargello at Florence, or were carried up in straight flights between -walls.[31] This was, in fact, the usual way of building stairs in -Italy until the end of the fifteenth century. These enclosed stairs -usually started near the vaulted entranceway leading from the street -to the _cortile_. Gradually the space at the foot of the stairs, which -at first was small, increased in size and in importance of decorative -treatment; while the upper landing opened into an antechamber which -became the centre of the principal suite of apartments. With the -development of the Palladian style, the whole staircase (provided the -state apartments were not situated on the ground floor) assumed more -imposing dimensions; though it was not until a much later date that -the monumental staircase so often regarded as one of the chief -features of the Italian Renaissance began to be built. Indeed, a -detailed examination of the Italian palaces shows that even in the -seventeenth and eighteenth centuries such staircases as were built by -Fontana in the royal palace at Naples, by Juvara in the Palazzo Madama -at Turin and by Vanvitelli at Caserta, were seen only in royal -palaces. Even Morelli's staircase in the Braschi palace in Rome, -magnificent as it is, hardly reaches the popular conception of the -Italian state staircase--a conception probably based rather upon the -great open stairs of the Genoese _cortili_ than upon any actually -existing staircases. It is certain that until late in the seventeenth -century (as Bernini's Vatican staircase shows) inter-mural stairs were -thought grand enough for the most splendid palaces of Italy (see Plate -XXX). - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXX._ - - STAIRCASE IN THE PARODI PALACE, GENOA. - XVI CENTURY. - (SHOWING INTER-MURAL STAIRS AND MARBLE FLOOR.)] - -The spiral staircase, soon discarded by Italian architects save as -a means of secret communication or for the use of servants, held -its own in France throughout the Renaissance. Its structural -difficulties afforded scope for the exercise of that marvellous, if -sometimes superfluous, ingenuity which distinguished the Gothic -builders. The spiral staircase in the court-yard at Blois is an -example of this kind of skilful engineering and of the somewhat -fatiguing use of ornament not infrequently accompanying it; while such -anomalies as the elaborate out-of-door spiral staircase enclosed -within the building at Chambord are still more in the nature of a -_tour de force_,--something perfect in itself, but not essential to -the organism of the whole. - -Viollet-le-Duc, in his dictionary of architecture, under the heading -_Château_, has given a sympathetic and ingenious explanation of the -tenacity with which the French aristocracy clung to the obsolete -complications of Gothic house-planning and structure long after -frequent expeditions across the Alps had made them familiar with the -simpler and more rational method of the Italian architects. It may be, -as he suggests, that centuries of feudal life, with its surface of -savagery and violence and its undercurrent treachery, had fostered in -the nobles of northern Europe a desire for security and isolation that -found expression in the intricate planning of their castles long after -the advance of civilization had made these precautions unnecessary. It -seems more probable, however, that the French architects of the -Renaissance made the mistake of thinking that the essence of the -classic styles lay in the choice and application of ornamental -details. This exaggerated estimate of the importance of detail is very -characteristic of an imperfect culture; and the French architects who -in the fifteenth century were eagerly taking their first lessons from -their contemporaries south of the Alps, had behind them nothing like -the great synthetic tradition of the Italian masters. Certainly it -was not until the Northern builders learned that the beauty of the old -buildings was, above all, a matter of proportion, that their own -style, freed from its earlier incoherencies, set out on the line of -unbroken national development which it followed with such harmonious -results until the end of the eighteenth century. - -In Italy the staircase often gave directly upon the entranceway; in -France it was always preceded by a vestibule, and the upper landing -invariably led into an antechamber. - -In England the relation between vestibule, hall and staircase was -never so clearly established as on the Continent. The old English -hall, so long the centre of feudal life, preserved its somewhat -composite character after the _grand'salle_ of France and Italy had -been broken up into the vestibule, the guard-room and the saloon. In -the grandest Tudor houses the entrance-door usually opened directly -into this hall. To obtain in some measure the privacy which a -vestibule would have given, the end of the hall nearest the -entrance-door was often cut off by a screen that supported the -musicians' gallery. The corridor formed by this screen led to the -staircase, usually placed behind the hall, and the gallery opened on -the first landing of the stairs. This use of the screen at one end of -the hall had so strong a hold upon English habits that it was never -quite abandoned. Even after French architecture and house-planning had -come into fashion in the eighteenth century, a house with a vestibule -remained the rarest of exceptions in England; and the relative privacy -afforded by the Gothic screen was then lost by substituting for the -latter an open arcade, of great decorative effect, but ineffectual in -shutting off the hall from the front door. - -The introduction of the Palladian style by Inigo Jones transformed -the long and often narrow Tudor hall into the many-storied central -saloon of the Italian villa, with galleries reached by concealed -staircases, and lofty domed ceiling; but it was still called the hall, -it still served as a vestibule, or means of access to the rest of the -house, and, curiously enough, it usually adjoined another apartment, -often of the same dimensions, called a saloon. Perhaps the best way of -defining the English hall of this period is to say that it was really -an Italian saloon, but that it was used as a vestibule and called a -hall. - -Through all these changes the staircase remained shut off from the -hall, upon which it usually opened. It was very unusual, except in -small middle-class houses or suburban villas, to put the stairs in the -hall, or, more correctly speaking, to make the front door open into -the staircase. There are, however, several larger houses in which the -stairs are built in the hall. Inigo Jones, in remodelling Castle Ashby -for the Earl of Northampton, followed this plan; though this is -perhaps not a good instance to cite, as it may have been difficult to -find place for a separate staircase. At Chevening, in Kent, built by -Inigo Jones for the Earl of Sussex, the stairs are also in the hall; -and the same arrangement is seen at Shobden Court, at West Wycombe, -built by J. Donowell for Lord le Despencer (where the stairs are shut -off by a screen) and at Hurlingham, built late in the eighteenth -century by G. Byfield. - -This digression has been made in order to show the origin of the -modern English and American practice of placing the stairs in the hall -and doing away with the vestibule. The vestibule never formed part of -the English house, but the stairs were usually divided from the hall -in houses of any importance; and it is difficult to see whence the -modern architect has derived his idea of the combined hall and -staircase. The tendency to merge into one any two apartments designed -for different uses shows a retrogression in house-planning; and while -it is fitting that the vestibule or hall should adjoin the staircase, -there is no good reason for uniting them and there are many for -keeping them apart. - -The staircase in a private house is for the use of those who inhabit -it; the vestibule or hall is necessarily used by persons in no way -concerned with the private life of the inmates. If the stairs, the -main artery of the house, be carried up through the vestibule, there -is no security from intrusion. Even the plan of making the vestibule -precede the staircase, though better, is not the best. In a properly -planned house the vestibule should open on a hall or antechamber of -moderate size, giving access to the rooms on the ground floor, and -this antechamber should lead into the staircase. It is only in houses -where all the living-rooms are up-stairs that the vestibule may open -directly into the staircase without lessening the privacy of the -house. - -In Italy, where wood was little employed in domestic architecture, -stairs were usually of stone. Marble came into general use in the -grander houses when, in the seventeenth century, the stairs, instead -of being carried up between walls, were often placed in an open -staircase. The balustrade was usually of stone or marble, iron being -much less used than in France. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXXI._ - - STAIRCASE OF THE HÔTEL DE VILLE, NANCY. - LOUIS XV PERIOD. - BUILT BY HÉRÉ DE CORNY; STAIR-RAIL BY JEAN LAMOUR.] - -In the latter country the mediæval stairs, especially in the houses of -the middle class, were often built of wood; but this material was soon -abandoned, and from the time of Louis XIV stairs of stone with -wrought-iron rails are a distinctive feature of French domestic -architecture. The use of wrought-iron in French decoration received a -strong impulse from the genius of Jean Lamour, who, when King -Stanislas of Poland remodelled the town of Nancy early in the reign of -Louis XV, adorned its streets and public buildings with specimens -of iron-work unmatched in any other part of the world. Since then -French decorators have expended infinite talent in devising the -beautiful stair-rails and balconies which are the chief ornament of -innumerable houses throughout France (see Plates XXXI and XXXII). - -Stair-rails of course followed the various modifications of taste -which marked the architecture of the day. In the seventeenth and early -eighteenth centuries they were noted for severe richness of design. -With the development of the rocaille manner their lines grew lighter -and more fanciful, while the influence of Gabriel, which, toward the -end of the reign of Louis XV, brought about a return to classic -models, manifested itself in a simplified mode of treatment. At this -period the outline of a classic baluster formed a favorite motive for -the iron rail. Toward the close of the eighteenth century the designs -for these rails grew thin and poor, with a predominance of upright -iron bars divided at long intervals by some meagre medallion or -geometrical figure. The exuberant sprays and volutes of the rococo -period and the architectural lines of the Louis XVI style were alike -absent from these later designs, which are chiefly marked by the -negative merit of inoffensiveness. - -In the old French stair-rails steel was sometimes combined with gilded -iron. The famous stair-rail of the Palais Royal, designed by Coutant -d'Ivry, is made of steel and iron, and the Duc d'Aumale copied this -combination in the stair-rail at Chantilly. There is little to -recommend the substitution of steel for iron in such cases. It is -impossible to keep a steel stair-rail clean and free from rust, except -by painting it; and since it must be painted, iron is the more -suitable material. - -In France the iron rail is usually painted black, though a very dark -blue is sometimes preferred. Black is the better color, as it forms a -stronger contrast with the staircase walls, which are presumably -neutral in tint and severe in treatment. Besides, as iron is painted, -not to improve its appearance, but to prevent its rusting, the color -which most resembles its own is more appropriate. In French houses of -a certain importance the iron stair-rail often had a few touches of -gilding, but these were sparingly applied. - -In England wooden stair-rails were in great favor during the Tudor and -Elizabethan period. These rails were marked rather by fanciful -elaboration of detail than by intrinsic merit of design, and are -doubtless more beautiful now that time has given them its patina, than -they were when first made. - -With the Palladian style came the classic balustrade of stone or -marble, or sometimes, in simpler houses, of wood. Iron rails were -seldom used in England, and those to be found in some of the great -London houses (as in Carlton House, Chesterfield House and Norfolk -House) were probably due to the French influence which made itself -felt in English domestic architecture during the eighteenth century. -This influence, however, was never more than sporadic; and until the -decline of decorative art at the close of the eighteenth century, -Italian rather than French taste gave the note to English decoration. - -The interrelation of vestibule, hall and staircase having been -explained, the subject of decorative detail must next be considered; -but before turning to this, it should be mentioned that hereafter the -space at the foot of the stairs, though properly a part of the -staircase, will for the sake of convenience be called _the hall_, -since in the present day it goes by that name in England and America. - -In contrasting the vestibule with the hall, it was pointed out that -the latter might be treated in a gayer and more informal manner than -the former. It must be remembered, however, that as the vestibule is -the introduction to the hall, so the hall is the introduction to the -living-rooms of the house; and it follows that the hall must be as -much more formal than the living-rooms as the vestibule is more formal -than the hall. It is necessary to emphasize this because the tendency -of recent English and American decoration has been to treat the hall, -not as a hall, but as a living-room. Whatever superficial attractions -this treatment may possess, its inappropriateness will be seen when -the purpose of the hall is considered. The hall is a means of access -to all the rooms on each floor; on the ground floor it usually leads -to the chief living-rooms of the house as well as to the vestibule and -street; in addition to this, in modern houses even of some importance -it generally contains the principal stairs of the house, so that it is -the centre upon which every part of the house directly or indirectly -opens. This publicity is increased by the fact that the hall must be -crossed by the servant who opens the front door, and by any one -admitted to the house. It follows that the hall, in relation to the -rooms of the house, is like a public square in relation to the private -houses around it. For some reason this obvious fact has been ignored -by many recent decorators, who have chosen to treat halls like rooms -of the most informal character, with open fireplaces, easy-chairs for -lounging and reading, tables with lamps, books and magazines, and all -the appointments of a library. This disregard of the purpose of the -hall, like most mistakes in household decoration, has a very natural -origin. When, in the first reaction from the discomfort and formality -of sixty years ago, people began, especially in England, to study the -arrangement of the old Tudor and Elizabethan houses, many of these -were found to contain large panelled halls opening directly upon the -porch or the terrace. The mellow tones of the wood-work; the bold -treatment of the stairs, shut off as they were merely by a screen; the -heraldic imagery of the hooded stone chimney-piece and of the carved -or stuccoed ceiling, made these halls the chief feature of the house; -while the rooms opening from them were so often insufficient for the -requirements of modern existence, that the life of the inmates -necessarily centred in the hall. Visitors to such houses saw only the -picturesqueness of the arrangement--the huge logs glowing on the -hearth, the books and flowers on the old carved tables, the family -portraits on the walls; and, charmed with the impression received, -they ordered their architects to reproduce for them a hall which, even -in the original Tudor houses, was a survival of older social -conditions. - -One might think that the recent return to classic forms of -architecture would have done away with the Tudor hall; but, except in -a few instances, this has not been the case. In fact, in the greater -number of large houses, and especially of country houses, built in -America since the revival of Renaissance and Palladian architecture, a -large many-storied hall communicating directly with the vestibule, and -containing the principal stairs of the house, has been the distinctive -feature. If there were any practical advantages in this overgrown -hall, it might be regarded as one of those rational modifications in -plan which mark the difference between an unreasoning imitation of a -past style and the intelligent application of its principles; but the -Tudor hall, in its composite character as vestibule, parlor and -dining-room, is only another instance of the sacrifice of convenience -to archaism. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXXII._ - - STAIRCASE IN THE PALACE OF FONTAINEBLEAU. - LOUIS XV PERIOD.] - -The abnormal development of the modern staircase-hall cannot be -defended on the plea sometimes advanced that it is a roofed-in -adaptation of the great open _cortile_ of the Genoese palace, since -there is no reason for adapting a plan so useless and so unsuited to -our climate and way of living. The beautiful central _cortile_ of the -Italian palace, with its monumental open stairs, was in no sense part -of a "private house" in our interpretation of the term. It was rather -a thoroughfare like a public street, since the various stories of the -Italian palace were used as separate houses by different branches of -the family. - -In most modern houses the hall, in spite of its studied resemblance to -a living-room, soon reverts to its original use as a passageway; and -this fact should indicate the treatment best suited to it. In rooms -where people sit, and where they are consequently at leisure to look -about them, delicacy of treatment and refinement of detail are -suitable; but in an anteroom or a staircase only the first impression -counts, and forcible simple lines, with a vigorous massing of light -and shade, are essential. These conditions point to the use of severe -strongly-marked panelling, niches for vases or statues, and a -stair-rail detaching itself from the background in vigorous decisive -lines.[32] - -The furniture of the hall should consist of benches or straight-backed -chairs, and marble-topped tables and consoles. If a press is used, it -should be architectural in design, like the old French and Italian -_armoires_ painted with arabesques and architectural motives, or the -English seventeenth-century presses made of some warm-toned wood like -walnut and surmounted by a broken pediment with a vase or bust in the -centre (see Plate XXXIII). - -The walls of the staircase in large houses should be of panelled stone -or marble, as in the examples given in the plates accompanying this -chapter. - -In small houses, where an expensive decoration is out of the question, -a somewhat similar architectural effect may be obtained by the use of -a few plain mouldings fixed to the plaster, the whole being painted in -one uniform tint, or in two contrasting colors, such as white for the -mouldings, and buff, gray, or pale green for the wall. To this scheme -may be added plaster medallions, as suggested for the vestibule, or -garlands and other architectural motives made of staff, in imitation -of the stucco ornaments of the old French and Italian decorators. When -such ornaments are used, they should invariably be simple and strong -in design. The modern decorator is too often tempted by mere -prettiness of detail to forget the general effect of his composition. -In a staircase, where only the general effect is seized, prettiness -does not count, and the effect produced should be strong, clear and -telling. - -For the same reason, a stair-carpet, if used, should be of one color, -without pattern. Masses of plain color are one of the chief means of -producing effect in any scheme of decoration. - -When the floor of the hall is of marble or mosaic,--as, if possible, -it should be,--the design, like that of the walls, should be clear and -decided in outline (see Plate XXX). On the other hand, if the hall is -used as an antechamber and carpeted, the carpet should be of one -color, matching that on the stairs. - -In many large houses the stairs are now built of stone or marble, while -the floor of the landings is laid in wood, apparently owing to the -idea that stone or marble floors are cold. In the tropically-heated -American house not even the most sensitive person could be chilled by -passing contact with a stone floor; but if it is thought to "look -cold," it is better to lay a rug or a strip of carpet on the landing -than to permit the proximity of two such different substances as wood -and stone. - -Unless the stairs are of wood, that material should never be used for -the rail; nor should wooden stairs be put in a staircase of which the -walls are of stone, marble, or scagliola. If the stairs are of wood, -it is better to treat the walls with wood or plaster panelling. In -simple staircases the best wall-decoration is a wooden dado-moulding -nailed on the plaster, the dado thus formed being painted white, and -the wall above it in any uniform color. Continuous pattern, such as -that on paper or stuff hangings, is specially objectionable on the -walls of a staircase, since it disturbs the simplicity of composition -best fitted to this part of the house. - -For the lighting of the hall there should be a lantern like that in -the vestibule, but more elaborate in design. This mode of lighting -harmonizes with the severe treatment of the walls and indicates at -once that the hall is not a living-room, but a thoroughfare.