THIS 15 NUMBER 144 OF AN EDITION LIMITED TO THREE HUNDRED COPIES Cornell University Library NB 1800.E46 Memorial art, 3 1924 020 550 673 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924020550673 A Restoratiox of the Tomb of Mausolus, Ekected in 353 B. C. by His Wife, Artemisia, AT Halicarnassus in Asia Minor From "Monuments Antiques": H. d'Espouy MEMORIAL ART By HUGER ELLIOTT f& COLLEGE OF fcf/iTECt^ >'<'•. Cambridge Massachusetts GRANITE MARBLE & BRONZE 1923 ■4- PRINTED BY THE WARBEN PUBLICATIONS PRESS CAMBRIDGE, MASS., U. S. A. FOREWORD The material contained in the following pages was first published in monthly installments in "Granite Marble S^ Bronze". In preparing these articles for publication in book form the writer finds himself somewhat troubled by the realiza- tion that in those articles — written from month to month with the desire to impress upon the practical man the necessity of serious study of basic principles — he was often dogmatic^ oveY- insistent and^ shall we say, flamljoyant. Such qualities, while they may pass muster in a period- ical, are of doubtful value in a booh. Yet to eliminate them means a re-writing of the whole; for this, it seems, the necessary time will never be fouMd. The reader is, therefore, asked to read with forbearance, agreeing when he can, dis- agreeing when he must. DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ELLA BROWN AND KATHARINE MIDDLETON HUGER, THE EXAMPLE OF WHOSE FRIENDSHIP, ONE FOR THE OTHER, WAS AN INSPIRA- TION IN THE LIVES OF THOSE '' WHO KNEW THEM CONTENTS Page fokeword - - 3 Introduction 9 Chapter I — Mouldings - - 13 Chapter II — ^The Column - - * 23 Chapter III — A Further Discussion of Architectural Forms 35 Chapter IV — Ornament 41 Chapter V — ^Letters and Lettering - 65 Chapter VI — The Headstone 79 Chapter VII — The Cross, the Obelisk and Other Forms 89 Chapter VIII — A Disagreeable Chapter 99 An Interlude . 107 Chapter IX — The Sarcophagus 109 Chapter X— The Tomb 113 Chapter XI — Some Suggestions Concerning Public Memorials 129 Chapter XII — A Consideration of Sculpture 137 Chapter XIII — Concerning the Use of Color 149 Chapter XIV — The Cemetery - - 157 Appendix - - - 167 Index - - - 169 /<9 COLLEGE ^ ILLUSTRATIONS Facing Page Feontispiece — The Tomb of Mausolus 1 Plate I — Entablatuee : Basilica Ulpia, Rome 13 Plate II — Examples of the Orders - 23 Plate III — Treasury of the Athenians, Delphi, Greece 24s Plate IV — Doorway of the Cathedral, Lucca, Italy 36 Doorway of the Erechtheion, Athens, Greece 35 Plate V — Ornament : Roman, Romanesque and Gothic 4!l Plate VI — ^An Alphabet by McKim, Mead and White 55 Plate VII — Tomb of Leonardo Bruni, Florence, Italy: Detail 56 Plate VIII — Tomb of Costanza Zagnaini, Bologna, Italy 64 Plate IX — Study-sheet of Lettering 72 Plate X — Stela, National Museum, Athens, Greece 79 Plate XI — Colonial Headstone, Boston, 1689 - 80 Plate XII — Colonial Headstone, Boston, 1771 - 84 Plate XIII — Greek Sarcophagus, Imperial Museum, Constanti- nople - - - 109 Plate XIV — Sarcophagus, St. Lorenzo beyond the Walls, Rome 110 Sarcophagus, San Apollinari in Classe, Ravenna, Italy 110 Plate XV — Pillar of Absalom, Vale of the Kings, Jerusalem 113 Plate XVI — Tomb of the Infante don Alfonso, Burgos, Spain 116 Tomb of the Dussaini Family, Verona, Italy 116 Plate XVII — Tombs of the Scaligers, Verona, Italy 120 Plate XVIII — The Marsuppini Tomb, Florence, Italy 124 Plate XIX — "II Marzocco," Florence, Italy 129 MEMORIAL ART Facing Page Plate XX — Geeek Fragment, Museum of Fine Aets, Boston - 137 Plate XXI — Tomb of James, Cardinal of Portugal, Florence, Italy: Detail - - - 144 Plate XXII — Altak-tomb of Santa Fina, San Gimignano, Italy - 149 Plate XXIII — Churchyard, Staunton Lacy, England - -157 Garden: Holme Lacy, England - - 157 Plate XXIV — Garden: Villa Albani, Rome - 160 Garden : Petit Trianon^, Versailles, France - 160 Page Figure 1 — A Diagram Showing the Principal Mouldings 15 Figure 2 — Study-sheet of the Classic Alphabet 59 Figure 3 — Type of Eighteenth Century Inscription 67 Figure 4 — Study-sheet of Gothic Letters 71 Figure 5 — Round Gothic Letters 73 Figure 6 — Sketch for an Inscription - 75 Figure 7 — Suggestion for an Inscription in Gothic Letters 76 Figure 8 — Headstones : A Study in Proportion - 81 Figure 9 — ^Headstones : A Study in Proportion 82 Figure 10 — The Cross Correctly and Incorrectly Used - 91 Figure 11 — Structural Forms Poorly Related 100 Figure 12 — ^Unstructural Forms and Mouldings - 101 Figure 13 — Examples of Illogical Ornament 103 INTRODUCTION HEN a man tells me that five added to four makes nine, he can, should I doubt his statement, prove it by placing the required number of apples or dollars or headstones together and asking me to count them for myself. JBut when I tell a man that a cer- tain monument is ugly and another one beautiful, and he does not agree with me, who is to decide which is right? He merely has to say, "Prove it"; and though I might prove it to my own satisfaction there is no guar- antee that I shall prove it in such a manner as to convince him. Take that important element of design — proportion. Pages upon pages have been written about it; circles and half -circles, diagonal lines and more diagonal hnes have been drawn across photographs or measured drawings of cathedrals and cupboards, mirrors and monu- ments, and what has been proved? Nothing. It is generally felt that oblong forms are more pleasing than square; that a decorative band placed about the middle of a building or a headstone is not so satisfactory as the same band placed nearer the top ; but nothing has been proved. He who will can still say, "I disagree" ; and there is the end of it. A few rules concerning the proper use of mouldings can be shown to be founded on logic ; reasons why a column should be treated in one way rather than in another can be given; certain sound, constructive principles can be stated; but in the main all questions concerning the really important things in design resolve Nine INTRODUCTION themselves into questions of taste. Of all things taste is the most difficult thing about which to write and a matter about which nothing can be proved. Therefore, he who hopes to find in these pages rules which solve all difficulties is doomed to disappointment. I shall strive to make clear the reason why I consider one monument beautiful and an- other unbeautiful; I shall hope to give reasons which to most will seem reasonable, to seem logical in my deductions ; but to lay down the law is far from my purpose. I only ask that the reader will con- sider with me the various propositions advanced ; should his conclu- sions differ from mine, who is to say that he is not right and that I am? Above all things, I hope to avoid the agree-with-me-or-be- damned attitude. Since we are discussing matters which cannot be proved I may not say that another is wrong when I cannot advance sure proof that I am right. When one looks at the monuments being placed, day by day, in our cemeteries; when one sees, month by month, the designs pub- lished in the advertising pages of the magazines, one wants to cry out against such ugliness — against the waste of labor and, since memorials are so rarely removed, against the perpetuation of so many imbeautiful objects. One wants to protest, all in one breath, against the raised letters, the rough-hewn crosses, the naturalistic flowers, the tasteless mingling of polished and unpoHshed surfaces and m^ny other evidences of the average American's utter indifference to artistic fitness. The man who does the actual work — whether he be a painter, a sculptor or a craftsman (and the first two are, of course, also crafts- men) — seems often to be irritated by the criticisms of the man who merely theorizes. "Well, I should like to see him do it," he remarks. Ten MEMORIAL ART and perhaps does not stop to consider that the ability to judge justly has little to do with the abihty to execute a given piece of work. Being able to do a thing with the greatest amount of technical skill is no guarantee that the worker will also have the clearest vision of what should and what should not be done. The critic must, of course, know the limitations and possibilities of the art of which he speaks ; but the fact that he cannot, with his own hands, do the per- fect piece of work does not, in any way, prevent him from recogni*;- ing the excellence or the fault in work done by another. No one demands that the umpire in a ball game shall be able to make the brilliant plays he judges; the best coach for a football team is not necessarily the man who can actually do the things he expects of his men. So the worker should judge the critic not by what he can or cannot do but by the justice of the reasons he puts forward when praising or condemning the work of others. Often the critic (being merely human) substitutes personal likes or dislikes for clear-headed reasoning; then the worker may, with justice, discredit his criticisms. So much for a clear understanding of the spirit of these discus- sions. The term "memorial art" as used in this volume includes all the forms which may be erected as receptacles for or memorials to the dead. Since these range from wall-tablets and headstones to tombs and public monuments many elements — mouldings, columns, ornament, etc. — are more or less common to all. It is, therefore, fitting to discuss these before considering the individual types. Eleven PLATE I r l« mmiaasimmiisimi!amiasagiimi!JMami^^ •^(|«»l(•■^«»n•»■«^tl•(^•Stt^^•p^<•f«•«•S♦»•r-lt«^»•«>^^•^«•'^■^ll"^<| K-»f«(«^«»ff«««1«»«l«««»««»,««««M»««««fl»l(»-(i f-,9P>im'imtimt:.mttmfffmiimiimi\)'^\ssy Fig. 4 Gothic small letters. The same word partly drawn and completely drawn, showing the importance of the vertical line The many varieties of letters found on mediaeval monuments which are variants of classic forms or suggest rounded types of Gothic letters may in this brief survey be grouped under the head of Round Gothic. Such letters are pecuharly adapted to memorials which suggest Romanesque originals, since for this style the classic letter is too severe and the Gothic inappropriate. They should, Seventy-one MEMORIAL ART therefore, be studied by the designer. For these letters it is even more difficult to suggest "rules" than for the Gothic letter. The forms vary greatly ; yet there are a few general considerations which may help the student. The letters are usually much narrower than the Roman and a few differ greatly from the classic letters from which they were developed. Those most changed are "A", "C", "D", "E", "G", "H", "M", "N" and "Q". The accompanying drawing (Fig. 5) shows Round Gothic letters from a memorial stone in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The rich decorative quality of these letters will be felt at a glance ; the effect is, of course, much better when the letters are grouped in words. Those forms which vary most from the classic type, particularly the letter "D", may be slightly changed that the inscription may be easily read; but the change should be made with great care since the beauty of these inscriptions lies in the harm,onious relation of letter to letter — not, as some suppose, in the fact that they are hard to read. In the photograph of the tomb from Bologna (Plate VIII) the inscription is not easily read since here, as in so many mediaeval monuments, the words are abbreviated. Short dashes will be noticed over some of the words; these bars represent letters which have been omitted. These shortened words were as easily read by the people of that time as are the abbreviations of the names of the months now in use read by us. A just criticism has often been made of the Gothic letters — ^that they are not easily read. Yet if the memorial is to be Gothic in char- acter the use of the corresponding lettering is imperative. Lack of taste is shown when Gothic characters are used on a monument which is classic in form ; and Roman letters on a Gothic monument are equally out of place. There will always be need of the Gothic Seventy-two L-/ Absolute alignment (above) seems to be unbalanced; apparent balance (below) Absolute alignment and apparent balance. Note how much the Lower "O" overhangs the lower "H" Diagram showing the superiority of. apparent balance. Note: Rarely, if ever, is it permissible to place given name over surname, as is done in these diagrams. Such an arrangement is used merely for the sake of simplicity; the principles hold true for all inscriptions. The lower diagram seems balanced though the upper is absolutely aligned. The letter "T" at the end of a line must always project to gain apparent balance. LETTERS AND LETTERING letter and if it is designed with care there is no reason why it should not be as easily read as any other form and have, besides, a beauty not surpassed by the most perfect specimen of classic lettering. Having discussed the individual letter the inscription as a whole must next be studied — ^the relation of letters and of words one to another and the relation of the inscription to the monument. First, the important "don'ts". The name of the dead should never be placed upon step or phnth, it should not appear on the mmm mmf Fig. 6 Round Gothic lefbters, from the toumb of the Abbess of Santa Patricia, Naples, 1438; now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston architrave or frieze of a tomb and only rarely will the surname look well isolated on the face of a sarcophagus. In the case of a public monument it is another matter; on the die of a pedestal bearing a statue of our first President the one word "Wasftiington" is appro- priate and sufficient; in the private- memorial the surname alone is insufiicient. The designer should do his best to discourage the use of such isolated words as "Father" or "Mother" and the use of terms of en- Seventy-three MEMORIAL ART dearment, "To My Darling Son", "To Our Precious Baby", and so on. While sincere grief is a beautiful and sacred thing it loses much of its beauty and a great deal of its sacredness by being flaunted in the face of the public. One of the most impressive funerary mon- uments in the country — ^with a wonderful nameless figure by St. Gaudens — placed in a secluded spot in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, bears no inscription of any kind, yet conveys a deep ;r sense of love and grief than could a stone covered with sentimental inscriptions. The sorrow and affection of those erdcting the memo- rial should speak through the beauty of the monument; the inscrip- tion had best be confined to statements of names and dates. In such matters the designer cannot, of course, dictate; he should, however, do his best with tactful advice or suggestions. The form of the memorial controls the size and placing of the inscription, therefore no general statement can be made which will cover all cases. That it should be neither so large as to suggest an advertisement nor so small as to be unreadable goes without saying; just how best to avoid either must be determined for each memorial. When the lettering is placed in a panel the inscription may fill the space, the letters being placed close to the edge ; where no panel is used — ^the letters being cut into the plain face of the memorial, as in the simple headstone — a liberal margin must be left between the edge of the stone and the ends of the inscription, otheiTvise an effect of weakness will be given. In the headstone where the vertical element is predominant, the mass of letters will be more effective if placed on the upper part of the stone; on a side of a sarcophagus or on the die of a pedestal a more centralized position is appropriate— though even here it is well to lift the block of letters a trifle above the true center. And Seventy-four LETTERS AND LETTERING inscriptions, if at all formal, should be carefully balanced about a central axis. In the Colonial headstones, where we have the in- formal inscription, "Here lies the body of Prudence Ashton, who departed this life on the tenth day of May", and so on — ^the charac- ter of the wording necessitates an all-over arrangement (see Plates SACRED TO THE MEiMORY OF HEZEKIAH BORDEN «=■ AND OF HIS WIFL ® REBEKAH ERIDOWN 1769-1853 1792-1861 Fig. 6 Sketch for an inscription showing the rectangular form proper to the Classic letter: the two small crosses introduced to preserve the straight line of the mass. Note the larger letters used for the proper names, giving prominence to these without distuTbdng the unity of the whole; lines 3 and 5 highest, then line 1, line 2 and finally line 4 lowest. The differ- ences are very slight. XI and XII) . When this type of inscription is not used the axial treatment is imperative. Concerning this placing of words about a central exis it must be borne in mind that what is desired is a seeming balance. In the words, "Eakl Nash", shown in Plate IX in two arrangements, the upper shows actual balance, the end of the letter "L" being exactly Seventy-five MEMORIAL ART above the outer vertical of the "N" — ^but the effect is poor, since the space to the right of the "L" gives the word the appearance of being off center. The second arrangement shows seeming balance, although the end of the "L" overhangs the lower word. Other con- trasting arrangements are shown to emphasize the fact that the Fig. 7 Suggestion for effective composition of an inscription cut in Gothic letters appearance of balance is the thing desired — not an absolute align- ment. Curved letters at the ends of lines must also be carefully placed, the curved letter overhanging the straight to secure a bal- anced eflfect, as in the name "Olive Hurst". These few hints, with the accompanying drawings, will perhaps indicate the care with which the designer must study the placing of letters. Seventy-siiv LETTERS AND LETTERING Another point which should be considered is the relative size of words in different lines. While it is permissible to use a somewhat larger letter for the name of the dead than for the rest of the inscrip- tion, it is unwise to indulge in too great a variety of sizes. The safe rule is to have as few variations as possible (see note under Fig. 6). It goes without saying that different types of letters should rarely, if ever, be used on the same monument. Gothic and classic forms should never be mingled. If the Colonial type of inscription is used capitals and small letters and even italics can be used together, as in Fig. 3. In the arrangement of the inscription cut in classic letters a rec- tangular mass should be sought, while with Gothic letters a diamond- shaped mass may well be used, as in the inscription in Fig. 7. Curved lines of letters should never, under any circumstances, be permitted. Alternation of long and short hnes should, wherever possible, be avoided; such an arrangement gives a restless effect, seriously interfering with the dignity which should be an essential part of every inscription. Seventy-seven PT.ATE X GuEEK Headstone or Stela, National Museum, Athens Chapter VI THE HEADSTONE ENERAL considerations which more or less affect all memorials having been dis- cussed we may now take up in detail the different types of funerary monuments. The simplest of these, the headstone, will first be considered. Since headstones out- number all other forms combined it is greatly to be desired that they be beauti- ful. No one, it is to be supposed, makes what he considers an ugly headstone. Yet many of these memorials are, to the writer, dis- tinctly unbeautiful. It is, of course, a question of taste, and, as was observed many centuries ago — ^there's no disputing about taste. In considering the headstone the designer or the critic must first ask himself — for what purpose is this thing made? Next — ^how can the desired result best be obtained? A headstone is a (more or less) permanent slab erected to mark a grave and to bear information concerning the dead. It should, therefore, be of materials which will best resist the action of the ele- ments and should have name, dates and other matters so cut as to be easily read. Incidentally, it is desirable that it be dignified and a thing of beauty. What general considerations will be helpful in the gaining of these results? The question of material must be left to the expert in these mat- ters; here the color of the material will be discussed theoretically. Seventy-rdne MEMORIAL ART White is, of course, the prevailing note in our cemeteries; it is a "safe" color — ^always dignified. But it is by no means the only color that may be used. In cold chmates where there is much snow and a lack of brilliant sunlight warmer tones prove more satisfactory. Cold greys produce an unnecessarily, mournful effect while "hot" colors — such as are obtained with pohshed red marbles, for instance — are too insistent, attract to themselves too much attention, and are, therefore, apt to lack dignity. Veined marbles, save for paneling, are difficult to manage and are unsuited, as a rule, to bear inscrip- tions unless the veinings are delicate and the lettering of bronze. White and the warm pinks, buffs and greys are to be recommended. Next come structiiral questions. The ideal headstone is a single slab, fairly thin in proportion to its width, in height rarely less than its width, but often as much as two and even, in Greek stelae, three or more times as high as wide. When not much more than a square high the sides may be vertical; as the height increases a batter or en- tasis on the sides is necessary. Also, as the stone becomes narrower in proportion to its width the greater is the need of a crowning fea- ture or an enrichment of some sort at the top. The simple stone should rise directly from the ground, giving the sense of its being a single stone set upright. The usual modern prac- tice is to use a plinth, but this gives a built-up quality which de- stroys the desired effect — ^the suggestion that the headstone is a stone partly buried in the ground. When the memorial is compli- cated in design and crowned with rich ornament a phnth may well be used to balance the richness above. But the fairly simple head- stone should have no pUnth. If, from motives of economy, a plinth must be used it should be but little larger than the stone above and its top should be flush with the ground. Those for whom custom Eighty PLATE XI ^i" "•A&fSlwfc- Mi « . . I < » t K ( i i t .l^t^'fl^'-"^"^^ \X1FIiTO C-\f"'&^ C'oi.oxiAT, Headstoxe. Graxary Burying Ground, Boston, Mass. Photo hy Frank Cousin.