Wall and Floor DecorationAuthor(s): Robert JarvesSource: The Art Amateur, Vol. 16, No. 6 (May, 1887), pp. 138-139Published by:Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25628568 .

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138 THE ART AMATEUR. WALL AND FLOOR DECORATION.

IT may be said that, in -eneral, the best l)eriods of pat ternl designing have been the \vorst periods of figoure wvork, and the reason is obvious. A patterned background is seldom as good as a plain one for a work of higlh art.

Anybody who possesses a fine cast after the anti(qLue can satisfy himnself as to this by placing it, first before a patterned wall-paper, theni before a plain space of about the same tone, or by surrounding it, first Nwith patternecl, after\vard withl plaini drapery of the same material ancl general color. No good painte- or sculptor Nvill hesitate a miioment to express a preference for a plain background for their vorks. Even the ornamental designer, wvhen e-ver he gets an opportunity to do a piece of work wvhich ma) stanid alone, likes to furnishl it wvith a plain margin or a v ery simlple border. Orienital (lecoration is supposed to carry the use of p)atterns to- the farthest possible limits yet the type of the Eastern r0oom1 is on'c in which great spaces of rough-cast or \vhite plaster- are relieved by smaller spaces of hand-wrought tiles, carved -wood-work rugs, and embroideries. In short, the plain surface is as essenitial to any scheme of clecoration whlich is intendedl to set off fine pictures and statuary, or into wvhich much ,0ood handl-vork enters, as lplain bread is to a dinner. It belongs with every course, and there should be Ino stint of it.

But our imiodern wvay of furnishing seldom admits of our keeping much space free from all-over ornamenita tion. Our rooms seldom have anly archiitectural features

which would allow of a decoration so r-ichl as to suffice, in

itself, for the w\hole room. Works of art of sufficienit importance to make l)attern-work undlesi-able in their neighborhood are placedl, by those lucky enoug,h to owvn them, in a gallery by themiiselves. Finally, our decorative

materials, of which wvall-paper is the principal, are so poor of texture, and our interest in their designs is so

much lessenecd by their exact mechanical rel)etition, that they canniot he restricted to corners, dados and cornices w\ithout pro(lucing an impression of meanniess. They must be used liberally-spread over large surfaces; and, if anything is kept plain, it miust be just that which

in former times, or in countries where hanid--vork is still

abundant, wvould be most riclly (lecorate(l. Thus, in most of our r-ooms, the doors, \vinclow-casings, cornice, da(lo and( everything that is left to us \vhich has or miay have anl architectural character ar-e comparatively plai n, while elaborate ornamenit covers the wholesurface of the

floor and walls anid, sometimes, of the ceiling. In an

East Indian room, all that is wvith us plain would be

covered wvith delicate carving, inlaying anid painlting, anid \vhat wve cov er with wvall-paper and carpets xvouLld

be left wlholly or partly bare. This change, so complete, clue to the mechaniical improvements which have cheap ened (in both senises) our pattern-work and to a corre

sponcling1 fall

ing a\way of

a r c h i tectur-al

taste, hlas imnadle it extremely difficult, flo\v that the great h i st o r i c a 1

schools of or nament ar-e he

il,so \s i(lely studied, to ap ply their prin

ciples to our

needls. In fact, it cannot be clone without

in a degree al

ter ing those neecds by ab rogating some

of the concdi tionls xrhich usually bind us. To do this i-edluires a longOr

purse; so that

mllost peOple must findl moder-ni principles to gui(le themn in the use of modlern materials.

Plainly, the commlnoni practice of restricting tnh orna menitatio.n of the woocl-work of a noomii to a few mould(

ings and( panellings is a good one, for the eve must have

a p)lace for albsolute rest somewhere. B3ut the wall

paper, also, should be of such patterns as may be de scribed as restful. It must serve as a background, if not for paintings and statuary, then for engravings and knick-knacks. The first wall-papers were made in di rect imitation of brocades; but, though very pretty, they

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wvere soon (liscarded, because too showy. The old Jap anese papers, much more an,cient than the oldiest of ours, Nwere showier yet, an(t it is hard to imagine that some of

them iwere ever used except in large, semi-public halls an(i corridlors. In a damp, unheated room in the Astor Library is a collection of these paper patterns, presented

