A
HISTORY OF ORNAMENT



Lavaro of Santa Maria Novella, Florence, ry Giovanni della
Rorria, 1497.


HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
RENAISSANCE AND MODERN
BY
A. D. F. HAMLIN, A.M., L.H.D., F.A.I.A.
Professor of the History of Architecture in
Columria University
WITH JjG4 ILLUSTRATIONS
AND tS PLATES

NEW YORK
COOPER SQUARE PUBLISHERS, INC.
1973


Copyright, 1923, by
The Century Co.
Originally Published 1916
Reprinted by Permission of Genevieve Karr Hamlin
Published 1973 by Cooper Square Publishers, Inc.
59 Fourth Avenue, New York, New York 10003
International Standard Book Number 0-8154-0450-6
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 72-92374
Printed in the United States of America


TO THE MEMORY OF
WILLIAM ROBERT WARE
FOUNDER OF aRCHITECTURaL EDUCaTION
IN THE UNITED STaTES, MY FIRST PRE-
CEPTOR IN aRCHITECTURE, aND FOB
TWENTY YEaRS MY SYMPaTHETIC aND
INSPIRING COLLEaGUE aND CHIEF IN
COLUMBIa UNIVERSITY





PREFACE
Six years have passed since the appearance of my
first volume, "A History of Ornament, Ancient and
Medieval," when I announced my intention of following
it with a History of Renaissance, Modern and Oriental
Ornament, which I hoped to complete in two years. Not
only have the two years been extended to six on account
of the vast amount of material to be studied, digested,
selected and put in shape, but it has been clear since
early in those operations that the rich and extensive
subject of the Oriental styles could not possibly be in-
cluded in the projected volume without swelling it to
quite unwieldy proportions, and putting its cost quite
beyond the reach of the average student. Him (and
her) I have had in mind from the outset; and by "stu-
dent" I mean any and every one who seeks to gain real
knowledge and not merely to be amused by pictures.
The subject-matter of this book differs in a funda-
mental way from that of my preceding volume. It
deals not with the works of dead and buried civilizations,
but with those of a civilization of which our own is the
direct heir, or even, as some would have it, a part; and
with the works of our own times, that is, of the nine-
teenth and twentieth centuries. It covers a period of
almost exactly 500 years, whereas the chronology of the
previous volume extends from 3500 b.c. to 1500 a.d.,
or exactly ten times the length of the period we are now
vii


PREFACE
to study. But because these five centuries are so near
to us, and because since the Middle Ages both the area
and the populations included in our survey have so
vastly increased, the production of Ornament,—that is,
of every kind of decorative work other than pure paint-
ing and sculpture—has correspondingly increased.
Moreover, a much greater proportion of this product
is still in existence than of the works of antiquity or of
the Middle Ages, while the ornament of the last century
and of our own surrounds us on every hand. Thus the
material that is available for study is enormous, and the
books that treat of it are numbered by the thousand.
The writer of a history of the modest dimensions of this
volume must, therefore, pick and choose, and must ex-
clude far more than he can include in its pages and
illustrations; and the greatest possible compression
must be resorted to, to cover even this restricted field
within reasonable limits.
I therefore make no apology for the manifest omis-
sions of this work. My readers may differ with me as
to the excellence of the judgment shown in choosing
what to keep and what to leave out, and no one's choice
can possibly please all. But on the question of the
amount to be omitted or included I was under inexorable
necessity.
What this book seeks to do is not to present a com-
pendium of all the arts and forms of ornament produced
since 1400, but rather to sketch the general historic
movement of the arts of decoration; the genesis, evolu-
tion and succession of the various styles that have pre-
vailed; and to analyze, describe and illustrate them in
viii


PREFACE
such fashion that the reader may be led to an intelligent
understanding of their character and some mastery of
their dominant characteristics. And whereas in the
previous volume but little space could be devoted to the
allied and minor arts, because the remains in these arts
from antiquity and even from the Middle Ages are rela-
tively so scanty compared with the architecture, in the
present volume a much larger proportion of space is
allowed to them, although architecture is still treated
as the mistress of all the decorative arts.
Another important consideration deserves notice.
The arts of antiquity and of the Middle Ages belong to
times so remote, and to cultures so different from our
own, that recourse to them in modern design partakes
somewhat of the nature of archeeology. The arts of the
Renaissance, on the other hand, sprang from a civiliza-
tion which we have inherited, and from which we are
separated in time rather than in character, culture, and
sympathy. We fall naturally into ways of thinking and
ways of designing taught us by the whole movement of
the Renaissance. The ornament of that age, therefore,
is full of suggestion, inspiration, and examples for our
use. It is of far more practical availability for us than
that of remoter ages.
A word is in order regarding the illustrations. The
selection of subjects is far different from what it would
have been if material had been available in all cases in
a form suitable for reproduction, and if there had been
no limitations of either time, space, or expense to restrict
their selection and preparation. About 350 of those
finally selected are line-cuts printed with the text, for
iz


PREFACE
convenience of immediate reference. Over 110 others
are half-tones, printed on separate folios of plate paper
and bound in with the text. The confusion and lack of
sequence in the numbering which this introduced in the
previous volume have been avoided in the present volume
by numbering the half-tones independently of the line-
cuts, and referring to them by the word "Figure" fol-
lowed by bold-faced numerals, while the text-cuts are
referred to by the abbreviation "Fig." followed by
numerals in ordinary type. At the end of the volume,
as in the previous work, are a series of full-page plates,
of which five are in color. I have given credit wherever
possible to the authors or publishers of illustrations not
drawn by my own hand, and have generally indicated
the sources of drawings made by myself otherwise than
from my own original sketches. Many of these draw-
ings, however, were made so long ago that in many cases
I have lost the memoranda of their sources, and am
therefore unable to give the desired credit.
I desire to make grateful acknowledgment of the
assistance given me during these six years by many
persons: to those of my students who have permitted me
to use their drawings; to the officers of the Avery
Library of Columbia University for many courtesies;
to Miss Starrett, of the Avery Library, for valuable as-
sistance in the typing of several chapters of my manu-
script; to Mr. Talbot F. Hamlin for several drawings
and for valuable criticisms; to Charles Scribner's Sons,
to The American Architect Co., to the publishers of
"Good Furniture," to Messrs. Byne and Stapley and
the Hispanic Society, to Messrs. Hessling, now of
X


PREFACE
Montreal; and to B. T. Batsford and Messrs. Chapman
and Hall of London, for permission to copy or repro-
duce illustrations in works published by them; to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Hispanic Society
for permission to draw or reproduce illustrations of ob-
jects in their collections; and to the Century Co. for the
promptness, efficiency and sympathy of their coopera-
tion in the publishing of this work. If I have inadver-
tently omitted from this list the name of any who have
helped me or to whom credit should be given, I must
ask their pardon and will, if informed of the omission,
remedy it in any future reprintings of the book.
Since the foregoing paragraphs were sent to the
printer, the valuable and kindly aid given me by several
of my students in the final preparation or completion of
a number of drawings inadvertently or unavoidably left
to the last, has placed me under a special obligation of
grateful recognition. I trust I have omitted none
of the names of these helpful volunteers in the follow-
ing list: Messrs. L. Albright, C. F. Deam, R. Gottlieb,
S. R. Moore, V. Rambusch; Misses A. M. Chapman,
M. Brandt and M. C. Hills.
It should be added that illustrations credited to
"Student's work" or "Student's drawing" are taken
from drawings made in the regular course of required
work in the School of Architecture of Columbia Uni-
versity, and that in the case of those which have no
name appended, the author's name has been lost. The
source from which the student derived his illustration
I have not attempted to trace.
A. D. F. Hamlin.
xi





CONTENTS
CHAPTEl FACT
I The Renaissance in General 13
II The Early Renaissance in Italy .... 35
III The Early Renaissance in Italy, II—Archi-
tecture and Accessory Arts 81
IV The Middle Renaissance 112
V Italian Baroque Ornament 155
VI The Renaissance in France, I 180
VII The Renaissance in France, II 223
VIII Renaissance Ornament in Spain .... 269
IX Renaissance Ornament in the Netherlands . 304
X Renaissance Ornament in Germany . . . 325
XI Renaissance Ornament in Great Britain . . 354
XII Renaissance and Colonial Ornament in Amer-
ica 388
XIII The Modern Revivals and Nineteenth Cen-
tury 416
XIV The Nineteenth Century in America . . . 450
XV The Twentieth Century: Europe and Amer-
ica 464
List of Plates 493
Index 495





LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
(FIGS.)
EXPLANATION OF REFERENCES
Those whose source is not otherwise indicated are from original drawings
by the author. The word "after" followed by a name indicates a drawing
by the author derived from or based upon the source named.
Eaton: Handbook of Modern French
Sculpture.
Ewerbeck: Die Renaissance in BeU
"Amer. Architect": American Archi-
tect and Architectural Review
formerly "American Architect
and Building News" (Fortnightly,
N. *.).
"Arch'l Record": The Architectural
Record (Monthly, N. Y.).
"Arte della Stampa": A book on
Printing published by Ongania,
Venice.
Bankart: The Art of the Plasterer.
Blomneld: A Hiitory of Renais-
sance Architecture in England.
Bode: Italian Furniture.
"Bulletin Metrop. Mus.": Monthly,
issued by the Metropolitan Mu-
seum, New York.
Byne and Stapley: Spanish Archi-
tecture of the Sixteenth Century
(and other books on the Spanish
Renaissance: see Bibliographies).
Cervetto: / Gaggini da Bissone.
Champeaux: Le Meuble.
Daly: Motifs historiques d'architec-
ture et de sculpture.
Deck: La Faience.
De Vinne: Notable Printers of Italy
during the XV Century.
De Vries: Plusieurs Menuiseries.
Durm: Baukunst der Renaissance in
It alien.
gien und Holland.
F. S. M. (Franz Sales Meyer):
Handbook of Ornament.
Garner and Stratton: Domestic
Architecture of the Tudor Period.
Gewerbehalle: Die Oewerbehalle (a
German art monthly long extinct).
Geyrouller: Die Architektur der Re-
naissance in Toscama.
Glazier: Manual of Historic Orna-
ment.
Good Furniture: Good Furniture
(monthly trade magazine).
Gotch (Gotch and Brown): Early
Renaissance Architecture in Eng-
land.
Griggs: Italian and Sicilian Orna-
ment.
Guerinet: Decorations d'architecture
et de sculpture (miscellaneous
photo-prints).
Gurlitt: Oeschichte des Barockstiles
in It alien.
Hispanic Museum: The Museum of
the Hispanic Society, New York.
Jewitt: Ceramic Art in Great Brit-
xv


