The Decorative Twenties by Martin Battersby (review)

184 Books volumes is to provide practical illustrated guides towards understanding the various arts and developing the perceptual skills and intellectual attitudes that will make art more meaningful to the spectator. The approach here is not an historical one of describing a progression of styles, though this and other information is included where it aids understanding . Rather emphasis is on analyzing the elements that form the structure of art to help one to know what to look for and to sharpen ones sense of feeling and perception. In Architecture, Gauldie makes the important observation that our reaction to a building relates to our bodily sense ofmovement, balance, measure and rhythm. This, ofcourse, is also true for our reaction to the other arts but perhaps not as much as for our enjoyment of architecture that the author perspicaciously likens to simultaneously viewing and participating in a performance. In various chapters he discusses: scale, order and rhythm; weight, force and mass; space; shape; decoration; light. Architecture is seen as the resolution of a dialogue between the demands of space and structure, the eloquence with which this is achieved determining a building's artistic value. The vital role of architecture in creating an environment that can either enrich man's life or, on the contrary, diminish him as a human being, is indicated , and, consequently, the importance of developing our critical faculties so that we can intelligently demand the kind of environment that enhances rather than diminishes life. The appreciation of sculpture is a theme that has rarely been treated and so this volume by L. R. Rogers, sculptor and head of the Department of 3-Dimensional Design at Loughborough College of Art, is especially welcome. His point of view is similar to Gauldie's in emphasizing the importance of understanding, on the one hand, and a fuller sensory perception of sculptural form, on the other. Texture, contours, space, volume, surfaces and their relationships are investigated. The many ways in which drapery is used in figurative sculpture takes up one very enlightening chapter. Another explains The Materials and Processes of Sculpture. Here the author shows the influence of materials and technique on form. Both Rogers and Gauldie conclude with the warning that the viewer must approach a work of art without preconceptions and endeavor to perceive fully and comprehensively what is there. They both manage to elucidate complex ideas in a clear and orderly manner. Philip Rawson, Curator of the Gulbenkian MuseumofOrientalArtinthe UniversityofDurham, treats 'Drawing' from the maker's view-point instead of the spectators.' His admirable intention is to discuss, without the need for mystical jargon, the general structural principles by which drawings are done, eliminating 'all words that refer to subjective , unformulated emotional impressions ... " choosing terms that '. . . designate things that can actually be found in drawings by looking. . . .' Though he does not completely succeed in this, (is numen a thing that can actually be found in a drawing by looking?), he presents a wealth of material that will be of enormous interest to both spectators and artists. About half of the book consists of a clear analysis of the materials and techniques used in drawing, their significance and effect on the results. His re-creation of Durer's procedure in drawing 'A Women's Bath-House' is illuminating; his analysis of the order in which the artist drew the figures is logical and convincing. Less so is that ofPoussin's drawing for the 'Rape of the Sabines'. The woman's left arm does not seem a reasonable starting point for the drawing. I think it more probable that the artist would begin with her captor's back, shoulder and arm that grasps and supports her and is a pivotal area in the composition. Though the text is sometimes dense and overly philosophical, with an occasional tendency to lapse into 'mystical jargon', at other times it reads clearly and fluently, and is always thought provoking . All three of these well-designed volumes are copiously illustrated with good quality reproductions , drawings and diagrams. A fourth volume, The Art of Appreciation, has just been published and a fifth one on Painting will probably have appeared by the time this review is printed. If they...