| | 1 | Author: | Wharton review: Anonymous | Requires cookie* | | | Title: | Decoration of Houses. By Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman, Jr.  | | | | Published: | 1996 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Text collection | UVA-LIB-Text | | | | Description: | One opens a new book on decoration with a weary anticipation,
remembering how much has been lately written on the subject for
Americans, and to how little purpose; but now the whole style and
practice of decoration has changed, and the teaching of the last
generation has become obsolete. 'The Decoration of Houses,' a
handsome, interesting, and well-written book, not only is an
example of the recent reversion to quasi-classic styles and
methods, but signalizes the complete reaction that has thrown to
the winds, even before the public discovered it, perhaps, the
lately accepted doctrine of constructive virtue, sincerity, and the
beauty of use. The authors take the new ground uncompromisingly,
snap their fingers at sincerity, have no horror of shams, and stand
simply on proportion, harmony of lines, and other architectural
qualities. "Any trompe-d'oeil is permissible in decorative
design," they say, "if it gives an impression of pleasure." To
this have we already come; yet it seems not to have produced
harmony between the outside and the inside of their volume. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
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