Water
Fountain Motive, Court of Ages
As the Earth panels are luxuriant, teeming with a sense of plentitude,
and the Fire panels are moving with the grace of rising smoke, those
that represent the phases of Water are moist and lush. In the one here
shown, "The Fountain," people have come through the damp grasses,
bearing their bright vessels to fill them with water that flows downward
from a spring in a long, fine, curving bow. The beautiful grouping, the
pose of the figures and the graceful lines of the vessels are
unforgettable. The air is fluid; great white clouds stretch across the
sky, which has the same liquid beauty as the water in the background.
Water-birds and dewy flowers add life and color. The grateful use of
water for man's thirst is beautifully told. In the other water panel,
"The Net," hardy fishermen, standing in the water-reeds and blossoming
flag-lilies, haul in the last catch of the brightly dying day. Others
bear on their heads baskets heavy with the success of earlier castings.
Heavy sea-clouds are tinted by the late afternoon sunshine.
Air
The Windmill, Court of Ages
The two panels of Air may well be thought of as the air that moves and
the air that supports. In the first, "The Windmill," which is
illustrated, the motion of the wind and of the world it blows is
dazzling.
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