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Kelekian: Catalogue of the Kelekian
Collection (textiles).
Letarouilly: Edificet de Rome Mod-
erne; also, Le Vatican et la basi-
lique de St. Pierre.
Odds and Ends: A series of illustra-
tions formerly published by The
American Architect.
Odom: A History of Italian Furni-
ture.
Ortwein (A. Ortwein and others):
Deuttche Renaissance.
Owen Jones: Grammar of Ornament.
Prentice: Renaissance Architecture
and Ornament in Spain.
R. and D. (Rouyer et Darcel):
L'Art Architectural en France.
Raguenet: Matiriaux et documents
d'architecture.
Reymond (Marcel Reymond'): Le*
Delia Robbia.
Rlcci: Baroque Architecture and
Sculpture in Italy.
Rouyer: La Renaissance de Fran-
cois ler a Louie XIII.
Saglio: History of French Furniture.
Schubert: Oeschichte des Barock in
Spanien.
Sherrill: A Stained Glass Tour in
Italy.
Vacher: Fifteenth Century Italian
Ornament.
Vogt: La Porcelaine.
Ward: Historic Ornament, vol. ii.
Ware (W. Rotch Ware): The
Georgian Period.
Wiebeking: Analyse Architecturale
de 1'Europe (a miscellaneous col-
lection of engravings of architec-
ture).
Workshop: The Workshop (a Ger-
man American periodical of in-
dustrial art published in New
York 1875-77).
FIGS. *AOB
1. Painted Details from San Francesco, Assist IS
2. Bronze Candelabrum, Strozzi Chapel, San Andrea della Valle,
Rome (after an old engraving) 18
3. Florentine or Venetian "Marriage Coffer" in South Kensington
Museum (Glazier) 19
4. Rinceau from Tomb in Sta. Maria del Popolo, Rome .... 19
5. Flat Relief Ornament, Marsuppini Tomb in Sta. Croce, Flor-
ence (F. S. M.) 20
6. Pilaster-Scroll, Town Hall of Verona ("Workshop") .... 21
7. Festoon of Olives, Sta. Maria della Pace, Rome (after F. S. M.) 23
8. Two Renaissance Rosettes (one after F. S. M.) 23
9. Pilaster Detail, San Giobbe, Venice (after photo) .... 24
10. Griffin from Tomb In San Domenico, Maggiore, Naples (after
photo) 25
11. Entablature, Porch Chapel of Pal. Pubblico, Sienna .... 26
12. Mascaron, Pal. Fossombroni, Arezzo (after Geymuller) ... 27
13. Scroll, Pazzi Chapel (after photo) 98
xvi


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PIGS. PAGE
14. Fruit Border by Luca Delia Robbia, from Medallion in Pal.
Quaratesi, Florence (after photo in Reymond) 29
15. Rinceau from Mandorla Door, Cathedral, Florence (after photo) 35
16. "Putti" and Festoon, Tomb of Ilaria del Carretto, Lucca (after
photo) 38
17. Two Candelabrum-Shafts 40
18. Pilaster Arabesques by B. da Majano and P. Lombardi (after
F. S. M.) 42
19. Pilaster Detail from Venice (after photo) 44
20. Top of Doorway to Library, Sienna Cathedral (from an Italian
Periodical) 46
21. Two "Cantilever" Brackets 49
22. Capital from Courtyard, Gondi Palace, Florence (after photo) SO
23. (a) Pilaster Cap, Naples; (b) Corbel, Fiesole (after Geymuller) 51
24. Four Capitals from Sienna, Cortona, Gubbio, Bologna (after
F. S. M., Geymuller, and photos) 52
25. (a) Pilaster Cap, Venice (after F. S. M.); (b) Pier Cap, Bo-
logna (after photo) 52
26. Column in San Zaccaria, Venice 54
27. Three Types of Pilaster Treatment 54
28. Pilaster, Venice ("Workshop") 53
29. Column from Spello (after Geymuller) 52
30. Four Entablatures, from Riccardi, Strozzi and Gondi Palaces,
Florence, and Palazzo Pretorio, Lucca (Student's Work) . . 52
31. Entablature of Shrine, Madonna del Sasso, Bibbiena .... 55
32. Typical Florentine Arch-Pediment 57
S3. Standard of Holy Water Font, Badia Fiesolana 58
34. Spandrel from a Chapel in Genoa Cathedral (after Cervetto) . 59
S5. Acanthus Decorations, Venice and Bologna (after photos) . 60
36. Acanthus from Sarcophagus of Marsuppini, Sta. Croce, Flor-
ence (after photo) 61
37. Acanthus from Tomb of Piero di Medici, San Lorenzo, Flor-
ence (after photo) 62
38. Acanthus from Torch-Bracket, Sienna 6-2
39. Nine Varieties of Acanthus 63
40. Arabesque Panel, "Giant's Stairs," Doge's Palace, Venice . . 64
41. Flat Relief Ornament from a Tomb dated 1496 65
42. Two Arabesques: (a) San Francesco di Rimini; (b) Badia
Fiesolana (after photos) 66
43. Panel, Altar in Orvieto Cathedral (after cast in Ecole des Beaux-
Arts, Paris) 67
44. Arabesque, Villa Salviati, Florence (after Geymuller) ... 67
45. Arabesques from Venice and Urbino 68
xvii


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FIGS. HOE
46. Anthemions: (a) Tomb of Count Ugo, Badia, Florence (after
F. S. M.); (b) Sgraffito Decoration, Florence (after Geymul-
ler) 68
47. Detail of Frieze over Door, Ducal Palace, Urbino (after photo) 69
48. Anthemion from a Cast in Florence (after F. S. M.) .... 70
49. Detail, Chimneypieee in Doge's Palace, Venice 70
50. Typical Lyre Motives from Piers in Court of Pal. Vecchio,
Florence (after photo) 71
51. Detail from Tomb of Cassandra Misata, Naples 71
52. Detail from Fossombroni Palace, Arezzo (after Geymuller) 72
53. Festoon, Base of Pilaster in Sta. Maria dei Miracoli, Venice . 73
54. Fruit, from Albertoni Monument, Sta. Maria del Popolo, Rome
(after photo) 73
55. "Putti" and Wreath, Doorway of Pazzi Chapel, Sta. Croce,
Florence (after photo) 74
56. (a) "Putti" and Shield, Archbishop's Palace, Florence; (b) De-
tail from Tomb at Folleville, France, by Ant. Tamagno
(traced from Cervetto) 74
57. Mascaron and Arabesque from a Column of Tomb in San Do-
men ico Maggiore, Naples (after photo) 75
58. Grotesques from Library of San Lorenzo, Florence, attributed
to Michelangelo (after F. S. M.) 76
59. Grotesque, Pal. del Magnifico, Sienna (after F. S. M.) ... 77
60. Flat Relief Ornament, Sta. Maria dei Miracoli, Venice ... 78
61. Ceiling Detail, Church at Bironico (from a book advertisement) 83
62. (a) Ceiling of Pazzi Chapel, Florence ("Workshop"); (b) Ceil-
ing of Sta. Maria dei Miracoli, Venice (Student's Drawing) 84
63. Ceiling, Cortona Cathedral 85
64. Ceiling, Santo Spirito in Sassia, Rome 85
65. Frame of Doorway, Pal. Doria, Genoa (after photo) .... 86
66. Florentine Door Panels (Wiebeking) 87
67. Arched Window, Urbino 87
68. Niche and Statue, Tomb in Fiaschi Chapel, Genoa Cathedral
(after Cervetto) 88
69. Seven Types of Baluster 89
70. Balustrade, La Scala Hospital, Sienna (Student's Drawing) . 90
71. Acanthus Corbel, Stalls in Pal. del Comune, Pistoia (after
photo) 95
72. Shrine, Hospital of San Francesco, Gubbio 96
73. Holy Water Font, Pisa Cathedral (after photo) 97
74. Holy Water Font by Ant. Federighi, Sienna Cathedral (after
photo) 97
75. Detail of Inlaid Floor, Sienna Cathedral (after photo) ... 98
xviii


