Onlayn kitobni bepul oʻqish Design and Tradition
Contents.
Index.: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, V, W.
List of Illustrations
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(etext transcriber's note)
DESIGN AND TRADITION
“They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty.”—Oscar Wilde.
Sketch Design for Equestrian Statue, by E. A. Rickards, F.R.I.B.A.
This drawing is remarkable as an anticipation of eventual appearance. Thoroughly impressionistic in treatment, all irrelevant detail is omitted.
UNIVERSAL ART SERIES
EDITED BY FREDERICK MARRIOTT
DESIGN AND
TRADITION
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE
PRINCIPLES AND HISTORIC
DEVELOPMENT OF ARCHI-
TECTURE AND THE APPLIED
ARTS
BY
AMOR FENN
LONDON
CHAPMAN AND HALL, LTD.
1920
THE WESTMINSTER PRESS
HARROW ROAD
LONDON
AUTHOR’S PREFACE
IT may be urged with some reasonable basis of truth that much of the modern art work fails to attain the level of that of the past. It must be conceded, however, that demand and appreciation is more general and widely diffused. As social conditions have developed, interest in environment has been stimulated. Improved processes resulting in more economic production have rendered possible an indulgence by those of moderate means, attainable only at earlier periods by the wealthier class.
As a result of this more general appreciation the professional services of the artist are necessarily in greater request, thus affording a sphere of work not only lucrative but temperamentally attractive.
At the present time the facilities available to the prospective artist are considerably greater than at any previous period. In every district and important centre, there are schools specialising in the Arts and Crafts, giving opportunities for training at fees that are purely nominal. Most of these deal with the various phases of artistic expression on logical and sound lines, but the knowledge and experience essential to a successful artistic career is invariably acquired in professional work to which the art school training is preparatory.
To those specialising in design, the study of Historic Style is of paramount importance. Intelligent investigation will show that in all the varying phases, the underlying factors are much the same, and appreciation of these will be found invaluable in personal work.
Necessarily brief, this book has been prompted by the memory of early bewilderment and difficulties, when a guiding hand would have saved much valuable time and mis-directed energy.
A considerable amount of the available space is devoted to Architectural features, with the conviction that a knowledge of these will be found helpful in the formation of methods, logical and constructive.
Attention is directed to the frontispiece, a typical example of the extraordinary genius of E. A. Rickards, F.R.I.B.A., the original of which is in the possession of Philip Connard, A.R.A., to whom indebtedness for its use is acknowledged.
The author’s thanks are also due to Miss Dora Bard and Mr. C. E. Bernard for the reproduction of drawings made by them during their tenure in successive years of the “Travelling Studentship” of the Society of British Decorators.
For the use of the following photographs the author desires to make acknowledgment to the Authorities of the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, as holders of the Crown copyright:
Nos.
257.
258.
259.
265.
271.
272.
273.
274.
275.
281
A.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE IIntroductory
1Human Limitations, p. 1—Inspiration—Process and Material, p.
2—Early Training, p.
4—Art and Existence, p.
5—Natural Taste—Commercial Production, p.
6—“Ornaments,” p.
7—Modern Development—Public Apathy, p.
8—Elementary Pattern, p.
9—Early Impressionism—Personal Production, p.
10—Early Social Conditions, p.
11—Influence—Commercial Intercourse, p.
12—Effect on Design, p.
13—Ethical side of Art, p.
14—Desire for Novelty, p.
15.
IIHistoric Review
16Style, p.
16—Intercommunication—Climate and Material, p.
17—Phases in Style, p.
18—The Lintel, p.
19—The Arch, p.
20—Egyptian Art, p.
22—Chaldean Art, p.
25—Greek Art, p.
28—Roman Art, p.
35—Vaulting, p.
36—Greek Influence, p.
37—Roman Development of Ornament, p.
38—Græco-Roman Painted Decoration, p.
39—Byzantine Dome, p.
43—Early Christian Art, p.
46—Byzantine Metal Work, and Enamel, p.
47—Roman Influence Abroad—Romanesque Style, p.
49—Church Development, p.
50—Dark Ages, p.
53—Crusades, p.
56—Origin of the Pointed Arch, p.
58—Gothic Style, p.
59—Phases of Gothic—Early Pointed, p.
60—Decorated Gothic, p.
64—Perpendicular Gothic—Glass Windows, p.
67—Civic Influences, p.
70—Effect of Commerce—Classic Tradition in Italy, p.
71—Foreign Influence in England—The Dwelling House, p.
72—The Reformation, p.
74—The Renaissance, p.
75—Early Florentine Exponents, p.
76—Rome, p.
78—Venice, p.
80—Venetian Influence, p.
81—Painted Decoration, p.
82—Græco-Roman Influence, p.
83—Early French Renaissance, p.
85—Native Exploitation, p.
87—English Renaissance, p.
88—Italians in England, p.
89—Study of Classic Style—Thomas Thorpe, p.
91—Flemish Influence, p.
92—Jacobean Work, p.
93—Development in Dwellings, p.
98—Evolution of Professional Designer, p.
101—Inigo Jones, p.
102—Louis XIII, p.
103—Louis XIV, p.
106—“Boule” Work—Mirrors, p.
109—Louis XV, p.
110—Régence—Rococo, p.
111—Lacquer “Vernis Martin”—Later English Renaissance, p.
113—Sir Christopher Wren, p.
114—Classic Treatment of the Spire, p.
116—Dutch and French Influences, p.
118—Queen Anne Period—Early Georgian, p.
120—Furniture Design, Chippendale, p.
121—Mayhew—Robert Adam, p.
123—Hepplewhite, p.
126—Sheraton—Louis XVI, p.
127—Riesener and Gouthière, p.
133—Empire—Empire in England—Later English Architecture, p.
135—French Influence on Europe, p.
136.
IIIMouldings
138Purpose—The Fillet—Sheltering Mouldings—The Cavetto, p.
139—Cyma Recta—Bracketing Mouldings—The Ovolo, p.
140—Cyma Reversa—Binding Mouldings, p.
141—The Torus—The Scotia—The Facia, p.
142—Decoration of Mouldings, p.
143—Orthodox Details—Angle Leaf, p.
145—Dentils, p.
146—Employment of Mouldings, p.
147—Attitude, p.
148—Panel Mouldings—Woodwork, p.
149—Applied Mouldings, p.
151—Bolection Moulding, p.
152—Mouldings in Plaster Work—Wood Turning, p.
153—Metal Turning—Pottery, p.
154—Mechanically produced Metal Mouldings—Wrought Iron, p.
155—Silver Work, p.
156—Sheet Metal, Spinning, and Repoussé, p.
157.
IVArchitectural Proportions
158Introduction, p.
158—System of Proportion, p.
159—The Order, p.
160—Doric Order, p.
161—Ionic Order—Corinthian Order, p.
163—Doric Entablatures—Mutules, p.
164—Ionic Entablature, p.
169—Corinthian Entablature, p.
171—The Column, p.
172—The Capital—Doric Capital, p.
173—Ionic Capital—Ionic Volute, p.
175—Corinthian Capital, p.
178—The Base, p.
180—Doric Base, p.
181—Ionic Base, p.
182—Corinthian Base—The Arch, p.
184—Doric Impost, p.
185—Doric Archivolt—Ionic Impost, p.
186—Ionic Archivolt—Corinthian Impost—Corinthian Archivolt—The Keystone, p.
187—The Pedestal, p.
188—Doric Pedestal, p.
189—Ionic Pedestal—Corinthian Pedestal, p.
190—The Baluster, p.
191—Spacing of Balusters—Balustrading, p.
193—Use of Columns, p.
194—Disposition and Spacing in Colonnades, p.
195—Orders above Orders, p.
197—The Pilaster, p.
199—Arcades, p.
200—The Subsidiary Order, p.
202—Treatment of Superimposed Orders, p.
204—Rustication, p.
205—The Basement, p.
207—The Attic, p.
208—The Pediment, p.
209—Doors, p.
211—Windows, p.
213.
VDivision of Surface
216Wall Treatment, p.
216—Ceilings, p.
218—Jacobean—Carolean and Georgian, p.
221—Adam Ceilings, p.
222—Vaults and Domes, p.
224—The Cove, p.
225—The Frieze, p.
226—Borders, p.
227—Geometric Elements—The Undulate Line, p.
230—Repetition and Alternation, p.
233—Treatment of Angles, p.
234—Pilaster Treatment—Panelled Pilasters, p.
235—Capitals and Bases—Treatment of Panels, p.
236—Juxtaposition, p.
238—The Growth Line in Composition, p.
241—Grouping and Massing of Detail—Division of Area, p.
242—Human and Animal Life in Composition, p.
244—Forms in the Round, p.
245Supports and Balusters—Standards, p.
246—Proportion, p.
247—Vase Forms and Treatment, p.
248—Working Drawings, p.
249—The Segment or Stretch out, p.
250.
VIDevelopment of Conventional Ornament
254Outline Drawing, p.
254—Undesirable Realism, p.
255—Craft Restrictions, p.
256—Materialistic Influence, p.
258—Early Renderings, p.
261—The Anthemion, p.
262—Greek Sculptured Ornament, p.
263—The Acanthus Leaf, p.
264—Roman Development—The Scroll, p.
266—Græco-Roman—Byzantine, p.
267—Romanesque—Gothic—Italian Renaissance, p.
268—The Husk Leaf, p.
269—The Rosette, p.
270—Tendrils, p.
271—Nature Influence—Inconsistent employment of Symbolic Elements, p.
272—Consistency in Growth—Branching, p.
273—Treatment and Employment of Leaves, p.
275—The start in Ornament, p.
276—Italian Renaissance Influence—Jacobean, p.
280—French Renaissance—Henry II, p.
281—Louis XIII, Louis XIV, Régence—Louis XV, p.
283—Rococo—Louis XVI, p.
284—Grinling Gibbons School of Carving—Adam Style, p.
285—Empire—System of the Acanthus Leaf, p.
286.
VIITreatment in Design
288Natural Attraction, p.
288—Decorative Materials, p.
289—Justification of Treatment, p.
290—Undesirable Imitation, p.
291—Technical Considerations—Methods of Expression, p.
292—Treatment of Leaves, p.
293—Surface Interest—Painted Decoration, p.
294—Stencilled Work, p.
295—Mechanical Production—Printed and Woven Fabrics—Needlework—Appliqué, p.
296—Lace-Wood Inlay—Intarsia, p.
297—Veneer—Marquetry—“Boule” Work, p.
298—Mosaic, p.
299—Byzantine use of Marble—Book Decoration, p.
300—Bindings—Relief Work—Economic Result of Method—Desirable Treatment in Carving, p.
301—Backgrounds, p.
303—Reproduction Processes—Metal Repoussé, p.
304—Cast Metal, p.
306—Character of Cast Work, p.
307.
VIIIMythology and Symbolism
310Early Symbolic Ornament, p.
310—Customs, p.
311—Origin of Mythology—Nature Myths, p.
312—Light and Darkness—Melanesian Legend, p.
313—Darkness as a Devouring Monster—Season Myths, p.
314—Sun Myths—Belief in Natural Phenomena, p.
315—Greek and Roman Deities, p.
316—Scandinavian Mythology, p.
317—Rising and Setting Symbolised, p.
318—Winds Personified—Predestination, p.
319—The Fates—Propitiation and Sacrifice, p.
320—Early Burial Customs—Taboo—Roman Lares, p.
322—Mediæval Legend—Early Spiritual Belief, p.
323—Prehistoric Treatment of Epileptics—Prohibition, p.
324—Belief in Magical Qualities, p.
325—The Shirt of Nessus—Swords, p.
326—Invulnerability, p.
327—Belief in Numbers—The Muses, p.
328—Sacred Trees and Flowers, p.
329—Sacred Animals—Evangelist Symbols, p.
331—The Serpent—The Dragon, p.
332—Poetic License in Tradition, p.
333—Animals in Christian Art, p.
334—Association of Human and Animal Qualities—Totemism—Cannibalism, p.
336—The Sphinx—Assyrian Winged Monsters, p.
337—Pegasus—The Harpy—Sirens, p.
338—Pan—The Nymphs—The Centaur, p.
339—Symbolism of the Circle, p.
340—Symbols of the Trinity—The Wand, a Symbol of Authority—The Hand, p.
341—The Caduceus—The Thyrsus, p.
342—The Trident—The Cross, p.
343—The Pastoral Staff, p.
344—Symbols of Martyrdom—Symbolism of Gems and Colours, p.
345—Masks—Symbols of Time, p.
346—Secular Symbols—Trophies, p.
347—Heraldry—Interest and Meaning in Modern Art, p.
348.
IXWays and Means
350Perception, p.
350—Accepted Conventions, p.
351—Influence of Fashion—Harmonious Consistency, p.
352—Natural Suggestion—Colour Scheme, p.
353—Early Training—Nature Study, p.
355—Aspect and Attitude, p.
356—Treatment of Studies, p.
358—Drawings for Reproduction, p.
359—Opaque Colour—Method of Enlarging or Reducing Drawings, p.
360—Textile Designs, p.
361—Wall Papers, p.
362—Architectural Drawings—Structural Design, p.
363—Lucid Arrangement of Details, p.
364—Mathematical Equipment, p.
365—Use of the Ruling Pen—Proportional Compasses, p.
367—Tracings—Conclusion, p.
368.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Design is distinct from any phase of realistic expression inasmuch as the subject does not exist in any concrete form, but has to be mentally visualised.
To sum up, the designer must not only be an accomplished draughtsman well versed in traditional ornament and style, but it is necessary that he should cultivate the imaginative and perceptive faculties; and, in addition, the commercial qualities of promptness and business insight.
Influence in the early stages is quite natural, and to some extent beneficial, but if permanent, the student becomes one of the crowd in failing to develop the personality, which is the sole interest, and is the teacher’s responsibility to preserve as far as possible.
The dictionary particularises the fine arts of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, but to what extent is the possession of examples of these possible to the public at large except in the most general sense?
It is often stated that the common inartistic environment is the result of commercial output, and it is true that the ordinary member of the public is restricted in choice to what is on the market; but it can be urged that the object of the manufacturer is to sell, and that he makes it his business to study and supply existing demand. The manufacturer’s standard is therefore regulated by the evidence of public taste, and as this is improved so will the artistic quality of production be raised.
The present tendency is to hide in cupboards and remote regions the actual things we use, and to display objects that are only moved at the perennial spring-cleaning; one honest piece of furniture remains in the modern house—the kitchen dresser, of which we are apparently ashamed, as also of the dinner service with which it is occupied. To some extent the reason may be found in short tenancies, and the three years’ lease may have much to answer for. It is usually felt to be more convenient to move than to put up with the nuisance of re-decorating; and consequent on frequent change of environment, is a lack of interest in furniture and other personal belongings.
It is conceivable that primitive man in his early essays in pottery found extreme difficulty in obtaining a smooth surface, which, notwithstanding all endeavours, would be, in the unbaked state, sensitive to scratches and other damage. This difficulty may have suggested intentionally covering the surface with such scratches, etc., more or less arranged, thus making a virtue of necessity.
There is ample evidence that human appreciation and desire for expression in art is natural and instinctive, as is demonstrated by the marvellous work of the Paleolithic etchers and bone carvers, who may well be considered the first impressionists.
Appreciation from would-be possessors stimulated
The military class established for protective reasons would be dependent upon the general community for their upkeep, thus imposing taxation on the various workers, and necessitating a system of government and of officials for effective collection and distribution. Social distinctions would be drawn between the various classes, governing, administrative, military, and non-combatant; the latter would furnish the bulk of the workers and be further divided into craftsmen, agriculturists and traders.
The establishment of commercial intercourse had great influence on the arts, and did much to modify local character, as it was found necessary to study market conditions in order to secure sales; and goods were therefore made to suit foreign requirements and taste, thereby resulting in confusion and difficulty in defining the original source.
Apart from this cause of loss in local character, Art production was further influenced by the rise in social position of the worker.
Much that is commonly regarded as ornament in traditional work was originally invested with symbolic meaning, in later times lost sight of, with resultant loss of character and interest.
History as written is misleading, dealing as it does with personalities and conquests; the real history of the world can be read in its artistic development.
The development of style, intimately involved as it is in the social, religious and political history of nations, must ever be powerful in its interest and far-reaching in its appeal.
Climate is also largely responsible for architectural form. In the North, owing to heavy snows, the roofs are high-pitched. The early Egyptian buildings were of mud and wattle, the readiest material to hand, and form ample protection from the sun in a practically rainless district. It is interesting to note that the character of these structures was imparted to their later work in stone. This was used in the most important buildings, and was readily obtainable from the Nubian quarries and transported down the Nile on rafts.
Careful study will show that the change in the majority of instances was due to reaction from a florid to a more severe treatment, which in its turn became redundant in character and detail. Apart from the artistic point of view, these changes are interesting as reflective of the character of the times.
Form or shape is not involved, as it is quite possible to so shape the Lintel as to give the appearance of the Arch by cutting the underside to the required curve. In the early Greek architecture examples have been found of both Arch and vault appearance, but these are the result of horizontal courses, successively projecting; that is, built in the form of inverted steps, the underside being cut to the arch curve, and is a form of construction restricted to bridging relatively small areas.
The outward and manifest appearance suggests to the lay observer a striking divergence in the style known as Gothic from the Roman manner of building; but the main difference is in proportion and treatment of detail, the underlying principle being much the same. The use of the Arch and vaulting was common to both, but in the Gothic development greater strength was obtained, with even greater economy of material. The archivolts and intersecting ribs of vaults, with their supports, literally formed the bones of the building, constituting a framework to which the bays of walls and roofing were only a matter of filling in.
With regard to the domestic life, the examples of furniture in the British Museum convey some idea, and these bear a remarkable similarity to forms with which we are familiar at the present day, both in detail and construction, which is simple and direct, with mortise and tenon joints. Turning was frequently employed, and, in the decoration of furniture, inlays of ivory, ebony and glass, the Egyptians being expert workers in both glass and enamels.
In some cases metal was used either for part or for the complete structure.
The orders based on the Greek originals were developed in detail and proportion, particularly in the latter respect. Whereas in the Greek Doric the height of the column varied from about four, to six and a half diameters, the Roman version became more slender, being about eight diameters in height.
Apart from other reasons, the Arch was necessitated by small material, which, in the case of the Lintel, could not be employed without the device of joggelled joints. In the absence of suitable material to cover spans, it became necessary to devise some means to the desired result. This was achieved by bridging the span with separate pieces of material cut to the necessary wedge form.
Notwithstanding, the Roman development in architecture was undoubtedly dignified and grand in manner, particularly in their treatment of the Corinthian order.
There was also a tendency to employ occasionally natural types in foliage, and further variety was obtained by the introduction of human and animal form, which, though originally significant, were used for their æsthetic value.
For artificial lighting of interiors oil lamps were customary, which were boat shape in form, sometimes used in groups or clusters suspended from branching stems or supported on tripod standards. These were invariably in cast bronze, though terra-cotta was also used, but in either material were extremely beautiful in form and detail.
The carved details reveal simplicity of execution, being merely cut back from the surface, the relief being uniform and greatly in contrast to the plastic feeling of the Roman work. Though the leaves employed were of the acanthus type, they were quite devoid of modelling, being merely channelled with V-shaped grooves; the eyes between the lobes being round and suggestive of the use of the drill, the execution being a reversion to the archaic Greek.
It is questionable if the polytheism of the average cultured Roman was taken very seriously, but incidental to the religious observances were certain rites and symbolic forms, with which the Christians were familiar, and the early preachers evidently found it a matter of policy to invest some of these with a new meaning. During the period of intolerance and persecution, signs and symbols grew in importance as a
The tradition thus becoming widely known was finally absorbed by local craftsmen and modified according to local conditions, with the result that both in expression and in execution, the style tended to become more and more crude, until the original forms and details were almost entirely lost. But in spite of changes the classic feeling never completely died out.
The columns are squat in proportion, and surmounted by capitals of truncated cone or cushion shape, the abacus being deep and square in plan.
In the early churches of this period the walls of the nave were unbroken except for the upper windows. With the development of vaulting, the space above the aisle vaults and the covering roof was used as a gallery known as the Triforium. This was not lighted from without, and was a distinguishing characteristic of the Romanesque and early Gothic styles.
For some time after the Norman Conquest the unsettled state of the country rendered it necessary that household effects and valuables should be few in number and of such a nature as to be easily transportable. Thus chests in which belongings could be stored came into general use. They were simple in construction, and without carving, but were strengthened and decorated by hinges and scroll strappings in iron. Such chests served a double purpose, as they could be used as tables and seats.
This was undoubtedly suggested by the custom abroad of draping the walls with tapestries, though carpets were unknown. Probably the first time these were seen in England was in the apartments in the Temple occupied by the suite of the infant Don Sancho, archbishop elect of Toledo, who with Don Garcias Madinez, officiated as avant-courriers to Eleanor of Castile in the autumn of 1255.
The origin of the pointed Arch, which is the chief characteristic of the Gothic style, is much disputed, but there is ample evidence that the new departure appeared almost simultaneously in different parts of Europe soon after the First Crusade. It is reasonable to assume that this particular form was suggested by examples in Syria, where arches elliptic and even ogival in shape were employed.
In Italy the Gothic attained but slight development in comparison with more northern and western treatments, at least from a structural point of view. The Italian phase known as Lombardic is conspicuous for the evidence of Eastern and Byzantine traditions.
The central tower, which was common in the Romanesque, developed into the spire, which was carried to a great height; the lower part occasionally pierced with openings for purpose of interior lighting, forming the lantern.
The general effect of Decorated is a tendency to horizontal banding, in contrast to the vertical effect of the earlier period, to which eventually the later Perpendicular reverted.
It must not be assumed that examples in every instance will be found complete in any of these phases; on the contrary, the various styles are to be found side by side in the same building, the result of later additions or rebuilding.
The feudal period was not favourable to the development of domestic conditions, though considerable advance had been made by the fourteenth century, chiefly by the Italian states and in the principal cities. The importance of the latter is evidenced particularly in the City of London, with its merchant class and civic authorities, who, by reason of their wealth, attained potential political influence, the prevailing contentious conditions necessitating the continual raising of large sums of money.
Whereas, throughout Europe generally, the Gothic character in furniture and woodwork developed on similar lines, in Italy alone its appeal to the national sympathies was not strong enough for it to become thoroughly assimilated, and there the Byzantine style persisted.
Windows were now glazed with leaded panes, and when made to open were of the casement type, with iron frames which were hinged and furnished with turnbuckle fastenings.
An important factor in the development of this period was the Reformation, with the resultant liberty of thought. Before this, architecture and the associated arts were entirely dominated by the Church, at the sacrifice of the individuality of the artist and craftsman, who after this emancipation were enabled to exploit their work untrammelled by clerical restriction.
An awakened interest in classical remains was an integral part of the vitality with which the great change known in its culmination as the Renaissance was imbued; and the commercial prosperity of the times was favourable to its encouragement and development.
In the best examples of these, though columns and pilasters were not employed in the façade, the stories are proportioned as if the orders were used. The crowning cornice, however, is proportioned to the whole, varying in height between one fourteenth to one fifteenth.
To the above list of architects of the Roman Renaissance may be added the names of Sansovino, Vignola and Bernini, the last-named being the author of designs for the Louvre at Paris.
Jacopo Tatti, a Florentine, more usually known as Sansovino, though mentioned in the Roman group of architects, was however more associated with Venice, his adopted city.
Vincenzo Scamozzi, who died in 1616 A.D., like Palladio and others, was influenced by the antique, and was perhaps the last architect of the Venetian school to attain celebrity.
As in this method of decoration, mouldings in relief were ineffective, and were replaced by decorative bands or borders, so in the succeeding painted work similar framings were adopted.
Walnut was commonly employed for constructive purposes, and ebony and many other woods were used both for veneers and inlay, as also were such materials as ivory, tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl.
Fontainebleau, Chateau de Chambord, Chenonceaux sur Loire, Chateau de Madrid and the commencement of the Louvre were all due to Francis I, and the Italian influence was strengthened by the marriage of Henry II with Catharine di Medici.
Strapwork was a pronounced feature of this period, carved panels being subdivided by framings of straight and curved forms interlaced with cornucopæ and scroll work. Scrolling straps with I shaped incisions were also used.
In Italy classic tradition had never died, and consequently Gothic gained no real hold there, the best examples of Italian Gothic being inferior to those of France and England. In the early days of the Revival of Learning, when interest in architecture was at its height, Italians set out to emulate the style of building and decoration which prevailed in ancient Rome. Gradually the same spirit spread to other parts of Europe. Students were attracted to the birth-place of the Revival, and workers and designers from Italy were eagerly welcomed by her neighbours.
The purely Italian phase was followed by a rendering which was largely borrowed from French work, and this in turn was supplanted by the influence of the Flemish interpretation. The delicately modelled foliage, dolphins, candelabra, vases and cherubs, so characteristic of Italian and French work, were replaced by such typically Flemish details as interlacing strapwork with curved and scrolled ends, frequently cartouche-like in form, festoons of fruit and foliage, and terminal figures used as pilasters.
The general arrangement of woodwork consisted of architectural façades, and the orders and pediments were utilised wherever possible.
In the early seventeenth century the scale of the details of Flemish work increased. Diamond-shaped panels were superimposed on square ones; turned work was split and the two halves applied; drop ornaments were used below tables and from the centres of panels under arches—all these being additions to the general structure.
Ceilings, and occasionally the frieze, were in plaster, decorated with intersecting ribs, or bands dividing the surface into compartments geometric in shape, and further enriched with stamped or modelled ornament.
Compared with the earlier period, this was a time of luxury and display, favourable to the arts generally.
Under patronage, the individual artist and craftsman was allowed to develop on his own lines, and no longer worked under the dominance of the architect. Demand, owing to growing appreciation of artistic production, eventuated in the evolution of the professional designer.
Born about 1572 A.D., he studied in Italy, where he became acquainted with the work of Palladio, and was a follower of the Venetian school.
During the reign of Louis XIII, chairs were made more comfortable by being upholstered in velvet, tapestry or needlework, instead of being smothered with carving. The frames were covered by velvet or other material, leaving only the legs and arms visible, and these were but slightly carved.
Chairs were massive, the frames were carved and gilt, and the seats and backs upholstered in tapestry. In the latter part of the reign of Louis XIV metal was used in the construction of furniture in the form of mounts—as framing and protecting pieces to angles, and was gilt by the mercury process. The introduction of veneer probably led to this use of metal.
Hanging bands of material were employed to drape the heads of windows and the tops of bedsteads. Beds were important pieces of furniture, and had elaborately carved head and foot boards. The overhanging Tester was also ornamented, and besides the valances already mentioned, was surmounted by groups of plumes.
Little advance was made in architecture during the reign of Louis XV, to which period belongs the Pantheon at Paris, originally the Church of St. Geneviéve, the work of Soufflet, born in 1713.
Ceilings were also painted, wall mirrors were employed and furniture (at this period at times extremely costly) was veneered and decorated with metal mounts in gilt ormolu.
Artistic progress was hindered in England by the disturbed conditions at the time of the Civil War, and in consequence little change in style took place in this and the Commonwealth period.
The eighteenth century in England was the age of the connoisseur and dilettante, and the struggling professional, literary or artistic, had little opportunity except by the favour of a patron. As for instance, Lord Burlington, who is reported to have practised architecture in conjunction with his protégé Kent.
Hepplewhite and Sheraton were apparently influenced by the work of the brothers Adam, which was a distinct departure from the earlier style. The cabriole leg was rarely used, its place being taken by gracefully tapered forms.
Associated with this change was Jacques Gondouin, who died at Paris in 1818 at the age of eighty-one, whose most celebrated work is the Ecole de Médécine. He was also entrusted with the erection of the column in the Place Vendôme.
The style of the Louis XVI period was more severe than the preceding one, and was, in fact, a reaction from the flippancy which characterised the reign of Louis XV. There was a tendency to return to more classic forms, which prepared the way for the still more austere Empire phase which was deliberately based on the Roman and Greek styles.
Probably the most important name associated with English architecture towards the end of the eighteenth century is that of Sir William Chambers, who died in 1796.
Even in England, though the architectural traditions of Inigo Jones and Sir Christopher Wren became national in character, French feeling is evident in much of the decorative work, as in the designs of Chippendale and his contemporaries; with the exception of the brilliant period of Grinling Gibbons, whose distinctive manner and robust treatment survived, and constituted a school of carving typically English and unique in its artistry and craftsmanship.
Of mouldings with curved profiles there are only six distinct forms, though the individual character of these curves is subject to great variation in treatment.
The Cavetto is the culminating moulding of the Italian Doric cornice, and is a concave curve, which may be the result of a quarter circle.
The Ovolo is composed of a full convex curve, either a quarter circle or slightly elliptic, which in height is equal to projection; and a fillet at base one-fifth the total height. Frequently this lower member is in the form of a half round bead of the same dimension as the fillet.
The Binding mouldings, the Torus and the Scotia, appear chiefly on columns and pilasters, particularly the Scotia, which is essentially a base moulding.
The Facia, which is rectilinear in form with external face vertical or slightly inclined, may be classed with the binding mouldings.
The Scotia needs no decoration, the cast shadow resulting from its form being sufficiently effective.
Considerable license prevailed in the later developments of the Renaissance in the decoration of mouldings, license which is permissible providing the general principle be borne in mind. The concensus of opinion is in favour of repetition of a simple unit and absence of variety. The vertical tendency resulting from the bi-symmetrical character of the unit is desirable, and in happy contrast to the horizontal direction of the moulding, while it also emphasises the sense of structural support.
When employed in Architecture the forms and proportions given will be found most suitable. In interior decoration and structural work, as in furniture, considerable latitude is permissible.
Attitude must be taken into account, as, for instance, in a cornice which is above the eye level it is apparent that the mouldings will not appear in elevation but in perspective; and not only the respective heights will be visible, but also the projections.
As the width of the moulding throughout is uniform, it is obvious that mitral angles must be perfect bi-sections of the meeting lines.
In furniture, mouldings play an important part, and in many positions can be regulated by functional considerations. In horizontal positions, such as in tables and sideboards, where personal contact is possible, any moulded edges should be of softly rounded character for obvious reasons.
Thus in wood-turning the general profiles are kept fairly soft, taking usually, as in the case of stair rails and furniture legs, the baluster form. As a rule there is little variation between the maximum and minimum diameters.
In moulded pottery more definition is possible than in thrown variety, but the profiles are comparatively blunt and never attain the precision due to turning.
Though the employment of rolled or drawn mouldings is usual in wrought iron-work, the effect is somewhat mechanical and lacking in character. Preferably only such forms as are attained by either swaging or building up should be employed as being more characteristic of the material and method of working.
They are also possible in Repoussé work, but are soft in character, and lack the precision that marks the mechanical production.
The study of architectural proportions should be methodical, and the general divisions given here might advantageously be committed to memory. When this is accomplished attention may be devoted to individual features.
It is proposed to deal here with the orders commonly employed in Renaissance architecture. These were based by the early exponents of the style on Roman examples. The Doric selected is that of Vignola, and is a refined version of the order used in the Theatre of Marcellus at Rome. The Ionic closely resembles the Roman Ionic order in the same building. The Corinthian is the Roman example from the Pantheon.
The pilaster is always engaged, and is rectangular on plan, but otherwise it has the same general features and proportions as the column.
The capital is half a diameter high exclusive of the necking moulding, and the base also is half a diameter. In all the orders the column is tapered; the upper diameter is in each case five-sixths of the lower or major diameter. The taper is not in a straight line, but a slight curve, which is known as entasis. It is obtained by drawing the lower third of the shaft vertical and from these lines springing a curve to the upper diameter, which may readily be done by slightly altering the angle of the pencil in ruling them.
The division of the entablature is the same as that of the Ionic, and the mouldings, although more elaborate, are similar in character. The architrave and frieze are each three-tenths of the height and the cornice four-tenths.
The modillions have a profile of ogee form. They are about a sixth of a diameter in width and project about twice their width, and are so spaced as to leave squares between them on the soffit or underside of the corona. The frieze, which may or may not be decorated, is in vertical alignment with the lowest member of the architrave.
The Ionic and Corinthian columns may have plain or decorated shafts. If decorated they have twenty-four flutes round the circumference. These are semi-circular on plan, and are spaced with fillets between them.
Sometimes the ovolo is decorated with its characteristic egg and tongue detail, and occasionally the reversa of the abacus is also enriched. The necking is sometimes ornamented with four rosettes, which are placed centrally under the square faces of the abacus.
As the volutes make equal angles they conform more or less to a square plan. The plan of the abacus is composed of four concave curves with small straight intervals at the meeting angles. The general proportions for this form of capital are the same as for the bolster type.
In all the orders a square plinth is the lowest member of the base of the column. On this plinth rests a series of mouldings which follow the circular plan of the shaft. The shaft invariably terminates in a fillet, the diameter of which exceeds that of the column, and on to which the line of the shaft is carried by means of a curve.
The Doric base is extremely simple. It consists of the square plinth on which rests a torus moulding surmounted by a smaller moulding of the same section and a fillet above.
