Part 3
These two paintings are worthy of study for the historical and symbolic interest. Artistically they are notable chiefly for the remarkable freshness of coloring and rich mosaic effect. Both are by Edward Simmons.
Murals in Arch of the Setting Sun, at the west side of the court. The painting on the north wall should be viewed first. This represents pioneers from a New England village starting for California. There are four groups of figures, as follows: 1. two workmen, and a woman holding a child; 2. a symbolic figure of the Call to Fortune; 3. a group showing the types of those who crossed the continent-the driver first, and then the Preacher, the Pioneer, the Judge, and the Schoolmistress (there are four children also in this group, and at the back is a wagon filled with household goods); and 4. a youth bidding farewell to his parents as he starts to join the band of emigrants. At the back of the last group is seen a typical New England home, and in the distance a New England meeting-house.
"The Arrival on the Pacific Coast" is the title of the painting on the opposite wall, which represents the immigrants being welcomed as they reach California. Here again there are four groups of figures. The first shows two Spanish-American soldiers and their captain, following a priest, typical of the days of Spanish rule in California and of the Mission period. Second, there is a symbolic figure, "The Spirit of Enlightenment." The third and main group shows types of immigrants. The men here are: 1. the scientist; 2. the architect; 3. the writer; 4. the sculptor; 5. the painter; 6. the agriculturist; and 7. the miner (or other manual worker). A woman and several children complete the group, and at the back is a prairie schooner, from which a girl waves a flag. The fourth group represents California welcoming the immigrants, the state being symbolized by tokens of the wealth it has to offer settlers: the orange tree, sheaves of grain, and fruits-the figures including the miner, the farmer, fruit pickers, and the California bear. This last group is the most colorful, and in many ways the most appealing, of all those in the two panels under the west arch. It is interesting to compare the golden warmth here and indeed throughout the California panel-with the cold atmosphere of the New England one.
Those who are familiar with the historical characters of the West will be able to recognize in the California panel idealized portraits of William Keith as the painter, Bret Harte as the writer, and Junipero Serra as the priest. In the New England panel may be found William Taylor, famous street preacher of the early days in California, as the preacher, and "Grizzly" Adams as the pioneer.
Both murals under the Arch of the Setting Sun are by Frank Vincent Dumond.
The Side Courts
The two small connecting courts, or aisles, at the east and west of the Court of the Universe are known as the Florentine Court and the Venetian Court respectively. Both are in Italian Renaissance architecture, and both are remarkably rich in color. The patterns on the shafts of the columns, while doubtless adding to the feeling of richness, are a little too pronounced, tending to destroy that restfulness which is felt in the other Italian courts, the Court of Flowers and the Court of Palms. In both the Florentine Court and the Venetian Court the planting schemes harmonize unusually well with the architecture.
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Size of the Court of the Universe
For the sake of those who find added interest in knowing on what scale a work of art is built, the following facts are added:
The area of the Court of the Universe is about seven acres. On its east and west axis, from arch to arch, it is six hundred and fifty feet; on its north and south axis, from the Tower of Jewels to the Column of Progress, it is nearly twelve hundred feet.
The Arches of the Rising Sun and the Setting Sun have a total height, to the top of the surmounting sculpture, of two hundred and three feet.
The Tower of Jewels is 433 feet in height, while the main archway beneath is 110 feet high.
Court of the Four Seasons
The Court of the Four Seasons, unlike the other main courts, does not immediately call forth one's exclamations of surprise and delight. It is not so compellingly beautiful as either of the others. Nevertheless it has a distinctive charm of its own-a reposeful atmosphere and a simplicity of form that become more and more appealing with riper acquaintance. It is a good place to come to when one is satiated with the beauties of the other courts, for restfulness is the keynote. The simple massive style of the architecture and the simple planting scheme combine to produce a spirit of calm. The ideas of energy, achievement, progress, effort-so insistently emphasized elsewhere-are left behind, and everything breathes a sense of peace and orderliness, of things happening all in good season.
