The Sculpture and Mural Decorations of the Exposition: A Pictorial Survey of the Art of the Panama-Pacific international expositionPerry, Stella G. S. (Stella George Stern)
General
The Sculpture and Mural Decorations of the Exposition: A Pictorial Survey of the Art of the Panama-Pacific international exposition
Perry, Stella G. S. (Stella George Stern)
Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915 : San Francisco, Calif.); Sculpture, American
A surpassingly beautiful contribution to the Exposition art has been
made by Bruno Louis Zimm in his panels of Greek culture. These lovely
panels in low relief, surely worthy of a permanent medium, are set in
the attic of the Rotunda or Belvedere before the Palace of Fine Arts,
used and known as the Temple of Sculpture. The panels express not so
much the historical Greek tradition - though they are, indeed, produced
in the purest Greek manner - as they do the high spirit and ideals of
Greek art, the devoted seeking for divine fire, the determined
opposition to the trivial and the base. Each of the panels is once
repeated. The panel of "The Triumph of Apollo" shows the fiery god of
Inspiration, Music and the Sun in a procession of worshipers; his
flaming wings are the rays of the sun. The panel of "The Unattainable in
Art" might well be called "The Struggle for the Beautiful." It pictures
the unending struggle with the gross and stupid, both objective and
subjective, that confronts the champion of the beautiful. Art stands
serene, aloof, unassailable in the center of the fray. The panel of
"Pegasus" shows the winged steed of the poets controlled by a true
aspirant, attended by Music, Literature and Art.
Guardian of the Arts
Attic of Fine Arts Rotunda
Two stately "Guardians of the Arts," one male, one female, of godlike
proportions and great dignity, are placed in the attic of the Fine Arts
Rotunda, separating the panels of Greek culture. They are the work of
Ulric H. Ellerhusen, who has shown a keen perception of the structural
necessities involved in these immense details. The Rotunda of Fine Arts,
the temple of Sculpture, is one of the most interesting architectural
features of the Exposition. It is the culminating beauty of the
marvelous colonnade of Fine Arts Palace, its chief distinction. Within
are some of the treasures of the exhibit sculpture. Under the arching
dome are Robert Reid's mural paintings described in a later place. The
Weeping Figures on top of the colonnade itself are also by Mr.
Ellerhusen. They express the humility that ennobles the true artistic
spirit and distinguishes it from the spurious. Instead of the
self-satisfied Triumph or Victory that might be expected to crown this
last of the Exposition palaces, these represent the spirit of Art
weeping at the impossibility of achieving her dreams.
Priestess of Culture
Within the Fine Arts Rotunda
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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