DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.13852#0057
22
CREATION OF A WORLD-CENTRE.
solve. Whatever the magnificence of a badly constructed building, the works
of art cannot be classed in it as they should be, and are therefore in danger
of not being properly appreciated. Many of the most famous productions
are to-day housed in galleries that were never intended to receive them, having
been built long ago as palaces for court and state functions. Often the
light is poor and inappropriate and the shape of the rooms unsuited to the
treasures they hold.
Moreover, the defective organisation of some of the largest Museums no
longer corresponds to the methodical and scientific spirit of our times. A
well divided edifice provides a place for each kind of object exhibited, and
prevents the sacrifice of one for another. Whatever system of classification
may be chosen, whether according to epochs or schools, subjects or technique,
the general requirements remain the same. Large sculptured figures origi-
nally intended for the open air, and placed under cover for protection, need
the maximum of day light. Such groups or single figures are seen to best
advantage standing freely in wide ample spaces; in this way spectators,
moving easily about, lose none of the fine proportions of the work.
Therefore, to allow for the maximum of space and for the fullest plav
of light, the Sculpture Galleries have been made very long and wide and
without interior divisions. Two rows of columns, at regular intervals and
near the walls, support a high glass roof. Occupying the whole fagade of
the building these galleries terminate at each end in a circular hall crowned
by a smaller dome. Thus in the centre of the hall, large works standing
isolated and liberally spaced can appear in their full beauty and without
confusion. Smaller figures and groups that need a background, and yet lose
in interest by being backed by a wall, if placed in the vicinity of columns
can be seen to good advantage, and from several points of view. A very
large space thus flooded with light, allows of a simple arrangement whereby
the works may be enjoyed and understood to the full. In appointing,
however, certain rooms for statues and others for paintings, there was no
intention of keeping the two kinds of work studiously separate from each
other. Certain indoor sculptures of a small or medium size may be better
placed in the picture halls than in the two vast and strongly lighted galleries
destined for open air sculpture. Some may be better seen isolated in small
rooms. Carved and chiselled ornaments and furniture may well be placed
in rooms set apart for paintings of a corresponding style, which afford a
complete presentment of the taste and spirit of a given period.
With paintings the ideal arrangement is that the canvasses should hang
in a single row. Small pictures need to be seen at close range and require
a series of small, sometimes even very small rooms, receiving light preferably
from windows. Large pictures in order to be seen from a sufficient distance,
require wide galleries, with plenty of space, and well lighted from the top.
There is no difficulty in grouping these large and small rooms if the latter
CREATION OF A WORLD-CENTRE.
solve. Whatever the magnificence of a badly constructed building, the works
of art cannot be classed in it as they should be, and are therefore in danger
of not being properly appreciated. Many of the most famous productions
are to-day housed in galleries that were never intended to receive them, having
been built long ago as palaces for court and state functions. Often the
light is poor and inappropriate and the shape of the rooms unsuited to the
treasures they hold.
Moreover, the defective organisation of some of the largest Museums no
longer corresponds to the methodical and scientific spirit of our times. A
well divided edifice provides a place for each kind of object exhibited, and
prevents the sacrifice of one for another. Whatever system of classification
may be chosen, whether according to epochs or schools, subjects or technique,
the general requirements remain the same. Large sculptured figures origi-
nally intended for the open air, and placed under cover for protection, need
the maximum of day light. Such groups or single figures are seen to best
advantage standing freely in wide ample spaces; in this way spectators,
moving easily about, lose none of the fine proportions of the work.
Therefore, to allow for the maximum of space and for the fullest plav
of light, the Sculpture Galleries have been made very long and wide and
without interior divisions. Two rows of columns, at regular intervals and
near the walls, support a high glass roof. Occupying the whole fagade of
the building these galleries terminate at each end in a circular hall crowned
by a smaller dome. Thus in the centre of the hall, large works standing
isolated and liberally spaced can appear in their full beauty and without
confusion. Smaller figures and groups that need a background, and yet lose
in interest by being backed by a wall, if placed in the vicinity of columns
can be seen to good advantage, and from several points of view. A very
large space thus flooded with light, allows of a simple arrangement whereby
the works may be enjoyed and understood to the full. In appointing,
however, certain rooms for statues and others for paintings, there was no
intention of keeping the two kinds of work studiously separate from each
other. Certain indoor sculptures of a small or medium size may be better
placed in the picture halls than in the two vast and strongly lighted galleries
destined for open air sculpture. Some may be better seen isolated in small
rooms. Carved and chiselled ornaments and furniture may well be placed
in rooms set apart for paintings of a corresponding style, which afford a
complete presentment of the taste and spirit of a given period.
With paintings the ideal arrangement is that the canvasses should hang
in a single row. Small pictures need to be seen at close range and require
a series of small, sometimes even very small rooms, receiving light preferably
from windows. Large pictures in order to be seen from a sufficient distance,
require wide galleries, with plenty of space, and well lighted from the top.
There is no difficulty in grouping these large and small rooms if the latter