Before speaking of the decoration of mouldings, a few words must be said
on the mouldings themselves. The Greeks were the first people who
carried the art of moulding or profiling to any perfection, and they are
still supreme; they mainly used straight-lined sections for strength,
but added a few curved sections to prevent monotony. The air of Greece
is pellucid and the sunshine brilliant, so for their curved sections
those that approximated to conic sections were preferred as having more
subtle shade, segments of circles being rarely used. (See Figs. 61-64.)
The greatest efforts were made to have these mouldings as exquisite as
possible, so as to get variety of shade and shadow, and mouldings of the
same species were rarely or never alike. The Romans, who had much
coarser artistic sensibilities than the Greeks, and were slaves to easy
rules, used segments of circles for their mouldings instead of the Greek
curves. (See Figs. 55-66.) They also had an atmosphere less clear, and
their sunshine was not so brilliant. The Mediævals, who lived in misty
climates with little sunshine, were as logical in their methods, but
were not possessed of the artistic sensibilities of the Greeks, so,
although their mouldings answer the
[Illustration: FIGS. 55 to 60.--Profiles of Roman mouldings with their
fillets.]
[Illustration: FIGS. 61 to 66.--Profiles of Greek mouldings with their
fillets.]
purpose, they lack refinement. The Mediævals got their effects by deep
undercutting, and by putting fillets or leaving arrises on such parts as
were to tell bright;--Classic and Renaissance mouldings, however, are
alone treated of here.
[Illustration: FIG. 67.--The ovolo or echinus from the Erechtheum,
enriched.]
[Illustration: FIG. 68.--The cavetto moulding.]
[Illustration: FIG. 69.--The cyma recta.]
In the best periods of ancient art it was the invariable custom to adopt
a form nearly like the profile or section of the moulding, and to double
it for the basis of its decoration, and nothing could produce a more
pleasing and artistic result, for then the moulding never lost its
character, however elaborately it might be enriched. The diagrams from
Figs. 67 to 78 will help to illustrate this: for instance, at Fig. 67 we
have the Greek ovolo, ornamented with eggs, called
[Illustration: FIG. 70.--The Greek ogee with water leaf ornament.]
by the Greeks “turnip stones,” which resemble the section of the
moulding doubled; at 70 and 73 the Greek ogee is shown with the water
leaf ornament
[Illustration: FIG. 71.--Roman variety of the ornament on the ogee.]
used to enrich it, for which we have no distinctive name--it is called
by the French “_Rais de Cœur_,” and resembles the section of the
moulding doubled; at 71 is a Roman variation of this ornament; at 68, a
Roman cavetto, or hollow; at 69, a “cyma recta.” Fig. 77 is a curved
“astragal” or bead moulding; and at Fig. 78 is the bead and reel
ornament. (See also Figs. 72 and 73 for examples of Greek bead and reel
ornament.) Figs. 74, 75, and 76 are examples of ornament used for flat
bands or fascias. When these are sunk with semi-circular or elliptical
channels they are called “fluted,” and when raised in relief “reeded.”
[Illustration: FIG. 72.--Decorated mouldings from the temple of Minerva
Polias at Athens, ogee, ovolo, and beads.]
We may next briefly speak of the ornamental treatment of floors, walls,
and ceilings.
Beginning with the floor, it must be remembered that in floor decoration
the sense of flatness should be preserved; raised and especially angular
surfaces are to be avoided, and what is unpleasant to use is unpleasant
to be suggested for use, though the Assyrians used relief on their
floors. Whether the
[Illustration: FIG. 73.--Greek cyma reversa or ogee decorated with the
water leaf, a fret ornament carved on upper fillet, and a bead and reel
below.]
[Illustration: 74. From Jupiter Tonans.
