1949.J 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



67 



f lower of invention, should protest against all attempt at origina- 

 itv, is not at all surprising ; but that those who have, and who, 

 were they to give their minds to it freely, might achieve origina- 

 lity more or less happy, should be deterred from doing so by the 

 dread of being called innovators, and suffer mere rules and prece- 

 dents to stand in the way of all further advance, is, if not parti- 

 cularly strange, particularly lamentable. Rash and fool-hardy in- 

 novation is, of course, to be discountenanced ; and such unlucky 

 and prodigiously queer originality as we have got in the new Coal 

 Exchange, and in the new hopeful mansion in Piccadilly, is to be 

 deprecated most earnestly ; still such egregious monstrosities, in 

 which it is difficult to decide whether dulness or fantasticality 

 predominates, afford no more argument against freshness of design 

 than the countless reams of printed prose in rhyme do against 

 poetry. 



IX. Were architects to attend more to Effect than they now do, 

 they might produce equal results in point of finish and embellish- 

 ment as at present, or perhaps even greater, with far less labour 

 and cost. In his quality of artist the architect should work like 

 the scene-painter, who calculates and makes proper allowance for 

 the distance from which his tableau will be viewed, and finishes up 

 no more than is sufficient to produce the appearance of finish. 

 Architects, on the contrary, notwithstanding all the twaddling 

 about proportions, seem to have no idea of proportioning the 

 finish bestowed on detail and embellishment to their situation in 

 the building itself, and also to the actual situation and aspect of 

 the latter. Although it does not appear to be known, or if known 

 is not attended to, it is an excellent maxim to work up carefully 

 all the parts nearest the eye, and what may be called the '■'■fore- 

 ground' of an elevation, which being done, the appearance of 

 equally careful execution will be secured for the rest ; and no 

 more than such appearance is wanted, because all that is more 

 is entirely thrown away. It is by no means uncommon to find 

 that details which show in drawings, in which the eye can take 

 cognizance of the smallest minutiae, all but entirely disappear in 

 the executed structure, or as far as they produce effect at all, pro- 

 duce only a confused and niggling one. what, for instance, can 

 possibly be made out of the figures on the frieze of the Athenaeum 

 Clubhouse, or of those on the attic over the centre arch in the 

 screen-entrance to Hyde Park ? A few bold, random touches of 

 the mason's chisel might have been made to tell just as well, or 

 perhaps better, — certainly would have had to the full as much 

 meaning in them ; for as to meaning, that sculpture may be all 

 very classical and comme-il-faut, but has just the same degree of 

 relationship to Hyde Park as I have to Sir Hyde Parker. Absur- 

 dity is increased when, while ornament is bestowed where it can 

 be but imperfectly seen, it is withheld from parts that are exposed 

 to the closest inspection. It is by no means uncommon, for in- 

 stance, to find a chimney-piece of quite plain design in a room 

 with a highly-wrought cornice. Besides the mere inconsistence 

 itself, occasioned by the mixture of plainness and ornateness, the 

 former is thrust prominently into view, while the latter is compa- 

 ratively concealed. It is true, in such cases there may be a sort 

 of a reason — a pounds, shillings, and pence one — for the sin against 

 artistic effect and taste, inasmuch as the cornice being mere stucco, 

 its richness is attended with comparatively trifling cost ; whereas 

 the chimney-piece being marble, carved mouldings and other 

 workmanship becomes very expensive in such material. Still, that 

 does not alter the principle of propriety and taste, which is to be- 

 stow ornament where it will display itself, and to finish up most 

 carefully those parts which are nearest the eye. The contrary 

 practice resembles that of a painter who should finish up his dis- 

 tances very elaborately and neglect his foregrounds. 



X. If, as some seem to think, our architects have but a ques- 

 tionable claim to the title of artists, and certainly are not such 

 generally, in the degree which they ought to be, it is not so much 

 cause for surprise as for regret, since no provision seems to be 

 made for an artistic education of them. Indispensable as it is in 

 itself, "office"-education is a nullity in that respect; in regard to 

 which, the most that it does for them is, that it initiates them into 

 the means of artistic study, which, if they are to pursue it at all, 

 they must pursue for themselves, should the proper stuff be in 

 them; if not — why, they must Pecksniffise all their lives, consol- 

 ing themselves with the reflection that — most unhappily for the 

 public — there are Pecksniffs in high places as well as low, some of 

 whom die rich, leaving their professional memories to be damned. 

