114 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[April, 



sons wlio merely judge of specimens which have been laid down in the area 

 of the Eishange, but if an ampler field had been Riven that would have ad- 

 mitted competitors, the diflerfnt methods adopted by several firms would 

 have become known, and the value of eadi estimated accordingly, and (be 

 public would then have received the benefit of the trial. That a cement is used by 

 a certain establishment, which renders the tessera a solid and compact body 

 impervious to the weather, I am satisfied from my own observation, having 

 daily seen a specimen, which has been laid down nearly two years, and re- 

 mains as perfect at the present time as when first executed. 



Its effect in the Royal Exchange would undoubtedly appear very beautiful, 

 if introduced as 1 have before slated in a proper manner ; to pave the area 

 would not prove nearly so efiective as paving the ambulatories, it would then 

 be contrasted wi th the colours upon the walls and ceiling, in such case the design 

 ought to be so arranged that lines should be drawn from one end of the 

 colonnade to the otlier : if such a method were adopted, and skilfully carried 

 out, it would produce, I am assured, not only an cfliictive border round the 

 great square, but its perspective lines would form a very imposing and beauti- 

 ful appearance besides adding materially to the apparent extent of the interior. 

 The pavement however had better be dispensed with altogether, than an at- 

 tempt be made at beauty of combination while such an exhibition of harlerjuin 

 coloured placards adorns the walls; ilremindsme of the fantastic appearance 

 of an eccentric beadle, whose upper garments are gaily bedizened with finery, 

 and his gold laced liat surmounted with peacocks Icatliers, whilst the lower 

 man is clothed in rags. 



That a great blunder has been committed there can be little doubt ; either 

 the decorations or the placards are out of place ; they certainly do not agree 

 together ; it would have been in much better taste to have only introduced that 

 which was of the greatest importance ; if the decorations are so considered, 

 why injure the ellects by placarding the walls in such a conspicuous manner, 

 for there appears to be no control exercised over the merchant » hose principal 

 aim is to render his board or bill as attractive as possible, and who therefore 

 creates a motley assemblage of dignified boards and sprightly bills, delighting 

 in the varied taste of the printer and painter. Should however these expres- 

 sive announcements be deemed necessary lo further the interests of business, 

 (and past experience would of course soon decide such a question,) it almost 

 borders on the ludicrous to observe the present arrangement. It could be even 

 now considerably improved by modifying their appearance, they might be 

 arranged in certain classes, of a definite colour and form, to lie in fact a 

 neutral tint, that should be employed on all occasions— thus it would not 

 injure the artistical eflect of the building, and yet preserve its usefulness. 



Having treated of the principal efl'ects, and the general expression ot the 

 decorations, I shall now briefly extend the subject, by considering whether 

 the style is applicable to the building, and how far such a style of decoration 

 will promote the Fine Arts of ihis country. 



The principal thing to be considered by the artist in decorative works is, 

 that his style should be pleasing, to be rendered jirejjossesshig in their efl'ects ; 

 for nothing can be more injurious than a cold, harsh, disagreeable style, even 

 when viewed by the most able judges; its appearance must court observation. 

 The second, and most difjicull, is that the decorations shcadd address them- 

 selves to the mind ; it is in this the artist's skill is really required ; it is 

 in this that his powers will be put to the proof; mere ornamental design does 

 not require great mental powers, although it is in the poiver of talented men 

 to create much out of little, to raise that which was insignificant by appro- 

 priate and tasteful embellishments, — the diflerent estimation, however, in 

 which all acts are held, must be according to the manner in which they ad- 

 dress themselves to the imagination ; the more impressively the artist deli- 

 neates his ideas, the higher will be his position in the profession. 



In all decorative designs there is one presiding principle, which cannot be 

 lield too highly in our estimation, and which should govern all our arrange- 

 ments, viz. " Fitness of Purpose," This, above all things, is the most impor- 

 tant, and the most powerful characteristic of a refined tasle, and the more we 

 approach to a just appreciation of its value the greater will be our advance- 

 ment towards a proper understanding of the noblest attributes of art. To 

 uphold the dignity of art we must feel its eflfects, and understand the grand 

 principles which govern it, that by educating the mind as well as the eye we 

 may form a correct feeling fur the arts, enabling us to judge of their real 

 value. 



It is easy to be pleased, and also easy to find fault, but extremely difficult 

 to understand the reason of our being so— because we are ignorant of the 

 causes which lead to such conclusions. Until the public taste becomes more 

 enlightened, so as to estimate the true dignity of art in a proper manner, no 

 grea tgood can arise. Ornamental design may be calculated lo please the eye by 

 its variety of form and fanciful colouring, but in suchabidldingas the Royal 

 Exchange something ot more importance is necessary to uphold the character 

 of the building, than that which now decorate its walls. Expressive and 

 appropriate designs ought to have been introduced, that would have added 

 an interest and created a charm to the whole w<]rk. The decorations are 

 quite unworthy of the prominent position they now hold, and are extremely 

 inappropriate ; no attempt is exercised to express by intelligent design tlie 



character of the building, beyond a few insignificant devices which I have 

 previously enumerated ; so that the purpcses of the edifice would be enveloped 

 in mystery, and puzzle future antiquarians to decipher the use of such a 

 building, if left to its own signification. 