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PIGS. PAG«
76. Detail of Intarsia by B. da Majano in Pal. Vecchio, Florence
(F. S. M.) 09
77. Detail of Intarsia on Harpsichord in Bardini Collection . . . 100
78. Oriental Motives from Ceramics and Textiles, and Three Details
from Italian Textiles 103
79. Two Textile Motives Framed in a Mesh 104
80. Painted Textile Pattern in Picture by Crivelli (after S. Vacher) 10S
81. Four Textile Motives: (a) Florentine, XVth Century; (b) Blue
and White Wool on Linen; (c) Pattern from Painting by
Guido da Sienna; (d) Venetian Velvet: (after S. Vacher and
Kelekian) 106
82. North Italian Needlework (after Fischbach) 107
83. Three Lace Patterns (Racinet) 108
84. Venetian Punta-in-Aria (after "Bulletin Metrop. Mus.") . . 108
85. Two Fifteenth Century Initials ("Arte della Stampa") ... 109
86. Typographic Ornament, Venice, 1497 (after de Vinne) ... 109
87. Four Orders of Architecture 116
88. Ionic Order, Pal. Pietro Massimi, Rome (after Letarouilly) . 117
89. Columnar Arcades: (a) Pal. Pompei, Verona; (b) Basilica, Vi-
cenza (Student's Drawings) .' 119
90. Window, Pandolfini Palace, Florence 120
91. Typical "Thumb-Moldings" from Furniture 122
92. Painted Rinceau, Loggie of the Vatican (after Letarouilly) 123
93. Stucco Relief, Loggie of the Vatican (after photo) .... 124
94. Stucco Relief, Villa Madama (after photo) 124
95. Examples of Florentine Sgraffito Decoration (after Geymuller) 128
96. Two Ceilings from Farnese Palace (W. H. Schanck, after
Letarouilly) 129
97. Half-Plan of a Church Ceiling in Venice 130
98. "Curl-Over" Detail, Ceiling of Sala del Senato, Doge's Palace,
Venice (after photo) 131
99. Stucco Relief, Facade of Spada Palace, Rome (after photo) . 135
100. Lower Half of Door in Vatican Palace ("Workshop") ... 138
101. Doorway and Door, Pal. Pietro Massimi, Rome 139
102. Italian Renaissance Bed-Post (after Odom) 139
103. Italian Renaissance Foot-Board (after Odom) 140
104. Florentine Mirror-Frame (after photo in Bode) 141
105. Three Gaines: (a) From a Florentine Cabinet; (b) From Villa
Papa Guilio, Rome; (c) Canephora, Caprarola Gardens (after
photo) 142
106. Florentine Sgabellone (after Bode) 142
107. Escutcheon with Montefeltro Arms (after Ricci) 142
108. Iron Light-Bracket, Citta di Castello (after F. S. M.) . . . 145
zix


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
fios. riau
109. Plate with Portrait from Vienna Museum ("Workshop") . . 146
110. Border Pattern from Plate, Florence or Urbino 147
111. Majolica Border Detail (after F. S. M.) 148
112. Urbino Plate in Germanic Museum, Vienna ("Workshop") . . 149
113. Two Details, Top and Border of Tapestry by Raphael in Vatican 151
114 Chasuble, 16th Century, Sturgis Collection (after photo) . . 151
115. An Italian Renaissance Window (after Sherrill) 152
116. Top of Gateway, Villa Falconieri, Frascati (after Gurlitt) . 159
117. Twisted Column, Confessional in San Andrea, Vercelli (after
Ricci) 161
118. Voluted Buttress, Cathedral of Syracuse, 1728 (after Ricci) 164
119. Voluted Buttresses, Sta. Maria della Salute, Venice .... 162
120. Gateway of Seminary at Milan (after Durm) 163
121. Pilaster Detail, Caprarola 164
122. "Vermiculated" and "Congelated" Rustications 165
123. Escutcheon and Tympanum, San Girolamo, Rome, 1660 by
Dom. CastelU (after Ricci) 164
124 Arms of Urban VIII, 1632 (after Ricci) 164
125 Three Escutcheons from Verona 165
126. Half-Wreath and Palms, San Giovanni Laterano, 1734 by
Galilei (after Ricci) 166
127. Gaine or Sheath-Figure, Sacristy of Certosa, Pavra (after Ricci) 167
128. Gaine from a Gateway of Villa Alabani, Rome (after F. S. M.) 168
129. One-Quarter of a Stucco Ceiling, Pal. Mattei, Rome (O. J.) . 169
130. Baluster, Cernetto Palace, Bitonto (after Ricci) 171
131. Wall Decorated in Classic Revival or Louis XVI Style (old
engraving reproduced in "Good Furniture") 173
132. Italian Brocatelle, 17th Century (after Griggs) 174
133. Traditional Motive, Blue Wool on Cotton 175
134. Wall Hanging, Applique and Needlework (after Kelekian) . . 175
1S5. Venetian Lace, 17th Century, in Metropolitan Museum, New
York (after "Good Furniture") 176
136. Venetian 17th Century Bronze Knocker (after photo) ... 178
137. Half of a 17th Century Plate ("Workshop") 178
138. Corbel from Verneuil (Raguenet) 183
139. End Elevation, Tomb of Children of Charles VIII, Tours
(Student's Drawing) 185
140. End Elevation, Tomb of Francis II, Duke of Brittany, Nantes
(O. J.) 186
141. One Bay of Court Facade, North Wing of Blois (W. T. Par-
tridge) 188
142. Pilaster and Entablature, Chambord (after R. & D.) . . . . 189
143. Upper part of a Francis I Doorway, Toulouse (after Daly) . 190
XX


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
figs. noi
144. Upper part of a Francis I Dormer 191
145. Typical Francis I S-Scroll 191
146. Candelabrum-Shaft from Toulouse (after Daly) 19S
147. Carved Rinceau, Chateau de Pagny (after photo) 193
148. Stucco Enrichments, Gallery of Francis I, Fontainebleau (after
Daly) 196
149. Panel from Wainscot, Gallery of Francis I, Montainebleau
(after photo) 197
150. A Francis I Chair (after "Good Furniture") 197
151. Doorway at Clermont-Ferrand (after R. & D.) 200
153. Chimney-Top, Chateau d'Anet (after R. & D.) 201
153. Wainscot and Bahut, Chateau de Cheverny (after R. & D.) . 203
154. Table, Style of Charles IX-Henry II (after Rouyer) ... 204
155. Panel of Cupboard by Sambin (after Saglio) 205
156. Shrine for Heart of Francis I (after photo in Eaton, "French
Sculpture") 205
157. Panel from a Door, Cluny Museum, Paris 206
158. Panel from So-Called Chamber of Henry IV, Louvre, Paris 206
159. Henry II Bronze Door-pull ("Odds and Ends," American
Architect) 207
159a. Door-Knocker from Narbonne (after photo) 207
160. Enameled Plate by Penicaud (Speltz) 208
161. Colossal Order of Hotel Lamoignon, Paris 210
162. Brick and Stone Architecture, Detail (after Daly) . . . .211
163. Bull's Eye Window, House in Toulouse (after Daly) ... 212
164. Typographic Ornament by Theo. de Bry (O. J.) 212
164a. Louis XIII Painted Nielle, Chateau of Cheverny 213
165. Facade, Church of St. Paul-St. Louis, Paris ("American Archi-
tect") 214
166. Three Louis XIII Over-Doors (after Daly) 215
167. Louis XIII Cradle (after F. S. M.) 218
168. Louis XIII Cabinet (Speltz after "L'Art pour Tous") ... 219
169. Decorative Treatment, Galerie d'Apollon, Louvre (after R.
& D.) 228
170. Molding, Galerie d'Apollon, Louvre (after R. & D.) . . . . 229
171. Ceiling-Cove, Versailles (after Daly) 230
172. Door-Panel, Church of St. Louis-en-l'Isle, Paris (after photo
in Guerinet) 231
173. Arch Impost, Hotel de Lauzun, Paris (after Daly) .... 232
174. Ornament by Lepautre (O. J.) 234
175. Cabinet by Boulle (Ward) 239
176. Louis XIV "Fauteuil" or Easy-Chair (Champeaux) .... 240
177. Louis XIV Table (Champeaux) 2*1
xxi


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FIGS. PIOI
178. Iron Balcony Railing (after Daly) 242
179. Gate, Choir of St. Ouen, Rouen (after R. & D.) 243
180. Vase, Menard le Chateau (after photo in Guerinet) .... 244
181. Point d'Alencon Lace (Ward) 246
182. (a) French Lace, XVII Century (after "Good Furniture");
(b) Needlework, Velvet Bed-Lambrequin 247
183. Detail from a 17th Century Brocade or Velvet (after Waring) 248
184. Keystone Decoration, Versailles (after Daly) 249
185. Corner of Panel in Hdtel Soubise, Paris (after Daly) ... 250
186. Louis XV Shells on a Bracket 252
187. Ceiling Cove, Versailles (after photo in Guerinet) .... 253
188. Commode by Caffieri (Ward) 254
189. Balustrade by Heret, Nancy (after Raguenet) 256
190. Rustication and Paneling, Arch at ChAlons-sur-Marne (after
photo) 258
101. Louis XVI Window-Head, House in Rue du Temple, Paris
(after Daly) 259
192. Two Console Brackets, Louis XVI (after Daly) 260
193. Louis XVI Picture Frame (from an advertisement) .... 261
194. Louis XVI Commode (Champeaux) 261
195. Louis XVI Chair, Mobilier National (Champeaux) .... 262
196. Louis XVI Candlestick 262
197. Louis XVI Iron Gate (SpelU) 263
198. Early French Faience (a), (c), Oiron Ware; (b) Palissy Ware
(Deck and Speltz) 265
199. Top of Doorway, San Clemente, Toledo (after photo) ... 271
200. Tomb in Capilla Real, Granada (Byne and Stapley) .... 273
201. Casa Monterey, Salamanca (after photo) 275
202. Heraldic Escutcheon, Escueslas Menores, Salamanca (after photo
in Byne & Stapley) 277
203. Candelabrum-Shaft, Casa de Zaporta, Saragossa 277
204. Capital, Alcala de Henares in Madrid Museum (after photo in
Byne & Stapley) 278
205. Bracket Capital, Guadalajara 279
206. Part of Facade of Convent of San Marcos, Leon (after Pren-
tice) 280
207. Decorative Rustication, Alcala (after Byne & Stapley) ... 281
208. Artesonado Ceiling, University, Salamanca 282
209. Cornice of Lonja, Saragossa (after Byne & Stapley) ... 283
210. Detail, Retablo in Poblet Monastery (Pedlar after Prentice) . 285
211. Detail from Reja, Segovia Cathedral (Student drawing after
Byne & Stapley) 286
xxii