<: Art Co. THE HEADSTONE has made the plinth seem a necessity should study the beautiful Colonial headstones which are to be found in the cemeteries of the Atlantic states; the justness of this argument will, perhaps, be felt. In the definition of the headstone given above height, breadth and thickness have been mentioned. The matter of proportion is of the greatest importance — ^yet no laws can be formulated. A compara- tively thin stone is more effective than one in which the spectator is y~x r/^ Fig. 8 — Study in Pbopoetion The same width and crowning feature used, the height changed. Which stone is the most pleasing? conscious of thickness as well as of breadth. The effect of a slab is desired; the face of the stone is the important thing, and only so much thickness as will give the suggestion of sufficient strength is necessary. Yet what this depth should be to avoid an appearance of "fatness" or heaviness cannot be stated in general terms ; each case must be decided upon its own merits. The same thing is true of the proportion of width to height. Vain rules have been formulated; the width should be two-thirds of the height, three-fifths, seven- Eighty-one MEMORIAL ART elevenths (the "laws" of proportion seem always to deal in odd numhers) ; but no nile can hold good in all cases. The placing of the inscription, the character of the ornament (if any is used) , even the color of the stone — each has its influence. No hard-and-fast rule is possible. t t t ....bait iMtu -4 ••llllaUjiMi ..kJaiHfli. ».!> aifMli.. Iilfir ..lai(f(». ^.• i>li ..i«l»i»jH0 Fig. 9 — Studt in Peopobtion The same width and ornament used, the height being varied. WUch is the best propor- tioned? In which is the proportion of the cross to the stone most pleasing? Note that the tall stone demands a baitter or entasis. This is not needed in the short one. The surface of the headstone should always be comparatively smooth. The rustic, rough-surfaced stone with a carefully finished panel to receive the inscription is a tasteless abomination which no self-respecting designer should consent to touch. Lettering is a necessary part of a memorial, and a letter is a formal thing. There- fore the stone, to harmonize with the lettering, must be formal — Eighty-two THE HEADSTONE and there is no formality about a boulder or stone elaborately hacked to suggest rough-hewn ashlar. The headstone with polished or smooth face and rough-hewn sides should be done away with, since the stone should count as a unit and there can be no unity where there is so great a difference in texture between front and sides. Reason will show that the right and the left-hand sides of the face of a headstone must be similar and that ornament should be balanced about a central axis. This will throw out all the unbalanced, column-on-one-corner freaks, as well as rid us of the spray of flowers cut with artful carelessness on one corner of a panel. That such debased forms have become popu- lar is an indication of the lack of taste — which is a lack of clear think- ing — among our people. The question of the placing of the inscription should next be considered. Here again it is difiicult to suggest rules which will cover all cases. The many-worded inscription of former times — "Here lyeth ye body of John Smith who departed this life on ye second day of September " and so forth — seems to have gone out of fashion, and the panel of lettering with the proper name in capitals, so eflPective in the old stones, is, therefore, rarely pos- sible. But the careful arranging of names and dates to form a rec- tangular mass of lettering is possible. There should be no curved lines of letters ; a strict balancing of the inscription about a central vertical axis is imperative; and such undignified antics as cutting names and dates on a scroll (to mention one of the many tasteless forms of which we are guilty) must, of course, be avoided. On head- stones which are fairly simple the mass of letters is best placed above the centre with no mouldings about it ; the panel, whether raised or sunk, is better suited to elaborate memorials. One unfortunate Eighty-three MEMORIAL ART custom which is very prevalent is the placing of the surname on the plinth — not only of headstones but of other forms as well — ^which is undignified and bad from the point of view of the composition of the memorial as a whole. The letters should be incised (unless let- ters of bronze are used — and they are very effective) and only the best Roman forms should be employed. The form given to the top of the stone is a matter about which it is difficult to write in general terms. For the simplest stone the square top is appropriate ; yet it is iminteresting and unnecessarily severe. A gable form, a curved top or a crowning of more or less architectural character is equally appropriate and somewhat more pleasing. The type of Greek headstone, or stela, shown in Plate X, is a form well adapted to use in modern work. (Originally these were slabs or cylinders set up as boundary marks, nule-stones, etc. ; later they were developed as memorials.) The tall shaft is crowned with a group of mouldings above which is a graceful "floral" orna- ment — a combination of the anthemion and the acanthus leaf — and in spite of the mutilation its beauty is apparent. The panel in low relief adds much to the charm of this memorial stone, but this detail would present many problems to the modern sculptor. Symbolic figures (not figures in modem costume) might be used; a better solution would be to substitute an inscription filhng approximately the same space (but not sunk in a panel). Renaissance stones are often crowned with classic pediments; the Colonial forms, usually curved and immoulded, are based on architectural elements. A general — and obvious — ^rule is that the low stone should be crowned with a feature whose main Unas are more or less horizontal, whereas for the tall headstone a more upright ornament is needed. Eighty-four PLATE XII Colonial Headstone. Granaky Bujiying Ground, Boston, Mass. Photo by frank Cousins Art Co. THE HEADSTONE Ornament, if used, should be reserved for the upper part of the stone, not scattered over its surface. The writer remembers seeing a stone of dark granite with a highly polished, heart-shaped panel cov- ering almost the entire surface, in which panel the inscription was placed; anything more unbeautiful can hardly be imagined. An- other example had a panel in which were carved small realistic flowers and leaves, inappropriate for a formal stone and much out of scale, more suited to a painted chair than to a large memorial. Ornament should always be used sparingly, should be formal and conventional — ^never naturalistic — and suited to the form of the headstone; that is, appropriate to a thin piece of stone set upright. An eflPect of richness may be gained by the use of polished sur- faces, but the greatest care is necessary when such surfaces are com- bined with unpoUshed stone. An effect of commonness, of vulgarity, is usually the result. The polishing of a few carefully selected de- tails, so placed that they will emphasize the general lines of the design, may be carried out successfully; in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the result will be tawdry. The best rule, when polished surfaces are considered, is — all or none. The difficulty with polished surfaces is not only that the designer is working with two colors instead of one but also that he is working with two textures — a dull and a reflecting surface — greatly com- plicating the problem and opening the way for easily made mistakes. Yet there is an almost unexplored field in the use of color in head- stones. Combinations of colors, of textures; the use of panels of rich marble or of bronze; the introduction of ornaments of bronze set into the stone or of bands or panels of stone mosaic; for the imag- inative designer with taste there are possibilities almost limitless. It may be that some day we will develop these possibilities and prove to Eighty-jive MEMORIAL ART an admiring world that even a cemetery may be a place where beauty is found — an achievement greatly to be desired. The desire for novelty for its own sake shown in so many of our productions is to be regretted. This is the cause of much of our poor work. The client, having no standard of beauty and no power of reasoning about what he sees, chooses a memorial merely because it is different from anything he has ever seen; not realizing that just because it is different it is almost certain to be unbeautiful. This does not mean that nothing new can be beautiful. Such a thing is possible — ^but the history of civilization proves that objects of beauty have been evolved very slowly. One generation would make slight changes for the better in inherited designs — ^the following generation would improve just a little upon these, and so on until a climax was reached; then with a lowering of the standards of taste there would follow a long descent and then a slow rise of some new form of beauty. (The history of ornament, from the perfection of the Greek period to the perfection of the Gothic style is a good example of such a rise and decline and a new, and different, arising.) True beauty is never dependent on novelty. A beautiful woman is not so considered because she can exhibit to our enraptured gaze two noses, or an extra eye placed in the middle of her chin — she has only the features of her less fair sisters, but each perfect of its kind and in its relation to the other features. So with a headstone. It is not something new and undreamt-of which we want; merely the old forms developed with perfect propor- tions, perfect lettering, ornament of exactly the right type, beau- tifully cut; a piece of work which will dehght the trained eye. The average buyer, however, will see in it little to distinguish it from a dozen other headstones and since there is nothing novel, nothing Eighty-six THE HEADSTONE startling about it, will refuse it, preferring something more "showy". Therefore, the designer must be an educator — ^must train the taste of his client, turning him from his liking for illogical vulgarities by assuming that he dislikes the stones which please the average man and can tell a good design from one that is less good. It is a simple matter to condemn the many illogical forms which meet our eyes. It is not so easy to make clear the difference between a design which has no glaring faults, but which is not entirely satis- factory, and one which is wholly admirable. The designer must study each design — ^making series of drawings (such sketches as are shown in Figs. 8 and 9) and comparing the same scheme varied in its proportions and in the placing of the lettering and ornament and selecting that which seems to him the best. He should avoid mean- ingless forms (some memorials suggest piled-up building blocks — see Fig. 11) ; he should have his mouldings clean-cut and serving a definite purpose of support or of crowning, avoiding rounded forms which look as though they were made of chewing-gum (Fig. 12) ; and all ornament used should be consistent in style and correct in scale and placing. Ornament should never be made up out of the designer's head (see Fig. 13) ; beautiful ornament of all periods should be studied and adapted to present needs ; any other procedure means artistic failure. Crude as is the ornament used in the two Colonial stones shown in Plates XI and XII, it is, nevertheless, pleasing — good in scale and based on easily recognized Renaissance motives. The stone- cutters of that day did not try to invent new motives ; they reshaped their inherited ornamental forms with all the skill and taste at their command. It is to be hoped that modem designers will follow their example and instead of searching for novel effects will do again that which has been done before, but, if possible, do it a little better. Eighty-seven Chapter VII THE CROSS, THE OBELISK AND OTHER FORMS LMOST from the beginning of Christian- ity the cross has been used to mark the graves of the followers of Christ ; symbols of faith; decorated, decorative crosses, ob- jects of dignity and beauty. In recent times the use of the large, bare stone cross has been common — a clear indication of the tastelessness of the age. And we find not only large, bare, uninteresting crosses but crosses of stone carved to represent tree-trunks ; rustic crosses draped with naturalistic pas- sion flowers ; crosses with polished faces and rough hewn sides ; the symbol sacred to many is, one might almost say, desecrated by us — we who have greater knowledge and less true appreciation of beauty than the people of any former age. The free-standing crosses of the Romanesque period are almost unique examples of large crosses used, before the nineteenth cen- tury, to mark graves; these are unusually rich and superbly deco- rative. Occasionally, in other periods, big, bare crosses were used, but it remained for our inartistic age to prove that a cross could be made into a thoroughly ugly object. The cross as used throughout the earher centuries was usually cut upon a vertical or a horizontal slab, with beautiful enrichment ; it was a symbolic decoration placed upon headstone, sarcophagus or wall tablet; the symbolic, the dec- orative idea was predominant and the cross always made beautiful. Eighty-nine MEMORIAL ART If we wish to improve the artistic quality of our memorials we must sweep from our cemeteries these unfortunate signs of our lack of taste — these badly proportioned, commonplace, unimaginative, un- beautiful crosses and put in their places symbols which will indicate the taste as well as the faith of those who erect them. It is supposed that in the wooden cross upon which Christ was crucified the upright above the cross-beam was short when com- pared with the length of the arms ; but such a form cut in stone is not logical — ^it is distinctly a wooden design. It is difficult to obtain pleasing proportions unless the upper vertical member is at least as long as the arms; if the upper member is longer the effect is still better. These proportions will be found in the Celtic crosses — ^the Irish and the lona types. In these another beautiful and typically stone feature is the aureole or circle which binds the rectangular parts together — a device which should rarely, if ever, be omitted where a large cross is cut in stone. The lower vertical member of a cross should be at least twice the height of the upper; one is tempted to say three times. There is a beautiful Gothic example in the churchyard at Iffley, England, where the lower member must be at least six times the height of the upper. A very different type of the free-standing cross developed in the British Isles is a variant of the Maltese, or equal-armed cross, placed in a circle and this resting on a small base or plinth. In the matter of scale the cross must dominate or be merely an incident in the decoration — no middle ground can be taken. In the drawing reproduced in Fig. 10 the design in the center is neither a cross on a pedestal — since the cross does not dominate — ^nor is it a stone decorated with a cross; for ornament must be subservient to Ninety THE CROSS AND OBELISK the general mass of the thing decorated — ^here the ornament over- powers the stone below. When the cross is incised or carved in low relief upon a stone there are inexhaustible opportunities for creating beauty awaiting the designer. Crosses in circles, in squares, in oblongs ; plain crosses and crosses richly decorated — the possibilities are limitless. Un- .((- i« v'MuDli— ./-. "%hIi^s Fig. 10 On the left, the cross dominant; on the right, the cross a decorative feature; centre, a badly proportioned stone — the cross too small to dominate and too large to be considered as an ornament. Note: Study each stone by itsself (covering the other two), then compare the three. fortimately, the possibility of making ugly crosses is equally un- limited. An example of an illogical and, therefore, ugly combina- tion which may be seen in one of our cemeteries is a rough-hewn headstone with a Celtic cross in low relief upon the roughened sur- Ninety-one MEMORIAL ART face; this combination of rustic and severely formal elements pro- duces an eflPect little short of comical. A discussion of the horizontal stone naturally follows that con- cerning the upright. The finest examples of these horizontal gravestones are found in the older chtu-ches of Europe. In mediaeval times, when burial under the floors of churches was permitted, this type was extensively used. Being under cover the ornament could be deeply cut and a variety of materials employed — ^mosaic, bronze and brass as well as every kind of marble. A low relief of the figure of the dead and this sometimes framed by a border of mosaic is a typical Italian form. In Spain we find figures cut in slate or some dark stone while the face and hands are of white marble inlaid in the slab. The effect of these latter is somewhat starthng, but in the old stones, where the marble has been toned by time, not unpleasing. The EngUsh, dur- ing the Gothic period, often covered the grave with a plate of brass upon which was engraved the figure of the departed, the lines being filled with a black paste or cement. Occasionally intricate borders were added, red paste being used with the black to give greater richness. When placed out-of-doors the problem of the horizontal stone is not easy of solution. Deep cuttings are out of the question, but the inlay of bronze is possible and this can be very effective. A variation of the horizontal stone is the "table-tomb" — a flat slab raised on short columns. An odd form occasionally found has a fifth leg or column placed under the center of the slab. Although these table-tombs havs a picturesque quality when one sees them in old churchyards, it is not a particularly logical form and is, there- fore, little imitated. One point which should be made in this con- Ninety-two THE CROSS AND OBELISK nection is that the supporting members should be carefully designed for their purpose — following the general form of the baluster. Modern examples exist where the supports look like classic columns cut in half; the effect is squat and clumsy. In certain Christian churches the "mensa" or table is used instead, of the "altar" — one consisting of a slab placed on legs, the other being a more or less solid mass. These differences are found in the tombs named for them (see Plate XXII) . The "altar-tomb" some- times suggests a sarcophagus almost as much as a table-tomb; the typical form is a low, heavy canopy placed^close over the grave. It is often difficult to decide, in modern monuments, whether the de- signer meant to make an unusually flat-topped sarcophagus with deeply paneled sides or an altar-tomb. It is not necessary, of course, that we should be able to classify our monuments ; if, however, such classification is desired, we might say that the sarcophagus must have a definite lid (see Plate XIII) — an unnecessary feature in an altar-tomb. Further, a sarcophagus must be large enough to con- tain a body; the altar- tomb may be comparatively small, merely an ornamental grave-covering. A "bed-tomb" is a form occasionally seen. It is hardly a tomb; merely a stone coping outlining the grave — headstone and coping being designed as a unit. The surface of the grave is usually planted with grass; if the space surrounded by the coping is covered by a stone it may be the top of an underground tomb. Perhaps in this connection mention might be made of a strange grave marker in St. Michael's churchyard in Charleston, S. C, where a mahogany bed- stead was placed about a grave, with the inscription cut on the head- board; though now nearly a hundred years old it is still in a fair state of preservation. Ninety-three MEMORIAL ART The question of the single column used as a memorial has been mentioned. The term "shaft" is often employed to designate any tall monument. Architecturally speaking, a shaft is that portion of the column between base and capital; no other use of the word is strictly correct. But it is indiscriminately applied to the large stela, to