Art-Lovers guide to the Exposition | Page 5

parts of the decoration show crabs, lobsters and other of the lower
forms of sea life. Higher up the ornament includes conventionalized lilies suggestive of
higher plant life. And surmounting the colonnade, one over each pier, are the repeated
figures of primitive man and primitive woman. It is at this height that the tower
sculptures begin, carrying on the story of man up to the present age. At a level between
the Stone Age group and the Mediaeval Age is a row of cocks, symbols of the rise of
Christianity. Perhaps the whole aspiring feeling of the court is meant to further suggest
the upward rise of man-but after all, the purely sensuous beauty of the architecture is
sufficient to warrant its being, without any straining after symbolism.
Sculpture
Groups on the Tower. The three main groups typify the rise of man, and especially the
rise of man's civilization through religion. The lowest group, over the main arch, is called
The Stone Age. Along the base are prehistoric monsters, and above are figures
representing various phases of primitive life, as a man strangling an animal with his
hands, and a figure that may suggest the rude beginnings of art or industry. The heads
indicate a period of evolution when man was not very different from the ape; but the
central figures suggest the development of family life, and a new outlook and a seeking
for something higher.
The middle group, The Mediaeval Age, shows an armored figure with sword and shield,
a crusader perhaps, with the force of religion symbolized in the priest or monk at one side,
and the force of arms suggested by the archer at the other, these being the two forces by
which man was rising in that age.
The third and highest group represents The Spirit of the Present Age enthroned. At one
side a child holds the book of learning, while at the other a child holds the wheel of
industry. The group also carries inevitably a suggestion of motherhood.
Flanking the middle group are two figures, in which the whole idea of human evolution is
suggested by a modern man and woman outgrowing their old selves. On the east and west
faces of the tower are figures representing "Thought."
All the sculpture on the tower is by Chester Beach.
Figures Surmounting Colonnade. Two figures of "The Primitive Man" and one of "The
Primitive Woman" are repeated above the cloister all around the court. The woman
carries a child on her back, one man is feeding a pelican, and the other is a hunter
returning with a club in one hand and his quarry in the other. These figures are
remarkably well suited to their purpose, balancing one another exactly; they are so much
a part of the decorative scheme, indeed, that the average person is likely to overlook their
merits as individual statues. Albert Weinert was the sculptor.
The Water Sprites. At the tower side of the court, flanking the stairway that leads to the
archway under the tower, are two free-standing monuments that were designed as

fountains. The original plan called for cascades from below the Stone Age group on the
tower to these monuments. Although the elimination of this feature made the court more
simple and satisfying as a whole, the figures of the Water Sprites were left high and dry,
so that now there is a certain incongruity in their position. Still one may admire the very
spirited girl archers surmounting the two columns, even if they are apparently launching
arrows at their sister sprites below, instead of into jets of water as was intended. The
figures at the bases of the columns, while lacking the grace and the joyous verve of those
above, still are very decorative. All are the work of Leo Lentelli.
The Fountain of Earth. In the large basin in the center of the Court of Abundance is
Robert Aitken's "Fountain of Earth." While plainly out of keeping with the spirit of the
court, this is in itself one of the most powerful and most interesting sculptural
compositions at the Exposition. It is deeply intellectual, and more than any other group it
requires an explanation of the symbolism before one can appreciate it.
The fountain is really in two compositions. The larger, and central, one is composed of a
globe representing the earth, with four panels of figures on the four sides, representing
certain of the incidents of life on earth, or certain riddles of existence. The secondary
composition lies to the south of the central one, on the same pedestal; and this is divided
into two groups by a formalized wing through the center. The two scenes here represent
life before and after earthly existence. The two huge arms and the wing are all that can