Nothing excites the Exposition visitor more than the color scheme of the
buildings. But "excite" is really not the proper word, because there is
nothing exciting about it. Nothing was farther from Mr. Guérin's mind
than to create excitement, unrest, or any of those sensations that might
lead to fatigue or even to a nervous breakdown. We understand fully by
this time that it was Jules Guérin who is the responsible artist, and
who supervised the putting into existence of the first real "Guérin"
that ever was. Mr. Guérin has the distinction of being the first
director of color and of decoration ever appointed for an international
exposition.
It must become evident to any person who is at all familiar with the
fascinating tonal designs Guérin produces for many of our leading
magazines that what he did was nothing but to paint nature as he has
been used to represent it in his pictures. Guérin must have had a
glorious time with that first great opportunity, so seldom to happen, of
putting all those pet colors of his into the actual outdoors, there to
feast his eyes upon them. It was a daring and novel undertaking, most
successful in a large way. I hope we are going to benefit by this
successful experiment and begin to give life to our dreary cement
façades, mournful roofs, and lifeless window-sashes, ornamentations, and
what not. We are, I admit, hopelessly at the mercy of the housepainter,
who knows much about estimates, something about paint, and little about
color. I hope we are going to learn the difference between paint and
color, the purely physical, meaningless thing on the one hand, and the
intelligence-conveying, pleasure-giving element on the other.
Guérin certainly knows color, and I take it for granted that a man of
his training and experience knows how to use paint. His exposition
buildings look for all the world like a live Guérin print taken from the
Century Magazine and put down alongside of the bay which seems to have
responded, as have the other natural assets, for a blending of the
entire creation into one harmonious unit. I fancy such a thing was
possible only in California, where natural conditions invite such a
technical and artistic innovation.
The general effect is one of great warmth. The basic tone of the
travertine furnishes a very rich foundation for the other colors added.
The whole range of color is very simple and it is simplicity and
repetition over large areas that make the colors so effective. There are
three different greens, for instance - the patina green on many minor
domes, suggesting aged copper surfaces; a very strong primary green, on
the small doors of the palaces and most of the lattice work; and another
very pale, pinkish green, a sort of an abalone shell green, used on all
the flagpole bases, always topped off with a light pinkish red, used
above the light green base on all the flagpoles.
Then there are the reds, a number of different reds, running from a
pinkish brick color to a darker russet red, to be found exclusively in
all vertical panels serving as background for detailed statuary - for
instance, in all the courts. Next to the red there is a brilliant
orange, used in relatively small quantities here and there in the
mouldings, as around the Brangwyn paintings in the Court of Abundance.
This leaves yet to be named the few soothing blues that abound in the
ceilings, in the deep recesses of the walls, and the coffered arches,
serving as backgrounds for the many richly-modeled terra cotta rosettes.
This is practically the entire range of colors, but they assume, of
course, endless variations of tone and intensity, owing to the
difference of the surfaces and the play of light and shadow. The
relation of the whole color scheme to the colors furnished by nature is
by no means accidental. The effect of the ensemble, on a calm, sunny
day, is hard to describe in its gorgeous beauty.
The pressing into service of nature as applied to color was particularly
inviting, of course, on the bay side, where simple sweeps of skies,
foothills, and plain bodies of water furnish almost ideal conditions.
This is true in a similar way for the background in the west, but toward
the south - well, we had better forget such mournful outward aspects of
our great city of San Francisco, known around the world for its gay
temperament.
Appreciating the importance of detail, Guérin extended his color
treatment to practically everything presenting surface. Nothing could
escape his vigilant eyes. Even the sand covering of the asphalted roads
is of a peculiarly attractive blend. It seems like a mixture of ordinary
sand with a touch of cinnamon. Even that corps of stalwart guards had to
submit to a tonal harmony of drabs, with touches of yellow metal, warm
red puttees, and neat little yellow Spanish canes. They all seem very
proud and appreciative of their part in the concert of colors. And they
speak of it with feeling and reverence. Not long ago, during a rather
stormy, wet day, I happened to notice several of these cicerones hiding
in a doorway of one of the palaces, looking most disconsolate. The
reason for it became immediately apparent; the un-Californian weather
had forced them to put on civilian overcoats of indescribable hues, and
the shame of being out of color was plainly written in their faces. It
shows that art is largely a matter of education.
I fancy that all that a respectful and appreciative public could do, in
order to live up to the occasion, would be to have Exposition suits
built of pongee silk, or some other harmonious material. So far, on all
of my visits, I observed a shocking preponderance of black, which I hope
will eventually yield to the softer colors of lighter materials, with
the arrival of warmer weather.