The primary idea underlying the decorative features of the court is sufficiently indicated in the name, "The Four Seasons;" and this idea is symbolically expressed in the sculpture and mural paintings in the four corners of the colonnade. But a study of the other decorations shows that the idea of abundance, or fruitfulness, was equally in the minds of architect and sculptors. The purely architectural ornaments, such as the capitals and the running borders, employ the symbols of agriculture and fruitfulness, while no less than five of the main sculptural groups or figures deal directly with harvest themes.
Architecture
The style of architecture is in general Roman. The half-dome and the colonnades are almost severely classic. The column capitals are Ionic. But in the freedom of some of the architectural forms, particularly in the archways at east and west, there is a suggestion of Renaissance influence. The plan with its four cut-corners with fountains, and its half-dome facing down the long colonnade to the bay, is ingenious. The half-dome itself, dominating feature of the court, is exceptionally dignified and impressive. To obtain the best view of it as a single unit, one should stand between two columns of the colonnade near either the Fountain of Summer or the Fountain of Autumn-as from these points the eye is not carried through the doorway at the back of the dome, to the detriment of a unified impression.
Henry Bacon is the architect who designed the Court of the Four Seasons.
Sculpture
Bulls on pylons. The finest sculpture here is to be found in the groups capping the pylons at the entrance to the minor north court. Though called by the artist "The Feast of Sacrifice," these are commonly known as "The Bulls." The group, which is duplicated, shows a bull being led to sacrifice by a youth and a maid, and is reminiscent of the harvest-time celebrations of ancient peoples. But it is just as well to forget the subject, and to admire purely for the sensuous charm-for the beauty of outline, the fine modeling, and the remarkable sense of spirited action. Note the three figures individually: the nobly animated bull, the magnificently set-up youth, and the strong yet graceful maiden; then note how the sacrificial garland holds the whole group together and makes it richer. Note, too, how the forward-moving lines of the bull are accentuated on one side by the similar lines of the youth's body, and on the other by the contrasting lines of the girl's. Putting aside any question of meaning, there is not in any of the courts a nobler bit of decorative work than this. Albert Jaegers was the sculptor.
Figures surmounting columns. On the two columns before the half-dome are Albert Jaegers' figures of "Rain" and "Sunshine." At the right, as one faces the dome, Rain is typified by a woman shielding her head with her mantle and holding out a shell to catch the water. At the left Sunshine is represented by a woman shielding her head from the sun's rays with a palm-branch. Both figures are characterized by a sense of richness, of fullness, that is perfectly in keeping with the spirit of the court. In commenting on these statues, in one of his lectures on the art of the Exposition, Eugen Neuhaus, the well-known California painter, suggested very appropriately that the court should have been named for them "The Court of the Two Seasons" since in California the only noticeable seasonal change is from a sunny period to a rainy period.
Group surmounting half-dome. This shows a conventional seated figure of Harvest, with an overflowing cornucopia. At one side a child-figure bows under a load of fruit. This group also is by Albert Jaegers. Here, as in "Rain" and "Sunshine," there is a sense of fruitfulness, of profuseness, a maternal suggestion that helps to carry out the symbolism of the court. In all three of these statues, too, there is something of the nobility and massiveness that distinguish the same artist's "bull" groups across the court. All are eminently suited to the massive Roman architecture; nowhere else have sculptor and architect worked together more successfully.
Fountains of the Seasons. In the niches formed at the corners of the court by the diagonal colonnades are novel fountains, surmounted by groups representing the four seasons. It is well to go first to the southwest corner, to the "Fountain of Spring"; then to the northwest corner, for "Summer"; and so on around the court. If one is ever puzzled to understand from the figures which season is represented, a glance at the labeled murals up above in the corridor will give the proper title for statue and murals of each season are grouped together.