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CARVED ARMORIAL BEARINGS OF ABEL-FRAN~01S POISSON, iMARQUIS DE MlARIGNY

by the Japanese Government. One of them is worth de scribinig here. A gardener has left his hand-cart \vith recd wveels, body and handles, stanidinig, full of blooming flowers, in the rain, \Vhile he has sought shelter. Near it, oni the uround(, are a few overturne(l flower-pots. These tlhree elemenits-the hand-cart with its loadl, the flower

pots, and the dashes of gold, silver, and gray which rep resent the rain-are arranged so as to rel)eat without bringing any two impressions of the same one into im mediate neighborhood. The flowers, andl, in fact, every thing but the rain, are in body-color. This, though it is as harmonious as it is gorgeous, is the type of what to avoicl in clecorating one of our small or mecliumn-sized modern rooms. 'We may have very bold patterns, like those of the Byzantine fabrics that have come dowvn to us, birds or other animals symmetrically opposed an(I inscribed in circles or octogons; [)ut they munst not be oni too large a scale; there must be no near approach to

pictorial representation of objects, and these patterns must be so obvious that the relations of all their parts can be seen at a glance. Oni the other hand, we may have very realistic patterns, of ferns and small flowers, say, but, no matter how maodlestly colored, they shoulcd be so confused as to make it unlikely that any one shoulcl think of tracing out the " repeat" at all. In choosing a

\wall-paper one can hardly go too far to\ard either ex treme. It is one of those cases in which the goldenl mean is not to be pursuecl. A geornetrical pattern canl halrdly l)e of too bold, too obvious'forms, provicled it is in subdued tints; while a paper in which natural forms are copied cannot be too mysterious. It should be mlore so than the olcl verclures (tapestries so-called) which are occasionally taken for models b) wall-paper mianufacturers. In these, the confusion of the form-ls was added to by the inequalities of the Nweaving, and by the draping of the stuff. A good geometrical or diaper pattern is, in general, the safest. The design for a tex tile material, macle and wvoveni by Emilie WV. Uhlinger, of the Philadelphia School of Inclustrial Art, which we reproduced last month, would nmake an excellent wall paper for general use.

In the matter of colors it is best izot to go to ex

tremes. lBrown, russet, dull red, dull green, olive, in digo are all perfectly safe, whether separately or in com

bination. If brilliancy be thought needful, better attain it b) the choice of a papcr to the ornamenitation of which

goll or silver bronze has been appliedl, or by clhoosinig a

satin-gloss paper. The latter does not make a good

background, but ordinary wall-paper in bright tinlts makes a much vorse one. There is no suLch objection to the use of gold or silver papers.

The difficulty of choosing a Nvall-paper is very much

increased if oil-paintings, especially landscapes, are to be

hung against it. Engravings and vater-colors have the

white of their nmats or margins as well as the gold of

their fraines to separate them from the patterned wvall

surface, besides wvhichi, they seldom exact the particuL lar attention 'which is clue to a good work in oils. A

loudish l)attern, appealing to the eye at the same time

with a landscape by Rousseau or Dupir6, has Imluch the

same effect as the strains of a barrel-organ interfering

wvith a sym

i)honv bv a

great compos er. The choice in such case, is practically re

stricted to the admirable dia per designs based on geo metrical forms,

like that to which we have ailr-eady clirect ecl the reader.

The Inotive of such a design is visiblbe at the first glance, anid cloes not

a f te rvard

trouble one, while it makes an impression of richniess, of variety, of so ber and( (leco rous arrangre

ment which does not militate against that which shoul(l be produced by an isolated work of fine art. The coloring slhould be very sober, but goldl may always be introduced, and, if thrown out stronigly by a dark and rich gener-al tone, so muclh the better. The paper is then- brought to the condlition of being a continuation

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THE ART AMATEUR. 139 of the goldl framiie, an(d the effect of its coloratioi ou that of the p)icture is reduced to a minimnum. But, as arule, greater liberty is possible, andl the col

oring, wvhile it should be sober, may Dlav a

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MWARBLE PILASTER.

tlIN TIIE \ATI(O.\AI. M1USEUMI OF FLOREN'CE.)

greater part in the color scheme of the r oom. Perhaps the best vay to convev anl idea as to the sort

of color effect which wvall-paper- should al xvays approach, will be to describe how painted \vall spaces

are colnmonily treatecd wvhen they are to be left plain, and when it is desired to avoid poverty ancd monoto

ny of appearance, showiing, at the same time, that plain sur faces neecl not have these defects. At least two coats

of painit are always

given. It miay suffice to have each coat of

a different tint, and to have the second given a scumbled ef fect, either by holding the brush short in laying it, so as to

wvork with the ends of the hairs, or by

going over it with a

special brush made for the purpose. A good workman will get a better result by

the first method. If the resulting tint is to be light and grayish, the darker tone is put

on first; if dark and

rich, the lighter tone first. The under tone, in either case, showvs through the upper in minute specks irregou larly distributed, and not noticeable except by the appearance of depth and richness which they give to the work. Of course the two tones should harmonize, and the smaller the room the less shoulcl be the difference between them. Usually they are mixed of the

sane pigments, only in different propor tions. With five or six coats of paint, each slightly different in tone and intensity from the others, sur faces as pleasant to the eye as old velvet

may be produced. A good wvall-paper

should be colored on the same principle. That is to say, no matter howY many tints are used, they should all al)proach one another, no strik ing contrast either as to hue or intensity of tone.should be admit ted, and the pattern

should be so distributed ancd so nmuch broken as to sug gest, at a clistance, the stipple(d effect spoken of above.