[33] - -If lights be required on the stairs, they should take the form of -fire-gilt bronze sconces, as architectural as possible in design, -without any finikin prettiness of detail. (For good examples, see the -_appliques_ in Plates V and XXXIV). It is almost impossible to obtain -well-designed _appliques_ of this kind in America; but the increasing -interest shown in house-decoration will in time doubtless cause a -demand for a better type of gas and electric fixtures. Meantime, -unless imported sconces can be obtained, the plainest brass fixtures -should be chosen in preference to the more elaborate models now to be -found here. - -Where the walls of a hall are hung with pictures, these should be few -in number, and decorative in composition and coloring. No subject -requiring thought and study is suitable in such a position. The -mythological or architectural compositions of the Italian and French -schools of the last two centuries, with their superficial graces of -color and design, are for this reason well suited to the walls of -halls and antechambers. - -The same may be said of prints. These should not be used in a large -high-studded hall; but they look well in a small entranceway, if hung -on plain-tinted walls. Here again such architectural compositions as -Piranesi's, with their bold contrasts of light and shade, Marc -Antonio's classic designs, or some frieze-like procession, such as -Mantegna's "Triumph of Julius Caesar," are especially appropriate; -whereas the subtle detail of the German Little Masters, the symbolism -of Dürer's etchings and the graces of Marillier or Moreau le Jeune -would be wasted in a situation where there is small opportunity for -more than a passing glance. - -In most American houses, the warming of hall and stairs is so amply -provided for that where there is a hall fireplace it is seldom used. -In country houses, where it is sometimes necessary to have special -means for heating the hall, the open fireplace is of more service; but -it is not really suited to such a situation. The hearth suggests an -idea of intimacy and repose that has no place in a thoroughfare like -the hall; and, aside from this question of fitness, there is a -practical objection to placing an open chimney-piece in a position -where it is exposed to continual draughts from the front door and from -the rooms giving upon the hall. - -The best way of heating a hall is by means of a faience stove--not the -oblong block composed of shiny white or brown tiles seen in Swiss and -German _pensions_, but one of the fine old stoves of architectural -design still used on the Continent for heating the vestibule and -dining-room. In Europe, increased attention has of late been given to -the design and coloring of these stoves; and if better known here, -they would form an important feature in the decoration of our halls. -Admirable models may be studied in many old French and German houses -and on the borders of Switzerland and Italy; while the museum at Parma -contains several fine examples of the rocaille period. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXXIII._ - - FRENCH ARMOIRE, LOUIS XIV PERIOD. - MUSEUM OF DECORATIVE ARTS, PARIS.] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[29] Burckhardt, in his _Geschichte der Renaissance in Italien_, -justly points out that the seeming inconsequence of mediæval -house-planning in northern Europe was probably due in part to the fact -that the feudal castle, for purposes of defence, was generally built -on an irregular site. See also Viollet-le-Duc. - -[30] "Der gothische Profanbau in Italien ... steht im vollen Gegensatz -zum Norden durch die rationelle Anlage." Burckhardt, _Geschichte der -Renaissance in Italien_, p. 28. - -[31] See the stairs of the Riccardi palace in Florence, of the -Piccolomini palace at Pienza and of the ducal palace at Urbino. - -[32] For a fine example of a hall-niche containing a statue, see Plate -XXX. - -[33] In large halls the tall _torchère_ of marble or bronze may be -used for additional lights (see Plate XXXII). - - - - -X - -THE DRAWING-ROOM, BOUDOIR, AND MORNING-ROOM - - -The "with-drawing-room" of mediæval England, to which the lady and her -maidens retired from the boisterous festivities of the hall, seems at -first to have been merely a part of the bedchamber in which the lord -and lady slept. In time it came to be screened off from the -sleeping-room; then, in the king's palaces, it became a separate room -for the use of the queen and her damsels; and so, in due course, -reached the nobleman's castle, and established itself as a permanent -part of English house-planning. - -In France the evolution of the _salon_ seems to have proceeded on -somewhat different lines. During the middle ages and the early -Renaissance period, the more public part of the nobleman's life was -enacted in the hall, or _grand'salle_, while the social and domestic -side of existence was transferred to the bedroom. This was soon -divided into two rooms, as in England. In France, however, both these -rooms contained beds; the inner being the real sleeping-chamber, while -in the outer room, which was used not only for administering justice -and receiving visits of state, but for informal entertainments and the -social side of family life, the bedstead represented the lord's _lit -de parade_, traditionally associated with state ceremonial and feudal -privileges. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXXIV._ - - SALA DELLA MADDALENA, ROYAL PALACE, GENOA. - XVIII CENTURY. - (ITALIAN DRAWING-ROOM IN ROCAILLE STYLE.)] - -The custom of having a state bedroom in which no one slept (_chambre -de parade_, as it was called) was so firmly established that even in -the engravings of Abraham Bosse, representing French life in the reign -of Louis XIII, the fashionable apartments in which card-parties, -suppers, and other entertainments are taking place, invariably contain -a bed. - -In large establishments the _chambre de parade_ was never used as a -sleeping-chamber except by visitors of distinction; but in small -houses the lady slept in the room which served as her boudoir and -drawing-room. The Renaissance, it is true, had introduced from Italy -the _cabinet_ opening off the lady's chamber, as in the palaces of -Urbino and Mantua; but these rooms were at first seen only in kings' -palaces, and were, moreover, too small to serve any social purpose. -The _cabinet_ of Catherine de' Medici at Blois is a characteristic -example. - -Meanwhile, the gallery had relieved the _grand'salle_ of some of its -numerous uses; and these two apartments seem to have satisfied all the -requirements of society during the Renaissance in France. - -In the seventeenth century the introduction of the two-storied Italian -saloon produced a state apartment called a _salon_; and this, towards -the beginning of the eighteenth century, was divided into two smaller -rooms: one, the _salon de compagnie_, remaining a part of the gala -suite used exclusively for entertaining (see Plate XXXIV), while the -other--the _salon de famille_--became a family apartment like the -English drawing-room. - -The distinction between the _salon de compagnie_ and the _salon de -famille_ had by this time also established itself in England, where -the state drawing-room retained its Italian name of _salone_, or -saloon, while the living-apartment preserved, in abbreviated form, the -mediæval designation of the lady's with-drawing-room. - -Pains have been taken to trace as clearly as possible the mixed -ancestry of the modern drawing-room, in order to show that it is the -result of two distinct influences--that of the gala apartment and that -of the family sitting-room. This twofold origin has curiously affected -the development of the drawing-room. In houses of average size, where -there are but two living-rooms--the master's library, or "den," and -the lady's drawing-room,--it is obvious that the latter ought to be -used as a _salon de famille_, or meeting-place for the whole family; -and it is usually regarded as such in England, where common sense -generally prevails in matters of material comfort and convenience, and -where the drawing-room is often furnished with a simplicity which -would astonish those who associate the name with white-and-gold walls -and uncomfortable furniture. - -In modern American houses both traditional influences are seen. -Sometimes, as in England, the drawing-room is treated as a family -apartment, and provided with books, lamps, easy-chairs and -writing-tables. In other houses it is still considered sacred to -gilding and discomfort, the best room in the house, and the -convenience of all its inmates, being sacrificed to a vague feeling -that no drawing-room is worthy of the name unless it is uninhabitable. -This is an instance of the _salon de compagnie_ having usurped the -rightful place of the _salon de famille_; or rather, if the bourgeois -descent of the American house be considered, it may be more truly -defined as a remnant of the "best parlor" superstition. - -Whatever the genealogy of the American drawing-room, it must be owned -that it too often fails to fulfil its purpose as a family apartment. -It is curious to note the amount of thought and money frequently spent -on the one room in the house used by no one, or occupied at most for -an hour after a "company" dinner. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXXV._ - - CONSOLE IN THE PETIT TRIANON, VERSAILLES. - LATE LOUIS XV STYLE. - BUST OF LOUIS XVI, BY PAJOU.] - -To this drawing-room, from which the inmates of the house -instinctively flee as soon as their social duties are discharged, many -necessities are often sacrificed. The library, or den, where the -members of the family sit, may be furnished with shabby odds and ends; -but the drawing-room must have its gilt chairs covered with brocade, -its _vitrines_ full of modern Saxe, its guipure curtains and velvet -carpet. - -The _salon de compagnie_ is out of place in the average house. Such a -room is needed only where the dinners or other entertainments given -are so large as to make it impossible to use the ordinary living-rooms -of the house. In the grandest houses of Europe the gala-rooms are -never thrown open except for general entertainments, or to receive -guests of exalted rank, and the spectacle of a dozen people -languishing after dinner in the gilded wilderness of a state saloon is -practically unknown. - -The purpose for which the _salon de compagnie_ is used necessitates -its being furnished in the same formal manner as other gala -apartments. Circulation must not be impeded by a multiplicity of small -pieces of furniture holding lamps or other fragile objects, while at -least half of the chairs should be so light and easily moved that -groups may be formed and broken up at will. The walls should be -brilliantly decorated, without needless elaboration of detail, since -it is unlikely that the temporary occupants of such a room will have -time or inclination to study its treatment closely. The chief -requisite is a gay first impression. To produce this, the -wall-decoration should be light in color, and the furniture should -consist of a few strongly marked pieces, such as handsome cabinets and -consoles, bronze or marble statues, and vases and candelabra of -imposing proportions. Almost all modern furniture is too weak in -design and too finikin in detail to look well in a gala -drawing-room.[34] (For examples of drawing-room furniture, see Plates -VI, IX, XXXIV, and XXXV.) - -Beautiful pictures or rare prints produce little effect on the walls -of a gala room, just as an accumulation of small objects of art, such -as enamels, ivories and miniatures, are wasted upon its tables and -cabinets. Such treasures are for rooms in which people spend their -days, not for those in which they assemble for an hour's -entertainment. - -But the _salon de compagnie_, being merely a modified form of the -great Italian saloon, is a part of the gala suite, and any detailed -discussion of the decorative treatment most suitable to it would -result in a repetition of what is said in the chapter on Gala Rooms. - -The lighting of the company drawing-room--to borrow its French -designation--should be evenly diffused, without the separate centres -of illumination needful in a family living-room. The proper light is -that of wax candles. Nothing has done more to vulgarize interior -decoration than the general use of gas and of electricity in the -living-rooms of modern houses. Electric light especially, with its -harsh white glare, which no expedients have as yet overcome, has taken -from our drawing-rooms all air of privacy and distinction. In -passageways and offices, electricity is of great service; but were it -not that all "modern improvements" are thought equally applicable to -every condition of life, it would be difficult to account for the -adoption of a mode of lighting which makes the _salon_ look like a -railway-station, the dining-room like a restaurant. That such light is -not needful in a drawing-room is shown by the fact that electric bulbs -are usually covered by shades of some deep color, in order that the -glare may be made as inoffensive as possible. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXXVI._ - - SALON, PALACE OF FONTAINEBLEAU.] - -The light in a gala apartment should be neither vivid nor -concentrated: the soft, evenly diffused brightness of wax candles is -best fitted to bring out those subtle modellings of light and shade to -which old furniture and objects of art owe half their expressiveness. - -The treatment of the _salon de compagnie_ naturally differs from that -of the family drawing-room: the latter is essentially a room in which -people should be made comfortable. There must be a well-appointed -writing-table; the chairs must be conveniently grouped about various -tables, each with its lamp;--in short, the furniture should be so -disposed that people are not forced to take refuge in their bedrooms -for lack of fitting arrangements in the drawing-room. - -The old French cabinet-makers excelled in the designing and making of -furniture for the _salon de famille_. The term "French furniture" -suggests to the Anglo-Saxon mind the stiff appointments of the gala -room--heavy gilt consoles, straight-backed arm-chairs covered with -tapestry, and monumental marble-topped tables. Admirable furniture of -this kind was made in France; but in the grand style the Italian -cabinet-makers competed successfully with the French; whereas the -latter stood alone in the production of the simpler and more -comfortable furniture adapted to the family living-room. Among those -who have not studied the subject there is a general impression that -eighteenth-century furniture, however beautiful in design and -execution, was not comfortable in the modern sense. This is owing to -the fact that the popular idea of "old furniture" is based on the -appointments of gala rooms in palaces: visitors to Versailles or -Fontainebleau are more likely to notice the massive gilt consoles and -benches in the state saloons than the simple easy-chairs and -work-tables of the _petits appartements_. A visit to the Garde Meuble -or to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs of Paris, or the inspection of any -collection of French eighteenth-century furniture, will show the -versatility and common sense of the old French cabinet-makers. They -produced an infinite variety of small _meubles_, in which beauty of -design and workmanship were joined to simplicity and convenience. - -The old arm-chair, or _bergère_, is a good example of this -combination. The modern upholsterer pads and puffs his seats as though -they were to form the furniture of a lunatic's cell; and then, having -expanded them to such dimensions that they cannot be moved without -effort, perches their dropsical bodies on four little casters. Any one -who compares such an arm-chair to the eighteenth-century _bergère_, -with its strong tapering legs, its snugly-fitting back and cushioned -seat, must admit that the latter is more convenient and more beautiful -(see Plates VIII and XXXVII). - -The same may be said of the old French tables--from desks, card and -work-tables, to the small _guéridon_ just large enough to hold a book -and candlestick. All these tables were simple and practical in design: -even in the Louis XV period, when more variety of outline and ornament -was permitted, the strong structural lines were carefully maintained, -and it is unusual to see an old table that does not stand firmly on -its legs and appear capable of supporting as much weight as its size -will permit (see Louis XV writing-table in Plate XLVI). - -The French tables, cabinets and commodes used in the family apartments -were usually of inlaid wood, with little ornamentation save the design -of the marquetry--elaborate mounts of chiselled bronze being -reserved for the furniture of gala rooms (see Plate X). Old French -marquetry was exquisitely delicate in color and design, while Italian -inlaying of the same period, though coarser, was admirable in -composition. Old Italian furniture of the seventeenth and eighteenth -centuries was always either inlaid or carved and painted in gay -colors: chiselled mounts are virtually unknown in Italy. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXXVII._ - - ROOM IN THE PALACE OF FONTAINEBLEAU. - LOUIS XV PANELLING, LOUIS XVI FURNITURE.] - -The furniture of the eighteenth century in England, while not -comparable in design to the best French models, was well made and -dignified; and its angularity of outline is not out of place against -the somewhat cold and formal background of an Adam room. - -English marquetry suffered from the poverty of ornament marking the -wall-decoration of the period. There was a certain timidity about the -decorative compositions of the school of Adam and Sheraton, and in -their scanty repertoire the laurel-wreath, the velarium and the -cornucopia reappear with tiresome frequency. - -The use to which the family drawing-room is put should indicate the -character of its decoration. Since it is a room in which many hours of -the day are spent, and in which people are at leisure, it should -contain what is best worth looking at in the way of pictures, prints, -and other objects of art; while there should be nothing about its -decoration so striking or eccentric as to become tiresome when -continually seen. A fanciful style may be pleasing in apartments used -only for stated purposes, such as the saloon or gallery; but in a -living-room, decoration should be subordinate to the individual, -forming merely a harmonious but unobtrusive background (see Plates -XXXVI and XXXVII). Such a setting also brings out the full decorative -value of all the drawing-room accessories--screens, andirons, -_appliques_, and door and window-fastenings. A study of any old -French interior will show how much these details contributed to the -general effect of the room. - -Those who really care for books are seldom content to restrict them to -the library, for nothing adds more to the charm of a drawing-room than -a well-designed bookcase: an expanse of beautiful bindings is as -decorative as a fine tapestry. - -The boudoir is, properly speaking, a part of the bedroom suite, and as -such is described in the chapter on the Bedroom. Sometimes, however, a -small sitting-room adjoins the family drawing-room, and this, if given -up to the mistress of the house, is virtually the boudoir. - -The modern boudoir is a very different apartment from its -eighteenth-century prototype. Though it may preserve the delicate -decorations and furniture suggested by its name, such a room is now -generally used for the prosaic purpose of interviewing servants, going -over accounts and similar occupations. The appointments should -therefore comprise a writing-desk, with pigeon-holes, drawers, and -cupboards, and a comfortable lounge, or _lit de repos_, for resting -and reading. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXXVIII._ - - LIT DE REPOS, EARLY LOUIS XV PERIOD.] - -The _lit de repos_, which, except in France, has been replaced by the -clumsy upholstered lounge, was one of the most useful pieces of -eighteenth-century furniture (see Plate XXXVIII). As its name implies, -it is shaped somewhat like a bed, or rather like a cradle that stands -on four legs instead of swinging. It is made of carved wood, sometimes -upholstered, but often seated with cane (see Plate XXXIX). In the -latter case it is fitted with a mattress and with a pillow-like -cushion covered with some material in keeping with the hangings of the -room. Sometimes the _duchesse_, or upholstered _bergère_ with -removable foot-rest in the shape of a square bench, is preferred -to the _lit de repos_; but the latter is the more elegant and -graceful, and it is strange that it should have been discarded in -favor of the modern lounge, which is not only ugly, but far less -comfortable. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XXXIX._ - - LIT DE REPOS, LOUIS XV PERIOD.] - -As the boudoir is generally a small room, it is peculiarly suited to -the more delicate styles of painting or stucco ornamentation described -in the third chapter. A study of boudoir-decoration in the last -century, especially in France, will show the admirable sense of -proportion regulating the treatment of these little rooms (see Plate -XL). Their adornment was naturally studied with special care by the -painters and decorators of an age in which women played so important a -part. - -It is sometimes thought that the eighteenth-century boudoir was always -decorated and furnished in a very elaborate manner. This idea -originates in the fact, already pointed out, that the rooms usually -seen by tourists are those in royal palaces, or in such princely -houses as are thrown open to the public on account of their -exceptional magnificence. The same type of boudoir is continually -reproduced in books on architecture and decoration; and what is really -a small private sitting-room for the lady of the house, corresponding -with her husband's "den," has thus come to be regarded as one of the -luxuries of a great establishment. - -The prints of Eisen, Marillier, Moreau le Jeune, and other -book-illustrators of the eighteenth century, show that the boudoir in -the average private house was, in fact, a simple room, gay and -graceful in decoration, but as a rule neither rich nor elaborate (see -Plate XLI). As it usually adjoined the bedroom, it was decorated in -the same manner, and even when its appointments were expensive all -appearance of costliness was avoided.