As in the Doric base a curve of a quarter circle connects the shaft with the upper fillet.
The projection of the pilasters which carry the arch is half a diameter from the outer lines of the column, and is measured on the same level as the springing point of the arch.
At the top there is a fillet and a bold ovolo, below which there is a bead-moulding or small torus with fillet and two facias. The lower facia, which is of slight projection is one-fourth of the total height. The upper facia and fillet are half the remainder.
The lower half of the impost consists of two facias, the upper of which is broader than the lower.
A projecting block, or keystone, is sometimes used at the centre of the arch. The face width of its lowest edge should not be less than the width of the archivolt. Its height is not often less than one and a half times or more than twice this width.
The height of the mouldings between the die and plinth is determined by a line drawn from the bottom of the die at an angle of 45 degrees to intersect the vertical face of the plinth. The angle is the same for all the orders.
The height of the course of mouldings at the top of the plinth should be divided into three, then the upper third will contain a cavetto moulding and fillet, and the remaining two-thirds an ogee and final fillet.
The archivolt, the radius of which is determined by the above spacing, is supported as before by an impost and pilaster. The base of the pilaster consists of a slightly projecting block equal in height to the plinth block of the pedestal.
Balustrades are sometimes used above the cornice of a building, and their height should not be more than four-fifths or less than two-thirds the height of the entablature. This height would be exclusive of the plinth on which the balusters are raised. The height of the plinth is determined by the height of the building, and the projection of the cornice, as its purpose is to raise the balusters so that they may be seen from the ordinary point of view. The principal dies may be placed over columns or pilasters and should be equal in width to the upper diameters of these, though flanking half dies may be used in addition to avoid an appearance of thinness. The plinth and capping mouldings always follow the plan of the principal dies, and are carried in unbroken lines across each interval.
Columns were originally used in the porticos and courts of temples and other buildings, and sometimes to form supports for vaulted roofs. Wherever employed their function was directly structural, but this was not the case at the time of the Renaissance. The requirements demanded by widely different social conditions led to their being used more as decorative than structural features.
In the Ionic order the columns are spaced three and a quarter, three and three-quarters and four and a quarter diameters centre to centre. The coupled columns used with the wide spacing are one and a half diameters centre to centre or half a diameter apart at the lower extremity of the shafts.
The projection is, however, partly determined by the order with which the pilaster is used, as an appearance of mutilation might easily be produced in the capitals of the Ionic and Corinthian orders. The Doric capital, being composed of moulded profiles, is not in any way affected by the amount of projection. Nor does the Ionic capital suffer when the volutes are in one plane except when used on an angle. But if the later Renaissance type with the volutes arranged at angles of 45 degrees is employed, the projection of the pilaster must not be less than half its upper diameter, so that the volute on the return face may be complete.
The height of the opening formed by arches, which may spring from piers—with or without an impost—should be about twice the width. The supporting piers should not be less than a third or more than two-thirds the width of the aperture. In any form of arcading, piers must be employed at the angles, and these should be wider than the intermediate ones by a half, a third, or a fourth.
Pilasters are used with the columns of the subsidiary order with a space of half a diameter between them and the columns.
If the Doric is taken as the lower order the centres of the columns are six and a quarter diameters apart, which gives a frieze of five metopes with intervening triglyphs. The plinth on which the order stands is three-quarters of a diameter high. The pilaster supporting the archivolt projects half a diameter, and the height of the arch is determined by the impost, which is two-thirds the height of the column inclusive of the plinth. The base of the pilaster may be moulded, but the top line should coincide with the top of the plinth.
Occasionally only the horizontal courses are thus marked, and this has been objected to as producing a boarded appearance, though undoubtedly the horizontal effect is at times agreeably in contrast to the vertical features. A much more usual treatment in Renaissance examples was to emphasise the vertical joints also.
The joints of the work in basements are generally accentuated by some form of rustication, and the heights of the horizontal courses should not be less than half a diameter of the column of the order above.
When an order is not employed the divisions and proportions already stated may still be applied, the heights and widths should govern each other as would be the case if the façade were divided into bays by columns or pilasters.
The tympanum or face of the pediment should be in vertical alignment with the face of the frieze. When this space is small it is best left plain, but on a large scale the tympanum affords a very suitable position in which to place sculpture.
The number of windows in a façade should be odd, so that there may be a centre one, and the end windows of a range should be kept well clear of the angles of the building.
In the Carolean and Georgian periods it was customary to decorate the ceiling with a heavily modelled band of foliated detail, circular or oval in form—the whole in harmony with the plan of the room. Sometimes the angles were occupied by other detail, but the centre was invariably left plain.
In vaulted ceilings or domes the division may be effected by horizontal or vertical bands, in which case the spaces between diminish in size towards the centre. If the division of the dome is vertical, or more properly speaking, by radial lines, it is desirable to divide further the spaces thus formed by introducing intermediate shapes, such as circles, unless the diameter be relatively small.
In some cases the walls meet the ceiling in an arch, which is technically known as a Cove. The arch generally springs from the top of the cornice and forms a vaulted frieze, which may or may not be decorated.
In considering the decoration of the various parts, the two principal questions to be asked are—what is the purpose? and, what is the attitude? The purpose of the Frieze may be said to be to bind, and the attitude of the Frieze is certainly a horizontal one—therefore the usual continuous treatment is justified. This is not the only way in which the Frieze can be treated, however, for the continuous horizontal treatment may be varied by vertical effects such as occur in the Doric order. The employment of Festoons with intermediate
The well-known key-border is a continuous narrow band or line which traces out a labyrinth pattern by bending inwards at right angles and then returning to the original direction. This, in its simplest form, is an elaboration of adjacent squares in which a top and bottom line is alternately dispensed with.
Generally speaking, the detail should preferably be of a formal character, and should consist of the repetition of units with no interest beyond that imparted by alternation.
The meeting angles or corners of borders invariably require special treatment, and in those positions the detail should be compact and stronger in appearance than the general pattern. The simplest expedient is some form of patera or rosette, but, whatever the detail, it should always be in strong contrast to that of the run of the border. The only forms that can be continuous without any marked change in the angles, are the undulating stem, the wave, and its square form the key or labyrinth; but even with these the proportion of width to height at times needs modification. If a common divisor is not possible, the difficulty can to some extent be overcome by making the form reciprocal and letting the two sides meet in the centre of the border, so that any slight disparity in treatment and dimensions will not be noticeable.
Sunk panels are also used for decorating pilasters. They cover about half the width, and are moulded at the edges. In some instances, notably in pilasters of the Early French Renaissance, the panel is broken in the centre by the introduction of a smaller circular or lozenge-shaped panel. Sometimes the panel is adorned with floral or other detail, and this should be symmetrically arranged on a central axis. For this purpose the undulate stem should never be employed. Such detail requires a start at the base and a definite finish at the top of the pilaster, but for the rest, it may consist of the same unit repeated, or of two alternating units.
The design of a panel or enclosed space, whatever the shape or attitude, should be complete in itself, having its proper start and appropriate terminals. If the enclosing border were removed the detail should, by its general disposition maintain the shape, even though the whole surface may not be occupied.
a proportionately large field of possible decoration. In the first place, the panel may be treated pictorially, with due regard to the requirements of surface and reciprocal effect which must be insisted on in mural decoration. If not treated pictorially, ornament of a traditional character, or designs derived more directly from natural forms can be made use of. In either case the ornament must complete itself within the given area.
In traditional ornament, composing or strongly marked lines are used, but in types more nearly allied to natural forms, it is necessary for the lines to bear some relation to the character of the selected growth. The disposition of leaves and other elements must also be characteristic, and natural terminals must be taken advantage of near enclosing lines so as to avoid any appearance of mutilation. When such forms as branches or leaves approach or cross, they should always do so at decided angles; their points or extremities should never be directly opposed to other details or to margins. The main growth should be clearly discernible, and the direction of the stem lines evident even when clothed with foliage.
Large areas may be sub-divided into several masses, but the grouping of these must be controlled by the general shape. When dealing with borders a suggestion was made that the undulate stem could follow the lines of adjacent circles, and this device is the basis of most of the scrolling growth lines that are characteristic of Renaissance ornament.
Decoration, when the human figure or any form of animal life is employed, is bounded with the same conditions with regard to composition, inasmuch that they
Perspective also affects the vertical appearance more or less according to the profile curvature, and in decoration, for bodies that are bulbous in form, the foreshortening and its effect on details must be taken into consideration so as to avoid undesirable distortion.
In the treatment of standards it is not so necessary to emphasise the element of support, and the diameter or lateral dimensions can vary to a greater degree. Whether the standards are fixtures or movable, as in interior fittings, there must be a base that will not only be adequate but will convey the idea of stability. In the case of portable standards the tripod form of base is possibly the most suitable, but when the standard is small the base can be circular, square or polygonal. The commonest form is a shaft, which is frequently tapered. This is supported on a bulbous or vase-shaped form arising out of the base. At the upper end of the shaft is a capital of some kind. These different parts are held together by appropriate mouldings.
Apart from considerations of use and material, the design of this kind of round form is based on inequalities of proportion in height and diameter. Obvious repetitions of the same dimension are to be avoided. The profiles should be carefully composed with a view to effecting harmony or contrast—the curves either approaching one another in a flexible line or being deliberately contrasting. Mouldings may be used at intervals to mark the various stages.
The areas capable of being decorated on vase forms are those bounded by mouldings. The nature and direction of the decoration will be determined by the profile curves on the sectional form. The direction of the ornament may be horizontal as in the form of a band, but to avoid distortion such detail should only be applied to surfaces of uniform curvature.
For a practical drawing the form must be shown in elevation and not in perspective. All the horizontal divisions must be drawn in parallel lines. It is obvious that except for profiles and general height, further details must be given for a working drawing.
Owing to the effect of perspective on rounded shapes, it is undesirable to employ the human figure, unless in bold relief, and then only on straight or slightly curved profiles.
In direct personal work, such as drawing or painting, when craft conditions other than that of the medium employed are not involved, convention is purely a matter of discretion and consideration of the nature and object of the work; but it is essential in design when the material and method of production have to be considered. In painting the artist may employ the full resources of his palette and be as realistic in his effect as is in his power, but if the purpose be mural decoration restraint is at once imposed.
The dignified conception of the Egyptian rendering of the Lion, though thoroughly conventional, reveals technical skill and anatomical knowledge of a high order; also appreciation for desirable treatment, and may be contrasted favourably with those by Sir Edwin Landseer round the pedestal of the Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square, in which realism is not subordinated to the decorative and symbolic conditions.
These conventions, though incidentally decorative, were invested with symbolic meaning with which their employment was concerned rather than with the imitation of natural form.
It is conceivable that the attenuated effect of the mere scrolling line suggested the desirability of the occasional mass and variety that would be obtained by employing leaves.
Greek sculptural ornament is comparatively devoid of natural suggestion, the branching scrolls with sheath leaves being æsthetic rather than imitative. The leaves employed bear little resemblance to those of the later Roman period, and consist generally of a succession of radial grooves with undulating or prickly edges, and are obviously adapted from the anthemion detail.
The Greeks were not creative in art either in their architecture or ornament, and were evidently indebted to the earlier culture of Mesopotamia for many of their details. As they based the anthemion on the Assyrian treatment of the Palm, so they borrowed the Ionic capital from Persia and the Corinthian variety had its prototype in the Egyptian Papyrus capital. Even their architecture was no advance in principle on that which previously existed.
The version employed in more decorative positions
The stem or growth line is comparatively absent, and the prevalence of the circle as a shape or in the arrangement of details is evident. Decoration displays more regard to profile than to variety of relief, which was practically uniform.
The Italian Renaissance was not merely a revival of Classic architecture adapted to more modern conditions, but was in its earlier stages a frank reproduction of the Roman ornament in design and rendering. In later development in Italy and other parts of Europe it acquired local character differing materially from the original. Fresh elements were adopted and details originally significant were introduced for purely decorative reasons.
The Husk either grows tangentially from the stem which it sometimes envelopes in the sheath form, or has at its base a floral-like feature known as the Bract; this, however, was seldom employed in Greek ornament, a boss-like annulet being more general. The Husk is largely employed to mask or cover branching, and either, as previously stated, grows tangentially from the stem, or takes a bulbous form with a broad and rounded base when it appears to be threaded on, rather than articulated to, the stem.
Such flowers as were employed in the earlier ornament displayed little regard to nature, being mostly of the rosette form with petals radiating from the centre; as a rule these were composed of simple leaf-shaped petals in one, two or more tiers arranged concentrically; in this form of rosette the petals are symmetrical in shape. The number of petals is a matter of scale and taste, but an unequal number will invariably be found more interesting. Arrangements of five or seven in preference to four, six and eight. Frequently the spaces between the outer tier are occupied by narrow leaves suggestive of the sepals in natural flowers, and these serve the double purpose of giving variety and preserving the circular shape.
Tendrils serve a useful purpose in giving unity to the design, for which there is ample suggestion in such natural growths as the Vine, Pea, etc. Too often in traditional ornament they are employed to merely occupy obviously awkward spaces. In Roman ornament flowers articulated on tendril-like stems were often used apparently to occupy the spandril-like spaces resulting from the branching scrolls.
The modern mind is naturally out of sympathy with forms that have no direct appeal, but it should be considered that these elements were originally not merely the expression of the art of the period, but were also invested in many instances with symbolic meaning. The Roman citizen saw nothing incongruous in decorating a triumphal arch with the chaplet of the victor and trophies of arms.
Independent of the angle, branches may occur opposite, that is, grow simultaneously each side of the stem, Alternate, or spirally round the stem. The distances between the branches may be equal, or, as in some instances, in alternate long and short distances. The opposite arrangement of branches is most suitable where rigidity of effect is required, but the alternate branching is susceptible of greater freedom and license.
The detail of these smaller leaves may be less complex as they approach the terminals, a characteristic in natural growth where the necessary energy to produce the flowers results in restricted development of the leaves on the flower stalk.
The Acanthus leaf prominent in Renaissance detail, was at first deliberately reproduced from Roman examples, and its architectural employment as in the capitals of the Corinthian order, has survived to modern times as the most suitable rendering for such structural features. In more decorative positions marked changes are evident in the later phases, the Cinque Cento renderings being perhaps the high water mark of the Italian designer. In these the lobes were angular in general outline, with beautifully balanced minor lobations and the surface contours delicate and subtle in modelling.
A characteristic feature of the Jacobean style is the ornamental interlacing strapwork, with foliated or
In the period of Louis XV restraint was thrown overboard, panels and enclosed areas were framed with mouldings irresponsible in curvature, and without regard to structural conditions. The growth line disappeared, the leafage and other details being arbitrarily disposed on the framing mouldings, which were generally in flattened and elongated curves opposed to each other in flexured lines. In comparison with the preceding Louis XIV style the ornament is thin and liney in character, the leaf, still of the acanthus type, is greatly modified both in form and detail, the ends of the lobes being curled and twisted spirally.
The artificial leaf reverted somewhat to the earlier Italian type, and was mostly displayed in profile with the lobes and serrations carefully composed. The detail though comparatively low in relief, was boldly modelled, and the direction and emphasis of the lobes and veinings of the leaves considered with regard to the composing lines.
The designs of the brothers Adam, which were in vogue in the reign of George III, though peculiarly individual and distinctive, were based upon the study of Græco-Roman details. In the Adam style the ornament is delicate in relief, and mostly displayed in profile. Panels and enclosed spaces are occupied, the decorative elements being carefully disposed with regard to balance and stability, with large areas of plain surface.
The apex of leaf terminates with a central lobe balanced by side lobes repeated throughout. In treatment these may be displayed clear of each other, or they may overlap, but care must be taken to avoid confusion in effect.
The attraction of colour and form is undoubtedly universal, and may be generally understood, though there are delicate degrees of proportion and association in both that may only be appreciated by the cultivated eye. Early essays in drawing generally exhibit an undesirable redundancy in curves, and in many instances the student is slow to realise that those that approximate to the elliptic form are proportionately of more interest than those obviously composed of segments of circles. Undoubtedly this subtlety of line is one of the predominant factors in appreciation of form.
Polishing is to some extent a preservative, but work in oak or walnut, especially when carved, should be kept comparatively dull, otherwise confusion between the relief and the natural figuring would result. In mahogany or satinwood, where the chief interest exists in the figuring and colour, carving is undesirable and the best effects are obtained by high polish. It may be urged that in the Chippendale period the work was invariably carved, but the detail was always in very low relief, and the finishing dark in colour, in which the figuring was subdued. Mahogany in its more general employment owes its chief beauty to the development of figuring and colour.
The use of pattern wall-papers and floor coverings can be justified on the same grounds, as in those with plain surfaces any disfigurement is readily seen. Wallpaper, however, is quite a legitimate form of decoration and not necessarily imitative, though to some extent it is reminiscent of the early custom of employing tapestries as wall coverings. A more durable and artistic treatment of interiors is that of the wainscotting of the Georgian period, but the initial cost is proportionately great, though probably when maintenance is taken into consideration it would be cheaper in the long run. Apart from the question of cost, the modern tendency is favourable to change of effect and environment, due partly to the facility afforded by the comparative cheapness of wall-paper, but even more to the prevalent short tenancies.
There are phases of work where simulation may to some extent be justified, for instance, silver is sometimes gilt. For this there is the excuse that silver, although a beautiful metal, is subject to oxidation and requires constant attention to keep bright. Gilding acts as a preservative, and is therefore justified in certain forms of silver work, which it is not convenient to clean in the ordinary way.
Methods of expression vary, according to position and material, and may be Flat—either silhouette, or with appearance of relief, or in actual relief.
Whether expressed in Flat or Relief, the composing lines should always be emphatic, and their direction traceable through the details, floral or otherwise.
The interest in Painted Decoration, apart from colour, design or subject, would be that of the individual manifestation of the designer and painter.
The design in stencilled work is not limited to one unit, and is not subject to hard and fast rules, the plates being of a size convenient to handle. Alternate units, or a series can be employed, the interest, apart from colour and subject consisting mainly of contrast in detail, and in the individualism expressed.
In Appliqué work, interest is imparted by the mass effects enriched by embroidery, the large shapes entailing detail of the inhabited variety to keep them from puckering. In all needlework the effect is due to some extent to light and shade, particularly in Appliqué, where a corded edge is employed.
In the Intarsia detail of the Italian Renaissance, the inlaid forms were elaborated by surface markings and graduated effects were obtained by means of hot sand; but the natural contrast in the varied colour and fibres of the material employed probably form the more legitimate interest in all inlaid work.
Owing to technical limitations, modelling can only be broadly suggested; therefore forms should be generally in silhouette except when on a large scale.
The same applies to renderings in colour. Designs for covers are controlled by the processes involved, whether printed, stamped or tooled.
In the design—which may occupy or fill the shape and can be symmetrically arranged on a central axis, or balanced—the effect is due mainly to Light and Shade. Further interest may be imparted by the sectional form or modelling of the details, groovings, striations or other textural suggestions.
When carving in wood is in very high relief, it is occasionally, as in the Grinling Gibbons work, built up. This may not be a matter of great objection if properly attached, and the grain of fibre matched, but is, however, better avoided.
Cast metal is produced in sand moulds, a model or pattern being employed of which the casting is a reproduction. The
Much depends upon the final finish; if this is to be bright, surface modelling should be a secondary consideration to surface interest resulting from contrast of textures. It, however, becomes of proportionate importance as the work is dull or toned, and therefore is subject to the ordinary conditions of Light and Shade.
The Palm-tree was said to grow faster for being weighted down, hence it was the symbol of Resolution overcoming Calamity. The oriental belief was that it sprang from the residue clay from which Adam was formed.
There are opportunities where the decorative element could be such as to, embody or vindicate local character or purpose, but with the decadence of symbolism much of our modern ornament fails to interest, because it has no meaning that is understood or can be appreciated.
A New Zealand parallel is the Maori Tree or Forest god Tani, who effected a similar severance by lying down on the earth and pushing the Heavens away with his feet. The native belief being that man was a tree upside down, his hair forming the roots and his legs the branches.
An interesting variant is the tradition of the Melanesian hero Qat and his brothers, who lived in perpetual day. Qat heard of Night, and setting forth in search, was successful in his quest. On his return he told his brothers to sit quite still, and when they felt something in their eyes to take no notice but keep quiet; thereon they fell asleep. When Night had lasted long enough, Qat took a slab of red obsidian and cut the darkness and Dawn came out. A tradition reminiscent of the “dustman” or the “sand-man” of the nursery, though the slab of red obsidian is a touch both poetic and symbolic in its suggestion.
Baldur is really a season myth, symbolizing the death of the sun at the end of the year, with the resuscitation in the Spring. So also is the tradition of Persephone abducted by Pluto, and allowed to revisit her mother, Demeter, at the dawn of Summer. Another parallel is the story of Orpheus and Eurydice.
It has already been suggested that in primitive times intentional and conscious life was ascribed to a host of natural objects and phenomena, indications of which survive in the common speech of the present day. Thus we speak of inanimate things as if they had consciousness and intelligence. We say the Weather is good or bad, the Wind furious, the Sea treacherous, the Seasons inconstant or the Earth thirsty. It is also customary to speak of the “head” or “foot” of a mountain, and “arm” of the sea and the “mouth” of a river or a cave.
These are the original twelve, but four others are referred to as follows:
The Blind.
The Egyptian Horus, the hawk-headed son of Osiris and Isis, symbolised the sun’s path, or the rising sun; Ra the noon-day and Osiris the setting.
To the primitive mind disaster or affliction from quite natural causes would be attributed to the wrath of some deity, even though there was no personal offence. This superstition would find expression in a belief in predestination or fatalism, as is evidenced in the tragedies of Orestes and Œdipus, and to a certain extent in the protracted return of Ulysses from Troy.
Similar instances in Bible history are the vows of sacrifice made by Abraham and Jephthah. The latter has a parallel in the Greek tradition of Idomeneus, King of Crete, who vowed to sacrifice the first being he encountered if the gods granted him a safe return after the burning of Troy. The first person met on landing was his son, who was sacrificed, and in consequence Idomeneus was banished as a murderer.
This belief in the dead as guardian spirits accounts for a form of sacrifice in which the victims were buried under foundations, a custom modified in later times to the sacrifice of animals. It survives at the present day in burying current coins at the ceremony of laying the foundation-stone in public buildings.
Experience due to the involuntary action of the brain in dreaming, when the ordinary laws of time and space are modified could hardly fail to impress the primitive imagination and suggest the duality of being—physical and spiritual.
The Biblical instance of Lot’s wife has its parallel in Eurydice, wife of Orpheus, who, killed on her wedding night, was redeemed on condition that Orpheus should not look back till she had reached the upper world. Forgetting the prohibition, he turned to see if she were following, and Eurydice was instantly caught back into Hades.
The ancient belief in the supernatural was not confined to the spiritual world, but also extended to inanimate objects which were sometimes invested with magical qualities, as for instance, the Helms of Perseus and Pluto, which rendered their wearers invisible. The same virtue was possessed by Albric’s cloak, Tarnkappe, which also invested the wearer with the strength of twelve men; by means of which, and the invisibility conferred, Siegfried was able to overcome Brunhild, the martial queen of Iceland.
Swords at all times have been possessed of magical qualities, but the belief possibly indicates stages of development. The description of the sword of Perseus as a form of diamond, suggests that the story had its origin in the Stone Age. It is reasonable to presume that the later improvements were such an advance that they suggested supernatural origin; e.g., the sword of Siegfried, the name of which was Balmung or Gram (literally “grief”).
This probably is a poetic allusion to early employment of defensive armour, in which the back, as compared to the front, would be unprotected.
The Passion-flower is emblematical of the Crucifixion—the leaf symbolising the spear; the anthers, the five wounds; the tendrils, cords or whips; the column or oviary, the hammer; the three styles, nails; the fleshy threads within the flower the crown of thorns, and the calyx, the nimbus. The white tint indicates “purity,” the blue “Heaven,” and the flower keeping open three days symbolises the three years’ ministry.
Luke is symbolised by a bull or calf, and John by an eagle—the former because his gospel opens with the priests sacrificing in the Temple, and the latter because he soars high and begins his gospel with the divinity of the Logos.
The tradition of the Python and Apollo is an instance of poetic allusion to the power of the sun drying up the overflow, as also the deliverance of the city of Rouen by St. Romanus from the dragon Gargouille (waterspout) which lived in the Seine.
The extreme of poetic license is perhaps reached in the tradition of Geryon, a human monster with three bodies and three heads, whose oxen fed on human flesh and were guarded by a two-headed dog—both slain by Hercules. This is a fanciful account of the defeat of Geryon, who reigned over three kingdoms and had an ally who was at the head of two tribes.
The Fish was adopted by the early Christians as the symbol of Purity and Faith. It conveys a comparison of the Christian passage through life with the fish passing through salt water still remaining fresh, and is occasionally suggested in the Vesica Piscis, which it resembles in general shape.
Wings may symbolise rapidity and mobility, or ever-present, as hovering, the bat’s wing being potential in darkness. The human element denotes Intelligence, and bird claws—Ferocity.
The whole is presumed to embody the idea of a volcanic mountain, the head being the crater, the goat representing the mountain slopes, and the snake tail the morass at the foot.
Equally disastrous, but more alluring, were the Sirens (or entanglers) of whom there were three, Parthenope, Ligea, and Leucosia. They symbolised the dangers of treacherous coasts, and were reputed to lure their victims by their beauty and wonderful singing. Failing to entrance Ulysses, they were doomed to destroy themselves.
The Centaur, a combination of male bust with Horse body and legs, was an embodiment of the Thessalonian horsemen. The Epic sculptures of the Metopes of the Parthenon are illustrative of the conflict between the Centaurs, and the Lapithæ, caused by the rudeness of the former when entertained as guests.
The Nimbus of the Virgin Mary is circular, nearly always elaborated, but not tri-radiated. Those of saints and apostles are circular, more or less ornamented. The Aureole in the form of the Vesica Piscis is sometimes used to envelop the whole figure.
The red hand is generally connected with some traditional tale of violence, and is so expressed on the shield of Ulster. An allusion to the tradition that the adventurer O’Neile vowed to be the first to land in Ireland, and finding his boat outstripped, cut off his hand and flung it ashore.
It has also been attributed to a strategy of war, when Bacchus made a successful advance by the ruse of concealing his followers with branches, as in the example of Shakespeare’s Macduff. The pine cone being suggestive of a night attack or that the Bacchanalian festivities took place at night.
The Latin cross is sometimes furnished with two transverse arms, when it is known as the Ecclesiastical cross, used by Cardinals and Bishops at Rome. The cross of the Pope has three transverse arms.
The cross, invariably with foliated ends, mounted on a staff, is the Crozier of an Archbishop. The staff of a Bishop terminates with a curving head in the form of a shepherd’s crook which it symbolises; both being indicative of authority.
Shells on tombstones are allusive to the earthly body left behind, a mere shell of the immortal soul. They are also used to indicate a pilgrim, by whom they were carried, probably as a drinking vessel or form of spoon.
Time is symbolised by the hour-glass and by the scythe. The latter implement, though generally accepted is more strictly the emblem of Death, which cuts down prematurely. Whereas Time only garners when ripe the sickle would be more appropriate.
Such trophies of arms and armour appear in sculptured form as decoration to the Roman arches and military monuments. A custom which was emulated in later times in arsenals, public buildings and tombs.
The manufacturer can do much, and the designer may be prepared to do more, but until artistic appreciation is more generally diffused, any progress must necessarily be very slow.
Many students in their early essays draw rather from an imagined knowledge than from the actual visual aspect—are apt to take forms for granted, to assume, for example, that an object is round when it is really subtilely polygonal. Theoretically a curve has no existence, being really a combination of straight lines varying in length and direction. Many beginners are unable to approximate even so obvious a form as a right angle, and until their vision and judgment is trained, it is improbable that they can successfully render more subtile combinations. It is the business of the teacher to train the vision so that the perceptive faculties are developed, and instil in the mind of the student that art is only concerned with appearance. Any fact not visually apparent should be ignored.
It is generally assumed that appreciation for colour is inherent. That this to some extent is true is evident in the attraction of bright colour to the child and the savage. Subtle quantities and combinations are only appreciated by comparatively few, the faculty for colour being extremely rare.
The colour scheme should be determined by aspect and by the use of the particular apartment. A sunny room should be treated differently to one with a north-east aspect, in which an appearance of warmth is desirable. Furniture, too, must be considered, reds being an unsuitable setting for oak as a rule, while mahogany is best associated with delicate greens and greys.
The Primary colours are Red, Yellow and Blue; admixture of any two of these result in the Secondary colours which form the complementaries of the Primaries not involved. Thus blue and yellow combined result in green, which is the complementary of red, the complementary of yellow being purple, and that of blue, orange.
The study of natural form is of paramount importance to prospective designers. Subjects should be selected as season or opportunity permit, not merely from plant and floral growth, but any form available, animate or inanimate that is suggestive of pattern or susceptible of ornamental treatment.
Points of study to be noted are the stem growth, junctions and angles of branching and articulation of leaves, the difference in development of leaves on main stem and those on flower stalk, and phases of the flowers. The drawing should be explanatory as far as possible, and any detail not quite clear should be expressed in separate lucid diagrams. When readily accessible, a series of studies should be made of the same plant or growth at differing stages, so as to form a record of the life history and development.
These studies should form material for designs, not at first ambitious, but dealing with single leaves or flowers, and deriving from them details suitable to some form of decorative expression. These can be expressed in flat colour, with or without outline, or further ornamented by treatments suggestive of veining or striation. The blotching of some leaves during autumnal changes or any natural markings can often be turned to decorative account.
For designs in black and white, hot-pressed paper, Bristol board or smooth card are most suitable. The ink should be waterproof, as, if necessary, corrections with Chinese white can be more neatly made. Fine pens, except for very minute work, are not desirable, a Gillott’s ladies’ fine writing nib yielding as fine a line as is ordinarily required. For some classes of work a brush will be found more suitable, but care should be taken that all lines—whether thick or thin—are equally black.
When drawings are enlarged or reduced, the linear dimensions and not those of the area are implied; thus one half means one half of both width and height—really one-fourth of the area. It is obvious that half the area would be a different proportion, and it is the proportion that is concerned.
In designs for printed and woven fabrics, though the process of production varies, it is still necessary that the drawing be complete in the technical indications. Otherwise the reproduced version may suffer, or at least not fulfil the intention of the designer, and it follows that the drawings should be concise in every detail, even to the colour effect desired.
Wallpapers as a rule are printed in opaque colour, but in textiles, when the colour is transparent, more elaborate effects are possible by overprinting or super-imposing one colour on another. In woven fabrics similar effects can be obtained by judicious manipulation of the shuttles, but in all cases it should be borne in mind that a working drawing is necessary in which the details are clearly indicative of the final result.
In all structural design similar drawings are necessary, although sketch designs in perspective may be made to suggest effect, working drawings are imperative to the execution of the work. These, when reduced to the essential conditions of rendering, with explanatory details and sections, assume a very different aspect to the original sketch.
In geometric and working drawings when plans and sections are incidental to lucid explanation, these latter should appear relatively; that is, the plan should be in alignment with the elevation, etc. Statements and directions as to procedure are often necessary, and these, placed with judgment and in good lettering, are valuable in balancing the drawing. Not that this has any effect on the work, but because it has a good influence on the designer.
For ink drawings the bow or pen compass is employed for circular curves; spring bows for extremely small details, medium for general purposes. The large compass in the ordinary set is provided with both pen and pencil joints, which can be adjusted as required.
Another instrument of great use, though not so commonly in request, is the proportional compass, by means of which drawings are enlarged or reduced. It consists of two shanks furnished with points at each end, the shanks being slotted out centrally to form a slide. The adjustment is accomplished by a set screw which also forms a pivot, which, set at any of the marked divisions, assures the given proportion.
Sketch Design for Equestrian Statue, by
E. A. Rickards, F.R.I.B.A.
Frontispiece
ARCHITECTURE, HISTORIC
No.