the obelisk and to that form best described by the term "pylon". An obelisk is usually square in plan, is tall and narrow, with inclined faces and is capped with a small pyramid; a pylon, on the other hand, may be oblong in plan, is fairly thick in proportion to its height, has vertical or slightly battered faces and is finished at the top in various ways — sometimes flat, more often crowned with sculpture. The use of the obelisk as a symbol dates back to remotest an- tiquity; only in comparatively modern times has it been used as a monmnent to mark a grave. These monohths, often of colossal size, erected by the kings of Egypt in front of their temples were symbolis of the Sun-god and were dedicated to him. They are well- proportioned and are decorated only by hieroglyphics ("sacred carvings" or writings) cut in the otherwise plain faces. The Roman emperors transported many of these obelisks to Rome as evidence of conquest, using them to beautify their public places. Overturned by earthquakes, they were re-erected in the Renaissance period, mounted high upon ornamental pedestals. The largest in existence is that which stands near the church of St. John Lateran in Rome, brought from Thebes in 357 A. D. It is of red granite, is 105 feet high (with its pedestal 154 feet) and weighs over 430 tons. Another very large Egyptian obelisk stands in the Piazza before St. Peter's in Rome. Its re-erection, in 1586, interested all Europe, since the successful completion of the difficult task was re- Ninety-four THE CROSS AND OBELISK garded as a symbol of the revived power of the Roman church after the famous sack of Rome. London, Paris and New York are among the cities possessing ancient Egyptian obehsks. The Wash- ington monument in Washington is a built-up structure of this form, impressive because of its great size and absolute simplicity. In designing an obelisk the matter of proportion is, as always, of the first importance. If the faces are broad in proportion to the height an unpleasant "dumpy" effect is produced^ — though such pro- portions are permissible when the obelisk is used on a small scale as an ornament. If the obelisk is tall and the faces naiTow it will appear weak. The inclination of the faces towards the center must be carefully studied — also the pitch given the crowning pyramid (the slender obehsk demands a steeply-pitched crowning member and vice versa) ; but here, as elsewhere, no absolute rules can be laid down. , A refinement that should be noted is the use of the entasis. In the classic column what appears to be a straight line from bottom to top of the shaft is, in reality, a curve. The use of this subtle curve, the entasis, gives to the column its beauty and refinement. This should be employed in the obelisk. If the faces are plane surfaces the obelisk will have a slightly concave appearance; this can be avoided by giving each face a very deUcate outward curve from top to bottom. This, of course, must not be so great as to be noticeable. Successful ornamentation of the obelisk is rarely achieved. In the Egyptian examples the picture writing covers the entire surface and thus does not disturb the imity of effect. In some modem ex- amples the beauty of the stones has been destroyed by badly placed and obtrusive ornament or by decoration inharmonious in scale and character. There has recently been erected in a New England cem- eteiy a large obelisk on each of the sides of which are cut delicate Ninety-pve MEMORIAL ART garlands of natiaralistic flowers — ornament much better suited to the walls of a boudoir. Although the elaborate pedestals designed by the Renaissance architects to bear the re-erected obelisks of Rome are, in many cases, effective it is better, as a general rule, to use the simplest form of plinth. A type of pedestal which consists of a wide-flaring, inverted cavetto is an unfortunate device since it tends to counteract the verti- cal element which is the chief characteristic of the obehsk. The name pylon may be given to any structure which is fairly high in proportion to its mass and which is too large to be grouped with the "pedestal forms". Its use as a memorial is somewhat rare; it is more often found forming the chief element of a large monu- ment, flanked by and crowned with sclupture. A well-known ex- ample is the Gambetta monument in Paris. It should be mentioned that the name is derived from the great entrance gateways which stand before the temples of Egypt. Another form of memorial which should be considered is the wall tablet — ^the memorial placed upon the waU of church or public building. Such tablets are, however, so diverse in character, style and proportion that it is difficult to formulate any suggestions by which the designer may profit. It goes without saying that the shape of the tablet must be adapted to the space it is to enrich and to the style of the building in which it is to be placed; that the lettering must be the best of its kind and properly composed; that the orna- ment must be suited to the material used. These are fimdamental rules which are accepted by all designers; but what more specific can be said? Helpful criticism might be given with a group of wall tablets before one; as, this border is too heavy for the field it encloses: these letters are too large and those not refined enough in character: Ninety-six THE CROSS AND OBELISK this ornament is suited to bronze rather than granite: such sculp- tured decoration is too realistic — and so on. Lacking the individual examples the observations given above must suffice. One plea may be made : that in our memorial tablets we make greater use of color. In Italian examples one may see frames of white marble enriched with delicate carvings touched with gold, enclosing a lettered field of pale green or straw-colored stone; bands of glass mosaic (Cosmati work) rich with gold and purple and green surrounding the inscrip- tion; cartouches with ornaments of gilded bronze and porphyry panels. Beside such memorials our tablets of white marble or severe bronze seem dull and vmimaginative. Our Colonial prede- cessors had more imagination; some of their productions, in black and white marble, are very effective. Ninety-seven Chapter VIII A DISAGREEABLE CHAPTER N modern cemeteries one finds numerous monuments which are too thick to be classed as headstones and yet are not large enough to be sarcophagi. Although the majority are not designed to support objects of any kind, they may, perhaps, be most easily discussed under the general heading "pedestal forms", the most pleas- ing examples suggesting the pedestal used by the Romans to bear statues, vases or columns. These pedestal forms are found in almost infinite variety — and are as ugly as they are numerous. This is a sweeping statement; yet those accustomed to study the relative proportions of solids, whose eyes, therefore, are trained to appreciate beauty of form, will agree. In how few of these not-to- be-classified forms do we find pleasing proportions ! Every kind of odd shape is used — real boulders, boulders imitated with the chisel, masses that suggest in miniature the boxes in which upright pianos are packed; rectangles too thin for their length, stones that are almost and yet not exactly square; curious piled-up, poorly related elements with, as like as not, a large marble figure (of the type one sees made of sugar and placed on wedding cakes) posing at one corner; the distorted imaginings of untrained minds following no precedents — striking out blindly in search of something new. Ninety-nine MEMORIAL ART Well, it may be asked, is not this a hopeful sign — does not mere imitation mean stagnation? Certainly. We must advance ; we must not be boimd by prece- dent; we must sweep aside the old rules when — and this is the point to be emphasized — when we have something better to take their place. When we are familiar with all the beautiful things which have been made in the past — ^when we know why they are beautiful, then, but not until then, may we invent. A great musician may sit Fig. 11 Structural forms poorly related at a piano and, with his extensive musical knowledge and his superb technical skill, invent new harmonies whose beauty will thrill the listener. But place a child of three upon the piano stool! He will have a good time and thoroughly enjoy his performance; but will his production be beautiful — ^will it please anyone else? Just so with the "new and unusual designs" for memorials pro- duced, one would imagine,, by the office-boy. One Himdred A DISAGREEABLE CHAPTER Technical skill has been mentioned. One can hardly imagine an untrained newcomer in a stoneyard being given a chisel and set to work upon a headstone of even moderate cost. No — ^he must first acquire skill, for even the average customer can tell a fair piece of stone-cutting from a badly botched job. But when the design of the memorial is to be considered — anyone, it would seem, no matter how httle training in the principles of design he may have had, can make a design. For though he may violate every standard of taste the "man in the street" will not be aware of the fact — will probably prefer "something striking and unusual". £ m ^**A** *«H Fig. 12 — Unstructueal Forms and Mouldings Soft looking, rounded contours and profiles should be avoided. Clean-cut, geometric forms and mouldings designed to serve a definite purpose should be used The desire to create something new is commendable ; the result is usually pathetic. A savage from Borneo might work out a new and successful scheme of government for a modern state; it is prob- able, however, that we should choose for such a task a man familiar with the theory of government as developed through the ages. So with the designing of even so simple a thing as a headstone; he who knows the whole range of memorial art and works with that back- ground of knowledge is more likely to produce a thing of beauty One Hundred One MEMORIAL ART than the man who scorns knowledge and wishes only to design some- thing entirely original. Independence is a good thing — ^artistic as well as political inde- pendence; but in one, as in the other, the throwing overboard of everything that man has learnt through centuries of effort results in anarchy. The "artistic anarchist" is asked, not to obey laws — merely to reason clearly about aU that he wishes to do and to do nothing without a good reason for it. The contempt for precedent, the desire for novel effects, the modern restlessness and love of change; these are not bad in themselves — ^but unless controlled by reason and a sense of beauty nothing good can come of them. If we are logical we will not have naturalistic tree-trunks draped in ivy, all of stone ; nor polished horizontal rolls, set upon plinths, looking like sausages or sofa pillows out of place. We will no longer have foliated ornament oozing out of the edge of a monument like the filling squeezed from a cream puff; polished hearts, armless hands holding scrolls, and all other products of unreason will vanish from our cemeteries. When one looks through a set of photographs of the temples of Egypt one is struck by the fact that for more than two thusand years scarcely any change in the form is to be found. A satisfactory type of building having been developed no desire for change for its own sake impelled the architects or their clients to depart from the established form. Unprogressive, surely; yet in these days of lightning-change artists and designers the thought of those two thousand changeless years is somewhat restful. The Greeks did better. For three hundred years or so their architects developed one type of temple; but each generation refined the proportions of the mass and of the details until in the Parthenon they achieved a struc- One Hundred Two A DISAGREEABLE CHAP TEH ture the perfection of which has rarely been equalled. Here was progress — progress with a definite end in view; no mere striving after novelty, but a clear and reasoned effort to perfect the given type. ,-i G m4>^ y^ m ^r. S <5 '^ Fie. 13 — Examples of Illogical Ornament; Taken from Executed Work 1— Ornament not only has no relation to structure, but cuts Into structural lines. 2— Relation between form and ornament inharmonious. 3 — Abstract scroll-form unrelated to naturalistic palms ; ornament toadly placed. 4— Lack of scale between floral and geometric ornament— -both unrelated to form. S-6-7 — ^Little relation between ornament and form. Ornament meaningless and childish. This is not the modem method. Consider the churches built in the last seventy-five years. What an astonishing variety we find. Gothic and imitation Gothic (and such imitations) ; classic churches One Hundred Three MEMORIAL ART and Colonial churches and churches which pretend to be, but are not, Colonial; Egyptian, Early Christian, Mission and every other imaginable style and no style of church; in no period of the world's history can such frenzied restlessness be paralleled. The same thing is true of our memorials ; here also we find anarchy rampant. In- stead of the Greek willingness to perfect a chosen type the desire for originality seems now to be the only motive; in our cemeteries each stone is as different from the next one as the invention of the designer permits— the one thing they have in common is their ugli- ness. This is severe, but hardly an overstatement of the facts. There are beautiful modem memorials but they are lost in the over- whelming mass of commonplace and vulgar stones. This does not mean that all memorials must belong to one or another of the recognized types. Let us have pedestal-forms or any other forms — even though they cannot be classified — so long as they are beautiful. But the headstone which is low and thick and pol- ished (one is tempted to say "fat and greasy") and, therefore, not a true headstone ; the rustic boulder, the slab tilted at an angle of forty- five degrees and labeled "Johnny" or "Mamie" ; the indescribable od- dities which comprise three-fourths of the memorials to be f oimd in our cemeteries — ^these things are not beautiful. Though the fact that a memorial belongs to a well-known type is no guarantee that it is weU designed, when we learn that a monument cannot be classi- fied we can be almost sure that it is ugly. Beauty must grow — ^it cannot be invented ; and the wise designer will analyze the beautiful memorials of past times, learn why they are good and follow their silent teaching, letting the foolish experimenter waste his time making up designs "out of his head". One Htmdred Four A DISAGREEABLE CHAPTER Some day, let us hope, the buyers will develop a sense of fitness — a feeling for beauty. Then, perhaps, these many strange forms will disappear. Our designers will all be skilled men incapable' of de- vising ugly forms or of misplacing ornament; our cemeteries will be filled with artistic triumphs, and memorial art however, this glorious time will not arrive for a year or two yet, so the end of the sentence may wait. One Hundred Five AN INTERLUDE N one of those essays* in which Dr. Crothers so delightfully combines wisdom and humor, this passage occurs: "There is one thing that a man knows about his own business better than any outsider, and that is how hard it is for him to do it. The adviser is always telling him how to do it in the finest possible way, while he, poor fellow, knows that the paramount issue is whether he can do it at all." Yet Dr. Crothers does not say that advice should not be given ; he merely warns the giver of advice not to be impatient when his words of wisdom are not followed. He divides those who give advice into two general classes: the Idealist and the Doctrinaire. The latter is "one w'ho theorizes with- out sufficient regard for practical considerations"; the former "a seeker after the highest beauty and good". This essay has given the writer pause. Are these chapters the work of an idealist, or are they theoretical discussions which have no regard for practical considerations? An imbiased answer can scarce be expected from the writer; he can only hope that some will believe him a seeker after the highest beauty, the highest truth — and that his definition of the truth is not that of the doctrinaire: "A truth is that which has got itself believed by me." In these discussions practical matters are certainly dealt with; but the ideals stated may be questioned by many. What the writer *On Being a Doctrinaire, from "By the Cteistmas Fire"; Samuel McCShord Crothers. One Hundred Seven MEMORIAL ART considers truth may not appear to the reader to be truth; and there is no possibility of settling the question as to which is right. The most that can be hoped for is that such discussions may lead those who read and disagree to be sure of their reasons for disagreeing. If they reason honestly and logically — no matter what conclusions they reach — ^the greatest possible good to be gained by the writing of this book will have been accomplished. Only, the reader must be careful not to prove himself a doctrinaire: one of those — ^again to quote Dr. Crothers — "who identify the highest beauty and truth with their own theories. After that they make no further excur- sions into the unexplored regions of reality, for fear that they may discover their identification to have been incomplete." One Hundred Eight Oh Chapter IX THE SARCOPHAGUS N the preceding chapters those memorials which have no direct connection with the disposal of the body of the dead have been discussed. Of all the forms devised to mark the last resting place of the dead or to contain the body itself none has received a greater diversity of appropriate and beautiful treatment than the sarcophagus. Among civiUzed people from the dawn of history to the present day the stone coiRn has been used and in practically every instance — save in recent years — it has been made a thing of beauty. This is not surprising, since one of the requirements of beauty is suitability and it is difficult to design a sarcophagus which does not express the purpose for which it is made. The word means "flesh-eating" because a certain kind of stone used for coffins was supposed to absorb the body placed within it. Though stones which have no absorptive power are, in the majority of cases, used the name has become the common one for the form without regard to the material employed. The Egyptian sarcophagi are usually simple rectangles — though the mimimy-form is also found — and the elaboration is placed on the interior rather than on the exterior. Those of the Greeks are perhaps the most beautiful. A particularly splendid group was found at Sidon; a reproduction of one of these is given in Plate XIII. It will be seen that this sarcophagus is treated in an architectural man- Owe Hundred Nine MEMORIAL ART ner with wonderfully rich and refined detail. Although the effect is somewhat marred by the fact that, in the photograph, the lid is shown raised, the fine proportions and beautiful workmanship should be a source of inspiration to modern designers. The way in which the' roofing tiles of a temple have been suggested without being reaUstically imitated, the relation of die to mouldings and the composition of the ornament in the low gabje are beyond all praise. Although the Greeks produced many interesting sarcophagi the Romans were even more varied in their productions. Some show plain dies; others have medalhons in the center of the panel with delicate channelings occupying the rest of the field — ^the channels having a slight double curvature from top to bottom. A type often used has intricate figure-groups filling the entire front. Some of these are masterpieces of unified composition. An often imitated sarcophagus is that of Scipio, now-in the Vatican. This has a Doric entablature and on the top is a member which rises at the ends and turns under in scroll-forms suggestive of the treatment found in the Ionic capital. Some examples are slightly oval in plan — ^but it is impossible without numerous illustrations to indicate all the varia- tions devised by the Romans. The sarcophagi shown in Plate XIV are Early Christian and Byzantine derivations from Roman forms. That of the fourth cen- tury, from Rome, is still thoroughly pagan, though in the representa- tion of the gathering of grapes the allusion is to the "Vine of Life". The highly conventional treatment of the subject, the flatness of the planes, gives the rich, decorative quality of an all-over pattern and yet is more interesting than a repeating pattern could be. While the figures which crowd the panels of some of the Roman examples are far better from the standpoint of sculpture the purely decorative One Htmdred Ten PLATE XIV Eakly Christian Sarcophagi's, St. Louexzc) Bkyond the Walls, Rome. Fourth Century Plwtpfiraph by Fratclli Alinari Byzantine Sarcophagus, San Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna. (677-688) Photograph, by Fratclli Alinari THE SARCOPHAGUS treatment of these grape-gathering children is more suited to the purpose; the ornament does not interfere with our appreciation of the form of the object as a whole. The sarcophagus from Ravenna is a good example of Byzantine decorative art with characteristic Christian symbols. The mould- ings are coarse imitations of Greek or Roman work, but in perfect harmony with the type of ornament used. It is much to be desired that our designers should make themselves familiar with the decora- tive motives of the Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque periods, as they are better suited to exterior work than the more deUcate ornament of the Greeks or of the craftsmen of the early Renaissance period and have a richness sadly lacking in most modem work. The sarcophagi of the Romanesque period are variations of the types mentioned above. In the Gothic period the sarcophagus, when used, tended to become a minor part of an elaborate tomb- structure (see Plate XVII). In the reproduction of the tomb in Verona (Plate XVI) the richly decorated sarcophagus is an inter- esting Gothic development of the sarcophagi of the Romans. In this period, as has been noted, there is a merging of the sarcophagus and the altar-tomb. Stone coffins are also found — usually simple affairs with often beautiful crosses decorating the Hds. Among the achievements of the early R-enaissance period in Italy — ^that remarkable time when the decorative arts were devel- oped with such freshness and beauty — ^wall-tombs take an important place and in many of these the sarcophagus is by no means the least interesting feature (see Plate XXII). In Plate VII the tomb of Leonardo Bruni is reproduced. The sarcophagus is rectangular; a panel bearing an inscription and flanked by angels forms the deco- One Hundred Eleven MEMORIAL ART rative motive. Above it is the figure of Bruni, supported by eagles, and the purely decorative treatment of these and of the drapery which hangs from the bier teach a much needed lesson in the proper non-naturalistic rendering of form. The famous Marsuppini tomb is shown in Plate XVIII; the sarcophagus, a free development of Roman examples, has served as a model for many later erections. With the more formal imitation of Roman structures in the High Renaissance period came a corresponding formality in designs of sarcophagi (compare, for instance, the two last mentioned with those used by Michaelangelo in the Medici tombs) . The succeeding phases of Renaissance art produce few examples unusual for beauty or form or ornament. The huge sarcophagus in which he the remains of Napoleon is a good adaptation of the classic type. But the taste- lessness which is characteristic of the "artistic Dark Ages", which stretch from 1825 to 1890, and beyond, left its mark upon this branch of memorial art as upon everything else. Another kind of memorial which calls for mention is the cinerary urn. The Romans have left us many beautiful examples of vessels designed to receive ashes of the dead; some modem solutions of this problem are equally fine. Let us hope that the sanitary practice of cremation wiU become more and more a common custom (this would not mean that there would be no more gravestones or tombs — a last resting-place is as much a necessity for the ashes of the dead as for the unpurified body) and add another to the many forms used by the designer of memorials. One Himdred Twelve PLATE XV . '> '» 2?