DOI Heft:
No. 80 (November, 1899)
DOI Artikel:British decorative art in 1899, and the Arts And Crafts Exhibition, [2]
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19783#0128
Arts and Crafts
asleep. The chased cross itself is full of symbolism,
which he who runs may read, and it will be noticed
that Mr. Fisher knows how to make his symbolic
ornament unobtrusively decorative. Perhaps the
base of the cross invites criticism as being some-
what bald and heavy, though this may be a ques-
tion of opinion. A certain heaviness, too, seems to
be unnecessary in another fine piece ot work here
illustrated, namely, the overmantel in wood and
steel, with a charming enamel inspired by " La
Rosa Mystica." It is fair to add, however, that
this seeming defect will not be felt when the over-
mantel in seen in situ. It is impossible justly to
criticise it away from the surroundings for which
it was designed and executed. For the rest, Mr.
Fisher's work is usually thorough, thoughtful, and
refined, and he has now in hand several pieces
which carry his art to a higher level of achievement
than it has yet reached.
To every one who has followed with interest the
record of Mr. Brangwyn's progress as a painter, it will
be clear that his appearance in the domain of the
applied arts was a fortunate event, for he has always
shown in his paintings a strong and original gift for
decorative form and balance. We need originality
more than anything else in modern decoration, and
Mr. Brangwyn has always had courage enough to
encounter the hard, ill-considered criticisms with
which the new and individual in art is invariably
received at first. We may believe, then, that he
ELECTRIC BRACKET IN STEEL, SILVER, AND BRONZE, WITH ENAMEL
108
BY ALEXANDER FISHER
asleep. The chased cross itself is full of symbolism,
which he who runs may read, and it will be noticed
that Mr. Fisher knows how to make his symbolic
ornament unobtrusively decorative. Perhaps the
base of the cross invites criticism as being some-
what bald and heavy, though this may be a ques-
tion of opinion. A certain heaviness, too, seems to
be unnecessary in another fine piece ot work here
illustrated, namely, the overmantel in wood and
steel, with a charming enamel inspired by " La
Rosa Mystica." It is fair to add, however, that
this seeming defect will not be felt when the over-
mantel in seen in situ. It is impossible justly to
criticise it away from the surroundings for which
it was designed and executed. For the rest, Mr.
Fisher's work is usually thorough, thoughtful, and
refined, and he has now in hand several pieces
which carry his art to a higher level of achievement
than it has yet reached.
To every one who has followed with interest the
record of Mr. Brangwyn's progress as a painter, it will
be clear that his appearance in the domain of the
applied arts was a fortunate event, for he has always
shown in his paintings a strong and original gift for
decorative form and balance. We need originality
more than anything else in modern decoration, and
Mr. Brangwyn has always had courage enough to
encounter the hard, ill-considered criticisms with
which the new and individual in art is invariably
received at first. We may believe, then, that he
ELECTRIC BRACKET IN STEEL, SILVER, AND BRONZE, WITH ENAMEL
108
BY ALEXANDER FISHER