I. _Object of Ornamental Art._--The object or purpose of ornament, as in
the other fine arts, is to please. In music and poetry this enjoyment is
conveyed to the mind through the ear; in the decorative and pictorial arts,
through the eye. Generally, the meaning that we find in such productions,
the appeal that they make to the understanding or feelings, is as great a
source of interest to us as their intrinsic beauty. Poetry and vocal music
are greatly dependent for their effect upon the meaning they convey in
words; painting and sculpture, upon the ideas or sentiments they suggest.
In all four, however, and most decidedly in music unaccompanied by words,
the appeal is frequently made almost exclusively to the æsthetic sense, the
mind or intellect remaining almost dormant under the impression. Gems of
rhythmical verse, such as Poe's "Bells," "The Raven," Whistler's
"Symphonies in Color," nameless forms in statuary, expressionless save in
the mere beauty of their proportions and curves, and, as has been stated,
nearly the entire field of instrumental music, are cases in point. In the
ornamental and decorative arts, as well as in architecture (from which they
are indeed inseparable), beauty alone, in like manner, should be the
principal aim and purpose. In the former, of course, it is indispensable
that such should be the case, as they are entirely subordinate and
accessory in their nature, their only _raison d'etre_ being to beautify or
render more agreeable objects already created for some purpose.
It must not be imagined that such artistic impressions--viz., where the
appeal is made almost solely to the æsthetic sense, regardless of the
reason, judgment, or feelings--are necessarily of a lower order. Their
effect is almost analogous to that which nature herself produces upon
us--the starry heavens, the mighty ocean, the tender flower. The
impression, whether the object belongs to the domain of nature or art, may
be a merely sensuous one; and if it stops there, as it certainly does for
the majority of people, it ranks without doubt far below productions where
the æsthetic element is only used to stimulate and heighten the appeal to
the mind or the feelings. But if it extend beyond, and makes the sensuous
impression but the parting link to the contemplation of ideal, abstract
beauty, without the intermediate aid of the heart or the reason, it is the
shortest and quickest road toward the realization of the infinite, and
makes us indeed feel that it is but a short step "from nature up to
nature's God." Thus architecture, which embodies, more than any other of
the space arts, principles of abstract beauty, has been with reason called
the noblest of them all.
However, ornamental and architectural forms frequently do convey a meaning,
which we term symbolism in art. If this symbolism does not detract from the
first object of ornament--viz., to beautify--it is perfectly legitimate and
proper. It is impossible to fully appreciate many phases of art, as, for
instance, the Egyptian and the early Christian, if we leave out of sight
the symbolism which pervades them.
While beauty, or capacity for pleasing the eye, may be very definitely said
to be the aim of ornamental art, it is difficult to arrive at a universal
standard as to what constitutes beauty. What pleases one person will not
always please another. The child loves glittering objects and gaudy
combinations, which the mature taste of the man declares extravagant and
unharmonious. Savages decorate their weapons, utensils, and their own
persons with ornaments that appear uncouth and barbarous to civilized
people.
Besides these differences in taste, which are due to different degrees of
mental development, and which can consequently be easily disposed of, we
find among highly civilized and cultured nations, at different periods, a
great diversity of tastes. These varying and sometimes apparently
conflicting products of ornamental art we designate as styles, viz.,
Egyptian style, Greek style, Gothic style, etc. So marked are the
differences between them that we can sometimes tell at a glance to what
period and to what style a small fragment of decoration belongs.
Notwithstanding these differences, which at first may appear very great, a
careful study of the best styles--those that achieved the greatest and most
lasting popularity--will reveal the fact that they are all based upon
certain fundamental laws and principles, and that all are good, bad, or
indifferent according as they conform to or violate these principles. These
essentials having been preserved, the opportunities for the exercise of
individual or national taste are almost boundless.
II. _Position of Ornament._--The position that ornament occupies is
necessarily a secondary one, as it cannot exist independently, but is
always applied to objects created for some purpose entirely independent of
their capacity for pleasing. This gives us one of the great underlying
principles that should characterize all ornament, viz., _it must be
subordinate to the object which it adorns, and must not detract from its
use_. We often see this rule violated in personal, household, and
architectural decoration--windows so overloaded with projecting cornices
and lattice work as to almost exclude light and air; knife handles carved
so elaborately that it is impossible to grasp them firmly; styles of dress
in form or color that impede the motions of the wearer, and make the
clothes, rather than the personality of the wearer, the most noticeable
feature. From this principle there is but a step to another: _All ornament
should be modest and moderate_. It must not obtrude itself, and a great
profusion and ostentation in its application is always a sign of degeneracy
and bad taste. Of course some objects, from their nature, position, and
use, will admit of greater and more elaborate ornament than others.
Ornament, being entirely subordinate, should not conceal the construction
of the object. In architecture it should follow the leading lines of the
building, and should emphasize, or at least suggest, the construction. If
architectural in character, it should so enter into the construction of the
building that it could not be taken away without injuring it.
We must feel that a column, no matter how beautiful, is supporting
something. A floor, always a plane surface, must not be tiled or decorated
in any way to express relief. This would apparently destroy the essential
constructive quality of a floor, viz., flatness. For the same reason, all
shams, such as painted arches, pillars, etc., are not legitimate. As long
as they do not actually exist, they are evidently not necessary to the
construction, and have no purpose save an imaginary decorative one, and in
the words of Owen Jones, _construction must be decorated--not decoration
constructed_.
III. _Scope of Ornament._--The scope of ornamental art is almost boundless.
It is applied to objects large and small, adapted to the most various uses,
constructed of the most different materials. As the ornamentation is always
to be subordinate to the object, considerations regarding size, use,
position, material, etc., must govern it. An ornament that would be
admirable applied to one object, might be detestable if applied to another.
A design cannot be made without reference to its future application.
First: The material must be considered. Heavy and hard materials, such as
wood and stone, will not admit of as delicate curves and lines as textile
fabrics, such as cotton and woolen goods, laces, etc.
Second: The manner in which the article is to be made, whether by weaving,
cutting, carving, casting, etc.
Third: The position the object is to occupy. If elevated or otherwise
remote from the eye, elaborate finish and minute detail are useless.
Ornamental art, from time immemorial, has attained its greatest excellence
and exercised its greatest influence in connection with architecture.
In fact, the study of ornament is inseparable from that of architecture. It
is upon architectural forms that the greatest artists have in all ages
expended their greatest efforts and skill, and in a treatise on historic
ornament they are decidedly the most interesting and important object of
study.
IV. _Material of Ornament._--The two great sources of ornament are geometry
and nature. The latter includes the former; for not only must natural
forms, in order to be available as material for ornament, be first
conventionalized, or reduced to regular, symmetrical, geometric outlines,
but any and all designs, whether the unit of repetition be geometric or
conventional, must be founded upon geometric construction. This refers to
the regularity, repetition, and distribution of parts; so that every good
design, if reduced to its principal lines of construction, would exhibit
but a few geometric lines and inclosing spaces. Many designs are not only
geometric in their basis or plan, but make use of geometric figures as the
units or materials of design. Such designs, however, rank lower than those
in which natural forms conventionalized are taken as the subjects of
repetition; and as the ornament rises in the scale toward perfection, even
the geometric basis becomes less and less apparent, and sinks into a
decidedly subordinate position; so that in many of the most perfect
specimens it can be traced only in a few leading lines of the composition.
Its presence, however, is necessary, and is the foundation, if not the most
important element, of beauty in the design.