Much has been written as to the relative merits of painting, sculpture,
and architecture. This, if it be not a somewhat unprofitable inquiry,
would at any rate be out of place here.
Architecture not only gives intense pleasure, but even the impression of
something ethereal and superhuman.
Madame de Stael described it as "frozen music;" and a cathedral is a
glorious specimen of "thought in stone," whose very windows are
transparent walls of gorgeous hues.
Caracci said that poets paint in their words and artists speak in their
works. The latter have indeed one great advantage, for a glance at a
statue or a painting will convey a more vivid idea than a long and minute
description.
Another advantage possessed by Art is that it is understood by all
civilized nations, whilst each has a separate language.
Even from a material point of view Art is most important. In a recent
address Sir F. Leighton has observed that the study of Art "is every day
becoming more important in relation to certain sides of the waning
material prosperity of the country.
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