The Art of the Exposition | Page 9

of pure Florentine
Renaissance lines, with here and there a modern note.
This should rather be called a group of buildings, since it is a
combination of some of the finest bits of Italian Renaissance
architecture. The architects of this building succeeded admirably in
giving a feeling of antiquity to the general treatment of the whole
arrangement, which, under the blue sky of California, brings one
straight back into the land of sunshine and artistic tradition. The whole
arrangement of this Italian group seems somewhat bewildering at first,
but on closer inspection resolves itself into a very interesting scheme
which takes full advantage of the irregularly shaped site.

There is a most impressive noble dignity in the hall of the main
building, where mural decorations of figural character add much to the
sumptuousness of the general effect. It is remarkable how in this age of
low ceilings a return to great height for rooms, as in these, Italian
chambers, produces a marked note of originality. The light effect
created in this way, in all of these replicas of the mansions of the
wealthy of the Renaissance period, is most helpful in the display of a
multitude of lovely objects - furniture, jewelry, ceramics, tapestries,
and yet more. The sculptural imitations of so many old pieces of
statuary are not in very good taste. They bear too much the traces of the
pneumatic drill, and most of them are cold and devoid of the spirit of
the original. Some of the very modern marbles in the various rooms are
almost pathetic in their disregard for the standards established by the
forefathers of their creators.
France, unfortunately, does not rise above the commonplace, in an
extensive building hastily constructed. And Portugal is shining in all
the glory of wedding-cake ornamentation that the plaster of Paris artist
could produce.
South America appears in a very typical building representing Bolivia.
It is evident that it was not a costly building, but its dignified Spanish
façade and the court effect inside are far more agreeable than the
pretentious palace erected by the Argentine Republic.
The Orient, with the oldest art traditions in the world, can justly be
expected to outdo the rest of the world. We find Japan again, as on
previous occasions, excelling in its typical arrangement of a number of
small pavilions in an irregular garden. The entire Japanese display,
architectural and all, is so perfect a unit that one cannot speak of the
buildings alone without thinking of the gardens. The Japanese sense of
detail and love of the picturesque are disclosed at every turn. We still
have with us in San Francisco, as a memento of the Midwinter Fair of
1894, the Japanese Garden in Golden Gate Park, and while this new
creation at the Exposition is not so extensive, it is none the less
charming.
In contrast to the Japanese wonderland near the Inside Inn, the new
Republic of China seems to be very unhappily represented, not very far
away. The whole Chinese ensemble seems a riot of terrible colors,
devoid of all the mellow qualities of Oriental art. If China's art was

retired with the Manchu dynasty, then I hope the new Republic will
soon die a natural death.

The Sculpture

The sculptural decorations of the Exposition are so much a part of the
architectural scheme that their consideration must no longer be delayed.
The employment of sculpture has been most judicious and has never
lost sight of certain architectural requirements, so frequently
overlooked. While there are a great many examples of sculptural
decorations at the Exposition, there does not seem to be that
over-abundance of ornamentation so often confused by the public with
artistic effect.
The best compliment that can be paid to the Exposition sculpture is that
it is not evident at first and that one becomes aware of it only in the
course of studying the architecture. I do not think that, with the
exception of the Column of Progress and the groups of the Nations of
the East and of the West, the Exposition has produced, through its very
unusual and novel opportunities, any great work, or presented any new
talent heretofore not recognized; but it will most certainly stand a
critical examination and comparison with other Exposition sculpture
and not suffer thereby. As a matter of fact, a number of the sculptors of
our Exposition were commissioned to do similar work at St. Louis.
In one respect our Exposition must immediately claim originality - that
is, in the elimination of the glaring white, with its many ugly and
distracting reflected lights, insisted upon for years, in practically all the
great expositions of the past. This absence of white is surely a very
novel and very helpful feature, from an artistic point of view. The