[35] - -The boudoir is the room in which small objects of art--prints, -mezzotints and _gouaches_--show to the best advantage. No detail is -wasted, and all manner of delicate effects in wood-carving, marquetry, -and other ornamentation, such as would be lost upon the walls and -furniture of a larger room, here acquire their full value. One or two -well-chosen prints hung on a background of plain color will give more -pleasure than a medley of photographs, colored photogravures, and -other decorations of the cotillon-favor type. Not only do mediocre -ornaments become tiresome when seen day after day, but the mere -crowding of furniture and gimcracks into a small room intended for -work and repose will soon be found fatiguing. - -Many English houses, especially in the country, contain a useful room -called the "morning-room," which is well defined by Robert Kerr, in _The -English Gentleman's House_, as "the drawing-room in ordinary." It is, -in fact, a kind of undress drawing-room, where the family may gather -informally at all hours of the day. The out-of-door life led in England -makes it specially necessary to provide a sitting-room which people -are not afraid to enter in muddy boots and wet clothes. Even if the -drawing-room be not, as Mr. Kerr quaintly puts it, "preserved"--that -is, used exclusively for company--it is still likely to contain the -best furniture in the house; and though that "best" is not too fine -for every-day use, yet in a large family an informal, wet-weather room -of this kind is almost indispensable. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XL._ - - PAINTED WALL-PANEL AND DOOR, CHÂTEAU OF - CHANTILLY. LOUIS XV. - (EXAMPLE OF CHINOISERIE DECORATION.)] - -No matter how elaborately the rest of the house is furnished, the -appointments of the morning-room should be plain, comfortable, and -capable of resisting hard usage. It is a good plan to cover the floor -with a straw matting, and common sense at once suggests the furniture -best suited to such a room: two or three good-sized tables with -lamps, a comfortable sofa, and chairs covered with chintz, leather, or -one of the bright-colored horsehairs now manufactured in France. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XLI._ - - Sa triste amante abandonnee - Pleure ses maux et ses plaisirs. - - FRENCH BOUDOIR, LOUIS XVI PERIOD. - (FROM A PRINT BY LE BOUTEUX.)] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[34] Much of the old furniture which appears to us unnecessarily stiff -and monumental was expressly designed to be placed against the walls -in rooms used for general entertainments, where smaller and more -delicately made pieces would have been easily damaged, and would, -moreover, have produced no effect. - -[35] The ornate boudoir seen in many XVIIIth-century prints is that of -the _femme galante_. - - - - -XI - -GALA ROOMS: BALL-ROOM, SALOON, MUSIC-ROOM, GALLERY - - -European architects have always considered it essential that those rooms -which are used exclusively for entertaining--gala rooms, as they are -called--should be quite separate from the family apartments,--either -occupying an entire floor (the Italian _piano nobile_) or being so -situated that it is not necessary to open them except for general -entertainments. - -In many large houses lately built in America, with ball and music -rooms and a hall simulating the two-storied Italian saloon, this -distinction has been disregarded, and living and gala rooms have been -confounded in an agglomeration of apartments where the family, for -lack of a smaller suite, sit under gilded ceilings and cut-glass -chandeliers, in about as much comfort and privacy as are afforded by -the public "parlors" of one of our new twenty-story hotels. This -confusion of two essentially different types of room, designed for -essentially different phases of life, has been caused by the fact that -the architect, when called upon to build a grand house, has simply -enlarged, instead of altering, the _maison bourgeoise_ that has -hitherto been the accepted model of the American gentleman's house; -for it must not be forgotten that the modern American dwelling -descends from the English middle-class house, not from the -aristocratic country-seat or town residence. The English nobleman's -town house was like the French _hôtel_, with gates, porter's lodge, -and court-yard surrounded by stables and offices; and the planning of -the country-seat was even more elaborate. - -A glance at any collection of old English house-plans, such as -Campbell's _Vitruvius Britannicus_, will show the purely middle-class -ancestry of the American house, and the consequent futility of -attempting, by the mere enlargement of each room, to turn it into a -gentleman's seat or town residence. The kind of life which makes gala -rooms necessary exacts a different method of planning; and until this -is more generally understood the treatment of such rooms in American -houses will never be altogether satisfactory. - -Gala rooms are meant for general entertainments, never for any -assemblage small or informal enough to be conveniently accommodated in -the ordinary living-rooms of the house; therefore to fulfil their -purpose they must be large, very high-studded, and not overcrowded -with furniture, while the walls and ceiling--the only parts of a -crowded room that can be seen--must be decorated with greater -elaboration than would be pleasing or appropriate in other rooms. All -these conditions unfit the gala room for any use save that for which -it is designed. Nothing can be more cheerless than the state of a -handful of people sitting after dinner in an immense ball-room with -gilded ceiling, bare floors, and a few pieces of monumental furniture -ranged round the walls; yet in any house which is simply an -enlargement of the ordinary private dwelling the hostess is often -compelled to use the ball-room or saloon as a drawing-room. - -A gala room is never meant to be seen except when crowded: the crowd -takes the place of furniture. Occupied by a small number of people, -such a room looks out of proportion, stiff and empty. The hostess -feels this, and tries, by setting chairs and tables askew, and -introducing palms, screens and knick-knacks, to produce an effect of -informality. As a result the room dwarfs the furniture, loses the air -of state, and gains little in real comfort; while it becomes -necessary, when a party is given, to remove the furniture and -disarrange the house, thus undoing the chief _raison d'être_ of such -apartments. - -The Italians, inheriting the grandiose traditions of the Augustan age, -have always excelled in the treatment of rooms demanding the "grand -manner." Their unfailing sense that house-decoration is interior -architecture, and must clearly proclaim its architectural -affiliations, has been of special service in this respect. It is rare -in Italy to see a large room inadequately treated. Sometimes the -"grand manner"--the mimic _terribilità_--may be carried too far to -suit Anglo-Saxon taste--it is hard to say for what form of -entertainment such a room as Giulio Romano's Sala dei Giganti in the -Palazzo del T would form a pleasing or appropriate background--but -apart from such occasional aberrations, the Italian decorators showed -a wonderful sense of fitness in the treatment of state apartments. To -small dribbles of ornament they preferred bold forcible mouldings, -coarse but clear-cut free-hand ornamentation in stucco, and either a -classic severity of treatment or the turbulent bravura style of the -saloon of the Villa Rotonda and of Tiepolo's Cleopatra frescoes in the -Palazzo Labia at Venice. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XLII._ - - SALON À L'ITALIENNE. - (FROM A PICTURE BY COYPEL.)] - -The saloon and gallery are the two gala rooms borrowed from Italy by -northern Europe. The saloon has already been described in the chapter -on Hall and Stairs. It was a two-storied apartment, usually with -clerestory, domed ceiling, and a gallery to which access was obtained -by concealed staircases (see Plates XLII and XLIII). This gallery -was often treated as an arcade or loggia, and in many old Italian -prints and pictures there are representations of these saloons, with -groups of gaily dressed people looking down from the gallery upon the -throngs crowding the floor. The saloon was used in Italy as a -ball-room or gambling-room--gaming being the chief social amusement of -the eighteenth century. - -In England and France the saloon was rarely two stories high, though -there are some exceptions, as for example the saloon at -Vaux-le-Vicomte. The cooler climate rendered a clerestory less -necessary, and there was never the same passion for grandiose effects -as in Italy. The saloon in northern Europe was always a stately and -high-studded room, generally vaulted or domed, and often circular in -plan; but it seldom reached such imposing dimensions as its Italian -prototype, and when more than one story high was known by the -distinctive designation of _un salon à l'italienne_. - -The gallery was probably the first feature in domestic house-planning -to be borrowed from Italy by northern Europe. It is seen in almost all -the early Renaissance châteaux of France; and as soon as the influence -of such men as John of Padua and John Shute asserted itself in -England, the gallery became one of the principal apartments of the -Elizabethan mansion. There are several reasons for the popularity of -the gallery. In the cold rainy autumns and winters north of the Alps -it was invaluable as a sheltered place for exercise and games; it was -well adapted to display the pictures, statuary and bric-à-brac which, -in emulation of Italian collectors, the Northern nobles were beginning -to acquire; and it showed off to advantage the long line of ancestral -portraits and the tapestries representing a succession of episodes -from the _Æneid_, the _Orlando Innamorato_, or some of the -interminable epics that formed the light reading of the sixteenth -century. Then, too, the gallery served for the processions which were -a part of the social ceremonial in great houses: the march to the -chapel or banquet-hall, the escorting of a royal guest to the state -bedroom, and other like pageants. - -In France and England the gallery seems for a long time to have been -used as a saloon and ball-room, whereas in Italy it was, as a rule, -reserved for the display of the art-treasures of the house, no Italian -palace worthy of the name being without its gallery of antiquities or -of marbles. - -In modern houses the ball-room and music-room are the two principal -gala apartments. A music-room need not be a gala room in the sense of -being used only for large entertainments; but since it is outside the -circle of every-day use, and more or less associated with -entertaining, it seems best to include it in this chapter. - -Many houses of average size have a room large enough for informal -entertainments. Such a room, especially in country houses, should be -decorated in a gay simple manner in harmony with the rest of the house -and with the uses to which the room is to be put. Rooms of this kind -may be treated with a white dado, surmounted by walls painted in a -pale tint, with boldly modelled garlands and attributes in stucco, -also painted white (see Plate XIII). If these stucco decorations are -used to frame a series of pictures, such as fruit and flower-pieces or -decorative subjects, the effect is especially attractive. Large -painted panels with eighteenth-century _genre_ subjects or pastoral -scenes, set in simple white panelling, are also very decorative. A -coved ceiling is best suited to rooms of this comparatively simple -character, while in state ball-rooms the dome increases the general -appearance of splendor. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XLIII._ - - BALL-ROOM, ROYAL PALACE, GENOA. LATE XVIII CENTURY. - (EXAMPLE OF STUCCO DECORATION.)] - -A panelling of mirrors forms a brilliant ball-room decoration, and -charming effects are produced by painting these mirrors with birds, -butterflies, and garlands of flowers, in the manner of the famous -Italian mirror-painter, Mario dei Fiori--"Mario of the Flowers"--as he -was called in recognition of his special gift. There is a beautiful -room by this artist in the Borghese Palace in Rome, and many Italian -palaces contain examples of this peculiarly brilliant style of -decoration, which might be revived to advantage by modern painters. - -In ball-rooms of great size and importance, where the walls demand a -more architectural treatment, the use of an order naturally suggests -itself. Pilasters of marble, separated by marble niches containing -statues, form a severe but splendid decoration; and if white and -colored marbles are combined, and the whole is surmounted by a domed -ceiling frescoed in bright colors, the effect is extremely brilliant. - -In Italy the architectural decoration of large rooms was often -entirely painted (see Plate XLIV), the plaster walls being covered -with a fanciful piling-up of statues, porticoes and balustrades, while -figures in Oriental costume, or in the masks and parti-colored dress -of the _Comédie Italienne_, leaned from simulated loggias or wandered -through marble colonnades. - -The Italian decorator held any audacity permissible in a room used -only by a throng of people, whose mood and dress made them ready to -accept the fairy-tales on the walls as a fitting background to their -own masquerading. Modern travellers, walking through these old Italian -saloons in the harsh light of day, while cobwebs hang from the -audacious architecture, and the cracks in the plaster look like wounds -in the cheeks of simpering nymphs and shepherdesses, should remember -that such apartments were meant to be seen by the soft light of wax -candles in crystal chandeliers, with fantastically dressed dancers -thronging the marble floor. - -Such a ball-room, if reproduced in the present day, would be far more -effective than the conventional white-and-gold room, which, though -unobjectionable when well decorated, lacks the imaginative charm, the -personal note, given by the painter's touch. - -Under Louis XIV many French apartments of state were panelled with -colored marbles, with an application of attributes or trophies, and -other ornamental motives in fire-gilt bronze: a sumptuous mode of -treatment according well with a domed and frescoed ceiling. Tapestry -was also much used, and forms an admirable decoration, provided the -color-scheme is light and the design animated. Seventeenth and -eighteenth-century tapestries are the most suitable, as the scale of -color is brighter and the compositions are gayer than in the earlier -hangings. - -Modern dancers prefer a polished wooden floor, and it is perhaps -smoother and more elastic than any other surface; but in beauty and -decorative value it cannot be compared with a floor of inlaid marble, -and as all the dancing in Italian palaces is still done on such -floors, the preference for wood is probably the result of habit. In a -ball-room of any importance, especially where marble is used on the -walls, the floor should always be of the same substance (see floors in -Plates XXIX, XXX, and LV). - - [Illustration: _PLATE XLIV._ - - SALOON IN THE VILLA VERTEMATI. XVI CENTURY. - (EXAMPLE OF FRESCOED WALLS AND CARVED WOODEN CEILING.)] - -Gala apartments, as distinguished from living-rooms, should be lit -from the ceiling, never from the walls. No ball-room or saloon is -complete without its chandeliers: they are one of the characteristic -features of a gala room (see Plates V, XIX, XXXIV, XLIII, XLV, L). For -a ball-room, where all should be light and brilliant, rock-crystal -or cut-glass chandeliers are most suitable: reflected in a long line -of mirrors, they are an invaluable factor in any scheme of gala -decoration. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XLV._ - - SALA DELLO ZODIACO, ROYAL PALACE, MANTUA. XVIII CENTURY. - (EXAMPLE OF STUCCO DECORATION.)] - -The old French decorators relied upon the reflection of mirrors for -producing an effect of distance in the treatment of gala rooms. Above -the mantel, there was always a mirror with another of the same shape -and size directly opposite; and the glittering perspective thus -produced gave to the scene an air of fantastic unreality. The gala -suite being so planned that all the rooms adjoined each other, the -effect of distance was further enhanced by placing the openings in -line, so that on entering the suite it was possible to look down its -whole length. The importance of preserving this long vista, or -_enfilade_, as the French call it, is dwelt on by all old writers on -house-decoration. If a ball-room be properly lit and decorated, it is -never necessary to dress it up with any sort of temporary -ornamentation: the true mark of the well-decorated ball-room is to -look always ready for a ball. - -The only chair seen in most modern ball-rooms is the folding camp-seat -hired by the hundred when entertainments are given; but there is no -reason why a ball-room should be even temporarily disfigured by these -makeshifts, which look their worst when an effort is made to conceal -their cheap construction under a little gilding and satin. In all old -ball-rooms, benches and _tabourets_ (small seats without backs) were -ranged in a continuous line along the walls. These seats, handsomely -designed, and covered with tapestry, velvet, or embroidered silk -slips, were a part of the permanent decoration of the room. On -ordinary occasions they would be sufficient for a modern ball-room; -and when larger entertainments made it needful to provide additional -seats, these might be copied from the seventeenth-century -_perroquets_, examples of which may be found in the various French -works on the history of furniture. These _perroquets_, or folding -chairs without arms, made of natural walnut or gilded, with seats of -tapestry, velvet or decorated leather, would form an excellent -substitute for the modern cotillon seat. - -The first rule to be observed in the decoration of the music-room is -the avoidance of all stuff hangings, draperies, and substances likely -to deaden sound. The treatment chosen for the room must of course -depend on its size and its relation to the other rooms in the house. -While a music-room should be more subdued in color than a ball-room, -sombre tints and heavy ornament are obviously inappropriate: the -effect aimed at should be one of lightness and serenity in form and -color. However small and simple the music-room may be, it should -always appear as though there were space overhead for the notes to -escape; and some form of vaulting or doming is therefore more suitable -than a flat ceiling. - -While plain panelling, if well designed, is never out of keeping, the -walls of a music-room are specially suited to a somewhat fanciful -style of decoration. In a ball-room, splendor and brilliancy of effect -are more needful than a studied delicacy; but where people are seated, -and everything in the room is consequently subjected to close and -prolonged scrutiny, sprightliness of composition should be combined -with variety of detail, the decoration being neither so confused and -intricate as to distract attention, nor so conventional as to be -dismissed with a glance on entering the room. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XLVI._ - - FRENCH TABLE. - (TRANSITION BETWEEN LOUIS XIV AND LOUIS XV PERIODS.)] - -The early Renaissance compositions in which stucco low-reliefs blossom -into painted arabesques and tendrils, are peculiarly adapted to a -small music-room; while those who prefer a more architectural -treatment may find admirable examples in some of the Italian -eighteenth-century rooms decorated with free-hand stucco ornament, or -in the sculptured wood-panelling of the same period in France. At -Remiremont in the Vosges, formerly the residence of a noble order of -canonesses, the abbess's _hôtel_ contains an octagonal music-room of -exceptional beauty, the panelled walls being carved with skilfully -combined musical instruments and flower-garlands. - -In larger apartments a fanciful style of fresco-painting might be -employed, as in the rooms painted by Tiepolo in the Villa Valmarana, -near Vicenza, or in the staircase of the Palazzo Sina, at Venice, -decorated by Longhi with the episodes of an eighteenth-century -carnival. Whatever the design chosen, it should never resemble the -formal treatment suited to ball-room and saloon: the decoration should -sound a note distinctly suggestive of the purpose for which the -music-room is used. - -It is difficult to understand why modern music-rooms have so long been -disfigured by the clumsy lines of grand and upright pianos, since the -cases of both might be modified without affecting the construction of -the instrument. Of the two, the grand piano would be the easier to -remodel: if its elephantine supports were replaced by slender fluted -legs, and its case and sounding-board were painted, or inlaid with -marquetry, it would resemble the charming old clavecin which preceded -the pianoforte. - -Fewer changes are possible in the "upright"; but a marked improvement -could be produced by straightening its legs and substituting right -angles for the weak curves of the lid. The case itself might be made -of plainly panelled mahogany, with a few good ormolu ornaments; or of -inlaid wood, with a design of musical instruments and similar -"attributes"; or it might be decorated with flower-garlands and -arabesques painted either on the natural wood or on a gilt or colored -background. - -Designers should also study the lines of those two long-neglected -pieces of furniture, the music-stool and music-stand. The latter -should be designed to match the piano, and painted or inlaid like its -case. The revolving mushroom that now serves as a music-stool is a -modern invention: the old stools were substantial circular seats -resting on four fluted legs. The manuals of the eighteenth-century -cabinet-makers contain countless models of these piano-seats, which -might well be reproduced by modern designers: there seems no practical -reason why the accessories of the piano should be less decorative than -those of the harpsichord. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XLVII._ - - LIBRARY OF LOUIS XVI, PALACE OF VERSAILLES. - (LOUIS XV WRITING-TABLE WITH BUST.)] - - - - -XII - -THE LIBRARY, SMOKING-ROOM, AND "DEN" - - -In the days when furniture was defined as "that which may be carried -about," the natural bookcase was a chest with a strong lock. These -chests, packed with precious manuscripts, followed the prince or noble -from one castle to another, and were even carried after him into camp. -Before the invention of printing, when twenty or thirty books formed -an exceptionally large library, and many great personages were content -with the possession of one volume, such ambulant bookcases were -sufficient for the requirements of the most eager bibliophile. -Occasionally the volumes were kept in a small press or cupboard, and -placed in a chest only when their owner travelled; but the bookcase, -as now known, did not take shape until much later, for when books -multiplied with the introduction of printing, it became customary to -fit up for their reception little rooms called _cabinets_. In the -famous _cabinet_ of Catherine de Medici at Blois the walls are lined -with book-shelves concealed behind sliding panels--a contrivance -rendered doubly necessary by the general insecurity of property, and -by the fact that the books of that period, whether in manuscript or -printed, were made sumptuous as church jewelry by the art of painter -and goldsmith. - -Long after the establishment of the printing-press, books, except in -the hands of the scholar, continued to be a kind of curiosity, like -other objects of art: less an intellectual need than a treasure upon -which rich men prided themselves. It was not until the middle of the -seventeenth century that the taste for books became a taste for -reading. France led the way in this new fashion, which was assiduously -cultivated in those Parisian _salons_ of which Madame de Rambouillet's -is the recognized type. The possession of a library, hitherto the -privilege of kings, of wealthy monasteries, or of some distinguished -patron of letters like Grolier, Maioli, or de Thou, now came to be -regarded as a necessity of every gentleman's establishment. Beautiful -bindings were still highly valued, and some of the most wonderful work -produced in France belongs to the seventeenth and eighteenth -centuries; but as people began to buy books for the sake of what they -contained, less exaggerated importance was attached to their exterior, -so that bindings, though perfect as taste and skill could make them, -were seldom as extravagantly enriched as in the two preceding -centuries. Up to a certain point this change was not to be regretted: -the mediæval book, with its gold or ivory bas-reliefs bordered with -precious stones, and its massive jewelled clasps, was more like a -monstrance or reliquary than anything meant for less ceremonious use. -It remained for the Italian printers and binders of the sixteenth -century, and for their French imitators, to adapt the form of the book -to its purpose, changing, as it were, a jewelled idol to a human -companion. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XLVIII._ - - SMALL LIBRARY AT AUDLEY END, ENGLAND. XVIII CENTURY.] - -The substitution of the octavo for the folio, and certain -modifications in binding which made it possible to stand books upright -instead of laying one above the other with edges outward, gradually -gave to the library a more modern aspect. In France, by the middle of -the seventeenth century, the library had come to be a recognized -feature in private houses. The Renaissance _cabinet_ continued to be -the common receptacle for books; but as the shelves were no longer -concealed, bindings now contributed to the decoration of the room. -Movable bookcases were not unknown, but these seem to have been merely -presses in which wooden door-panels were replaced by glass or by a -lattice-work of brass wire. The typical French bookcase _à deux -corps_--that is, made in two separate parts, the lower a cupboard to -contain prints and folios, the upper with shelves and glazed or -latticed doors--was introduced later, and is still the best model for -a movable bookcase. In rooms of any importance, however, the French -architect always preferred to build his book-shelves into niches -formed in the thickness of the wall, thus utilizing the books as part -of his scheme of decoration. - -There is no doubt that this is not only the most practical, but the -most decorative, way of housing any collection of books large enough -to be so employed. To adorn the walls of a library, and then conceal -their ornamentation by expensive bookcases, is a waste, or rather a -misapplication, of effects--always a sin against æsthetic principles. - -The importance of bookbindings as an element in house-decoration has -already been touched upon; but since a taste for good bindings has -come to be regarded as a collector's fad, like accumulating -snuff-boxes or _baisers-de-paix_, it seems needful to point out how -obvious and valuable a means of decoration is lost by disregarding the -outward appearance of books. To be decorative, a bookcase need not -contain the productions of the master-binders,--old volumes by Eve and -Derôme, or the work of Roger Payne and Sanderson,--unsurpassed as they -are in color-value. Ordinary bindings of half morocco or vellum form -an expanse of warm lustrous color; such bindings are comparatively -inexpensive; yet people will often hesitate to pay for a good edition -bound in plain levant half the amount they are ready to throw away -upon a piece of modern Saxe or a silver photograph-frame. - -The question of binding leads incidentally to that of editions, though -the latter is hardly within the scope of this book. People who have -begun to notice the outside of their books naturally come to -appreciate paper and type; and thus learn that the modern book is too -often merely the cheapest possible vehicle for putting words into -print. The last few years have brought about some improvement; and it -is now not unusual for a publisher, in bringing out a book at the -ordinary rates, to produce also a small edition in large-paper copies. -These large-paper books, though as yet far from perfect in type and -make-up, are superior to the average "commercial article"; and, apart -from their artistic merit, are in themselves a good investment, since -the value of such editions increases steadily year by year. Those who -cannot afford both edition and binding will do better to buy -large-paper books or current first editions in boards, than -"handsomely bound" volumes unworthy in type and paper. The plain paper -or buckram covers of a good publisher are, in fact, more decorative, -because more artistic, than showy tree-calf or "antique morocco." - -The same principle applies to the library itself: plain shelves filled -with good editions in good bindings are more truly decorative than -ornate bookcases lined with tawdry books. - -It has already been pointed out that the plan of building book-shelves -into the walls is the most decorative and the most practical (see -Plate XLVIII). The best examples of this treatment are found in -France. The walls of the rooms thus decorated were usually of panelled -wood, either in natural oak or walnut, as in the beautiful library of -the old university at Nancy, or else painted in two contrasting -colors, such as gray and white. When not set in recesses, the shelves -formed a sort of continuous lining around the walls, as in the library -of Louis XVI in the palace at Versailles (see Plate XLVII), or in that -of the Duc de Choiseul at Chanteloup, now set up in one of the rooms -of the public library at Tours. - -In either case, instead of being detached pieces of furniture, the -bookcases formed an organic part of the wall-decoration. Any study of -old French works on house-decoration and furniture will show how -seldom the detached bookcase was used in French libraries: but few -models are to be found, and these were probably designed for use in -the boudoir or study, rather than in the library proper (see bookcase -in Plate V). - -In England, where private libraries were fewer and less extensive, the -movable bookcase was much used, and examples of built-in shelves are -proportionately rarer. The hand-books of the old English -cabinet-makers contain innumerable models of handsome bookcases, with -glazed doors set with diamond-shaped panes in wooden mouldings, and -the familiar broken pediment surmounted by a bust or an urn. It was -natural that where books were few, small bookcases should be preferred -to a room lined with shelves; and in the seventeenth century, -according to John Evelyn, the "three nations of Great Britain" -contained fewer books than Paris. - -Almost all the old bookcases had one feature in common: that is, the -lower cupboard with solid doors. The bookcase proper rested upon this -projecting cupboard, thus raising the books above the level of the -furniture. The prevalent fashion of low book-shelves, starting from -the floor, and not extending much higher than the dado-moulding, has -probably been brought about by the other recent fashion of -low-studded rooms. Architects are beginning to rediscover the -forgotten fact that the stud of a room should be regulated by the -dimensions of its floor-space; so that in the newer houses the dwarf -bookcase is no longer a necessity. It is certainly less convenient -than the tall old-fashioned press; for not only must one kneel to -reach the lower shelves, but the books are hidden, and access to them -is obstructed, by their being on a level with the furniture. - -The general decoration of the library should be of such character as -to form a background or setting to the books, rather than to distract -attention from them. The richly adorned room in which books are but a -minor incident is, in fact, no library at all. There is no reason why -the decorations of a library should not be splendid; but in that case -the books must be splendid too, and sufficient in number to dominate -all the accessory decorations of the room. - -When there are books enough, it is best to use them as part of the -decorative treatment of the walls, panelling any intervening spaces in -a severe and dignified style; otherwise movable bookcases may be -placed against the more important wall-spaces, the walls being -decorated with wooden panelling or with mouldings and stucco -ornaments; but in this case composition and color-scheme must be so -subdued as to throw the bookcases and their contents into marked -relief. It does not follow that because books are the chief feature of -the library, other ornaments should be excluded; but they should be -used with discrimination, and so chosen as to harmonize with the -spirit of the room. Nowhere is the modern litter of knick-knacks and -photographs more inappropriate than in the library. The tables should -be large, substantial, and clear of everything but lamps, books and -papers--one table at least being given over to the filing of books -and newspapers. The library writing-table is seldom large enough, or -sufficiently free from odds and ends in the shape of photograph-frames, -silver boxes, and flower-vases, to give free play to the elbows. A -large solid table of the kind called _bureau-ministre_ (see the table -in Plate XLVII) is well adapted to the library; and in front of it -should stand a comfortable writing-chair such as that represented in -Plate XLIX. - - [Illustration: _PLATE XLIX._ - - WRITING-CHAIR, LOUIS XV PERIOD.] - -The housing of a great private library is one of the most interesting -problems of interior architecture. Such a room, combining monumental -dimensions with the rich color-values and impressive effect produced -by tiers of fine bindings, affords unequalled opportunity for the -exercise of the architect's skill. The two-storied room with gallery -and stairs and domed or vaulted ceiling is the finest setting for a -great collection. Space may of course be gained by means of a series -of bookcases projecting into the room and forming deep bays along each -of the walls; but this arrangement is seldom necessary save in a -public library, and however skilfully handled must necessarily -diminish the architectural effect of the room. In America the great -private library is still so much a thing of the future that its -treatment need not be discussed in detail. Few of the large houses -lately built in the United States contain a library in the serious -meaning of the term; but it is to be hoped that the next generation of -architects will have wider opportunities in this direction. - -The smoking-room proper, with its _mise en scène_ of Turkish divans, -narghilehs, brass coffee-trays, and other Oriental properties, is no -longer considered a necessity in the modern house; and the room which -would formerly have been used for this special purpose now comes -rather under the head of the master's lounging-room, or "den"--since -the latter word seems to have attained the dignity of a technical -term. - -Whatever extravagances the upholsterer may have committed in other -parts of the house, it is usually conceded that common sense should -regulate the furnishing of the den. Fragile chairs, lace-petticoat -lamp-shades and irrelevant bric-à-brac are consequently excluded; and -the master's sense of comfort often expresses itself in a set of -"office" furniture--a roller-top desk, a revolving chair, and others -of the puffy type already described as the accepted model of a -luxurious seat. Thus freed from the superfluous, the den is likely to -be the most comfortable room in the house; and the natural inference -is that a room, in order to be comfortable, must be ugly. One can -picture the derision of the man who is told that he might, without the -smallest sacrifice of comfort or convenience, transact his business at -a Louis XVI writing-table, seated in a Louis XVI chair!--yet the -handsomest desks of the last century--the fine old _bureaux à la -Kaunitz_ or _à cylindre_--were the prototypes of the modern -"roller-top"; and the cane or leather-seated writing-chair, with -rounded back and five slim strong legs, was far more comfortable than -the amorphous revolving seat. Convenience was not sacrificed to beauty -in either desk or chair; but both the old pieces, being designed by -skilled cabinet-makers, were as decorative as they were useful. There -seems, in fact, no reason why the modern den should not resemble the -financiers' _bureaux_ seen in so many old prints: rooms of dignified -plainness, but where each line of wall-panelling and furniture was as -carefully studied and intelligently adapted to its ends as though -intended for a drawing-room or boudoir. - -Reference has been made to the way in which, even in small houses, a -room may be sacrificed to a supposed "effect," or to some inherited -tradition as to its former use. Thus the family drawing-room is too -often made uninhabitable from some vague feeling that a "drawing-room" -is not worthy of its name unless too fine to sit in; while the small -front room on the ground floor--in the average American house the only -corner given over to the master--is thrown into the hall, either that -the house may appear larger and handsomer, or from sheer inability to -make so small a room habitable. - -There is no reason why even a ten-by-twelve or an eight-by-fourteen -foot room should not be made comfortable; and the following -suggestions are intended to indicate the lines on which an appropriate -scheme of decoration might be carried out. - -In most town houses the small room down-stairs is built with an -opening in the longitudinal wall, close to the front door, while there -is usually another entrance at the back of the room, facing the -window; one at least of these openings being, as a rule, of -exaggerated width. In such cases the door in the side of the room -should be walled up: this gives privacy and provides enough additional -wall-space for a good-sized piece of furniture. - -The best way of obtaining an effect of size is to panel the walls by -means of clear-cut architectural mouldings: a few strong vertical -lines will give dignity to the room and height to the ceiling. The -walls should be free from pattern and light in color, since dark walls -necessitate much artificial light, and have the disadvantage of making -a room look small. - -The ceiling, if not plain, must be ornamented with the lightest -tracery, and supported by a cornice correspondingly simple in design. -Heavy ceiling-mouldings are obviously out of place in a small room, -and a plain expanse of plaster is always preferable to misapplied -ornament. - -A single curtain made of some flexible material, such as corduroy or -thin unlined damask, and so hung that it may be readily drawn back -during the day, is sufficient for the window; while in a corner near -this window may be placed an easy-chair and a small solidly made -table, large enough to hold a lamp and a book or two. - -These rooms, in some recently built town houses, contain chimneys set -in an angle of the wall: a misplaced attempt at quaintness, making it -inconvenient to sit near the hearth, and seriously interfering with -the general arrangement of the room. When the chimney occupies the -centre of the longitudinal wall there is space, even in a very narrow -room, for a group of chairs about the fireplace--provided, as we are -now supposing, the opening in the parallel wall has been closed. A -bookcase or some other high piece of furniture may be placed on each -side of the mantel, and there will be space opposite for a sofa and a -good-sized writing-table. If the pieces of furniture chosen are in -scale with the dimensions of the room, and are placed against the -wall, instead of being set sideways, with the usual easel or palm-tree -behind them, it is surprising to see how much a small room may contain -without appearing to be overcrowded. - - [Illustration: _PLATE L._ - - DINING-ROOM, PALACE OF COMPIÈGNE. LOUIS XVI PERIOD. - (OVER-DOORS AND OVER-MANTEL PAINTED IN GRISAILLE, BY SAUVAGE.)] - - - - -XIII - -THE DINING-ROOM - - -The dining-room, as we know it, is a comparatively recent innovation -in house-planning. In the early middle ages the noble and his -retainers ate in the hall; then the _grand'salle_, built for -ceremonial uses, began to serve as a banqueting-room, while the meals -eaten in private were served in the lord's chamber. As house-planning -adapted itself to the growing complexity of life, the mediæval bedroom -developed into a private suite of living-rooms, preceded by an -antechamber; and this antechamber, or one of the small adjoining -cabinets, was used as the family dining-room, the banqueting-hall -being still reserved for state entertainments. - -The plan of dining at haphazard in any of the family living-rooms -persisted on the Continent until the beginning of the eighteenth -century: even then it was comparatively rare, in France, to see a room -set apart for the purpose of dining. In small _hôtels_ and apartments, -people continued to dine in the antechamber; where there were two -antechambers, the inner was used for that purpose; and it was only in -grand houses, or in the luxurious establishments of the _femmes -galantes_, that dining-rooms were to be found. Even in such cases the -room described as a _salle à manger_ was often only a central -antechamber or saloon into which the living-rooms opened; indeed, -Madame du Barry's sumptuous dining-room at Luciennes was a vestibule -giving directly upon the peristyle of the villa. - -In England the act of dining seems to have been taken more seriously, -while the rambling outgrowths of the Elizabethan residence included a -greater variety of rooms than could be contained in any but the -largest houses built on more symmetrical lines. Accordingly, in old -English house-plans we find rooms designated as "dining-parlors"; many -houses, in fact, contained two or three, each with a different -exposure, so that they might be used at different seasons. These rooms -can hardly be said to represent our modern dining-room, since they -were not planned in connection with kitchen and offices, and were -probably used as living-rooms when not needed for dining. Still, it -was from the Elizabethan dining-parlor that the modern dining-room -really developed; and so recently has it been specialized into a room -used only for eating, that a generation ago old-fashioned people in -England and America habitually used their dining-rooms to sit in. On -the Continent the incongruous uses of the rooms in which people dined -made it necessary that the furniture should be easily removed. In the -middle ages, people dined at long tables composed of boards resting on -trestles, while the seats were narrow wooden benches or stools, so -constructed that they could easily be carried away when the meal was -over. With the sixteenth century, the _table-à-tréteaux_ gave way to -various folding tables with legs, and the wooden stools were later -replaced by folding seats without arms called _perroquets_. In the -middle ages, when banquets were given in the _grand'salle_, the plate -was displayed on movable shelves covered with a velvet slip, or on -elaborately carved dressers; but on ordinary occasions little silver -was set out in French dining-rooms, and the great English -sideboard, with its array of urns, trays and wine-coolers, was -unknown in France. In the common antechamber dining-room, whatever was -needed for the table was kept in a press or cupboard with solid wooden -doors; changes of service being carried on by means of serving-tables, -or _servantes_--narrow marble-topped consoles ranged against the walls -of the room. - - [Illustration: _PLATE LI._ - - DINING-ROOM FOUNTAIN, PALACE OF FONTAINEBLEAU. - LOUIS XV PERIOD.] - -For examples of dining-rooms, as we understand the term, one must look -to the grand