^ The "PrLLAK of Aesalom" ix thu Vale of the Kings, Near Jerusalem. Second Century, A. D. Photograph by P. Bergheim Chaptee X 25 1 t^^^K V \ m fflfc^^ m © £i! ^ZA THE TOMB HEN the great church of St. Peter's in Rome is mentioned, we think of its size, remembering that it is the largest church in the world; we think of its soaring dome which mounts to a height of 404 feet (to the top of the cross 435 feet) ; then when we realize that it could be put inside the Pyramid of Cheops, only a small part of the nave projecting, we begin to get some idea of the vastness of that tomb of the Egyptian king. This first of the "Seven Wonders" of the ancient world is the largest structure raised by the hand of man. This tomb, built 2700 years before the birth of Christ, was 482 feet high (31 feet of the top having been destroyed, it is now only 451 feet high) and the base 768 feet square. Save for the small tomb chamber and the narrow pasages it is a sohd mass of masonry ; it is hard to reaUze its enormous bulk save by comparison with other large structures. This great tomb is, however, not interesting from the designer's point of view. The "Mastaba" tombs of the Egyptians and their rock-cut tombs whose long timnels, richly decorated with wall paint- ings, plunge far into the depths of the mountains are more worthy of study. Of much greater interest is another of the Seven Wonders — ^the tomb of Mausolus, king of Caria, at Harlicamassus in Asia Minor, built by his widow in the year 352 B. C. A restoration of this tomb — of which but a few fragments remain, now in the British One Hzmdrd Thirteen MEMORIAL ART Museum — is used as a frontispiece to this volume. From this it will be seen how imposing was the monument which has given the name mausoleum to subsequent structures of this kind. It consisted of a high rectangular podiirai or basement, bearing a colonnade, and this, in turn, was surmounted by a stepped pyramid which probably bore a Quadriga, or four-horse chariot, in which stood figures of the king and his consort. It was adorned with splendid sculpture and the beauty and perfection of the details were characteristic of the best Greek work. This tomb set the fashion in such structures. The great tomb of Hadrian, in Rome, converted into a fortress in the Middle Ages and now known as the castle of St. Angelo, is the most famous of these. Upon an enormous square basement rose a circular mass, 240 feet in diameter, surrounded by a colonnade, with statues placed between the columns and the whole crowned by a stepped pyramid. Grant's Tomb, in New York City, is reminiscent of the general scheme of these two structures. The Romans built many free-standing tombs. The Pyramid of Cestius, in Rome (116 feet in height), is a comparatively small imitation of the pyramids of Egypt. The tomb of Caecilia Metella on the Appian Way, near Rome, is a variant of the tomb of Hadrian; it, also, was converted into a fortress in the Middle Ages. Lack of space forbids mention of the many other Roman tombs still in existence. In Ravenna, Italy, there stands a most interesting sixth century structure, the tomb of Theodoric, a two-storied build- ing crowned with a low dome, cut from a single stone, 36 feet in diameter. The Moslem rulers built tombs, often of great size and beauty, the Taj Mahal, at Agra, being the most noted. One Hundred Fourteen THE TOMB The tomb shown in Plate XV, the so-called "Pillar of Absalom", is a second century variant of the general scheme of the mausolemn of Hahcamassus. It is shown as an example of one of the few ancient tombs still existing which, in a measure, is comparable in size with the modem free-standing tomb. For this form is a dis- tinctly modern development. From the sixth to the middle of the eighteenth century one searches Europe in vain for notable free- standing tomb-structures. In Italy the canopied sarcophagus is occasionally found placed in the open (see Plate XVII) ; here and there one finds small structures which suggest the altar-tomb. But from the fall of Rome up to the time when bxirial in churches was discontinued those who could afford to build costly monuments erected waU-tombs in church or cathedral and the tomb as a structure built in the open was the exception rather than the rule. In the United States the tomb — the word is here used to signify a free-standing structure which can be entered — ^is of recent date. The tomb of Washington at Mt. Vernon is a burial vault. Such vaults were not uncommon in the early days of the Republic. In the French and Spanish colonies the walls of the cemeteries were fre- quently composed of long ranges of superposed vaults; picturesque, but uninteresting from the point of view of design. Although not so numerous as other forms of memorial structures, free-standing tombs, by their mere size, attract more attention. For this reason they should be designed with the greatest care; not that they are more worthy of care than the smallest headstone but because, being larger, their faults, if any, are more noticeable. Before discussing the designing of tombs it should at once be stated that no one who lacks an architectural training should under- take such a task. With walls and roof, doorway and door (the One Hundred Fifteen MEMORIAL ART fewest possible necessities) we have architectural elements which cannot be handled successfully by the amateur. Tombs^ — dozens of them — are built by untrained men with the result that those who have knowledge of architecture walk through our cemeteries with, literally, their teeth on edge. And the sad part of the matter is that those who build these monstrosities are blissfully unaware of their failings. It is strange that a man who would not dream of getting up in public and, without any previous knowledge of the instnmient, attempt to play a solo on the violin, will not hesitate to design a tomb for all the world to see — ^his only claim to fitness being that he can cut and place stones. He would probably smile pityingly at the man who tells him that "the boss has went down town"; but his own errors in the grammar of architecture he would be unable to see. Since our general public knows nothing about architecture — the majority of our newspapers will praise any new building, no matter how many architectural faults have been conimitted — those who order tombs will give the designer no assistance in self-criticism, and monumental art will continue to move on a lower artistic plane than advertising or the designing of automobiles. Of course, there are many trained designers of memorials, but their work, as has been noted, is lost amid the mass of commonplace stuff and one wonders how any raising of standards is to be effected. The public will not help; the public cannot, being ignorant in such matters. There is little or no criticism of the designer's work. The painter and the scidptor send their work to exhibitions, and those productions which are poor get their just deserts. The architects are, in their schools, trained in self-criticism, and the standards of their exhibitions and publications are unusually high. But the work of the designer of memorials is too often taken from showroom to One Htmdred Sixteen ^ o -I S3 ^ w r" 5h •' -^ ^4 M ^^ 3S M M . r- '^ w o Ph M 23 T; ■ — ' W o G ./:• o 6 h-i ^ -1^ V3 o 'ri ^ — , O ^ '^ ■rA ^ ►-) P 'A w « 'A < >±4 'A ?5 hH o- --1 D^ THE TOMB cemetery; his fellow designers do not see it or when they have such an opportunity will not criticise it adversely. Should a friend of the man who erects the memorial happen to know something ahout architecture and venture on an adverse criticism it would probahly be regarded as an affront offered to the dead. Therefore, continued and unwearied study of the principles of design, of photographs and measured drawings of noted monuments — continual self-criticism must be the rule for those who have the advancement of the profes- sion at heart. The problem of designing a tomb is one which calls for a thor- ough knowledge of architectural forms, a feeling for proportion, a keen sense for the proper use of materials and a familiarity with the causes and characteristics of the various historic styles. The designer must know what mouldings combine well with certain other mould- ings; how the columns should and should not be treated (particu- larly the latter) ; he must know what combinations of materials result in pleasing effects and in what measure it is safe to use pol- ished and unpolished surfaces. He must know the difference between Roman and Greek forms before he can (as is entirely proper) safely mingle them; and the fundamental differences between classic procedure and the methods of Romanesque or Gothic designers must equally be familiar to him. That is, he must be a trained architect. The fact cannot be shrugged aside — artistic fail- ure awaits the untrained designer of tombs. The attempt has been made in these pages to give those who have had no opportxmity for architectural study some insight into the reasons for or against certain procedures. Under the headings of Mouldings, Columns, Doors, etc., these architectural forms have been discussed and in studying the matter of tomb designing, these One Hundred Seventeen MEMORIAL ART sections should be re-read, since many of the points mentioned in this chapter are based oh the reasoning there given somewhat at length. When a tomb is to be built the first question to be decided is the architectural style which shall be employed. At once it may be asked — ^why not build a tomb without any dependence on historic styles? The answer is that we have no modern style, as yet; and if we use merely a group of mouldings about the door and another at the eaves, such mouldings will inevitably suggest Egyptian or classic or Gothic or Moslem mouldings, and the very shape of the structure will thereby be established. Judging by past history a style is being developed in these days ; but we are still at the stage of development where we must, more or less consciously, base our work on the proved excellences of some former period. Therefore, if the group of mouldings has a Gothic quality the tomb must take a form which will harmonize with Gothic mouldings ; if the mouldings chosen are classic in profile quite another form is demanded. The mouldings used by Greek or Gothic builders were, through long periods of experimentation, developed to harmonize with certain structural forms and in transplanting them to alien forms one is merely throw- ing away the knowledge laboriously gained by generations of skilled artists. Because they did not grasp this fundamental truth the workers in the Gothic Revival period, for instance, designed struc- tures which now seem to us ridiculous; they covered with Gothic detail buildings essentially classic in form. The following of a historic style is, therefore, almost a necessity. Such choice depends upon the personal taste of the chent. Some feel that a tomb which suggests a Moslem origin (and a very inter- esting domed tomb based on Moslem traditions has been designed by Mr. Sulhvan of Chicago) is inappropriate for Christian burial — One Hundred Eighteen THE TOMB yet Egyptian or classic forms are no more incongruous. If one is to be strict in such matters the Christians must reject any classic structure and use only the forms distinctive of Christianity — Early Christian, Romanesque or Gothic. Fortunately, however, in the fine arts there are no creeds and the Christian should not object to a pagan tomb nor a Hebrew to a Gothic one. The choice having been made the designer must next study the proportions of the proposed tomb. Here no general theories or pro- portional tables of width, height and depth will be of much use. Anyone can prove that a classic tomb which measures fourteen feet across its f a9ade and is forty feet long will be odd in appearance, but who can say whether the ideal length will be sixteen or seventeen and a half or twenty feet ? Further, the proportions of a beautiful Greek structure will be no guide in estabUshing the relative proportions of a tomb designed in the Gotluc style. As has been noted again and again — proportion, the most important of all considerations con- fronting the designer — ^is a matter about which nothing can be stated definitely. It is, of course, impossible to generalize about correct archi- tectural procedures irrespective of style. Therefore, for the sake of clearness, the styles wiU be taken up in their historic sequence. Present-day tombs in the "Egyptian" style have little in common with anything Egyptian save the details used. A structure of classic proportions is, as a rule, furnished with Egyptian mouldings and columns ; the results are sometimes not bad. The chief practical diffi- culty lies in the fact that the flat roof of Egyptian structures is un- suited to latitudes where there is much rain or snow. The ordinary classic gable cannot be used above the heavy Egyptian cornice; therefore the pyramid is the only available roof -form and great One Hundred Nineteen MEMORIAL ART artistic skill is necessary to obtain with this even moderately pleas- ing results. A quaint Roman tomb where such a roof is used still exists at Dana, Syria. As in other memorials the placing of the name of the dead in large letters on any part of the tomb gives it an aspect of vulgarity entirely out of keeping with the dignity which should mark a last resting-place. The advertiser's methods seem to have invaded the field of memorial art and the names of probably quite modest per- sons gleam forth in our cemeteries with more insistence than do those of makers of patent medicines or breakfast foods upon our bill- boards. The structure reproduced in Plate III shows a type of Greek building well adapted to form a basis of discussion of the classic tomb. This is a small building erected, about 480 B. C, by the Athenians as their treasury, or storehouse for votive oflPerings, at the famous shrine of Delphi. It has been much mutilated, the roof is gone, the cymatium crowning the raking cornice is broken, the walls have been badly damaged and only fragments of the original colimins are in place — one entire shaft and part of the other are res- torations and one capital has been partially restored. Even in this ruined state the beauty of its proportions and the perfection of its detail can be appreciated. This structure consists of a small room entered through a por- tico. The side walls of the building are extended so as to enclose the ends of the portico and on the f a9ade are finished, top and bottom, with mouldings, thus forming the Greek prototype of the Roman pilasters — called antae — serving to bear the ends of the entablature and harmonizing with the two Doric columns which form the other points of support. One Htmdred Twenty PLATE XVII fe_. Tombs of the Scaligees, Verona, Italy. Gothic, Fourteenth Century Photograph by D. Anderson, Rome THE TOMB A practical difficulty in the designing of a small tomb having a portico is found in the necessity of placing the columns far enough apart to allow of dignified passage of the coffin and its bearers. To gain the necessary width some designers, when using four columns, place two close together on each side of the entrance. This should never — ^the point cannot be made too emphatic — ^be done. The fimdamental idea of a series of colimins bearing an entablature is that these points of support should be eqtiidistant, or apparently equidistant. Where four colunms are used the central void may be sightly greater than the voids on each side of it but the difference should not be so great as to be noted in a Casual glance. The group of columns should coimt as a unit, whether there are four, six or eight. In the chapter deahng with the column the use of the "engaged" or "three-quarter" column is condemned, since the sinking of a por- tion of a column (designed ias a free-standing weight-bearer) in a wall is unreasonable. The pilaster of the Romans differs from the anta of the Greeks in that it merely copies the cap and base of the colimm — ^it is less logical than the Greek anta which has special mouldings suited to it as a part of the wall from which it projects. Where an architrave rests upon a wall or where enrichment is de- sired — as on the side of a tomb — nothing more nearly suggesting the column than the pilaster should be used; in spite of Roman pro- cedure the engaged colimm should be avoided. Because the Romans were illogical and because many Renaissance and modern architects have followed them is no reason for perpetuating this unreasoned feature. The foregoing paragraphs might seem to imply that columns are a necessary part of a "classic" tomb. This, of course, is not the One Himdred Twenty-one MEMORIAL ART case, but the problems which arise when columns are used are so important that this emphasis has been laid upon them. When the tomb is without columns there remain the questions of the correct use of entablature and pediment. The designer must be very sure of himself before venturing to vary the forms and the proportions of the classic entablature. Not that any unbreakable laws exist; but since these groupings and proportions are the result of long and serious study by designers whose equals have rarely been found, only an equally skilled designer will succeed in any attempt to change them. In our modern tombs many variations will be found; here an architrave omitted — there a frieze far overhanging the shafts of the supporting colmnns^ — ^in another the cornice heavy and badly proportioned; changes which may, of course, be made by anyone who cares to do so, with results doubtless satisfactory to the ignorant but unbeautiful to those with an appreciation of architectural forms. These remarks apply equally to the classic pediment. This is often given a pitch so low that the harmony of the structure is lost ; again, the pitch is so steep that Gothic rather than classic proportions are suggested — ^the result being even more inharmonious. The mould- ings of the raking cornice are at times given strange profiles, de- stroying the beauty of the classic pediment. Stone- joints are found illogioally placed — cutting, for instance, through the meeting-point of the raking cornice and the horizontal mouldings from which it rises; and this in a Roman pediment where the