International studio (25.1905)

CHAPEI. WINDOW DESIGNED BY W. REYNOLDS-STEPHENS
TRACERY BY C. HARRISON TOWNSEND

[[although there is nothing which im-
mediately asserts itself [and insists upon
attention, the more the details are
analysed the more satisfying is the revela-
tion of his inexhaustible variety and of
his cleverness in contriving fresh ways
of expressing his ideas.
Indeed, it would be difficult to find
an example of modern decoration which
will better repay examination part by
part and detail by detail, so as to see
by what thoughtful combination the
whole harmonious effect has been built
up; and it would be still more difficult
to discover one which shows more clearly
what an amount of varied invention is
possible in the filling out of a scheme
which has been largely conceived and
broadly planned. What makes the artist's
success in this case more notable is the
fact that by the very conditions of the
work he had to execute his choice of
decorative motives was circumscribed in
a very perceptible degree. Considerations
of symbolism and association would
clearly be more active in an ecclesiastical
building than in one devoted to ordinary
and everyday purposes, and the field in
which he would be free to gather what
he wanted to use as ornamental acces-
sories would necessarily be hedged round
by very strict limitations. But these
considerations — though he has closely
respected them—have not in any way