How dilTerent the system adopted by the ancients, how much are we in- 

 debted to their intellectual mode of enrichment, how exquisitely arranged ! 

 every building being readily distinguished by its peculiar decoration, exhibit- 

 ing the highest order of design, and in the most eminent degree//nc5so/p«r. 

 pose. As an example, I may mention the celebrated frieze of the Parthenon, 

 illustrating in a most forcible manner the procession to the sacrifice of the 

 presiding goddess, Minerva, to whom the temple was dedicated, an enrich- 

 ment intimately connected with the principal and most solemn ceremony of 

 the people. Thus the purposes of the building were delineated in a striking 

 and picturesque manner ; this is what constitutes harmony and beauty of 

 design, and the true feeling of high art exemplified and easily understood 

 and appreciated by aU classes, it tells its own story most effectively, without 

 the aid of the historian. There is no building tliat I can recollect which 

 offered so many advantages for the display of artistic talent as the colonnades 

 of the Royal Exchange ; it would have alTordcd great opportunities for the 

 development of the genius and the soul of Art. The want of subject in the 

 present decorations is self-evident,- what is there for the mind to speculate 

 upon? what is there to remember beyond the emblazoned shields and mere- 

 tricious ornament ? what does it all amount to ? — nothing. 



The walls might have been illustrated with the history of commerce ; tracing 

 its gradual progress to its present eminence, and the establishment of lire first 

 commercial treaties with diflferent countries might have been delineated. 

 These would have created considerable interest in the building, and there 

 would have been a sort of individuality about such decorations that would 

 have more intimately connected foreign merchants with the building, it would 

 have spuken to their sensibilities, and charmed the imagination by its ideal 

 beauty. The name of tlic Merchants' Walk might still hold a place in ar- 

 rangements of this kind, a tablet beneath each subject might be introduced 

 that would answer for two purposes, first for the use of the merchants, se- 

 condly for the public, who would recognize (he subject by the name on the 

 tablet, which should of course correspond. Additional interest might be in- 

 creased by the introduction of portraits of celebrated men who deserve a 

 nation's thanks, and who ought to hold a position in the building which their 

 exertions tended to raise to its present magnificence. There would exist in 

 such a mode of decoration something which would excite our best feelings, 

 and promote in an eminent degree the higher and more noble style of art, it 

 would illustrate the rise and progress of civilization, the manners and cus- 

 toms of foreign nations, and give such ample scope for the artist's fancy that 

 is seldom if ever afforded. If a similar opportunity as that offered by the 

 Commissioners of the Fine Arts had occurred, to enable English artists to 

 enter the lists, a very different result would have transpired. The present 

 decorations are not worthy ot the tasle of the times ; and it does not redound 

 much to the credit of the citizens for employing a foreigner to decorate their 

 principal and most public building, when many pupils from Somerset House 

 School of Design could have executed the work not only in a better manner, 

 but would have infused a spirit of intelligence into the decorations which does 

 not at present exist. 



The manner adopted by the committee has not been sufficiently liberal or 

 extensive ; it has been cramped, and limited to a certain few ; extreme privacy 

 is the cause of its failure ; if there had been mure openness in their proceed- 

 ings it would have terminated in a much more satisfactory manner; such an 

 opportunity to exemplify the talent of the nation rarely occurs, when it does 

 it ought to be the ambition of every Englishman to ofl'er every facility to his 

 countryman, to enable him to compete lor the honours which would naturally 

 accrue upon the success of his efforts. It has been lorcibly illustrated in our 

 history, thai the English artist, however great his talent, never received that 

 share of patronage which was due to him as a man of genius— it was not, 

 indeed, fashionable to employ him ; and the only resource formerly left for 

 the germs of native talent to e.xercise itself upon was to adorn " heroic sign- 

 posts." Our position in Art has been of low cast, our best efforts were ren- 

 dered feeble from repeated checks, there was nothing to call forth our abili- 

 ties, nothing to excite us lo develope great and beautiful ideas, our eftorts 

 were not appreciated until of late years. There has been, indeed, so much 

 said upon foreign superiority in the Fine Arts over us, and we are continually 

 receiving fresh announcements of their extraordinary talent, it can scarcely 

 be wondered that some reliance is placed on these reports, naturally exciting 

 a prejudice against everything English connected with the Arts. But when 

 we contemplate the genius of such a man as Barnj. striving, amidst penury 

 and distress, to exterminate this odium which enshrouded the Arts, and the 

 vaunted incapacity of the English artist ; when we behold the works, that 

 emanated from his desire to uphold the character of native artists, and remem- 

 ber under what peculiar circumstances they were executed— for (says Rarry) 

 I began the work without patron, fortune, or encourage iient, without wages 

 to subsist on, and with no other assistance to carry it on than what I was 

 to derive from any other occasional works that might fall in my way.— when 