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PI08.
212. Detail from Provincial Hospital, Seville (after photo in Byne
& Stapley) * 288
213. Upper Part, Facade of San Jorge, La Coruna (after Schubert) 289
214. Portal of San Andrea, Valencia (after photo) 290
215. A Spanish 17th Century Table (after photo in Hispanic
Museum) 296
216. Detail of Church Book-Rest (after photo in Hispanic Museum) 297
217. Details of "Chip-Carving" on Spanish Furniture 297
218. Arabic and Moorish "Lily" Motives; (a) (b) from Cairo; (c)
from Alhambra 298
219. Patterned Tiles (L'Albright after a French color-print) ... 299
220. Single Motive or One-Color Tiles 300
221. Iron Window Grille (after Byne and Stapley) 300
222. Embroidered Wall-Hanging, Red on White, Toledo Town Hall
(after Byjie & Stapley) 300
223. Detail from Municipal Standard of La Guardia in Hispanic
Museum; Gold and Silver on Red Velvet 301
224. Red Velvet Stole in Hispanic Museum; Gold and Silver Appli-
qu£ and Embroidery 301
225. Altar Rail from Church at Leau, Belgium (after Ewerbeck) . 307
226. Wooden Panel, Audenarde (after Ewerbeck) . 308
227. Flemish Chest and Credence (F. S. M.) 309
228. Flemish Table (F. S. M.) 310
229. Nielle Ornament from Furniture (after Ewerbeck) .... 310
230. Brussels Point Lace, 18th Century (Ward) 316
231. Gable Ornament, Leyden (after Ewerbeck) 317
232. Dormer, Leyden (after Ewerbeck) 318
233. Carved "Jewels" Arched Doorway, Leyden (after Ewerbeck) . 318
234. Bed-Post Gaine by Paul V. de Vries (after de Vries) ... 319
235. Doorway Decoration by Paul V. de Vries (after de Vries) . .. 320
236. Typographic Ornaments by Elzevir, 1649 (Elzevir) .... 321
237. Delft Tiles, XVII Century (Speltz) 322
238. Delft Faience, Plate and Ewer (Deck) 323
239. Part of Facade, Otto Heinrichsbau, Heidelberg (Ortwein) . . 328
240. Columns from Portals of Rathaus, Miinden. and Castle of
Aschaffenburg (Ortwein) 329
241. Carving on Lower Half of Column, Bevern (Ortwein) . . . 380
242. Gable, State Pharmacy, Saalfield (Ortwein) 331
243. Dormer, Hamelschenburg Castle (Ortwein) 332
244. Window, House at Dinkelsbtihl ("Workshop") 333
245. "Strapwork" or "Applique" Ornament, Marienkirche, Rostock
(Ortwein) 334
246. Carving, Stalls of Chapel in Mayence Cathedral (Ortwein) . . 334
xxiii


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FIGS. FAOH
247. Carving, Portal of Gymnasium (School) at Coblenz (Ortwein) 335
248. Carvings from Nuremburg, 1590; Leadwork, 16th Century
("Workshop") 336
249. Tower-Toppings (L. Albright, after photos) 341
250. German Gaines: from a Mantel In Lubeck; Heidelberg Castle;
Monument at Pforzheim; National Museum, Munich
(F. S. M.) 342
251. Lower Part of an Etched Bowl, 17th Century ("Workshop") . 343
252. (a) Etched Tin Plate, 17th Century; (b) Iron Chest, XVI
Century ("Workshop") 344
253. Carved Ivory Dagger Sheath 345
254. Late 16th Century Silver Goblet ("Workshop") 345
255. Two Fanlights; from Nuremburg Town Hall and Salt House
at Frankfort (Ortwein) 346
256. Grille from Eperecs, Hungary (Ortwein) ....... 347
257. Door-Lock, Bamberg Museum (Ortwein) 347
258. Earthenware Stove, Mondsee, Austria (Ortwein) 348
259. Earthenware Jug ("Workshop") 349
260. Tyrolese Platter, Germanic Museum, Vienna ("Workshop") . 349
261. Sideboard and Cabinet, Late 16th Century, Vienna ("Work-
shop") 349
262. 16th Century Chair, Dresden Museum (after F. S. M.) . . . 350
263. German Text Initials, 16th Century (Speltz and F. S. M.) . . 351
264. Initial by Killian of Augsburg (Speltz) 352
265. Typographic Ornaments (F. S. M.) 352
266. Terra Cotta Relief, Head of Coesar, Hampton Court (V. Ram-
busch) (facsimile after R. Blomfield) 356
267. Doric Chimney Tops, Lacock Priory (Rambusch, facsimile after
Gotch) 358
268. Doorway, Hatfield House (S. Morgan, Student Drawing) . . 360
269. Ceiling Pattern, Great Yarmouth (Garner and Stratton) . . 361
270. Ceiling Pattern, Llanfihangel, Wales (Garner and Stratton) . 361
271. Pendant, Ceiling in Crewe Hall (S. Morgan, Student's Drawing) 362
272. Elizabethan and Jacobean Details (B. Irby, Student's Drawing) 363
273. "Folden Linen" or Linenfold Panel, Elizabethan 364
274. Entrance Bay, Bramshill House (Author's Ill'n in Century Dic-
tionary) 365
275. Jacobean Gables (A. F. Deam) 366
276. Detail, Chimneypiece in Aston Hall (Student's Drawing) . . 367
277. Entrance, Morden College, Blackheath, 1695 (London "Archi-
tect") 368
278. Carved Door-Head, Clifford's Tnn (Glazier) 369
279. Carved Panel from St. Mary's, by Wren (Glazier) .... 369
zxiv


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FIOS. FAOB
280. Steeple of Bow Church (St. Mary-le-Bow) London by Wren . 370
281. Ceiling Plan of St. Mary's Woolnoth (Bankart) 371
282. One Bay of Dome Decoration, Radcliffe Library, Oxford, by
Gibbs (Bankart) 373
283. Architectural Details, Adam Style (Speltz) '. .373
284. Two Adam Ceilings (Speltz) 374
285. Detail, Iron Gate at Hampton Court (S. R. Moore) .... 375
286. Silver Fire-Dog, Knole Park (Ward) 376
287. Silver Wine Urn, 1710 (Ward) 376
288. Detail, Elizabethan Oak Chest (after "Spring Gardens Sk. Bk.*') 377
289. Chimneypiece, Worcestershire (after "Spring Gardens Sk. Bk.") 378
290. The "Great Bedstead" of Cromwell (Speltz) 378
291. A Chippendale Chair ("Good Furniture") 379
292. A Hepplewhite Chair ("Good Furniture") ....... 379
293. A Sheraton Chair (M. Brandt) 380
294. Staircase Detail, House in Chichester ("Arch'I. Record") . 381
295. A Toft Platter (after Jewitt) 382
296. A Bow Vase (Ward) 384
297. A Wedgwood Tea-Pot (Vogt) 384
298. Crown Derby Cup and Saucer (Ward) 385
299. Church Facade, Chihuahua, Mexico ("The Continent," 1883) . 392
300. Confessional, Cathedral of Mexico, Mexico City ("American
Architect") 393
301. Detail, Overhang of House, Farmington, Conn. (Demolished
1886) 396
302. Door of House in Newport, R. I. (Student's Drawing) ... 397
303. Scroll-Pediment, Window of Hancock House, Boston (Demol-
ished; after photo) 398
304. Central Bay, Vassal-Craigie or Longfellow House, Cambridge,
Mass. (Saxe, after photo) 399
305. Decorative Urns and Gate-Post, Salem, Mass. (Ware) ... 400
306. Two Colonial Spires; Christ Church, Philadelphia, and St
Paul's, New York 401
307. Gate to Cowles Mansion, Farmington, Conn. (M. C. Hills,
after sketch by author) 402
308. Chimneypiece, Phillipse Manor, Yonkers, N. Y. (Ware) ... 403
309. Upper Part of Doorway, Gunston Hall, Va. (Ware) .... 404
310. Detail of Declaration Chamber, Independence Hall, Philadelphia
(Ware) 405
311. Detail, Ionic Order, Doorway of Cary House, Batavia, N. Y.
(Ware) 405
312. Detail, Interior Cornice of Homewood, Baltimore (Mixsell) . 406
313. Detail of Stairway, Lee House, Marblehead, Mass 407
xxv