75. From the Forum of Nerva.
76. From the Temple of Jupiter Stator.
FIGS. 74 to 76.--Fluted ornaments.]
decoration be obtained by carpets, rugs, floor-cloth, inlaid marble or
metal, mosaic, tiles, or parquetry, nothing should be introduced to
disturb the flatness,
[Illustration: FIGS. 76 A and 76 B.--Reeded ornaments for flat bands.]
by shading the forms or by imitating mouldings, or a ridge and furrow.
All realistic renderings of animals
[Illustration: FIG. 77.--Astragal or bead moulding.]
[Illustration: FIG. 78.--Bead and reel.]
or plants should be carefully avoided. The colour may be varied, but
evenly distributed, and mostly sober; though the Romans sometimes used
lapis lazuli for their floors, or encrusted them with gems, and the
Byzantines used gold or silver chased and enriched with niello. Mosaic
work applied to floors was an early form of decoration, and is still of
a high order in the scale of floor decorations, the highest
[Illustration: FIG. 79.--Opus Alexandrinum from a pavement in the Church
of San Marco (Rome).]
being marble inlaid with other marbles or with mastic, like those in the
Baptistery at Florence and the Cathedral at Siena. The use of marble or
tiles in this country is limited to the floors of museums, baths, halls
and passages; on account of their coldness, they cannot be used with
comfort in ordinary rooms. Mosaic may be treated with borders and lines
like the framing of a picture, with the field (or central space) either
plain, powdered with spots of decoration, or covered with a pattern.
Black and white is the most dignified treatment. If other colours are
used, black with pale red or cream colour, or low-toned reds, greens,
greys, and yellows are to be preferred. Opus Alexandrinum is one of the
most magnificent floor decorations yet used; rectangular or circular
slabs of porphyry are surrounded with bands composed of geometrical
figures in purple, green, and black porphyry, on a white marble ground,
though marble occasionally takes the place of porphyry in the smaller
geometrical patterns. (See Fig. 79.)
Floor-cloths and linoleums are of modern introduction. The decoration of
these coverings is best when it is of subdued colours treated flatly.
In carpets, the pattern should, as a rule, radiate from geometric
points; at least the more important spots should be on a circular,
lozenge, or square basis, so that the eye should not be carried in one
particular direction. If animals are used, they should have a simple
outline, and should be treated flatly. Realistic flowers, birds, human
figures, landscapes, and architecture are out of place on carpets. A
border always improves a carpet, if properly designed to harmonize with
the centre, or to enhance its value.
Walls may be decorated with metals or marbles; with wood panelling,
either plain, moulded, inlaid, carved or incised; with plaster flatly
embossed or sunk, or in which stones, shells or looking-glass, &c. is
embedded; with plain colour, with painted or stencilled patterns; with
furs or feather work; with hangings of velvet, satin, silk, or calico,
either plain, enriched, or embroidered; by tapestry, matting, stamped
leather or
[Illustration: FIGS. 80 to 83.--Improper arrangements for wall-papers or
room decoration.]
its imitations, and by paper-hangings. If pictures are to be hung on a
wall, it is obvious that a low-toned decoration, that will set them off,
is alone admissible; since the pictures themselves are the principal
decoration, the walls should be treated as an unobtrusive background.
The best decoration for appearance after simple colour or a painted
pattern is silk or woven stuffs.[6] If paper-hangings be chosen, they
should have a uniform pattern and be free from spots; for the eye should
not be arrested by any particular form, nor be forcibly carried in any
direction. In illustration of this, we may suppose the diagrams, Figs.
80, 81, 82, and 83, to represent decorated wall spaces. All these
decorative arrangements are bad as wall-coverings; but by combining
their elements, at Fig. 84 a tolerably good paper-hanging is produced
that will form a background for furniture and pictures.
[Illustration: FIG. 84.--Arrangement for the lines of a wall-paper.]
