The mural paintings in, the Court of Abundance consist of eight panels
by Frank Brangwyn, perhaps the greatest living mural decorator, placed
in the four corners of the cloister. Though not entirely in key with the
color scheme and not an integral part of the court as a whole, these are
distinctly the works of a master. Ultra-learned critics will tell you
that they fail as decorations, since they are interesting as individual
pictures rather than as panels heightening the architectural charm. But
their placing shows clearly that there was no intention that they should
appear as part of the architectural scheme. It is better to accept them
as pictures, forgetting the set standards by which one ordinarily judges
mural painting.
The eight paintings represent the elements: two panels each for Fire,
Earth, Air and Water. There are no conventional figures here
personifying the elements, but scenes from the life of intensely human
people, typifying the uses to which man has put the elements.
Fire. Beginning on the tower side of the court, at the northeast corner,
are the two panels representing Fire. The one on the north wall is
called "Primitive Fire." A group of figures surround a fire, some
nursing it and some holding out their hands to the heat, while a man at
the back brings fagots. Note the color accents in the robes of the three
standing figures.
"Industrial Fire," on the east wall, represents the bringing of fire
into the service of man. In some particulars this is among the finest of
the paintings, but the transverse cloud of smoke seems to break it
awkwardly.
Earth is represented in the two panels in the northwest corner. The one
on the north wall is entitled "The Fruit Pickers," typifying the wealth
of products that man obtains from the earth. This is perhaps the richest
of the panels, in the profusion of color and of alluring form.
The panel on the west wall is "The Dancing of the Grapes," a variation
of the theme of "The Fruit Pickers." It tells the story of the grape:
above are the pickers and the harvesters with baskets; at the right two
figures dancing to crush the juices from the grapes; and in the
foreground a group with the finished wine. The confusion of figures at
first is puzzling; but viewed simply as a spotting of bright colors
there is no finer panel among them all. It is better to stand well back
along the colonnade, and forgetting the subject, to delight in the
purely sensuous impression.
Air is represented in the two panels in the southwest corner. The one on
the south wall is called "The Hunters." The theme is suggested in the
idea of the arrows fleeing on the wings of the air, and also by the
flight of birds above.
The panel on the west wall is called "The Windmill." Note how the
feeling of moving air is suggested everywhere: in the skies at the back,
in the clouds and the kites, in the trees and the grain-field, in the
draperies, and even in the figures themselves that are braced against
the wind. The coloring is glorious, and the composition fine. The
disposition of masses of light and dark is notable the dark figures
grouped against the golden grain, and the gold-brown windmill against
the dark sky. No panel in the grounds will better repay intensive study.
Water is represented in the panels of the southwest corner of the court.
The one on the south wall is called "The Net," and typifies the wealth
that man draws from the water. A group of fishermen are hauling in a
net, and carriers bring baskets at the back.
"The Fountain," the panel on the east wall, shows a group of people who
have come to fill their jars at a spring. The colors here are softer,
though quite as rich as elsewhere. The lower half of the painting is,
indeed, like a richly colored mosaic.
After examining "The Fountain" at close range it is well to step back to
the middle of this south corridor. Look first at "The Windmill" and then
turn to look again at "The Fountain." Note, how, when the subjects are
once understood, the great distance increases rather than decreases the
charm of the paintings. Note especially how beautiful each one is when
considered merely as a pattern of color. These two panels, if not the
finest of all, at least must take rank among the best three or four.