ADDRESSES ON DECORATIVE COLOUR 483

was an example of the fourteenth century, containing nothing but outline. They would observe that there was a blue bird in the composition, which appeared all but animated because it was, as far as it went, so beautifully drawn. This example, and some of the others, would, however, appear to those who were close to them somewhat coarse, in consequence of their having been considerably enlarged from the original MS. But there might be as much perception of nature in working out these mere outlines as in working out a fully shadowed drawing, like one he now exhibited (a bunch of leaves very far inferior as a work of art to either of the examples of MS. shown), and it was much better that they should possess, for the purposes of decoration generally, the daring conventionality of colour shown in other specimens he submitted to them with pure outline, than that they should be imitators of the spurious examples produced by painters who could not paint, and which violated the eye wherever they were seen. He had said that the peculiar character of the decorative work of the thirteenth century was the introduction of nature, and that was the circumstance that would make it especially agreeable to those who pursued this art now, if it could (as he hoped) be revived amongst us. In practising it, they need not limit themselves to birds and leaves, as in the examples before them, but might avail themselves of every natural object. As soon as they could trace an outline correctly, he wanted them to watch closely every living object around them-groups of children in the streets, leaves, trees, birds, and the animals in the Zoological Gardens; but he would warn them against introducing too much; and when they were painting, let them never introduce the same letter twice, or the same figure or animal twice in the same composition.

11. Now, what were the fields for an occupation of this kind? This was a serious question, and unless the change took place which he was now striving to bring about, he found himself wedged in between two difficulties. He frequently received letters from persons who said to him, “Build us a house, or paint us a room in this way.” The reply he was compelled to make was, that he had not the workmen who could do it; and then it was said, naturally enough, that he was a humbug. He went to the workmen, and they said, “We cannot devote our time to that kind of work; there is no demand for it, and we could not earn our money by it.” Now, he had asked the students and workmen to come together there that day, that they might aid him in the attempt to revive the art to which he had been directing their attention, by recommending to those by whom they were employed to introduce this kind of decoration wherever opportunity offered. There was a great field for it in ornamenting the interiors of churches. There was the lettering of the Commandments, and the writing over the Communion-table, the windows, or other ornamental work, where illuminated letters might be introduced with great effect. The patterns might be perpetually varied, and animals, birds, leaves, trees, and other natural objects might be made to give life and diversity to them. But he would urge upon them, whenever they were required to paint anything in a church, to do it as well as they could, and to introduce as much of nature as they could in a graceful manner. Then there was the decoration of rooms-though upon that point he confessed he was much at sea and saw considerable difficulty, for he liked good pictures and prints in rooms, and

[Version 0.04: March 2008]