The walls covered With SuICh p)al)eS as have been

recommiiendcled, or with self-colored paper, stencilled with

outlined diaper- ornament in gold (a treatment \vhich some ambitious paper maniufactur-er ought to take uL) as it is the best possible for pictures) and the wood-xork either left of its natural color or painted in not more thani three harmoniizing; tints, the carpets and clraperies may be more strikingly patternecd andl more brightly coloredl. None but the cheapest grades of carpets are now made

in offensively brillianit colors, and not all even of these. The extent to which one may go in the matter of stronog

DUCAL ESCUTCHEON OF THE BARGELLO, FLORENCE.

color and pattern both, is clearly shown in the Eastern rugs, which seldom seem out of place in any room. It should be considered, however, that a simnply colored American-i carpet is preferable to an imnitation rug. One other wNarning: It is well to reject such designs as are based upon the patch-workl designs of the Japanese, and also those which, in any degree, recall the rococo.

For curlains very many materials are available. It is not necessary to recommend any particular style of goods.

Cretonnes, chintz and other printed cotton goods are now

brought out in much l)rettier patterns, though, as a rule, smaller, than wheni fashion took hold of them for a short

XVI. A DEORTI

peid .7fx er ag .Rihradmrsowfbic

ar a umrus ro heAercn av ik aass

perod,o agfewyear ago. Rnicher Jaanesmorndshowyfabrics

embroicleries. Draperies, when not too abundanlt, mtay be chosen to contrast with the general tone of the room, and several tints may be inclulded in their- patterns, none of whlich need be repeatedl elsewrhere. Thus, they offer a safe means of giving variety, anad of brightening up what might otherwise be a sombre apartment.

Ro BERT1 J ARVES.

SO,mE, splendid Italian emiblroideries, notably onie of Venletian work, showing tUlipS, Ioses, aIndt other- flowers,

in colors andci gold, on White satin groundl, are to be seen at Chadwvick's. These are of recent imnpor tation, andl the prices aske(d run from $g9 to $500 the piece.

Atr the sale of Ori

ental art goods at Ort

gies's, Miarch 23d1 t( 25th, low prices ruledl. The sale, wNhich \was

l)yorder of the First Japanese Afanufac turing & Trading

Co., includedl some

desirable specimens of olcl Japanese and

Chinese pottery, lac

quers an(l bronzes, whicli suffered from being sold wvith a

quantity of modern wares. A carved

\Nvodele pipe-lholder

brought $2o; an o0l(

bronze flowver-pot, decorated \vith a dragon an(d bull, cast by To-un, went for

1 5; an o0l( lacquer inro \with flying duck in inetal, $7.50; an other in gold lac(luer, with landscape by Kakosai, brought $io; an old lacquer 'box 1by Han zan, after

a design iby Korin, $i I; ani old Chinese tea-color jar, fine specimeni, nine inches high, with stand, only $20; a Satsuma tea I)owVl, $7; a Satsuma

Koro, Tokio decora tion, $io. A small jade cup wvith carved stand(I and silver cover, easily worth $-o, brought but $17.50. Handsomely decorat ed swords averaged $i 9. Sword-guards in Gorosa bronze sold for $5 each.

A LIFE - SIZED

statue of " Pomona,"

a curious old Italiani work in colored rnar

bles, at J. J. Du xeen's,

has an especial inter est in having been owned by the late Sir Moses Montefiore. It was sent oxver here in the hope of findling a p)urchaser for it dlur ing the recent interest in the M\ ontefio)re HIome in this city, w.hich culmlinated in the very successful fair. For many years it wZas in1 Si r MIoses 's London residlence in Park Lane, in \vhich, it is saidl, he slept but tw!ice-the only regu lar occul)ant of the

mnansionl being anl oldl janitor. The real home of the phi!an

fn~r

B Ci

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(I1N' THtE SOUTHl KiEN'SINGTO.N SIUSEUMt

thropic baronet was

at Ramsgate, a watering-place, where he lived near the retreat his bounty had provided for indigent rabbis.

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