Spring. A young woman draws a floral garland over her head, while at her right a love-lorn youth turns a pleading face to her, and at her left a girl brings armfuls of flowers.
Summer. To a man a woman holds up a babe, symbol of the summer of human life, while at one side a crouching figure holds a sheaf of full-headed grain.
Autumn. The central figure is a woman of generous build with a jar on her shoulder-quite the usual personification of Autumn or fruitfulness. At one side a young woman holds a garland of grapes, and at the other is a girl with a babe. This last figure is perhaps the most graceful in all the four groups, though the same sort of loveliness distinguishes to a certain extent the two flower-girls of "Spring." Altogether, this "Autumn" fountain is probably the finest of the four.
Winter. The central figure is Nature, in the nakedness of winter, resting after the harvests of autumn and waiting for the birth of spring. At one side a man with a spade rests, while on the other a man with a seed-bag is already beginning to sow. Although all the figures of "The Fountains of the Seasons" are nude, there is about this group a sense of cold nakedness that well accords with the season it portrays.
These four groups are very properly alike in composition and feeling-suggesting perhaps that the differences between the seasons in California are but slight. There is throughout a conventional touch, and all are in pastoral mood. The groups are by Furio Piccirilli.
The Fountain of Ceres is in the north extension of the court, between the Palace of Food Products and the Palace of Agriculture. The surmounting figure is of Ceres, Greek goddess of the fields and especially of corn. The bas-relief frieze represents a group of dancers, suggestive of the seasonal festivals of the Greeks. The main figure has been much criticized, but an unbiased critic may find much in the fountain to praise. The pedestal and the crowning figure are well thought out, and the proportions of the whole are good; and there is a feeling of classic simplicity throughout. The frieze of dancing girls, too, is exceptionally graceful. If, then, one discovers that Ceres is more mature than a goddess ever ought to be, or that her face suggests that of an exasperated school-teacher, or if one finds the cornstalk in her hand a realistic thing incompatible with any poetic conception, it is well to step back until one gets only the general effect. For there is much to admire in the poise of the figure, in the decorative outline, and in the sculptor's lightness of touch. The fountain was designed by Evelyn Beatrice Longman.
Minor Sculptures. On the archways at east and west of the court a high-relief figure by August Jaegers is repeated eight times, and the spandrels over the arches are by the same artist. In both cases the idea of abundance or fruitfulness again supplies the motive. The boxes at the bases of the columns on which "Rain" and "Sunshine" stand are decorated with agricultural scenes in low relief. The capitals at the tops of these columns are enriched with groups of agricultural figures. Within the archways at east and west the ceilings are decorated with delicate bas-relief designs, patterned after the famous ones at Villa Maderna, Rome.
Mural Paintings
All the murals in the Court of the Four Seasons are by H. Milton Bancroft. In general they are less interesting than those of any other court.
The Seasons. In the four corners of the colonnade there are eight panels, grouped by twos as follows: Spring and Seed Time; Summer and Fruition; Autumn and Harvest; and Winter and Festivity. There is little to hold the attention either in richness of color or in unusual grace of composition. Moreover, the artist has left nothing to the imagination in the symbolism by which he expresses the several ideas. The devices are so hackneyed, and the meaning so obvious, that any sort of interpretation would be entirely superfluous.
Panels under half-dome. On the east wall under the dome is the panel Art Crowned by Time. Father Time crowns Art, while on one side stand figures representing Weaving, Jewelry, and Glasswork, and on the other Printing, Pottery, and Smithery. On the opposite wall is the panel Man Receiving Instruction in Nature's Laws. A woman holds before a babe a tablet inscribed "Laws of Nature," while on one side are figures of Fire, Earth and Water, and on the other figures of Death, Love, and Life. These two larger panels are more pleasing than the eight representing the Seasons, both in coloring and in figure composition; and they make pleasing spots of bright color in the dome. But again the artist is tediously careful to make his meanings plain. Not only does each figure hold its obvious symbol prominently in view, but there are labels naming the figures. To the art student the painter's stipple-and-line method, producing vibration of light and a certain freshness of atmosphere, will be of interest, as being out of the usual run of mural technique.
