RAILWAY ESTHETICS.
THAT we are undergoing a social transition, is manifested by no- thing more than by the state of the fine arts ; which having been divorced by the Puritanical movement from connexion with re- ligion, have lost caste in the general estimation. Indeed, in almost all matters, excepting those of a religious nature, any sort of" pietas" seems to be extinct among us. We mete all things by some hard tangible result of utility or profit, especially those things which we do for others. Even such modicum of fine art (if the term may be allowed) as we have introduced into decora- tions—of steamers, of theatres, hotels, and places of meeting—is employed mainly as "an attraction"; that is, from no sincere admiration for it., perhaps even with a sneering contempt, but with the purpose of appealing to what we deem some frivolous taste in others to whom it may be a bait. In this way we expect it to reappear favourably in the annual balance-sheet. That feeling which of yore made men acknowledge veneration for the fine arts—which made them carry Cimabue's first great pic- ture, emancipated from the pattern-making of the degenerate Greek artists, in procession to the church—which made trading guilds take a pride in decorating their halls—possesses a very imperfect sway now-a-days. In this respect, men's minds have sunk so low that they know not of" their foul disfigurement," but boast them- selves more seemly than before ; and they are disposed to ac- count as idle simplicity any counsel to a better spirit.
A change, however, is to be discerned. Although tainted by the merely commercial feeling, the love of tasteful decoration has surely taken a hold on the public mind, for its own sake. Even the gin-palaces are a token of that fact. Our street architecture, bad as it is, is yet better than it was, and still makes way. Rail- way companies have shown a munificent spirit, and have ex- pended what would formerly have been thought large sums on decorations. Thus, the London and Birmingham Company spent 35,000/. on the entrance to the Euston Square station. It is true that railway companies can spend such sums without feeling it in the dividend : the annual income of the London and North- western Company is a million and a half sterling,—a revenue of which no ancient guild and few sovereigns could boast at times when art most flourished.
To the Railway Companies, then an earnest appeal has been made by our ubiquitous friend " Felix Summerly," through the columns of the Athenteum. He calls upon them to devote a portion of their surplus income [above 10 per cent] to decorations.
"Decorate the principal railway stations with paintings and statues, coloured windows and mosaic pavements; and the multitudes awaiting the arrivals and de- partures of the trains will thus be educated in art, with the least pos,ible parade of being so taught. Au opportunity will be afforded to gratify and improve busy, hard-working thousands—especially of the manufacturing class—who have no means of access to private picture collections, and little leisure or opportunity to visit our one National Gallery. "To give the public some works of high art at the chief railway stations, would be, indeed, but a continuance of the excellent arrangements already made. A mere dry, close, utilitarian spirit, might object to the luxury in railway carriages, and to the high degree of comfort in the waiting-rooms,—which makes them palaces by contrast with the open stable-yards and booking-offices of old stage- coach days. What a noble work it would be to have a series of frescoes, illustra- tive of communication and commerce, adorning the walls of the waiting-rooms at Euston Square or Birmingham—the windows resplendent with stained glass, and the floors decorated with mosaic pavements
"The cost, in fact, would fall upon the public itself, and be by them contributed welcomely for their own benefit; though the work would be instigated and pro- moted through the liberality of the shareholders, who would obtain all the credit justly due to the enterprise. Suppose 20,0001. were so applied; spread over a period of three years, if necessary. This amount would be much less than ld. in the pound on the gross receipts of the London and North-western. It might, I think, be proved, if it were necessary to do so, that a station made highly at- tractive for its art would directly benefit the traffic. The passport to the picture-
hall would be the passenger's ticket. Railway shareholders are proverbially most liberal and generous, in spite of the idle imputations of Mr. Morrison or the taunts of' Cato'; sad if Mr. Glyn thought it necessary to say to his brother shareholders at the next general meeting, We propose to adorn oar principal stations in the best manner of which British art and skill are capable—to give to our customers such architecture, paintings, sculpture, and decoration, as shall not be surpassed in England, and shall rival those of the stations in Germany '—I believe the meet- ing would welcome the proposal with cheers."
We are inclined to think so too, in spite of the " utilitarian " scepticism abroad.
But it may also be borne in mind, that all beauty in art is not costly. Much lies in fitness, much simply in visible-proportion of parts. For railway stations we want an architecture more thoroughly inspired by the spirit of railway incidents. The un- broken line that winds its snake-like curves across the land—the speed—the panting, smoking, dragon-like engine skimming across the flat, flying along the viaduct, or emerging from the cavern- ous tunnel—all these suggest ideas which the invention of genius might improve in the manner of using materials, without needing more. Flowers are beginning to appear on the banks of cuttings —why not make them general ? It would require, indeed, to im- prove all the existing and available resources of a railway, that some genius of taste should preside ; but at how small a cost might such aid be procured 1
Railways are gradually superseding the fair highways and cross-roads of England : a kind of moral duty lies on them, to alter without diminishing the beauty of English scenery ; and the quiet, dustless railway, plunging among hills, soaring over yanks, or traversing the plain, with its shifting diorama, is as susceptible of beauty as a macadamized road. There is a policy also in mak- ing railways a familiar institution, reconciled to the popular affec- tions, before awkward questions recur as to Government appro- priation or the like. The companies, therefore, cannot begin their course of wsthetical improvements too soon ; nor better employ their surplus revenue, when it accrues, than as Felix Summerly suggests.
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