 A great deal of what passes for zealous study pursued out of sheer 

 love of art, is very little better than busy idleness, and is utterly 

 fruitless as regards any advancement in the practice of art. A man 

 may be able to talk very learnedly, and to refer to almost every 

 building of any note, — may be very conversant with nearly all the 



ideas that have from time to time been put forth in architecture 

 by others, and yet have no ideas of his own to serve him on occa- 

 sion, nor the talent for turning to account those with which he 

 has encumbered, hoping thereby to enrich, himself. The study 

 that is bestowed in loading the memory with ponderous trifles and 

 other heavy lumber is naught; accordingly should be left by the ar- 

 chitect to archaeologists and similar heavy-h d gentry. For him, 



one of the best of studies is to exercise his thinking faculties, his 

 judgment, and his taste, with his pencil in hand; another is to 

 scrutinise the buildings he sees, and then question himself rigo- 

 rously to account for their beauties and defects, or what strike him 

 as such. The habit of considerate and thoughtful examination 

 so acquired, will stand him in good service in his own productions. 

 Again, self-imposed tasks for working out any idea that may have 

 struck the mind, are useful — indirectly, if not immediately. Ihe 

 idea itself is put to the proof as it were; for if capable of being 

 made anything of, it will draw other ideas after it, and so become 

 the nucleus of a growing mass of them. If not secured at the 

 moment — secured at least by turning it over in the mind, a 

 thought that might have been fixed, and afterwards returned to 

 and matured, may pass away irrecoverably. After having become 

 acquainted with routine and routine-design, let the student endea- 

 vour to guard himself against the enervating influence of the 

 latter, by breaking away from it in his hours of relaxation — re- 

 laxation, consisting not in idleness, but in the free indulgence of 

 his own fancies ; — and though they may be mere crude fancies at 

 first, something may possibly be made of some of them, and come 

 of them in time. At any rate, so long as they are kept private 

 studies, they are secure ftom reproach; and if occasion should 

 present itself for adopting any of them, there will have been time 

 for their ripening in their author's mind. Few, it is to be appre- 

 hended, take up the kind of study here hinted at, since we perceive 

 very little evidence of it; on the contrary, see a great many 

 things, both buildings and designs, which, as far as they do not 

 consist of what is usual and hackneyed, rarely show more than 

 some hasty first ideas, — good, perhaps, as hints and tendencies, 

 and as capable of being worked-up satisfactorily, rather than 

 satisfactory in themselves, or shown to sufficient advantage. 



XI. Those who do not exercise their ideas, except when there is 

 immediate occasion for so doing, are not likely to find them very 

 prcmipt and active when wanted. Habitual inertness, or else ha- 

 bitual indolence of mind, can hardly be shaken off in an instant, 

 or roused to much purpose, merely because an occasion presents 

 itself; more especially if only a short notice be given, because then 

 one's faculties are more likely to be bewildered than properly awa- 

 kened. Did hurry always give a sufficient fillip to architects' 

 powers and imagination, competition committees would deserve 

 praise for their very "short-notice" policy, the time allowed by 

 them to architects being barely sufficient to prepare drawings, — 

 therefore wholly inadequate for careful study, or any study at all 

 of the subject. In fact, they seem to have no idea that any pre- 

 vious study of the subject is required, but that there is merely to 

 put it upon paper. That such is the case is almost certain, because 

 they seldom pretend to pay for study, the premiums offered by 

 them being, in many instances, not even more than would be 

 paid by an architect to his clerks for the same amount of mere 

 drawing. 



XII. Were those who publish examples of architectural ornament 

 and detail to accompany them with some critical remarks, specify- 

 ing their particular merits, and also pointing out defects that de- 

 tract from what may nevertheless be praiseworthy upon the whole, 

 service would be rendered both to Art and to those who study it. 

 Intelligent comment would, on the one hand, fix attention upon 

 the more delicate beauties of such productions, and on the other, 

 would warn against blemishes. It is an error to suppose that both 

 beauties and blemishes must be sufficiently obvious at first sight 

 to every one. Books of patterns are one thing, and books of ar- 

 tistic studies are another, although the latter are almost invariably 

 treated as if tliey were nothing more than the former. Moreover, 

 examples of such exceedingly opposite quality are so frequently in- 

 troduced into the same publication, that it is impossible to under- 

 stand upon what principle the " selection" or " collection" has been 

 formed. The plates are left to speak for themselves — poor dumb 

 devils! — and why.'' merely because those who ought to act as their 

 interpreteis are unable to speak for them. 



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