Page
Egyptian Temple, Section and Plan of
10 23Temple, Entrance Façade
11 24Capital from Philæ
12 24Persian Capitals from Persepolis
16 27Greek Doric Temple, The Parthenon
21 30Ionic, The Erectheum
22 31Corinthian, The Choragic Monument
23 32Vase paintings of Doric and Ionic Orders
19 29House about 100
A.D.Bas-relief in British Museum
20 29Roman, The Pantheon, Rome
26 36The Coliseum, Rome
27 37The Arch of Titus, Rome
28 38Byzantine St. Vitali Ravenna, Section and Plan
35 44Capitals
36(Plate)
Interior, Ravenna
39(Plate)
Romanesque Capitals
42 50Tower
43 50Plan, Cathedral at Worms
44 51Bay of Cathedral at Worms
45 52Window, St. Alban’s Abbey
46 52Church Interior with Triforium
47 52Doorway, Kilpeck Church
49 54Gothic Buttresses
53 58Early Pointed Pier
54 60Early Pointed Bay of Church
55 61Early Lancet Windows
56 62Early Pointed Windows, Plate Tracery
57 62Early Pointed Arch Mouldings
58 62Early Pointed Capital
59 63Early Pointed Tracery Windows
60 63Early Pointed Spire
61 64Decorated, Tracery Windows
62 64Decorated, Carving
63 65Decorated, Arch Mouldings
64 65Decorated, Capital
65 66Decorated, Capital
66 66Decorated, Spire
67 66Perpendicular, Bay of Church showing Development of Clerestory
67 67Perpendicular, Windows
69 68Perpendicular, Fan Vaulting
70 69Perpendicular, Tower
71 69Domestic Tudor, Window
75 74Renaissance, Italian, Strozzi Palace
76 76Italian, Pandolfini Palace
77 77Italian, St. Peter’s, Rome
78 79Italian, Farnese Palace
79 80Italian, Vendramini Palace
80 81Italian, Library of St. Mark
81 82English, Banqueting House, Whitehall
105 103French, Louis XIII. Luxembourg
106 104French, Louis XIII. Barocco Detail, Ste. Marie, Nevers
107 105French, Louis XIV. Louvre
109 106French, Louis XV. Pantheon
112 110English, St. Paul’s Cathedral
118 115English, Spire, St. Mary le Strand
119 116Tomb of Tantalus in Lydia
5 19Tomb of Beni Hassan
17 28Tomb at Kyanea-Jaghu
18 28ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES
Arch, The Principle of the
6 20Balusters, Details of
170 192Cornice, Treatment where Order is not employed
180 209Doors, General Proportion of
182 211Treatment of
183 212Frieze, Roman
198 226Frieze, Roman
199 227Gothic Vault, Section of
7 20Vaulting
9 21Cross Vaulting
48 53Lintel, The
4 19Lintel, The, Joggled Joints
8 21Orders, General Proportions of the
154 162Order, The Doric
153 160The Doric Entablature, Vignola
155 165The Doric Entablature, Mutular
156 166Order, The Doric Capital
159 173The Doric Base
165 181The Doric Pedestal
169 189The Doric Archivolt
168 186The Doric Impost
168 186The Doric Arcading
174 201The Doric Arcading with Pedestal
175 202The Doric Column and Pilaster
173 200The Ionic Entablature
157 168The Ionic Capital
160 174The Ionic Capital (Angular Volutes)
161 176The Ionic, Detail of Angular Volute
162 177The Ionic Base
166 182The Ionic Pedestal
169 189The Ionic Archivolt
168 186The Ionic Impost
168 186The Corinthian Entablature
158 170The Corinthian Capital
163 179The Corinthian Capital
164 180The Corinthian Base
167 183The Corinthian Pedestal
169 189The Corinthian Archivolt
168 186The Corinthian Impost
168 186The Superimposed
172 198The Subsidiary
176 203The Subsidiary, Detail of Entablature
180 209Pediment, The
181 210Pilaster The, Capital
209 236The, French Renaissance
208 236Rustication, Types of
178 206In Arcades
179 207Spacing of Columns
171 196Windows
184 214Three-Light
185 215DECORATIVE FEATURES
Acanthus Leaf, Brush Work
235 264Development
251 281Development
252 282Construction of
253 287Anthemion, Greek, Relief Treatment
232 262Greek, Vase Painting
231 261Border, The Geometric, Key or Labyrinth
200 228Border, The Geometric, Interlacing
201 229The Scroll
204 232The Evolute Scroll
207 234The Vertebrate
244 274Branching, Types of
243 274Inlay, Wood, Geometric
260 297Wood Borders
261 297Wood Panel
262 297Wood Panel
263 298Wood, Italian Intarsia
264 298Metal “Boule” Work
266 299Metal “Boule” Work
267 299Inlaid Floor, Italian Renaissance
188 219Lace
259(Plate)
Marquetry
265(Plate)
Mosaic Work, Spandril, Byzantine
40(Plate)
Borders
268(Plate)
Border, Roman
269(Plate)
Border, Roman
270(Plate)
Panel, Roman
271(Plate)
Needlework
257(Plate)
Appliqué
258(Plate)
Relief Ornament, Prehistoric
2(Plate)
Greek Stone Carving
218(Plate)
Roman Stone Carving
237(Plate)
Roman Stone Carving
29 39Byzantine Stone Carving
37 46Byzantine Stone Carving
38 47Byzantine Stone Carving
216 244Romanesque Stone Carving
217 244Gothic Stone Carving
238 268Gothic Stone Carving
239 269Gothic Stone Carving
219(Plate)
Renaissance, Italian
248 278Renaissance, Italian
249 279Renaissance, French
88 86Renaissance, French
250 280Renaissance, French
90 88Jacobean Gouge Work
276 302Jacobean Wood Carving
277 303Jacobean Wood Carving
95 94Louis XIV. Wood Carving
275(Plate)
English Wood Carving
274(Plate)
Relief Ornament, French Wood Carving
113 111French Wood Carving
279 306French Wood Carving
212 239French Wood Carving
211 238French, Part of Ceiling
210 237French Wood Carving
133 134Icelandic Wood Carving
280 306English 18th Century
273(Plate)
English, Modern
213 240Analysis of Composing Lines
214 241Rosettes, Types of
241 270Scroll, The, Greek Stone Carving
233 262The Evolute, Archaic
229 259The Evolute, Savage Art
230 260Scroll, The, Wrought Iron
234 263Brush Work
236 265As a Growth Line
202 230Italian Renaissance
240 270Start, The, Nest or Cup Leaf
246 277Half Figure
247 277Tendril, Roman
242 272Terminals, Branch and Scroll
245 275Textiles, 14th Century Woven Fabric
3 1314th Century Woven Fabric
51 56Sicilian Tapestry
52 5714th Century Tapestry
205 232Turkish Brocade
203 231French Brocade
206 233Details of Inhabited Pattern
256 295Tooled Book Binding
272(Plate)
FURNITURE
Egyptian
13 25Egyptian
14 26Assyrian Seat
15 27Greek
24 33Roman Couch
30 39Roman Sella or Seat
31 39Romanesque Chair
50 55Gothic Chair
72 70Gothic Bedstead
73 71Italian Renaissance
86 84Italian Renaissance
87 85Italian Renaissance
92 89French Renaissance
91 88English 17th Century
99 98English 17th Century
100 99English 17th Century
101 100English 17th Century
102 100English 17th Century. Baluster
221 246French Louis XIII
108 105French Louis XIV
111 108French Louis XV
265(Plate)
English late 17th Century
116 113English late 17th Century
117 114Dutch and Queen Anne Chairs
121 119English 18th Century
122 122French Louis XVI
132 133INTERIOR FEATURES
Ceilings, Italian Renaissance
187 218Italian, General Plan
189 220Italian Renaissance, Painted,
83(Plate)
Italian Renaissance, Painted,
85(Plate)
Tudor
190 221Jacobean
191 222Jacobean
192 223Carolean
193 224Robert Adam
194 225Chimney Pieces, Gothic 13th Century
74 71Italian Renaissance
93 90French Renaissance
89 87Jacobean
96 95Domes and Vaults, Italian Renaissance:
St. Peter’s, Rome
197(Plate)
Villa Madama
196(Plate)
Ducal Palace, Venice
195(Plate)
Doors, Jacobean
97 96Jacobean
98 97French Renaissance
278 305French Renaissance, Louis XV
114 112English Renaissance
120 117French Renaissance, Louis XVI
130 132Frieze, The Jacobean, Carved Wood
94 93French, Louis XVI
131 133The internal effect was of mystery, doubtless due to the comparative absence of light, and to the many columns necessary to carry the roofings. The columns which were mostly employed in the interiors, were squat and stunted in proportion, being from four to seven diameters in height, with capitals of the Lotus, Papyrus or Hathor variety. Mouldings were of the simplest character and sparsely used, and the decoration included renderings of the Lotus and Papyrus plants, either painted or incised in stone with the addition of colour.
In Egyptian Art ornament is subordinated to the architecture, and the employment of wall pictures and of inscriptions in the hieroglyphic character, added considerably to the decorative effect. In the wall pictures the figures were depicted in silhouette, in conventional attitudes, the head and limbs being displayed in severe profile, while the torso is represented in full front view. The methods of expression were painting, or incised in outline on stone, invariably filled in with colour, the effect in both being of flatness, with little suggestion of modelling or rotundity, the various features being defined by local colour.
Compound animal and human forms, analagous to the Egyptian sphinx, were employed, such as the winged lion and bull with human heads, generally to flank the gateways. Wall pictures in low relief formed part of the interior decoration, these being arranged in successive rows and representing historic episodes were, like the Egyptian decoration, probably coloured. A prominent detail in the decoration is that of the date palm which, symbolical in meaning, was the prototype of the Greek anthemion; the volute also occurs in much of the decoration in the form of the evolute scroll.
Some idea as to these may be gathered from the vase paintings in the British Museum, on which they appear simple in form, mostly Doric in character, and probably of wood construction, the metopes in the frieze being open spaces for purpose of interior lighting.
One important development, due to climatic conditions, was the pitched roof, which entailed the end walls being carried up in triangular form (literally gables), which were framed by the upper members of the entablature.
The capital of the Corinthian order may be considered to be a development of the Egyptian Papyrus form, the earliest features of both consisting of an inverted bell-shape decorated with leaf-like detail.
The orders based on the Greek originals were developed in detail and proportion, particularly in the latter respect. Whereas in the Greek Doric the height of the column varied from about four, to six and a half diameters, the Roman version became more slender, being about eight diameters in height.
Apart from other reasons, the Arch was necessitated by small material, which, in the case of the Lintel, could not be employed without the device of joggelled joints. In the absence of suitable material to cover spans, it became necessary to devise some means to the desired result. This was achieved by bridging the span with separate pieces of material cut to the necessary wedge form.
Notwithstanding, the Roman development in architecture was undoubtedly dignified and grand in manner, particularly in their treatment of the Corinthian order.
The dome was supported on four piers, united by arches, and the change in plan from these piers to the dome necessitated vaultings from the inner angles to reconcile the diagonal dimension to the diameter of the imposed circle. These vaultings spreading from the angles are technically known as Pendentives. The
The columns are squat in proportion, and surmounted by capitals of truncated cone or cushion shape, the abacus being deep and square in plan.
At the end of the nave, projecting transepts separated it from the chancel (which is generally raised in level), continuing the line of nave, the whole taking the shape of the Latin cross in contrast to the Byzantine plan; the chancel end facing East, the nave West, and the transepts respectively North and South.
The upper part of the nave was pierced by windows, small and comparatively narrow, with semi-circular heads forming the Clerestory. Similar windows in some instances occur in the aisles, the jambs of these windows being bevelled both inside and out for the freer admission of light.
Building was devoted almost exclusively to fortresses and churches, the domestic conditions being extremely crude as compared with earlier periods, though Eastern luxury must have been known and experienced by the alien adventurers to the Byzantine courts.
This was undoubtedly suggested by the custom abroad of draping the walls with tapestries, though carpets were unknown. Probably the first time these were seen in England was in the apartments in the Temple occupied by the suite of the infant Don Sancho, archbishop elect of Toledo, who with Don Garcias Madinez, officiated as avant-courriers to Eleanor of Castile in the autumn of 1255.
In Italy the Gothic attained but slight development in comparison with more northern and western treatments, at least from a structural point of view. The Italian phase known as Lombardic is conspicuous for the evidence of Eastern and Byzantine traditions.
In the early variety of the Pointed Gothic the arches were acutely pointed, technically known as “lancet,” but later became more equilateral. The windows were narrow in proportion, and were single, or in groups.
Mouldings were rich in effect, being composed of a succession of hollows or flutings, contrasted and divided by rounded ribs in relief.
The ornament was extremely conventional, that on capitals, crockets and other free positions consisting of crisply curling trefoil or cinquefoil groups of lobes having little resemblance to natural type.
The central tower, which was common in the Romanesque, developed into the spire, which was carried to a great height; the lower part occasionally pierced with openings for purpose of interior lighting, forming the lantern.
Mouldings were shallower as contrasted with the undercut hollows of the earlier period; in many instances the arch mouldings were merely a continuation of those of the supporting piers, which took the place of the earlier detached shafts.
The general effect of Decorated is a tendency to horizontal banding, in contrast to the vertical effect of the earlier period, to which eventually the later Perpendicular reverted.
While the windows were single openings, this form of glazing necessarily restricted the size, though more adequate lighting was achieved by grouping two or more windows together.
Mouldings became even more shallow in section, and the tracery less florid than formerly, though extremely rich in appearance when used in the profusion that developed in the fan vaulting of this period.
Windows were now glazed with leaded panes, and when made to open were of the casement type, with iron frames which were hinged and furnished with turnbuckle fastenings.
An awakened interest in classical remains was an integral part of the vitality with which the great change known in its culmination as the Renaissance was imbued; and the commercial prosperity of the times was favourable to its encouragement and development.
The partly executed work was found to be too weak to bear the superstructure, and Bramante in the meanwhile dying, Raffaelle, Giocondo and Giuliano di San Gallo, and afterwards Baldazzare Peruzzi and Antonio San Gallo were engaged on the edifice.
To the above list of architects of the Roman Renaissance may be added the names of Sansovino, Vignola and Bernini, the last-named being the author of designs for the Louvre at Paris.
Jacopo Tatti, a Florentine, more usually known as Sansovino, though mentioned in the Roman group of architects, was however more associated with Venice, his adopted city.
Vincenzo Scamozzi, who died in 1616 A.D., like Palladio and others, was influenced by the antique, and was perhaps the last architect of the Venetian school to attain celebrity.
Born about 1572 A.D., he studied in Italy, where he became acquainted with the work of Palladio, and was a follower of the Venetian school.
The general construction and details developed on
more architectural lines, and shew a better appreciation of the Italian originals. Pilasters were used to divide the wall surfaces, these and the entablatures closely following in detail the classic types. Panels were much wider than in the preceding style, generally occupying the whole space between the pilasters. The usual arrangement for these panels was to have them in two tiers—the shallow ones confined to the lower portions of walls and those of deeper proportions above. Fireplaces and doors were surrounded by boldly moulded architraves, and surmounted by panels occupied by carved details of scroll-work and foliage.
During the reign of Louis XIII, chairs were made more comfortable by being upholstered in velvet, tapestry or needlework, instead of being smothered with carving. The frames were covered by velvet or other material, leaving only the legs and arms visible, and these were but slightly carved.
Hanging bands of material were employed to drape the heads of windows and the tops of bedsteads. Beds were important pieces of furniture, and had elaborately carved head and foot boards. The overhanging Tester was also ornamented, and besides the valances already mentioned, was surmounted by groups of plumes.
The style of Wren, which, like that of Inigo Jones, was based rather upon the Venetian school, was perpetuated and found individual exponents in the works of his pupils and immediate successors. Among whom may be mentioned James Gibbs (1720 to 1754), architect of St. Martin’s in the Fields (1726) and St. Mary le Strand, and Nicholas Hawksmoor, who was responsible for the churches of St. George’s, Bloomsbury, and St. Mary, Woolnoth, the latter commenced in 1716 was finished in 1718.
Careful study will show that the change in the majority of instances was due to reaction from a florid to a more severe treatment, which in its turn became redundant in character and detail. Apart from the artistic point of view, these changes are interesting as reflective of the character of the times.
In some cases metal was used either for part or for the complete structure.
Form or shape is not involved, as it is quite possible to so shape the Lintel as to give the appearance of the Arch by cutting the underside to the required curve. In the early Greek architecture examples have been found of both Arch and vault appearance, but these are the result of horizontal courses, successively projecting; that is, built in the form of inverted steps, the underside being cut to the arch curve, and is a form of construction restricted to bridging relatively small areas.
The height of the baluster should be divided into five, then one-fifth will be the height of the base, and the capital exclusive of the necking will be another fifth. The extreme diameter of the bulbous shaft is one-third the total height of the baluster, and the diameter of the necking and the top of the shaft is about one-sixth. The capital has a square abacus slightly less in width than the plinth of the base. Below the abacus is
When an order is not employed the divisions and proportions already stated may still be applied, the heights and widths should govern each other as would be the case if the façade were divided into bays by columns or pilasters.
The tympanum or face of the pediment should be in vertical alignment with the face of the frieze. When this space is small it is best left plain, but on a large scale the tympanum affords a very suitable position in which to place sculpture.
If a frieze and cornice are carried over the door the height inclusive of architrave should be half the width of the opening.
In some cases the walls meet the ceiling in an arch, which is technically known as a Cove. The arch generally springs from the top of the cornice and forms a vaulted frieze, which may or may not be decorated.
In considering the decoration of the various parts, the two principal questions to be asked are—what is the purpose? and, what is the attitude? The purpose of the Frieze may be said to be to bind, and the attitude of the Frieze is certainly a horizontal one—therefore the usual continuous treatment is justified. This is not the only way in which the Frieze can be treated, however, for the continuous horizontal treatment may be varied by vertical effects such as occur in the Doric order. The employment of Festoons with intermediate
The Lintel, in relatively small spans, is sometimes composed of separate small stones, shaped to fit each other in the form of Joggled joints.
In the early churches of this period the walls of the nave were unbroken except for the upper windows. With the development of vaulting, the space above the aisle vaults and the covering roof was used as a gallery known as the Triforium. This was not lighted from without, and was a distinguishing characteristic of the Romanesque and early Gothic styles.
Divide the total height into five equal parts. Then the upper fifth will give the height of the entablature and an eighth of the remaining four-fifths the diameter of the column. From this it will be seen that the column is eight diameters high and the entablature two diameters. In using the term diameter it must be understood that it is always the lower diameter of the column that is referred to.
It is proposed to deal here with the orders commonly employed in Renaissance architecture. These were based by the early exponents of the style on Roman examples. The Doric selected is that of Vignola, and is a refined version of the order used in the Theatre of Marcellus at Rome. The Ionic closely resembles the Roman Ionic order in the same building. The Corinthian is the Roman example from the Pantheon.
In orthodox examples of the order the underside or soffit of the corona is decorated with a series of sunk panels. Those immediately over the triglyphs of the frieze are occupied by rows of conical drops. A variation of this and a treatment frequently employed is a series of brackets known as mutules. They consist of a facia and a reversa, which is carried round the upper edge to support the corona. When mutules are used the dentil course is omitted.
The dentils are rectilinear blocks on a flat projecting band, and they are supported by a cyma reversa moulding. A fillet beneath this moulding completes the cornice. The reversa is about the same height as the fillet, and the dentil course is about twice this height, but owing to the soffit of the corona sloping slightly upward and inwards the full height of the dentil facia is not apparent when drawn in elevation.
The Ionic and Corinthian columns may have plain or decorated shafts. If decorated they have twenty-four flutes round the circumference. These are semi-circular on plan, and are spaced with fillets between them.
In all the orders a square plinth is the lowest member of the base of the column. On this plinth rests a series of mouldings which follow the circular plan of the shaft. The shaft invariably terminates in a fillet, the diameter of which exceeds that of the column, and on to which the line of the shaft is carried by means of a curve.
The height of the mouldings between the die and plinth is determined by a line drawn from the bottom of the die at an angle of 45 degrees to intersect the vertical face of the plinth. The angle is the same for all the orders.
At the top there is a fillet and a bold ovolo, below which there is a bead-moulding or small torus with fillet and two facias. The lower facia, which is of slight projection is one-fourth of the total height. The upper facia and fillet are half the remainder.
Arcades, as already suggested, may be composed of a series of arches, supported on pilasters which flank the columns. The backs of the piers thus formed may be treated with pilasters, which can be repeated on the opposite wall, with the architrave frieze and cornice above.
The height of the opening formed by arches, which may spring from piers—with or without an impost—should be about twice the width. The supporting piers should not be less than a third or more than two-thirds the width of the aperture. In any form of arcading, piers must be employed at the angles, and these should be wider than the intermediate ones by a half, a third, or a fourth.
The projection is, however, partly determined by the order with which the pilaster is used, as an appearance of mutilation might easily be produced in the capitals of the Ionic and Corinthian orders. The Doric capital, being composed of moulded profiles, is not in any way affected by the amount of projection. Nor does the Ionic capital suffer when the volutes are in one plane except when used on an angle. But if the later Renaissance type with the volutes arranged at angles of 45 degrees is employed, the projection of the pilaster must not be less than half its upper diameter, so that the volute on the return face may be complete.
Under the lower fillet band, and immediately below the triglyph, is a small fillet and six pendant drops of conical form known as guttae.
From this as centre and one part as radius describe a circle. Within this circle draw a square, having for a diagonal the diameter of the circle. Bisect the sides of the square and draw the diameters by joining the points of bi-section. Divide these diameters of the square into six and these points will be the centres for the segments of circles which form the volute. Vertical and horizontal lines drawn from the centres will define the extent of each segment.
The form of the Ionic capital, while suitable for a façade, requires some modification if it is to be carried round the side of a building, owing to the great dissimilarity in the front and side views. In this case the end volute of the capital at the angle of the building is projected forward at an angle of 45 degrees, and the side is then treated in the same way as the front.
The Doric base is extremely simple. It consists of the square plinth on which rests a torus moulding surmounted by a smaller moulding of the same section and a fillet above.
The architrave is usually formed of three facias, which may be either vertical or slightly inclined.
This verticality emphasises the function of the capital as a supporting feature, and is æsthetically satisfactory, being in harmony with the flutings of the shaft.
The Ionic base differs from the Doric in the introduction of a hollow or scotia moulding between the two torus mouldings. Æsthetically it may be considered more satisfactory in that the strong shadow obtained by the use of the scotia produces an effect of binding which adds to the impression of strength. The type is technically known as the Attic base.
The proportions of the upper order are obtained by making the lower diameter of the upper tier of columns or pilasters equal to the upper diameter of those
This height of two-thirds the column should be sub-divided into nine parts, of which eight will give the height of the column and the remaining one that of the entablature. The entablature consists of architrave and cornice, the frieze being omitted, and a division into five will give the relative proportions. Two-fifths may be taken as the height of the architrave and three that of the cornice.
The lines of the pediment mouldings are not always continuous; sometimes the sloping or the horizontal lines or both are broken. This is a treatment that cannot readily be justified as the pediment is a feature that implies shelter.
Sunk panels are also used for decorating pilasters. They cover about half the width, and are moulded at the edges. In some instances, notably in pilasters of the Early French Renaissance, the panel is broken in the centre by the introduction of a smaller circular or lozenge-shaped panel. Sometimes the panel is adorned with floral or other detail, and this should be symmetrically arranged on a central axis. For this purpose the undulate stem should never be employed. Such detail requires a start at the base and a definite finish at the top of the pilaster, but for the rest, it may consist of the same unit repeated, or of two alternating units.
The joints of the material used must necessarily be considered, and when plain piers or plain wall surfaces occur the joints may readily be accentuated and so turned to decorative account. The edges of the stones forming the separate courses may be chamfered or moulded. The joints may also be worked so as to form a square recess.
Occasionally only the horizontal courses are thus marked, and this has been objected to as producing a boarded appearance, though undoubtedly the horizontal effect is at times agreeably in contrast to the vertical features. A much more usual treatment in Renaissance examples was to emphasise the vertical joints also.
The disposition of columns either in a façade or a colonnade is controlled by proportions which have been found to be desirable or are necessitated by special features of the order itself. The latter is the case with the Doric order, the spacing being determined by the trigylphs and metopes. If the triglyphs are placed centrally over the columns or pilasters the spacing of these apart will be two and a half diameters centre to centre, three and three-quarters, or five diameters, with two, three or four metopes respectively between them in the frieze. With the wider spacing of five diameters it is usual to employ coupled columns to add to the appearance of strength. As the triglyphs are one and a quarter diameters apart centre to centre, the coupled columns are brought very close together, entailing a slight modification of the bases. Since the ordinary projection of the plinth of a sixth of a diameter beyond the line of the shaft is not possible between the two columns, the plinth-blocks are united, and the torus moulding made slightly less in projection.
When a façade is divided by columns or pilasters the bays are pierced with windows ranged above each
Greek sculptural ornament is comparatively devoid of natural suggestion, the branching scrolls with sheath leaves being æsthetic rather than imitative. The leaves employed bear little resemblance to those of the later Roman period, and consist generally of a succession of radial grooves with undulating or prickly edges, and are obviously adapted from the anthemion detail.
A characteristic feature of the Jacobean style is the ornamental interlacing strapwork, with foliated or
scrolling ends. This doubtless was in emulation of the French work of the period of Henry II, when strapping composed of straight and curved lines entered largely into ornamental detail. In the period of Louis XIII
The system of the acanthus leaf is based entirely on radiation, the tines and veinings being arranged in consistently diverging directions from a common base or start-point. Whether the whole leaf be displayed or merely the half leaf used, the shape should be bounded by general lines controlling the lobes and their serrations—the mass shape forming a satisfactory silhouette.
These conventions, though incidentally decorative, were invested with symbolic meaning with which their employment was concerned rather than with the imitation of natural form.
The detail to be used is largely determined by scale and position. When on a small scale, borders may be mainly composed of a series of lines spaced so as to suggest the various features of a moulded band, in which case it is essential that the same width be maintained throughout the length, while the lines are returned at the corners at mitral angles. This treatment can be elaborated by the introduction of other lines between those most widely spaced at right angles with the direction, and these can again be broken at intervals by rosettes or other simple forms.
A fuller effect, giving more space for branching and other detail, will be obtained by basing the stem upon
Generally speaking, the detail should preferably be of a formal character, and should consist of the repetition of units with no interest beyond that imparted by alternation.
In traditional ornament the most general form of branching is tangential, the scrolls and leaves emerging radially from the main stem, with slight divergence; but in nature many varieties of branching may be observed and applied with advantage in design.
In Appliqué work, interest is imparted by the mass effects enriched by embroidery, the large shapes entailing detail of the inhabited variety to keep them from puckering. In all needlework the effect is due to some extent to light and shade, particularly in Appliqué, where a corded edge is employed.
In the Intarsia detail of the Italian Renaissance, the inlaid forms were elaborated by surface markings and graduated effects were obtained by means of hot sand; but the natural contrast in the varied colour and fibres of the material employed probably form the more legitimate interest in all inlaid work.
When the ceiling is divided the dividing ribs or beams should bear some relation to the general construction, though in the past this rule has not always been strictly adhered to. For example, the ceiling may very desirably be divided into equal squares or rectangles by means of wooden or plaster mouldings, leaving the enclosed spaces plain or decorated. When mouldings are used these may be enriched, but contrast should be maintained between the framing ribs and the panels.
There was also a tendency to employ occasionally natural types in foliage, and further variety was obtained by the introduction of human and animal form, which, though originally significant, were used for their æsthetic value.
The carved details reveal simplicity of execution, being merely cut back from the surface, the relief being uniform and greatly in contrast to the plastic feeling of the Roman work. Though the leaves employed were of the acanthus type, they were quite devoid of modelling, being merely channelled with V-shaped grooves; the eyes between the lobes being round and suggestive of the use of the drill, the execution being a reversion to the archaic Greek.
It is questionable if the polytheism of the average cultured Roman was taken very seriously, but incidental to the religious observances were certain rites and symbolic forms, with which the Christians were familiar, and the early preachers evidently found it a matter of policy to invest some of these with a new meaning. During the period of intolerance and persecution, signs and symbols grew in importance as a
Large areas may be sub-divided into several masses, but the grouping of these must be controlled by the general shape. When dealing with borders a suggestion was made that the undulate stem could follow the lines of adjacent circles, and this device is the basis of most of the scrolling growth lines that are characteristic of Renaissance ornament.
The stem or growth line is comparatively absent, and the prevalence of the circle as a shape or in the arrangement of details is evident. Decoration displays more regard to profile than to variety of relief, which was practically uniform.
The Italian Renaissance was not merely a revival of Classic architecture adapted to more modern conditions, but was in its earlier stages a frank reproduction of the Roman ornament in design and rendering. In later development in Italy and other parts of Europe it acquired local character differing materially from the original. Fresh elements were adopted and details originally significant were introduced for purely decorative reasons.
Such artificial objects as vases and baskets form fairly consistent base starts for floral detail, others as Altars and Tripods are not quite so logical, though useful in conveying a sense of support. Shields and Labels, generally employed centrally in wide panels where the ornament is displayed laterally, are effective in the contrast they afford to the floral details.
The employment of half figures as starts cannot be defended; the illogical association of life, either human or animal, with foliage as employed by the designers of the later Italian Renaissance, is too incongruous to be excused on æsthetic grounds. Such were due to change in taste and desire for variety, and probably were suggested by the much earlier employment of compound animal forms as furniture supports.
Italian architects were employed by Francis I, and although in the many important buildings erected for him he preferred native workmen, Italians were retained to furnish designs and lead the new style. Leonardo da Vinci and Andrea del Sarto were both employed in the decoration of Fontainebleau.
The Acanthus leaf prominent in Renaissance detail, was at first deliberately reproduced from Roman examples, and its architectural employment as in the capitals of the Corinthian order, has survived to modern times as the most suitable rendering for such structural features. In more decorative positions marked changes are evident in the later phases, the Cinque Cento renderings being perhaps the high water mark of the Italian designer. In these the lobes were angular in general outline, with beautifully balanced minor lobations and the surface contours delicate and subtle in modelling.
Strapwork was a pronounced feature of this period, carved panels being subdivided by framings of straight and curved forms interlaced with cornucopæ and scroll work. Scrolling straps with I shaped incisions were also used.
The treatment should evidence the direct employment of the tool, any attempt to efface or soften will result in loss of character and suggest the plastic effect incidental to modelling.
In the design—which may occupy or fill the shape and can be symmetrically arranged on a central axis, or balanced—the effect is due mainly to Light and Shade. Further interest may be imparted by the sectional form or modelling of the details, groovings, striations or other textural suggestions.
Architectural feeling was prominent in the treatment of interiors, which were invariably panelled as in the earlier period. The characteristic “linen fold” variety of the late Tudor giving place to plain panelling, framed by stiles and rails closely spaced.
Little advance was made in architecture during the reign of Louis XV, to which period belongs the Pantheon at Paris, originally the Church of St. Geneviéve, the work of Soufflet, born in 1713.
When panels occur together, either side by side or ranged one above the other, they may exert influence on one another. For example, vertical features close to the framing stiles should be repeated in the adjacent panel even though the width of each panel may differ. When the panels are one above the other, central features should be avoided and the interest should be kept close to the opposing margins; otherwise the effect will be spotty and lacking in repose.
The design of a panel or enclosed space, whatever the shape or attitude, should be complete in itself, having its proper start and appropriate terminals. If the enclosing border were removed the detail should, by its general disposition maintain the shape, even though the whole surface may not be occupied.
Panels and enclosed spaces have no structural significance, and therefore in the treatment of them attitude alone has to be considered—that is to say, the only question is, as to whether the surface to be decorated is in a vertical or a horizontal plane. In the decoration of a panel in a horizontal plane, since it is not desirable to mark any one direction, the detail may radiate diagonally or diametrically from a centre. If, however, in the case of a ceiling, details are employed in the angles formed by the walls, these should grow towards the centre of the ceiling.
Chairs and sofas were, in many instances, painted white and partly gilt. They were upholstered in silk or Beauvais tapestry, the designs of which were in panel form specially made for the purpose.
As panels present the best opportunity for display, on account of their treatment being comparatively untrammelled by the considerations to which the more structural features must submit, there is open to them
a proportionately large field of possible decoration. In the first place, the panel may be treated pictorially, with due regard to the requirements of surface and reciprocal effect which must be insisted on in mural decoration. If not treated pictorially, ornament of a traditional character, or designs derived more directly from natural forms can be made use of. In either case the ornament must complete itself within the given area.
The Husk either grows tangentially from the stem which it sometimes envelopes in the sheath form, or has at its base a floral-like feature known as the Bract; this, however, was seldom employed in Greek ornament, a boss-like annulet being more general. The Husk is largely employed to mask or cover branching, and either, as previously stated, grows tangentially from the stem, or takes a bulbous form with a broad and rounded base when it appears to be threaded on, rather than articulated to, the stem.
Scandinavian and Keltic ornament consisted mainly
It is conceivable that the attenuated effect of the mere scrolling line suggested the desirability of the occasional mass and variety that would be obtained by employing leaves.
Leaves of this type are known as Acanthus, and it is a tradition that the leaf in its original employment was derived from a natural source. The anthemion, too, is often mis-called the honeysuckle owing to the supposed resemblance; but it is much more probable that both were purely artistic creations developing as previously suggested from the painted anthemion details. Elaboration and relief expression were the natural outcome of material, and desire for surface interest. The honeysuckle origin is completely confuted by comparison of the Greek anthemion with the Assyrian treatment of the Palm, by which it was evidently inspired.
The well-known key-border is a continuous narrow band or line which traces out a labyrinth pattern by bending inwards at right angles and then returning to the original direction. This, in its simplest form, is an elaboration of adjacent squares in which a top and bottom line is alternately dispensed with.
The start mostly in evidence in ornament is that known as the Cup or Nest, which is composed of leaves arranged somewhat in the form of a tulip, with generally an inverted cup leaf below. It is composed of leaves either of the Acanthus or water type, but for the sake of variety one of these may appear in the upper part of the cup and the contrasting form in the lower. The proportion between the two parts as to height and width should also be varied, and when the cup leaf is used in pilaster panels it generally occupies the whole width of the base.
