Ironically, he saw ornament as a state imposition:
“…the State, whose task it is to retard the cultural progress of the people, took up the fight for the development and revival of ornament.”
“All right, then, the plague of ornament is recognized by the State and subsidized by State funds. But I look on this as retrogression.”
“The immense damage and devastation wrought on aesthetic development by the revival of decoration could easily be overcome, for no one, not even governments, can arrest the evolution of mankind. It can only be retarded. We can wait.“