The diagram, Fig. 80, arrests the eye; 81 and 82 tend to exaggerate the
height or breadth of the room; for patterns in which vertical or
horizontal lines predominate will have the effect of lengthening or
widening the surface of the wall; whilst the diagram 83, being composed
of oblique lines, will not only give a look of weakness to the wall, but
will lead the eye from one corner of the room to the other. A pattern,
to be satisfactory as a background, should neither arrest the eye nor
carry it in any particular direction.
The height of a real dado generally depends on the height of the
chair-backs, but it may be influenced by the height of the ceiling, and
partly by the use to which the room is put; high wainscoting prevents
small-sized pictures from being seen. If the wainscot
[Illustration: FIGS. 85 to 87.--Fillings of ceilings showing various
schemes of all-over effects.]
be higher than the centre of the wall, the upper part of the wall may
have a stronger decoration with a more flowing pattern than would be
admissible on a
[Illustration: FIG. 88.--Portion of the ceiling of vestibule of Sacristy
of S. Spirito (Florence) by Sansovino.]
wall with lower wainscoting. If there be a frieze in the room, a still
freer and more pictorial treatment may be allowed on it. The Greeks
called the frieze Zoophoros, or life-bearing, because it was generally
[Illustration: FIG. 89.--Ceiling from Serlio’s architecture.]
adorned with figures of men or animals. Wall spaces need not be panelled
in small rooms, as the window-openings, doors, and fireplaces mostly
break up the space sufficiently. If the rooms, though small, are high, a
dado and a frieze are improvements. On ceilings there is more room for
variety and elaboration. There are many ways of decorating ceilings. We
may take the cornice as the frame, and regard the ceiling as the space
to decorate; the simplest way is to powder it (Fig. 85), or to cover it
over with a scroll-work pattern (Fig. 86). An effective treatment
consists in lightly covering the field with a pattern steadied by
labels, shields, or medallions (Fig. 87).
In dividing a ceiling into panels, either by painting or by relief work,
the centre panel or compartment should generally be larger than any of
the others (see Fig. 89, and 92 at B), though there are excellent
Renaissance ceilings divided into equal panels. When the ceiling is
unequally divided, the spaces should be in harmonic proportion, so that
no two series of panels shall be the same width; this, however, does not
apply to the widths of the stiles and rails, which should be alike.
Figs. 88 and 89 show such arrangements. Care must be taken in designing
the subdivisions of ceilings that the panels, interspaces, and mouldings
are well contrasted. A safe guide for the designer in obtaining the
requisite proportions is to be found in the Roman ceilings, although
those of which drawings are preserved were mostly vaulted. For flat
ceilings, good examples may be studied of the best period of Italian
Renaissance (Fig. 88), and in both cases the mouldings of the panels are
usually given. Where a ceiling to be decorated is divided by beams, the
panelling, if admissible, should be repeated in the different
compartments. Ceilings of corridors or long rooms may be harmonically
divided across at discretion.
Relief work or modelled ornament on ceilings should be so regulated that
the light from windows or from artificial illumination should cause
little cast shadow, only enough to define the outline; the forms should
be carefully rounded off in the more important masses to lessen the
abruptness of cast shadow. A preponderance of light in the larger
masses, connected and softened by lower tones, is commonly adopted.
On the carved surface itself, the play of light and shade should be
quite secondary, and not compete in strength with the deeper shadows
cast by the ornament on its ground. If this be not attended to,
confusion and obscurity are apt to be produced.
A nice balancing of light and shade is of the greatest importance in
relief ornament. It may here be remarked, that for outdoor work in a
sunny climate, a lower relief in the carving and more delicacy in the
mouldings is admissible, than in a misty one like ours, where strong
sunlight rarely occurs; and for this reason a bolder treatment of relief
is necessary, which allows of a coarser material being used. Before
leaving the subject of relief ornament, it would be as well to state,
that no carved decoration should be fastened on to a ceiling or panel,
but should be worked out of the material itself; and also that where
human figures are used on ceilings, they must be so arranged as to be
seen from the heads at the most important point in the room; seen from
the feet the figures appear to be upside down.