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
rioa. not
314. Details, Morris-Jumel Mansion, New York (Methven after Don-
ald Millar) 409
315. Upper Part of Door, Mappa House, Trenton, N. J. (Ware) . 410
316. Carved Details of Chair-Back, William and Mary Style (adver-
tisement in "Good Furniture") 411
317. Empire Pilaster, Chair, Sphinx and Footstool (F. J. Woodbridge,
Student's Drawing) 424
318. Empire Ornaments: (a) from Bed in Grand Trianon, Versailles;
(b) from a Table (T. F. Hamlin) 425
319. Cornice and Frieze, Pal. de Justice, Paris (F. J. Woodbridge) 428
320. Details, Pal. de Justice, Paris with (a) Inset of Pilaster Cap.;
(b) Console, West Front (P. Barnum and Raguenet) . . 429
321. Detail, Stair Balustrade in Pal. de Justice, Paris 429
322. Detail, Tomb in Pere-la-Chaise, Paris 430
323. Details from Houses in Paris (Raguenet) 431
324. An "Eastlake" Sideboard ("Workshop") 436
325. Details of Paris Street Architecture, 19th Century (Raguenet) 439
326. Detail, City Bank, Ladyhill, by Collcutt, 1891 ("Academy Archi-
tecture") 440
327. A Scotch Town Hall by R. Sandilands (Architect's Drawing) 441
328. A French Floral Wall-Paper ("Gewerbehalle," 1873) .... 44.'
329. A German Floral Plate-Border ("Gewerbehalle") 443
330. Detail from a German Cabinet in Berlin, 1875 ("Workshop") . 446
331. German Communion Wine Flagon, 1873 ("Gewerbehalle") . . 446
332. Details from Old Court House, 1842, N. Y., by Frazee (Archi-
tect's Drawing) 452
333. Carved Detail, Albany State Capitol Library, by Richardson . 458
334. Carved Detail, Harvard University Law School, by Richard-
son (T. F. Hamlin after "Monographs of Amer. Architec-
ture") 459
335. Lady's Jewelled Comb by Lalique (after "Good Furniture") . 466
336. Window by V. Horta, Brussels (M. C. Hills, after photo) . . 467
337. Detail 6f Hotel, Champs Elysees, Paris ("Arch'l Record") . . 470
338. Balcony Railing, Louis XVI Style ("Workshop") .... 471
339. Lower Part of Schiller Building, Chicago, by Sullivan ("Amer.
Architect") 474
340. Upper Part of Schiller Building, Chicago ("Arch'l Record") . 475
341. Part of Facade, Roman Catholic Church, Fall River, Mass., by
R. A. Cram ("Brickbuilder") 477
342. Two Typographical Ornaments (advertisements in "Good Fur-
niture") 479
343. Typographical Borders (advertisements in "Good Furniture") . 479
344. Decorative Initial ("The Craftsman," 1902) 480
xxvi


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
fios. % nsi
345. Commercial Furniture Advertisement ("Good Furniture") . . 482
346. American Drapery, "Canterbury" Pattern (after advertisement
in "Good Furniture") 483
347. Detail from an American Ingrain Rug 483
348. Curtain of Machine Net (after advertisement in "Good Furni-
ture") 484
349. Outside Stair Railing, Chicago ("Odds and Ends," "Amer.
Architect") 486
350. "Peasant" Ornament: Chest from Bethlehem, Pa. (T. F. Hamlin) 488
351. "Peasant" Ornament: Standard from Polish Spinning Wheel 469
352. Peasant Ornament: Polish Wall-tile, Navaho Blanket, Polish
Stained Egg (T. F. Hamlin) 489
xxvii





LIST OF HALF-TONE ILLUSTRATIONS
(figures)
All half-tone illustrations not otherwise credited are from photographs
in Library of School of Architecture, Columbia University, or in Author's
collection. The following arc taken by permission from the Good Furniture
magazine (Dean-Hicks Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan): Figures
36, 37, 61, 64, 77-80, 97, 105, 112. Figure 14 is from a measured drawing by
R. H. Smythe. Figure 40 is reproduced from a bulletin of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York; 41 from an Italian periodical, Mowwmenti
Storici. Figures 49 to 60 inclusive are taken from French post-cards,
except 49 e, g, and h, which are from Gu£rinet. Figure 67 is taken from
illustrations in Ward, Historic Ornament, and Deck, La Faience. Figure
71 is from Byne and Stapley, Architecture of the Sixteenth Century in
Spain. Figures 81-83 arc reproduced from K. O. Fritsch, Denkmaeler der
deutschen Renaissance; 86 and 88 from Ortwein's Renaissance und Barock-
stil; 87 from a book advertisement. Figures 89 and 90 are from Bankart,
The Art of the Plasterer; 93 and 95 from Ware, The Georgian Period;
94 and 96 from the Brochure Series (Bates & Guild Co., Boston); 99 from
A. E. Richardson, Monumental Classical Architecture in Great Britain;
and 111 from Odds and Ends, published by the American Architect.
Lavabo of Santa Maria Novella, Florence, by Giovanni della Robbia,
1497 Frontispiece
riGS. PAOl
1. The Baptistery, Florence 16
2. East doors of Baptistery, by Ghiberti 16
3. Tomb of Ilaria del Caretto, Lucca Cathedral 33
4. Cantoria by Luca della Robbia 33
5. Central part, facade of Certosa near Pavia 40
6. Porch of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, Brescia 40
7. Tomb of Bishop Federigo Benozzi, by Luca della Robbia . . 5.2
8. Pulpit in Santa Croce, Florence 52
9. Lunette by Luca della Robbia (Reymond) 61
10. Altarpiece by Andrea della Robbia 61
11. Tomb of Piero di Medici in Old Sacristry, San Lorenzo, Flor-
ence "Stone" 61
xxiz


LIST OF HALF-TONE ILLUSTRATIONS
pios. rial
12. Festoon or "swag," Sistine Chapel, Rome 72
13. Detail from pulpit in Santa Croce, Florence 72
IV Font in baptistery of San Giovanni, Sienna (R. H. Smythe) . 72
15. Facade of Pazzi Chapel, Florence 80
16. Ceiling, sacristy of San Spirito, Florence 80
17. Window from Casa Caracci, Bologna 80
18. Ceiling of Sala del Consiglio, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence ... 85
19. Ceiling, Sala Regia, Vatican, Rome 85
20. Ceiling, library of Cathedral, Sienna 85
21. Ceiling, Sala del Cambio, Perugia 85
22. Tomb of Lionardo Bruni in Santa Croce, Florence .... 88
23. Tomb of Ascanio Sforza in Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome . 88
24. Door, San Andrea, Mantua 92
25. Door, San Michele, Venice 92
26. Detail, facade of Palazzo Rucellai, Florence 120
27. Detail, facade of Palazzo Vendramini, Venice 120
28. Ceiling, palace at Caprarola 129
29. Stucco detail, Villa Madama, Rome 129
30. Stucco detail, court of Palazzo Vecchio, Florence 129
31. Fountain in Grotto, Villa Reale di Castello, Florence (attributed
to Donatello) 132
32. Fountain at Messina by Montorsoli (destroyed in earthquake
of 1909) 132
33. Stalls in Palazzo Pubblico, Sienna .... 141
34. Detail, stalls of San Pietro Casinense, Perugia 141
35. Panel, stalls in San Severino, Naples 141
36. Italian Renaissance table 144
37. (a) Half of 16th-century credence 144
(b) Half of mirror, and 18th-century table 144
38. Fanlight grille, North Italian (Barbantine Monastery) . . . 148
39. Pedestal and statue by B. Cellini, Florence 148
40. Italian Renaissance Armor, Metropolitan Museum, New York . 148
41. Balcony railing, Ticino 148
42. Portia Pia, Rome, by Michelangelo 165
43. Baldacchino, St. Peter's, Rome, by L. Bernini 165
44. Ceiling, Sala di Giove, Pitti Palace, Florence 172
45. Door, Palazzo Negrone, Genoa 172
46. Stucco details, Palazzo Negrone, Genoa 172
47. Tomb of Cardinals of Amboise, Rouen 181
48. Tomb of Louis XII, St. Denis 181
49. (a) Door, cathedral of Aix 188
(b) Detail from house of Francis I, Paris 188
XXX


LIST OF HALF-TONE ILLUSTRATIONS
FIGS. FASI
(c) Fireplace, Salon d'Honneur, Blois 188
(d) Pilaster from tomb of cardinals of Amboise, Rouen . . . 188
(e) Wooden molding 188
(f) Stair-tower, north wing of Blois 188
(g) Francis I S-scroU 188
(h) Carved panel from ehfiteau of Bonnivet 188
50. Dormer, chateau of Blois (modern restoration) 197
51. Pendant from jube of cathedral of Limoges 197
52. Grotesques from choir-inclosures, cathedral of Chartres . . . 197
53. Panel from tomb of Philippe de Commines, Louvre .... 197
54. Henry II wainscot and fireplace, Blois 197
55. Chapel screen, cathedral of Rodez 204
56. Doorway and door, Hdtel de Vogue, Dijon 204
57. Frame, style of Henry IV 204
58. Panel, style of Henry IV 204
59. Entrance-gate, Luxemburg Palace, Paris 204
60. (a) Chateau de Balleroi 204
(b) Henry IV Panels 204
(c,d) Henry II Metalwork 204
61. Louis XIV chest of drawers 240
62. Detail, Chambre du Conseil, Versailles 240
63. Detail, front of chapel of St. Louis, Rouen . . . ... . . 240
64. Money-Cabinet by Schlodti and Goudreaux (1731) .... 240
65. Fountain of "Grosse Horloge," Rouen 240
66. Detail, "Cabinet de Travail de Louis XVI," Versailles ... 240
67. Illustrations of French Ceramics 264
68. Entrance to University of Salamanca 277
69. Entrance to Archbishop's Palace, Seville 277
70. Silleria, Choir of Cathedral of Jaen 280
71. Ceiling, Ayuntamiento Viejo, Granada 280
7«. Upper part of Reja, Choir of Seville Cathedral 284
73. Detail of window-grille, Casa de Pilatos, Seville 284
74. Gate to University Library, Salamanca 284
75. HOtel-de-Ville, Ghent 308
76. Town Hall, Hoorn 308
77. Dutch Chest-Table, Embroidered Cover 317
78. Dutch or Flemish Walnut Cabinet, Inlaid 317
79. Flemish Oak Cabinet, 16th Century 317
80. Painted Dutch Wardrobe Bureau, 16th or 18th Century ... 317
81. Door in "Golden Room" of Schloss Buckeburg 332
82. Doorway of Castle (Fiirstenhof) at Wismar 332
83. Ceiling Detail, Schloss Heiligenberg (1584) 340
84. Entrance-Pavilion of Zwinger Palace, Dresden 340
xxxi


