International studio (51.1913/1914)

Mural Decoration in the State Capitol of Wisconsin

The mural decoration in the
STATE CAPITOL OF WISCONSIN
PAINTED BY HUGO BALLIN
BY ADA RAINEY
American Art for Americans is becoming more
and more of a reality, and better still, it is be-
coming more recognized as an important element
in our national life. We are increasingly becom-
ing aware that beauty has utility, that it has a
tremendous influence upon the life and character
of the body politic. And so more frequently are
our State capitols and other public buildings being
decorated in a'manner suited to the new spirit—
America expressing herself in her own way.
Mural painting is an important element in the
art life of a community and we have heretofore
been sadly lacking in its expression. It is only
until within the last twenty-five years that we
have had architects. Formerly we had builders
and contractors who were quite oblivious to the
fact that a house or public building was something
else than a pile of bricks and mortar. It is only
within the past twenty-five years that the need
for architects has been recognized. And most of
these architects have quite ignored the possibility
of mural painting. Now, however, the architects
are beginning to plan spaces for decoration and
are realizing what an important factor artistic
decoration is. When a picture is painted to
occupy a particular place, it has a certain per-
manency and is more significant artistically than
an easel painting, for when art becomes portable
it loses much. The greatest works of the Renais-

sance when painting was at its height, were
mural. It is only when a country expresses it-
self in mural paintings that it attains to true
artistic self-expression. Easel pictures always are
individual and particular, because portraits, figure
pieces or landscapes small enough to hang in
private houses can never be so truly expressive of
the life of the nation as a whole, can never so
appeal to large numbers, as mural paintings in a
public building and which fully express the life
or ideals of the community .that surges round it
as a centre.
So it is with joy we hail the growing tendency
in America to give more importance to this branch
of art, for it is a sign of the great awakening of our
people to artistic life.
The decorations of the Wisconsin State Capitol
at Madison, have recently been completed and
are in line with this newly awakened interest.
Several important mural decorators have worked
upon the building, notably Kenyon Cox, E. H.
Blashfield, J. W. Alexander, whose paintings are
not yet in place, and Hugo Ballin. The latter
decorated entirely the Governor’s room.
The new capitol building was designed by
George W. Post & Sons at a cost of six million
dollars. It is in the form of a Greek Cross with
a large dome at the intersection. Daniel C.
French, Karl Bitter, A. A. Weinman and Piccirilli
have each executed a tympanum in marble for
the four ends of the building. The Governor’s
room which contains Mr. Ballin’s decorations,
is a reproduction in form of the great Sala del
Consiglio in the Doges Palace in Venice. The

LABOUR AND THE SPIRITS OF RAIN AND SUNSHINE BY HUGO BALLIN


CLXXXVII