IDENTIFICATION OF THE ARTISAN AND ARTIST. 321 



tice was introduced of painting the walls of bouses. Temples were 

 undoubtedly painted before; because be tells us, tbat, wben the temple 

 of Ceres was falling into ruins, the paintings of Demopbilus were cut 

 away from the walls, (as is sometimes now done with frescoes,) and put 

 into frames in order to preserve tbem. On one occasion, by the way, 

 the city of Rhodes was saved, when Demetrius besieged it, because be 

 feared a beautiful painting would be destroyed tbat was on the wall of 

 one of the buildings. This painting of walls corresponded to our paper- 

 hangings. What we do by putting on stained or colored paper, they 

 did with the brush and the skill of the artist. The walls of Pompeii 

 and Herculaneum are covered with most beautiful paintings, not merely 

 ornamental patterns and arabesques, but there is such a mixture of 

 the mere ornament, and of figures perfectly designed and colored, as to 

 show that there was no distinction made then between the painter of 

 a fresco and the bouse decorator; the artist urns Jdmself the performer of 

 the tcorlc^ and so beautiful is it, that we have hardly anything in modern 

 times superior to what is commonly found on the walls of the private 

 bouses of cities which were in a province remote from the capital, and 

 which bad no particular recommendation, that we know of, as seats of 

 art. 



We have an instance, also, in modern times. Perhaps one of the 

 most beautiful productions of modern art is the painting of tbat gallery 

 to which I have alluded, where we see that BaffaeUe undertalces to do 

 ivliatnoic one 'ivould never thinJc of committing to the hands of any one higher 

 than a common house-decorator. iSIo nobleman, nor even a monarch, would 

 think of asking the first artist of the kingdom to design the ornament 

 of a gallery, scroll-work, and grotesques, or mechanical ornament, which 

 now would be done by a common process or a common band. But in a 

 former age there was no distinction made between what we now consider 

 the higher and the lower sorts of art; hut the ichole of art teas regarded 

 as one thing ; the greatest of artists considered it was his place to make 

 even the smallest work — which might be insignificant in itself — great 

 and noble, and to stamp the highest impress of art on the commonest 

 and most ordinary commissions that were given to him. 



I will liow speak of a department of art which will interest you, 

 perhaps, more than others — art applied to textile fabrics. There is a 

 great difi'erence between what art can do in this department, and what 

 it can do for those through which I have passed ; because the others 

 are in their nature more lasting; they are to continue for a time; they 

 are worth, therefore, the attention and care of artists of the very high- 

 est class. The fashions of textile fabrics are perishable and fragile; 

 they are capricious and changeable; therefore it is impossible to have 

 the time, the leisure, and the same degree of labor expended on them 

 as is necessary to produce a great work of art. I have read with con- 

 siderable pleasure, and can bear testimony to the important suggestions 

 in a pamphlet or lecture on this subject delivered in this city by Mr. 

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