fillet must, at this point, be continuous. At the top of the pediment the cap-stone of the roof is often allowed to project vertically and the beauty of a clean-cut silhouette is lost. Even more unfortunate is a feature occasionally seen : an angehc figure poised on the apex of the gable. In such a position a figure, large or small, must be out of scale and, One Hundred Twenty-two THE TOMB therefore, out of place. It is hard to decide whether such a figure or a name, cut in large square letters in a frieze, gives more directly the touch of vulgarity to a tomb. The door and its framing has been discussed. The framing of the window — when such a feature is introduced — should consist of simple mouldings harmonizing with those about the door. Slightly roughened white glass (for the sake of its harmonizing texture) should be used, set in lead or bronze — ^the metal lines following the classic "fish-scale" pattern or the simple mesh of vertical, horizontal and forty-five-degree lines used in the pierced stone screens of clas- sic architecture. Pictorial windows, in rich colors, are out of place in classic structures ; if color and devices are demanded nothing more elaborate than symbols or conventionalized classic floral forms, wrought in white glass with touches of blue and green or green and yellow, should be allowed. If, in spite of expert advice to the con- trary, the client insists on "stained glass" in the window, at least the external appearance of the tomb should not be marred by the use of irregular patches of opalescent glass — a practice indulged in by many glass-workers, much to the detriment of the appearance of the buildings where such windows are permitted. Finally comes the question of the scale of the stones used and the correct placing of stone-joints. For some reason the use of large pieces of stone seems at present to be the fashion in the building of tombs. If an entire side wall, or an architrave supported by four columns, or a whole roof can be cut from one piece it is so cut and those in charge seemingly take great pride in the achievement. From the technical point of view it may be an achievement, but from the standpoint of design the results are usually unpleasing. A wall is more satisfactory when it is clearly a One Himdred Twenty-three MEMORIAL ART built-up structure and the horizontal and vertical joints are needed to give scale. The architrave should be jointed above a column- otherwise the supporting member loses its reason for being. A single stone used for the roof destroys (save in rare instances) the scale of the tomb ; it is reaUy appropriate only for a sarcophagus. A built-up structure is far more effective if the stones used are relatively small. A side wall built of blocks extending the full length of the tomb not only has no scale, but it lacks the structural sense which is a part of the charm of a well-designed building. Tall and narrow stones may be used for columns — and occasionally even for door-jambs^ — but in no other case. In interior work a veneer of marble, with panels higher than they are wide, is permissible, since it is clearly a wall covering — ^but in exterior work the greatest dimension of the blocks should extend horizontally that a feeling of stability may be ^ven. Whatever the cause — ^whether it is supposed that the big stones give an appearance of richness or nobility — ^whether it is more costly so to cut them or less expensive than the use of small pieces — ^it is to be hoped that a more reasonable use of masonry will soon take the place of this unstructural, unarchitectural fashion in the designing of tombs. When a free-standing tomb in the Romanesque or the Gothic style is desired the designer has no easy task before him. There are few, historic examples which will help him; he must devise a struc- ture which will serve his purpose and be in harmony with the details characteristic of the chosen style. He can study the baptistries and small chapels built during the thousand years from 500 A. D. to 1500 A. D. and the canopied tombs and the wall tombs which are mentioned below will give him valuable suggestions. But he must forget, for the moment, all that he knows about the forms and pro- One Himdred Twenty-four PLATE XVIII ■^ .<:\ '^ .•V rjt P-V:: K' t->^ -< ,'-' ^^^M -. *V- 7f ;%; KV< !^\ *^. ,^ 1. •-!»i'-^iv ■■"i'i^*.^.-Jii^-*v „ ''^^'S Kvnr, •*». V :i :. > - V' 1:. \ <*"<. I ' V' t':.'i, iUr'<3v ^™ ■ •rraa i a i f i i A ; .--t ,ji^» i -i i i.i' ay . i ' ^ ■■■■» i " ■"■yn — irj- Marsui'pixi Tomb, Santa C'uoce, I'LOKUixcE ; ]5y Desiderio da Setticnaxo I-'lu>hi(/i-iif'li by I'nilcUi .lliiuiri THE TOMB portions of classic tombs. He should imagine himself a worker in the twelfth or the fifteenth century who had never seen a classic building nor a classic moulding — ^he must think of his building as a Romanesque or a Gothic builder would have thought. If the de- signer cannot, in a measure, do this the results wiU be no better than those obtained by the men of the "Gothic Revival" — at which time, as has been pointed out, Gothic detail was placed on structures es- sentially classic in form. Only in very recent years have a few de- signers been able to give to such structures some of the true me- diaeval aspect — serious men who are wilhng to study and who are, besides, gifted with imagination. The general principles underlying the design of Renaissance tombs differ little from those which must be borne in mind when tombs in the classic manners are designed. The Renaissance tomb should be lighter and more ornate ; the capitals most often delicate variations of the Corinthian capital of the Romans; the pilasters ornamented with arabesques in low relief. There is great opportu- nity for individual treatment when Renaissance motives are used — much greater charm is obtainable and, it goes without saying, the chances of combining forms in illogical or unbeautiful ways are more numerous than is the case when the designer keeps to the simple Greek or Roman models. The free-standing canopied tomb is a form which has been used for many centuries — ^the actual grave or sarcophagus being covered by a roof borne by colvmms or arches. An interesting Romanesque example is that of Roger of Sicily — ^who died in 1154 — in the cathe- dral at Palermo. The ScaHger monuments, reproduced in Plate XVII, are perhaps the most noted Itahan structures of this type, although numerous variations are found throughout Europe during One Hundred Twenty-jive MEMORIAL ART the Gothic period. The tomb of the Count de Castlebarco, also in Verona, has an impressive setting; some interesting forms are found in Bologna. Other very elaborate canopied Gothic tombs are those of Marguerite de Bourgoyne in the Cathedral at Bourg, France; Aymer de Valence in Westminster Abbey, London; the Chantry of Prince Arthur in the Cathedral at Worcester, and at Tewksbury Abbey the elaborate Warwick chapel and the over-decorated Wake- man Cenotaph. Free-standing canopied tombs are occasionally met with in the Renaissance period, but the Renaissance wall-tombs furnish us with some of the most interesting of funerary monuments. The temples of the ancients were rarely, if ever, used as burial places. The Christianized descendants of the Romans continued for some centuries to bury their dead in cemeteries beyond the walls of their cities, far, of course, from the churches; then gradually the custom of burial within the sacred precincts arose. In this way the altar-tomb, the richly carved slab covering the grave beneath the jfloor of the church and the sarcophagus placed in a niche were devel- oped — the latter arrangement giving us the Gothic and Renaissance wall-tombs which are so numerous and in many cases so beautiful. The only direct help which these can give the designer is when a cenotaph is to be erected; but indirectly they are of the greatest value. The beauty of composition, the perfection of detail to be found in these mommients, make them a most useful source of sug- gestion and of inspiration. The Gothic examples range from the sarcophagus within a simple niche — such as may be seen in the old Cathedral, Salamanca, Spain; in Chaucer's tomb in Westminster Abbey, and in a himdred other European churches — ^to the elaborate form given the tomb of One Himdred Twenty-sicc THE TOMB Alfonso of Spain in the Carthusian convent at Burgos (Plate XVI) . Two interesting Italian examples are those of Clement IV in the church of S. Francisco, Viterho, and of Honorius IV in the church of S. M. in AracoeU, Rome. A somewhat unusual form of wall-tomb is found in Venice, in S. S. Giovanni e Paolo, where the sarcophagus of the Doge Morosini is placed in a niche high up in the wall surrounded by elaborate carved and painted decoration. Splendid as are the Gkithic wall-tombs, the sculptors of the Early Renaissance in Italy have left us the most thoroughly satisfactory group of these monuments. From the famous Marsuppini tomb, re- produced in Plate XVIII, one can get an idea of the general ar- rangement of these tombs, though that of Count Hugo in La Badia, Florence, by Mino da Fiesole, is perhaps the most beautiful. The development of the Renaissance style in the other countries of Europe produced elaborate wall-tombs, such as that of the cardi- nals of Amboise in the cathedral at Rouen, France, and that of Lord Marney, in Layer Marney church, England. The early Renais- sance forms were succeeded by more pompous, but not more beau- tiful, monuments. Beauty of form and proportion gave way to cleverness and freakishness and quite astonishing technical skill was wasted on designs which may nowadays interest the unthinking but which are beneath contempt as works of art. We find monuments supported by figures of black marble which are draped in garments cut from alabaster; skilfully wrought skeletons lifting slabs and aim- ing darts at the realistic figures of the departed; huge angels with wildly fluttering drapery poised in mid-air holding up curtains cut from stone of a different color; innumerable tasteless absurdities which are, unfortunately, not altogether things of the past. The cold, classic forms employed by Canova and his school were a pro- One Hundred Twenty -seven MEMORIAL ART test against these frivolous productions of the early eighteenth cen- tury. But the designer should turn to Italy when a Renaissance tomb is being considered; the years between 1400 and 1550 will supply him with inspiration which will last him a lifetime. One Htmdred Twenty-eight PLATE XIX 'II Maezocco," Flohence, Italy; By Donatello (ISSG-l'iee) Photograph by Fratclli Alinari Chaptee XI Ba«ag^«>i>.:^g»,l in T 1 ^^NS^wi^fiksii SOME SUGGESTIONS CONCERNING PUBLIC MEMORIALS HE statesman, forgetful of self, labors that his fellow citizens may live more happily; the educator, wise and patient, sifts the knowledge of the ages that the rising gen- erations may acquire wisdom; the soldier risks his life that the ideals of his people may be safely established. Were we called upon to select those who should help these men in their tasks it is pi^obable that we would pick and choose, with great care. It is not likely that we would appoint an actor, no matter how fine his character or how great his skill, to advise with the statesman. A lumber king who has worked his way up from the bottom would hot, however upright and worthy as a man, be our choice when looking for an assistant for an educator whose work was of national importance. In deciding who could best help the warrior in his campaigns we should not, probably, select an illus- trator even though his work delighted the eye and his hfe were irreproachable. When the statesman dies we erect a monument to him; men of eminence — churchmen, physicians, jurists — are honored by memo- rials and, above all, the man who has died fighting for his country has his memory kept green by a monument built at the pubhc expense. But what of our procedure when such a testimonial is proposed? One Hundred Twenty-nine MEMORIAL ART It seems strange that pra<:tical people who would not think of selecting a committee composed mainly of house painters and ask that the statesman allow them to dictate his policies — ^who would not suggest to a college president that he engage as advisers the sea- captains from the neighboring port, though good fellows all — or ask a general to be guided in the disposition of his forces by a group of bakers and bankers, excellent citizens though they might be — ^that a people who would do none of these things do not hesitate to put the selection of designs for our pubHc memorials in the hands of men who are ignorant of the simplest matters pertaining to the Fine Arts. We realize that expert advice is necessary in matters of state- craft — ^in legal or financial matters ; but when the Fine Arts are in question the Man in the Street (judging by our usual procedure) is as well able to give advice as the most highly trained architect or sculptor. If one of us is about to invest twenty-five thousand dollars he will cheerfully pay fifty or a hundred dollars or three times that amount to have the advice of an expert that he may be sure that the investment is a wise one. But when we are about to spend twenty, ten or even but five thousand dollars on a monument to our honored dead, do we gladly give a small percentage of it for the services of a trained adviser that the fund may be wisely invested? By no means. Why should we? Cannot the mayor and the oldest veteran and the leading citizen make a perfectly satisfactory selection? Why waste fifty or a hundred and fifty dollars on getting an architect or sculptor of national reputation to pass upon the de- signs when the leading citizen knows what he likes and, therefore, feels sure that his fellow- townsmen will hke it, too? We are careful in the investing of public funds in stocks and bonds because these things reaUy matter; when investing in a public memorial we seem One Htmdred Thirty PUBLIC MEMORIALS to lose our common sense — probably because the appearance of a mere monument matters so little to the majority of our citizens. In a public lecture given in one of our larger cities the writer re- ferred, in gently sarcastic terms, to the Soldiers' and Sailors' monu- ment which occupies the center of the chief pubhc square. After the talk a veteran of the Civil War approached the lecturer and said, regretfully: "You don't admire our monument? We worked hard to get the money for that and we are mighty proud of it." That is the pathetic part of this matter; the affections of those who had to do with the building of these memorials blind them to the crudeness so often found in the designs and to the lack of excellence in the execution. Save for a few isolated examples our public has httle opportu- nity for seeing really good memorials ; it is, therefore, not surprising that the average civic monument now being erected is unworthy of the place it occupies. In the case of our memorials to the heroes of the Civil War, for instance, this does not apply only to those erected a generation ago; some of the more recent are just as commonplace as those of the 'seventies; the compositions as uninteresting, the figures as doll-like, the execution as poor as ever. Few persons, it is probable, will be found who can say that the contemplation of our pubhc memorials gives them pleasure. The monument is erected, unveiled with appropriate ceremonies — then the natives of the town never look at it again and the visitor glances at it but to scoff. This would seem to be an unwise expenditure of money. Why erect a monument at which no one looks with pleasure; why attempt to honor the dead with structures which merely display the lack of taste of the hving? One Hundred Thirty-one MEMORIAL ART We do these things because the general public does not care how commonplace and unbeautiful the monimient may be. Further- more, never having seen a monument which gave them pleasure the majority of our people do not reahze that such structures can be things of beauty; that the moniunent should be to the city what the jewel is to the costimie of the wearer — ^the focus and final note of beauty. When a large sum of money is to be spent upon a public memo- rial (and this occurs only in our great cities) expert advice is ob- tained and, in the majority of cases, a work of lasting beauty is erected. But in the smaller places, where eight or ten thousand dollars is the utmost that the town can afford, the matter is left in the hands of citizens who are eminently worthy — as citizens — ^but who in all that concerns the Fine Arts are, as a rule, densely igno- rant. These excellent persons, did the matter concern legal, medical or financial affairs, would, as a first move, secure professional advice; when it is merely a question of art they do not for a moment doubt that they can supply all the wisdom necessary. Our people are at present engaged in the fitting task of raising memorials to those who lately gave their hves for the cause of hberty. These will take many forms. We read of plans for a great hospital here, a public auditorium there and in a third place a memorial arch is contemplated. These are in large cities where there is an abim- dance of money for such purposes and where, possibly, the public win, from established habit, seek the aid of experts. But there are innumerable small places where a memorial of some kind is greatly desired — a tablet or monument in the town square — and where the available fimds will scarce rise into the thousands. One Htmdred Thirty-two PUBLIC MEMORIALS It is for those who must solve the problem of how to obtain the best results from a modest outlay that this chapter is included in this book. The first point to be made is that a work of art must be obtained — something of lasting beauty; if the matter is wisely handled the amount spent on it will make no difference. There is no reason why the memorial costing but a thousand dollars should not be as beauti- ful as that which costs fifty times that amount. It is not a question of money; it is a question of taste. If a committee insists upon having three life-size figures, with their setting, for five thousand dollars, artistic failure will result. No sculptor of ability would accept such a commission knowing that it would be impossible, even though he made no charge for his services, to produce a work of art. Should the committee, on the other hand, select an architect of note and ask for a memorial of granite or marble, without figures, the structure, though small, would (or should) be a thing of beauty. It cannot too strongly be insisted upon that where only small sums are available figure sculpture should not be thought of. The number of sculptors who can conceive and execute memorial figures worthy of public erection is not large; unless beautiful and inspiring figures can be obtained our public places are better without any statues at all. We have already too great an array of dreary, dull, unbeautif ul statues ; do not let us add to their number. Above all things let us avoid, save possibly in bas-relief, the modern costume. In the hands of a genius it may result in an artistic triumph; in the majority of cases the coats and trousers of our hon- ored dead, reproduced in bronze or marble, are more ungainly than anything in the whole history of sculpture. If a hkeness of the great One Hundred Thirty-three MEMORIAL ART man is demanded let us, by all means, have a bust of him; but if figures are desired let them be symbolic that, freed from the restric- tions of the dress of the period, the sculptor may create beautiful forms. The larger number of the committees who select our public memorials must be sadly lacking in imagination. A figure on a pedestal seems to be their first thought. If this is too costly they turn to that inexcusable form — a tablet of bronze affixed to a boulder. There their inventive resources stop. Yet there are so many beautiful forms from which to choose. The obelisk is always impressive. A simple column — ^without an eagle atop — if well cut and rightly placed has dignity. A properly designed pylon may be a thing of beauty. Small canopied struc- tures; fountains, large or small, with endless possibilities for eflfec- tiveness; Greek stelae; flag-poles with ornamental bases; sun-dials, simple or complicated; Celtic crosses; urns of bronze or colored marble upon graceful pedestals; exedra; tablets properly placed in architectural framework (a most pleasing example of this type of memorial, by R. Clipston Sturgis, has recently been erected on the Common in Boston) ; lions, erect or recumbent; there is no limit to the mmiber of appropriate and beautiful structures which may be used whose cost would be comparatively small. Artistic judgment is, as always, necessary. Any one of these forms may, in unskilled hands, prove most unbeautiful; but the same is true of groups of figures or of triumphal arches. Plate XIX shows one of the small but effective public monu- ments erected in Florence in the fifteenth century. Much of its effectiveness is due to the fact that it was designed and executed by a great sculptor — ^Donatello. A seated Hon supports a shield bearing One Htmdred Thirty-four PUBLIC MEMORIALS the lily of Florence. The pedestal upon which it rests has unusual charm. It consists of a central block at each end of which are placed two baluster-shafts, beautifully proportioned and enriched; these bear a carved frieze. The more famous Lion of Lucerne is natu- ralistic and in effect extremely sentimental; in Donatello's lion there is sentiment without sentimentahty and it is highly conventional. This latter quality, as has so often been insisted upon in these pages, is an essential if a work is to endure. No lion or eagle or human figure which closely follows the appearance of nature will ever rank as a work of art ; it must be conventionalized — otherwise it is mere imitation and can have no lasting appeal. When a memorial is contemplated the following procedure is suggested. The committee in charge should secure, either as de- signer or adviser, the services of the best architect within reach. He should be told the sum which has been appropriated and be asked to present two or three designs from which the committee may make its selection; he should be paid the fees established by custom and the execution of the design left entirely in his hands. If he is paid a fee simply as an adviser the various designs secured by the com- mittee should be presented to him and his choice should be final. If the available sum is great enough two or three sculptors working in collaboration with architects might be asked to submit preliminary designs which should be paid for. Two or three experts should be asked, for a stipulated fee, to select the best design; the winners should then be unhampered in its execution. It might seem to some that in these suggestions the word "fee" has been rather frequently used. But physicians are not asked for free advice, nor are lavryers; why, then, expect other professional One Hv/ndred Thirty-five MEMORIAL ART men whose advice is invaluable to serve the public without compen- sation? The trouble is that such advice is not, by the general public, re- garded as invaluable. And a glance at the vast majority of our public monimients shows the results of that attitude. One Htmdred Thirty-six PLATE XX A Greek Fragment. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Chapter XII lllil^ feA^O 1 ^K 1 1 iY^^9SS^ W{ ^^ m 1 |^^.dfi=si^SI A CONSIDERATION OF SCULPTURE LTHOUGH a plain memorial, well pro- portioned and with properly designed let- tering, may be entirely satisfactory, it must be admitted that some form of en- richment adds to its interest. This usually takes the form of decorative carving. The word "decorative" applies to both carving and sculpture — since all ornamental forms must serve as decoration; but where to draw the line between these forms which might properly be referred to as "carving" and those to which the name "sculpture" may be given is not easy. As far as processes are concerned both are carved, or modeled and cast in metal. There are, however, many carved or modeled forms which could not be referred to as sculpture. As a general rule, we may limit the use of the latter word to figure work, occasionally including the higher animal forms, such as the lion and the horse, when these, by themselves or used with a himian figure, become individually important. By "carving", then, we will mean all decoration applied to mouldings, all geometric motives — such as the fret and the guilloche ; all forms derived from plant life, and animal and human motives when these are used in subordinate positions. The necessity of using conventionalized floral and animal forms cannot too strongly be emphasized. Naturahstic carving has no place save in a museum of natural history. Lilies, roses, ferns and One Htmdred Thirty-seven MEMORIAL ART such-like floral elements must be rendered in a purely conventional manner. Exact imitation of these is impossible; why, therefore, waste time and energy in attempting to do something which is sure to result in failure ; pathetic failure from the standpoint of the bot- anist ; deplorable failure from the artistic point of view? The shght- est exercise of common sense should convince anyone that since the headstone, the cross, the tomb are abstract forms — forms not derived from any suggestion in nature, but products of man's imagination — ornament placed upon them must, to secure harmonious results, be treated not naturalistically, but imaginatively; the flower or leaf not imitated, but used as a basis for a more or less formal design. Only by this method may artistic results be achieved. Those who persist in demanding or executing naturalistic flower or animal forms are proving themselves lacking in common sense as well as in artistic judgment. Why, it might well be asked, if such contempt should be heaped on those who like realistic roses and ferns cut in stone, do we find numerous examples of these things? The answer is twofold. First, because imimaginative people like that which they can recognize at a glance. The realistic stone rose, however badly cut, however lack- ing in true decorative quahty, they see is meant to be a rose and they pass on, satisfied with their powers of perception. If the flower is conventionahzed they are puzzled by it — ^made to feel ignorant — and, having no feeling for decoration (although pleased by imita- tion) , dislike the thing for which they have no standards of recogni- tion or appreciation. The second reason concerns the producer. Imitation is merely a matter of skill; the trained stone-cutter can, with an actual rose before him, achieve some kind of semblance of form. But to conventionahze leaves and flowers one must have a One Hundred Thirty-eight SCULPTURE trained mind — ^trained artistic conceptions — one must have a knowl- edge of design and be familiar with the best decorative work. Judg- ing by the work in our cemeteries we still have with us some few who have not as yet attained these qualifications. Should all floral forms be conventionalized, may we then be as- sured that the decoration will be artistically satisfactory? Unfortu- nately, no. Leaves and flowers may be non-reahstic and yet so com- posed that the relation of one motive to another and of the decoration to the object as a whole is unpleasing. It is just as essential that the motives chosen be well composed as that they should be conven- tionalized. The matter of technique — of the skill of hand of the modeler or carver — plays an important part in the effect of a piece of decora- tion, yet should not be over-emphasized. We are too much inchned to praise a thing which shows skillful handling and neglect the more important considerations of design. It is far better that ornament be well designed and poorly cut than that it should be technically perfect and yet fail when considered from the point of view of artistic fitness. If we can have technical excellence coupled with beauty of design, so much the better; but we should never lose sight of the fact that the latter consideration is very much the more im- portant. The perfection of Greek workmanship cannot be too highly praised, yet were the designs not beautiful the skill expended in cutting them would represent wasted effort. The same may be said of the skill shown by the sculptors of the Renaissance ; in those things which we admire the thought, the feeling which inspired them is of value, though we rejoice that the technical excellence was such that the artistic quality is not marred by poor worlonanship. One Hwndred Thirty-nine MEMORIAL ART When we approach the question of sculpture the matter becomes more comphcated. How is one to lay down rules the following of which wiU produce figures of artistic merit? Of course there is the fimdamental requirement that the figure must be decorative, and it cannot be truly decorative if it is treated in a realistic manner. But how far should one go in making the figure non-realistic? The fig- ure must, in certain respects, conform to nature. It must have the proper features and limbs ; drapery, when used, must suggest actual drapery; a&in the case of the hly or the fern, however, there should be interpretation and not imitation. This is one of the things most difficult of attainment. There are further complications of emo- tional expression, of design and composition. It is no easy matter to suggest emotion, to express sentiment, and not have the figure too emotional or sentimental ; but no rules can be given which will enable the designer to gain the desired feeling and avoid the undesirable or the commonplace. The sculptor can strengthen his instinctive im- pulses by continued study of the best which has been produced, but in the final analysis it is the spirit within him which will make his work distinctive or otherwise. The emotional suggestion which is to be conveyed will control the design — the composition. Here again no general laws can be formulated. Take a simple case — a free-standing sarcophagus, the effect of which is to be enriched by the introduction of a symbolic figure. It goes without saying that the figure should not be poised on one foot nor seated cross-legged on the top of the sarcophagus — but the choice of the attitude which will best suggest the desired emotion must be determined by the sculptor. If he desires to sug- gest deep feeling he will, it is obvious, avoid extravagant pose and gesture. What more can be said? In the matter of composition no One Himdred Forty SCULPTURE general rules will help him to determine whether the figure had best be placed at one end of the sarcophagus, at the center on one of the long sides or at a spot between these two positions. Concerning the figure itself, what can be said of the management of the drapery, for instance? Merely that it should be carefully studied, that harmo- nious flow of line is desirable and the balancing of broad, simple planes by masses of shadow-casting folds ; that each plane and each fold should be so placed that it plays its proper part in the design; obvious general suggestions, of httle value save when the critic could apply them in specific cases. To return to the matter which can be discussed in general terms —the question of conventionaHzation. The student in sculpture should, as a part of his training, model directly from life, following as closely as he can the figure before him. (Even in this he must treat conventionally certain elements. The most realistic sculptor has to find some means by which to suggest masses of hair, for in- stance — ^it cannot be copied in clay or stone.) The serious sculptor remains a student all his life, of course ; but when the period of train- ing under a master is past and he becomes a creative artist, he must, as the word imphes, create and not copy. A high degree of technical skill is needed by the man who models in wax and colors according to life lay figures for the show windows. But we do not rank him as a sculptor nor would we give the name to the maker of the dress which clothes the figure. Neither can we call a sculptor the man who copies nature as closely as does the maker of the wax figure and rivals the dressmaker by imitating in stone the textiles which she uses. Such a man is a clever technician, but he is not a sculptor. The sculptor moves on a higher plane. He is a creator of beauti- ful forms which, secondarily, may suggest certain emotions but One Hundred Forty-one MEMORIAL ART which, primarily, are expressions of beauty of form as he, within his own soul, feels it. He is not a copyist or an imitator of nature; he does not belong to the "Horse-blanket School of Sculpture" — ^those who drape a model in a heavy garment and copy what they see. He is one who designs his figure with a definite aim, who designs his drapery so that every line and fold will play a determined part in the composition. He is not the imitative slave of nature, but a master who makes nature serve his artistic conceptions. We prize Greek sculpture above all other sculpture because it is creative and not imitative, because the Greek sculptor gives us his conception of the supreme lovehness which might be obtained by the himaan form instead of the chance beauty of a particular model. He does not dispose the drapery of his figure in folds which would be impossible in the actual material, but he does not limit himself to the mere copying of some accidental arrangement. In a lesser de- gree these observations are true of the best work of the ItaUan Renaissance sculptors (see Plate XXII). Their figures are less ideal, more emotional, more obviously decorative. Because they are less abstract, approach more closely the everyday human type than do the figures of the Greek sculptors, they are, to many, more appealing. But early Renaissance sculpture is not realistic in the degree in which some of the figures of our modern men are realistic. Although himian, although suggesting, possibly, the personality of some favorite model, these figures are, nevertheless, conventionalized. Plate XXI shows the upper part of the niche which contains the tomb of James, Cardinal of Portugal, in San Miniato, Florence — the work of Antonio Rossellino (1427-1478) . Attention is called to it at this point because of its superb decorative quality and its human appeal, coupled with an entire lack of realism. The floral wreath, One Himdred Forty-two SCULPTURE the angels with fluttering drapery, the charming Virgin and Child, are suggestive of real flowers, real garments, real human beings, and yet how far they are from being in any degree imitative! Garments might be so arranged, models might take such poses, but what we have is not the sculptor's faithful imitation of accidental actuahty but his interpretation of one or another form to serve a clearly con- ceived artistic purpose. It is unlikely that Rossellino argued with himself that since these forms must serve a decorative purpose and were to be closely related to abstract architectural forms, such as niches and tombs, they must be kept abstract and conventional — ^but by tradition and training he thought of sculpture as a part of the architecture which framed it and unconsciously conventionahzed his figures. He probably thought of himself as a close follower of Nature; could he see some of the realistic sculpture of the present day he would realize how far (luckily for his fame and our enjoy- ment) he was from belonging to the naturaUstic school. Great works of art are produced almost, one might say, uncon- sciously. The moment one becomes conscious of the fact that he is trying to express himself in a certain manner or to produce a work of art according to rules formulated by another the results show his lack of conviction — of sincerity. This can be seen in the sculpture of Canova and his followers. Classic sculpture was the ideal; but the outward forms were copied and the spirit which produced the ancient masterpieces was lacking; cold, dull formalism was the result. He who earnestly desires to produce decorative sculpture (and all sculp- ture save that in an exhibition of wax-works or in a museum of Natural History is made for purposes of decoration) must so thor- oughly absorb the ideals of the best decorative periods that he finally can think in no other manner. When his brain and hand instinc- One Hundred Forty-three MEMORIAL ART tively refuse to handle fonn in any but a decorative way — ^then, if he has imagination, a sense of beauty and technical skill, he will become a great sculptor. He should hve in constant companionship with masterpieces. As he cannot get originals let him buy two or three casts of superb Greek figures and a Hke number of casts of the best work of the sculptors of the Renaissance. He should have photographs of all the master- works, ancient and modern. Using these not as a copyist would use them but as sources of inspiration he may live in a world of high artistic ideals and in time make them his own. In any consideration of sculpture the question of ideals must be the chief one. If a marble figure in low rehef has been ordered for a memorial it goes without saying that the figure is to be beautiful — • is to measure up to an ideal of beauty — ^but to whose ideal? Who is to set the standard of what is and what is not beautiful? In one way it might be reduced to a practical question — one of dollars and cents. If a chent could afford a sum sufficient to secure the services of, let us say, Daniel Chester French, the matter would be satisfactorily settled; we could be confident that the figure would be beautiful. Yet this would only mean that the ideals of that eminent sculptor would be the standard — and still no standards or ideals of beauty in general would have been defined. In the final analysis the question becomes one of personal or collective standards of taste. Taste, fortunately, can be trained. We are all, in fact, all the time unconsciously training, or at least exercising, our artistic judg- ment — ^when buying a necktie as much as when erecting a memorial. The only difference is that lack of judgment in the matter of a pubhc memorial may seriously affect a great number of people, whereas an unfortxmate choice in a necktie is not a public calamity. One Hundred Forty-four < o w O S5 o W (-1 "A W PS o o' 1^ < o W o K K & c PM o Hi n <1 o o n SCULPTURE The reader is asked to study the fragment shown in Plate XX, a bas-rehef in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, reproduced that the beauty of Greek work may be appreciated. It is not, perhaps, of the greatest Greek period yet it is worthy of close study. At first glance it might seem to be quite unimportant — only the lower part of a draped figure; of it one might make the remark made by the yoimg woman who was asked if she did not think the "Winged Victory" beautiful. "She might be; on the other hand, she might not. It leaves you doubtful, not having the head." Miss Sidgwick, the author of the novel in which this observation appears, is to be thanked for giving us this point of view. To the enthusiastic lover of sculp- ture the fragmentary state of a masterpiece interferes in no way with its enjoyment and it is difficult for him to reahze that there are many to whom a Greek fragment is merely a piece of broken stone — ^beau- tiful, possibly, when whole, but being broken, of no value or interest. This Greek relief might be used as a test. Show it to a stone- cutter; if he finds something in it to admire he has the soul of an artist ; if his mental attitude is that of the young woman quoted above he is a stone-cutter and nothing more and would never develop into a sculptor though he carved figures to his dying day. Perhaps the first quality which impresses one in this rehef is the feeling of refinement which pervades it. This is not a matter of the treatment of the surface. A figure may be wrought to the highest degree of perfection of finish and yet lack this quality (as may be noted in many of the works of the fol- lowers of Canova), whereas in Michaelangelo's smaller David — a figure never completed, merely roughed out of the block — ^there is great beauty and refinement. This quality lies in the spirit in One Htmdred Forty-five MEMORIAL ART which the sculptor works; it is a question of ideals and not of technique. How can the doubter be convinced of this? The matter cannot be reduced to arithmetical terms; it is appreciated by one man and not by another ; there, perhaps, the matter ends. The power of apprecia- tion can be trained, but the individual must train himself; artistic appreciation is not a purchasable article. Technical excellence, of a kind, is easily perceived. A highly pohshed surface will be generally admired, but few there seem to be who know when it is appropriately used and when it is misplaced. In this relief the texture is exactly suited to the subject; a less finished surface would mean a loss in the delicacy of the forms ; a smoother surface would vulgarize it. Yet such seems to be the state of popu- lar taste — ^judging by the average public monument or private memorial — ^that this relief would have a greater popular appeal were it pohshed like an agate. The technical skill required for that would be recognized; the skill of brain (if the term may be used) needed to lead the sculptor to give just the correct surface to his figure is felt only by those who have artistic perception. In this fragment nothing remains of the figure save the legs, about which the drapery falls leaving the feet bare. The manage- ment of this drapery is superb. It is in no way naturahstic, yet there is not a fold which might not be found in an actual garment. It is not photographically true, possibly, but there is in it artistic truth — that is, while the garment might never be seen to fall in such a manner, these beautiful folds can be imagined as being possible — and artistic truth is always beautiful. It is not a contradiction of nature but a realization of what nature might be but rarely is. One Hundred Forty-six SCULPTURE Every fold of this drapery takes its proper place in the composi- tion. The width of a plane or the depth of an undercutting are not matters which just chanced so to be ; they are matters of design. The sculptor did not necessarily reason out each detail in advance, but being highly gifted with artistic intelligence wrought perfection without conscious thought. When we listen to a great piece of music we realize that it owes its beauty to the fact that this note fol- lows that and that to change their order would be to destroy the beauty of the