The careful observer will find that the crimson vermilion red of the
fire alarm boxes had to yield to a more refined vivid orange, much, I
understand, to the consternation of the Exposition fire marshal, who
must have been shocked at this intrusion.
The horticultural effect of the grounds, flower beds, and shrubbery will
always adapt itself properly to the color scheme, and a preponderance of
warm yellows, reds, and orange will simultaneously fill out the garden
areas. At first yellow pansies and daffodils had control, to be replaced
in due season by the uniform appearance of tulips, hyacinths, and
successions of other flowers. This progressive appearance of new flower
carpets will provide ever-changing elements of interest throughout the
entire period of the Exposition.
It seems only right at this time to speak of the great and modestly
contributed services of John McLaren. He, with his wide experience and
unceasing energy, created the garden setting which ties all the
buildings into a natural harmony. Hardly ever have trees, shrubs, and
flowers been used in such profusion in an Exposition. Conventional in
aspect, all great expositions in the past have been lacking in the
invigorating elements, no matter how naturalistic the site may have
been. The few scraggly pines of St. Louis looked more like undesirable
left-overs of a former forest than like a supporting feature of the
Exposition picture.
The stony look of many former expostions is not evident at San
Francisco. Considering the fact that the exposition is largely on made
ground, it is amazing what has been accomplished. With the exception of
the few scattering remains of an old amusement park - the Harbor View
Gardens - so charmingly utilized in the courtyard of the California
building, practically all the trees and shrubs had to be brought in from
the outside. How well Mr. McLaren succeeded in moving whole gardens "en
bloc" to the Exposition is shown by the fact that with the exception of
a few Monterey cypresses on one of the lagoon islands, not a single tree
has died. It was no small task to transplant eucalypti forty feet high,
and aged yew trees, and the tradition that it is impossible to
transplant old trees has again been demonstrated as in the same class
with other old sayings based on the experience of the past, but applying
no longer to our own conditions.
The stately rows of palms on the south avenue contain some specimens of
the Canary Island palms which must be nearly forty years old, and some
of the yews in the colonnade between the Court of the Four Seasons and
the Marina, near Miss Longman's Fountain of Ceres, are probably even
older. The massing of large groups of black acacia, Monterey pines, and
cypresses, filled in at the edge with veronica and many other flowering
shrubs, gives many interesting notes, and serves frequently as
backgrounds for statuary.
Like everything else, from the architecture down, the garden aspect of
the Exposition is not frugal nor skimpy, whatever floral effects are
used. Like shrubbery, trees occur in great profusion, and without regard
for difficulties in transplanting.
The Court of the Universe did not receive the generous treatment from
Mr. McLaren that it almost cries for. The few isolated Italian cypresses
in the Court, near the tower, no doubt help a good deal, but one is
tempted to ask why there are not more of them. Italian cypresses are
hard to transplant, particularly if their feet have become accustomed to
the peaceful conditions of Santa Clara Valley cemeteries, where most of
them, I understand, enjoyed an undisturbed existence until they were
used so very effectively in the Exposition. These successfully moved old
trees are by far the most useful trees in architectural schemes, as
anybody who knows the Villa Borghese in Rome must admit.
I would like to see a law passed that every person at a certain age must
plant six Italian cypresses. I humbly suggest this to our legislators,
who seem to be suffering from a lack of measures to be introduced and
passed for the benefit of the people.
The Italian cypress is our most picturesque tree, and for combination
with architecture, is unrivaled by any other tree. They grow rather
slowly, but do not take much space, on account of their vertical habit.
The making of the Court of Palms is due largely to the liberal use of
these elegant trees, with their somber stateliness.
The lover of outdoors will find no end to his pleasurable investigations
in the many fine, luxurious groupings of flowering shrubs. Heather,
which does so well with us, and blooms when only few flowers brighten
our gardens, has been profusely used in solid beds at the base of the
Kelham towers, around Festival Hall, and in many other places. The
dainty, glistening foliage, interspersed with red berries of another
acclimated alien from the Himalaya Mountains - the Cotoneaster - makes
fine borders around the pool in the Court of the Four Seasons, in the
Court of Palms, and in several of the colonnades.
Evergreen plants and shrubs are the dominant features of the two Italian
Avenues connecting the big court with the side courts. The rich and
luxuriant carpets of the many varieties of box, thuya, taxus, and dwarf
pine, in dark, somber greens and many lighter color variations, are
superb.
In the Court of Abundance great masses of orange trees furnish the
dominant note. They are most effective with their branches heavily laden
with fruit. They are not only a surprise to the outsider, but even to
the Californian, who wonders at the skill and experience which made this
feat possible.