Tendrils serve a useful purpose in giving unity to the design, for which there is ample suggestion in such natural growths as the Vine, Pea, etc. Too often in traditional ornament they are employed to merely occupy obviously awkward spaces. In Roman ornament flowers articulated on tendril-like stems were often used apparently to occupy the spandril-like spaces resulting from the branching scrolls.
Independent of the angle, branches may occur opposite, that is, grow simultaneously each side of the stem, Alternate, or spirally round the stem. The distances between the branches may be equal, or, as in some instances, in alternate long and short distances. The opposite arrangement of branches is most suitable where rigidity of effect is required, but the alternate branching is susceptible of greater freedom and license.
The establishment of commercial intercourse had great influence on the arts, and did much to modify local character, as it was found necessary to study market conditions in order to secure sales; and goods were therefore made to suit foreign requirements and taste, thereby resulting in confusion and difficulty in defining the original source.
For some time after the Norman Conquest the unsettled state of the country rendered it necessary that household effects and valuables should be few in number and of such a nature as to be easily transportable. Thus chests in which belongings could be stored came into general use. They were simple in construction, and without carving, but were strengthened and decorated by hinges and scroll strappings in iron. Such chests served a double purpose, as they could be used as tables and seats.
Tapestries of Sicilian manufacture were also introduced through the medium of the Crusades, and led to the employment of painted wall decoration, evidently in imitation, even in some instances to indicating the folds of the material.
Intersecting straight lines form the basis of the different chequered patterns in conjunction with the simple device of alternating light and dark masses. Interlacing patterns are also based on intersecting straight lines. When segmental curves are employed either the chequered or interlacing effect may be obtained. Such patterns are essentially geometric and mechanical, but some idea of the growth line is suggested by the undulating stems formed out of the arcs of circles struck from either side of the border. This effect may be used with purely artificial detail, such as arises naturally from the spaces left, or with the introduction of floral detail. It is evident that the curve of the undulating stem will vary according to the position of the centres from which the arcs are struck.
The interest in Painted Decoration, apart from colour, design or subject, would be that of the individual manifestation of the designer and painter.
With regard to the domestic life, the examples of furniture in the British Museum convey some idea, and these bear a remarkable similarity to forms with which we are familiar at the present day, both in detail and construction, which is simple and direct, with mortise and tenon joints. Turning was frequently employed, and, in the decoration of furniture, inlays of ivory, ebony and glass, the Egyptians being expert workers in both glass and enamels.
Chaldean art in character had much in common with that of Egypt, the difference being more that of expression than in idea, probably due to intercourse and mutual influence. The buildings, which were mostly in brick, often faced with a form of terra-cotta, stamped with relief or ornament, were pyramidal in general form, raised on terraces forming a succession of platforms, approached by steps or inclined planes. Columns were employed, but the capitals were distinctive in the use of volutes culminating in the Persian renderings at Persepolis.
The Greek couch was not unlike the modern sofa. It was used for sleeping and resting. Chairs and stools were sometimes made of metal, and were often of a folding type.
Domestic arrangements were simple in the extreme. The dwellings of the well-to-do in England, similarly to those of the Scandinavians, consisted principally of a barn-like hall. The centre of the hall was occupied by a long table, and at one end raised on a platform or dais another table was placed in the opposite direction. At the latter sat the most important members of the household, while the lower part was reserved for retainers and servants. Heavy chairs and settles were used at the upper table, and benches or forms at the lower.
It must not be assumed that examples in every instance will be found complete in any of these phases; on the contrary, the various styles are to be found side by side in the same building, the result of later additions or rebuilding.
The feudal period was not favourable to the development of domestic conditions, though considerable advance had been made by the fourteenth century, chiefly by the Italian states and in the principal cities. The importance of the latter is evidenced particularly in the City of London, with its merchant class and civic authorities, who, by reason of their wealth, attained potential political influence, the prevailing contentious conditions necessitating the continual raising of large sums of money.
Walls were panelled, sometimes enriched with carving, with inlaid patterns in intarsia, or with inlay of different woods in imitation of marble mosaic. Hangings of Genoese velvet or stamped and gilded leather were often used.
Walnut was commonly employed for constructive purposes, and ebony and many other woods were used both for veneers and inlay, as also were such materials as ivory, tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl.
In Italy classic tradition had never died, and consequently Gothic gained no real hold there, the best examples of Italian Gothic being inferior to those of France and England. In the early days of the Revival of Learning, when interest in architecture was at its height, Italians set out to emulate the style of building and decoration which prevailed in ancient Rome. Gradually the same spirit spread to other parts of Europe. Students were attracted to the birth-place of the Revival, and workers and designers from Italy were eagerly welcomed by her neighbours.
Ceilings, and occasionally the frieze, were in plaster, decorated with intersecting ribs, or bands dividing the surface into compartments geometric in shape, and further enriched with stamped or modelled ornament.
Tables, which had hitherto been mere portable boards laid on trestles, or, if fixed, were on heavy legs with rails below, developed into more useful forms. These were the draw-inge table which could be extended by drawing out two flaps worked on runners from beneath the normal top, and the gate-leg table, which in principle resembled the modern folding type. Large tables were formed by putting a number of gate-leg tables together, and when not so in use they could be placed in different parts of the room.
The majority of examples in our national collection of this period are of Court furniture, and cannot be taken as typical of what was in common use. The over-ornamented Italian work compares unfavourably with the English Jacobean furniture, in which utility is obvious and the decoration subordinate and to the purpose.
Perspective also affects the vertical appearance more or less according to the profile curvature, and in decoration, for bodies that are bulbous in form, the foreshortening and its effect on details must be taken into consideration so as to avoid undesirable distortion.
Panelling became more varied in proportion, and heavily framed with mouldings of the Bolection type. Glass was also used in panels as at Versailles in the Hall of Mirrors, where the windows on one side of the gallery are repeated in form by mirrors in reciprocal positions.
Ceilings were also painted, wall mirrors were employed and furniture (at this period at times extremely costly) was veneered and decorated with metal mounts in gilt ormolu.
Artistic progress was hindered in England by the disturbed conditions at the time of the Civil War, and in consequence little change in style took place in this and the Commonwealth period.
With William III and his Dutch court the influence of the Netherlands became once more apparent. It was coloured by the French style of the Louis XIV period, probably through an immigration of French workmen after the Edict of Nantes in 1685. This influence can be traced in some of the furniture at Hampton Court, particularly in the carved and gilt tables of French design and English workmanship.
The chairs designed by him were based on the earlier Queen Anne type, but the vase-shaped back was replaced by pierced and carved interlacing bands and ribbons. For a time the cabriole leg was retained, but
Associated with this change was Jacques Gondouin, who died at Paris in 1818 at the age of eighty-one, whose most celebrated work is the Ecole de Médécine. He was also entrusted with the erection of the column in the Place Vendôme.
The Late Tudor decorated ceiling often had narrow moulded ribs geometrically arranged with pateræ in between and fleur-de-lys details on the outer angles where the ribs met.
In the Carolean and Georgian periods it was customary to decorate the ceiling with a heavily modelled band of foliated detail, circular or oval in form—the whole in harmony with the plan of the room. Sometimes the angles were occupied by other detail, but the centre was invariably left plain.
The ceilings of the Adam period were similarly treated. The oval or circular band would sometimes consist of a series of festoons—an arrangement which, though graceful enough in effect, cannot be defended
In vaulted ceilings or domes the division may be effected by horizontal or vertical bands, in which case the spaces between diminish in size towards the centre. If the division of the dome is vertical, or more properly speaking, by radial lines, it is desirable to divide further the spaces thus formed by introducing intermediate shapes, such as circles, unless the diameter be relatively small.
As the style became more widely disseminated it lost much of its original purity, and classical details were used in conjunction with Gothic forms and methods of construction, due, doubtless, to the apparent difficulty with which the native workers grasped the essentials of the new style; indeed, there is more intermixing of styles in England than in any other part of Europe with the exception of Flanders.
Fontainebleau, Chateau de Chambord, Chenonceaux sur Loire, Chateau de Madrid and the commencement of the Louvre were all due to Francis I, and the Italian influence was strengthened by the marriage of Henry II with Catharine di Medici.
The chimney-piece might be in wood, stone or marble, and while there were many varieties of treatment, the designs readily fall under one general type. Columns or pilasters flanked the opening,
carrying an entablature consisting of architrave frieze and cornice, the latter forming a shelf. Above this there was a similar arrangement, but on a smaller scale and with finer proportions. The space between the columns above the shelf was usually filled with carving, which sometimes took the form of armorial bearings. In many examples the upper part is divided into two panels, which were generally filled with carved ornament such as strapwork or shields charged with heraldic devices.
Doors were at first merely a part of the panelling without hanging frames, but later they were treated as important features of the rooms. They were often framed with columns and pilasters, surmounted by entablatures, with or without pediments. Obelisks were sometimes placed over the pilasters. The frieze was fluted or carved. In many cases the tympanum of the pediment or even one of the door panels bore the owner’s coat of arms.
Freedom and variety in detail are possible in Metal Repoussé, but as the light and shade is considerably modified by the nature of the surface, the design which is plastic in character incidental to method of working, should have regard for silhouette or profile display, and not be dependent upon surface modelling. The principal factor in effect is Light, both direct and reflected. Surface interest is the result of imparting by chasing various textures in striations or matt.
Evidently the artist or designer dominated the craftsman, who, however, grappled with difficulties in an admirable manner, often achieving results which would appear from the constructional point of view almost impossible of attainment.
Doorways and chimneypieces were surrounded by well-designed architraves, with carved mouldings, and were surmounted by pediments, above which it was not unusual to have carved festoons and pendants of fruit and foliage.
In the early seventeenth century the scale of the details of Flemish work increased. Diamond-shaped panels were superimposed on square ones; turned work was split and the two halves applied; drop ornaments were used below tables and from the centres of panels under arches—all these being additions to the general structure.
Interior Decoration, Græco-Roman
32 40Interior Decoration, Wall Division
186 217Italian Renaissance
84(Plate)
French Renaissance, Louis XIV
110 107English “Adam”
123 124English “Adam”
124 125French Louis XVI
126 128French Louis XVI
127 129French Louis XVI
128 130French Louis XVI
129 131METAL WORK
Græco-Roman
33 41Græco-Roman
34 42Byzantine Tradition
41 48Wrought Iron
282 307Wrought Iron, Venetian
283 307Repoussé
103 101Repoussé
281(Plate)
Cast
104 102Cast, Louis XV
115 113Sheffield Plate
125 126Filagree Jewellery
228 257Cast Iron (Modern)
222 247Surface Decoration of
284 308METHOD
Of Enlarging and Reducing Drawings
286 361MOULDINGS
Profiles of
134 138Enrichment of
135 144Detail of the Dentil
136 147Aspect of
137 148Stone, Panel Effect
138 149Wood Panels
139 150Wood Panels, Applied
140 151Wood Panels, Applied
141 152The Bolection
142 152Table Top
143 153Turned Wood
144 153Pottery
145 154Pottery
146 154Rolled Metal
147 155Drawn Metal
148 155Wrought Iron, Swaged
149 156Wrought Iron, Built up
150 156Wrought Iron, Built up
151 156Spun Metal
152 157VASE FORMS
Primitive Pottery
1(Plate)
Greek Pottery
25 34Greek Pottery, Painted Details
19 29Effect of Perspective
220 245Segments of Contoured Surfaces
226 251Segments of Contoured Surfaces
227 252Stretch-out of the Cylinder
224 249Stretch-out of the Cone
225 250Types of Vase Decoration
223 248In the luxurious life of the Romans colour
Coupled pilasters may also be employed, and in
The employment of architectural features, with a close approximation to accepted proportions, had been the keynote of the preceding style, but the work of this period broke away from all tradition. As a departure it was quite original, and constituted a phase in the development of the Renaissance that was purely and typically French, and this particularly in its massiveness and grandeur.
Simple as to structural form, and delicate in detail, it carried on the tradition of the later Graeco-Roman work on which it was founded, avoiding absolute reproduction.
No. 123. Interior Decoration. “Adam.”
Towards the end of the reign of Louis XV there was a distinct change in taste, and consequently in style. This was manifested by a return to simplicity of line,
decoration played a conspicuous part, as is evidenced in the painted work of Herculaneum and Pompeii. In this, which is generally known as the Græco-Roman period, the interiors were decorated with paintings, the general scheme being based on an architectural setting, the wall areas being divided into bays by slender columns, sometimes by pilaster panels, with plinth, or dado, frieze, and cornice, the prevailing colours being red, buff and black.
The use of glass for glazing windows was employed in the later period; that the Romans were expert workers in glass can be verified by the examples in the National collections.
As a result of the Iconoclastic movement, and the decree of Pope Leo III in 726 A.D., the art workers, deprived of local patronage and compelled to pursue their crafts elsewhere, migrated to the Rhine district, where for some centuries the Byzantine traditions were preserved and largely influenced Western art, particularly with regard to the working in metal and enamels. The attraction of the centre of the Eastern Empire for northern adventurers had its effect in the introduction of the Byzantine style into the detail of the different phases of the Romanesque.
Cast metal is produced in sand moulds, a model or pattern being employed of which the casting is a reproduction. The
Compared with the earlier period, this was a time of luxury and display, favourable to the arts generally.
Under patronage, the individual artist and craftsman was allowed to develop on his own lines, and no longer worked under the dominance of the architect. Demand, owing to growing appreciation of artistic production, eventuated in the evolution of the professional designer.
Ceilings were also painted, wall mirrors were employed and furniture (at this period at times extremely costly) was veneered and decorated with metal mounts in gilt ormolu.
Traditional ornament at its best has generally been conventional, the various details of foliage being æsthetic creations, with at times, perhaps, some suggestion derived from natural types. The scroll in the form of volutes as employed in the Ionic capital may have been suggested by the fossil known as the Ammonite
In the treatment of standards it is not so necessary to emphasise the element of support, and the diameter or lateral dimensions can vary to a greater degree. Whether the standards are fixtures or movable, as in interior fittings, there must be a base that will not only be adequate but will convey the idea of stability. In the case of portable standards the tripod form of base is possibly the most suitable, but when the standard is small the base can be circular, square or polygonal. The commonest form is a shaft, which is frequently tapered. This is supported on a bulbous or vase-shaped form arising out of the base. At the upper end of the shaft is a capital of some kind. These different parts are held together by appropriate mouldings.
As a matter of opinion it is consistent that the
When drawings are enlarged or reduced, the linear dimensions and not those of the area are implied; thus one half means one half of both width and height—really one-fourth of the area. It is obvious that half the area would be a different proportion, and it is the proportion that is concerned.
Even in England, though the architectural traditions of Inigo Jones and Sir Christopher Wren became national in character, French feeling is evident in much of the decorative work, as in the designs of Chippendale and his contemporaries; with the exception of the brilliant period of Grinling Gibbons, whose distinctive manner and robust treatment survived, and constituted a school of carving typically English and unique in its artistry and craftsmanship.
The decoration of mouldings ordinarily consists of the repetition of a unit, composed on a central axis, in which curves are contrasted with vertical features.
Considerable license prevailed in the later developments of the Renaissance in the decoration of mouldings, license which is permissible providing the general principle be borne in mind. The concensus of opinion is in favour of repetition of a simple unit and absence of variety. The vertical tendency resulting from the bi-symmetrical character of the unit is desirable, and in happy contrast to the horizontal direction of the moulding, while it also emphasises the sense of structural support.
When employed in Architecture the forms and proportions given will be found most suitable. In interior decoration and structural work, as in furniture, considerable latitude is permissible.
Attitude must be taken into account, as, for instance, in a cornice which is above the eye level it is apparent that the mouldings will not appear in elevation but in perspective; and not only the respective heights will be visible, but also the projections.
Therefore, not only panelling, but doors and structural wood-work generally are constructed of stiles
As the width of the moulding throughout is uniform, it is obvious that mitral angles must be perfect bi-sections of the meeting lines.
In furniture, mouldings play an important part, and in many positions can be regulated by functional considerations. In horizontal positions, such as in tables and sideboards, where personal contact is possible, any moulded edges should be of softly rounded character for obvious reasons.
Thus in wood-turning the general profiles are kept fairly soft, taking usually, as in the case of stair rails and furniture legs, the baluster form. As a rule there is little variation between the maximum and minimum diameters.
In moulded pottery more definition is possible than in thrown variety, but the profiles are comparatively blunt and never attain the precision due to turning.
Though the employment of rolled or drawn mouldings is usual in wrought iron-work, the effect is somewhat mechanical and lacking in character. Preferably only such forms as are attained by either swaging or building up should be employed as being more characteristic of the material and method of working.
The Greeks were expert workers in cast bronze, as is evidenced, not only by their statuary, but in many utensils of domestic life, notably the oil lamps, which were also in many instances modelled in terra cotta.
The capital of the Corinthian order may be considered to be a development of the Egyptian Papyrus form, the earliest features of both consisting of an inverted bell-shape decorated with leaf-like detail.
Decoration, when the human figure or any form of animal life is employed, is bounded with the same conditions with regard to composition, inasmuch that they
Should the shape of the object be that of a truncated cone—that is, with straight inclined sides and a circular plan, the procedure must necessarily be different. In this case the lines of the sides should be extended till they intersect. This intersection forms a centre from which arcs may be struck coinciding with the lines of top and base. The greatest diameter should be set off on each side of the elevation on the larger radius and the points joined up with the centres from which the arcs were struck. The result is a fan-shaped figure bounded by these outer lines and the two arcs. This figure gives the entire area of the surface of the truncated cone.
If a division of a third or a sixth is required the diameter or half diameter can be taken, but the segment of the area should be set off on a fresh centre line quite independent of the elevational drawing.
The areas capable of being decorated on vase forms are those bounded by mouldings. The nature and direction of the decoration will be determined by the profile curves on the sectional form. The direction of the ornament may be horizontal as in the form of a band, but to avoid distortion such detail should only be applied to surfaces of uniform curvature.
For a practical drawing the form must be shown in elevation and not in perspective. All the horizontal divisions must be drawn in parallel lines. It is obvious that except for profiles and general height, further details must be given for a working drawing.
Apart from considerations of use and material, the design of this kind of round form is based on inequalities of proportion in height and diameter. Obvious repetitions of the same dimension are to be avoided. The profiles should be carefully composed with a view to effecting harmony or contrast—the curves either approaching one another in a flexible line or being deliberately contrasting. Mouldings may be used at intervals to mark the various stages.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
IT is an article of faith that to design entails the possession of the creative faculty, which may be taken for granted with the proviso, that the creative faculty is concerned rather with the association of elements common to all than with invention pure and simple.
Human Limitations
To be more explicit, the human imagination is limited to personal or acquired experience. At no period has any form been created that is not traceable to some process of production, or natural suggestion; for instance, the artistic conception of an angel is merely a combination of human and bird form, and is in no sense an original creation.
The term originality is indeed generally misunderstood, and for the reasons already advanced it is impossible to be original. The real interest in artistic production of any kind is the expression of personality, in other words, the individual point of view of the artist; which is more or less interesting, as it is more or less personal in idea and expression.
In the training of the designer it is essential that the imagination be carefully cultivated and trained to accept suggestion from any possible source.
Design is distinct from any phase of realistic expression inasmuch as the subject does not exist in any concrete form, but has to be mentally visualised.
“Inspiration”
Too much importance is attached to what is believed to be inspiration, but obviously if inspired, design is rather in the nature of an accident than of the deliberate intention it should be and cannot be credited to the individual exponent. What at first sight suggests inspired thought may be accounted for by sub-consciousness, which is really responsible for the evolution of an idea or the solution of some problem.
It would be beneficial to reject once and for all the idea of inspiration with its tendency to encourage the “artistic temperament” in the belief that it “does not feel like it.”
The designer must be ready to respond at any time, and this implies a logical and balanced mind, capable of grasping essentials, and conditions, and of evolving some desirable solution.
Another superstition is that a design is a drawing, and it only requires a facility in this form of expression to produce a design. This is a fallacy, as though many designs are for convenience expressed through this medium, any such drawing must be made with a knowledge of the technical details of the final method of production, to be a practical design.
Process and Material
Design is therefore inseparable from consideration of material and process, with which the designer must be acquainted; without this technical knowledge it is impossible to take full advantage of the method of production either in the direction of economy or effect.
Other considerations are utilitarian and æsthetic, the former having regard to purpose, the latter to appearance.
That mere utility is not in itself sufficient is evident; the common enamelled saucepan and the medicine bottle are certainly utilitarian, but no one would assert that they are satisfying from the æsthetic point of view.
An important consideration in design is the “market” which is governed by popular or individual demand.
Those who pay the piper call the tune, and the designer has often to work to prescribed conditions.
This apparently implies restriction of individuality, but the designer who refuses to conform will probably find the market even more restricted.
It also implies that he must be well versed in the various styles or historic tradition, so that his work, if desirable, may be in harmony with existing environment; but in these circumstances it is quite possible to produce work that is individual and distinctive.
Designers, craftsmen and manufacturers are all dependent upon public demand, which must be taken into account, and their business is as far as possible to raise the general standard of taste, by producing of their best. Any attempt on their part to insist on what shall or shall not be done would undoubtedly result in failure.
To sum up, the designer must not only be an accomplished draughtsman well versed in traditional ornament and style, but it is necessary that he should cultivate the imaginative and perceptive faculties; and, in addition, the commercial qualities of promptness and business insight.
Early Training
The question is often raised, can design be taught? If by this it is understood, can the designing faculty be created in the ordinary student, the answer is distinctly in the negative; but undoubtedly students can be directed through a course of training that will enable them to produce at least work that is good, though it may not be personally distinctive.
An intelligent study of the elements and basis of pattern and of traditional styles should result in the ability to produce work on safe traditional lines that will be in harmony with environment. Such work it may be claimed would only attain the level of mediocrity; how much farther the student will go depends largely upon application and natural faculty.
Natural faculty is fairly common, while genius is rare and can look after itself. The teacher is concerned with the rank and file, and the training and development of the natural faculty should be the aim.
Where this exists it should be carefully nursed, involving great responsibility in the choice and direction of the courses of study.
The able exponent does not always make the best teacher, as students are apt to be influenced by a strong personality and to be imitative.
Influence in the early stages is quite natural, and to some extent beneficial, but if permanent, the student becomes one of the crowd in failing to develop the personality, which is the sole interest, and is the teacher’s responsibility to preserve as far as possible.
Negative criticism is not teaching, and in any suggested modifications reasons should be given, so that the teaching be constructive; to which end it is desirable that the teacher be capable of analysis and possessed of method.
Popular taste as a factor that has to be considered has already been suggested, but it is evident that the average member of the public has little knowledge of Art, and still less of design.
Art and Existence
That Art is necessary to existence may be questioned, as life would be possible—if not very interesting—if regulated only by considerations of utility. In a less cultivated state we are satisfied with the gratification of merely physical wants; so in a more cultivated state Art becomes one of the mind’s necessities.
The dictionary definition of Art is “practical skill guided by rules,” and that of an artist as “one who practises an Art.”
Possibly the former might be better expressed by the statement that “Art is an appeal to the emotions by colour, form, rhythm and sound.”
Art exists not only in that which appeals to the vision, but also in that which is transmitted to the aural sense, as in declamation, oratory and music.
The dictionary particularises the fine arts of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, but to what extent is the possession of examples of these possible to the public at large except in the most general sense?
What is invariably lost sight of is that the personal environment, the furniture and domestic surroundings of the individual constitute the actual field for artistic expression.
It is questionable whether our present system of Art instruction is sufficiently far-reaching, devoted to the training of would-be artistic exponents rather than in the cultivation of the public at large.
“Natural Taste”
There is still a superstitious belief in “natural taste,” and whereas the individual member of the public would immediately, in the ordinary affairs of life, consult a specialist, yet in a matter of artistic selection there is profound confidence in personal exercise of judgment.
It is not contended that taste may not be inherited, but taste may be good or bad.
Good taste is invariably our own; bad, the selection of others, but it is surely irrational to assume that we all naturally possess a knowledge which indisputably takes many years to acquire and cultivate.
Commercial Production
It is often stated that the common inartistic environment is the result of commercial output, and it is true that the ordinary member of the public is restricted in choice to what is on the market; but it can be urged that the object of the manufacturer is to sell, and that he makes it his business to study and supply existing demand. The manufacturer’s standard is therefore regulated by the evidence of public taste, and as this is improved so will the artistic quality of production be raised.
The buying public is influenced by what it believes to be the fashion of the moment rather than any conscious appreciation of fitness and purpose, or perception based on artistic education.
“Ornaments”
This is evidenced by a casual survey of the contents of shop windows in any neighbourhood, and it will be noticed that preponderance is given to the class of objects generally known as ornaments; objects that have no possible utility and intended solely for display.
It is conceded that many objects fall into this category, and the display of old brass candlesticks and Italian drug pots, for instance, may be excused as examples of a period when such utensils, strictly utilitarian, were incidentally made beautiful.
Modern furniture frequently offends—being too often constructed with less regard to utility than to external effect.
The present tendency is to hide in cupboards and remote regions the actual things we use, and to display objects that are only moved at the perennial spring-cleaning; one honest piece of furniture remains in the modern house—the kitchen dresser, of which we are apparently ashamed, as also of the dinner service with which it is occupied. To some extent the reason may be found in short tenancies, and the three years’ lease may have much to answer for. It is usually felt to be more convenient to move than to put up with the nuisance of re-decorating; and consequent on frequent change of environment, is a lack of interest in furniture and other personal belongings.
Modern Development
The advent of the motor car is also to some extent a factor, resulting in the town flat and country cottage, which means the abandonment of the large house and its interests and responsibilities; bringing about a change in domestic life, with the growing tendency to entertain at hotels and restaurants.
This tendency to more public life naturally results in even less interest in personal possession and environment; still further fostered by the hire-furnish system which enables its patrons to indulge in frequent change of style and locality.
Public Apathy
Lamentable as it may seem from the artistic point of view, it certainly appears that the general public are at least apathetic, and that Art appeals less to them than the facilities for change and personal indulgence; still there is plenty of scope for the designer and producer if they adapt themselves to the everchanging conditions and requirements.
The earliest design was probably due to materialistic causes, imperfect implements and difficulties and accidents turned to account.
It is conceivable that primitive man in his early essays in pottery found extreme difficulty in obtaining a smooth surface, which, notwithstanding all endeavours, would be, in the unbaked state, sensitive to scratches and other damage. This difficulty may have suggested intentionally covering the surface with such scratches, etc., more or less arranged, thus making a virtue of necessity.
Elementary Pattern
Examination of early pottery will reveal simple patterns scratched or incised, consisting mainly of straight lines arranged in zigzag or herringbone form; in some instances the pattern is apparently the result of pressure of some simple implement, resembling what is known in plastering as trowel point.
Such details are simply those that could be produced by means of some form of point, stone, stick or finger nail, and are not representative of any known form; and it is not till a much later period that any indication occurs suggestive of a growth line or natural type.
Curves seldom occur, certainly not in the scroll form, though rings singly or concentric are among the early details; but these could easily be the result of pressure by the ends of hollow reeds.
The evolute wave and scroll that figures so largely in later ornament was presumably in imitation of wire-work, forms which the material would readily suggest, particularly the continuous line of the evolute.
Development in the direction of relief ornament in primitive pottery is indicated in the decoration consisting of incrusted pellets and slithers of clay.
There is ample evidence that human appreciation and desire for expression in art is natural and instinctive, as is demonstrated by the marvellous work of the Paleolithic etchers and bone carvers, who may well be considered the first impressionists.
Early Impressionism
They could have only studied many of their subjects at a respectful distance, and this adds to the merit of the successful embodiment of characteristics.
The work is invariably realistic, that is, imitative of natural form, and is evidence of insight and appreciation that for the time and working condition is quite extraordinary, and is in distinct contrast with the earlier ornament, which is not in any way imitative of, or traceable to, any natural suggestion.
On investigation it will be found that artistic expression has generally three phases; the first where purely inorganic details are employed such as directly arise from the process and material involved.
The second phase is realistic or imitative of natural form, and the third—conventional, where the details are probably derived from natural suggestion but are treated with restraint; the last being the result of cultured appreciation of process and æsthetic considerations.
Personal Production
It is essential to assume that originally it was customary to personally produce whatever was considered necessary in the way of pottery or weapons, but that eventually certain workers would devote themselves more or less exclusively to producing for the community, being compensated by immunity from other labour, and that this developed in course of time into patronage, and the producer being entirely supported by his craft.
Appreciation from would-be possessors stimulated
No. 1.
A. Cup, Barrow, Denzell, Cornwall.
B. Cinerary Urn, Barrow, Stanlake, Oxon.
C. Sepulchral remains, Nilgiri Hills, Sth. India.
D. Jug, German sepulchral mounds, Bronze Age.
E. Sepulchral remains, Nilgiri Hills, Sth. India.
F. Early English puzzle jug.
G. Cinerary Urn, Barrow, Bloxworth Down, Dorset.
H. Food Vessel, sepulchral mounds, earliest Bronze Age, Ireland.
No. 2. A. B. Palaeolithic Bone Carvings.
C. " Etching on Bone.
the primitive craftsmen who, in proportion to their individual skill, would be rewarded, and this naturally led to the establishment of the professional worker and artist.
To appreciate the evolution of art it is necessary to consider the early social conditions.
The primitive life was insular and nomadic, the family or tribe staying in any locality only so long as food was available for themselves and herds; such communities were necessarily pastoral and predatory.
The simple requirements under these conditions would be vessels for storage, conveyance, or cooking, probably pottery; weapons, and doubtless jewellery or objects of personal adornment.
Later by necessity and under favourable conditions they would develop agriculture, which would result in fixity of abode; and this would entail precautionary measures for protection from predatory tribes.
The original camp or stockade for this purpose in time led to the fortress or castle for the protection of the town, and the more substantial nature of these gave rise to architecture.
With comparative security more pacific conditions would prevail, and the simple communal life develop into more complex social distinctions.
Early Social Conditions
The military class established for protective reasons would be dependent upon the general community for their upkeep, thus imposing taxation on the various workers, and necessitating a system of government and of officials for effective collection and distribution. Social distinctions would be drawn between the various classes, governing, administrative, military, and non-combatant; the latter would furnish the bulk of the workers and be further divided into craftsmen, agriculturists and traders.
In process of time from the executive class would develop the nobility, priestly and legal classes.
Influence
Art was originally local, that is, confined to the community, but later was subjected to various influences—Political, Religious, and Commercial.
Political, by treaty or intermarriage, when imported taste or interchange would result, or by conquest.
Judging by the past, the conquered have invariably imposed their taste on their conquerors, as instanced in the Greek conquest of Persia; that of the Romans of the Greeks, and later the perpetuation of the Roman influence after their subjugation at the hands of the Goths.
The Crusades resulted in the importation of fabrics of Eastern and Sicilian origin, and may be classed as a religious influence; an earlier example of which may be cited in the edict of Pope Leo III in A.D. 726 in response to the iconoclastic movement, by reason of which the Byzantine art workers, deprived of their living, emigrated to the Rhine district.
Commercial Intercourse.
No. 3. 14th Century Textile showing Heraldic influence.
The establishment of commercial intercourse had great influence on the arts, and did much to modify local character, as it was found necessary to study market conditions in order to secure sales; and goods were therefore made to suit foreign requirements and taste, thereby resulting in confusion and difficulty in defining the original source.
Notable, for instance, were the Sicilian weavers, who, contrary to their local traditions, introduced heraldry into the patterns of their fabrics, so as to conform to the taste of the crusaders.
The Phœnicians were the early merchant adventurers, and traded in work of Tyrian and Sidonian production with remote parts of Europe, taking back local produce in exchange. Later on, through the medium of the Hanseatic league, brass work from Flanders and cast-iron fire-backs from Sussex were distributed through-out the area of their operations; of which surviving examples demonstrate that local taste and requirement were considered and embodied.
Effect on Design
Apart from this cause of loss in local character, Art production was further influenced by the rise in social position of the worker.
When the craftsman remained the sole factor, his design and work was invariably true to materialistic conditions; but with increasing emolument incidental to appreciation and patronage, the designer emerged as a professional.
In the early times the craftsman was independent to a great extent of architectural influence, but later he was compelled to study the architectural environment and adapt his designs in accordance.
Even then he was true to his craft conditions until the designing was taken out of his hands by the newly evolved professional who, in many instances had little knowledge of, or was indifferent to the technical side of the craft.
Possibly the greatest offender in this respect was the French designer of the Rococo period, whose woodwork design is regardless of constructive detail, and it is to the everlasting credit of the workmen that they overcame the difficulties thrown in their way, and that so much of this work is still in existence.
Ethical Side of Art
Art is also reflective of the ethics and morals of the time; compare, for instance, the robust character of Gothic work with the lack of meaning and insincerity of the later Renaissance, degenerating into the license of the Rococo.
Much that is commonly regarded as ornament in traditional work was originally invested with symbolic meaning, in later times lost sight of, with resultant loss of character and interest.
