Bulls on pylons. The finest sculpture here is to be found in the groups
capping the pylons at the entrance to the minor north court. Though
called by the artist "The Feast of Sacrifice," these are commonly known
as "The Bulls." The group, which is duplicated, shows a bull being led
to sacrifice by a youth and a maid, and is reminiscent of the
harvest-time celebrations of ancient peoples. But it is just as well to
forget the subject, and to admire purely for the sensuous charm-for
the beauty of outline, the fine modeling, and the remarkable sense of
spirited action. Note the three figures individually: the nobly animated
bull, the magnificently set-up youth, and the strong yet graceful
maiden; then note how the sacrificial garland holds the whole group
together and makes it richer. Note, too, how the forward-moving lines of
the bull are accentuated on one side by the similar lines of the youth's
body, and on the other by the contrasting lines of the girl's. Putting
aside any question of meaning, there is not in any of the courts a
nobler bit of decorative work than this. Albert Jaegers was the
sculptor.
Figures surmounting columns. On the two columns before the half-dome are
Albert Jaegers' figures of "Rain" and "Sunshine." At the right, as one
faces the dome, Rain is typified by a woman shielding her head with her
mantle and holding out a shell to catch the water. At the left Sunshine
is represented by a woman shielding her head from the sun's rays with a
palm-branch. Both figures are characterized by a sense of richness, of
fullness, that is perfectly in keeping with the spirit of the court. In
commenting on these statues, in one of his lectures on the art of the
Exposition, Eugen Neuhaus, the well-known California painter, suggested
very appropriately that the court should have been named for them "The
Court of the Two Seasons" since in California the only noticeable
seasonal change is from a sunny period to a rainy period.
Group surmounting half-dome. This shows a conventional seated figure of
Harvest, with an overflowing cornucopia. At one side a child-figure bows
under a load of fruit. This group also is by Albert Jaegers. Here, as in
"Rain" and "Sunshine," there is a sense of fruitfulness, of profuseness,
a maternal suggestion that helps to carry out the symbolism of the
court. In all three of these statues, too, there is something of the
nobility and massiveness that distinguish the same artist's "bull"
groups across the court. All are eminently suited to the massive Roman
architecture; nowhere else have sculptor and architect worked together
more successfully.
Fountains of the Seasons. In the niches formed at the corners of the
court by the diagonal colonnades are novel fountains, surmounted by
groups representing the four seasons. It is well to go first to the
southwest corner, to the "Fountain of Spring"; then to the northwest
corner, for "Summer"; and so on around the court. If one is ever puzzled
to understand from the figures which season is represented, a glance at
the labeled murals up above in the corridor will give the proper title
for statue and murals of each season are grouped together.
Spring. A young woman draws a floral garland over her head, while at her
right a love-lorn youth turns a pleading face to her, and at her left a
girl brings armfuls of flowers.
Summer. To a man a woman holds up a babe, symbol of the summer of human
life, while at one side a crouching figure holds a sheaf of full-headed
grain.
Autumn. The central figure is a woman of generous build with a jar on
her shoulder-quite the usual personification of Autumn or
fruitfulness. At one side a young woman holds a garland of grapes, and
at the other is a girl with a babe. This last figure is perhaps the most
graceful in all the four groups, though the same sort of loveliness
distinguishes to a certain extent the two flower-girls of "Spring."
Altogether, this "Autumn" fountain is probably the finest of the four.
Winter. The central figure is Nature, in the nakedness of winter,
resting after the harvests of autumn and waiting for the birth of
spring. At one side a man with a spade rests, while on the other a man
with a seed-bag is already beginning to sow. Although all the figures of
"The Fountains of the Seasons" are nude, there is about this group a
sense of cold nakedness that well accords with the season it portrays.
These four groups are very properly alike in composition and
feeling-suggesting perhaps that the differences between the seasons in
California are but slight. There is throughout a conventional touch, and
all are in pastoral mood. The groups are by Furio Piccirilli.
The Fountain of Ceres is in the north extension of the court, between
the Palace of Food Products and the Palace of Agriculture. The
surmounting figure is of Ceres, Greek goddess of the fields and
especially of corn. The bas-relief frieze represents a group of dancers,
suggestive of the seasonal festivals of the Greeks. The main figure has
been much criticized, but an unbiased critic may find much in the
fountain to praise. The pedestal and the crowning figure are well
thought out, and the proportions of the whole are good; and there is a
feeling of classic simplicity throughout. The frieze of dancing girls,
too, is exceptionally graceful. If, then, one discovers that Ceres is
more mature than a goddess ever ought to be, or that her face suggests
that of an exasperated school-teacher, or if one finds the cornstalk in
her hand a realistic thing incompatible with any poetic conception, it
is well to step back until one gets only the general effect. For there
is much to admire in the poise of the figure, in the decorative outline,
and in the sculptor's lightness of touch. The fountain was designed by
Evelyn Beatrice Longman.
Minor Sculptures. On the archways at east and west of the court a
high-relief figure by August Jaegers is repeated eight times, and the
spandrels over the arches are by the same artist. In both cases the idea
of abundance or fruitfulness again supplies the motive. The boxes at the
bases of the columns on which "Rain" and "Sunshine" stand are decorated
with agricultural scenes in low relief. The capitals at the tops of
these columns are enriched with groups of agricultural figures. Within
the archways at east and west the ceilings are decorated with delicate
bas-relief designs, patterned after the famous ones at Villa Maderna,
Rome.