The City of Domes : a walk with an architect about the courts and palaces of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, with a discussion of its architecture, its sculpture, its mural decorations, its coloring and its lighting, preceded by a history of its growthBarry, John D. (John Daniel)
History
The City of Domes : a walk with an architect about the courts and palaces of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, with a discussion of its architecture, its sculpture, its mural decorations, its coloring and its lighting, preceded by a history of its growth
Barry, John D. (John Daniel)
Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915 : San Francisco, Calif.)
As we entered the Court of the Four Seasons the architect said: "If I
were to send a student of architecture to this Exposition, I should
advise him to spend most of his time here. Of all the courts, it
expresses for me the best architectural traditions. Henry Bacon frankly
took Hadrian's Villa for his model, and he succeeded in keeping every
feature classic. That half dome is an excellent example of a style
cultivated by the Romans. The four niches with the groups of the
seasons, by Piccirilli, screened behind the double columns, come from a
detail in the baths of Caracalla. The Romans liked to glimpse scenes or
statuary through columns. Guerin has applied a rich coloring, his
favorite pink, and McLaren has added a poetic touch by letting garlands
of the African dew plant, that he made his hedge of, flow over from the
top. See how Bacon has used the bull's head between the flowers in the
ornamentation, one of the most popular of the Renaissance motives. And
he has introduced an original detail by letting ears of corn hang from
the top of the columns. Those bulls up there, with the two figures,
carry the mind back to the days when the Romans made a sacrifice of the
sacred bull in the harvest festivals. This Thanksgiving of theirs they
called 'The Feast of the Sacrifice.' "
Crowning the half dome sat the lovely figure of Nature, laden with
fruits, by Albert Jaegers. On the columns at either side stood two other
figures by Jaegers, "Rain," holding out a shell to catch the drops, and
"Sunshine," with a palm branch close to her eyes. At each base the
figures of the harvesters carried out the agricultural idea with
elemental simplicity in friezes that recalled the friezes on the
Parthenon. Here, on each side of the half-dome, we have a good example
of the composite column, a combination of the Corinthian and the Ionic,
with the Ionic scrolls and the acanthus underneath, and with little
human figures between the two.
What we liked best about this court was its feeling of intimacy. One
could find refreshment here and rest. Much was due to the graceful
planting by John McLaren. His masses of deep green around the emerald
pool in the center were particularly successful. He had used many kinds
of trees, including the olive, the acacia, the eucalyptus, the cypress,
and the English laurel.
We lingered in front of these fountains, admiring the classic grace of
the groups and the play of water over the steps. We thought that
Piccirilli had been most successful with his "Spring." "Of course, it's
very conventional work," said the architect, "but the conventional has
its place here. It explains just why Milton Bancroft worked out those
murals of his in this particular way. He wanted to express the elemental
attitude of mind toward nature, the artistic childhood of the race."
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