Before leaving the Court of the Four Seasons one should stand under the central arch of the triple portal at the east, and look first to the east through the Arch of the Setting Sun to the group "Nations of the East;" and then to the west along the vista that ends with the kneeling figure before the Fine Arts temple. The arrangement of architectural and sculptural units in both vistas is worthy of study.
The Court of Palms and the Court of Flowers
In these two courts, which pierce the walled city on the south, opposite the Palace of Horticulture and opposite Festival Hall, is to be found the purest expression of that spirit of the Italian Renaissance which hovers over so much of the Exposition architecture. Here, too, one finds Jules Guerin's color scheme at its richest. Both courts necessarily lack the cloistral charm of the Court of Abundance, since they have the fourth sides open. But what they lack in the sense of enclosure they make up in sunniness and joyous color. They are restful and warm and quiet-and artistically they are among the most perfect and most harmonious units on the grounds.
The Court of Palms
The Court of Palms is directly opposite the Palace of Horticulture, between the Education and Liberal Arts Palaces, and adjoins the Court of the Four Seasons. The charming sunken garden and simple pool reflect the colored colonnade, arches and towers with a sense of rest that is a relief and stimulant after walking miles of exhibit halls. Although really nearly two acres in area, the court seems small and intimate. The proportions are good, and the planting particularly fortunate.
The architecture is Renaissance, and is suggestive of the interior courts of the palaces of the Italian nobles. The colonnade columns are Ionic. The high attic story or frieze above the colonnade is remarkably rich, with its orange brown panels garlanded with green and red fruits, and decorated with Caryatid pilasters. It is worthy of study for the way in which architect, sculptor and color director have co-operated. The Italian Towers, terminating the colonnades, are among the finest bits of architectural design in the whole building group. Though only a fraction of the height of the Tower of Jewels, they convey much better the impression of reaching high into the heavens, of aspiration and uplift. They are more satisfying, too, in their combination of architectural forms, and they carry out notably well the delicate but luxuriant color scheme of the court. The unusual repeated pattern which fills the large wall panels of the towers is worthy of attention.
The architect of the court was George W. Kelham.
Sculpture. The only really important statue in the court is that which stands at the opening on the Avenue of Palms-called The End of the Trail. An Indian, bowed at last under the storm, sits astride a dejected horse utter weariness, discouragement, lost hope, expressed in every line of man and animal. Some see in the statue only the abject despair of a horse and rider when the consciousness finally comes that the trail is definitely lost in the wilderness; and it is notable enough as an expression of this tragic theme. But others, remembering the history of the Indian, see here an eloquent and pathetic reminder of a race that has seemingly come to the end of its trail. As a portrayal of this racial tragedy the group is even more remarkable than as an expression of the hopelessness of a lost man and horse.
The statue is hardly in key with its architectural surroundings; but its comparatively isolated position prevents it from seeming an intrusive element in the court. Considered alone it is more individual, more expressive of independent and deep moving thought, than any other sculpture in the grounds. There is far more of real earnestness here than is usual in exposition sculpture. The thing is significant, too, for the native note. It is worthy of serious study as indicating one of the most important tendencies of American sculpture when not tied to the purely decorative. The sculptor was James Earl Fraser.
The minor sculptures in this court consist of the Caryatides by John Bateman and A. Stirling Calder; the spandrels, by Albert Weinert; "The Fairy," by Carl Gruppe, which crowns the Italian Towers; and the classic vases at the portals.
