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VI
THE EFFECTIVE USE OF COLOR
W        HAT a joyous thing is color! How in-
XV       fluenced we all are by it, even if we are un-
conscious of how our sense of restfulness
has been brought about. Certain colors are antago-
nistic to each of us, and I think we should try to learn
just what colors are most sympathetic to our own in-
dividual emotions, and then make the best of them.
If you are inclined to a hasty temper, for instance,
you should not live in a room in which the prevailing
note is red. On the other hand, a timid, delicate na-
ture could often gain courage and poise by living in
surroundings of rich red tones, the tones of the old
Italian damasks in which the primitive colors of the
Middle Ages have been handed down to us. No half
shades, no blending of tender tones are needed in an
age of iron nerves. People worked hard, and they got
downright blues and reds and greens-primitive colors,
all. Nowadays, we must consider the effect of color
on our nerves, our eyes, our moods, everything.
Love of color is an emotional matter, just as much
as love of music. The strongest, the most intense, feel-
ing I have about decoration is my love of color. I
have felt as intimate a satisfaction at St. Mark's at twi-
light as I ever felt at any opera, though I love music.
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