air. We do not assume that the composer constructed it mathematically and in cold blood. He was "inspired" — ^but was siibconsciously guided by the store of knowledge which he had ab- sorbed and made his own. In this relief, as in the piece of music, one could scarcely change a detail without injuring the effect of the composition as a whole. This stress is laid on the feeling for design shown in Greek drapery since in so much modern sculpture there seems to be an entire lack of the decorative feeling which should control the use of drapery — of costume. The work of Augustus St. Gaudens should be studied in this con- nection. In handling modern costume he achieved the impossible, one is tempted to say ; he made coats and trousers interesting, almost beautiful. His "Sherman" and "Farragut," both in New York, are particularly fine in this respect. It might be held that he ranks with the greatest of the sculptors of the Renaissance since he solved so successfully such difficult problems, harder than any ever presented to them. What would the sculptors of that period have made of our garments I Fortunately nothing so ugly as a pair of trousers clothed the men of the Renaissance — ^much less the gods and heroes of the Greeks. Would that we might have the reproduction in bronze or marble of coats and trousers forbidden by law; that being out of the One Hundred Forty-seven MEMORIAL ART question, public taste must be trained until such unsightly objects will, by popular demand, be swept away. Often, however, when in modern work the sculptor has only "classic" drapery to deal with he seems unable to learn the lesson so brilliantly taught by the Greeks, and gives us unmeaning masses of stone or bronze in place of beau- tifully designed, expressive drapery. Again examining this relief the subtle way in which the legs are suggested under the garments should be noted — an art of which the Greeks were past masters. If only every man who handles a chisel could be induced to study this detail of Greek procedure until he had thoroughly absorbed the principles which underhe the as yet unsur- passed sculpture of the Greeks 1 The delicacy and refinement of the feet are in keeping with the beauty of the rest of the relief. But if a discussion of the wonders of Greek sculpture as shown in their rendering of the himian figure is commenced the patience of the reader will be exhausted. And words are not needed; enough to say — ^look, and look and then again, look. One last point concerning the relief; the beautiful and highly conventionalized garland should be noted. The treatment of these flowers and leaves is so simple and so httle suggestive of actual flowers and yet so thoroughly satisfactory. Could any realistic rose or fern be so effective? Again, this relief teaches the lesson that forms must be adapted to the material in which they are wrought. Further, that what is wanted is not imitation, but interpretation. A simple creed, indeed. One Himdred Forty-eight PLATE XXII Altak-Tomb of Santa Fina, La Collegiata, San Gimignaxo, Italy. By Benedetto da Majaxo (1 44.2-1 J<9T) Pholo/irapJi, F. Bnickmaiut, Ltd.. Mtmich Chapter XIII CONCERNING THE USE OF COLOR ERE and there in the preceding pages men- tion has been made of color. One usually thinks of our cemeteries as places filled with white headstones and tombs. White is, of course, the prevailing note. It sug- gests purity and cleanliness, hence its ex- tensive use. It also has the advantage of being a "safe" color— one cannot go far wrong in using it. It is not, however, necessarily the wise choice. The slate headstones characteristic of the older burying grounds along the Atlantic coast give to these places a quiet charm too often lacking in the modern cemetery with its many gleaming monuments. One feels, at times, that the use of white is carried too far. There are certain types of memorials which preclude the use of white. The Celtic cross, for instance, is more effective in warm gray or pink stone. But, after all, white is the safe color to use. One of its great advantages should not pass unmentioned by one who has suffered from the procedure so generally followed when non-white material is used ; it gives little or no variation in color when parts are polished. A large number of the artistic mistakes found in our memorial work can be placed under the heading "The combining of polished and unpolished surfaces". Although this point has already been mentioned, the (artistic) danger of reckless use of polished sur- faces cannot be too strongly emphasized and can most appropriately be taken up when the question of color is being considered. One Htmdred Forty-nine MEMORIAL ART Concerning the use of polished surfaces one is tempted to make a sweeping rule — polish everything or nothing. Such a rule, however, while greatly reducing the number of mistakes made would mean the discarding of much possible beauty. Discreetly handled, the com- bining of dull and reflecting surfaces with their color variations can give, at relatively small cost, varied and beautiful results. The sculptors of the early Italian Renaissance were adepts in such mat- ters, having an instinctive f eehng for design and varying the surface of their monuments with delicacy and discretion. Reproductions of the tomb of Leonardo Bruni and the Marsuppini tomb are given in Plates VII and XVIII. In both of these monuments the drapery which covers the bier is made to suggest rich brocade, the pattern being polished, relieved against a roughened background. The tex- tile is merely suggested, not imitated, and the play of color is delicate and very beautiful. Certain designers of memorials nowadays, however, seem to lose all sense of fitness when once they begin to in- troduce polished surfaces and this and that and the other detail is made to stand forth, dark and shining, till the final result is as spotty and distracting as the patchwork quilt of fifty years ago. Have we not all seen stones so treated? — ^the sides rough-faced, the front cov- ered with a jimible of panels, names, crosses and meaningless "orna- ment" polished here and polished there — excusable in the decorative attempts of a child of five, perhaps, but unworthy of anyone having the faintest pretensions as a designer. Such strange concoctions in two colors must appeal to a certain class. They must, to the uncul- tivated eye, represent beauty and richness, but each one produced means a lowering of the standards of public taste. As is so often the case it is easy to condemn wholesale these things which few, if any, of us can admire. But to state in exact terms just One Himdred Fifty CONCERNING USE OF COLOR how far one should go in introducing the changes of color which are obtained when granite and some of the colored marbles are polished is not easy. One might, for instance, say that four-fifths of the given surface should be of one color — that is, the major portion of the de- sign of one color — ^the other color being more or less incidental. But even with such a general rule a tasteless designer could distribute his one-fifth of contrasting surface in such a manner that an un- meaning, spotty effect would result. Unity of effect should be aimed at; simphcity, or apparent simplicity, shoidd be the watch- word. Simplicity does not mean bareness. In the hands of an artist a monument which at first glance seems beautiful because of its sim- plicity may, upon closer study, prove to be complex in design and rich in ornament ; but the contrasting colors of the plain surfaces and the polished ornament will have been used with such skill that the general impression is one of quiet refinement. It is, in the long run, not the designer who needs the training, but the public. There will, for many years, be among us those who prefer a stone whereon a pohshed heart stands out gleaming against a dull backgroimd (with some realistic flowers thrown in) to a memorial whose characteristics are refinement and simplicity. Fol- lowing the mistaken idea that the public must be given what it wants, men of little vision continue to produce these unbeautiful objects. The wise and far-sighted man knows that the public takes what it is given; that its taste is slowly improving, and that ultimate success will depend not only on fair dealing but on artistic production as well. Mention has been made of the relation between design and color, which, of course, includes material and texture. The Celtic cross owes a great part of its charm to the richness of "color" — ^that is. One Himdred Fifty-one MEMORIAL ART light and shade — and the somewhat coarse texture of the stone from which it is cut ; its sturdy impressiveness would be to a great extent lost were it cut in fine-grained white marble. The delicacy of the Greek stela, on the other hand, demands a white, or a nearly white, stone. Such considerations of material and color are insep- arable from the design. That which is suited to gray slate is not suited to pink granite, nor will a dtesign which has proved effective in white marble be equally effective in red — truths so obvious that it seems a waste of time to state them. The color notes in our cemeteries are, at times, a little startling. After a long succession of white or drab monuments one comes sud- denly upon a polished sarcophagus of a bricky-red hue — and one wonders what could have induced designer or chent to select such a color. Our feeling for color is not, at the present day, highly de- veloped. We avoid color, in the main; when we attempt to use it the failures are more numerous than the successes. Men's clothing is practically colorless; yet a hundred years ago men wore green and bright blue, purple and even scarlet. The young man of today occasionally indulges in a pink shirt, a green hat or sports purple socks; the majority of us satisfy our craving for color only in our neckties. Naturally, therefore, having had for generations no oppor- tunity for exercising our judgment in the matter of color combina- tions we know little about color and when we attempt any extensive use of it we make mistakes. In the matter of dress women are more fortunate than men, being at Kberty to wear what colors they choose. Their color sense should be fairly well developed. Perhaps when more of them enter the field of memorial art we shall have a more general use of color in our monuments. One Htmdred Fifty-two CONCERNING USE OF COLOR For a greater use of our resources should be made. There are so many colors to give us pleasure when used properly; the various gradations of pinks and dull reds — ^the yellows and buflfs — ^the greens ; these used individually or in harmonious combinations open a field of artistic endeavor almost tmtouched in modem times. In Italy, particularly in Roman times and in the Gothic period, colored marbles and other stones were extensively used in exterior work. Although the expert might point out certain varieties which cannot survive exposure in our rigorous climate, there would stiU remain enough durable vari-colored material to allow the designer a wide range for his imaginative faculty. As in the matter of varying colors in a given material by polish- ing some parts of it, so in combining stones or marbles of different colors an unusual amount of skill and taste is required. There are possibilities of great beauty; also exceptional opportunities for mak- ing mistakes. Some of the latter were clearly shown when the Albert Memorial was erected in London. It is rich in stone and marbles of various colors, mosaics, bronze ornaments and statues of marble and of gilded bronze ; nothing is lacking except taste. Prop- erly used, however, color would add greatly to the interest of our places of burial. Panels of porphyry set in creamy white; green- veined marble framed in buff; tawny yellow outlined with a fillet of green-black set in gray-pink granite — ^the variations are limitless, the possibilities unbounded. It is difficult to write of color without being misunderstood, so great is the confusion in the definitions of color. To one "gray- pink" may suggest a cerise ribbon rescued from the ash-bin, to an- other fire-Ht smoke; yet neither "dull-pink" nor "warm-gray" would, to the writer, indicate just the shade required in the above-mentioned One Hv/ndred Fifty-three MEMORIAL ART combination. The only sure method would be illustration by means of plates printed in color. An unpleasant type of color combination occasionally seen is that where a figure of white marble — usually life-size and almost always poor — poses in a sentimental attitude beside a block of gray or pink stone, no attempt being made to harmonize the contrasting colors. The basic idea has possibilities of great beauty — ^but the figure must be a piece of sculpture and not a putty-like doll hewn from stone, and there must be a carefully worked out balance, in composition and in color, between the two elements of the design. An appropriate means by which color may be introduced has been mentioned — ^the use of glass or stone mosaic. Of the latter there are two kinds, the "Roman", in which, as in glass mosaic, the pattern is built up of tiny bits more or less square (the "Cosmati" work of mediaeval times) and the "Florentine", where compara- tively large pieces of marble are cut in the desired shapes and fitted together. An example of this type of mosaic, used in conjunction with carved ornament, will be found in the reproduction of a panel from the font in the Baptistry at Pisa (Plate V) where a pattern of yellowish-white is relieved against a background of dark green marble. The contrast between the flat design in two colors and the broken light and shade on the ornament in relief is most effective. The range of color in stone mosaic is necessarily limited ; with glass mosaic brilliant effects in color and gold may be obtained. Panels or bands of such decorative color might well be used where sumptuous effects are desired. If handled with the restraint and decorative sense shown by the ItaUan craftsmen from the sixth to the sixteenth century this practice would add much to the beauty of our monimients. One Hundred Fifty-four CONCERNING USE OF COLOR Another form of decoration much in vogue in Florence and Siena during the same period consisted in drawing on white marble a design planned to cover a large part of the given field, cutting away the background and filhng with a durable black paste or cement the space thus obtained; really an inexpensive form of inlay. It is pos- sible that a cement which, so used, would stand exposure in our climate could not be found. The use of ornaments of bronze as a means of enriching memorial stones will, it is to be hoped, come into more general use. Occasional examples are found in this country, a notable one being the monu- ment to Peter Cooper, in New York City, by St. Gaudens and McKim, Mead & White — a photograph of which, it might be sug- gested, should be in every designer's portfolio. Varied and beau- tiful effects can be obtained by the use of panels, scrolls and foliated borders of bronze and changes or color introduced by employing a green patina or by gilding the metal. The latter procedure has many points in its favor, particularly since the gold in weathering assumes subtle variations in color. Those who have seen the gilded bronze figure of Alma Mater, by French, in front of the library of Columbia University in New York City, will recall its beautiful patina. The gilding of portions of the stone itself, that is, emphasizing details of the ornament by applying gold-leaf to them, was much practiced by the sculptors and decorators of the early Italian Renais- sance. This might not prove feasible in exterior work in this climate. When properly handled effects of subdued richness, in every way delightful, have been so obtained. Plate XXII shows the altar-tomb of Santa Fina, in the church of the Collegiata in the little hill-town of San Gimignano, Italy, by One Htmdred Fifty- five MEMORIAL ART Benedetto da Majano (1442-1497). Beautiful in composition, superb in execution, it sets a standard for all workers in the field of memorial art. Many of the points mentioned in former chapters are here exem- plified. Properly to illustrate this chapter it should be reproduced in color, since the employment of partly gilded creamy- white marble, colored marble and bronze is wonderfully effective. The cherubs' heads and chalices in the band just above the altar have backgrounds of colored marble; the details of the mouldings, altar supports, shields and the design upon the "curtains" are gilded. Unfortu- nately these touches of gold show as black in a photograph so that much of the delicacy and charm of this masterpiece is lost. There is a field for the bold experimenter in glazed and colored terra-cotta. This material was used for funerary monuments by the early Greeks and the Etruscans, the predecessors of the Romans. In Renaissance times the della Robbia family (1339-1529) pro- duced superb architectural embellishments of terra-cotta and their polychrome rehefs, exposed to the air for four centuries, are as lovely, if not lovelier, than when first put in place. Our architects are using this material more and more. There is no reason why, if handled with proper regard for its limitations, it should not prove an interesting addition to the materials at the disposal of the designer of memorials. One Hundred Fifty-six PLATE XXIII The Ancient Gkaveyard. Staunton Lacy, England Ideal Use of a Flowering Border, Backed by a Clipped Hedge. Holme Lacy, England Chapter XIV THE CEMETERY F men should hesitate to suggest improve- ments of one kind or another for fear that their advice might not be heeded civiliza- tion would progress more slowly than it does. Merely because conditions seem hopeless is hardly a reason for not point- ing out methods of bettering them. The seeming impossibility may prove to be easily possible, the one thing necessary being that a sufficiently large number of people should be convinced that the improvement is de- sirable. If enough desire it the change will soon be made. It is probable that the majority of those who enter our cemeteries are satisfied with conditions as they find them. They wish the roads to be good and the place properly looked after. But that the gate- posts are made of rubble-stones held together by a generous use of mortar; that within the entrance there are flower beds formed to suggest anchors or crosses, neatly planted with alternating rows of red and pink geraniums, colias and salvia; that the mortuary chapel is a vulgar example of Victorian Gothic architecture with jig-saw carvings and a roof ornamented with zig-zag patterns in red and green slate; that the avenues are bordered with tombs, headstones and shafts of every conceivable shape, size and color; these things cannot offend the majority of our people. They must be satisfied, else they would set to work to change them. We see such ceme- teries on every hand and those who look upon them evidently accept One Hwndred Fifty-seven MEMORIAL ART them as a part of the established order of things ; not only not to be changed, but not needing change. To persuade our public that ugliness need not be tolerated and that some of the above-named objects are ugly is, apparently, a hopeless task. We are so surrounded with ugly buildings, ugly tele- graph poles, ugly trolley-cars and ugly clothes that to hope that ugly cemetery gates and flower beds and monuments be disapproved of seems almost too visionary. However, one can at least point out the path toward betterment and trust that some may be persuaded to tread it. The most ejffective plan for a cemetery will vary according to the character of the site chosen. If the groimd is practically level a severely formal scheme should be adopted. There should be a central focal point from which avenues might radiate, these being intersected by a series of concen- tric roads. The unimaginative "gridiron" plan should be avoided; we have too much of it in the cities of the Uving. In the majority of cases rolling or broken ground is selected for a cemetery. Here a formal plan is not desirable unless great ter- races can be constructed — a most effective scheme if properly handled. A few examples of this type are found in France and Italy. But unless a large initial outlay is possible it is wiser, on an undtdating tract, to plan for roads which shall wind about the hill- sides following the contour with easy gradients. However informal may be the general scheme there should be, at the main entrance, some suggestion of formality. Many cemeteries lose in effectiveness because of the haphazard placing of chapel, tombs, roads and flower beds at the point where some suggestion of dignity and orderly planning is needed. In rare One Hvmdred Fifty-eight THE CEMETERY cases, especially in old, small burying grounds, one finds irregular, chance groupings which have much picturesque charm. But the greater number of our informally planned cemeteries have, as one enters them, neither formal nor informal beauty — no effectiveness of any kind. Objects are spotted about with no sense of composi- tion ; they lack focal points ; there is an entire absence of repose. The space within the entrance to a place of burial should be rest- ful to the eye — a spot suggestive of peace. Broad stretches of lawn, unmarred