The mural paintings in this court are disappointing. Two are surprisingly poor, considering the high reputation of the artists, and the third is badly placed. The tympanum in the portal at the east side of the court is filled by Charles W. Holloway's panel, The Pursuit of Pleasure. This is a conventional treatment of the subject, in which a number of youths and maidens turn lackadaisically to a winged figure of Pleasure. There is a pleasing lightness of touch, and the bright reds and blues are in keeping with the spirit of the court-but the thing is, somehow, insipid. This panel is more pleasing under illumination. In the opposite portal is Childe Hassam's painting, Fruits and Flowers. This again is a conventional treatment, showing very obviously vegetable and human fruits and flowers. The arrangement is tediously symmetric, the coloring is rather weak, and there is a wooden stiffness about the figures. The panel makes a pleasant spot of color, but is by no means up to the standard of the canvases in Hassam's room in the Palace of Fine Arts.
The panel over the main doorway, at the north end of the court, is by Arthur F. Mathews, and is far superior to the other two, though unfortunately placed in a dark spot. It is called by the artist A Victorious Spirit. The central figure, gorgeously suggesting the Spirit of Enlightment, protects Youth from the discordant elements of life from materialism and brute force, as represented by the rearing horse and militant rider. Youth is attended by the peace-bringing elements of life, by Religion, Philosophy or Education, and the Arts. The symbolism here is sound, the composition and drawing unusually good, and the coloring quite wonderful-especially in the orange-yellow robe of the Spirit. The full deep colors are in sharp contrast with those of most of the Exposition murals.
No one should leave this court without first pausing to enjoy the vista through the north doorway, showing Albert Jaeger's spirited Sacrificial Bulls on the Agriculture and Food Products Palaces, the long colonnade of the Court of the Four Seasons, and the bit of bay and hills beyond.
The Court of Flowers
The Court of Flowers is opposite to Festival Hall, between the Mines and Varied Industries Palaces. The first impression, as one comes to it, is that here is a replica of the colorful Court of Palms. But many differences become evident after a few moments' study.
The architecture is Italian Renaissance, but of a more richly decorative sort than in the Court of Palms. There is more overlaid ornament, and on the whole, less simplicity and quietness and more varied interest. The columns here are Corinthian, arranged in pairs. The gallery above the colonnade adds to the suggestion of the sunny South. The Italian Towers, while similar in feeling to those of the other court, are different in the arrangement of elements, though equally successful. The color decoration is again notable.
It is hardly necessary to add that George W. Kelham designed this court too.
Sculpture. The center of the court is dominated by Edgar Walter's Beauty and the Beast Fountain. The surmounting statue is a curious combination of graceful lines and grotesque effects. The strange Beast is no less fantastic than the young lady herself-she who has adorned her fair body with nothing more than a Spring hat and a pair of sandals. It is probably this near-nudeness, without pure nakedness, that creates the jarring note of the group Certainly there is a bizarre touch that somewhat offsets the sinuous charm of the figure. Under the upper basin are four piping Pans, not notable individually, but adding to the decorative effect. The wall around the lower pool carries a playful frieze of animals in low relief.
The Pioneer is the title of the equestrian statue at the south end of the court, on the Avenue of Palms. The man is typically the Western pioneer, as every resident of the Pacific Coast has known him-a patriarchal figure who foreran civilization here in the West of America as he has in all other new lands. Head up, axe and gun in hand, looking straight forward, he is a fine visualization of the "Forty-niner." He is, too, an interesting racial contrast to the Indian of "The End of the Trail." One wonders, however, about the horse, with the elaborate trappings that clearly belong to another era-to the days of Spanish conquest, perhaps. Certainly horse and rider do not seem to be conceived in the same spirit. The group lacks, too, that vital intensity of feeling and that emotional strength which distinguish "The End of the Trail," the companion-statue in the Court of Palms. The "Pioneer" is by Solon Borglum.
The minor sculpture here consists of A. Stirling Calder's attractive "Flower Girl," repeated in the niches along the loggia; dignified Lions, by Albert Laessle, flanking the three portals; and again Carl Gruppe's "The Fairy," atop the Italian Towers.
The Tower of Jewels, and the Fountain of Energy