The study of traditional work is essential to the designer, not merely for reproduction but on account of its value as reflective of the experience and point of view of past exploiters.
Desire for Novelty
The present is marked by a feverish anxiety to be new, but the old worker had a more humble spirit and was content to carry on a tradition a little further if possible.
Much that appears to be new will on investigation prove to be an old friend in disguise, and in venturing on what is apparently a new idea it may be well to reflect as to whether it may not have occurred to others, and whether it is worth doing.
“Novelty,” a detestable word, should have no place in artistic considerations. That which is really good should be good for all time; but the sporadic outbreaks that occur from time to time in so-called new phases, have their little day and relapse into the limbo of the forgotten. In the meantime tradition still goes on, sometimes progressing, now and then retrogressing, but at all times unbroken.
History as written is misleading, dealing as it does with personalities and conquests; the real history of the world can be read in its artistic development.
CHAPTER II
HISTORIC REVIEW
SOME of the factors in the evolution of Art have already been briefly suggested, but to thoroughly appreciate artistic production a passing acquaintance, at least, with the various phases of historic developments is essential. The scope of the present work obviously renders it impossible to deal with the subject in detail, but libraries are accessible to those who are desirous of extending their knowledge.
It has already been stated that the earlier crafts were independent of any influence other than that of material and process, and this has continued in some of the crafts to the present time; but those more closely allied to building, particularly those associated with furniture and decoration, eventually became subject to the architectural phase or style of the period, which dominated form and detail.
Style.
Style may be described as manner of expression, either individual or local, and for convenience is defined by nationality and period. It is usual to speak of Greek, Roman, Gothic, etc., of such a century; in the case of the Renaissance, it is customary to particularise the variants, as Italian, French, English, etc., also with the period or century.
The development of style, intimately involved as it is in the social, religious and political history of nations, must ever be powerful in its interest and far-reaching in its appeal.
The first idea in the mind of man is undoubtedly that of utility, but in succeeding stages of culture there comes a natural craving for something more than this. And so with the progress of a race we can trace the progress of its decorative art.
Inter-Communication
Then there is the consideration of the effect that one race or community inevitably has on another with which it comes in contact—either through conquest or through the establishment of commercial relations. Naturally the market is captured by the workmanship displaying the finest qualities, æsthetic and practical, and these qualities advance with the development of society and with progress in mechanical skill. As a result of conquest the civilisation of either conqueror or conquered must become the dominant influence, and the possible fusion and interchange of ideas may modify style to a considerable extent.
Climate and Material
Locality has always been a determining factor, particularly in architecture where the material available is of necessity utilised, and in most cases is the one best suited to the climatic conditions; for instance, where wood abounds we find it successfully employed.
Climate is also largely responsible for architectural form. In the North, owing to heavy snows, the roofs are high-pitched. The early Egyptian buildings were of mud and wattle, the readiest material to hand, and form ample protection from the sun in a practically rainless district. It is interesting to note that the character of these structures was imparted to their later work in stone. This was used in the most important buildings, and was readily obtainable from the Nubian quarries and transported down the Nile on rafts.
Phases in Style
It must be remembered that although broad classifications can be made in styles, yet there are intermediate stages which are transitional, and which are usually due to the importation of some foreign influence. The phases of a transitional period can usually be defined; at first the new style is slavishly imitated or else executed by the foreign worker exploiting it. This is followed by its being used in conjunction with the native construction, and lastly, the native interpretation of the foreign style is possibly grafted on to older forms.
It should be understood that at no time was there any great immediate change in style, but that there are phases which can be described as typical, connected by periods of gradual change or transition; due, doubtless, to individual expression of taste, either on the part of exponent or patron, or as previously suggested, by influences political, religious or commercial.
Careful study will show that the change in the majority of instances was due to reaction from a florid to a more severe treatment, which in its turn became redundant in character and detail. Apart from the artistic point of view, these changes are interesting as reflective of the character of the times.
From the constructive point of view there are two distinct principles to be appreciated, the Lintel and the Arch. The Lintel, which is the earlier, may be described as a large stone style, and consists of the bridging of apertures by means of horizontal slabs, supported by vertical columns or piers. This is a method of construction with distinct limitations, as it was impossible to bridge large areas or spaces without frequent support.
The Lintel
No. 4. The Lintel.
The joints of the Lintel necessarily occur over the centres of the supporting columns, and the space between was controlled by the size of the obtainable material and the imposed weight it could bear; the result being, as in the great hall at Karnak, a forest of closely spaced columns. It was not until the principle of the Arch was developed into vaulting that interiors of any considerable dimension with clear floor spaces were possible.
Lintel construction was employed in the Egyptian, Chaldean and Greek styles.
The Arch, as a constructive form, did not appear until a later period, and possibly was due to some extent to the employment of brick and stones of small size.
No. 5. Tomb of Tantalus in Lydia. Vault form, but not vault construction.
Form or shape is not involved, as it is quite possible to so shape the Lintel as to give the appearance of the Arch by cutting the underside to the required curve. In the early Greek architecture examples have been found of both Arch and vault appearance, but these are the result of horizontal courses, successively projecting; that is, built in the form of inverted steps, the underside being cut to the arch curve, and is a form of construction restricted to bridging relatively small areas.
The Arch
No. 6. A. Structural Arch. B. Arch appearance, result of cutting away.
The principle of the Arch depends upon the separate pieces of material being formed to a wedge shape, the joints corresponding to radial lines drawn through the centre from which the Arch curve is struck.
The weak part of the Lintel is the centre of the span which may have a tendency to give way under pressure, but the wedged construction of the Arch renders the centre strong enough to bear the imposed weight.
In contrast with the Lintel, material of small size could be employed, not only stone, but brick being used in Arch construction.
No. 7. Section of Gothic Vault showing courses of stone and centering.
The Lintel, in relatively small spans, is sometimes composed of separate small stones, shaped to fit each other in the form of Joggled joints.
No. 8.
A. Lintel in one piece.
B. C. D. Various forms of Joggled joints.
No. 9. Gothic Vaulting showing intersecting ribs forming framework of structure.
The outward and manifest appearance suggests to the lay observer a striking divergence in the style known as Gothic from the Roman manner of building; but the main difference is in proportion and treatment of detail, the underlying principle being much the same. The use of the Arch and vaulting was common to both, but in the Gothic development greater strength was obtained, with even greater economy of material. The archivolts and intersecting ribs of vaults, with their supports, literally formed the bones of the building, constituting a framework to which the bays of walls and roofing were only a matter of filling in.
In the words of Mr. C. H. Moore, in his work on “Development and Character of Gothic Architecture”—“the Gothic style developed into a system where stability depends not upon any inert massiveness except in the outermost abutments, but upon a logical adjustment of active parts whose opposing forces produce a perfect equilibrium. It is thus a system of balanced thrusts, as opposed to the former system of inert stability.”
Egyptian
The Egyptian buildings, in common with those of Palestine, were frequently of mud, strengthened by wattle or reeds interwoven, evidence of which is apparent in later incised decoration. Buildings were also of sun-baked bricks, those of an important character being faced with stone; the exteriors of these latter were simple and severe, the walls being slightly tapered and surmounted by a simple cove cornice, with gateways and entrances of massive form.
The internal effect was of mystery, doubtless due to the comparative absence of light, and to the many columns necessary to carry the roofings. The columns which were mostly employed in the interiors, were squat and stunted in proportion, being from four to seven diameters in height, with capitals of the Lotus, Papyrus or Hathor variety. Mouldings were of the simplest character and sparsely used, and the decoration included renderings of the Lotus and Papyrus plants, either painted or incised in stone with the addition of colour.
No. 10. Longitudinal section and half plan of Egyptian Temple.
Egyptian architecture may be generally described as monumental, while the ornament was apparently inspired by religious feeling and desire for symbolic expression, rather than by more æsthetic considerations.
In Egyptian Art ornament is subordinated to the architecture, and the employment of wall pictures and of inscriptions in the hieroglyphic character, added considerably to the decorative effect. In the wall pictures the figures were depicted in silhouette, in conventional attitudes, the head and limbs being displayed in severe profile, while the torso is represented in full front view. The methods of expression were painting, or incised in outline on stone, invariably filled in with colour, the effect in both being of flatness, with little suggestion of modelling or rotundity, the various features being defined by local colour.
No. 11. Entrance Façade of Egyptian Temple.
Though much of the Egyptian work was in the round, and evident of great sculptural ability and appreciation of form, yet generally their decorative work may be described as a colour style, rather than one in which light and shade were important factors.
No. 12. Egyptian Capital from Philae.
With regard to the domestic life, the examples of furniture in the British Museum convey some idea, and these bear a remarkable similarity to forms with which we are familiar at the present day, both in detail and construction, which is simple and direct, with mortise and tenon joints. Turning was frequently employed, and, in the decoration of furniture, inlays of ivory, ebony and glass, the Egyptians being expert workers in both glass and enamels.
No. 13. Egyptian Furniture.
A. Stand Inlaid.
B. Ebony seat inlaid with ivory.
C. Folding stool.
D. Ebony box inlaid with porcelain and ivory.
Illustrations taken from bas reliefs and wall painting give a good idea of the furniture, which is often depicted as gilded.
The Egyptian couch was straight like an ottoman. Sometimes the couch took the form of an animal with the head and tail at either end, and the legs and feet carved to complete the effect.
Chaldean
Chaldean art in character had much in common with that of Egypt, the difference being more that of expression than in idea, probably due to intercourse and mutual influence. The buildings, which were mostly in brick, often faced with a form of terra-cotta, stamped with relief or ornament, were pyramidal in general form, raised on terraces forming a succession of platforms, approached by steps or inclined planes. Columns were employed, but the capitals were distinctive in the use of volutes culminating in the Persian renderings at Persepolis.
No. 14. Egyptian Chairs.
A. Wall painting in British Museum, B.C. 1500-1400.
B. at Thebes.
Compound animal and human forms, analagous to the Egyptian sphinx, were employed, such as the winged lion and bull with human heads, generally to flank the gateways. Wall pictures in low relief formed part of the interior decoration, these being arranged in successive rows and representing historic episodes were, like the Egyptian decoration, probably coloured. A prominent detail in the decoration is that of the date palm which, symbolical in meaning, was the prototype of the Greek anthemion; the volute also occurs in much of the decoration in the form of the evolute scroll.
Our conclusions regarding Assyrian woodwork are drawn from the sculptured bas-reliefs of stone or alabaster with which the Assyrians faced their brick structures internally and externally. The examples in the British Museum are about 888 B.C.
Furniture, such as tables, thrones and couches, was evidently made of wood, and was probably inlaid with ivory and other precious materials.
No. 15. Assyrian Seat.
On the monuments of Khorsabad representations have been discovered of chairs, supported by animals and human figures. The intention in the use of figures was probably to depict prisoners taken in war.
Chairs, thrones, stools and tables were square in shape. The ends of the rails and legs were carved, and the ornamentation employed for these and similar positions included the heads of lions, bulls and rams, the sacred palm and pine cone.
No. 16. Capitals from Persepolis.
The seats of chairs and thrones were much higher than is now customary, and necessitated the use of foot-stools. In some cases both chairs and tables were made to fold on a central pivot.
In some cases metal was used either for part or for the complete structure.
Exact chronology is a matter of surmise, but at an early period, about 4000 B.C., in the valley of the Nile and in Mesopotamia, civilization had attained a very high level, extremely favourable to the development of architecture and the artistic crafts.
The early Greeks, as a result of the peculiar formation of their coast line, like the later Scandinavians, were adventurers on the sea, piratical and trading, and were thus brought into communication with, and influenced by, the arts of Egypt and Chaldea.
Greek
No. 17. Early Treatment of Doric Order. Tomb of Beni Hassan.
Though, in their architecture, the Greeks progressed no further than the Lintel, yet they must be credited with the development of the system of the orders, which formed the basis of subsequent styles.
The two prominent orders were the Doric and the Ionic; the former has its prototype in the tomb of Beni Hasan, the date of which is 1740 B.C., while the latter is evidently derived as to the voluted form of the capital, from Assyrian and Persian originals.
No. 18. Early anticipation of Ionic Order. Tomb at Kyanea-Jaghu.
The capital of the Corinthian order may be considered to be a development of the Egyptian Papyrus form, the earliest features of both consisting of an inverted bell-shape decorated with leaf-like detail.
No. 19. Greek Vase Paintings. A. Doric columns. B. Wall fountain. C. Ionic columns with pediment.
Characteristic Greek details, such as the Anthemion and wave scroll, are traceable to the same sources.
Their architectural work, which was monumental in character, was mostly manifested in the temples, the domestic buildings being relatively unimportant.
No. 20. Greek house about 100 A.D. Bas-relief in British Museum, Bacchus visiting Icarius.
Some idea as to these may be gathered from the vase paintings in the British Museum, on which they appear simple in form, mostly Doric in character, and probably of wood construction, the metopes in the frieze being open spaces for purpose of interior lighting.
Though the Greeks invested many of their creations with Epic and Symbolic meaning, much of their ornament was purely æsthetic.
The sculptured metopes of the Parthenon, representing the conflict between the Lapithae and the Centaurs, are an example of the Epic treatment.
The Sphinx, borrowed from Egyptian art, was, however, invested with a different meaning, and is an example of the Symbolic class, which formed so large a part in Greek art.
Greek architecture differs from preceding styles in the development of mouldings, and the exterior columnar effect. The mouldings in the Ionic and Corinthian phases were enriched with carved details, probably developed from or suggested by earlier painted decoration.
No. 21. Front elevation and plan of Parthenon, Athens
No. 22. Greek Ionic Erectheum, Athens.
The Doric style was presumably so decorated, with painted details on the ovolo and abacus of the capital, and the corona and other members of the cornice.
Colour was employed on the backgrounds of the metopes, mostly blue and red, resulting in an alternation of colour with plain stone areas; the colour decoration forming horizontal bands.
One important development, due to climatic conditions, was the pitched roof, which entailed the end walls being carried up in triangular form (literally gables), which were framed by the upper members of the entablature.
This feature, technically known as the Pediment, was in buildings of importance invariably filled by sculpture, Mythological or Epic in subject, designed to occupy the shape.
The styles mostly employed were the Doric and Ionic, and these were exploited contemporaneously, the Parthenon, 430 B.C., representing the culmination of the former.
Of the Corinthian style—comparatively little used by the Greeks, though much employed and developed later—the Choragic monument at Athens, 330 B.C., is the most complete example, though the leaf capital was anticipated in a simpler form in the earlier Tower of the Winds.
The earliest representations of Greek furniture are to be found in the Syrian Room at the British Museum. These are the chairs dated about 6 B.C., in which the antique figures are seated. The backs are perpendicular, and the frame pieces of the seats are mortised into the legs.
No. 23. Greek Corinthian, Choragic Monument, Athens.
The Greek couch was not unlike the modern sofa. It was used for sleeping and resting. Chairs and stools were sometimes made of metal, and were often of a folding type.
Tables were constructed in various shapes—sometimes the supports were fashioned as heads and legs of lions and leopards, and sometimes as sphinxes with lifted wings. In common with other pieces of furniture, they were made in wood, metal and marble.
No. 24. Greek Furniture.
A. Couch or bed, Archaic Etruscan.
B. “ “ Vase painting.
C. Archaic chair, 580-520 B.C.
D. Chair from Hydria.
E. Archaic chairs, Harpy Tomb, 500 B.C
F. Archaic chairs, Harpy Tomb, 500 B.C.
The vase rooms of the British Museum provide considerable matter for study with regard to the details of Greek furniture, couches especially are frequently depicted.
The Greeks were expert workers in cast bronze, as is evidenced, not only by their statuary, but in many utensils of domestic life, notably the oil lamps, which were also in many instances modelled in terra cotta.
No. 25. Greek Pottery.
A. Kelebe (mixing bowl), 6th century B.C.
B. Lekythos (oil bottle), Athenian (about) 450 B.C.
C. Mastos, coloured black, red and white.
D. Hydria (pitcher), 350-250 B.C.
E. Kylix (goblet), 520 B.C.
Soon after the sack of Corinth in 140 B.C., Greece became a Roman province, and the Greek art workers eventually found more encouragement from Roman patronage than in local requirement.
They therefore went where their work was appreciated and rewarded, thereby effecting a potential influence in the art and work of their conquerors.
Roman
Originally there were no special native characteristics by which Roman work could be distinguished, as the Romans absorbed various influences from the races that they conquered. Their conquests extended East and West, and from these widely differing outside influences the Roman style developed.
The Romans, who by temperament, were great soldiers, organisers and engineers, rather than artistic, in their early essays in architecture were influenced by Etruscan work.
Etruria (now Tuscany) is presumed to have been a Greek colony, and the local style, a form of debased Doric, was adopted by the first Tarquin (who was of Etruscan origin) and introduced to Rome about 610 B.C.
With the growth of the Roman Empire, and its consequent wealth and development of luxury, great impetus was given to building and the arts generally.
The orders based on the Greek originals were developed in detail and proportion, particularly in the latter respect. Whereas in the Greek Doric the height of the column varied from about four, to six and a half diameters, the Roman version became more slender, being about eight diameters in height.
The Corinthian order, perhaps, underwent the greatest change, a change that has practically remained unaltered to the present day.
Vaulting
The most significant development in building was the Arch and subsequent vaulting, by means of which extensive covered areas were rendered possible. The Pantheon at Rome is covered with a hemispherical vault or dome 139 feet in diameter.
No. 26. Section and interior elevation of Pantheon, Rome.
The dome, which is interiorally occupied by radiating and horizontal ribs, resulting in five horizontal rows of cassons, or coffers, is really a casting in cement; and in principle is identical with the present method of building, in which concrete or cement forms a considerable part in construction.
Apart from other reasons, the Arch was necessitated by small material, which, in the case of the Lintel, could not be employed without the device of joggelled joints. In the absence of suitable material to cover spans, it became necessary to devise some means to the desired result. This was achieved by bridging the span with separate pieces of material cut to the necessary wedge form.
The Arch was first applied to such useful and necessary buildings as the Cloaca Maxima, to aqueducts, bridges, and viaducts, from which its firm construction and power of resistance were found to be applicable to buildings of many storeys.
No. 27. Coliseum, Rome. Section and part elevation showing arch and vault construction.
Greek Influence
Apart from the early employment and development of the Arch, the Romans were content to borrow their architecture from outside sources, and also were indebted to the Greeks for their ideal expressions in poetry, art, even to religion, whose gods they invested with different names.
Notwithstanding, the Roman development in architecture was undoubtedly dignified and grand in manner, particularly in their treatment of the Corinthian order.
With regard to detail, much of the delicacy and refinement of the Greek character was lost, yet this was compensated by greater variety and freedom of treatment, especially in the development of the Acanthus type of foliage.
No. 28. Arch of Titus, Rome.
Development of Ornament
Decoration was more generally used, pilaster and other panels being occupied with ornament arranged on growth lines, mostly composed of undulate stems, with scrolling branches, clothed with conventional leaves and flowers.
There was also a tendency to employ occasionally natural types in foliage, and further variety was obtained by the introduction of human and animal form, which, though originally significant, were used for their æsthetic value.
The Roman domestic life was materially different from the Greek, and while they had their Temples, they also had their palaces, public halls and baths, besides the amphitheatre and the circus.
No. 29. Typical Roman Ornament.
Excavations at Herculaneum and Pompeii have thrown considerable light on the domestic life of the Romans—their dwellings, decorations and furniture.
No. 30. Roman couch. Sepulchral urn, British Museum. No. 31. Roman Sella.
Græco-Roman Painted Decoration
In the luxurious life of the Romans colour
No. 32. Graeco-Roman Hall in house of Sallust, Pompeii.
decoration played a conspicuous part, as is evidenced in the painted work of Herculaneum and Pompeii. In this, which is generally known as the Græco-Roman period, the interiors were decorated with paintings, the general scheme being based on an architectural setting, the wall areas being divided into bays by slender columns, sometimes by pilaster panels, with plinth, or dado, frieze, and cornice, the prevailing colours being red, buff and black.
No. 33.
The decoration of the frieze in many instances suggested openings, through which distant vistas could be seen. The bays or spaces between the apparent dividing supports were further decorated with small panel pictures with frames; generally the supports were united by festoons or scrolling detail, the whole expressed by painting in colour without actual relief.
The use of glass for glazing windows was employed in the later period; that the Romans were expert workers in glass can be verified by the examples in the National collections.
No. 34.
For artificial lighting of interiors oil lamps were customary, which were boat shape in form, sometimes used in groups or clusters suspended from branching stems or supported on tripod standards. These were invariably in cast bronze, though terra-cotta was also used, but in either material were extremely beautiful in form and detail.
In any attempt to review the past, it is difficult to visualise the actual life at the back of the pageantry, with which we are naturally prone to be obsessed, in history as written; but the exhibits of the various domestic appliances of the Roman period at the British Museum are of considerable interest, and a scrutiny of these cannot fail to bring the individual to a closer understanding of the times and people.
At Byzantium or Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, a distinct style developed out of a curious mingling of the characteristics of East and West; and it was marked particularly by a grafting of earlier Greek detail on to simplified Roman forms.
The establishment in 330 A.D. of Byzantium or Constantinople as the Eastern capital of the Roman Empire and the recognition by the state of Christianity resulted in a great change in architecture and the associated crafts. Prior to this the early Christians had been compelled to hold their meetings secretly, and when this was no longer necessary they at first utilised for their public worship the existing Basilicas or public halls. Later on churches were built, the plan being arranged in the form of a Greek cross (e.g., with equal arms), surmounted by a central dome.
Domes
The dome was supported on four piers, united by arches, and the change in plan from these piers to the dome necessitated vaultings from the inner angles to reconcile the diagonal dimension to the diameter of the imposed circle. These vaultings spreading from the angles are technically known as Pendentives. The
No. 35. Byzantine. Section and plan of St. Vitali, Ravenna.
No. 36. Byzantine Capitals from Ravenna.
four arms of the cross constituting transepts, nave and chancel were also surmounted by either complete or semi-domes.
The Byzantine dome differs from the Roman type in matters of detail, thus the interior surface is plain instead of the intersecting ribs with resulting coffers as in that of the Pantheon. In this latter the lighting of the interior is accomplished by a central opening or eye, but in some Byzantine examples, notably St. Sophia (built for Justinian by Anthemius) the lighting is the result of windows ranged round the base, constituting what is known as the ariel type of dome.
The dome of St. Sophia is segmental instead of hemispherical as in the Pantheon, being only one-sixth of the diameter in height, the diameter being 106 ft. 7½ ins.
The architectural features generally were considerably modified, particularly with regard to mouldings, which were almost eliminated. The entablature was also at times dispensed with, and arches springing direct from the capitals of supporting columns were general; a feature which is characteristic of the later Romanesque. The capitals became simple in form, being mostly inverted pyramidal or cushion shapes, in which the abacus is considerably enlarged and as a rule unmoulded.
The carved details reveal simplicity of execution, being merely cut back from the surface, the relief being uniform and greatly in contrast to the plastic feeling of the Roman work. Though the leaves employed were of the acanthus type, they were quite devoid of modelling, being merely channelled with V-shaped grooves; the eyes between the lobes being round and suggestive of the use of the drill, the execution being a reversion to the archaic Greek.
No. 37. Byzantine Panels. St. Appollinare, Nuovo, Ravenna.
Early Christian Art
A notable feature in the Byzantine detail is the prevalence of the circle, frequently grouped in three, four and five, with the respective significance of the Trinity, the Evangelists and the Cross, or Five Wounds. The grotesques of the Pagan detail are conspicuously absent, giving place to forms more in keeping with the new religion, such, for instance, as the cross and the vine.
It is questionable if the polytheism of the average cultured Roman was taken very seriously, but incidental to the religious observances were certain rites and symbolic forms, with which the Christians were familiar, and the early preachers evidently found it a matter of policy to invest some of these with a new meaning. During the period of intolerance and persecution, signs and symbols grew in importance as a
No. 39. Byzantine Interior, Ravenna.
No. 40. 5th Century Mosaic Work in the Baptistery at Ravenna.
From a Drawing by Miss Dora Bard.
means of secret communication; and in the later period when secrecy was no longer necessary, these became a corporate part of the ornament and decoration.
No. 38. Byzantine Panel from the sarcophagus of St. Theodore. St. Appollinare in Classe, Ravenna.
In contrast to the Roman ornament, in which the effect depended mostly on light and shade, the Byzantine was a colour style, and it became customary to line the walls of the principal buildings with marble slabs quartered and placed reciprocally, so that the figurings formed symmetrical patterns. Mosaic work, either of marble or glass, constituted the decoration in such suitable positions as the floors, spandrils, lunettes and domes, gold being largely employed in the backgrounds. Windows, at times large in area, were glazed as in Roman times with cast slabs of glass, set in metal frames, usually bronze; and thin slabs of translucent marble and onyx were also used for glazing purposes.
Metal Work and Enamel
The Byzantines were also expert carvers of ivory and workers in metal, decorated in repoussé and with wire filigree; the metal work was invariably set with jewels and precious stones, in conjunction with champleve enamel, the whole being gilt.
As a result of the Iconoclastic movement, and the decree of Pope Leo III in 726 A.D., the art workers, deprived of local patronage and compelled to pursue their crafts elsewhere, migrated to the Rhine district, where for some centuries the Byzantine traditions were preserved and largely influenced Western art, particularly with regard to the working in metal and enamels. The attraction of the centre of the Eastern Empire for northern adventurers had its effect in the introduction of the Byzantine style into the detail of the different phases of the Romanesque.
No. 41. Champleve enamel Byzantine tradition.
The tradition thus becoming widely known was finally absorbed by local craftsmen and modified according to local conditions, with the result that both in expression and in execution, the style tended to become more and more crude, until the original forms and details were almost entirely lost. But in spite of changes the classic feeling never completely died out.
Roman Influence Abroad
Under the Roman system, in colonizing, their architecture, customs and laws were imposed on the conquered population. When later, under stress of events, the governing bodies and military forces had to be withdrawn, these left behind them universal traces of their occupation and influence. The inhabitants of the provinces thus abandoned and thrown on their own resources, were immediately menaced by invasions, which had been hitherto kept in check by the armies of occupation, and for some protracted period ensued a condition of unrest and conflict, under which the arts naturally suffered. Eventually, from the chaos emerged a native manner of building, which, though rude and coarse in execution, was based on the Roman tradition.
Romanesque Style
The transition thus brought about is known for convenience as Romanesque. Its most typical exponents were possibly the Scandinavians, whose Christianised descendants, the Normans, preserved the same tradition. The work of the Saxons in England, although stimulated by the same influences, was much cruder in execution.
This period was not remarkable for great artistic development, and luxury in any form was practically non-existent.
Notwithstanding local character, the prevailing features are similar, in that the round arch is employed, supported by columns or piers, from which the arches spring direct, the entablature being eliminated.
The columns are squat in proportion, and surmounted by capitals of truncated cone or cushion shape, the abacus being deep and square in plan.
Mouldings were little used, and the archivolts were formed in a series of recessed bands, either plain or decorated. Distinct from the Byzantine style, the Romanesque depended for effect upon contrast of light and shade.
No. 42. Romanesque Capitals from Cloister, St. Guillem du Desert, Herault. Reminiscent of Roman Corinthian.
Details were carved, and rude in execution, preserving to some extent the Byzantine feeling, the prevailing ornament being the undulate stem, with scroll branches, clothed with leafage, simply channelled or grooved, but less spikey in form.
Church Development
Of the buildings of importance of this period the churches form the most interesting examples of development. The usual plan consisted of an oblong nave with side aisles half its width and height.
No. 43. Romanesque Tower, Thaon, Normandy.
At the end of the nave, projecting transepts separated it from the chancel (which is generally raised in level), continuing the line of nave, the whole taking the shape of the Latin cross in contrast to the Byzantine plan; the chancel end facing East, the nave West, and the transepts respectively North and South.
A feature of this period is the Apse, a semi-circular extension of the choir or chancel; when the side aisles were extended to the latter they formed what is known as an ambulatory, or passage way, round the choir, within which was the altar, and the stalls for monks and clergy.
The Narthex or atrium, of the basilicas, utilised by the early Christians for their public worship (to which were admitted those outside the community) was abandoned, its place being taken by the West entrance or porch, enclosed between two towers.
No. 44. Romanesque plan of Cathedral, Worms.
The upper walls of the nave were carried on arches supported by columns, which constituted the division of the side aisles; these latter being formed by vaultings from the nave columns to the outer walls, the vaulting being roofed over.
The upper part of the nave was pierced by windows, small and comparatively narrow, with semi-circular heads forming the Clerestory. Similar windows in some instances occur in the aisles, the jambs of these windows being bevelled both inside and out for the freer admission of light.
The nave was roofed in with timber, but as the result of frequent destruction by fire, the roof was eventually vaulted; in early examples by the barrel or tunnel vault, but later this developed into cross-vaulting, which was also introduced into the side aisles.
No. 45. Romanesque, bay of interior, Worms Cathedral.
No. 47. Romanesque Church interior with Triforium.
No. 46. Romanesque Window, St. Alban’s Abbey.
In the early churches of this period the walls of the nave were unbroken except for the upper windows. With the development of vaulting, the space above the aisle vaults and the covering roof was used as a gallery known as the Triforium. This was not lighted from without, and was a distinguishing characteristic of the Romanesque and early Gothic styles.
The introduction of vaulting in the roof of the nave entailed supports for the arch bands or vaulting ribs, which were carried on pilasters or half columns, dividing the interior façade into bays.
No. 48. Construction of intersecting vaults.
Dark Ages
The unsettled condition of Europe, both before and after the final subjugation of the Roman Empire by Charlemagne in 774 A.D., was necessarily detrimental to artistic progress, and the period to the fifteenth century may be truly described as the dark ages as regards the arts and culture in general.
Such literary knowledge as survived was mostly confined to the priests, and under the monastic and feudal systems that prevailed the bulk of the people were kept in ignorance and subjection.
Building was devoted almost exclusively to fortresses and churches, the domestic conditions being extremely crude as compared with earlier periods, though Eastern luxury must have been known and experienced by the alien adventurers to the Byzantine courts.
This was a period of reversion to comparative barbaric taste by people indifferent to refinement and luxurious environment, to whom, however, personal adornment would appeal in the form of jewellery and sumptuous attire.
No. 49. Romanesque, south door Kilpeck Church, Herefordshire.
Domestic arrangements were simple in the extreme. The dwellings of the well-to-do in England, similarly to those of the Scandinavians, consisted principally of a barn-like hall. The centre of the hall was occupied by a long table, and at one end raised on a platform or dais another table was placed in the opposite direction. At the latter sat the most important members of the household, while the lower part was reserved for retainers and servants. Heavy chairs and settles were used at the upper table, and benches or forms at the lower.
Walls, when covered at all, were adorned with hangings, but then only at the dais end of the hall. Fireplaces in the modern sense were not known. The fire was built on the floor, and the smoke allowed to escape as best it might.
Arrangements for sleeping were no more complex than those for dining. Beds were provided only for persons of distinction, and were placed in recesses screened off from the hall by curtains or shutters. They were, in fact, little more than wooden boxes, with sacks of straw to serve as mattresses.
Later, bedsteads were used of massive construction, which on occasions of journeying were placed on wheels, forming a sort of coach or carriage ironically termed whirlicots, in which the aged and infirm were transported.
No. 50. Chair of Dagobert, French 7th century, bronze.
For some time after the Norman Conquest the unsettled state of the country rendered it necessary that household effects and valuables should be few in number and of such a nature as to be easily transportable. Thus chests in which belongings could be stored came into general use. They were simple in construction, and without carving, but were strengthened and decorated by hinges and scroll strappings in iron. Such chests served a double purpose, as they could be used as tables and seats.
No. 51. 14th Century Textile Sicilian tradition.
For convenience of transport, chairs and stools were made with projecting tenons secured by pins or wedges so as to be easily taken apart.
Crusades
That the Crusades were incidental to the importation of examples of Eastern art, is evidenced by the celebrated cup of Eden Hall, on the safe preservation of which depended the worldly welfare of the owners, according to the couplet:
“If that cup either break or fall,
Farewell the luck of Eden Hall.”
This cup is of Saracenic origin, and is of glass, painted in enamels, similar in character to the mosque lamps in the British Museum.
Tapestries of Sicilian manufacture were also introduced through the medium of the Crusades, and led to the employment of painted wall decoration, evidently in imitation, even in some instances to indicating the folds of the material.
No. 52. Sicilian Textile.
A precept exists in the twentieth year of the reign of Henry III directing “that the King’s great chamber at Westminster be painted a good green colour like a curtain,” and “that the King’s little wardrobe should also be painted of a green colour to imitate a curtain.”
This was undoubtedly suggested by the custom abroad of draping the walls with tapestries, though carpets were unknown. Probably the first time these were seen in England was in the apartments in the Temple occupied by the suite of the infant Don Sancho, archbishop elect of Toledo, who with Don Garcias Madinez, officiated as avant-courriers to Eleanor of Castile in the autumn of 1255.
Pointed Arch
No. 53. Types of Buttress.