French houses of the eighteenth century (see Plate L) and -to the same class of dwellings in England. In France such dining-rooms -were usually intended for gala entertainments, the family being still -served in antechamber or cabinet; but English houses of the same -period generally contain a family dining-room and another intended for -state. - -The dining-room of Madame du Barry at Luciennes, already referred to, -was a magnificent example of the great dining-saloon. The ceiling was -a painted Olympus; the white marble walls were subdivided by -Corinthian pilasters with plinths and capitals of gilt bronze, -surmounted by a frieze of bas-reliefs framed in gold; four marble -niches contained statues by Pajou, Lecomte, and Moineau; and the -general brilliancy of effect was increased by crystal chandeliers, -hung in the intercolumniations against a background of looking-glass. - -Such a room, the banqueting-hall of the official mistress, represents -the _courtisane's_ ideal of magnificence: decorations as splendid, but -more sober and less theatrical, marked the dining-rooms of the -aristocracy, as at Choisy, Gaillon and Rambouillet. - -The state dining-rooms of the eighteenth century were often treated -with an order, niches with statues being placed between the pilasters. -Sometimes one of these niches contained a fountain serving as a -wine-cooler--a survival of the stone or metal wall-fountains in which -dishes were washed in the mediæval dining-room. Many of these earlier -fountains had been merely fixed to the wall; but those of the -eighteenth century, though varying greatly in design, were almost -always an organic part of the wall-decoration (see Plate LI). -Sometimes, in apartments of importance, they formed the pedestal of a -life-size group or statue, as in the dining-room of Madame de -Pompadour; while in smaller rooms they consisted of a semicircular -basin of marble projecting from the wall and surmounted by groups of -cupids, dolphins or classic attributes. The banqueting-gallery of -Trianon-sous-Bois contains in one of its longitudinal walls two wide -niches with long marble basins; and Mariette's edition of d'Aviler's -_Cours d'Architecture_ gives the elevation of a recessed buffet -flanked by small niches containing fountains. The following -description, accompanying d'Aviler's plate, is quoted here as an -instance of the manner in which elaborate compositions were worked out -by the old decorators: "The second antechamber, being sometimes used -as a dining-room, is a suitable place for the buffet represented. This -buffet, which may be incrusted with marble or stone, or panelled with -wood-work, consists in a recess occupying one of the side walls of the -room. The recess contains a shelf of marble or stone, supported on -brackets and surmounting a small stone basin which serves as a -wine-cooler. Above the shelf is an attic flanked by volutes, and over -this attic may be placed a picture, generally a flower or fruit-piece, -or the representation of a concert, or some such agreeable scene; -while in the accompanying plate the attic is crowned by a bust of -Comus, wreathed with vines by two little satyrs--the group detaching -itself against a trellised background enlivened with birds. The -composition is completed by two lateral niches for fountains, -adorned with masks, tritons and dolphins of gilded lead." - - [Illustration: _PLATE LII._ - - DINING-CHAIR, LOUIS XIV PERIOD.] - -These built-in sideboards and fountains were practically the only -feature distinguishing the old dining-rooms from other gala -apartments. At a period when all rooms were painted, panelled, or hung -with tapestry, no special style of decoration was thought needful for -the dining-room; though tapestry was seldom used, for the practical -reason that stuff hangings are always objectionable in a room intended -for eating. - - [Illustration: _PLATE LIII._ - - DINING-CHAIR, LOUIS XVI PERIOD.] - -Towards the end of the seventeenth century, when comfortable seats -began to be made, an admirably designed dining-room chair replaced the -earlier benches and _perroquets_. The eighteenth century dining-chair -is now often confounded with the light _chaise volante_ used in -drawing-rooms, and cabinet-makers frequently sell the latter as copies -of old dining-chairs. These were in fact much heavier and more -comfortable, and whether cane-seated or upholstered, were invariably -made with wide deep seats, so that the long banquets of the day might -be endured without constraint or fatigue; while the backs were low and -narrow, in order not to interfere with the service of the table. (See -Plates LII and LIII. Plates XLVI and L also contain good examples of -dining-chairs.) In England the state dining-room was decorated much as -it was in France: the family dining-room was simply a plain parlor, -with wide mahogany sideboards or tall glazed cupboards for the display -of plate and china. The solid English dining-chairs of mahogany, if -less graceful than those used on the Continent, are equally well -adapted to their purpose. - -The foregoing indications may serve to suggest the lines upon which -dining-room decoration might be carried out in the present day. The -avoidance of all stuff hangings and heavy curtains is of great -importance: it will be observed that even window-curtains were seldom -used in old dining-rooms, such care being given to the decorative -detail of window and embrasure that they needed no additional ornament -in the way of drapery. A bare floor of stone or marble is best suited -to the dining-room; but where the floor is covered, it should be with -a rug, not with a nailed-down carpet. - -The dining-room should be lit by wax candles in side _appliques_ or in -a chandelier; and since anything tending to produce heat and to -exhaust air is especially objectionable in a room used for eating, the -walls should be sufficiently light in color to make little artificial -light necessary. In the dining-rooms of the last century, in England -as well as on the Continent, the color-scheme was usually regulated by -this principle: the dark dining-room panelled with mahogany or hung -with sombre leather is an invention of our own times. It has already -been said that the old family dining-room was merely a panelled -parlor. Sometimes the panels were of light unvarnished oak, but -oftener they were painted in white or in some pale tint easily lit by -wax candles. The walls were often hung with fruit or flower-pieces, or -with pictures of fish and game: a somewhat obvious form of adornment -which it has long been the fashion to ridicule, but which was not -without decorative value and appropriateness. Pictures representing -life and action often grow tiresome when looked at over and over -again, day after day: a fact which the old decorators probably had in -mind when they hung what the French call _natures mortes_ in the -dining-room. - -Concerning the state dining-room that forms a part of many modern houses -little remains to be said beyond the descriptions already given of the -various gala apartments. It is obvious that the banqueting-hall -should be less brilliant than a ball-room and less fanciful in -decoration than a music-room: a severer and more restful treatment -naturally suggests itself, but beyond this no special indications are -required. - -The old dining-rooms were usually heated by porcelain stoves. Such a -stove, of fine architectural design, set in a niche corresponding with -that which contains the fountain, is of great decorative value in the -composition of the room; and as it has the advantage of giving out -less concentrated heat than an open fire, it is specially well suited -to a small or narrow dining-room, where some of the guests must -necessarily sit close to the hearth. - -Most houses which have banquet-halls contain also a smaller apartment -called a breakfast-room; but as this generally corresponds in size and -usage with the ordinary family dining-room, the same style of -decoration is applicable to both. However ornate the banquet-hall may -be, the breakfast-room must of course be simple and free from gilding: -the more elaborate the decorations of the larger room, the more -restful such a contrast will be found. - -Of the dinner-table, as we now know it, little need be said. The -ingenious but ugly extension-table with a central support, now used -all over the world, is an English invention. There seems no reason why -the general design should not be improved without interfering with the -mechanism of this table; but of course it can never be so satisfactory -to the eye as one of the old round or square tables, with four or six -tapering legs, such as were used in eighteenth-century dining-rooms -before the introduction of the "extension." - - - - -XIV - -BEDROOMS - - -The history of the bedroom has been incidentally touched upon in -tracing the development of the drawing-room from the mediæval hall. It -was shown that early in the middle ages the sleeping-chamber, which -had been one of the first outgrowths of the hall, was divided into the -_chambre de parade_, or incipient drawing-room, and the _chambre au -giste_, or actual sleeping-room. - -The increasing development of social life in the sixteenth century -brought about a further change; the state bedroom being set aside for -entertainments of ceremony, while the sleeping-chamber was used as the -family living-room and as the scene of suppers, card-parties, and -informal receptions--or sometimes actually as the kitchen. Indeed, so -varied were the uses to which the _chambre au giste_ was put, that in -France especially it can hardly be said to have offered a refuge from -the promiscuity of the hall. - - [Illustration: _PLATE LIV._ - - BEDROOM. PALACE OF FONTAINEBLEAU. LOUIS XIV PERIOD. - (LOUIS XVI BED AND CHAIR, MODERN SOFA.)] - -As a rule, the bedrooms of the Renaissance and of the seventeenth -century were very richly furnished. The fashion of raising the bed on -a dais separated from the rest of the room by columns and a balustrade -was introduced in France in the time of Louis XIV. This innovation -gave rise to the habit of dividing the decoration of the room into two -parts; the walls being usually panelled or painted, while the -"alcove," as it was called, was hung in tapestry, velvet, or some -rich stuff in keeping with the heavy curtains that completely -enveloped the bedstead. This use of stuff hangings about the bed, so -contrary to our ideas of bedroom hygiene, was due to the difficulty of -heating the large high-studded rooms of the period, and also, it must -be owned, to the prevalent dread of fresh air as of something -essentially unwholesome and pernicious. - -In the early middle ages people usually slept on the floor; though it -would seem that occasionally, to avoid cold or dampness, the mattress -was laid on cords stretched upon a low wooden framework. In the -fourteenth century the use of such frameworks became more general, and -the bed was often enclosed in curtains hung from a tester resting on -four posts. Bed-hangings and coverlet were often magnificently -embroidered; but in order that it might not be necessary to transport -from place to place the unwieldy bedstead and tester, these were made -in the rudest manner, without attempt at carving or adornment. In -course of time this primitive framework developed into the sumptuous -four-post bedstead of the Renaissance, with elaborately carved cornice -and _colonnes torses_ enriched with gilding. Thenceforward more wealth -and skill were expended upon the bedstead than upon any other article -of furniture. Gilding, carving, and inlaying of silver, ivory or -mother-of-pearl, combined to adorn the framework, and embroidery made -the coverlet and hangings resplendent as church vestments. This -magnificence is explained by the fact that it was customary for the -lady of the house to lie in bed while receiving company. In many old -prints representing suppers, card-parties, or afternoon visits, the -hostess is thus seen, with elaborately dressed head and stiff brocade -gown, while her friends are grouped about the bedside in equally rich -attire. This curious custom persisted until late in the eighteenth -century; and under such conditions it was natural that the old -cabinet-makers should vie with each other in producing a variety of -ornate and fanciful bedsteads. It would be useless to enumerate here -the modifications in design marking the different periods of -decoration: those who are interested in the subject will find it -treated in detail in the various French works on furniture. - -It was natural that while the bedroom was used as a _salon_ it should -be decorated with more elaboration than would otherwise have been -fitting; but two causes combined to simplify its treatment in the -eighteenth century. One of these was the new fashion of _petits -appartements_. With artists so keenly alive to proportion as the old -French designers, it was inevitable that such a change in dimensions -should bring about a corresponding change in decoration. The bedrooms -of the eighteenth century, though sometimes elaborate in detail, had -none of the pompous richness of the great Renaissance or Louis XIV -room (see Plate LIV). The pretentious dais with its screen of columns -was replaced by a niche containing the bed; plain wood-panelling -succeeded to tapestry and embroidered hangings; and the heavy carved -ceiling with its mythological centre-picture made way for light -traceries on plaster. - -The other change in the decoration of French bedrooms was due to the -substitution of linen or cotton bed and window-hangings for the -sumptuous velvets and brocades of the seventeenth century. This change -has usually been ascribed to the importation of linens and cottons -from the East; and no doubt the novelty of these gay _indiennes_ -stimulated the taste for simple hangings. The old inventories, -however, show that, in addition to the imported India hangings, plain -white linen curtains with a colored border were much used; and it is -probably the change in the size of rooms that first led to the -adoption of thin washable hangings. The curtains and bed-draperies of -damask or brocatelle, so well suited to the high-studded rooms of the -seventeenth century, would have been out of place in the small -apartments of the Regency. In studying the history of decoration, it -will generally be found that the supposed vagaries of house-furnishing -were actually based on some practical requirement; and in this -instance the old decorators were doubtless guided rather by common -sense than by caprice. The adoption of these washable materials -certainly introduced a style of bedroom-furnishing answering to all -the requirements of recent hygiene; for not only were windows and -bedsteads hung with unlined cotton or linen, but chairs and sofas were -covered with removable _housses_, or slip-covers; while the painted -wall-panelling and bare brick or parquet floors came far nearer to the -modern sanitary ideal than do the papered walls and nailed-down -carpets still seen in many bedrooms. This simple form of decoration -had the additional charm of variety; for it was not unusual to have -several complete sets of curtains and slip-covers, embroidered to -match, and changed with the seasons. The hangings and covers of the -queen's bedroom at Versailles were changed four times a year. - -Although bedrooms are still "done" in chintz, and though of late -especially there has been a reaction from the satin-damask bedroom -with its dust-collecting upholstery and knick-knacks, the modern habit -of lining chintz curtains and of tufting chairs has done away with the -chief advantages of the simpler style of treatment. There is something -illogical in using washable stuffs in such a way that they cannot be -washed, especially in view of the fact that the heavily lined -curtains, which might be useful to exclude light and cold, are in nine -cases out of ten so hung by the upholsterer that they cannot possibly -be drawn at night. Besides, the patterns of modern chintzes have so -little in common with the _toiles imprimées_ of the seventeenth and -eighteenth centuries that they scarcely serve the same decorative -purpose; and it is therefore needful to give some account of the old -French bedroom hangings, as well as of the manner in which they were -employed. - -The liking for _cotonnades_ showed itself in France early in the -seventeenth century. Before this, cotton materials had been imported -from the East; but in the seventeenth century a manufactory was -established in France, and until about 1800 cotton and linen curtains -and furniture-coverings remained in fashion. This taste was encouraged -by the importation of the _toiles des Indes_, printed cottons of gay -color and fanciful design, much sought after in France, especially -after the government, in order to protect native industry, had -restricted the privilege of importing them to the _Compagnie des -Indes_. It was not until Oberkampf established his manufactory at Jouy -in 1760 that the French _toiles_ began to replace those of foreign -manufacture. Hitherto the cottons made in France had been stamped -merely in outline, the colors being filled in by hand; but Oberkampf -invented a method of printing in colors, thereby making France the -leading market for such stuffs. - -The earliest printed cottons having been imported from India and -China, it was natural that the style of the Oriental designers should -influence their European imitators. Europe had, in fact, been prompt -to recognize the singular beauty of Chinese art, and in France the -passion for _chinoiseries_, first aroused by Mazarin's collection of -Oriental objects of art, continued unabated until the general decline -of taste at the end of the eighteenth century. Nowhere, perhaps, was -the influence of Chinese art more beneficial to European designers -than in the composition of stuff-patterns. The fantastic gaiety and -variety of Chinese designs, in which the human figure so largely -predominates, gave fresh animation to European compositions, while the -absence of perspective and modelling preserved that conventionalism so -essential in pattern-designing. The voluminous acanthus-leaves, the -fleur-de-lys, arabesques and massive scroll-work so suitable to the -Genoese velvets and Lyons silks of the sixteenth and seventeenth -centuries, would have been far too magnificent for the cotton stuffs -that were beginning to replace those splendid tissues. On a thin -material a heavy architectural pattern was obviously inappropriate; -besides, it would have been out of scale with the smaller rooms and -lighter style of decoration then coming into fashion. - -The French designer, while influenced by Chinese compositions, was too -artistic to be satisfied with literal reproductions of his Oriental -models. Absorbing the spirit of the Chinese designs, he either blent -mandarins and pagodas with Italian grottoes, French landscapes, and -classical masks and trophies, in one of those delightful inventions -which are the fairy-tales of decorative art, or applied the principles -of Oriental design to purely European subjects. In comparing the -printed cottons of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries with -modern chintzes, it will be seen that the latter are either covered -with monotonous repetitions of a geometrical figure, or with realistic -reproductions of some natural object. Many wall-papers and chintzes of -the present day represent loose branches of flowers scattered on a -plain surface, with no more relation to each other or to their -background than so many real flowers fixed at random against the wall. -This literal rendering of natural objects with deceptive accuracy, -always condemned by the best artists, is especially inappropriate when -brought in close contact with the highly conventionalized forms of -architectural composition. In this respect, the endlessly repeated -geometrical figure is obviously less objectionable; yet the -geometrical design, as produced to-day, has one defect in common with -the other--that is, lack of imagination. Modern draughtsmen, in -eliminating from their work that fanciful element (always strictly -subordinated to some general scheme of composition) which marked the -designs of the last two centuries, have deprived themselves of the -individuality and freshness that might have saved their patterns from -monotony. - -This rejection of the fanciful in composition is probably due to the -excessive use of pattern in modern decoration. Where much pattern is -used, it must be as monotonous as possible, or it will become -unbearable. The old decorators used few lines, and permitted -themselves more freedom in design; or rather they remembered, what is -now too often forgotten, that in the decoration of a room furniture -and objects of art help to make design, and in consequence they were -chiefly concerned with providing plain spaces of background to throw -into relief the contents of the room. Of late there has been so marked -a return to plain panelled or painted walls that the pattern-designer -will soon be encouraged to give freer rein to his fancy. In a room -where walls and floor are of uniform tint, there is no reason why the -design of curtains and chair-coverings should consist of long straight -rows of buttercups or crocuses, endlessly repeated. - - [Illustration: _PLATE LV._ - - BATH-ROOM, PITTI PALACE, FLORENCE. - LATE XVIII CENTURY. DECORATED BY CACIALLI.] - -It must not be thought that the old designs were unconventional. -Nature, in passing through the medium of the imagination, is -necessarily transposed and in a manner conventionalized; and it is -this transposition, this deliberate selection of certain -characteristics to the exclusion of others, that distinguishes the -work of art from a cast or a photograph. But the reduction of natural -objects to geometrical forms is only one of the results of artistic -selection. The Italian fresco-painters--the recognized masters of -wall-decoration in the flat--always used the naturalistic method, but -subject to certain restrictions in composition or color. This applies -also to the Chinese designers, and to the humbler European -pattern-makers who on more modest lines followed the same sound -artistic traditions. In studying the _toiles peintes_ manufactured in -Europe previous to the present century, it will be seen that where the -design included the human figure or landscape naturalistically treated -(as in the fables of Æsop and La Fontaine, or the history of Don -Quixote), the pattern was either printed entirely in one color, or so -fantastically colored that by no possibility could it pass for an -attempt at a literal rendering of nature. Besides, in all such -compositions (and here the Chinese influence is seen) perspective was -studiously avoided, and the little superimposed groups or scenes were -either connected by some decorative arabesque, or so designed that by -their outline they formed a recurring pattern. On the other hand, when -the design was obviously conventional a variety of colors was freely -used. The introduction of the human figure, animals, architecture and -landscape into stuff-patterns undoubtedly gave to the old designs an -animation lacking in those of the present day; and a return to the -_pays bleu_ of the Chinese artist would be a gain to modern -decoration. - -Of the various ways in which a bedroom may be planned, none is so -luxurious and practical as the French method of subdividing it into a -suite composed of two or more small rooms. Where space is not -restricted there should in fact be four rooms, preceded by an -antechamber separating the suite from the main corridor of the house. -The small sitting-room or boudoir opens into this antechamber; and -next comes the bedroom, beyond which are the dressing and bath rooms. -In French suites of this kind there are usually but two means of -entrance from the main corridor: one for the use of the occupant, -leading into the antechamber, the other opening into the bath-room, to -give access to the servants. This arrangement, besides giving greater -privacy, preserves much valuable wall-space, which would be sacrificed -in America to the supposed necessity of making every room in a house -open upon one of the main passageways. - -The plan of the bedroom suite can of course be carried out only in -large houses; but even where there is no lack of space, such an -arrangement is seldom adopted by American architects, and most of the -more important houses recently built contain immense bedrooms, instead -of a series of suites. To enumerate the practical advantages of the -suite over the single large room hardly comes within the scope of this -book; but as the uses to which a bedroom is put fall into certain -natural subdivisions, it will be more convenient to consider it as a -suite. - -Since bedrooms are no longer used as _salons_, there is no reason for -decorating them in an elaborate manner; and, however magnificent the -other apartments, it is evident that in this part of the house -simplicity is most fitting. Now that people have been taught the -unhealthiness of sleeping in a room with stuff hangings, heavy -window-draperies and tufted furniture, the old fashion of painted -walls and bare floors naturally commends itself; and as the bedroom -suite is but the subdivision of one large room, it is obviously better -that the same style of decoration should be used throughout. - -For this reason, plain panelled walls and chintz or cotton hangings -are more appropriate to the boudoir than silk and gilding. If the -walls are without pattern, a figured chintz may be chosen for curtains -and furniture; while those who prefer plain tints should use -unbleached cotton, trimmed with bands of color, or some colored linen -with applications of gimp or embroidery. It is a good plan to cover -all the chairs and sofas in the bedroom suite with slips matching the -window-curtains; but where this is done, the furniture should, if -possible, be designed for the purpose, since the lines of modern -upholstered chairs are not suited to slips. The habit of designing -furniture for slip-covers originated in the middle ages. At a time -when the necessity of transporting furniture was added to the other -difficulties of travel, it was usual to have common carpenter-built -benches and tables, that might be left behind without risk, and to -cover these with richly embroidered slips. The custom persisted long -after furniture had ceased to be a part of luggage, and the benches -and _tabourets_ now seen in many European palaces are covered merely -with embroidered slips. Even when a set of furniture was upholstered -with silk, it was usual, in the eighteenth century, to provide -embroidered cotton covers for use in summer, while curtains of the -same stuff were substituted for the heavier hangings used in winter. -Old inventories frequently mention these _tentures d'été_, which are -well adapted to our hot summer climate. - -The boudoir should contain a writing-table, a lounge or _lit de -repos_, and one or two comfortable arm-chairs, while in a bedroom -forming part of a suite only the bedstead and its accessories should -be placed. - -The pieces of furniture needed in a well-appointed dressing-room are -the toilet-table, wash-stand, clothes-press and cheval-glass, with the -addition, if space permits, of one or two commodes or chiffonniers. -The designing of modern furniture of this kind is seldom satisfactory; -yet many who are careful to choose simple, substantial pieces for the -other rooms of the house, submit to the pretentious "bedroom suit" of -bird's-eye maple or mahogany, with its wearisome irrelevance of line -and its excess of cheap ornament. Any study of old bedroom furniture -will make clear the inferiority of the modern manufacturer's designs. -Nowhere is the old sense of proportion and fitness seen to better -advantage than in the simple, admirably composed commodes and -clothes-presses of the eighteenth-century bedroom. - -The bath-room walls and floor should, of course, be water-proof. In -the average bath-room, a tiled floor and a high wainscoting of tiles -are now usually seen; and the detached enamel or porcelain bath has in -most cases replaced the built-in metal tub. The bath-rooms in the -larger houses recently built are, in general, lined with marble; but -though the use of this substance gives opportunity for fine -architectural effects, few modern bath-rooms can in this respect be -compared with those seen in the great houses of Europe. The chief -fault of the American bath-room is that, however splendid the -materials used, the treatment is seldom architectural. A glance at the -beautiful bath-room in the Pitti Palace at Florence (see Plate LV) -will show how much effect may be produced in a small space by -carefully studied composition. A mere closet is here transformed into -a stately room, by that regard for harmony of parts which -distinguishes interior architecture from mere decoration. A bath-room -lined with precious marbles, with bath and wash-stand ranged along the -wall, regardless of their relation to the composition of the whole, is -no better architecturally than the tiled bath-room seen in ordinary -houses: design, not substance, is needed to make the one superior to -the other. - - - - -XV - -THE SCHOOL-ROOM AND NURSERIES - - -One of the most important and interesting problems in the planning and -decoration of a house is that which has to do with the arrangement of -the children's rooms. - -There is, of course, little opportunity for actual decoration in -school-room or nursery; and it is only by stretching a point that a -book dealing merely with the practical application of æsthetics may be -made to include a chapter bordering on pedagogy. It must be -remembered, however, that any application of principles presupposes -some acquaintance with the principles themselves; and from this -standpoint there is a certain relevance in studying the means by which -the child's surroundings may be made to develop his sense of beauty. - -The room where the child's lessons are studied is, in more senses than -one, that in which he receives his education. His whole view of what -he is set to learn, and of the necessity and advantage of learning -anything at all, is tinged, more often than people think, by the -appearance of the room in which his studying is done. The æsthetic -sensibilities wake early in some children, and these, if able to -analyze their emotions, could testify to what suffering they have been -subjected by the habit of sending to school-room and nurseries -whatever furniture is too ugly or threadbare to be used in any other -part of the house. - -In the minds of such children, curious and lasting associations are -early established between the appearance of certain rooms and the -daily occupations connected with them; and the aspect of the -school-room too often aggravates instead of mitigating the weariness -of lesson-learning. - -There are, of course, many children not naturally sensitive to -artistic influences, and the parents of such children often think that -no special care need be spent on their surroundings--a curious -misconception of the purpose of all æsthetic training. To teach a -child to appreciate any form of beauty is to develop his intelligence, -and thereby to enlarge his capacity for wholesome enjoyment. It is, -therefore, never idle to cultivate a child's taste; and those who have -no pronounced natural bent toward the beautiful in any form need more -guidance and encouragement than the child born with a sense of beauty. -The latter will at most be momentarily offended by the sight of ugly -objects; while they may forever blunt the taste and narrow the views -of the child whose sluggish imagination needs the constant stimulus of -beautiful surroundings. - -If art is really a factor in civilization, it seems obvious that the -feeling for beauty needs as careful cultivation as the other civic -virtues. To teach a child to distinguish between a good and a bad -painting, a well or an ill-modelled statue, need not hinder his growth -in other directions, and will at least develop those habits of -observation and comparison that are the base of all sound judgments. -It is in this sense that the study of art is of service to those who -have no special aptitude for any of its forms: its indirect action in -shaping æsthetic criteria constitutes its chief value as an element of -culture. - -The habit of regarding "art" as a thing apart from life is fatal to -the development of taste. Parents may conscientiously send their -children to galleries and museums, but unless the child can find some -point of contact between its own surroundings and the contents of the -galleries, the interest excited by the pictures and statues will be -short-lived and ineffectual. Children are not reached by abstract -ideas, and a picture hanging on a museum wall is little better than an -abstraction to the child's vivid but restricted imagination. Besides, -if the home surroundings are tasteless, the unawakened sense of form -will not be roused by a hurried walk through a museum. The child's -mind must be prepared by daily lessons in beauty to understand the -masterpieces of art. A child brought up on foolish story-books could -hardly be expected to enjoy _The Knight's Tale_ or the _Morte -d'Arthur_ without some slight initiation into the nature and meaning -of good literature; and to pass from a house full of ugly furniture, -badly designed wall-papers and worthless knick-knacks to a hurried -contemplation of the Venus of Milo or of a model of the Parthenon is -not likely to produce the desired results. - -The daily intercourse with poor pictures, trashy "ornaments," and -badly designed furniture may, indeed, be fittingly compared with a -mental diet of silly and ungrammatical story-books. Most parents -nowadays recognize the harmfulness of such a _régime_, and are careful -to feed their children on more stimulating fare. Skilful compilers -have placed Mallory and Chaucer, Cervantes and Froissart, within reach -of the childish understanding, thus laying the foundations for a -lasting appreciation of good literature. No greater service can be -rendered to children than in teaching them to know the best and to -want it; but while this is now generally conceded with regard to -books, the child's eager eyes are left to fare as best they may on -chromos from the illustrated papers and on carefully hoarded rubbish -from the Christmas tree. - -The mention of the Christmas tree suggests another obstacle to the -early development of taste. Many children, besides being surrounded by -ugly furniture and bad pictures, are overwhelmed at Christmas, and on -every other anniversary, by presents not always selected with a view -to the formation of taste. The question of presents is one of the most -embarrassing problems in the artistic education of children. As long -as they are in the toy age no great harm is done: it is when they are -considered old enough to appreciate "something pretty for their rooms" -that the season of danger begins. Parents themselves are often the -worst offenders in this respect, and the sooner they begin to give -their children presents which, if not beautiful, are at least useful, -the sooner will the example be followed by relatives and friends. The -selection of such presents, while it might necessitate a little more -trouble, need not lead to greater expense. Good things do not always -cost more than bad. A good print may often be bought for the same -price as a poor one, and the money spent on a china "ornament," in the -shape of a yellow Leghorn hat with a kitten climbing out of it, would -probably purchase a good reproduction of one of the Tanagra -statuettes, a plaster cast of some French or Italian bust, or one of -Cantagalli's copies of the Robbia bas-reliefs--any of which would -reveal a world of unsuspected beauty to many a child imprisoned in a -circle of _articles de Paris_. - -The children of the rich are usually the worst sufferers in such -cases, since the presents received by those whose parents and -relations are not "well off" have the saving merit of usefulness. It -is the superfluous gimcrack--the "ornament"--which is most -objectionable, and the more expensive such articles are the more -likely are they to do harm. Rich children suffer from the quantity as -well as the quality of the presents they receive. Appetite is -surfeited, curiosity blunted, by the mass of offerings poured in with -every anniversary. It would be better if, in such cases, friends and -family could unite in giving to each child one thing worth having--a -good edition, a first-state etching or engraving, or some like object -fitted to give pleasure at the time and lasting enjoyment through -life. Parents often make the mistake of thinking that such presents -are too "serious"--that children do not care for good bindings, fine -engravings, or reproductions of sculpture. As a matter of fact, -children are quick to appreciate beauty when pointed out and explained -to them, and an intelligent child feels peculiar pride in being the -owner of some object which grown-up people would be glad to possess. -If the selection of such presents is made with a reasonable regard for -the child's tastes and understanding--if the book chosen is a good -edition, well bound, of the _Morte d'Arthur_ or of _Chaucer_--if the -print represents some Tuscan Nativity, with a joyous dance of angels -on the thatched roof, or a group of splendid horsemen and strange -animals from the wondrous fairy-tale of the Riccardi chapel--the -present will give as much immediate pleasure as a "juvenile" book or -picture, while its intrinsic beauty and significance may become -important factors in the child's æsthetic development. The possession -of something valuable, that may not be knocked about, but must be -handled with care and restored to its place after being looked at, -will also cultivate in the child that habit of carefulness and order -which may be defined as good manners toward inanimate objects. - -Children suffer not only from the number of presents they receive, but -from that over-crowding of modern rooms that so often makes it -necessary to use the school-room and nurseries as an outlet for the -overflow of the house. To the children's quarters come one by one the -countless objects "too good to throw away" but too ugly to be -tolerated by grown-up eyes--the bead-work cushions that have -"associations," the mildewed Landseer prints of foaming, dying -animals, the sheep-faced Madonna and Apostles in bituminous draperies, -commemorating a paternal visit to Rome in the days when people bought -copies of the "Old Masters." - -Those who wish to train their children's taste must resolutely clear -the school-room of all such stumbling-blocks. Ugly furniture cannot -always be replaced; but it is at least possible to remove unsuitable -pictures and knick-knacks. - -It is essential that the school-room should be cheerful. Dark colors, -besides necessitating the use of much artificial light, are depressing -to children and consequently out of place in the school-room: white -woodwork, and walls tinted in some bright color, form the best -background for both work and play. - -Perhaps the most interesting way of decorating the school-room is that -which might be described as the rotation system. To carry out this -plan--which requires the coöperation of the children's teacher--the -walls must be tinted in some light color, such as turquoise-blue or -pale green, and cleared of all miscellaneous adornments. These should -then be replaced by a few carefully-chosen prints, photographs and -plaster casts, representing objects connected with the children's -studies. Let it, for instance, be supposed that the studies in hand -include natural history, botany, and the history of France and England -during the sixteenth century. These subjects might be respectively -illustrated by some of the clever Japanese outline drawings of plants -and animals, by Holbein's portrait of Henry VIII, Clouet's of Charles -IX and of Elizabeth of Austria, Dürer's etchings of Luther and -Erasmus, and views of some of the principal buildings erected in -France and England during the sixteenth century. - -The prints and casts shown at one time should be sufficiently -inexpensive and few in number to be changed as the child's lessons -proceed, thus forming a kind of continuous commentary upon the various -branches of study. - -This plan of course necessitates more trouble and expense than the -ordinary one of giving to the walls of the school-room a permanent -decoration: an arrangement which may also be made interesting and -suggestive, if the child's requirements are considered. When casts and -pictures are intended to remain in place, it is a good idea to choose -them at the outset with a view to the course of studies likely to be -followed. In this way, each object may serve in turn to illustrate -some phase of history or art: even this plan will be found to have a -vivifying effect upon the dry bones of "lessons." - -In a room decorated in this fashion, the prints or photographs -selected might represent the foremost examples of Greek, Gothic, -Renaissance and eighteenth-century architecture, together with several -famous paintings of different periods and schools; sculpture being -illustrated by casts of the Disk-thrower, of one of Robbia's friezes -of child-musicians, of Donatello's Saint George, and Pigalle's "Child -with the Bird." - -Parents who do not care to plan the adornment of the school-room on -such definite lines should at least be careful to choose appropriate -casts and pictures. It is generally conceded that nothing painful -should be put before a child's eyes; but the deleterious effects of -namby-pamby prettiness are too often disregarded. Anything "sweet" is -considered appropriate for the school-room or nursery; whereas it is -essential to the child's artistic training that only the sweetness -which proceeds _de forte_ should be held up for admiration. It is easy -to find among the world's masterpieces many pictures interesting to -children. Vandyck's "Children of Charles I"; Bronzino's solemn -portraits of Medici babies; Drouais' picture of the Comte d'Artois -holding his little sister on the back of a goat; the wan little -princes of Velasquez; the ruddy beggar-boys of Murillo--these are but -a few of the subjects that at once suggest themselves. Then, again, -there are the wonder-books of those greatest of all story-tellers, the -Italian fresco-painters--Benozzo Gozzoli, Pinturicchio, -Carpaccio--incorrigible gossips every one, lingering over the minor -episodes and trivial details of their stories with the desultory -slowness dear to childish listeners. In sculpture, the range of choice -is no less extended. The choristers of Robbia, the lean little St. -Johns of Donatello and his school--Verrocchio's fierce young David, -and the Capitol "Boy with the Goose"--these may alternate with -fragments of the Parthenon frieze, busts of great men, and studies of -animals, from the Assyrian lions to those of Canova and Barye. - -Above all, the walls should not be overcrowded. The importance of -preserving in the school-room bare wall-spaces of uniform tint has -hitherto been little considered; but teachers are beginning to -understand the value of these spaces in communicating to the child's -brain a sense of repose which diminishes mental and physical -restlessness. - -The furniture of the school-room should of course be plain and -substantial. Well-designed furniture of this kind is seldom made by -modern manufacturers, and those who can afford the slight extra -expense should commission a good cabinet-maker to reproduce some of -the simple models which may be found in the manuals of old French and -English designers. It is of special importance to provide a large, -solid writing-table: children are too often subjected to the needless -constraint and fatigue of writing at narrow unsteady desks, too small -to hold even the books in use during the lesson. - -A well-designed bookcase with glass doors is a valuable factor in the -training of children. It teaches a respect for books by showing that -they are thought worthy of care; and a child is less likely to knock -about and damage a book which must be taken from and restored to such -a bookcase, than one which, after being used, is thrust back on an -open shelf. Children's books, if they have any literary value, should -be bound in some bright-colored morocco: dingy backs of calf or black -cloth are not likely to attract the youthful eye, and the better a -book is bound the more carefully it will be handled. Even -lesson-books, when they become shabby, should have a covering of some -bright-colored cloth stitched over the boards. - -The general rules laid down for the decoration of the school-room may, -with some obvious modifications, be applied to the treatment of -nursery and of children's rooms. These, like the school-room, should -have painted walls and a floor of hard wood with a removable rug or a -square of matting. In a house containing both school-room and nursery, -the decoration of the latter room will of course be adapted to the -tastes of the younger children. Mothers often say, in answer to -suggestions as to the decoration of the nursery, that little children -"like something bright"--as though this precluded every form of art -above the newspaper chromo and the Christmas card! It is easy to -produce an effect of brightness by means of white wood-work and walls -hung with good colored prints, with large photographs of old Flemish -or Italian pictures,--say, for example, Bellini's baby-angels playing -on musical instruments,--and with a few of the Japanese plant and -animal drawings already referred to. All these subjects would interest -and amuse even very young children; and there is no reason why a gay -Japanese screen, with boldly drawn birds and flowers, should not -afford as much entertainment as one composed of a heterogeneous -collection of Christmas cards, chromos, and story-book pictures, put -together without any attempt at color-harmony or composition. - -Children's rooms should be as free as possible from all superfluous -draperies. The windows may be hung with either shades or curtains: it -is needless to have both. If curtains are preferred, they should be of -chintz, or of some washable cotton or linen. The reproductions of the -old _toiles de Jouy_, with pictures from Æsop and La Fontaine, or from -some familiar myth or story, are specially suited to children's rooms; -while another source of interest and amusement may be provided by -facing the fireplace with blue and white Dutch tiles representing the -finding of Moses, the story of David and Goliath, or some such -familiar episode. - -As children grow older, and are allotted separate bedrooms, these -should be furnished and decorated on the same principles and with the -same care as the school-room. Pieces of furniture for these bedrooms -would make far more suitable and interesting presents than the costly -odds and ends so often given without definite intention. In the -arrangement of the child's own room the expression of individual taste -should be encouraged and the child allowed to choose the pictures and -casts with which the walls are hung. The responsibility of such -selection will do much to develop the incipient faculties of -observation and comparison. - -To sum up, then: the child's visible surroundings form the basis of -the best, because of the most unconscious, cultivation: and not of -æsthetic cultivation only, since, as has been pointed out, the -development of any artistic taste, if the child's general training is -of the right sort, indirectly broadens the whole view of life. - - - - -XVI - -BRIC-À-BRAC - - -It is perhaps not uninstructive to note that we have no English word -to describe the class of household ornaments which French speech has -provided with at least three designations, each indicating a delicate -and almost imperceptible gradation of quality. In place of bric-à-brac, -bibelots, _objets d'art_, we have only knick-knacks--defined by -Stormonth as "articles of small value." - -This definition of the knick-knack fairly indicates the general level -of our artistic competence. It has already been said that cheapness is -not necessarily synonymous with trashiness; but hitherto this -assertion has been made with regard to furniture and to the other -necessary appointments of the house. With knick-knacks the case is -different. An artistic age will of course produce any number of -inexpensive trifles fit to become, like the Tanagra figurines, the -museum treasures of later centuries; but it is hardly necessary to -point out that modern shop-windows are not overflowing with such -immortal toys. The few objects of art produced in the present day are -the work of distinguished artists. Even allowing for what Symonds -calls the "vicissitudes of taste," it seems improbable that our -commercial knick-knack will ever be classed as a work of art. - - [Illustration: _PLATE LVI._ - - BRONZE ANDIRON. VENETIAN SCHOOL. - XVI CENTURY.] - -It is clear that the weary man must have a chair to sit on, the -hungry man a table to dine at; nor would the most sensitive judgment -condemn him for buying ugly ones, were no others to be had; but -objects of art are a counsel of perfection. It is quite possible to go -without them; and the proof is that many do go without them who -honestly think to possess them in abundance. This is said, not with -any intention of turning to ridicule the natural desire to "make a -room look pretty," but merely with the purpose of inquiring whether -such an object is ever furthered by the indiscriminate amassing of -"ornaments." Decorators know how much the simplicity and dignity of a -good room are diminished by crowding it with useless trifles. Their -absence improves even bad rooms, or makes them at least less -multitudinously bad. It is surprising to note how the removal of an -accumulation of knick-knacks will free the architectural lines and -restore the furniture to its rightful relation with the walls. - -Though a room must depend for its main beauty on design and furniture, -it is obvious that there are many details of luxurious living not -included in these essentials. In what, then, shall the ornamentation -of rooms consist? Supposing walls and furniture to be satisfactory, -how put the minor touches that give to a room the charm of -completeness? To arrive at an answer, one must first consider the -different kinds of minor embellishment. These may be divided into two -classes: the object of art _per se_, such as the bust, the picture, or -the vase; and, on the other hand, those articles, useful in -themselves,--lamps, clocks, fire-screens, bookbindings, -candelabra,--which art has only to touch to make them the best -ornaments any room can contain. In past times such articles took the -place of bibelots. Few purely ornamental objects were to be seen, save -in the cabinets of collectors; but when Botticelli decorated the -panels of linen chests, and Cellini chiselled book-clasps and -drinking-cups, there could be no thought of the vicious distinction -between the useful and the beautiful. One of the first obligations of -art is to make all useful things beautiful: were this neglected -principle applied to the manufacture of household accessories, the -modern room would have no need of knick-knacks. - -Before proceeding further, it is necessary to know what constitutes an -object of art. It was said at the outset that, though cheapness and -trashiness are not always synonymous, they are apt to be so in the -case of the modern knick-knack. To buy, and even to make, it may cost -a great deal of money; but artistically it is cheap, if not worthless; -and too often its artistic value is in inverse ratio to its price. The -one-dollar china pug is less harmful than an expensive onyx lamp-stand -with moulded bronze mountings dipped in liquid gilding. It is one of -the misfortunes of the present time that the most preposterously bad -things often possess the powerful allurement of being expensive. One -might think it an advantage that they are not within every one's -reach; but, as a matter of fact, it is their very unattainableness -which, by making them more desirable, leads to the production of that -worst curse of modern civilization--cheap copies of costly horrors. - -An ornament is of course not an object of art because it is -expensive--though it must be owned that objects of art are seldom -cheap. Good workmanship, as distinct from designing, almost always -commands a higher price than bad; and good artistic workmanship having -become so rare that there is practically no increase in the existing -quantity of objects of art, it is evident that these are more likely -to grow than to diminish in value. Still, as has been said, costliness -is no test of merit in an age when large prices are paid for bad -things. Perhaps the most convenient way of defining the real object of -art is to describe it as _any ornamental object which adequately -expresses an artistic conception_. This definition at least clears the -ground of the mass of showy rubbish forming the stock-in-trade of the -average "antiquity" dealer. - -Good objects of art give to a room its crowning touch of distinction. -Their intrinsic beauty is hardly more valuable than their suggestion -of a mellower civilization--of days when rich men were patrons of "the -arts of elegance," and when collecting beautiful objects was one of -the obligations of a noble leisure. The qualities implied in the -ownership of such bibelots are the mark of their unattainableness. The -man who wishes to possess objects of art must have not only the means -to acquire them, but the skill to choose them--a skill made up of -cultivation and judgment, combined with that feeling for beauty that -no amount of study can give, but that study alone can quicken and -render profitable. - -Only time and experience can acquaint one with those minor -peculiarities marking the successive "manners" of a master, or even -with the technical _nuances_ which at once enable the collector to -affix a date to his Sèvres or to his maiolica. Such knowledge is -acquired at the cost of great pains and of frequent mistakes; but no -one should venture to buy works of art who cannot at least draw such -obvious distinctions as those between old and new Saxe, between an old -Italian and a modern French bronze, or between Chinese peach-bloom -porcelain of the Khang-hi period and the Japanese imitations to be -found in every "Oriental emporium." - -Supposing the amateur to have acquired this proficiency, he is still -apt to buy too many things, or things out of proportion with the rooms -for which they are intended. The scoffers at style--those who assume -that to conform to any known laws of decoration is to sink one's -individuality--often justify their view by the assertion that it is -ridiculous to be tied down, in the choice of bibelots, to any given -period or manner--as though Mazarin's great collection had comprised -only seventeenth-century works of art, or the Colonnas, the Gonzagas, -and the Malatestas had drawn all their treasures from contemporary -sources! As a matter of fact, the great amateurs of the past were -never fettered by such absurd restrictions. All famous patrons of art -have encouraged the talent of their day; but the passion for -collecting antiquities is at least as old as the Roman Empire, and -Græco-Roman sculptors had to make archaistic statues to please the -popular fancy, just as our artists paint pre-Raphaelite pictures to -attract the disciples of Ruskin and William Morris. Since the Roman -Empire, there has probably been no period when a taste for the best of -all ages did not exist.[36] Julius II, while Michel Angelo and Raphael -worked under his orders, was gathering antiques for the Belvedere -_cortile_; under Louis XIV, Greek marbles, Roman bronzes, cabinets of -Chinese lacquer and tables of Florentine mosaic were mingled without -thought of discord against Lebrun's tapestries or Bérain's arabesques; -and Marie-Antoinette's collection united Oriental porcelains with -goldsmiths' work of the Italian Renaissance. - -Taste attaches but two conditions to the use of objects of art: that -they shall be in scale with the room, and that the room shall not be -overcrowded with them. There are two ways of being in scale: there is -the scale of proportion, and what might be called the scale of -appropriateness. The former is a matter of actual measurement, while -the latter is regulated solely by the nicer standard of good taste. -Even in the matter of actual measurement, the niceties of proportion -are not always clear to an unpractised eye. It is easy to see that the -Ludovisi Juno would be out of scale in a boudoir, but the discrepancy, -in diminishing, naturally becomes less obvious. Again, a vase or a -bust may not be out of scale with the wall-space behind it, but may -appear to crush the furniture upon which it stands; and since -everything a room contains should be regarded as a factor in its -general composition, the relation of bric-à-brac to furniture is no -less to be studied than the relation of bric-à-brac to wall-spaces. -Much of course depends upon the effect intended; and this can be -greatly modified by careful adjustment of the contents of the room. A -ceiling may be made to look less high by the use of wide, low pieces -of furniture, with massive busts and vases; while a low-studded room -may be heightened by tall, narrow commodes and cabinets, with objects -of art upon the same general lines. - -It is of no less importance to observe the scale of appropriateness. A -bronze Pallas Athene or a cowled mediæval _pleureur_ would be -obviously out of harmony with the spirit of a boudoir; while the -delicate graces of old Saxe or Chelsea would become futile in library -or study. - -Another kind of appropriateness must be considered in the relation of -objects of art to each other: not only must they be in scale as -regards character and dimensions, but also--and this, though more -important, is perhaps less often considered--as regards quality. The -habit of mixing good, bad, and indifferent in furniture is often -excused by necessity: people must use what they have. But there is no -necessity for having bad bric-à-brac. Trashy "ornaments" do not make a -room more comfortable; as a general rule, they distinctly diminish its -comfort; and they have the further disadvantage of destroying the -effect of any good piece of work. Vulgarity is always noisier than -good breeding, and it is instructive to note how a modern commercial -bronze will "talk down" a delicate Renaissance statuette or bust, and -a piece of Deck or Minton china efface the color-values of -blue-and-white or the soft tints of old Sèvres. Even those who set -down a preference for old furniture as an affectation will hardly -maintain that new knick-knacks are as good as old bibelots; but only -those who have some slight acquaintance with the subject know how wide -is the distance, in conception and execution, between the old object -of art and its unworthy successor. Yet the explanation is simple. In -former times, as the greatest painters occupied themselves with -wall-decoration, so the greatest sculptors and modellers produced the -delicate statuettes and the incomparable bronze mountings for vases -and furniture adorning the apartments of their day. A glance into the -window of the average furniture-shop probably convinces the most -unobservant that modern bronze mountings are not usually designed by -great artists; and there is the same change in the methods of -execution. The bronze formerly chiselled is now moulded; the iron once -wrought is cast; the patina given to bronze by a chemical process -making it a part of the texture of the metal is now simply applied as -a surface wash; and this deterioration in processes has done more than -anything else to vulgarize modern ornament. - -It may be argued that even in the golden age of art few could have -walls decorated by great painters, or furniture-mountings modelled by -great sculptors; but it is here that the superiority of the old method -is shown. Below the great painter and sculptor came the trained -designer who, formed in the same school as his superiors, did not -attempt a poor copy of their masterpieces, but did the same kind of -work on simpler lines; just as below the skilled artificer stood the -plain artisan whose work was executed more rudely, but by the same -genuine processes. This explains the supposed affectation of those who -"like things just because they are old." Old bric-à-brac and furniture -are, indeed, almost always worthy of liking, since they are made on -good lines by a good process. - -Two causes connected with the change in processes have contributed to -the debasement of bibelots: the substitution of machine for hand-work -has made possible the unlimited reproduction of works of art; and the -resulting demand for cheap knick-knacks has given employment to a -multitude of untrained designers having nothing in common with the -_virtuoso_ of former times. - -It is an open question how much the mere possibility of unlimited -reproduction detracts from the intrinsic value of an object of art. To -the art-lover, as distinguished from the collector, uniqueness _per -se_ can give no value to an inartistic object; but the distinction, -the personal quality, of a beautiful object is certainly enhanced when -it is known to be alone of its kind--as in the case of the old bronzes -made _à cire perdue_. It must, however, be noted that in some -cases--as in that of bronze-casting--the method which permits -reproduction is distinctly inferior to that used when but one object -is to be produced. - -In writing on objects of art, it is difficult to escape the charge of -saying on one page that reproductions are objectionable, and on the -next that they are better than poor "originals." The United States -customs laws have drawn a rough distinction between an original work -and its reproductions, defining the former as a work of art and the -latter as articles of commerce; but it does not follow that an article -of commerce may not be an adequate representation of a work of art. -The technical differences incidental to the various forms of -reproduction make any general conclusion impossible. In the case of -bronzes, for instance, it has been pointed out that the _cire perdue_ -process is superior to that by means of which reproductions may be -made; nor is this the only cause of inferiority in bronze -reproductions. The nature of bronze-casting makes it needful that the -final touches should be given to bust or statue after it emerges from -the mould. Upon these touches, given by the master's chisel, the -expressiveness and significance of the work chiefly depend; and -multiplied reproductions, in lacking this individual stamp, must lack -precisely that which distinguishes the work of art from the commercial -article. - -Perhaps the safest general rule is to say that the less the -reproduction suggests an attempt at artistic interpretation,--the more -literal and mechanical is its rendering of the original,--the better -it fulfils its purpose. Thus, plaster-casts of sculpture are more -satisfactory than bronze or marble copies; and a good photograph of a -painting is superior to the average reproduction in oils or -water-color. - -The deterioration in gilding is one of the most striking examples of -the modern disregard of quality and execution. In former times gilding -was regarded as one of the crowning touches of magnificence in -decoration, was little used except where great splendor of effect was -desired, and was then applied by means of a difficult and costly -process. To-day, after a period of reaction during which all gilding -was avoided, it is again unsparingly used, under the mistaken -impression that it is one of the chief characteristics of the French -styles now once more in demand. The result is a plague of liquid -gilding. Even in France, where good gilding is still done, the great -demand for cheap gilt furniture and ornaments has led to the general -use of the inferior process. The prevalence of liquid gilding, and the -application of gold to furniture and decoration not adapted to such -treatment, doubtless explain the aversion of many persons to any use -of gilding in decoration. - -In former times the expense of good gilding was no obstacle to its -use, since it was employed only in gala rooms, where the whole -treatment was on the same scale of costliness: it would never have -occurred to the owner of an average-sized house to drench his walls -and furniture in gilding, since the excessive use of gold in -decoration was held to be quite unsuited to such a purpose. Nothing -more surely preserves any form of ornament from vulgarization than a -general sense of fitness. - -Much of the beauty and propriety of old decoration was due to the fact -that the merit of a work of art was held to consist, not in substance, -but in design and execution. It was never thought that a badly -designed bust or vase could be saved from mediocrity by being made of -an expensive material. Suitability of substance always enhances a work -of art; mere costliness never. The chryselephantine Zeus of Olympia -was doubtless admirably suited to the splendor of its surroundings; -but in a different setting it would have been as beautiful in marble. -In plastic art everything depends on form and execution, and the -skilful handling of a substance deliberately chosen for its -resistance (where another might have been used with equal fitness) is -rather a _tour de force_ than an artistic achievement. - -These last generalizations are intended to show, not only that there -is an intrinsic value in almost all old bibelots, but also that the -general excellence of design and execution in past times has handed -down to us many unimportant trifles in the way of furniture and -household appliances worthy of being regarded as minor objects of art. -In Italy especially, where every artisan seems to have had the gift of -the _plasticatore_ in his finger-tips, and no substance was thought -too poor to express a good design, there are still to be found many -bits of old workmanship--clocks, _appliques_, terra-cottas, and carved -picture-frames with touches of gilding--that may be characterized in -the terms applied by the builder of Buckingham House to his