We lingered in front of these fountains, admiring the classic grace of the groups and the play of water over the steps.We thought that Piccirilli had been most successful with his "Spring." "Of course, it's very conventional work," said the architect, "but the conventional has its place here.It explains just why Milton Bancroft worked out those murals of his in this particular way.He wanted to express the elemental attitude of mind toward nature, the artistic childhood of the race."When we examined the figures of the Piccirilli groups in detail, we found that they possessed excellent qualities.They carried on the traditions of the wall-fountains so popular in Rome and often associated with water running over steps.The figures were well put together and the lines were good.All of the groups had the surface as carefully worked out.In "Spring" the line of festooning helped to carry on the line leading to the top of the group.There was tender feeling and fine workmanship in "Summer," with the feminine and masculine hands clearly differentiated."The men of today have a chance to learn a good lesson from Rodin," said the painter."He is teaching them what he himself may have learned from the work of Donatello and Michael Angelo, the importance of surface accentuation, the securing of the light and shade that are just as necessary in modelling as in painting.In these groups there is definite accentuation of the muscles.It makes the figures seem life-like.The work reminds me of the figure of The Outcast, by the sculpter's brother, Attilio Piccirilli, that we shall see in the colonade of the Fine Arts Palace.So many sculptors like to secure these smooth, meaningless surfaces that excite admiration among those people who care for mere prettiness.It is just about as admirable as the smoothing out of character lines from a photograph.But the Piccirillis go at their work like genuine artists."Those murals we were inclined to regard as somewhat too simple and formal."After all," said the architect, "it's a question whether this kind of effort is in the right direction.So often it leads to what seems like acting in art, regarded by some people as insincerity.At any rate, the best that can be said of it is that it's clever imitation.But here it blends in with the feeling of the court and it gives bright spots of color.Guerin has gone as close to white as he dared.So he felt the need of strong color contrasts, and he got Bancroft to supply them.And the colors are repeated in the the other decorations of the court.It's as if the painter had been given a definite number of colors to work with.In this matter of color, by the way, Bancroft had a big advantage over the old Roman painters.Their colors were very restricted.In this court they might have allowed more space for the murals.They're not only limited in size, but in shape as well.Bancroft used to call them his postage-stamps.
In the entrance court we found Evelyn Breatrice Longman's "Fountain of Ceres," the last of the three fountains done on the grounds by women, and decidedly the most feminine."Mrs.Longman hasn't quite caught the true note," the architect remarked."The base of the fountain is interesting, though I don't care for the shape.But the figure itself is too prim and modish.Somehow I can't think of Ceres as a proper old maid, dressed with modern frills.The execution, however, shows a good deal of skill.The frieze might be improved by the softening of those sharp lines that cut out the figures like pasteboard.And these women haven't as much vitality as that grotesque head down near the base, spouting out water." The architect glanced up and noticed the figure of "Victory" on one of the gables, so often to be seen during a walk over the grounds."There's more swing to that figure than to the one here, and yet there's a certain resemblance between them.They both show the same influence, the Winged Victory of Samothrace.Of course, Miss Longman has purposely softened the effect on account of the mildness of her subject.But she might have been more successful with her draperies if she had followed the suggestions in the Winged Victory more closely.
There the treatment of the draperies is magnificent.Both the Greeks and the Romans were very fond of this type of figure.And it's often found among the ruins of Pompeii, which kept so close to Rome in its artistic enterprise."The need of separating the entrance to the Court of the Four Seasons from Ryan's display of scintillators on the imitation of Morro Castle at the edge of the bay, had given John McLaren a chance to create another of these deep green masses that surrounded the pool.It shut the court off from the rest of the world and deepened the intimacy, leaving, however, glimpses of the bay and the hills beyond.