LIST OF HALF-TONE ILLUSTRATIONS
FIGS. PAfll
85. Headpiece of Horse-Armor, Vienna Museum 349
86. Iron Gate, University of Breslau 349
87. Silver Book-cover, 17th Century 348
88. Oval Window-Grille, St. Nicholas, Breslau 349
89. Plaster Ceiling, New River Offices, London, 1690-1701 ... 368
90. Carvings by Grinling Gibbons: (a) St. James, Piccadilly. . . 368
(b) Hampton Court .... 368
91. Facade of La Merced Church, Lima, Peru 388
92. Facade of El Posito Church, Guadalupe, Mexico 388
93. Parlor Door, Shirley, Virginia 397
94. Detail of Doorway, Annapolis, Maryland 397
95. Mantelpiece, Ladd House, Portsmouth, New Hampshire . . . 397
96. Detail, Fireplace, Brockiss House, Germantown, Pennsylvania . 397
97. (a) Part of Paneled Chest of Drawers, Dutch Influence, 1675-
1700 408
(b) American Chippendale Mirror, 1750-60 408
(c) American Mirror of 1780-90, Adam or Louis XVI deri-
vation 40S
(d) American Sconce, 1790, Louis XVI Style 408
98. (a) Half of an Empire Credence; (b) Empire Table ... 420
99. Door of St. George's Hall, Liverpool 429
100. Details, Academy, Athens 439
101. Midland Hotel, London 437
102. Albert Memorial, London 437
103. Opera-House, Paris, Grand Stairway 444
104. Regnault Monument in Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris .... 444
105. American 19th-century Furniture: Sideboard by D. Phyfe,
Clocks, Piano 451
106. Greek Revival Doorway, South Fifth Ave., New York . . . 455
107. Gothic Business Building, Boston (cir. 1869) 455
108. Four Capitals by P. B. Wight for Academy of Design, New
York (demolished) 458
109. Part of Public Library, Woburn, Massachusetts, by Richardson 462
110. Carved Newel of Grand Stairs, State Capitol, Albany, New York 462
HI. Eight Examples of American Metalwork 19th and 20th Centuries 480
112. Peasant Ornament: (?) Norwegian Weave; (b, c, d) Pennsyl-
vania Pottery; (e, f) Russian Tables 488
xxxii


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
RENAISSANCE AND MODERN





A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
RENAISSANCE AND MODERN
INTRODUCTION
A history of Renaissance and modern ornament is a
record of the origin, development, culmination, decline
and succession of the styles and movements which have
dominated decorative design since the close of the Mid-
dle Ages. Such a record, if all-embracing and ex-
haustive, would require many volumes and might, in-
deed, fill a considerable library. In the fifteen chapters
which follow, a more modest task has been undertaken,
by limiting both the field to be covered and the scope of
its treatment. In the first place it has seemed wise to
exclude from this survey the whole field of Oriental
ornament, as a subject so vast, and on the whole so
distinct from that of the art of Europe and America,
as to require separate treatment in another volume (see
Preface, p. vii). Secondly, as this is a history of Orna-
ment, rather than of Decorative Art in its broadest
sense, the field of decorative sculpture and painting—
that is, of such painting and sculpture as exist for their
own sakes as pictorial and sculptural representations
per se—has also been excluded. The distinction between
such sculpture and painting on the one hand and sculp-
3


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
ture and painting incidental and subordinate to schemes
of ornament on the other, is explained in Chapter I, pp.
3, 4 of the first volume of this series, "The History of
Ornament, Ancient and Medieval." The purpose of the
present volume, as of its predecessor, is to meet the
needs of those students and workers in the decorative
arts who wish to understand something of the origin,
history, and characteristics of the various styles of orna-
ment with which they have to deal in their work and
studies, without being compelled to search through
innumerable volumes in various languages in the public
libraries; volumes treating each of some particular and
limited phase of the arts they wish to study. The
student, therefore, will not find in this book a com-
pendium, atlas or encyclopedia of all the ornament of
Europe and America produced in the last five hundred
years; but rather a survey, necessarily concise and in
many respects superficial, of the genesis, progress, and
relations of the various styles of ornament comprised
within the chosen field, with only such illustrations as
may serve to explain and illuminate the text.
The treatment adopted here, as in the first volume, is
historical rather than analytical or topical. That is to
say, instead of taking up successively each of the decora-
tive arts—architecture, woodwork, textiles, ceramics,
metalwork, glass, jewelry, etc.—and tracing its history
from the Middle Ages to the present time, the purpose
is to follow the general historical movement of the deco-
rative arts as a whole, with such notice of particular
developments in the various arts as may help the reader
to understand the movement as a whole, or as are inci-
4


INTRODUCTION
dental to the general discussion of a style. But in order
to make the discussion clear and specific, it has been
necessary to consider the ornament of particular coun-
tries or groups of countries in separate chapters. It has
seemed to the writer that for practical purposes such
a treatment is far more serviceable, alike to the student
and to the practical designer, than to divide the subject,
for instance, by centuries. For each country or group
has developed its own art along lines peculiar to itself,
giving rise to certain national or regional styles, which
should be studied each as a whole, rather than in sections
scattered through a dozen period-chapters.
The student will observe that about half of the volume
is devoted to Italian and French ornament; and that of
these two subjects, Italian ornament occupies double
the space devoted to the French. There is good reason
for these seeming disproportions. The Italian styles
were the parent-styles of all Renaissance ornament, and
of much the greater part of modern ornament. Next to
Italy, France has exerted the greatest influence on the
decorative arts of Europe and America. Moreover, the
mere amount, to say nothing of the quality, of the prod-
uct of Italian and French art during the last five
hundred years has been so vast that it outranks in wealth
of suggestion and in variety of exemplars all the other
styles that have grown up meanwhile. In general
artistic quality, moreover, in beauty of line and move-
ment, in charm of light-and-shade and relief, in refine-
ment of form and execution, the ornament of no other
nation of Europe or America can rival that of Italy and
France, unless perhaps in a limited measure that of
5


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Spain of the first half of the sixteenth century, called
the Plateresque. Accordingly we find the museums, on
both sides of the ocean, that make a feature of the in-
dustrial and decorative arts, generally richer in ex-
amples of Italian and French art than in those of any
other land outside of their own.
As we come down the centuries toward our own time,
the amount of material available for study naturally
increases. We are completely surrounded by the prod-
ucts of our own national art, and by those of our own
time imported from abroad. These objects are at hand,
familiar and abundant, and their quantity is constantly
increasing: the student can examine and compare and
analyze them for himself. It is, therefore, less important,
in a history like this, intended for practical instruction,
to devote to this later art as extended a discussion or as
much space as to the earlier historic phases of the sub-
ject. Moreover, the historian is too near the subject to
be able to judge fairly of its relations and importance;
he requires a certain perspective, a certain distance from
the objects or events discussed, to have or to inspire
confidence in his judgments. Accordingly these later
developments of the history of ornament have been
treated in a somewhat summary way, and the number
of illustrations greatly restricted. The object has been
rather to explain the movements and conditions out of
which modern styles in ornament have been developed
than to present anything like a complete survey of the
endless varieties and phases of style in modern decora-
tive design. What the modern designer and the student
of styles alike need is a background of knowledge of
6


INTRODUCTION
how the modern styles have come into being; a solid
historic foundation of acquaintance with the work of
preceding ages, an understanding of the incalculable
wealth of our inheritance from those ages, a developed
power of critical discrimination and appreciation de-
rived from the study of the masterpieces of design be-
queathed us by the past.
The examples shown in the illustrations are intended
to be suggestive, not exhaustive. They are offered not
as models to be copied, but for their value in helping to
reveal the secrets of the glory of historic art; as ex-
emplars by the study of which we may be able to pene-
trate to their true inner quality and thereby be helped
to impart to the decorative art of our own time some-
thing of those qualities that have been given a perma-
nent life, a species of immortality to the works of past
ages and other lands. For students who wish to carry
their study further than the elementary surveys in this
volume, the bibliographies supplied on pages 10-12
and at the end of each chapter offer a suggestive guide
to some of the authorities. The literature of the subject
is so enormous and so constantly augmented each year,
that these lists cannot pretend to exhaustiveness, but
they will be found helpful.
The student will notice three classes of illustrations,
referred to in the text in three differing manners. The
351 line-cuts in the text are referred to by the abbrevia-
tion "Fig." followed by numerals in ordinary type. The
112 half-tone illustrations, printed on plate-paper but
bound in with the text, are referred to by the word
"Figure" followed by numerals in bold-faced type.
7


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
The 23 plates at the end of the volume are referred to
by the word "Plate" or the abbreviation "PI." followed
by Roman numerals, while the constituent illustrations
of each plate are designated by Arabic numerals in
ordinary type following the Roman numerals. Each
class of illustrations is separately numbered.
8


GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF RENAIS-
SANCE AND MODERN ORNAMENT
This list includes only those works which treat of
several periods or styles. Those which discuss only a
single period or style are listed among the "Books
Recommended" at the end of the chapter dealing with
that style or period.
The bibliography of Renaissance and Modern orna-
ment is so voluminous that only a small part of the
whole can be listed in a book of the character and
dimensions of the present volume. The student wishing
to search further into the vast literature of the subject
will find in the subject-catalogues of the larger libraries
many other titles equally important with those listed
here and at the ends of chapters. Nearly all of the
works so listed are to be found in the Avery Architec-
tural Library of Columbia University.
No attempt has been made to refer to articles in
periodicals, however interesting and important. The
student will find in the volumes of the architectural and
technical magazines a great wealth of information on
the subject matter of this book, and for modern and
recent art these periodicals are especially important;
but to attempt the culling of references, hundreds in
number, from them would overload the lists and expand
the book unduly. Even the art-trade magazines are
valuable; and I may cite as the best of these in the
9