The origin of the pointed Arch, which is the chief characteristic of the Gothic style, is much disputed, but there is ample evidence that the new departure appeared almost simultaneously in different parts of Europe soon after the First Crusade. It is reasonable to assume that this particular form was suggested by examples in Syria, where arches elliptic and even ogival in shape were employed.
Though not common in Roman work, the pointed Arch was employed in the Aqueduct built to supply Constantinople with water, completed under Valens, 364-378 A.D., by which it is probable that the Saracenic work was inspired.
Whatever the origin, the innovation was found to be economic, and more sound in construction than the older prevailing method. It was also more flexible in design, as apertures of varying dimensions could be spanned with arches equal in height, which is not possible with the semi-circular form, except by the expedient of stepping.
Further strength was imparted by the employment of buttresses on the outer walls, as well as at the angles of the building.
Gothic Style
In France, England and Germany the Gothic style superseded the Romanesque with varying phases of transition, and with local development of character. In Spain the Moors had established a system of architecture thoroughly Eastern that was but little affected by the Gothic style, the influence of which is apparent in the later Spanish rendering of the Renaissance.
In Italy the Gothic attained but slight development in comparison with more northern and western treatments, at least from a structural point of view. The Italian phase known as Lombardic is conspicuous for the evidence of Eastern and Byzantine traditions.
Phases of Gothic
The phases and dates of the Gothic style in England are as follow, and lasted well into the sixteenth century, with periods of transition:
Early English or Pointed, 1189 to 1272. Transition 1272 to 1307.
Middle period or Decorated, 1307 to 1377. Transition 1377 to 1407.
Late or ... Perpendicular, 1407 to 1547.
No. 54. Early pointed Gothic Pier, elevation and plan.
In church architecture the general plan and essential features of the Romanesque style were preserved; but there was a complete change in the details, as well as a general lightening of the whole structure.
The heavy columns or piers gave place to clusters of slender shafts, which supported the archivolts and vaulting ribs, these shafts being bound together at bases and capitals.
The Triforium was retained, the openings being arched and similar in detail to the windows.
Early Pointed
In the early variety of the Pointed Gothic the arches were acutely pointed, technically known as “lancet,” but later became more equilateral. The windows were narrow in proportion, and were single, or in groups.
No. 55. Early pointed bay with Triforium. Window of Aisle is of later date.
Later they were divided into compartments, and the triangular head filled in with stonework, pierced with simple geometrical openings, known as plate tracery, thus forming a transition between the simple open lancet and the intersecting ribs, which constituted the true tracery of the later periods.
Commonly shafts of circular section, with caps and bases, were employed in the windows, both internally and externally.
Roofs were high pitched, and the ceilings vaulted, the vaulting ribs being moulded and decorated at the intersections with carved bosses.
Mouldings were rich in effect, being composed of a succession of hollows or flutings, contrasted and divided by rounded ribs in relief.
No. 56. Early Lancet Windows. A. Canterbury Cathedral. B. Lincoln Cathedral. C. Salisbury Cathedral.
No. 57. Early pointed Gothic Windows. Plate tracery.
Carved detail occurs in the capitals of shafts, sometimes in leaf-like forms in the bases and in the mouldings, also in the crockets, and finials of the gables, and pinnacles of the buttresses.
No. 58. Early pointed Arch Mouldings.
The ornament was extremely conventional, that on capitals, crockets and other free positions consisting of crisply curling trefoil or cinquefoil groups of lobes having little resemblance to natural type.
The later windows became more elaborate in the tracery, which was essentially geometric, and further elaborated by cusping. Triforium arches and canopy heads being similar in design.
No. 59. Early pointed Gothic Capital.
No. 60. Pointed Gothic tracery Windows. A. Ely Cathedral. B. Meophan Church, Kent.
The central tower, which was common in the Romanesque, developed into the spire, which was carried to a great height; the lower part occasionally pierced with openings for purpose of interior lighting, forming the lantern.
Decorated Gothic
The principal characteristics of the Decorated period are the form of the Arch, the elimination of detached shafts and the enlarged clerestory with increased lighting area.
The Arch, when used structurally, was still of the simple pointed form, but in small windows, niches and canopies, the shape at the head became ogival and the tracery displays considerable license as compared with that of the preceding phase.
No. 61. Early pointed Gothic Spire, Warmington.
No. 62. Decorated Gothic Windows. A. Merton College, Oxford. B. Cathedral, Oxford.
Mouldings were shallower as contrasted with the undercut hollows of the earlier period; in many instances the arch mouldings were merely a continuation of those of the supporting piers, which took the place of the earlier detached shafts.
The greatest innovation occurs in the foliage, in which natural suggestion is evident, adapted with considerable freedom, and skilful in execution.
No. 63. Decorated Gothic Carving, Chancel screen, Southwell Minster.
In the preceding style the foliage of the capitals invariably sprung from the necking, in simple firm curves, revealing the underlying bell-shape. In the Decorated period the foliage generally wreaths round the structural form, the detail being frequently deeply pierced and cut away at the back till it was almost detached, giving an extremely rich effect.
Diaper detail of pateræ, or foliage arranged in squares, occurs in the spandrils between arches.
No. 64. Decorated Gothic Mouldings.
Nos. 65 & 66. Decorated Gothic Capitals, leaves deeply undercut and wreathed round bell.
A distinct feature of this period and of the succeeding Perpendicular style, is the battlement, which was used in all suitable positions either as a parapet or as a cresting. The Decorated variety differs from the later, in that the moulded edges only appear horizontally, whereas in the Perpendicular period the moulded edge is continuous, being carried round the angles of the battlement.
Externally the spire gave place to the tower with culminating lantern.
During the period of the style known as Decorated Gothic, furniture was framed and panelled, and the details closely resembled those used in architectural decoration in stone.
No. 67. Decorated Gothic Spire, Whittlesea.
The general effect of Decorated is a tendency to horizontal banding, in contrast to the vertical effect of the earlier period, to which eventually the later Perpendicular reverted.
Perpendicular Gothic
In the succeeding phase the Triforium which had gradually become less important, entirely disappeared and the clerestory windows enlarged, to the extent that this part of the structure became merely a frame for the increased glass areas.
It will be apparent from the foregoing that whereas in the early churches of the Romanesque period the interior effect was mysterious owing to inadequate openings for light, the later and growing tendency was to increase the lighting capacity by enlarging the windows of the clerestory.
Glass Windows
Doubtless the development in the size of windows was due to some extent to the growing use of glass, which, though rare, was employed during the later Romanesque through Byzantine tradition.
No. 68. Perpendicular Gothic Bay shewing development of Clerestory.
These early windows were geometric in design, consisting of medallions, oval, circular or quatrefoil in shape, containing figure subjects set in a diapered background, the whole being executed in small pieces of coloured glass united by lead framings.
While the windows were single openings, this form of glazing necessarily restricted the size, though more adequate lighting was achieved by grouping two or more windows together.
With the development of tracery the technical difficulties were to some extent overcome; a window divided into comparatively small compartments could be more easily glazed than single openings of large size; thus glazed windows of greater dimensions were rendered possible.
No. 69. Perpendicular Gothic Windows.
A. Aylsham Church, Norfolk.
B. King’s College Chapel, Cambridge.
In the Decorated windows the lower lights were devoted to the subject, which in many instances was carried through the area, regardless of the dividing bars or mullions. In the Perpendicular each light or opening had usually its own subject or figure, surmounted by canopies, the upper spaces formed by intersection of the tracery bars were occupied by various details suitable to the different shapes.
The Arch of the Perpendicular style is materially different, being composed of elliptic curves struck from four centres.
Mouldings became even more shallow in section, and the tracery less florid than formerly, though extremely rich in appearance when used in the profusion that developed in the fan vaulting of this period.
No. 70. Perpendicular Gothic Fan Vaulting. St. Mary, Aldermary.
The foliation reverted to a more conventional character, and became lifeless and monotonous in comparison with the Decorated work.
It must not be assumed that examples in every instance will be found complete in any of these phases; on the contrary, the various styles are to be found side by side in the same building, the result of later additions or rebuilding.
No. 71. Perpendicular Gothic Tower, All Saints, Derby.
Painted decoration and sculpture were also employed during the various periods; wood-work where necessary was used, and in detail was in harmony with the architectural character of the period.
Civic Influences
No. 72. Coronation Chair, Westminster Abbey, 13th century.
The feudal period was not favourable to the development of domestic conditions, though considerable advance had been made by the fourteenth century, chiefly by the Italian states and in the principal cities. The importance of the latter is evidenced particularly in the City of London, with its merchant class and civic authorities, who, by reason of their wealth, attained potential political influence, the prevailing contentious conditions necessitating the continual raising of large sums of money.
Such conditions were favourable to the merchants, who, acting as bankers, supplied the means, and thus a class was established and apparently lived in profusion and some pretention to sumptuous environment.
No. 73. Bedstead and Cradle from M.S. in Bodleian Library, 14th century.
Effect of Commerce
Similar conditions to those in England prevailed on the Continent with certain local variations. A big stride was made with the development of commerce, mainly through the agency of Venetian and Flemish merchants. The effect of increasing opulence as signalised by the appearance in the home of such comfort and refinement as had formerly been possible only for princes and great nobles.
Among the luxuries imported were Oriental silks, carpets and pottery.
No. 74. Fireplace, 13th century.
Italy
Whereas, throughout Europe generally, the Gothic character in furniture and woodwork developed on similar lines, in Italy alone its appeal to the national sympathies was not strong enough for it to become thoroughly assimilated, and there the Byzantine style persisted.
The woods most in use were oak and chestnut. In Italy walnut and cypress were used—the latter being considered especially valuable for chests.
Early examples of Italian chests are decorated with closely spaced incised ornament, filled in with colour.
The Venetians derived from Persia and India a form of marquetry or inlay of ivory, metal and various woods, generally geometric in design. The wood used was stained in order to vary the colour.
Foreign Influence in England
Through the policy of seeking foreign princesses as brides for the English kings, foreign influences crept in, and had a marked effect on the development of style. Moreover, increasing commercial intercourse with the Continent paved the way for the introduction of the new ideas of the Renaissance then beginning to dawn in Italy.
The Wars of the Roses checked progress in many ways, but this was but the more rapid when peace was restored with the advent of Henry VII.
The House
There was a great change in the character of the dwelling-house, which though still built on defensive lines, was also arranged with a view to domestic comfort and convenience. The commonest form of plan was that in which the buildings were grouped round a central court and surrounded by a moat. These buildings consisted of hall, parlour, kitchen and domestic offices. The hall itself was lofty, had an open-timbered roof, and was usually lighted from both sides. One end of the hall was invariably screened off, and as the screen did not reach to the roof the musicians’ gallery was placed above it. The fireplace was set in one of the side walls. The windows, as a rule, had few lights, and these had pointed and cusped heads. The upper rooms were accessible by staircases.
A not uncommon feature on the upper floor was the long gallery, which generally traversed the whole length of the building immediately under the roof.
The rooms were panelled most often to about two-thirds the height of the wall, while the remaining third was of plaster.
The ceiling also was of plaster, which was moulded into intersecting ribs arranged geometrically, sometimes with stalactite pendants at the intersections.
Fireplaces were made of stone, and chimney-pieces sometimes of wood.
Furniture was beginning to assume some of its modern forms, as shown by the chairs, which were railed, and copied from Italian models.
Buffets or sideboards with closed cupboards were in use. Table legs were carved or turned, and connected by stretchers.
Windows were now glazed with leaded panes, and when made to open were of the casement type, with iron frames which were hinged and furnished with turnbuckle fastenings.
Doors seldom had locks, but usually shut with latches of wrought iron. The hinges also were of wrought iron, and though simple in form were often quite ornamental.
Henry VII and his successor were responsible for various country residences, an example which was followed by the nobility.
During the latter monarch’s reign it became the fashion to arrange the plan of the mansion in the form of the letter H; that is, in two parallel wings connected at a right angle. In the reign of Elizabeth this was modified into a plan resembling the letter E, otherwise a façade, with wings bent at right angles, with a central projection forming the main entrance.
In the domestic Tudor style the Arch was in vogue for window openings, etc., but much flattened in form.
The windows were divided into a number of lights, by vertical mullions, with arch headings, occasionally cusped. If of tall proportions, they were further divided by horizontal bars or transoms, and were glazed with small panes of glass set in lead frames, arranged in some cases to open in iron casements.
No. 75. Tudor Window with leaded lights.
The Reformation
An important factor in the development of this period was the Reformation, with the resultant liberty of thought. Before this, architecture and the associated arts were entirely dominated by the Church, at the sacrifice of the individuality of the artist and craftsman, who after this emancipation were enabled to exploit their work untrammelled by clerical restriction.
In some respects this was not productive of the best results, as it removed the various co-ordinated branches of work from the restraint of architectural dominance, with some loss to the unities. It also opened the way to the professional designer as distinct from the craftsman (who hitherto had been responsible for his share of the work) resulting in occasional loss of character.
Renaissance
The Renaissance, which had its origin it Italy, was the next factor in the evolution of architecture and the arts. As early as 1422 there were indications of the coming change, though the medieval system of construction was still adhered to.
Impetus was given to this revival by the taking of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453 A.D., resulting in the dispersion of the Greek scholars, who found refuge in Italy.
Gothic, essentially a Northern style, scarcely affected Italy, where Byzantine tradition persisted until the Revival of Learning in the latter half of the fifteenth century brought a fresh impulse into all branches of Art and Literature.
An awakened interest in classical remains was an integral part of the vitality with which the great change known in its culmination as the Renaissance was imbued; and the commercial prosperity of the times was favourable to its encouragement and development.
Early Exponents
An active agent in this revival was Brunelleschi, a native of Florence, who in company with Donatello, visited Rome to study the remains of classical antiquity. His principal successor, Leo Battista Alberti, contributed largely to the new style. Ultimately the Roman Orders and their details were appropriated and adapted to local requirements.
The most prominent artists of the day turned their attention to the designing and making of wood-work, and the decoration of rooms.
No. 76. Strozzi Palace, Florence.
The earlier work is severely architectural in character, being closely based on the antique, with all the usual features of columns, pilasters, cornices and pediments.
The greatest achievement of the architects of the Renaissance was perhaps their adaptation of the antique Roman style to the modified needs of secular buildings, of which the Palazzo Pitti at Florence by Brunelleschi is an early and notable example. This creating a form of architecture which perhaps reached its noblest expression in the Palazzo Strozzi, begun in 1489 A.D. by Benedetto da Majano.
As previously suggested, climate and local material are essential agents in the formation of style, and from Tuscany stone of large size was easily obtainable.
No. 77. Pandolfini Palace, Florence.
The contentious conditions existing in many of the Italian cities, entailing necessity for defence, must also be taken into account, and in connection with the foregoing were responsible for the massive and fortress-like construction of the principal dwellings of this period.
In the best examples of these, though columns and pilasters were not employed in the façade, the stories are proportioned as if the orders were used. The crowning cornice, however, is proportioned to the whole, varying in height between one fourteenth to one fifteenth.
From Florence the movement spread to Rome and other cities, but Venetian Renaissance indicates undoubted evidence of Lombardic influence.
Until the end of the fifteenth century the period was one of experiment, but from 1500 to about 1560 the style may be said to have attained a phase distinct and local.
At first the various features, structural and decorative, were frank reproductions from the antique, which were studied and measured, and from which systems of proportion were deduced by various exponents, among whom the names of Vignola, Palladio and Serlio are conspicuous.
Rome
The Roman version of the Renaissance, as distinct from that of Florence, was less massive, Rome being comparatively free from insurrectionary troubles. Columns and pilasters were used to divide the façade into bays, or in the inner courts, which were frequently arcaded, and the principal entrance became a prominent feature.
The founder of the Roman school was Bramante, born in 1444 A.D., originally a painter, who was responsible for the original design of St. Peter’s, at the instigation of Pope Julius II.
The partly executed work was found to be too weak to bear the superstructure, and Bramante in the meanwhile dying, Raffaelle, Giocondo and Giuliano di San Gallo, and afterwards Baldazzare Peruzzi and Antonio San Gallo were engaged on the edifice.
No. 78. St. Peter’s, Rome.
Finally Michael Angelo was entrusted with the sole conduct, and St. Peter’s in its present form must be credited to him, with the exception of the nave, which was added by Carlo Maderno.
Of the secular buildings, the Farnese Palace, the work of San Gallo, is typical of the Roman adaptation of the antique architecture to the altered conditions.
To the above list of architects of the Roman Renaissance may be added the names of Sansovino, Vignola and Bernini, the last-named being the author of designs for the Louvre at Paris.
No. 79. Farnese Palace, Rome.
Venice
The Venetian States, since the twelfth century, had been growing in power, and the Republic’s rise in importance was favourable to the arts, particularly to architecture.
Local influence is evident in the comparatively restricted ground areas, entailing the maximum accommodation possible.
The Venetian school is distinguished by the profuse use of columns and arcading; also for the employment of circular-headed windows, frequently subdivided by tracery of smaller arched and circular forms, and by general lightness of effect.
The founder of the Venetian school was San Micheli, born in 1484 A.D., who spent many years studying the ancient Roman monuments, and who was responsible for the Grimani Palace.
Jacopo Tatti, a Florentine, more usually known as Sansovino, though mentioned in the Roman group of architects, was however more associated with Venice, his adopted city.
No. 80. Vendramini Palace, Venice.
Prominent among his works is the Library of St. Mark, which consists of two orders, an upper of the Ionic, supported by an arcade in which the Doric is employed, the whole surmounted by a balustrade with statues on the piers.
Venetian Influence
In the Venetian school must be included the name of Andrea Palladio, who possibly had a greater influence on the architecture of the time than any of his contemporaries; an influence that may be traced in the work of Inigo Jones, and in that of Sir Christopher Wren and his immediate school.
Vincenzo Scamozzi, who died in 1616 A.D., like Palladio and others, was influenced by the antique, and was perhaps the last architect of the Venetian school to attain celebrity.
No. 81. Library of St. Mark by Sansovino, Venice.
Painted Decoration
A conspicuous feature of the Italian Renaissance was the development of painted decoration, which had in Italy succeeded the Byzantine mosaic.
As in this method of decoration, mouldings in relief were ineffective, and were replaced by decorative bands or borders, so in the succeeding painted work similar framings were adopted.
No. 82. Painted Decoration. Palazzo Publico, Sienna, from a drawing by C. E. Bernard, Goldsmiths’ College School of Art.
No. 83. Painted Ceiling in the Castello San Angelo, Rome, by Giulio Romano, from a drawing by Miss Dora Bard, Goldsmiths’ College School of Art.
No. 84. Painted Decoration in the collonade of the Villa Papa Giulio, Rome, showing Pompeian influence, from a drawing by C. E. Bernard, Goldsmiths’ College School of Art.
No. 84. Painted Decoration in the collonade of the Villa Papa Giulio, Rome, showing Pompeian influence, from a drawing by C. E. Bernard, Goldsmiths’ College School of Art.
No. 85. Ceiling-Painting from the Castello San Angelo, Rome, reminiscent of Graeco-Roman work, from a drawing by C. E. Bernard, Goldsmiths’ College School of Art.
Mosaics were in vogue in Italy to the twelfth century, when painted decoration came into favour, and notable in the exploitation of this latter phase was the school of Giotto in the early part of the fourteenth century.
Vaultings and spandrils were covered with painted subjects, strongly framed by ornamental borders, which served to strengthen the sense of construction in reinforcing the dividing ribs.
With the advent of the Renaissance, these divisional bands became more architectural in treatment, and large areas, such as ceilings, were subdivided, the sub-divisions being based on a logical sense of construction.
The name of Pinturrichio is associated with the Renaissance, among his works being the decorations of the Appartamenti Borgia in the Vatican, the Choir in Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome, and in Santa Maria Maggiore at Spello; contemporaneous was Perugino; another celebrated name is that of Gian Antonio Bazzi of Sienna, generally known as Sodoma.
Græco-Roman Influence
Later exploiters of painted decoration, Raffaelle at the Vatican, Giulio Romano, Pierino del Vaga and Giovanni da Udine, were evidently influenced by the then recent discovery of late Græco-Roman decorations in the remains of the Baths of Titus.
The same influence is found also in minor details—in the decoration of rooms and in the various pieces of furniture.
Walls were panelled, sometimes enriched with carving, with inlaid patterns in intarsia, or with inlay of different woods in imitation of marble mosaic. Hangings of Genoese velvet or stamped and gilded leather were often used.
Chairs were at first simple in form, having straight backs and legs, with broad, elaborately carved rails at the head of the back and between the front legs.
Chests or cassone, called also marriage coffers, because it was customary to give them as wedding presents, generally took the form of the sarcophagus, supported on claw feet. In many instances they were decorated with gilt gesso, or were covered with exuberant carving.
With the development of inlay, which degenerated into picture making, some later examples show attempts at perspectives, in which arches, doors, balustrades and paved floors were depicted. Cabinets were invariably raised on open supports and furnished with doors enclosing compartments and sets of drawers, the fronts of which were frequently decorated.
No. 86. Venetian Table.
Tables were inlaid, carved and gilded. The prevailing form was a rectangular top, sometimes of marble, with wide, richly carved supports consisting of human and animal forms at either end; these were connected by a central stretcher at the base, from which sprang a series of arched forms reaching to the underside of the top.
Walnut was commonly employed for constructive purposes, and ebony and many other woods were used both for veneers and inlay, as also were such materials as ivory, tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl.
It is not easy to form an idea of the furniture in ordinary use, as the examples which survive and which can generally be seen in museums are misleading, being typical rather of that belonging to the nobility and wealthy classes.
Probably owing to the rougher usage to which it was subjected, and possibly also to its being but little esteemed by its owners, and consequently no effort being made to preserve it, the domestic furniture of the middle classes seems to have disappeared.
No. 87. Carved Walnut Chair. Italian, 16th century.
Early French Renaissance
France had been brought into contact with the new architecture through the Italian wars under Charles VIII, Louis XII, and Francis I.
The chief characteristic of the early French Renaissance is that the details of the new school were imposed on structures which were Gothic in general form.
Italian architects were employed by Francis I, and although in the many important buildings erected for him he preferred native workmen, Italians were retained to furnish designs and lead the new style. Leonardo da Vinci and Andrea del Sarto were both employed in the decoration of Fontainebleau.
No. 88. Wood Panelling. Early French Renaissance.
Fontainebleau, Chateau de Chambord, Chenonceaux sur Loire, Chateau de Madrid and the commencement of the Louvre were all due to Francis I, and the Italian influence was strengthened by the marriage of Henry II with Catharine di Medici.
No. 89. Stone Chimney-piece, Fontainbleau, Henry II Salon.
Native Exploitation
Under the influence of Vignola and Serlio, the Italian style became more popular, and finally extinguished the lingering Gothic tradition; and eventually the assimilated style became local, the first prominent native exploiter being Philibert Delorme, the architect of the Tuileries, for Queen Catharine of Medicis.
Strapwork was a pronounced feature of this period, carved panels being subdivided by framings of straight and curved forms interlaced with cornucopæ and scroll work. Scrolling straps with I shaped incisions were also used.
No. 90. Wood Panel. Early French Renaissance.
Masks are of frequent occurrence, and sometimes form scroll centres.
Medallions were often employed, and were occupied by profile heads, and surrounded by foliated wreaths.
Pilasters were narrow, and had sunk and moulded panels, lozenge shaped in the centre.
In England great impetus was given to building, consequent on the suppression of the religious houses during the reign of Henry VIII, and mansions were erected in various parts of the country with some pretension to both external effect and domestic comfort, not merely by the nobility, but also by the wealthy merchant class.
English Renaissance
From the rise of the Italian Renaissance a century elapsed before the new style began to affect English work.
No. 91. French Chair. Period Henry II.
In Italy classic tradition had never died, and consequently Gothic gained no real hold there, the best examples of Italian Gothic being inferior to those of France and England. In the early days of the Revival of Learning, when interest in architecture was at its height, Italians set out to emulate the style of building and decoration which prevailed in ancient Rome. Gradually the same spirit spread to other parts of Europe. Students were attracted to the birth-place of the Revival, and workers and designers from Italy were eagerly welcomed by her neighbours.
Naturally enough each country interpreted the new style in a different way, and as it reached England chiefly through France and the Netherlands, the French and Flemish interpretations in turn influenced the development of the English style.
No. 92. Walnut Chair upholstered in Appliqué. Italian, about 1600.
Italians in England
Before either French or Flemish influence had been felt, however, there were Italian workers settled in England carrying out designs purely Italian in character. The earliest example is the tomb of Henry VII in Westminster Abbey, by Torrigiano. Many tombs and monuments were made entirely by Italians. Holbein, who was employed by Henry VIII, was distinctly a Renaissance painter and designer and encouraged the new movement.
As the style became more widely disseminated it lost much of its original purity, and classical details were used in conjunction with Gothic forms and methods of construction, due, doubtless, to the apparent difficulty with which the native workers grasped the essentials of the new style; indeed, there is more intermixing of styles in England than in any other part of Europe with the exception of Flanders.
No. 93. Stone Chimney-piece. Sala Borgia, Rome. 16th Century.
The purely Italian phase was followed by a rendering which was largely borrowed from French work, and this in turn was supplanted by the influence of the Flemish interpretation. The delicately modelled foliage, dolphins, candelabra, vases and cherubs, so characteristic of Italian and French work, were replaced by such typically Flemish details as interlacing strapwork with curved and scrolled ends, frequently cartouche-like in form, festoons of fruit and foliage, and terminal figures used as pilasters.
Study of Classic Style
In the late Jacobean and succeeding phases the classic manner was more thoroughly understood, and a more scholarly handling was the result, until the culmination was reached in the work of Inigo Jones and Wren.
The Elizabethan phase indicates an imperfectly understood, and in many instances meaningless, employment and adaptation of Italian forms to the requirements of the times.
A notable example if this is the central feature of the Public Schools at Oxford, the work of Thomas Holt, a native of York, in which the orders appear ranged one above the other.
Thomas Thorpe
The most prominent name associated with the architecture of the period is Thomas Thorpe, who was concerned in many of the principal edifices erected during the reign of Elizabeth and of her successor, James I.
The general arrangement of woodwork consisted of architectural façades, and the orders and pediments were utilised wherever possible.
Doorways and chimney-pieces offered the principal opportunities for display in interior work.
Panelling was retained for the large halls and most of the rooms. The walls were frequently divided into bays by means of pilasters and surmounted by friezes and cornices more or less determined by traditional forms.
Flemish Influence
The style degenerated in the same reign into a coarser rendering, and was followed by a period of strong Flemish influence. There is, in fact, such a marked similarity between the later Elizabethan and Flemish furniture and wood-work that it is not easy to distinguish the nationality of examples of this period. In cases where figure sculpture is employed, however, it is not difficult to decide, as a considerably higher standard was attained by the Flemish school of figure carvers than is found in English work.
Tapered pilaster-like supports, surmounted by half figures or Ionic caps, were often employed in the framing of doors and chimney-pieces, and sometimes on furniture. Table supports and newels of stairs increased in size. The heavy acorn-shaped baluster is a feature. Inlay came into use for panelling as well as for furniture.
Synchronously with the changes in detail, there was a more classical tendency displayed in moulded features such as strings and cornices.
In the early seventeenth century the scale of the details of Flemish work increased. Diamond-shaped panels were superimposed on square ones; turned work was split and the two halves applied; drop ornaments were used below tables and from the centres of panels under arches—all these being additions to the general structure.
Jacobean
English work developed in much the same way as Flemish, probably owing to the commerce in wood-work between England and Flanders at this time.
In the earlier work, where the orders were employed, there was some regard to proportion and detail, probably direct translation of Italian designs, but in the later Jacobean work there was considerable falling-off, presumably due to native exploitation and experiment.
No. 94. Jacobean Wood Carving. Palace of Bromley-by-Bow.
Architectural feeling was prominent in the treatment of interiors, which were invariably panelled as in the earlier period. The characteristic “linen fold” variety of the late Tudor giving place to plain panelling, framed by stiles and rails closely spaced.
Walls were occasionally divided into bays by means of pilasters, often supported on pedestals.
The panels in the later development were invariably plain, but a decorated frieze, carved in relief, was carried round immediately under the cornice. Coats of arms at intervals sometimes supplied the decoration. The carved frieze gave place to a simple form of patterning, which was produced by sinking the ground to practically one level and leaving the ornament which had little or no modelling, flush with the face of the panel. This led to fretting out the pattern and applying it to the surface. The idea of planting ornament evidently spread, and may be seen in such obviously applied details as studs and half-balusters.
A typical room of the period would be treated with plain panelling, perhaps divided into bays by pilasters, and all elaboration was confined to the doorways and chimney-piece.
No. 95. Jacobean Wood Carving. Palace of Bromley-by-Bow.
The chimney-piece might be in wood, stone or marble, and while there were many varieties of treatment, the designs readily fall under one general type. Columns or pilasters flanked the opening,
No. 96. Jacobean Chimney-piece. Palace of Bromley-by-Bow.
carrying an entablature consisting of architrave frieze and cornice, the latter forming a shelf. Above this there was a similar arrangement, but on a smaller scale and with finer proportions. The space between the columns above the shelf was usually filled with carving, which sometimes took the form of armorial bearings. In many examples the upper part is divided into two panels, which were generally filled with carved ornament such as strapwork or shields charged with heraldic devices.
Where the chimney-piece was of wood, the fireplace opening was surrounded by a stone lining, which had moulded splays on the upright jambs. In earlier examples the jambs were connected by a flattened arch with carved spandrils. In later work a horizontal panel was employed or a frieze of carved detail.
The opening itself was wide, and was lined with brick or stone. The interior was occupied by a fire-back of cast-iron and a movable grate or basket supported on dogs.
No. 97. Jacobean Door, shewing absense of architrave.
Doors were at first merely a part of the panelling without hanging frames, but later they were treated as important features of the rooms. They were often framed with columns and pilasters, surmounted by entablatures, with or without pediments. Obelisks were sometimes placed over the pilasters. The frieze was fluted or carved. In many cases the tympanum of the pediment or even one of the door panels bore the owner’s coat of arms.
In the earlier phases the mouldings framing the panels were simple in form, and worked on the stiles and rails. But later they were applied, being wider in display and more elaborate in section. These applied mouldings, evidently the result of mechanical appliances, later led to extreme license in broken angles and panellings of complicated form.
No. 98. Jacobean Doors.
Ceilings, and occasionally the frieze, were in plaster, decorated with intersecting ribs, or bands dividing the surface into compartments geometric in shape, and further enriched with stamped or modelled ornament.
Windows were relatively small as to individual openings, large lighting areas being obtained by grouping a number of these side by side, and also in tiers, the dividing bars or mullions being either in wood or stone.
Glazing took the form of small pieces of glass united by lead frames, commonly arranged in trellis form, resulting in diamond-shaped pieces. Occasionally painted or coloured glass was used, generally in heraldic devices in the upper portions of the windows.
The windows themselves were frequently deeply embayed.
Development in Dwellings
The growing appreciation of domestic comfort, evident in the general arrangement of the buildings of this period, is also apparent in the furniture, which from this time approximates somewhat to the modern forms, though still crude, and leaving much to be desired in the way of personal comfort.
No. 99. Oak Table, English. 17th century.
Tables, which had hitherto been mere portable boards laid on trestles, or, if fixed, were on heavy legs with rails below, developed into more useful forms. These were the draw-inge table which could be extended by drawing out two flaps worked on runners from beneath the normal top, and the gate-leg table, which in principle resembled the modern folding type. Large tables were formed by putting a number of gate-leg tables together, and when not so in use they could be placed in different parts of the room.
No. 100. English Chairs, early 17th century.
Legs and the under rails of chairs and tables were turned in the lathe, and the carved details were invariably simple and direct in execution, similar in character to much of the work in the early French Renaissance, in contrast to the Italian carving, which was in high relief and plastic in character.
The majority of examples in our national collection of this period are of Court furniture, and cannot be taken as typical of what was in common use. The over-ornamented Italian work compares unfavourably with the English Jacobean furniture, in which utility is obvious and the decoration subordinate and to the purpose.
Oak was chiefly employed in England, but in Italy, and later in France, walnut was much used.
No. 101. English Chair, middle of 17th century, influenced by Italian design.
Panelling was prevalent for interiors in the Italian and French Renaissance. In Italy, where the art of weaving had been preserved at Lucca, and other places, tapestry was also frequently employed as wall hangings, also as coverings for upholstered work.
No. 102. Oak Chair, English, 17th century.
Compared with the earlier period, this was a time of luxury and display, favourable to the arts generally.
Painting, freed from the restrictions of the church, broke away from the Byzantine traditions, and revelling in realism, lost to some extent its decorative character.
No. 103.
Evolution of Professional Designer
Under patronage, the individual artist and craftsman was allowed to develop on his own lines, and no longer worked under the dominance of the architect. Demand, owing to growing appreciation of artistic production, eventuated in the evolution of the professional designer.
Inigo Jones
No. 104.
