HOUSES AND GARDENS 



where the dignity and reality of the ancient art of building seems to make the 

 best of the modern pictures on its walls appear frivolous and vulgar. From 

 the decorative point of view, a picture is merely a pattern of certain colours and 

 tones. That it should be more than this I do not wish to deny, but whatever 

 interest it possesses in its subject and its associations is not a matter of deco- 

 ration. As decoration, it would probably look as well hung upside down. And 

 it is the decorative qualities of the picture which really count. To the occupants 

 of a room the pictures normally exist merely as patches of colour with gilded 

 outlines. It is only by a definite and conscious effort that one perceives at 

 intervals beauties of subject or composition. The decorative quality is a 

 constant factor. If we imagine, for instance, the tired man of business 

 returning to his suburban home in the evening, it can hardly be supposed that 

 he will be prepared to make the special mental effort involved in an inspec- 

 tion of his pictures; but whatever decorative quality they express in conjunction 

 with their surroundings will at once enfold him as in an atmosphere which 

 soothes and charms like harmonious music. 



A man may leave a room so adorned without being able to render an 

 intelligible account of anything in it, and yet have felt its beauty to the full. 



Pictures, then, in the house, it may be said, should possess a decorative 

 quality which should be brought into harmony with the whole scheme of which 

 they form a part. 



53 