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
United States for this purpose two: Good Furniture
published by the Dean-Hicks Co., Grand Rapids,
Mich.; and the current series of issues by the Atlantic
Terra-Cotta Company of New York and Atlanta, Ga.
1. General Manuals of Ornament.
C. Blanc: Grammaire des arts dScoratifs (Paris, 1882).—
H. Dolmetsch: The Historic Styles of Ornament (Batsford,
London, 1912).—R. Glazier: A Manual of Historic Ornament
(Batsford, London, 1906).—Gropius und Lohde: Archiv fur
ornament ale Kunst (Berlin, 1879).—W. H. L. Gritner: Speci-
mens of Ornamental Art (McLean, London, 1850).—D.
Guilmard: La connaissance des styles de I'ornementation
(Guilmard, Paris, 1849).—J. Hauselmann: Die Stilarten des
Ornaments in den verschiedenen Kunstepochen (Zurich, 1884).
H*. Havard: La dicoration (Delagrave, Paris, 1891).—E.
Herdtle: Flachenverzierungen des Mittelalters und der Re-
naissance (Hanover, 1875).—Owen Jones: Grammar of Orna-
ment (Day & Son, London, 1858) ; (a smaller edition published
in 1912).—F. S. Meyer: Handbook of Ornament (Hessling,
New York, 1894).—H. Pfeiffer: Formenlehre des Ornaments
(Kroner, Stuttgart, 1906).—A. Racinet: L'Ornement poly-
chrome (Morel, Paris, 1876).—G. Semper: Der Styl in den
technischen und tektonischen Kiinsten (Bruckmann, Munich,
1878).—H. Shaw: Encyclopaedia of Ornament (Pickering,
London, 1842).—A. Speltz: Styles of Ornament (Hessling,
New York, 1906; Batsford, London, 1908).—E. E. Viollet-
Le-Duc : De la decoration appliquee aux edifices (Morel, Paris,
1878).—J. E. Wessely: Das Ornament und die Kunstindustrie
(Berlin, Strieker, 1878).
For further references on Ornament in general, consult the
commented Bibliography in Introduction to my Vol. 1, "His-
tory of Ornament, Ancient and Medieval," pp. 17-19.
10


GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
2. On Interiors and Furniture in General.
E. Bajot: Encyclopedie du meuble du XV sitcle jusqu'a
nos jours (Schmid, Paris, 1909).—R. Brock: Elements of
Styte in Furniture and Woodwork (Brock, London, 1889).—
A. de Champeaux: Le meuble (Bibl. de l'enseignement, etc.,
Paris, 1885).—C. R. Clifford: Period Furnishings (Clifford
& Lawton, New York, 1915).—W. A. Dyer: Handbook of
Furniture Styles (Century Co., New York, 1918).—H. D.
Ererlein: Practical Book of Period Furniture (Lippincott,
Philadelphia, 1914).—H. Havard: Les arts de Vameublement
(Delagrave, Paris, 1894).—F. A. Parsons: Interior Decora-
tion; Its Principles and Practice (Doubleday-Page, Garden.
City, N. Y., 1915).—G. C. Rothery: Ceilings and Their Deco-
ration (Stokes, New York, n.d.).
3. For Ironwork in General.
Hefner-Alteneck: Eisenwerke (Keller, Frankfort, 1886).
—W. W. Kent: Architectural Wrought-iron, Ancient and
Modern (Comstock, New York, 1888).—F. S. Meyer: Hand-
buch der Schmiedekunst (Seemann, Leipzig, 1888).
4. For Textile Design in General.
Bezon: Dictionnaire general des tissus anciens et modernes
(Lepagnez, Lyons, 1867).—Dupont D'Aurerville: Art in-
dustriel; Vornement des tissus (Lib. gen. arch., Paris, 1877).—
O. V. Fame: Decorative silks (Helburn, New York, 1922).
—Fischrach: Die Geschichte der Textilkunst (Selbat, Frank-
fort, 1883).—G. L. Hunter: Decorative Textiles (Lippincott,
Philadelphia, 1918).—D. Rock: Textile Fabrics (Chapman &
Hall, London, 1876).—Tissus Anciens (Paris, n.d.).—J. B.
Waring: Examples of Weaving and Embroidery (Day, Lon-
don, n.d.).
5. For Lace in General.
S. Goldenrerg: Lace, Its Origin and History (New York,
1904).—F. Morris: Antique Laces of American Collectors
11


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
(Helburn, New York, 1920).—E. Muntz: Tapisseries, brode-
ries et denteU.es (Lib. de l'art, Paris, 1890).—Mrs. Palliser:
History of Lace (London, 1869).—J. Seguin: La dentelle
(Rothschild, Paris, 1875).—G. Whiting: A Lace Guide for
Makers and Collectors (Dutton, New York, 1920; includes en
exhaustive bibliography on lace).
6. For Ceramics in General.
Th. Deck: La faience (Quantin, Paris, 1887).—C. D. E.
Fortnum: Majolica (Scribners, New York, 1876).—A.
Jacquemart: Histoire de la ceramique (Paris, 1873).—L.
Jewitt: The Ceramic Art of Great Britain (Virtue, London,
1883).—Marryatt: Collections towards a History of Pottery
and Porcelain, 15th to 18th centuries (London, 1850).—G.
Vogt: La porcelaine (Imp. reunies, Paris, 1893).
12


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
RENAISSANCE, AND MODERN
CHAPTER I
THE RENAISSANCE IN GENERAL
Meaning of the Renaissance.
The Renaissance or Renascence (called by the Ital-
ians Rinascimento or Risorgimento) is the name given
to the great movement which displaced the ideals and
intellectual habit of the Middle Ages in favor of the
new ideals and mental processes on which modern learn-
ing and civilization are founded. This movement em-
phasized the intellectual freedom of the individual, his
right to free inquiry and to the results of his own reason-
ing, as against the right of either Church or State to
dictate in these matters. The revival of classical learn-
ing, and the emancipation of art from the almost ex-
clusive control by and service of the Church, formed
but one phase of this movement. The plastic arts took
on a new direction because their emancipation from
ecclesiastical control and the new spirit of free inquiry
opened up to the designer new fields of activity and new
sources of inspiration. The growing indulgence of
personal luxury called for the building and adornment
of palaces and gardens; civic pride and personal vanity
stimulated the erection of splendid tombs and monu-
18


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
ments; the public and private life of the great and high-
placed took on a wholly new magnificence in costumes
and furniture and trappings; all the arts of design were
stimulated to an unexampled activity. But all this was
the accompaniment of the new intellectual life of Italy,
with its eager questioning of the past and its ventures
into new fields of inquiry. Modern scholarship and
modern science find their sources in this new and inde-
pendent attitude of the Italian mind toward authority,
toward the past, toward Nature and the universe.
The Precursors.
The Renaissance began in Italy because in the city-
states, in the municipalities and in the guilds of northern
and central Italy the spirit of independence and a grow-
ing individualism had long been preparing the way for
such a movement. It was no sudden upheaval; its
origins can be traced far back in the Middle Ages, and
no date can be set for its exact beginning. Not only in
Italy, but elsewhere also in Christian Europe, there had
been, long before the fifteenth century, individuals who
had thought for themselves outside the categories of
ecclesiastical teaching. As far back as the twelfth
century there had been a wide intellectual awakening,
both in and outside of the monasteries, then the chief
centers of learning in Europe. The travels of Marco
Polo in the thirteenth century were an early prelude to
the modern geographical conquests. Niccolo Pisano,
who died in 1270, found inspiration in Roman sarcoph-
agus-reliefs for his pulpit-sculptures in Pisa and
Sienna. Indeed, through the entire course of Italian
14


RENAISSANCE IN GENERAL
medieval decorative art there is traceable the unex-
tinguished tradition of Roman forms in capitals, arches
and carved moldings. The exterior decorations of the
Florentine Baptistery, dating from the end of the 13th
century, with their round arches, their pilasters and
entablatures (Figure 1); the nave of Sienna Cathedral,
substantially com-
pleted by 1262,
with its round
arches, its classic
archivolts, its Cor-
inthian capitals
and ever - present
acanthus leaves
(some of these,
however, being
Renaissance addi-
tions in stucco),
and a hundred
other less conspic-
uous examples be-
tray this classic
tradition. The re-
awakened interest
in antiquity, never wholly extinct in literature any more
than in art, in the Middle Ages in Italy, is conspicuous
in the writings of the immortal trio, Dante (1267-
1321), Boccaccio (1304-1374) and Petrarch (1313-
1375). Giotto, who died in 1337, may with justice be
called the first painter of the Renaissance, and many
of the ornaments framing his frescoes in the church of

Mail
Fio. 1.—Painted Details from San Francesco,
Assisi.
15


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
St. Francis at Assisi seem to anticipate the rinceaux
and acanthus leaves of the Renaissance (Fig. 1).
Periods.
It is customary and convenient to divide the history
of the Renaissance into periods. Any such division
must, however, be considered as a purely arbitrary
device; for the movement of artistic evolution, growth,
progress, culmination and decline is continuous when
not interrupted by some great cataclysm. While in
each period it is easy to recognize a character different,
on the whole, from that of other periods, the change is
gradual, not sudden. Any historian of art is at liberty
to make as many divisions as he pleases, where he
pleases, and writers on the Renaissance are not even
agreed as to the time of its final extinction. Some con-
fine the term to the period previous to about 1560;
others extend it to cover the whole seventeenth century;
still others include even the eighteenth. The fact is
that the intellectual movement of the Renaissance has
never come to an end, but is still vital in thought and
learning, notwithstanding even the frightful upheaval
of the Great War. With its art the case is somewhat
different, for the political revolutions of the end of the
eighteenth century and the industrial and social revolu-
tions of the nineteenth first checked the progress of art
and then radically changed its direction.
In this work I propose to use the term "Renaissance"
in its broadest sense, to cover the entire history of
Ornament from about 1420 to about 1789 or 1800;
and to use the term "Modern" for all the art of the
1G








