Decorative Art
that form of art that has for its purpose the appropriate adornment of some utilitarian object, thereby adding to its beauty, but not to its usefulness. It differs from the painter's art by being subordinate to the article to which it is applied. It may be divided into (1) architectural decoration and (2) design. Architectural decoration applied to the adornment of special buildings or to the symmetrical combination of buildings in cities is either plastic or chromatic. Plastic decoration may be (1) purely architectural, as for instance, buttresses, cornices, and columns and their capitals, which, while being necessary parts of the building, are carved or molded into beautiful forms; (2) purely ornamental, like flower or scroll work applied to surfaces; or (3) purely plastic like cary atids, or figures of men or animals used in special niches. Chromatic decoration may be done by means of painting in oils or distemper, of mosaics in stone, glass or brick, or of bronze, or other metals. Interior mural painting is also an_important form of decoration.
Design is applied to objects of common use, such as fabrics, wall paper, furniture, household utensils, books and the like, there being few things so utilitarian as to show no trace of it. It is expressed in both form and color.
DECREE This is the earliest form of art, as the work of prehistoric man on bone and weapon shows, beginning as a pictorial representation of their exploits; and also made manifest as an instinct of the race by the way savages tattoo their bodies, carve their totem poles or weapons, weave patterns into their blankets, and decorate their utensils and wigwams. The Greeks reached a high degree of perfection in decorative art, but their efforts were especially applied to their temples and public buildings, and purely architectural. The Romans, especially in later times, showed great skill in frescoing the walls of palaces and private houses with beautiful or grotesque designs, as well as in applied design.
In modern times the French may be called the masters of decorative art, but since the beginning of the 20th century a group of men and women in England and in the United States have attained supremacy in applied design. Mural painting has again come to the front in France, while the United States shows some of the finest examples of modern architectural design and decoration in such buildings as the Boston Public Library and the Congressional Library in Washington. an