Page:The museum, (Jackson, Marget Talbot, 1917).djvu/51

Rh the windows in the churches have become extraordinarily large, but they have been so filled with colored glass that the light within remains exceedingly dim. A British architect who has made a special study of museums both in this country and abroad, writes of "The excessive glare so loved by the American museum director" (American Museum Buildings, by Cecil Claude Brewer, F.R.I.B.A., Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects, 3rd Series, vol. XX, No. 10). Yet an excess of light is much more to be desired than the reverse, for while the former can be controlled by curtains, louvres, and other devices, the latter cannot be increased without great difficulty once the building is completed.

More than one student of the subject has pointed out that top-light striking down on oil paintings has the disadvantage of falling upon the top surface of the painting, which when magnified is seen to be composed of little ridges. Top-light, instead of hitting the surface opposite the visitor, hits the upper part of the ridge and leaves the lower surface in darkness, thus giving improper values.

Top-light is unsatisfactory for rooms in which objects in cases are to be shown. If the cases are large, the reflection of the ceiling light in the glass seriously interferes with seeing the objects