Yet, in one view, we may hence date the corruption of art. The
severity of fresco was superseded by the new fascination, and somewhat
of dignity was lost as beauty was more decidedly established. As very
much of the splendour of glass painting was thus introduced in oil,
the greater facility of more correctly representing nature, and
embodying ideas by degrees of opacity, so gave the preference to
oil-painting, that not only the old tempera and fresco were soon
neglected, but painting on glass itself, as if it had done its work,
and transferred its peculiar beauty, lost much of its repute, and, in
no very long time, the processes to which it owed its former glory.
Mr Cleghorn remarks--"Within a few years it has been much cultivated
in Great Britain; and the intended application to the decoration of
the Houses of Parliament will materially conduce to its improvement
and extension." It is unquestionably an art of the greatest importance
in decoration. It has a charm peculiarly its own. It dignifies, it
solemnises by its own light, and is capable of affecting the mind so
as particularly to predispose it to the purposes of architecture. It
encloses a sanctuary, excluding the very atmosphere of the outer
world. There is the impression and the awe of truth under the
searching and embracing light, that should make the utterance of a
falsehood the more mean, even sacrilegious. The art that can have this
power, nor is this its only, though its greater power, is surely to be
cultivated and encouraged extensively. There is now more attention
paid to the architecture and decoration of our churches, and a taste
has sprung up for monumental windows. We cannot resist, therefore, the
temptation to offer a few remarks upon the subject, now that so many
mistaken views are taken as to the proper application of this
beautiful art.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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