by flower beds and framed by high clipped hedges should make a quiet fore-court^-level and with formal outline. Where the driveways pierce the hedge evergreens of symmetrical shape may flank the openings; well-designed benches of stone or marble could be placed at regular intervals along the paths which border the roads and urns of severely classic form, upon high pedestals, may stand against the hedges (see Plate XXIV). If near a trolley line or much frequented road this fore-court should be screened from the trafiic by wall or hedge. Such a place, no matter how small, would have its immediate effect. Though the rest of the place might be quite irregular in plan the visitor would carry away with him the impression created by the ordered dignity of the fore-court; it would linger in his memory Uke a strain of lovely music. If something more ambitious were desired a vista might be ar- ranged on axis with the gate-way, having as its focal point a chapel or an important monument, thus carrying the formal part of the scheme further afield. Two or even three such vistas, long or short, could be used, each with a fitting terminal — a tomb, an exedra or a view. One Hundred Fifty-nine MEMORIAL ART When one enters a large department store the eye is confused by the multitude of scattered objects all equally claiming attention; there is no imity of effect. From the standpoint of the owner this is, probably, the very impression which should be produced. He has no wish to create an atmosphere of peace and quiet — rather one of bustle and barter; to suggest purchases by the display of articles suited to every need. At the entrances to many of our cemeteries there is somewhat the same confusion produced in the mind of the visitor by the niunber of objects presented to view, no one of which has a clearly planned relationship to its neighbor. Here a tree, there a flower bed, three or four roads, each with its distracting appeal; to the right a shaft, to the left a chapel; no sdieme which presents itself as a united whole. Yet in such a spot the impression produced should be one of peacef ulness ; this can be secured only by simplicity and order. It would be a simple matter, in existing cemeteries, to construct such formal entrance courts — and at so small a cost that the dignity gained would be worth many times the sum expended. It has been necessary to discuss, in connection with the general plan, the ground immediately within the gates, though it would seem more logical to speak first of the gates themselves. The desirability of screening the fore-court has been mentioned. This is advised that it may be quiet and gain in dignity by being shut oflf — a place apart, dedicated. Such an idea, however, is rarely found to be acceptable to the modem American; he prefers publicity; he wishes the passer-by to see all that is to be seen. This desire is based on a misunderstanding of human nature. A court which may be seen at a glance will not arouse in the public the wish to stop and look again. But a high wall pierced by gates in which are small openings through Which but One Himdred Sixty PLATE XXIV The Dignity Outained dy Formal Pi.axtino ; Villa Alhaxi, Rome Photograph by D. Anderson, Rome Clipped Hediiks and Okxamextal Treks ix Boxes. Gaiidkxs of the Petit Triaxon; Versailles, Fkaxck Photograph by F. Hchiine, Paris THE CEMETERY a partial glimpse of what lies beyond can be had will cause even the least curious to desire to see more. Therefore, not only from the point of view of solemnity and peace within but also from the stand- point of arousing interest of the public a wall between the grounds and the highways is advisable. The style and material of the entrance wall and gates may be infinitely varied. In this country one finds examples of all the architectural styles — Egyptian and classic, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance — and forms (like the rubble-stone posts before men- tioned) which defy classification. It goes without saying that the entrance-way should be severe and dignified. The materials need not be costly; a wall and piers of simple red brick, if well designed, may be far more effective than elaborate cut-stone affairs of vulgar form. The type of gate, the position of the keeper's lodge, of the chapel and other buildings which may find place within the walls cannot profitably be discussed in a brief chapter. All that can be said is that they should be beautiful and in harmony with the gateway. The subject of flower beds has been touched on. The average taste in this matter, in our parks as well as in our cemeteries, is not above reproach. The placing of beds of flowers here and there, quite at random and without any relation to the surroimding objects; the shaped beds suggesting stars, crescents and emblems of one kind or another; the filling of these with ranked lines of gaudy and often inharmonious plants ; there is evidently a childish delight taken in these things which, artistically, are on a plane with colored paper pinwheels and the sugar-candy decorations on wedding cakes. Flowers have a finer purpose than to be used to imitate mosaic or oil-cloth. It is entirely proper to arrange flowering plants in rows One Hundred Siasty-one MEMORIAL ART and to contrast color with color (see Plate XXIII) ; but these rows should not be tortured into geometrical forms and the plants should be allowed space in which to develop their natural, free growth — without which they cannot attain their fullest beauty. In connection with the use of plants there is an odd popular liking which seems to be allied to that enjoyment felt by the unthink- ing in witnessing feats that are physically difficult. The trick rider who does "stunts" on a bicycle entertains some because by his skill he defies the laws of gravity and stability. His actions can hardly be called beautiful ; in fact, they cannot be beautiful since what he does is contrary to the laws of nature. Very different is the effect of a dive from a springboard. A run, a leap to the end of the pliant board; the clean-cut figure is shot up and out and with a fine sweep- ing curve plunges into the water — ^the action beautiful because made in complete harmony with natural forces. In northern lands it is physically difficult to induce palms, banana trees and rubber plants to grow in the open air, even through a hot summer. If, by the skill of the gardener, Nature's laws are defied and these can be made to flourish where they were never in- tended to grow, the performance is admired — not because the result is beautiful but because the accomplishment flatters man's sense of power. It is proper that man should "triumph" over nature for useful ends; he only achieves beauty when he works in harmony with her laws. Palms in a northern setting have no relation to their surround- ings; they are, and look, unnatural and out of place. How much more sensible it is to cultivate the native growths, plants which, with the minimum results, will be in entire harmony with the landscapes they adorn. One Hn/ndred Siwtyrtwo THE CEMETERY It is bad enough when exotic plants are bedded out; it is still more unfortunate when they are placed in cast-iron vases mounted on high pedestals. This is true of native growths as well. In the formal gardens at Versailles (Plate XXIV) the gravel walks are ornamented, at regular intervals, with trimmed orange or bay trees in great boxes. These being obviously movable objects and the trees themselves not unlike those which grow nearby, are pleasing. But to see a palm, surroimded by geraniums, planted in a poorly designed vase and this perched on top of a pedestal — a popular method of supposed ornamentation — ^is as unpleasing to one who loves beauty as is a huge, shimmering diamond on a hand which ter- minates in uncared-for finger-nails. The shape usually given to common flower-pots (a section of a cone, inverted) — especially as used in the large Italian examples — is suited to growing plants. Ornamental vases and urns should not be filled but should be treated as parts of the architectural setting. Fountains do not often form a part of the decorative scheme of a cemetery. We have, for the most part, outgrown the liking for the spouting swan or the two children under the cast-iron imibrella. Pools and splashing fountains may be delightful features when properly related to their surrovmdings ; if jets of water are used it is best to avoid sculpture unless a figure of artistic merit can be pro- cured. Cast-iron chairs and sofas should be thrown into the discard with the iron vases and the iron dogs. These things may indicate in the users a desire for beauty, but they prove that the artistic level of those who tolerate them is still near that of the savage. Simple benches of classic form — a long slab upheld by massive supports — of stone or of concrete (permissible, though not advised) are little more One Hundred Sixty-three MEMORIAL ART costly than cast-iron seats and have a dignity which can never be approached by the metal absurdities (see Plate XXIV). The rustic seat which, though made of stone, pretends to be cut from a section of a tree trunk with the bark on is, with the cross which makes the same pretense, so indefensible that merely to mention it should be enough to condemn it. Our city planners and architects have striven, almost in vain, to regulate by law the height and color of the buildings which line ovu- streets — laws enforced in many of the larger cities of Europe. Boston has been far-seeing enough to impose strict limitations as to height, but the color of the structures is left to individual choice. The streets of our cities present a chaotic appearance — occasionally pic- turesque but rarely beautiful. The same lack of harmony mars the appearance of our ceme- teries. No regulations as to the shape, size or color of the monu- ments are in force, with the result that our places of burial, which should, above aU other places, suggest peace, are as unrestful to the eye as are the streets of our cities. Occasionally one finds an old graveyard where great trees overshadow low, unpretentious memo- rials to the dead; the sweet peacefulness makes one wish that he might some day rest in such a spot (see Plate XXIII) . The average modern cemetery has no such charm. Pink and brown, white and red and gray — ^the monuments stand closely ranked; tall stones and fiat stones; square masses and oblong masses — ^the beauty of one marred by the vulgarity of its neighbor; the average burying-ground presents a depressing exhibition of flaunt- ing egotism and imcultivated taste. What can be done? Nothing presumably, in existing ceme- teries. But it would be interesting to watch results should some re- One Hundred Sixty-four THE CEMETERY former plan a place of burial with restrictions as to form and color along the different avenues; here only tombs of classic design; there, slate headstones of Colonial type; one section for red and another for white monuments, and so on. Once established, the effect of these restrictions upon the taste of those erecting memorials would doubt- less be surprising. A step which might well be taken would be the abohtion of the rule, in force in many cemeteries, that hedges may not be placed about the lots. The reason given is that the trimming of these is costly and that it is difficult to cut grass in their vicinity. Clipping privet hedges does call for a large expenditure of time and labor — ^but if slow-growing evergreens like hemlock, box and yew are planted the labor of chpping them is not great and even when undipped the effect of sucfh dividing walls would greatly improve the general appearance of the grounds. At least the matter might be left to the owner of the lot ; if he chooses to pay for the upkeep of the hedge he should be permitted to plant it. In the matter of grass cutting : if hedges interfere with the grass — and this is possible only in small lots — ^plant a substitute. There are numbers of low-grow- ing evergreen vines and creepers which will mantle the ground with close-packed verdure, giving, in restricted areas, results which will be more satisfactory than those obtained by the planting of grass. To forbid the use of hedges or of anything else which may give some little sense of privacy seems unjust as well as unwise. He who has read thus far may feel that the writer is unduly severe in his criticisms of existing conditions. But the artistic standards in our cemeteries are low. The most pleasing owe their beauty to natiu*e; more often nature has been wantonly defaced. The only hope is that those in authority will free their minds from One Hvmdred Sixty- five MEMORIAL ART the bondage of tradition — sweep them clear of accepted conventions — ^visualize the ideal which might be achieved; then set to work to prove that the seemingly impossible is, after all, possible. One Himdred Sixty-siiv APPENDIX BOOKS OF REFERENCE Classic Details — D'Espouy, M., Mon- uments Antiques; Fragments d'Archi- tecture Antique; Fragments de I'Ar- chitecture du Moyen Age et de la Renaissance. Column — Encyclopaedia Britannica, "The Orders^" Vol. XX, page 176. Lettering — Brown, Frank C, Letters and Lettering; Day, Lewis F., Alpha- bets Old and New; Johnson, Edward, Writing, Illuminating and Lettering, Chapters XV, XVI and XVII. Mouldings — Statham, H. Heathcote, Architecture for General Readers; Bond, Francis, Gothic Architecture in England; Encyclopaedia Britan- nica, "Mouldings," Vol. XVIII. Ornament — Hamlin, A. D. F., History of Ornament; Ward, James, Historic Ornament; Day, Lewis F., Nature and Ornament. Sculpture — Freeman, L. J., Italian Sculpture of the Renaissance; Gard- ner, Ernest A., A Handbook of Greek Sculpture; Perkins, Charles C, Italian Sculpture. PHOTOGRAPHS Photographs of the monuments men- tioned usually can be obtained from these firms: Fratelli Alinari, Florence; D. Anderson, Rome; Giraudon, Paris; F. Bruckmann, Munich. HALF-TONE REPRODUCTIONS The University Prints, published at one cent each, by the University Prints Company, 11 Boyd street, Newton, Mass., are very useful in spite of their small scale. If the reader will pur- chase those listed below and, when reading about any particular feature, examine the plates as listed, the text will be found much more interesting. Arch— Archivolt, G. 86, 101, 216, 349; Gothic, G. 270, 271, 295, 322, 368; Stilted, G. 84, 88, 156, 172, 176, 186, 203, 246, 251, 255, 267, 297; Vous- soir, G. 99, 101, 105, 211, 321, 341. Balustrade — G. 229, 282, 244 ; Gothic, G. 201, 308, 462, 469. Column— G. 41, 46, 48, 52, 53, 58, 229, 242, 429; Base, G. 42, 48, 58, 60, 70, 98, 126; Shaft, G. 52, 70, 87, 95, 284, 344; Capital, G. 43, 48, 54, 60, 61, 70, 74, 87, 88, 95, 98, 126, 129, 214, 232, 343, 849; Early Christian, G. 129; Gothic, G. 378, 457; Antae, G. 52; Engaged, G. 74, 84; Pilaster, G. 84, 88, 218, 226, 234; Develop- ment of Gothic pier from (in order given), G. 94, 129, 112, 115, 199, 200, 314, 196, 308, 172, 368, 369, 166, 357, 319, 289, 262, 260, 882, 449, 271. Door— G. 214. Doorway— G. 49, 73, 228, 227. MODILLION— G. 87, 98. One Hundred Sixty-seven MEMORIAL ART MouLDixos — 1546, 1567, 1560, 1576 B, 1580, 1613, 1616, 1616, 1708, 1728, 1737, 1774, 1830; Architrave, G. 70, 98; Bed-moulds, G. 98; Bevel, G. 266, 300; Congee, G. 64, 126, 129; Contrast of, G. 8, 41, 70, 87, 98, 214, 259, 322, 336; Dentil, G. 70, 98; Egyptian, G. 8, 19; Entablature, G. 41, 53, 70, 74, 84, 95, 98, 232, 284, 244; Gothic, G. 246, 266, 259, 269, 271, 287, 299, 800; Torus, G. 181, 868, 468. Obelisk — G. 8, 16, 87, 288. Pediment— G. 41, 68, 69, 74, 87, 241. Pyramid — G. 13. Tomb— G. 306, 857, 441, 449; Egyp- tian, G. 4, 5, 12; Hadrian, G. 91; Mausoleum, Halicarnassus, A. 229, 280, 281; Wall, 1017a, 1026a, 1029a, 1125a, 1817a, 1876a, 1411a, 1415a, 1417a, 1615a, 1619a, 1628a, 2006a, 2006a, 2180a, 2136a, 2172a, 2192a, 2807a. One Hundred Sixty-eight INDEX Page Abacus 26 Acanthus 45, 49, 60, 51, 62, 84 Alphabet 69, 65 Altar tomb 93, 126, 155 Animal forms 49, 51, 137 Anta 23, 28, 30, 121 Anthemion 49, 60, 84 Arch 35 Arch, stilted 36 Architectural training, necessity of . 1 1 6 Architrave 17, 29, 124 Archivolt 36 "Art Nouveau" 46, 63 B Baluster 38 Balustrade 37, 38 Band 17, 29, 154 Baroque style 52, 53 Basilica Ulpia, Rome; entablature from, Plate I 13 Bed moulds 29 Bed tomb 93 Benedetto da Majano 156 Bevel 18 Boulders, use of 99 Brass plates 92 Bronze, ornaments of 155 Byzantine ornament 50 C Canopied tomb 116, 126, 126 Capital 24, 26, 27, 48 Page Carving 60, 137 Cavetto 13, 16 Cavetto, inverted 19 Celtic cross 90, 149, 161 Cemetery 157 Channels 110 Cinerary urn 112 Color 48, 149 Column 23, 121 Column, vase 24 Column, shaft 24, 25, 31 Column, capital 24, 26, 27 Column, as memorial 30 Column, engaged 24, 28, 121 Column, entasis of 24 Composite Order 23 Congee 16, 24 Conventionalization 137 Coping 38, 40 Corinthian Order 23 Cornice 29, 30 Cosmati works 50, 97, 154 Costume, modem 147 Cross 89 Cross, Celtic 90, 149, 151 Cross, Maltese 90 Cyma recta 14, 80 Cyma recta, inverted 19 Cyma reversa 17 Cymatium 29, 30 D Decorative carving 137 Desiderio da Settignano, Plate XVIII 124 One Htmdred Siccty-mne MEMORIAL ART Page Design, importance of its study. . .117 Donatello 134 Door 36 Doorway 36 Doric Order 23 Doric Order, Greek 24, 27 Doric Order, Roman 24 Drapery 140 E Echinus 27 Egg and dart 48 Engaged oolunm 121 Entablature 23, 29, 122 Entasis 25, 28 Erechtheion, doorway 87, 49 F Fillet 14, 16/20, 24, 30 Flagpole 124 Floral forms 45, 51, 137 Flower beds 157 Flowering borders, Plate XXIII. . . 157 Fore-court, cemetery 169, 160 Fret 20,137 Frieze 29 G Glass, in windows of tombs 123 Glass, mosaic 60, 154 Guilloche 20, 60, 137 H Headstone 42, 79 Headstone, unbalanced designs 81 One Hundred Seventy Page Hedges 165 Historic ornament 44 Horizontal gravestones 92 I "II Marzocco," Plate XIX 187 Imitation 46, 138 Inscription 66, 69 Inscription, placing of 74, 83 Interpretation of nature forms. . . .140 Ionic Order 23 L Lettering 65 Lettering, balanced 76, 76 Lettering on headstones 74, 82 Lettering on tom'bs 78, 120 Letters 66 Letters, bronze 67 Letters, capital 68 Letters, classic 69, 66 Letters, Gothic 68, 69 Letters, incised 56 Letters, Italic 67 Letters, round Gothic 69 Letters, smiall 66, 67, 70 Lion 49,134 Lotus 48 Louviers Cathedral, detail, Plate V. .41 Lucca Cathedral, doorway, Plate IV. 36 M Mausoleum 114 Memorials, public, selecting 185 Modillions 30 Mosaic 154 Mouldings 13, 35 Mouldings, band 17, 19 INDEX Page MouldingSj bevel 18 Mouldings, cavetto 13, 16 Mouldings, cavettOj inverted 19 Mouldings, congee 16, 24 Mouldings, cyma recta 14, 30 Mouldings, cyma recta, inverted... . 19 Mouldings, cyma reversa 17 Mouldings, fillet 14, 16, 24, 30 Mouldings, ogee 14 Mouldings, ovolo 16, 18 Mouldings, quarter-round 18 Mouldings, scotia 16 Mouldings, torus 13, 17, 24 Mouldings, combining of 19 Mouldings, ornamenting of 20 N Name, placing of 78, 74 Naturalistic forms 46 Novelty, desire for 86 Numerals 67 O Obelisk 94 Ogee 14 Orders, the 23 Ornament 41 Ornament, Assyria 48 Ornament, Byzantine 50 Ornament, Chaldea 48 Ornament, classic 48 Ornament, classic revival 53 Ornament, early Christian 60 Oimament, Egyptian 48 Qrnament, Gothic 32, 61 Ornament, Gothic revival 53 Ornament, Greek - 43, 48 Page Ornament, Renaissance 43, 51 Ornament, Roman 43, 49 Ornament, Romanesque 50 Ornament, illogical 41 Ornament, subservient to form 42 Ornament, used to emphasize struc- ture 42 Ovolo .16, 18 Parapet 40 Parthenon 13, 14, 102 Pedestal forms 99 Pediment 29, 30, 122 Pier 32 Pilaster 28, 30, 121 Pisa, Baptistry, ornament from. ... 154 Planting 162 Plants, exotic 163 Plinth 24, 80 Polished surfaces. . .21, 48, 85, 146, 149 Portico of Octavius, Rome, Plate II . . 23 Proportion 9, 30, 81, 82, 119 Public memorials 129 Pylon 94, 96 Pyramid 113, 114 Q Quarter-round 18 R Realism 138 Rinceau 49 Rococo 52, 53 Rosette 49 Rossellino 143 Rusticated work 26 One Hundred Seventy-one MEMORIAL ART Page Sarcophagus 93, 109 Sarcophagus; Byzantine 110, 111 Sarcophagus, early Christian 110 Sarcophagus, Greek 109 Sarcophagus, Renaissance Ill Sarcophagus, Romanesque Ill Scotia 16 Sculpture 137 Sculpture, Greek 142 Sculpture, modern 147 Sculpture, Renaissance 142, 150 Seat 164 Serif 58,61,62 Shaft of column 24, 38, 94 Stela 84,94,152 Steps 87,39 Stilting of arch 35 Stone joints 123 Stones, size of ■ 123 Sun dials 48 w T Tahle tomb 92 Tablet 96 Technique 139 Terrace 37,38 Terra cotta 156 Texture 85 Theatre of Marcellus, arch and eoliunn from, Plate II 23 Tomb 36,113 Tomb, lettering on 120 Tomb, Costanza Zagnani^ Bologna . . 72 Tomb, Dussaini, Verona, Plate XVI 116 One Himdred Seventy-two Page Tomlb, Infante don Alfonso, Burgos, Plate XVI 116 Tomb, James, Cardinal of Portu- gal, Florence 142 Tomlb, Leonardo Bruni, Florence. . Ill, 150 Tomb, Marsuppini, Florence 62, 112, 127, 150 Tomb, Mausolus (Frontispiece) ... 113 Tomb, "Pillar of Absalom," Jeru- salem 115 Tomb, Santa Fina, San Gimignano. 155 Tomb, Scaligers, Verona 125 Tracery 38, 51 Treasury of Athenians, Delphi, Plate III 24 Tuscan Order 23 U UnbeaUtif ul forms 99 Unity in cemetery 160 Unstructural- forms, niouldings. . . .118 Urn, cinerary 112 Vase 30, 42, 49 Versailles, Petit Trianon, grounds, Plate XXIV 160 Villa Albani, Rome, Plate XXIV. .160 Voussoir 35 W Wall 128 Wall tablet 96 Wall tomb 111,126 War memorials 181, 132 WindJow 128 i;