Although the Renaissance had come to stay, the manner of its interpretation in England by the native workers was very far removed from the Italian school which had supplied the first impulse, until the advent of Inigo Jones in the reign of James I. This artist, who had visited Italy and studied principally the architecture of Palladio and his school, was appointed King’s Surveyor of Works. Under his influence proportions and details were used, which conformed more nearly to classic types.
Born about 1572 A.D., he studied in Italy, where he became acquainted with the work of Palladio, and was a follower of the Venetian school.
Dying in 1652, he left a tradition which would have had a more immediate effect but for the internecine troubles of the later period of his life.
No. 105. Banqueting House, Whitehall. Inigo Jones.
A typical example of his work in London is the Banqueting House in Whitehall, the only part built of the projected palace for James I, now used as a museum by the United Service Institution. Also the Church of St. Paul, Covent Garden.
Louis XIII
By the time of Louis XIII the principles of the Renaissance had become thoroughly assimilated in France, and a native school of architecture had arisen of marked distinction. France from then onward took the initiative, though strongly influenced by the Venetian school.
The orders were used consistently as to proportion and detail, but in the decoration considerable development in character is manifest.
The general construction and details developed on
No. 106. Louis XIII. Luxembourg Pavilion Entrance, by Salamon de Brose, 1615-24.
more architectural lines, and shew a better appreciation of the Italian originals. Pilasters were used to divide the wall surfaces, these and the entablatures closely following in detail the classic types. Panels were much wider than in the preceding style, generally occupying the whole space between the pilasters. The usual arrangement for these panels was to have them in two tiers—the shallow ones confined to the lower portions of walls and those of deeper proportions above. Fireplaces and doors were surrounded by boldly moulded architraves, and surmounted by panels occupied by carved details of scroll-work and foliage.
No. 107. Ste. Marie, Nevers. Louis XIII. Example of Barocco (Flemish influence).
No. 108. Upholstered Chair. Louis XIII.
Ceilings were modelled in stucco and sub-divided into compartments, which were richly moulded, and in some cases decorated with paintings.
During the reign of Louis XIII, chairs were made more comfortable by being upholstered in velvet, tapestry or needlework, instead of being smothered with carving. The frames were covered by velvet or other material, leaving only the legs and arms visible, and these were but slightly carved.
Louis XIV
In France the Renaissance reached its highest degree of splendour in the reign of Louis XIV.
No. 109. Louis XIV. Louvre, Paris, by Perrault.
The palace of Versailles, designed by Jules Hardouin Mansart, was completed, and French designers were many and famous. Amongst the most prominent were Lebrun, who was responsible for much of the interior work at Versailles, Jean and Claude Berain, Lepautre, Daniel Marot and André Charles Boule, the inventor of the particular class of inlay which bears his name.
The style of Louis XIV is characteristic of its time. Love of display was manifested in every direction, but nowhere did it give rise to greater magnificence than in furniture and decoration.
The employment of architectural features, with a close approximation to accepted proportions, had been the keynote of the preceding style, but the work of this period broke away from all tradition. As a departure it was quite original, and constituted a phase in the development of the Renaissance that was purely and typically French, and this particularly in its massiveness and grandeur.
No. 110. The King’s Bedchamber, Versailles. Louis XIV.
Panelling became more varied in proportion, and heavily framed with mouldings of the Bolection type. Glass was also used in panels as at Versailles in the Hall of Mirrors, where the windows on one side of the gallery are repeated in form by mirrors in reciprocal positions.
Important rooms were panelled and divided by pilasters, surmounted by entablatures. The Corinthian order was the one most frequently used.
Panel mouldings were heavily and richly carved. Curved sections and facias were fluted, or carved with guilloche or leaf detail. Figures and amorini, heavy festoons, wreaths, cartouches and shields were among the decorative motifs. Strapwork, a survival of the preceding styles, was moulded and clothed with foliage of the acanthus variety.
Ceilings were modelled in stucco and were divided into bold geometrical compartments by strongly moulded ribs. The compartments were sometimes occupied by paintings. In some cases the cornice was not taken up to the height of the ceiling, but the ceiling line was continued in form of a curve to meet the top of the cornice, forming what is known as a cove.
No. 111. Upholstered Chair. Louis XIV.
Chairs were massive, the frames were carved and gilt, and the seats and backs upholstered in tapestry. In the latter part of the reign of Louis XIV metal was used in the construction of furniture in the form of mounts—as framing and protecting pieces to angles, and was gilt by the mercury process. The introduction of veneer probably led to this use of metal.
"Boule” Work
A method of decorating furniture with inlays of brass or tin and tortoiseshell originated by André Charles Boule, came into vogue. The sheets of metal and shell were placed together and cut simultaneously, with the result that the patterns produced were interchangeable—thus the metal pattern could be fitted with a tortoiseshell background and vice versa. There was a tendency for this style of work to become more ornate and showy, and later, instead of the transparent shell being used in its natural colour, either vermilion or gold leaf was placed underneath.
Mirrors
Mirrors, in the sixteenth century, had been imported from Italy, and those of considerable size were first made in Venice.
Later glass manufactories were established in England—near Battersea—and in France, where larger mirrors and plates of glass were produced than hitherto.
Rooms lined with mirrors became popular, in some cases even the ceiling being made of glass.
Console tables, which were frequently gilt, were often placed under the large wall mirrors.
Hanging bands of material were employed to drape the heads of windows and the tops of bedsteads. Beds were important pieces of furniture, and had elaborately carved head and foot boards. The overhanging Tester was also ornamented, and besides the valances already mentioned, was surmounted by groups of plumes.
No. 112. Pantheon, Paris. Soufflet. Louis XV.
Louis XV
Little advance was made in architecture during the reign of Louis XV, to which period belongs the Pantheon at Paris, originally the Church of St. Geneviéve, the work of Soufflet, born in 1713.
Régence
The style passed through two stages. The earlier, known as the Régence—the principal exponents of which were Charles Cressent, Gilles Marie Oppenord, and Nicholas Pineau—is distinguished by a certain reserve and moderation which were entirely abandoned in the later Rococo period.
Rococo
The term “Rococo” is derived from a French word meaning rockwork, and is applied to the style in which rock and shell forms are used as details.
No. 113. Detail of Wood-carving, Regency Period.
Ornament became extravagant and meaningless, and was wrongly used to serve the purpose of construction, the actual constructive elements being at times completely ignored. It cannot be denied, however, that powerful draughtsmanship and inventiveness were displayed, but without the consideration of practical execution, which is essential to all good design.
Evidently the artist or designer dominated the craftsman, who, however, grappled with difficulties in an admirable manner, often achieving results which would appear from the constructional point of view almost impossible of attainment.
The work of the latter part of the period expresses the enervated and frivolous spirit of the time.
Walls were panelled and often divided by pilasters, which, however, lost all structural significance.
Cornices and friezes were dispensed with, the frieze being replaced by a cove curving into the ceiling.
Mouldings were broken at angles and intersections into curves, scrolls and foliage.
Carved details of the curiously twisted leafage peculiar to the style were employed wherever possible.
Painted panels were fashionable, and were used particularly over doorheads. They were surrounded or framed by curved and enriched mouldings.
No. 114. Carved Wood Door. Louis XV.
Interiors of this later period were invariably painted white, and partly gilt, the wall panels decorated with tapestry or paintings with which are associated the names of Bouchier, Watteau, and Fragonard.
Ceilings were also painted, wall mirrors were employed and furniture (at this period at times extremely costly) was veneered and decorated with metal mounts in gilt ormolu.
Chair and table legs were of the cabriole type.
Bureaux fronts were swelled into curves both horizontally and vertically.
Veneer and marqueterie were much used.
Chased and gilt brass was employed to protect angles, as feet, handles, escutcheons and other ornamental details.
No. 115.
No. 116. Chair with cane back English, later half 17th century.
Lacquer “Vernis Martin"
Furniture was also decorated in imitation of Chinese lacquer. The principal worker in it was Robert Martin, who introduced a varnish of fine transparent quality.
Later English Renaissances
Artistic progress was hindered in England by the disturbed conditions at the time of the Civil War, and in consequence little change in style took place in this and the Commonwealth period.
With the Restoration came the influence of the French Court, and foreign furniture was imported, thus giving fresh models for the English workers.
One result of the Great Fire in 1666 was that a great impetus was given to architecture and to the crafts associated with it, and the influence of Wren and Grinling Gibbons produced a school of most efficient carvers and craftsmen.
Sir Christopher Wren
Wren was a worthy successor to Inigo Jones, and the general destruction wrought by the fire in the city gave him a fine field for his activity. He was employed not only to rebuild the churches, eighty-nine of which had been burnt, but also many of the city halls; and was commissioned by William and Mary to build the state-rooms at Hampton Court Palace.
No. 117. English Chair, period of Charles II.
The style of Wren, which, like that of Inigo Jones, was based rather upon the Venetian school, was perpetuated and found individual exponents in the works of his pupils and immediate successors. Among whom may be mentioned James Gibbs (1720 to 1754), architect of St. Martin’s in the Fields (1726) and St. Mary le Strand, and Nicholas Hawksmoor, who was responsible for the churches of St. George’s, Bloomsbury, and St. Mary, Woolnoth, the latter commenced in 1716 was finished in 1718.
No. 118. St. Paul’s Cathedral. Wren.
Notable among Wren’s churches is that of St. Stephen’s, Walbrook, in the City of London; of his secular work an example may be cited in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge.
Classic Spires
A characteristic of the period in the churches of Wren and his school is the spire, which, though tapering like the Gothic variety, is invested with features quite Renaissance in form, arranged in successive tiers.
The architecture of the period is in excellent proportion, and all the details of mouldings, capitals, etc., were executed in a masterly manner.
Panelling was still employed, mostly in oak, and was now carried up to the ceiling. The panels were very wide, frequently bevelled at the edges—the stiles and rails forming the framings being much wider than hitherto. The framing mouldings were sometimes carved.
No. 119. Spire of St. Mary le Strand.
Doorways and chimneypieces were surrounded by well-designed architraves, with carved mouldings, and were surmounted by pediments, above which it was not unusual to have carved festoons and pendants of fruit and foliage.
No. 120. English Interior Wood-work. Late 17th and early 18th century.
Pilasters were decorated with cherubs’ heads used as caps, and pendant drops of the usual type.
Carving was profusely used, the details consisted mainly of interlacing scrollwork of acanthus-like foliage, heavy fruit and flower festoons and drops, trophies and cherubs’ heads. The relief was high, the work occasionally being detached, and the manner of execution was sharp and crisp, implying no hesitation on the part of the carver.
The high relief necessitated building up thicknesses of wood, and formed a great contrast to the earlier work in which the ground was slightly set back, leaving the original panel face as the highest part of the pattern.
The woods commonly used were oak for wainscotting and cedar for doors. Where it was intended that the woodwork should be painted or gilt it was made in deal. Some of the carving was in oak, but the favorite material was limewood, and pear; cedar or lime was used when small fine detail was required. Elm was employed for various articles such as dressers: ash, beech, birch, poplar, sycamore, English and Italian walnut were also used.
Dutch and French Influences
With William III and his Dutch court the influence of the Netherlands became once more apparent. It was coloured by the French style of the Louis XIV period, probably through an immigration of French workmen after the Edict of Nantes in 1685. This influence can be traced in some of the furniture at Hampton Court, particularly in the carved and gilt tables of French design and English workmanship.
No. 121. A. Walnut Chair, period of Queen Anne. B. Dutch Chair, 17th century. C. Inlaid Chair, period of Queen Anne. D. Carved Chair, period of Queen Anne.
The chairs and settees of the period have shaped backs, generally with delicately carved central vertical panels of vase-like form; and cabriole legs with a carved shell ornament on the knee.
Bureaux and corner cupboards were introduced. They were decorated with marqueterie or with inlay of boxwood or holly on a walnut ground.
Queen Anne Period
Flemish or Dutch influence prevailed during the period known as Queen Anne.
The typical Queen Anne chair in common with all the furniture of the period was made of walnut. The seat was wide, the front legs cabriole shaped, ending, as a rule, in club or claw-and-ball feet. The back was high and curved at the top, and this was connected centrally with the seat by a long vase or fiddle-shaped splat. Carving was not much used, but the splat was sometimes ornamented with floral and other designs in marqueterie after the Dutch fashion.
During this period an appreciation for Oriental china and lacquer work had an important effect on furniture and decoration.
The later fashion of inlay and marquetry work of Sheraton was perhaps as much the outcome of the Dutch practice of this form of decoration, as it was due to the discovery of the possibilities of mahogany as a suitable wood for furniture.
Early Georgian
The eighteenth century in England was the age of the connoisseur and dilettante, and the struggling professional, literary or artistic, had little opportunity except by the favour of a patron. As for instance, Lord Burlington, who is reported to have practised architecture in conjunction with his protégé Kent.
William Kent, born in 1685, died 1748, a painter as well as an architect, was responsible for many designs, among which may be mentioned the Horse Guards in Whitehall, and Holkham in Norfolk for the Earl of Leicester.
Georgian work shows more evidence of French influence, but is invariably stiff and heavy in feeling.
In panelling rooms a surbase or dado was employed. The bolection moulding was universally used round panels.
Doorways and chimneypieces were made up of architraves, surmounted by pediments, and were formal in design and detail. The Greek key was often most unsatisfactorily used in their decoration.
Chippendale
Among others, Chippendale’s name is associated with the furniture of this period, and his book of designs, published about the middle of the eighteenth century, contained, besides furniture, suggestions for the complete decoration of rooms. Chippendale was undoubtedly influenced by the Louis XV style, and at one period he attempted to exploit Chinese forms and details.
The chairs designed by him were based on the earlier Queen Anne type, but the vase-shaped back was replaced by pierced and carved interlacing bands and ribbons. For a time the cabriole leg was retained, but
No. 122.
A. Transitional Chair, 18th century.
B. Mahogany
“ “ “Sheraton.
C.
“ “ “ “Chippendale.
D. Walnut
“ “ “Hepplewhite.
later examples have straight square legs. The chairs were fitted with loose upholstered seats covered with morocco leather.
Furniture was generally in mahogany, which had been introduced a little earlier from the West Indies, and had become popular on account of the colour and figure developed by polishing. Mahogany lends itself to fine mouldings and detail, and this was evidently appreciated, as relief decoration on furniture in this wood received a more restrained treatment, while plain surfaces were made more extensive.
Mayhew
Contemporary workers were Mainwaring and Mayhew. Mayhew was responsible for a form of fretwork decoration which is often ascribed to Chippendale.
Adam Style
Prominent among his contemporaries, more perhaps for his influence on interior decoration, was Robert Adam, who died at the age of ninety-four in 1792.
A student of the later antique Roman work, and inspired by the remains of Diocletian’s Palace at Spalatro, he evolved a style which bears his name, that was personal and distinctive. A style that had many followers, and which largely influenced the work of Sheraton.
Simple as to structural form, and delicate in detail, it carried on the tradition of the later Graeco-Roman work on which it was founded, avoiding absolute reproduction.
No. 123. Interior Decoration. “Adam.”
No. 124. Interior Decoration. “Adam.”
The Adam influence is evident also in the pottery of this period, and in the details of Sheffield plate.
Examples of Robert Adam’s architectural design may be seen in London at the Adelphi, which was built as a speculation, in the Admiralty screen in Whitehall, and houses in Portland Place, W.
No. 125. Adam influence.
Hepplewhite
Hepplewhite also was designing and manufacturing about this time, and is noted principally for his japanned or painted furniture. In this process the wood was first coated with a preparation after the manner of Chinese or Japanese lacquer, and then decorated with fruit and flowers in gold on a background. Subsequently, furniture of this character, instead of being japanned, was merely painted white. Hepplewhite’s chair-backs differ in form from Chippendale’s, being shield or oval shaped.
Satinwood came into use, and much of the work ascribed to Sheraton was made of it.
Painted decoration of a delicate character, the details including ribbons, borders and medallions, was applied to table-tops, harpsichord cases, chair-backs and other objects. The names of Angelica Kauffmann and Cipriani are associated with this form of decoration.
Hepplewhite and Sheraton were apparently influenced by the work of the brothers Adam, which was a distinct departure from the earlier style. The cabriole leg was rarely used, its place being taken by gracefully tapered forms.
Sheraton
Although some of Sheraton’s furniture had painted detail, he more often used marqueterie and inlay of fine design.
Panels were treated in marqueterie, with ovals or other simple shapes surrounded by narrow bands or lines of contrasting colour.
Sheraton sideboards were usually without backs, and were sometimes furnished with brass rails on top.
Bookcases had glass doors with well designed and finely worked sash bars.
The general tendency was towards elegance and refinement, and led to simplicity of treatment rather than over enrichment.
Indeed this may be taken as the culminating period for the finest production of furniture, not only with regard to design and exquisite workmanship, but in carefully studied utility. This consideration may be seen in the dressing-tables and secretaires, which were full of ingenious devices, and secret drawers and contrivances for hiding papers and valuables were quite a feature of the work.
Louis XVI
Towards the end of the reign of Louis XV there was a distinct change in taste, and consequently in style. This was manifested by a return to simplicity of line,
No. 126. Painted Interior Decoration. Marie Antoinette Boudoir. Louis XVI.
No. 127. Interior Treatment. Louis XVI.
No. 128. Chimney-piece with Mirror. Louis XVI.
No. 129. Library with fitted Book-cases. Louis XVI.
a more sparing use of enrichments and greater refinement of detail.
No. 130. Door Treatment. Louis XVI.
Probably the same influence that inspired Adam was at work in France, when the license that marked the Rococo gave place to a more severe and restrained expression in the succeeding Louis XVI style, in which the curvilinear and plastic forms became once more structural in feeling and refined in detail.
Associated with this change was Jacques Gondouin, who died at Paris in 1818 at the age of eighty-one, whose most celebrated work is the Ecole de Médécine. He was also entrusted with the erection of the column in the Place Vendôme.
Riesener and Gouthière
No. 131. Detail of Cornice. Louis XVI.
The most familiar names associated with the wood-work at the Louis XVI period are Riesener and Gouthière. Riesener is famous for his furniture, and Gouthière for the highly finished chased mounts with which this furniture was decorated.
No. 132. Arm-chair covered with Beauvais Tapestry. Louis XVI.
Interior woodwork was generally of oak, painted white. Pilasters were used, and were either carved or painted in colours. Mouldings were frequently gilt.
Chairs and sofas were, in many instances, painted white and partly gilt. They were upholstered in silk or Beauvais tapestry, the designs of which were in panel form specially made for the purpose.
Cabinets, tables and other pieces of furniture were often exquisitely inlaid with various woods, tulip, rosewood, pear, holly and ebony were the most common, and Sèvres porcelain placques and gilt metal mounts were also used to embellish them.
No. 133. Carved Oak Panel. Louis XVI.
Furniture supports, such as table and chair legs, were straight, tapered and fluted, with husks in the hollows of the flutes.
Among the decorative details were torches, quivers and other emblems, trophies, musical instruments, bouquets and festoons of flowers, and ribbons with peculiarly square and crisp folds. The laurel leaf was much used in borders, festoons and wreaths.
The style of the Louis XVI period was more severe than the preceding one, and was, in fact, a reaction from the flippancy which characterised the reign of Louis XV. There was a tendency to return to more classic forms, which prepared the way for the still more austere Empire phase which was deliberately based on the Roman and Greek styles.
Empire
Furniture was made in mahogany, rosewood and ebony, and was decorated with brass mounts or with carved ornaments, which were gilded.
Furniture legs and supports were fashioned after Greek and Roman forms, human figures and sphinxes being often employed.
Inlay was used of ivory and metal, and this class of work attained a very high degree of excellence.
Metal-work was unquestionably good, except that the details were somewhat hard in character.
The most striking decorative features were sphinxes, winged figures of Liberty, masks, the thyrsus of Bacchus, laurel wreaths and festoons, which were all severe in treatment and delicate in execution.
Empire in England
The Empire style spread to other parts of Europe, and was closely imitated in England, where it was chiefly remarkable for the extreme nicety and finish of the metal-work, metal being extensively used for the enrichment of furniture, for clocks, vases, candlesticks, inkstands and other objects.
Later English Architecture
Probably the most important name associated with English architecture towards the end of the eighteenth century is that of Sir William Chambers, who died in 1796.
Chambers, who at one time held the position of Surveyor General in the Board of Works, was one of those concerned in the establishment of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1768. During his professional career he executed commissions in various parts of the country, his principal work being Somerset House, which was commenced in 1776.
Another name associated with this period is that of George Dance, who designed the Mansion House of the City of London, which was built during the years 1739-53. Dance died in 1768, and was succeeded by his son, who was the architect of Newgate Prison, the site of which is now occupied by a modern building.
A pupil of Sir William Chambers, James Gandon, had the distinction of carrying off the first gold medal given for architecture by the newly-founded Royal Academy of Arts in 1768.
He designed, among other works, the Customs House, the Four Courts, and the building which is now the Bank of Ireland, all at Dublin.
French Influence on Europe
Throughout this necessarily brief summary it will be noted that attention is mainly given to the architectural development in France and England. The rest of Europe was similarly affected more or less, both in the Gothic period and in the revival known as the Renaissance, in which the initiative was taken by France early in the seventeenth century. From which period may be dated the decline in Italian taste.
French feeling, both as to form and detail, is apparent in not only Dutch and Flemish work, but in the more southern parts of Europe, particularly the phase known as Rococo.
Even in England, though the architectural traditions of Inigo Jones and Sir Christopher Wren became national in character, French feeling is evident in much of the decorative work, as in the designs of Chippendale and his contemporaries; with the exception of the brilliant period of Grinling Gibbons, whose distinctive manner and robust treatment survived, and constituted a school of carving typically English and unique in its artistry and craftsmanship.
CHAPTER III
MOULDINGS
IN Architecture the edges of projecting courses are softened into curved profiles, sometimes enriched with details, which are technically known as mouldings. These are invariably a stumbling-block to the beginner, presumably due to want of appreciation of their purpose, which properly understood, is indicative of their desirable employment.
No. 134. Forms of Mouldings.
Mouldings are an important factor in effect, not only in Architecture, but in structural form generally. In flat decoration they have to some extent their corollary in borders, the proportionate widths of which are governed by similar rules.
Of mouldings with curved profiles there are only six distinct forms, though the individual character of these curves is subject to great variation in treatment.
Purpose
As suggested, mouldings have a distinct purpose, are, in fact, functional features, and may be defined as Sheltering or Crowning, Bracketing or Supporting, and Binding.
In any composition where they may be necessary these functions should be taken into consideration.
The profiles should always be concise whether the character of the curve be refined or robust.
In classic architecture the relative proportions of the mouldings to the other features are defined, and these proportions will be found useful in other than purely architectural design.
The Fillet
Mouldings are divided from each other by narrow vertical bands or Fillets, the employment of which is universal.
The Fillet in projection is equal to its height, and though strictly divisional in its employment, is shown in conjunction with the curved profiles to indicate relative proportion.
Sheltering Mouldings
There are two mouldings of curved profile in each category, the Sheltering being the Cavetto and the Cyma Recta.
The Cavetto
The Cavetto is the culminating moulding of the Italian Doric cornice, and is a concave curve, which may be the result of a quarter circle.
The Cavetto profile is used in other positions, which would appear to challenge the previous statement, but reflection will confirm the contention.
For instance, the vertical face of the Frieze in some instances terminates with a cavetto curve which, though surmounted by the cornice, is yet at the top of the frieze. The upper extremity of the column shaft is similarly treated, and, it may be urged, so is the lower, but this, though an exception to the rule, is at least an æsthetic necessity.
The projection of the Cavetto is equal to the height of the curve, and the crowning Fillet may be from one-third to one-fourth the total height, preferably the latter.
Cyma Recta
The other sheltering moulding, the Cyma Recta, is a curve of double flexure with upper fillet. Its proper employment is as the crowning member of the cornice, though, like the Cavetto, it is employed in other positions, notably as a plinth moulding, when it appears in a reversed position.
The projection is about equal to the height of the curved profile, the height of the crowning fillet being from one-fourth to one-fifth of the whole.
Bracketing Mouldings
The supporting mouldings are the Ovolo and the Cyma Reversa.
The Ovolo
The Ovolo is composed of a full convex curve, either a quarter circle or slightly elliptic, which in height is equal to projection; and a fillet at base one-fifth the total height. Frequently this lower member is in the form of a half round bead of the same dimension as the fillet.
As a Bracketing moulding the Ovolo occurs in the capital of the Doric column, and in the Ionic and Corinthian cornices under the corona or facia, and is employed in other positions, where the sense of support is justified.
Cyma Reversa
The Cyma Reversa, like the Cyma Recta, is a curve of double flexure, and is headed with a fillet one-third to one-fourth the total height. The projection is equal to the height of curved profile.
The Cyma Reversa is employed in the cornice of the Doric order as a supporting moulding to the dentil course and below the culminating Cavetto. It also occurs in the Capital of the column, where it forms the upper member of the abacus. An apparent contradiction of the theory of employment, which however is justified by the circumstance that the column forms the support for the entablature.
It also occurs as a supporting moulding under the capping of the pedestal, and is used in similar positions in the other orders.
Binding Mouldings
The Binding mouldings, the Torus and the Scotia, appear chiefly on columns and pilasters, particularly the Scotia, which is essentially a base moulding.
The Torus
The Torus is a convex curve composed of a full half circle, with upper fillet one-fifth to one-sixth the total height. The projection is decided by the curvature, which is based on a semi-circle with centre slightly in advance of the vertical line of fillet.
The Torus varies in size according to position. For instance, in the base of the Ionic column two are employed, the lower being the larger. It is also invariably used on a smaller scale as a necking moulding beneath the Capitals; in the small form it is commonly known as a bead or astragal.
This employment of the Torus is distinctly appropriate and suggestive in the sense of imparting strength by binding. When used in other positions its purpose should be equally evident.
The Scotia
The Scotia in section is a deeply recessed concave curve with upper fillet, and is generally used between the upper and lower Torii of the base.
The upper fillet is of less projection than the lower extremity of curved profile. The extreme projection being merely equal to the height of curve and that of the upper fillet about one-half, the fillet being about one-fifth the total height.
The Facia
The foregoing constitute the range of mouldings with curved profiles, but there is another member, the Facia, that is an important feature in composition.
The Facia, which is rectilinear in form with external face vertical or slightly inclined, may be classed with the binding mouldings.
With regard to proportion, the height of the Facia should either exceed or be less than that of the curved moulding with which it is invariably surmounted. The projection being either considerably less or more than its height.
When used in the cornice or in the capping of pedestals its under face is generally recessed, this recess being equal to the height of the top fillet of supporting moulding.
Only occasionally the Facia is furnished with an upper fillet (for instance, when it occurs immediately below the Cyma Recta) to which it is reconciled by a Cavetto curve.
The Facia is a divisional feature between the mouldings of curved profile to which it is in valuable contrast.
Decoration of Mouldings
Mouldings may be plain or decorated, usually by carving, the details probably being derived from the painted decoration of an early period.
When thus enriched the moulding is formed as to its profile, and the details carved back from the face, leaving the highest parts in the original surface. The carving being deeper and more sharply defined in the case of mouldings that are in shadow. Such, for example, as the Ovolo, and in lighter relief on those more exposed to direct light.
The decoration of mouldings ordinarily consists of the repetition of a unit, composed on a central axis, in which curves are contrasted with vertical features.
No. 135.
The principle involved is to base the detail on the sectional curvature or profile line.
Orthodox Details
Thus the orthodox detail of the Ovolo, technically known as the “Egg and Tongue,” consists of a framing curve, which is obtained by repeating the profile on a centre line enclosing an ovoid shape. The angles between the outer curves being occupied by a tongue or dart.
As previously stated, this moulding is deeply carved, the ovoid being bold and well-rounded; the edges of the framing curves (in some instances grooved or channelled) being left sharp and precise.
Frequently the “Bead and Reel” enrichment occurs at the base of the Ovolo instead of the Fillet, this being the characteristic detail of the Bead or Astragal.
The treatment of the Cyma Reversa is identical and results in the detail known as the “Leaf and Dart”; but the carving is not so deep and the relief, in consequence, comparatively slight.
Angle Leaf
When mouldings meet at mitral angles it is customary to employ a covering leaf the midrib of which forms the angle.
The same principle is applicable to the Cyma Recta and the Cavetto, though these mouldings are more often left plain; when decorated the relief is comparatively slight.
The Scotia needs no decoration, the cast shadow resulting from its form being sufficiently effective.
The Torus, though frequently left plain, can be decorated in various ways.
The Guilloche is perhaps the most characteristic, but as suggestive of its function, the Torus is at times carved in the form of a rope or cable. Leaves suggestive of a wreath are used, also a reed band crossed at intervals with ribbons, quite in keeping with the suggestion of binding.
The Facia is generally plain, but the decoration, if used should, following the principle, be rectilinear in character; such as vertical flutings, or the key detail, both of which are used.
Dentils
Dentils, which form a distinctive feature in cornices, are a series of rectilinear blocks, attached to a Facia, and may be placed in the category of supporting members.
In their formation they are carved back from a facia of the requisite projection.
In proportion they should be from one and a half to one and three quarters their width in height, the intervals between being about half the width.
The first Dentil at the angle, lines flush with the return face of supporting Facia leaving a right angular interval between the two end Dentils. This space is sometimes occupied by a pendant knob, acorn-like in shape. The heads of intervals are often sloped backwards and downwards, or occupied by a narrow fillet set back from face. Below the Dentils the supporting Facia is displayed to about the height of a fillet.
Considerable license prevailed in the later developments of the Renaissance in the decoration of mouldings, license which is permissible providing the general principle be borne in mind. The concensus of opinion is in favour of repetition of a simple unit and absence of variety. The vertical tendency resulting from the bi-symmetrical character of the unit is desirable, and in happy contrast to the horizontal direction of the moulding, while it also emphasises the sense of structural support.
DETAIL OF THE DENTIL
No. 136.
The profiles also are amenable to considerable variation, the curves being the direct result of Geometry, or Freehand, either treatment being a matter of attitude and discretion.
Employment
When employed in Architecture the forms and proportions given will be found most suitable. In interior decoration and structural work, as in furniture, considerable latitude is permissible.
It must be understood that the profiles of mouldings should not be designed merely for the play of line, but for the effect resulting from light and shade. In those close to the eye and in fair light, elliptic curves will be more effective than more rounded sections, which are most suitable to remote positions.
In composition, mouldings of curved profile should always be separated by fillets or occasionally a facia, and the various members associated with regard to their functional purpose. Obvious repetition of the same dimension is to be avoided, and contrast should exist not only in the shapes of profiles, but also in their respective heights.
MODIFIED PROPORTION DUE TO PERSPECTIVE
No. 137.
Attitude
Attitude must be taken into account, as, for instance, in a cornice which is above the eye level it is apparent that the mouldings will not appear in elevation but in perspective; and not only the respective heights will be visible, but also the projections.
When mouldings are decorated the details ranging above each other should be so distributed as to fall in vertical alignment. This is particularly necessary when the Ovolo enrichment occurs below dentils, or where it is surmounted by Modillions as in the Corinthian cornice.
Panel mouldings cannot legitimately be considered as functional in the foregoing sense, though in wood-work they are directly incidental to the construction. Regarded as frames, their general purpose may be considered as to bind or enclose.
In stone-work it may be at times desirable to introduce panel effects, which may be obtained by boasting out or recessing parts, possible only on a large scale. A comparatively simple and justifiable treatment is to sink channels of moulded profiles framing the enclosed area, which is left in the original plane. A treatment that is effective and comparatively economical.
CHANNELLED MOULDING IN STONE
No. 138.
Wood Panelling
Panelling in wood-work is not only legitimate, but structurally necessary, as it is not practical to cover large areas except by some method of building up.
Therefore, not only panelling, but doors and structural wood-work generally are constructed of stiles
No. 139. Panel Mouldings in Wood.
A. Late Linen-fold Panel, with scribed mouldings on stiles and rails.
B. C. Panels of Settleback and Chest, with framing with simple moulded edges.
D. Early Jacobean Panelling, with stopped mouldings on stiles and rails.
E. Later Jacobean Panelling.
F. Later Jacobean Section of applied mouldings of the Bolection type.
and rails, forming framings; the spaces enclosed being occupied by the panels.
The edges of the stiles and rails are moulded. In the late Gothic and Tudor periods the mouldings were often simply scribed; but later the profiles became more distinct in contour.
These early mouldings were narrow and simple in form, arrived at mainly by softening or rounding the square edges of the frame.
Applied Mouldings
Applied mouldings were apparently employed in the Jacobean period, and the sections became more elaborate. Worked independently, they were frequently higher in relief than the framings. The facility with which they could be worked and applied resulted at this period in a fashion for complicated mitreing hardly justifiable from a constructional point of view, though effective if not overdone.
No. 140. Applied Mouldings.
In the composition of such mouldings it is desirable that the sizes and contours employed should be contrasting, and that all curved sections be divided by fillets.
As the width of the moulding throughout is uniform, it is obvious that mitral angles must be perfect bi-sections of the meeting lines.
With regard to proportion, the width of mouldings may generally be one-fourth to one-eighth that of the panel according to desired effect, robust or refined.
No. 141. Part of Dresser.
