July, 1919 
31 
Then, there are the quaint 
glimpses of old world towns and 
cities, which often have a romantic 
charm as well as beauty. 
Lastly, come the etchings of inte¬ 
riors, when the artist's sole aim is 
to reproduce the masterpieces of ar¬ 
chitectural beauty which men of 
other ages have left in the great 
cathedrals and noble public struc¬ 
tures of Europe. Such etchings have 
all the art value of objects of virtu, 
as presenting beauty for its own 
sake. 
Their Use in Decoration 
The development of the ‘‘period 
room” in America in the last ten or 
a dozen years has been the cause of 
the bringing to this country of some 
of the finest works of the architectu¬ 
ral painters of the past. Formerly 
the art of Guardi and Canaletto, of 
the Italian school, and of such men 
as Hubert Robert, of the French 
school, was almost unknown in this 
country. Now when examples by 
them are placed on exhibition they 
cause as much interest as a Reynold 
portrait or a Ruysdael landscape. 
For instance, what could be more 
appropriate in an Italian room than 
one of Canaletto’s visions of Venice, 
with its canals, its great landing 
ways, its bridges, its gondolas, its 
brightly clad 18th Century fig¬ 
ures? Or, again, one of Guardi's 
beautiful, if melancholy, impressions 
of the Dalmatian coast, with the re¬ 
mains of some old castle dating back 
to the days of Italian feudal ascend¬ 
ency, now indicated merely by soli¬ 
tary arches, silhouetted against the 
blue sky, and by fallen columns 
which serve as the seats for red and 
blue clad herdsmen, whose flocks 
graze round? Such a scene is so 
Italian that it serves to explain even 
Italy’s stand on the Adriatic question 
at the Peace Conference! 
Or in a French period room, what 
could be more appropriate than one 
of Hubert Robert’s imaginative pieces 
—ruins again—interpreted with all 
the splendid color and all the Gallic 
The work of Francesco Guardi, whose value is just being appreci¬ 
ated in this country, is eminently fitted jor the domestic wall. 
Contrast this with Canaletto's bridge. Kleinberger Galleries 
Guardi depended on the archi¬ 
tecture for his decorative ef¬ 
fects, and Canaletto on the fine 
Venetian sky. Kleinberger 
Hubert Robert’s “Roman Villa” creates a mood in 
the beholder. Courtesy Gimpel & Wildenstein 
The decorative use of ruins, which have the elements of both dignity and romance, is evi¬ 
denced in this painting of the Roman Forum by Pierre Antoine Demachy. Ehrich Galleries 
love for classic beauty that belonged to his 
age? A portrait by Largilliere of a beauty 
of the court of Louis XV, or of the “con¬ 
versations” of Watteau or Lancret might fur¬ 
nish as much atmosphere for a period room, 
but surely not more. 
Architecture owes its place in painting and 
etching to a quality which may best be de¬ 
scribed by the word “personality.” A land¬ 
scape, or a marine, may be a thing of beauty 
or a dramatic composition, capable of inspiring 
a “mood” in the beholder or of stirring feelings 
that will be cherished as priceless. All of this 
is true of architectural painting and etching, 
and in addition there is the poignant some¬ 
thing which comes from “personality.” 
Personality in These Pictures 
The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris has 
a personality expressive of the finest feelings of 
Gothic art; it personifies the humanity and 
the religious piety of the Middle Ages. It is 
this spirituality that has made it a favorite 
subject with etchers. 
(Continued on page 60) 