collection -of pictures:--"Some good, _none disagreeable_." Still, no accumulation -of such trifles, even where none is disagreeable, will give to a room -the same distinction as the presence of a few really fine works of -art. Any one who has the patience to put up with that look of bareness -so displeasing to some will do better to buy each year one superior -piece rather than a dozen of middling quality. - -Even the buyer who need consult only his own pleasure must remember -that his very freedom from the ordinary restrictions lays him open to -temptation. It is no longer likely that any collector will be -embarrassed by a superfluity of treasures; but he may put too many -things into one room, and no amount of individual merit in the objects -themselves will, from the decorator's standpoint, quite warrant this -mistake. Any work of art, regardless of its intrinsic merit, must -justify its presence in a room by being _more valuable than the space -it occupies_--more valuable, that is, to the general scheme of -decoration. - -Those who call this view arbitrary or pedantic should consider, first, -the importance of plain surfaces in decoration, and secondly the -tendency of overcrowding to minimize the effect of each separate -object, however striking in itself. Eye and mind are limited in their -receptivity to a certain number of simultaneous impressions, and the -Oriental habit of displaying only one or two objects of art at a time -shows a more delicate sense of these limitations than the Western -passion for multiplying effects. - -To sum up, then, a room should depend for its adornment on general -harmony of parts, and on the artistic quality of such necessities as -lamps, screens, bindings, and furniture. Whoever goes beyond these -essentials should limit himself in the choice of ornaments to the -"labors of the master-artist's hand." - -FOOTNOTE: - -[36] "A little study would probably show that the Ptolemaic era in -Egypt was a renaissance of the Theban age, in architecture as in other -respects, while the golden period of Augustus in Rome was largely a -Greek revival. Perhaps it would even be discovered that all ages of -healthy human prosperity are more or less revivals, and have been -marked by a retrospective tendency." _The Architecture of the -Renaissance in Italy_, by W. J. Anderson. London, Batsford, 1896. - - - - -CONCLUSION - - -In the preceding pages an attempt has been made to show that in the -treatment of rooms we have passed from the golden age of architecture -to the gilded age of decoration. - -Any argument in support of a special claim necessitates certain -apparent injustices, sets up certain provisional limitations, and can -therefore be judged with fairness only by those who make due allowance -for these conditions. In the discussion of æsthetics such impartiality -can seldom be expected. Not unnaturally, people resent any attempt to -dogmatize on matters so generally thought to lie within the domain of -individual judgment. Many hold that in questions of taste _Gefühl ist -alles_; while those who believe that beyond the oscillations of -fashion certain fixed laws may be discerned have as yet agreed upon no -formula defining their belief. In short, our civilization has not yet -developed any artistic creed so generally recognized that it may be -invoked on both sides of an argument without risk of misunderstanding. - -This is true at least of those forms of art that minister only to the -æsthetic sense. With architecture and its allied branches the case is -different. Here beauty depends on fitness, and the practical -requirements of life are the ultimate test of fitness. - -If, therefore, it can be proved that the old practice was based upon a -clearer perception of these requirements than is shown by modern -decorators, it may be claimed not unreasonably that the old methods -are better than the new. It seems, however, that the distinction -between the various offices of art is no longer clearly recognized. -The merit of house-decoration is now seldom measured by the standard -of practical fitness; and those who would set up such a standard are -suspected of proclaiming individual preferences under the guise of -general principles. - -In this book, an endeavor has been made to draw no conclusion -unwarranted by the premises; but whatever may be thought of the -soundness of some of the deductions, they must be regarded, not as a -criticism of individual work, but simply of certain tendencies in -modern architecture. It must be remembered, too, that the book is -merely a sketch, intended to indicate the lines along which further -study may profitably advance. - -It may seem inconsequent that an elementary work should include much -apparently unimportant detail. To pass in a single chapter from a -discussion of abstract architectural laws to the combination of colors -in a bedroom carpet seems to show lack of plan; yet the transition is -logically justified. In the composition of a whole there is no -negligible quantity: if the decoration of a room is planned on certain -definite principles, whatever contributes line or color becomes a -factor in the composition. The relation of proportion to decoration is -like that of anatomy to sculpture: underneath are the everlasting -laws. It was the recognition of this principle that kept the work of -the old architect-decorators (for the two were one) free from the -superfluous, free from the intemperate accumulation that marks so many -modern rooms. Where each detail had its determinate part, no -superficial accessories were needed to make up a whole: a great -draughtsman represents with a few strokes what lesser artists can -express only by a multiplicity of lines. - -The supreme excellence is simplicity. Moderation, fitness, -relevance--these are the qualities that give permanence to the work of -the great architects. _Tout ce qui n'est pas nécessaire est nuisible._ -There is a sense in which works of art may be said to endure by virtue -of that which is left out of them, and it is this "tact of omission" -that characterizes the master-hand. - -Modern civilization has been called a varnished barbarism: a -definition that might well be applied to the superficial graces of -much modern decoration. Only a return to architectural principles can -raise the decoration of houses to the level of the past. Vasari said -of the Farnesina palace that it was not built, but really born--_non -murato ma veramente nato_; and this phrase is but the expression of an -ever-present sense--the sense of interrelation of parts, of unity of -the whole. - -There is no absolute perfection, there is no communicable ideal; but -much that is empiric, much that is confused and extravagant, will give -way before the application of principles based on common sense and -regulated by the laws of harmony and proportion. - - - - -INDEX - - - Adam, ceiling ornaments of, 93 - - Andirons, 84 - - _Appliques_, in hall and staircase, 119 - - Araldi's ceiling in the convent of St. Paul, Parma, 97 - - Architrave of door, see Doorway; - of mantel-piece, 82 - - Arm-chair, modern, 128 - - _Armoires_, old French and Italian, 117 - - Ashby, Castle, Inigo Jones's stairs in, 111 - - Aviler, d', his description of dining-room fountain, 158 - - - Ball-room, 137; - in Italy, 138; - Louis XIV, 139; - lighting of, 140; - chairs, 140 - - Barry, Madame du, dining-room of, 156 - - Bath-room, 172; - in Pitti Palace, 172 - - Bedroom, development of, 162; - Renaissance, 162; - Louis XIV, 162; - XVIII-century, 163; - cotton hangings in, 164; - suite, plan of, 169; - children's, 182 - - Bedstead, history of, 163 - - Belvédère, at Versailles, frescoes in, 42 - - Bérain, ceiling arabesques of, 98 - - _Bergère_, origin of, 7; - design of, 128 - - Bernini, his staircase in the Vatican, 108 - - Bindings, decorative value of, 146 - - Blinds, 73 - - Blois, spiral stairs in court-yard of château, 109; - _cabinet_ of Catherine de' Medici, 123 - - Blondel, on doors, 58; - on fireplaces, 74 - - Book-cases, medieval, 145; - in Catherine de' Medici's _cabinet_, 145; - in France in the XVII century, 146; - built into the wall, 147; - in England, 149; - modern, 148 - - Books in the middle ages, 145; - in the Renaissance, 146 - - Bosse, Abraham, engravings of Louis XIII interiors, 69; - examples of state bedrooms, 123 - - Boudoir, 130; - modern decoration of, 170 - - Bramante, his use of the mezzanin floor, 5 - - Breakfast-room, 160 - - Bric-à-brac, definition of, 184; - knowledge of, 187; - superiority of old over new, 190 - - Burckhardt, on medieval house-planning, 107, note - - Byfield, G., his stairs at Hurlingham, 111 - - - _Cabinet_, Italian origin of, 123; - used in French Renaissance houses, 123; - of Catherine de' Medici, book-cases in, 145 - - Campbell's _Vitruvius Britannicus_, example of Palladian manner, 4; - of English house-planning, 135 - - Carpets, in general color-scheme, 29; - choice of, 100; - _Savonnerie_, 100; - designs of, 101; - stair-carpets, 102, 118; - hall-carpets, 118 - - Caserta, staircase in royal palace, 108 - - Casino del Grotto, near Mantua, frescoes in, 42; - ceilings in, 98 - - Casts in vestibule, 105; - in hall, 118; - in school-room, 178 - - Ceilings, 89; - timbered, 90; - in France and England, 91; - Elizabethan, 92; - Louis XIII, 92; - Louis XV, 92; - Louis XVI, 93; - Adam, 93, 96; - objections to wooden, 94; - modern treatment of, 95; - frescoed, 97 - - Chambord, staircase at, 109 - - _Chambre de parade_, 123 - - Chandeliers, 140, 159 - - Chanteloup, library of, 149 - - Chantilly, stair-rail at, 113 - - Chevening, Inigo Jones's stairs at, 111 - - Cheverny, fireplace at, 74 - - Chinese art, influence of, on stuff patterns, 166 - - Chippendale's designs for grates, 81 - - "Colonial" style, the, 81 - - Color, use of, in decoration, 28; - predominance of one color in each room, 28; - color-schemes, 29 - - Cornices, interior, Durand on, 94 - - Cortile, Italian, modern adaptation of, 117 - - Coutant d'Ivry's stair-rail in the Palais Royal, 113 - - Curtains, mediæval and Renaissance, 69; - in XVII and XVIII centuries, 70; - muslin, 72 - - - Dado, the, 37; - sometimes omitted in lobbies and corridors, 38 - - Decoration and furniture, harmony between, 13; - individuality in decoration, 17; - graduated scheme of, 24 - - "Den," furniture of, 152; - decoration of, 153 - - Dining-chairs, mediæval, 156; - XVII century, 159; - XVIII century, 159 - - Dining-room, origin of, 155; - in France, 154; - in England, 155; - furniture of, 156; - French, XVIII century, 157; - fountains in, 158; - decoration of modern, 160; - lighting of, 160; - state, 160; - heating of, 161 - - Dining-table, mediæval, 156; - modern, 161 - - Donowell, J., his stairs at West Wycombe, 111 - - Doors, 48; - sliding, origin of, 49; - double, 49; - mediæval, 51; - in palace of Urbino, 52; - in Italy, 52-54; - locks and hinges, 55; - in the Hôtels de Rohan, de Soubise, and de Toulouse, 56; - glass doors, 57; - treatment in England, 57; - mahogany, 58; - panelling, principles of, 59; - veneering, 61; - concealed doors, 61; - entrance-door, 103 - - Doorway, proper dimensions of, 51, 60; - treatment of, in Italy, 52; - in France, 55; - in England, 57 - - Drawing-room, in modern town houses, 20; - evolution of, in England, 122; - in France, 122; - origin of modern, 124; - treatment of, in England and America, 124; - furniture of, 127 - - Dressing-room, 171 - - _Duchesse_, 130 - - Durand, J. L. N., on originality in architecture, 10; - on interior cornices, 94 - - - Easton Neston, use of panel-pictures at, 46 - - Entrance, treatment of, 103; - entrance-door, 103 - - - Fenders, 85 - - Fire-backs, 80 - - Fire-boards, 86 - - Fireplaces, 74; - mediæval, construction of, 75; - in Italy, 75; - in France, 76; - lining of, 80; - American, 81; - accessories of, 84 - - Fire-screens, 86 - - Floors, 89; - of brick or stone, 99; - marble and mosaic, in Italy, 99; - parquet, 99; - of vestibule, 104; - of ball-room, 140 - - Fontana, his staircase in the royal palace, Naples, 108 - - Fountains in dining-rooms, 158 - - Fresco-painting, in wall-decoration, 41; - examples of, in Italy and France, 42; - in ceiling-decoration, 97; - in Italy, 97; - in France, 98; - in Italian gala rooms, 139 - - Furniture, in the middle ages, 7; - furniture and decoration, harmony between, 25; - modern English and American, 26; - - XVIII century, in France and England, 27; - in vestibule, 105; - in hall, 117; - in _salon de compagnie_, 125; - in drawing-room, 127, 128; - English, XVIII century, 129; - in dining-room, 156; - in bedroom, 171; - in school-room, 180 - - - Gabriel, influence of, on ornamental detail, 56; - on ceilings, 93; - on stair-rails, 114 - - Gala rooms, 134; - uses of, 135; - in Italy, 136 - - Gallery, 137 - - Genoa, royal palace, doors in, 54 - - Gibbons, Grinling, carvings for panel-pictures, 46 - - Gilding, deterioration of, 192 - - Giulio Romano's frescoes in the Palazzo del T, 136 - - _Grand'salle_, mediæval, 110 - - Grates, 81 - - Gwilt, his definition of _staircase_, 106 - - - Hall, 106; - old English, 110; - uses of, 115; - modern treatment of, 115; - decoration of, 117; - furniture, 117; - floor of, 118; - lighting of, 119; - prints and pictures in, 119 - - Holkham, over-mantels at, 81 - - Hôtel de Rohan, doors in, 56 - - de Soubise, doors in, 56 - - de Toulouse, doors in, 56 - - Houghton Hall, doors in, 57, note - - House, Carlton, stair-rail in, 114 - - Devonshire, stair-rail in, 114 - - Norfolk, stair-rail in, 114 - - - Individuality in decoration, 17 - - Isabella of Este's apartment at Mantua, doorways in, 52 - - - Jones, Inigo, his introduction of Palladian manner in England, 4, - note; - influence on ceiling-decoration, 92; - on plan of English hall, 110; - his stairs at Castle Ashby, 111; - at Chevening, 111 - - Juvara, his staircase in the Palazzo Madama, Turin, 108 - - - Lambrequin, origin of, 71 - - Lamour, Jean, his wrought-iron work at Nancy, 112 - - Lantern in vestibule, 105 - - Laurano, Luciano da, palace of Urbino built by, 6 - - Lebrun, door-locks in _Galerie d'Apollon_ designed by, 55 - - Le Riche, frescoes of, in Belvédère, Versailles, 42 - - Library, 145; - in the university at Nancy, 149; - of Louis XVI, at Versailles, 149; - of Chanteloup, 149; - modern, decoration of, 150 - - _Lit de parade_, 122 - - _Lit de repos_, 130 - - Longhi, frescoes of, in Palazzo Sina, Venice, 143 - - Louis XIII, windows, 69; - ceilings, 92 - - Louis XIV, modern house-furnishing dates from his reign, 8; - style, characteristics of, 14; - window-shutters, 69; - influence on French, 77; - mantels, 78; - ceilings, 98; - stair-rails, 112; - ball-rooms, 140 - - Louis XV style, characteristics of, 13; - doors, 56; - ceilings, 92; - wrought-iron work, 112; - stair-rails, 113 - - Louis XVI style, characteristics of, 12; - Gabriel's influence on, 56, 93; - doors, 57; - ceilings, 93; - stair-rails, 114 - - Luciennes, Madame du Barry's dining-room at, 157 - - - Mantegna's ceiling, palace of Mantua, 97 - - Mantel-pieces, Italian Renaissance, 77; - French Renaissance, 77; - Louis XIV, 78; - XVIII century, 79; - American, 82; - facing of, 83 - - Mantua, doorways in palace, 52, 54; - Mantegna's ceiling in, 97; - _cabinet_ of Isabella of Este, 123 - - Mario dei Fiori, 139 - - Massimi alle Colonne, palace of, in Rome, 6 - - Mezzanin, origin of, 5; treatment of, 6 - - Ministère de la Marine, Paris, door in, 61 - - Mirrors, use of, in over-mantel, 79; - painted, in Borghese Palace, Rome, 139; - in ball-rooms, 141 - - Morelli's staircase in Palazzo Braschi, Rome, 108 - - Morning-room, 132 - - Mullions, use of, 66 - - Music-room, 142; - at Remiremont, 143 - - Music-stand, 144 - - Music-stool, 144 - - - Nancy, wrought-iron work at, 112; - library in the university, 149 - - Naples, staircase in royal palace, 108 - - Niches, in hall and staircase, 117 - - Nursery, 181 - - - Oberkampf, inventor of color-printing on cotton, 166 - - Object of art, definition of, 187; - reproductions of, 191 - - Openings, placing and proportion of, 23; - lines of, carried up to ceiling, 37, 52, 65, 74; - treatment of, in rocaille style, 56 - - Orders, use of, in wall-decoration, 36; - application to doorways in Italy, 53; - in France, 54; - in England, 57; - in ball-rooms, 139 - - Originality in art, 9; - J. L. N. Durand on, 10 - - Over-doors, mediæval treatment of, 52; - in Italy, 53; - in France, 55; - Louis XVI, 57 - - Over-mantels, Renaissance, 76; - use of mirror in, 79; - XVIII-century treatment, 79; - in England, 81 - - - Palais Royal, stair-rail in, 113 - - Palazzo Borghese, Rome, painted mirrors in, 139 - - Braschi, Rome, staircase in, 108 - - Gondi, Florence, stairs in, 108 - - Labia, Venice, frescoes in, 136 - - Madama, Turin, staircase in, 108 - - Massimi alle Colonne, Rome, date of, 6 - - Piccolomini, at Pienza, staircase in, 108, note - - Pitti, Florence, bath-room in, 172 - - Reale, Caserta, staircase in, 108 - - Reale, Naples, staircase in, 108 - - Riccardi, staircase in, 108, note - - Sina, Venice, frescoes in, 143 - - del T, Mantua, frescoes in, 136 - - Palladian window, 67 - - Panelling, in Italy and north of the Alps, 40; - wood, stone and stucco, 40, 42; - subdivisions of, 43 - - Parma, Araldi's ceiling in convent of St. Paul, 97; - rocaille stoves in museum, 121 - - Pavia, Certosa of, doorways in, 52 - - _Perroquets_, 141 - - Perugia, ceiling in the Sala del Cambio, 97 - - Perugino's ceiling in the Sala del Cambio, Perugia, 97 - - Peruzzi, Baldassare, his use of the mezzanin, 5 - - Piano, design of, 143 - - Pictures, proper background for, 45; - mode of hanging, 46; - in hall, 119; - in dining-room, 160; - in school-room, 180 - - Picture-frames, selection of, 45 - - Plan of house in relation to decoration, 23 - - Plate-glass in windows, 67 - - Pompadour, Madame de, dining-room fountain of, 158 - - Pompeii, wall-frescoes of, 41 - - Portière, use of, 59 - - Presses, old English, 117 - - Prints in hall, 120; - in school-room, 180 - - Privacy, modern indifference to, 22 - - Proportion, definition of, 31; - Isaac Ware on, 32 - - Pyne's _Royal Residences_, examples of pictures set in panels, 46 - - - Rambouillet, Madame de, her influence on house-planning, 8 - - Raphael, ceilings of, 97 - - Remiremont, music-room at, 143 - - Renaissance, characteristics of domestic architecture, 4; - doors, 52; - window-curtains, 69; - mantels, 76, 77; - ceilings, 90-92; - French architects of, 109 - - Rennes, Palais de Justice, carved wooden ceilings, 89 - - Rugs, Oriental, 29, 100; - modern European, 101 - - - _Salon à l'Italienne_, see Saloon - - _Salon de compagnie_, origin and use of, 123, 125; - decoration and furniture of, 125; - lighting of, 126 - - _Salon de famille_, origin and use of, 123 - - Saloon, adaptation of, in England by Inigo Jones, 111; - introduction in France, 123; - uses in Italy, 136; - at Vaux-le-Vicomte, 137 - - School-room, 172; - decoration of, 178 - - Screen in Tudor halls, 110 - - Shobden Court, stairs in, 111 - - Shutters, interior decoration of, 69; - at Vaux-le-Vicomte, 69; - in rooms of Mesdames de France, Versailles, 69; - purpose of, 72 - - Sideboard, mediæval, 156; - in France, 157 - - Smoking-room, 151 - - Stairs, 106; - development of, in Italy, 107; - in the Palladian period, 108; - in the XVII and XVIII centuries, 108; - spiral, 109; - in hall, in England, 111; - construction of, in Italy, 112; - in France, 112 - - Stair-carpets, 118 - - Staircase, meaning of term, 106; - walls of, 117; - in simple houses, 119; - lighting of, 119 - - Stair-rails, in Italy and France, 112; - Louis XIV and XV, 113; - Louis XVI and Empire, 113; - Tudor and Elizabethan, 114; - Palladian, in England, 114 - - Stoves, use of, in hall, 120; - examples of old stoves, 121; - in dining-room, 161 - - Stucco, use of, in decoration, 40; - panelling, in Italy, 40; - in ceilings, 90; - in Elizabethan ceilings, 92; - combined with painting, 97 - - Stuff hangings, 44 - - Stupinigi, frescoes at, 42; - over-mantels at, 80 - - Styles, essence of, 11; - conformity to, 13 - - Symmetry, definition of, 33; - advantages of, 34 - - - Tapestry, use of, in northern Europe, 39; - its subordination to architectural lines of room, 39 - - Tiepolo, frescoes of, in the Villa Valmarana, 42; - in the Palazzo Labia, 136 - - Titian's "Presentation of the Virgin," doorway in, 53 - - _Toiles de Jouy_, 166 - - Trianon-sous-Bois, fountains in banqueting-gallery, 158 - - - Udine, Giovanni da, ceilings of, in collaboration with Raphael, 97 - - Urbino, ducal palace of, 6; - doors in, 52; - fireplace in, 74; - _cabinet_ of Isabella of Este, 123 - - - Vanvitelli's staircase at Caserta, 108 - - Vatican, Bernini's staircase in, 108 - - Vault, the Roman, influence of, on ceilings, 191 - - Vaux-le-Vicomte, interior shutters at, 69; - saloon at, 137 - - Versailles, frescoes in Belvédère, 42; - windows in rooms of Mesdames de France, 68; - shutters in same, 69; - library of Louis XVI, 148 - - Vestibule, 104; - furniture of, 105; - lighting of, 105; - absence of, in English house-planning, 110 - - Villa, Italian, chief features of, 4, note - - Villa Giacomelli, at Maser, over-mantel in, 76 - Madama, in Rome, ceiling of loggia, 97 - Rotonda, near Vicenza, saloon in, 136 - Valmarana, near Vicenza, frescoes in, 42 - Vertemati, near Chiavenna, over-mantel in, 76; - carved wooden ceiling in, 89 - - Viollet-le-Duc, on doorways, 52, note; - on mediæval house-planning, 109 - - Voguë, Hôtel, at Dijon, 7 - - - Wall-decoration, 38 - - Wall-papers, 44 - - Walls, 31 - - Ware, Isaac, on proportion, 32; - on sliding doors, 49; - his definition of staircase, 106 - - West Wycombe, Donowell's stairs at, 111 - - Windows, decorative value of, 64; - dimensions of, 65; - plate-glass in, 67; - French or casement, 68; - sash, 68; - curtains, 69, 70; - shutters, 69, 72; - lambrequin, 71; - muslin curtains, 72; - blinds, 73 - - Wood-box, 86 - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Decoration of Houses, by -Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman Jr. - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DECORATION OF HOUSES *** - -***** This file should be named 40367-8.txt or 40367-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/3/6/40367/ - -Produced by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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