Applied mouldings on drawer fronts.
Bolection Moulding
When boldness in appearance is required the type known as the Bolection Moulding may be used. This, in its orthodox form, is a species of inner frame between the main framing of the stiles and rails, and the panels, but was more commonly an applied moulding.
No. 142. Bolection Moulding.
In any case, it is worked independently, and its outer edges lap the framing, on which it is in relief, resulting in strong effect of light and shade.
Panel mouldings may be decorated by carving with the orthodox enrichments or variants based on them, but should always be in contrast to the panels they enclose.
In furniture, mouldings play an important part, and in many positions can be regulated by functional considerations. In horizontal positions, such as in tables and sideboards, where personal contact is possible, any moulded edges should be of softly rounded character for obvious reasons.
TABLE TOP MOULDINGS
No. 143.
Plaster
In plaster-work mouldings may be cast in a mould or run by the strigil. When decorated, the former only is possible, and as such work is originally modelled, it is permissible to introduce details of a plastic nature, such as interrupting the run by imposed and enveloping floral or other forms.
Mechanically produced mouldings cannot be undercut, though this is practicable in plaster where the jelly mould is employed.
TURNED WOOD
No. 144.
Mouldings are used for decorative and divisional purposes in various materials, and to some extent their character is affected by the formative process involved.
Wood-turning
Thus in wood-turning the general profiles are kept fairly soft, taking usually, as in the case of stair rails and furniture legs, the baluster form. As a rule there is little variation between the maximum and minimum diameters.
The baluster shafts have bases and capitals of curved profiles, with intervening fillets, which latter may be fairly sharp, as they are by their position protected from damage.
Metal Turning
Turning is also employed in metal work, the stems and bodies of Dutch candelabra, both standard and hanging, being originally cast as to general form and finished in the lathe.
No. 145.
The general treatment is similar to that of wood-turning, except that the material being much harder, the mouldings can be more sharply defined and delicate in detail.
Pottery
The throwing of pottery is analagous to turning, but by this method little more can be accomplished than thickened edges. The Greek vases show some precision of profile, the result of turning on a lathe after the vessel had been formed on the wheel.
No. 146. Moulded Vase in Terra-cotta.
In moulded pottery more definition is possible than in thrown variety, but the profiles are comparatively blunt and never attain the precision due to turning.
Metal Mouldings
In metal, mouldings may be rolled or drawn. In the first they are formed in the solid, but drawn mouldings are formed in plate or sheet metal and are therefore hollow and of uniform thickness.
ROLLED METAL MOULDINGS
No. 147.
By either method mouldings of any required section are obtainable provided they are not undercut.
Both varieties are ordinarily obtainable in various sections and sizes in iron, brass, bronze, and silver.
Where special sections are required, the cost of the tools necessary for their production would have to be taken into account.
DRAWN METAL MOULDINGS
No. 148.
Wrought Iron
Though the employment of rolled or drawn mouldings is usual in wrought iron-work, the effect is somewhat mechanical and lacking in character. Preferably only such forms as are attained by either swaging or building up should be employed as being more characteristic of the material and method of working.
No. 149. Wrought Iron Swaged Moulding. No. 150. Wrought Iron Built-up Mouldings.
No. 150. Wrought Iron Built-up Mouldings.
Silver-work
In silver-work drawn mouldings are usually formed by hand, the necessary draw plates being made by the workman.
No. 151. Wrought Iron Built-up Mouldings.
Spinning
Mouldings in metal are also formed by the process of spinning, in which undercutting is not permissible.
SPUN METAL
No. 152.
Repoussé
They are also possible in Repoussé work, but are soft in character, and lack the precision that marks the mechanical production.
CHAPTER IV
ARCHITECTURAL PROPORTIONS
Introduction
In architectural drawing concise draughtsmanship is essential, the profiles of mouldings in particular should be well defined.
Architectural designs, which should always be drawn to scale, are expressed geometrically, that is in plan, elevation and section. The actual effect is therefore a matter of conjecture only to be grasped by those familiar with the arbitrary form of expression. Perspectives are generally made with a view to depicting the appearance to the uninitiated, but are practically useless as working drawings.
The student is advised to take advantage of every opportunity of studying existing examples in museums and elsewhere. This study should not be confined to geometric drawings, but these should be supplemented by sketches and careful observation. Attention should also be paid to the profiles of mouldings.
A practice should be made also of making freehand sketches of the various features, indicating broadly the effects of light and shade.
The study of architectural proportions should be methodical, and the general divisions given here might advantageously be committed to memory. When this is accomplished attention may be devoted to individual features.
System of Proportion
It is customary, when any of the orders of Architecture are employed, to adopt a system of proportions which has been evolved from the best traditions of the past, and is generally accepted as the most satisfactory.
Naturally these proportions are subject to modification to suit special conditions or personal treatment. According to the academic method, the diameter of the column is divided into two parts, which are called Modules, and each of these is again subdivided into thirty divisions called parts. This gives a scale by means of which all dimensions of height and projection are obtained. Since the diameter of the column forms the standard of measurement, the proportions of the relative parts are constant and in no way influenced by the size of the structure.
This method, although very complete, is—owing to its multiplicity of dimensions—somewhat laborious in practice, and the method here proposed in its stead, though not claimed to be exact, will yet be found to be sufficiently accurate for ordinary requirements.
It is proposed to deal here with the orders commonly employed in Renaissance architecture. These were based by the early exponents of the style on Roman examples. The Doric selected is that of Vignola, and is a refined version of the order used in the Theatre of Marcellus at Rome. The Ionic closely resembles the Roman Ionic order in the same building. The Corinthian is the Roman example from the Pantheon.
The Order
An Order consists of a vertical column and a horizontal entablature, while in some instances the column rests on a pedestal.
It is desirable before dealing with proportions to enumerate the various parts of which an order is composed.
The column consists of a shaft, base and capital.
The shaft is circular on plan and invariably tapered.
The base is composed of mouldings, which are circular on plan, and a rectangular block or plinth.
The capital is circular on plan, and in the Doric and Corinthian orders is divided from the shaft by a necking moulding. The capital is surmounted by a feature known as the abacus, which is rectangular on plan, but varies in detail in the different orders.
Columns may be isolated or engaged, that is, built into walls so that they form projections from the surface.
No. 153. Doric Order with Pedestal.
The pilaster is always engaged, and is rectangular on plan, but otherwise it has the same general features and proportions as the column.
The entablature is the superstructure supported by the columns. It consists of an architrave, which is the lowest part, a frieze, the intermediate part, and a series of projecting mouldings known as the cornice.
The pedestal, which occasionally forms a support for the columns, consists of a plinth, die and capping. The lower part or plinth is separated from the die by mouldings, and the capping is a projecting course of mouldings forming a simple cornice.
To sum up a simple classification, which may be termed the triology of the orders, will be found to assist the memory.
The Orders commonly employed are three—the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. (There are two others which are less used, and are really derived from the other three: they are the Tuscan, which is a form of debased Doric, and the Composite, which is made up of the Ionic and Corinthian).
The Order may be divided into three parts:
Pedestal, Column and Entablature.
These may again be sub-divided.
The Pedestal into Plinth, Die and Capping.
The Column into Base, Shaft and Capital.
The Entablature into Architrave, Frieze and Cornice.
The method of arriving at the proportions of the order is as follows. In this division the pedestal is not taken into account, but is reserved for later consideration.
Doric Order
Divide the total height into five equal parts. Then the upper fifth will give the height of the entablature and an eighth of the remaining four-fifths the diameter of the column. From this it will be seen that the column is eight diameters high and the entablature two diameters. In using the term diameter it must be understood that it is always the lower diameter of the column that is referred to.
No. 154. General Proportions of the Orders.
The capital is half a diameter high exclusive of the necking moulding, and the base also is half a diameter. In all the orders the column is tapered; the upper diameter is in each case five-sixths of the lower or major diameter. The taper is not in a straight line, but a slight curve, which is known as entasis. It is obtained by drawing the lower third of the shaft vertical and from these lines springing a curve to the upper diameter, which may readily be done by slightly altering the angle of the pencil in ruling them.
The entablature is divided as follows: the architrave is half a diameter, the frieze and cornice each three-quarters of a diameter.
Ionic Order
The total height should be divided into six parts. Then the upper sixth will be the entablature, and one ninth of the remainder the diameter of the column, hence the column will be nine diameters high.
The capital is half a diameter high; the base also is half a diameter.
The total height of the entablature is divided into ten parts, three of these should be taken as the height of the architrave, three that of the frieze and the remaining four that of the cornice.
Corinthian Order
The total height should be divided into six parts. Then the upper sixth is the height of the entablature. A tenth of the remainder will be the diameter of the column.
The capital is one diameter and one-sixth in height exclusive of the necking moulding, and the base is half a diameter high, exclusive of the top fillet.
The division of the entablature is the same as that of the Ionic, and the mouldings, although more elaborate, are similar in character. The architrave and frieze are each three-tenths of the height and the cornice four-tenths.
It will be seen from the foregoing that the diameters of the three orders are respectively one-eighth, one-ninth and one-tenth the heights of the columns, and that the entablature is, in the Doric, two diameters high or one fourth the height of the column; in the Corinthian also two diameters or one-fifth the height of the column. The Ionic is intermediate between the two.
Doric Entablatures
The Doric cornice is three-quarters of a diameter in height and one diameter in projection from the face of the frieze, which should always be in vertical alignment with the architrave.
It is convenient to divide the cornice height into three. The upper third consists of a crowning cavetto moulding, supported by a cyma reversa, under which is a facia or corona, in turn supported by a dentil course. The lower third should be taken as the centre of the dentil course, and if the height from the top of the cavetto to the underside of the corona be bisected, the point of bisection should fall in the centre of the intervening reversa.
Mutules
In orthodox examples of the order the underside or soffit of the corona is decorated with a series of sunk panels. Those immediately over the triglyphs of the frieze are occupied by rows of conical drops. A variation of this and a treatment frequently employed is a series of brackets known as mutules. They consist of a facia and a reversa, which is carried round the upper edge to support the corona. When mutules are used the dentil course is omitted.
PLAN OF CORNICE
No. 155. Doric Entablature, Vignola.
The dentils are rectilinear blocks on a flat projecting band, and they are supported by a cyma reversa moulding. A fillet beneath this moulding completes the cornice. The reversa is about the same height as the fillet, and the dentil course is about twice this height, but owing to the soffit of the corona sloping slightly upward and inwards the full height of the dentil facia is not apparent when drawn in elevation.
PLAN OF CORNICE
No. 156. Doric Entablature, with Mutules.
Above the dentil facia is a small cavetto moulding and a fillet. These are directly beneath the corona, and are carried round to form the panels on its soffit.
The Doric frieze is three-quarters of a diameter high. It is divided into panels technically known as metopes, by projecting features half a diameter in width which are called triglyphs.
The metopes should be square, and one of the triglyphs is always placed immediately over each column, having the same central axis, hence the spacing of the columns apart is regulated by the triglyphs and metopes. Examples of various spacings of columns will be given later.
The frieze is bounded above and below by rectilinear projecting bands or fillets; that at the top breaks round or follows the projection of the triglyphs.
The triglyphs are so named because they are channelled vertically with grooves or glyphs, V shaped in section, with intervening spaces or inter-glyphs. The width of the triglyph should be divided into twelve parts—then the half glyphs which are placed at the angles will each be one of these parts, and the remaining two glyphs and three inter-glyphs are each two of them. The glyphs terminate at the base on the fillet band, but at the top are cut off a little below the upper fillet, invariably in a straight line, thus forming a triangular heading with the apex of the triangle sloping backwards and downwards in conformity with the V shaped section of the glyphs.
Under the lower fillet band, and immediately below the triglyph, is a small fillet and six pendant drops of conical form known as guttae.
PLAN OF CORNICE
No. 157. Ionic Entablature.
The architrave is half a diameter high, inclusive of the fillet band, which is roughly a sixth of this height. The small fillet and guttae are together equal in height to the fillet band.
It may be taken as an invariable rule that whatever order is used, the face of the architrave must be in vertical alignment with the upper part of the shaft of the column.
Ionic Entablature
The total height of the entablature is divided into ten parts; three of these should be taken as the height of the architrave, three that of the frieze, and the remaining four that of the cornice.
To find the projection of the cornice a line should be drawn at an angle of 45 degrees from the top of the frieze, and the profiles of the mouldings composing the cornice will fall within this line.
The lowest member is a small reversa moulding, with a fillet supporting a dentil course, above which is an ovolo; these occupy half the height of the cornice. The remaining half is composed of the facia, surmounted by a reversa and the crowning cyma moulding, rather more than half of the height being allotted to these two.
The frieze of the Ionic order has no characteristic detail as the Doric, and may be plain or decorated according to conditions, and should be in vertical alignment with the lowest member of the architrave. In some of the later Renaissance examples the profile of the Ionic frieze is a segmental curve of about a third of a circle.
The architrave is usually formed of three facias, which may be either vertical or slightly inclined.
No. 158. Corinthian Entablature.
A fifth of the total height is taken for the upper moulding, which is a reversa with its accompanying fillet.
A point bisecting the underside of the fillet and bottom of architrave will give the line of the lower edge of the top facia. The other two facias should be taken in a decreasing ratio, the lower being the shorter.
Corinthian Entablature
The division of the entablature is the same as that of the Ionic. The total height is divided into ten. Three of these parts form the architrave, three the frieze and four the cornice.
An angle of 45 degrees set off from the top of the frieze will determine the general contour and projection of the cornice.
The cornice is more complex than in the other styles, but a division of eleven will help to determine, three being the height to underside of bead moulding and seven that of the main facia. The lowest moulding of the cornice is a cyma reversa supporting a dentil course with a bead moulding above it. Above the bead there is an ovolo, which forms the bed of a series of brackets known as modillions. The height of the modillions is about one-fifth including the reversa moulding, which, besides completing the modillions, is carried round between them as a support for the upper facia.
The modillions have a profile of ogee form. They are about a sixth of a diameter in width and project about twice their width, and are so spaced as to leave squares between them on the soffit or underside of the corona. The frieze, which may or may not be decorated, is in vertical alignment with the lowest member of the architrave.
The architrave is made up of three facias with intervening mouldings. If the height be divided into two, the upper half is devoted to the first facia and reversa moulding, which latter occupies rather more than one-third; the remaining half is taken up by the other two facias in a diminishing ratio.
The Column—The Shaft
The general proportions of the column have already been given. The shaft is invariably tapered for two-thirds of its height, the lower third being cylindrical, and the taper terminates at the necking moulding. In all three orders the difference between the upper and lower diameters is the same, that is, the upper is five-sixths of the lower, but although the amount of taper is numerically the same, the different ratios of the diameters to the heights produce naturally very different results.
The shaft of the Doric column may be plain or channelled with vertical grooves called flutes. There are twenty of these flutes round the circumference. On plan they are shallow, and may be formed of arcs of a third of a circle. The curves meet without intervening fillets. The flutes are finished off in segmental curves at the top and bottom, leaving a small plain space below the necking and above the base.
The Ionic and Corinthian columns may have plain or decorated shafts. If decorated they have twenty-four flutes round the circumference. These are semi-circular on plan, and are spaced with fillets between them.
The Capital
The Capital is the culminating feature of the column in which horizontal lines predominate in æsthetic contrast to the vertical lines of the shaft. In all the orders there is some form of crowning block or moulding known as the abacus.[A]
[A] Though the proportions given are approximately accurate for general division, it will be found necessary in detailing to adopt a more intimate system of measurement. In the following diagrams the diameter is divided into 36 parts, which are expressed in figures, giving heights, etc., of the various features.
Doric Capital
The Doric abacus consists of a rectangular slab, square on plan, which in detail consists of a fillet and reversa moulding surmounting a facia. Its extreme width is one and a half times the upper diameter. The square abacus is supported by an ovolo, which is circular on plan, and is connected with the necking by three small fillets.
No. 159. Doric Capital.
The capital is half a diameter in height, exclusive of the mouldings between the necking and the shaft, and the upper part to the underside of the ovolo occupies rather more than half.
No. 160. Ionic Capital.
The necking is a vertical extension of the upper diameter of the column, and is separated from the shaft by a boldly projecting moulding, which in height should be about equal to the three small fillets below the ovolo. The moulding consists of a torus and a fillet, and a cavetto curve is carried from the underside of the fillet and dies into the line of the shaft of the column.
Sometimes the ovolo is decorated with its characteristic egg and tongue detail, and occasionally the reversa of the abacus is also enriched. The necking is sometimes ornamented with four rosettes, which are placed centrally under the square faces of the abacus.
Ionic Capital
The Ionic capital is half a diameter high, and is readily distinguished by its bolster-like form with voluted ends. This bolster is rectangular on plan, and measures laterally rather more than one and a half diameters, while from back to front it is slightly less than a diameter.
The shaft terminates in a cavetto curve, and is surmounted by a fillet, a small torus and an ovolo moulding, which is invariably decorated with egg and tongue detail. These mouldings all conform to the circular plan of the shaft. On the ovolo rests the voluted bolster.
The abacus, which is square on plan, consists of a reversa moulding and fillet.
From the top of the abacus to the base of the ovolo the height is about a third of a diameter, and one-fourth of this height will give the height of the abacus.
The centre or eye of the volute can readily be found by dropping a perpendicular from the lower edge of the reversa to intersect the horizontal line defining the base of the ovolo. This point of intersection is the required centre.
To Draw the Volute
From this as centre and one part as radius describe a circle. Within this circle draw a square, having for a diagonal the diameter of the circle. Bisect the sides of the square and draw the diameters by joining the points of bi-section. Divide these diameters of the square into six and these points will be the centres for the segments of circles which form the volute. Vertical and horizontal lines drawn from the centres will define the extent of each segment.
No. 161. Ionic Capital, with angular volutes.
For small scale drawings the volutes are drawn free-hand, but for larger working drawings it is necessary to use some method such as that given here.
The angle formed by the meeting of the ovolo and the volute is masked by a detail of anthemion form.
The ends of the bolster between the volutes consist of concave or ogee curves, which are symmetrically arranged from a centre line; moulded ridges or conventional leaf detail decorate the centre.
The form of the Ionic capital, while suitable for a façade, requires some modification if it is to be carried round the side of a building, owing to the great dissimilarity in the front and side views. In this case the end volute of the capital at the angle of the building is projected forward at an angle of 45 degrees, and the side is then treated in the same way as the front.
In late Renaissance buildings this difficulty was overcome by making all the volutes project at angles of 45 degrees, so that the four faces of the capital were uniform. This entails the bolster being dispensed with, and the volutes, no longer connected laterally, spring directly from the top of the ovolo moulding, and the space between the springing lines is occupied by a husk.
No. 162. Ionic Capital. Detail of Angular Volute.
As the volutes make equal angles they conform more or less to a square plan. The plan of the abacus is composed of four concave curves with small straight intervals at the meeting angles. The general proportions for this form of capital are the same as for the bolster type.
Corinthian Capital
The Corinthian capital differs widely from those of the preceding orders in proportion and detail.
Its general form may be described as a bell, which is circular on plan. It springs from the upper extremity of the shaft, from which it is separated by a necking moulding.
Under the abacus it terminates in a fillet.
The bell is one diameter high. The height of the abacus is one-sixth of a diameter in addition; on plan the abacus falls within a square, having four concave faces with short straight lines at the angles. The distance across the diagonal is two diameters. The bell is clothed with leaves of acanthus type, which are arranged in two tiers of eight leaves each. Between the upper leaves are eight stems with husks and branching scrolls, which terminate in volutes at the angles and centres.
The necking moulding consists of a small torus and fillet.
Although the arrangement of the principal features of the Corinthian capital is horizontal, yet owing to the channelling of the leaves and the firmly springing scrolls the vertical direction appears to predominate.
This verticality emphasises the function of the capital as a supporting feature, and is æsthetically satisfactory, being in harmony with the flutings of the shaft.
No. 163. Corinthian Capital.
The effect produced by the capitals of the other two orders is horizontal, and suggests the idea of binding. They are equally satisfactory as giving contrast of direction.
No. 164. Corinthian Capital.
Detail giving divisions of height, and profiles.
The Base
In all the orders a square plinth is the lowest member of the base of the column. On this plinth rests a series of mouldings which follow the circular plan of the shaft. The shaft invariably terminates in a fillet, the diameter of which exceeds that of the column, and on to which the line of the shaft is carried by means of a curve.
No. 165. Doric Base.
Doric Base
The Doric base is extremely simple. It consists of the square plinth on which rests a torus moulding surmounted by a smaller moulding of the same section and a fillet above.
The width of the plinth is one and a third the diameter of the column, and its height a quarter diameter or half the total height of the base. The other half is made up of the large torus, the small torus and fillet. The torus moulding should be bold in projection, practically semi-circular and at the fullest part of its curvature in vertical alignment with the centres of the horizontal faces of the plinth block. The small torus and fillet are about equal in height.
Ionic Base
No. 166. Ionic Base.
The Ionic base differs from the Doric in the introduction of a hollow or scotia moulding between the two torus mouldings. Æsthetically it may be considered more satisfactory in that the strong shadow obtained by the use of the scotia produces an effect of binding which adds to the impression of strength. The type is technically known as the Attic base.
The total width is one and a third diameter.
The height of half a diameter may be divided into three. One of these divisions will give the height of the plinth, one the large torus and the fillet above it, and the other the scotia and small torus with the fillets above and below. The fillets either side of the upper torus may be in the same vertical alignment.
No. 167. Corinthian Base.
The smallest diameter of the base, which will be in the hollow of the scotia, should exceed the diameter of the shaft, or an effect of weakness will be imparted.
As in the Doric base a curve of a quarter circle connects the shaft with the upper fillet.
Corinthian Base
The orthodox base of the Corinthian order is similar to that of the Ionic, with an additional scotia and small torus with its accompanying fillets.
The width of the plinth is one and a third diameter.
The height of half a diameter does not include the top fillet. The proportions may be approximated by dividing the height into four. One of these parts will be the height of the plinth, another that of the large torus and its fillet, the third—the upper edge of fillet of top scotia, and the fourth that of the upper scotia and torus with the intervening fillet. Vertically the uppermost fillet is in alignment with that of the upper scotia, and the extremity of the upper torus with the small bead mouldings dividing this from the lower scotia.
Although this is the orthodox Corinthian base, it is not used as frequently as the Ionic type, but when the order is on a large scale the more elaborate version is justified.
The Arch
When the arch is used in conjunction with the column it is supported on pilasters which are attached to the columns. The columns and pilasters thus form piers.
In the Doric order the columns are placed five diameters apart from centre to centre, in the Ionic five and a quarter, and in the Corinthian five and a half.
The necking moulding of the capital is generally carried through above the arch, the outer line of which is struck so as to nearly touch the underside.
The projection of the pilasters which carry the arch is half a diameter from the outer lines of the column, and is measured on the same level as the springing point of the arch.
The centre from which the arch is struck is sometimes in the same horizontal line as the springing points, but more frequently a little above the line and thereby a rather better effect is produced.
The arch-band or archivolt is the same width as the pilaster supporting it, and a series of mouldings known as the impost is placed at the top of the pilaster. The base of the pilaster consists of a plain plinth of slight projection equal in height to the base of the column.
From the spacing of the columns and the proportions here given it will be seen that the height and width of the aperture made by the arch and pilasters are arrived at automatically, but if measured, the height will be found to be about twice the width and the top of the impost about two-thirds the height of the column. These proportions may be accepted as giving satisfactory results under ordinary conditions.
As a general rule, in all the orders the impost is half a diameter high, and so is the same as the projection of the pilaster and the width of the archivolt.
This rule is not always adhered to, however, but in any case the width of the archivolt should never be more than one-eighth or less than one-tenth of the diameter of the arch, and should always be the same as the width of the pilaster.
Doric Impost
The mouldings of the Doric Impost are as follows:
At the top there is a fillet and a bold ovolo, below which there is a bead-moulding or small torus with fillet and two facias. The lower facia, which is of slight projection is one-fourth of the total height. The upper facia and fillet are half the remainder.
No. 168. Detail of Archivolts and Imposts.
Archivolt
The archivolt mouldings are in the Doric order, the same as those of the impost.
Ionic Impost
The total height of half a diameter may be divided into two, and the upper half sub-divided into three. Then the upper division will be the height of the top fillet and a reversa moulding; the second the height of a facia and the third an ovolo and small torus.
The lower half of the impost consists of two facias, the upper of which is broader than the lower.
Ionic Archivolt
The archivolt, commencing at the outer rim, consists of a fillet and bold reversa moulding which occupies rather less than a fourth of the total width, and two facias of unequal widths. The width of the inner facia is nearly one-third more than that of the reversa moulding.
Corinthian Impost
The Corinthian impost differs from those of the other two orders in having a necking and necking moulding in place of the two unequal facias.
The total height should be divided into two, and the upper half divided into four. Then the top fillet and reversa moulding will be one of these divisions, the facia two, and the supporting ovolo will occupy the remaining one.
The lower half of the impost consists of a small torus and fillet beneath the ovolo, the necking, and the torus and fillet which form the necking moulding.
Corinthian Archivolt
The archivolt, commencing at the outer rim, consists of a fillet and reversa and three unequal facias.
If the total width is divided into two, the point of bisection will be the centre of a small reversa moulding between the two outer facias. The outer reversa and the inner facia are each about one-sixth of the total width and the small reversa is about two-thirds of the inner facia.
The Keystone
A projecting block, or keystone, is sometimes used at the centre of the arch. The face width of its lowest edge should not be less than the width of the archivolt. Its height is not often less than one and a half times or more than twice this width.
It may be decorated in various ways, and is frequently in the shape of a console. This form is especially suitable when the keystone comes in contact with the architrave of the entablature, in which case it is capped with a moulded abacus.
The Pedestal
The height of the pedestal is a fourth that of the column and entablature together, though this proportion may be varied to suit different conditions. For instance, when the pedestal forms part of the structure of a balcony or balustrading the height must be modified to suit the special requirements of the position.
The pedestal is composed of plinth, die and capping.
The width of the die is the same as the plinth of the base of the column above it, that is, one and one-third diameter. The projection of the capping, which is the same for all three orders is obtained by drawing a line at an angle of 30 degrees with the vertical from the top of the die.
The width of the plinth corresponds to the projection of the capping, and is determined by dropping perpendiculars from the top fillet.
The height of the mouldings between the die and plinth is determined by a line drawn from the bottom of the die at an angle of 45 degrees to intersect the vertical face of the plinth. The angle is the same for all the orders.
Doric Pedestal
In the Doric order the height of the capping is one-third diameter. The face of the die is square, and this determines the height of the plinth.
No. 169. Detail of Pedestals.
The capping mouldings consist of a fillet, facia, ovolo, fillet and cavetto. The facia is carried to the underside of the fillet in a curve, and its height is half the total height of the capping. The facia is supported by the ovolo, and a fillet and cavetto complete the capping.
The height of the course of mouldings at the top of the plinth should be divided into three, then the upper third will contain a cavetto moulding and fillet, and the remaining two-thirds an ogee and final fillet.
Ionic Pedestal
In the Ionic pedestal the plinth with its mouldings should occupy one-third the height and the capping one-fifth the remainder.
The mouldings are similar to those of the Doric pedestal, but a little more elaborate. In the capping a reversa is used under the top fillet and a small torus or bead is placed between the ovolo and the cavetto. In the mouldings of the plinth a similar bead is introduced above the ogee moulding.
Corinthian Pedestal
The same general divisions as the Ionic will give the proportions of the Corinthian pedestal, the difference being that of the scale and the detail of the mouldings.
The capping may be divided into two. The top half consists of a fillet, reversa and facia, and the lower half a supporting cyma recta, a bead and a cavetto curve. The plinth mouldings are the same as those of the Ionic pedestal with the addition of a torus beneath the ogee. The height of this torus is one-fourth the total height and is about equal to that of the cavetto and bead together.
When the pedestal is employed the arch becomes proportionately larger. In the Doric order the columns are then spaced seven and a half diameters apart; in the Ionic seven and three quarters, and in the Corinthian eight diameters centre to centre.
The archivolt, the radius of which is determined by the above spacing, is supported as before by an impost and pilaster. The base of the pilaster consists of a slightly projecting block equal in height to the plinth block of the pedestal.
The height of the arch varies slightly, inasmuch as the inner curve may be about a diameter from the architrave, but in the Corinthian order should not fall below the level of the necking moulding of the capital.
The Baluster
As already stated, the pedestal may be used as a part of a balustrading associated with balusters, and must conform to the proportions necessitated by the conditions. The usual height for balustradings, whether to steps, balconies, or before windows, is three feet two inches, though in special cases it may be slightly more.
The baluster is a species of small column. Its usual form is bulbous or vase-shaped, and it is furnished with a capital and base. A series of balusters is technically known as a balustrade.
The balusters are raised on a plinth, which corresponds to the plinth of the pedestal, and surmounted by a rail of horizontal mouldings, which correspond to the capping of the pedestal; hence the baluster is of the same height as the die.
The height of the baluster should be divided into five, then one-fifth will be the height of the base, and the capital exclusive of the necking will be another fifth. The extreme diameter of the bulbous shaft is one-third the total height of the baluster, and the diameter of the necking and the top of the shaft is about one-sixth. The capital has a square abacus slightly less in width than the plinth of the base. Below the abacus is
No. 170. Detail of Balusters.
an ovolo and fillet, which are circular on plan. The necking is separated from the shaft by a small torus and fillet. The base has for its lowest member a square plinth, which occupies rather less than half the height and is equal in width to the extreme diameter of the bulbous shaft. Above the plinth is a scotia and a necking moulding, which are circular on plan.
Spacing of Balusters
The balusters should be spaced with not more than half their diameters or less than a third between their bases, except when employed on the rake of steps, when they may be slightly closer.
Balustrading
In a balustrading an unequal number of balusters should always be used, and not less than five in one group exclusive of the half balusters which are attached to the flanking or dividing dies. Seven and nine form very satisfactory groups, but if more than nine are necessary for the space to be filled, intermediate dies must be interposed, and these may vary from two-thirds to three-quarters the width of the principal dies.
In some cases, when a large number of balusters are to be grouped, the dies are flanked by half dies, which are less in projection than the dies themselves.
Balustrades are sometimes used above the cornice of a building, and their height should not be more than four-fifths or less than two-thirds the height of the entablature. This height would be exclusive of the plinth on which the balusters are raised. The height of the plinth is determined by the height of the building, and the projection of the cornice, as its purpose is to raise the balusters so that they may be seen from the ordinary point of view. The principal dies may be placed over columns or pilasters and should be equal in width to the upper diameters of these, though flanking half dies may be used in addition to avoid an appearance of thinness. The plinth and capping mouldings always follow the plan of the principal dies, and are carried in unbroken lines across each interval.
When the height of the balustrade does not conform to the orthodox proportions the method of determining the relative proportions is as follows:—The height is divided into seven parts; of these one part gives the height of the capping, four the baluster and two the plinth.
The mouldings in character and detail are the same as those of the pedestal, and should be in harmony with the order used.
When balustrading forms part of a stair, the height on landings should be three feet two inches. On the rake two feet ten inches from the step at a line vertical with the face of the riser. The plinth is invariably used as a string enclosing the ends of the steps and following the rake or angle in a straight line, and carried to the levels by means of curving ramps.
In interior work the bulbous shafts of balusters are often decorated with carved detail, and the mouldings also may be enriched.
Use of Columns
Columns were originally used in the porticos and courts of temples and other buildings, and sometimes to form supports for vaulted roofs. Wherever employed their function was directly structural, but this was not the case at the time of the Renaissance. The requirements demanded by widely different social conditions led to their being used more as decorative than structural features.
The use of engaged columns and pilasters in a façade can be justified to some extent. Although such columns and pilasters may not be absolutely essential for support, yet they act as buttresses and add to the strength of the structure with a certain economy of material. Also they are æsthetically satisfactory in their effect of light and shade.
Disposition and Spacing in Colonnades
The disposition of columns either in a façade or a colonnade is controlled by proportions which have been found to be desirable or are necessitated by special features of the order itself. The latter is the case with the Doric order, the spacing being determined by the trigylphs and metopes. If the triglyphs are placed centrally over the columns or pilasters the spacing of these apart will be two and a half diameters centre to centre, three and three-quarters, or five diameters, with two, three or four metopes respectively between them in the frieze. With the wider spacing of five diameters it is usual to employ coupled columns to add to the appearance of strength. As the triglyphs are one and a quarter diameters apart centre to centre, the coupled columns are brought very close together, entailing a slight modification of the bases. Since the ordinary projection of the plinth of a sixth of a diameter beyond the line of the shaft is not possible between the two columns, the plinth-blocks are united, and the torus moulding made slightly less in projection.
[A] Though the proportions given are approximately accurate for general division, it will be found necessary in detailing to adopt a more intimate system of measurement. In the following diagrams the diameter is divided into 36 parts, which are expressed in figures, giving heights, etc., of the various features.
The Capital is the culminating feature of the column in which horizontal lines predominate in æsthetic contrast to the vertical lines of the shaft. In all the orders there is some form of crowning block or moulding known as the abacus.[A]