Art-Lovers guide to the Exposition | Page 5

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 be seen of Destiny, the force with which the allegorical story begins and ends.
To "read" the fountain in proper sequence, one must start with the west face of the secondary group. This represents The Beginning of Things. The arm of Destiny is calling forth life and points the way to the earth. The three women figures next to the hand show the gradual awakening from Oblivion. The adjoining two figures represent the kiss of life or of love, and