hands of experts whose function it is to create the design of the object to be produced, yet in the last analysis, it is always the purchaser of that object who fixes its character according to his own standards of taste and judgment. Never has the art of a nation advanced beyond the standards of excellence attained by its people. To call the attention of the public to the real importance of the arts is the great object to be attained. No matter what a man's station or calling may be, where he goes, or what he does, the products and activities of the Fine Arts confront him on every hand. From the cradle to the grave, the works of the Fine Arts are man's everyday companions, and it is in truth essential, if we are to appreciate and profit by God's blessings in nature and the best and finest works of man, that every member of the community should have some definite knowledge and appreciation of the Fine Arts. GEORGE C. NIMMONS For the Committee on Education of THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FINE ARTS CHAPTER I CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE INTRODUCTION ARCHITECTURE, the art of building with skill and with beauty of achievement, is closely related to the life of man. It is his environment, protecting and defending him, and expressing his emotions and desires. From crude beginnings it develops into monuments of art which give him constant pleasure and stimulate his imagination. The history of its progress from elementary forms to its culmination in masterpieces is a fascinating study, intimately related to the records and the romance of the world. In prehistoric times, when man began to use cutting tools, caves and tents were abandoned, and the habitations which protected man became his home, and were constructed of a framework of reeds, or of tree trunks, which were covered with hides and woven mats, creating a cell or house defying the inclemencies of the weather. At first this cell was circular in plan, and was at times built of mud or of clay, and was shaped like a mound. But soon, primitive man covered his matting walls with a clay surface, and later formed clay into rectangular shapes, or bricks, which could be easily transported, and which were thin, so that they were readily dried in the sun, and were therefore known as sun-dried brick. |