RENAISSANCE IN GENERAL
19th and 20th centuries including that of the Empire
period and style in France.
This being understood, it will be convenient to treat
of Renaissance ornament in four periods, dated as
follows for the Italian developments; all period-limits
being taken as more or less elastic as one style-develop-
ment gradually passed into the next:
I. The Early Renaissance: 1420 to 1490 or 1500;
the period of development and growth (the Quattro-
cento of the Italians).
II. The Middle oe High Renaissance: 1490 or
1500 to about 1560; the period of increasing classical
correctness and technical perfection (the Cinquecento).
III. The Baroque: 1560 to 1650 or later; the period
of struggle between classical formalism and fantastic
license, with increasing corruption of taste.
IV. The Decline and Classic Revival: 1650 to
1800; in which with declining taste and invention the
Baroque gave way to a cold and unimaginative copying
of Roman forms.
Periods III and IV are not clearly separated, and
might be merged into one gradually-changing decline.
General Character of Renaissance Ornament.
In all phases of art the Italians of the Renaissance
were preeminently decorators. In their painting as well
as in their architecture, the decorative ideal is ever
present. They were the finest craftsmen in Europe in
nearly every department of design; they were excellent
builders, of remarkable resourcefulness in construction;
but decorative effect in form and color was their
17


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
supreme preoccupation. Never in any other land .or
age was there such an extraordinarily prolific produc-
tion of beautiful objects, both for use
and adornment, as in Italy during the
15th and 16th centuries. Buildings,
gardens, church furniture, house furni-
ture, textiles of every description,
armor, bronzes, sculpture in all its
forms, jewelry and every sort of object
capable of receiving beauty of shape or
of adornment, were designed with a
sense of artistic fitness and values, with
a discriminating taste, with a refine-
ment of detail and execution, that have
never before nor since been surpassed
and rarely even approached (Figs. 2,
3, 92, 99, 100; Figures 7, 11, 13; PI
.
II-V). The museums and palaces of
the world have been enriched by thou-
sands upon thousands of these works,
yet the museums, churches and palaces
of Italy are still extraordinarily rich in
masterpieces of this age. Cities like
Florence, Venice, Sienna, are veritable
treasuries of Renaissance decorative
art. Civic, religious and private life
seem to nave shared equally in this splendor of decora-
tive equipment.
A distinguishing characteristic of all the earlier
Renaissance ornament is the feeling for beauty of line
and movement which it displays, and in which it sur-

Fig. 2.—B iohzi
Candelarrum,
Strozzi Chapel,
San Andrea
della v a l l e ,
Rome.
18


RENAISSANCE IN GENERAL
passes even its antique prototypes, both Greek and
Roman. The handling of delicately modulated sur-
faces, the patterning of light and shade, the space-filling

Fro. 3.—Florentine or Venetian Marriage Coffer, South
Kensington Museum, London.
and distribution of detail, are all dominated by a highly
developed sense of the intrinsic beauty of rightly com-
bined or contrasted curves, of the harmonious rhythm

Fig. 4.—Rinceau from Tomr in Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome.
and swing and onward movement of the lines of the
pattern (Figs. 4, 5, 6). This is a purely esthetic
quality, a kind of sensuous beauty quite independent
19


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
of symbolism and of any esoteric or recondite sig-
nificance. In this it differs fundamentally from Gothic
ornament, which owes so much of its interest to its sym-
bolism and to its religious and sentimental associations.
Gothic ornament was religious and ecclesiastical in its
origin and character; Renaissance ornament chiefly
secular. Yet there is also, especially in its sculptural
decoration, much Renaissance ornament that is full of
pure and beautiful sentiment (see Figures 3, 9, 10).

Fio. 5.—Flat Relief Ornament, Marsuffini Tomr
in Santa Croce, Florence.
It is an unmerited reproach upon this age to regard
it, as Ruskin and some of his followers have done, as
wholly given over to selfish luxury and irreligion, for
the Church was still the chief patron of art, and religion
was still a mighty force in all departments of life. But
there is no denying the growth of private luxury and
of free-thinking along with the increasing liberation of
the individual consciousness. This brought both gains
and losses; but among the gains was the vital stimulus
it gave to artistic activity and original creation. Espe-
cially noteworthy also is the growth of civic liberty, of
the civic spirit, resulting in a remarkable advance in
the beauty of cities. In comparison with Florence,
20


RENAISSANCE IN GENERAL
Pisa, Milan, Venice and Naples the great cities of
France and England seemed only half-civilized, and
their manners rude and coarse.
Architectural Character.
Nearly all forms of Italian Ren-
aissance ornament were primarily
architectural, at least in origin,
though they also occur, more or
less modified, in many other of the
decorative arts. This predom-
inance of architectural character
appears in the wood-carving and
wood - inlaying of choir - stalls,
tables, cabinets, cassoni or mar-
riage-chests (see PI. III); in the
metalwork of candelabra, mast-
bases, grilles, reliquaries and gold-
smiths' work (see PI. IV and Fig-
ures 38-41); in painted ornaments
and stucco embellishments (PI.
TT\ J. 1 • . CIO. !>.—I'll.ASTER SCROLL,
II); in typographic ornaments, in TowN Hall of Verona.
tapestries and many other forms of
textile art. This is not surprising when we consider that
well into the 16th century there was no sharp dividing
line between architecture and the other arts of design.
The early Renaissance artists were architects, gold-
smiths, sculptors, tarsiatori or woodVinlayers and
painters as well as designers of buildings. Raphael
designed buildings, wood-carvings and stucco-decora-
tions although preeminently a painter; Peruzzi was an

21


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
architect and a decorative painter; Michelangelo an
architect, engineer, sculptor and decorative painter.
This close association of the various arts with archi-
tecture was the occasion of both the strength and weak-
ness of Italian Renaissance decorative art, or perhaps1
rather the explanation of certain defects in its archi-
tecture and at the same time of the extraordinary merit
of its decoration. For the Italians decorated like archi-
tects and designed their buildings like decorators, sacri-
ficing sometimes structural expression and logical
propriety to superficial beauty of decorative effect; as
in many church facades treated as mere decorative
screens for the body of the church behind them (Figure
5). This, however, was a practice not peculiar to the
Renaissance period; many of the Italian medieval
church-fronts were designed with similar disregard of
the form of the church they screened. On the
other hand, the architectural quality of Renaissance
decorative art in other fields of design is almost with-
out exception an element of excellence, imparting to it
the order, balance, rhythm and propriety which belong
to architecture.
Italian Renaissance ornament thus stands in in-
structive contrast to Moslem ornament; especially to
the Moorish and Hispano-Moresque, in which the archi-
tectural decoration is dominated by the traditions of
Oriental rug-design and textile art.
Study of Nature.
One element of Italian ornament in which it sur-
passed its antique prototypes is its recourse to Nature,
22


RENAISSANCE IN GENERAL
which afforded a new inspiration to its designers and
imparted a delicacy of detail, a freshness and charm to

Fig. 7.—Festoon of Olives, Santa Maria della Pace, Heme.
their work, deserving of more notice than it has gener-
ally received. While there was not much of out-and-
out naturalistic representation of plant-forms, these,

Fig. 8.—Two Renaissance Rosettes.
even when conventionalized, are always handled in a
manner indicating a keen appreciation of the laws and
forms of plant-growth (Figs. 6, 7, 8, 39). Human
23


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
figures, dolphins, lions' heads, birds, wings and feathers,
to whatever extent conventionalized, are always true to
the character and structure of
the life from which they are de-
rived (Figs. 10, 11, 12, 14, 53,
54; Figures 3, 7, 10; PI. II-IV).
Italian Renaissance ornament
is generally distinguished by a
keen sense of decorative pro-
priety, especially in scale or the
relations of dimension between
the various elements of the com-
position, and between those ele-
ments and the whole; space-fill-
ing or the artistic distribution of
the motives of decoration over
the space to be decorated; beauty
of movement in lines and masses;
and, in plastic ornament, the
handling of relief, with its varied
play of light and shade (Fig. 9;
Figures 13, 34).
Fig. 10 illustrates the sym-
pathetic treatment of animal
form, and the swing and grace
of line-movement characteristic of Italian decorative
design.

%m
Fio. 9.—Pilaster Detail,
San Giorre, Venice.
Classic Origins.
While the ornament of the Italian Renaissance was
founded upon the study of Roman decorative art, it was
24


RENAISSANCE IN GENERAL
never an art of mere copyists or imitators. Nearly
every distinctive ornament-motive in the plastic arts of
the Renaissance in Italy can be related to a Roman
prototype, but it is almost impossible to find a direct
copy of a Roman motive, except in the sixteenth-cen-
tury reproductions of the Roman Corinthian order and
certain architectural forms whose use had never wholly

Fio. 10.—Griffin from Tomr in San Domenico Maggiore, Naples.
ceased in Italy after the fall of Rome. Even in employ-
ing these forms the Italians departed widely from the
Roman practice, altering the details and proportions,
and devising wholly new combinations by which they
produced decorative effects entirely original with them-
selves. The acanthus-leaf, the anthemiort, the rinceau,
the egg-and-dart, the dentil and modillion, which one
can trace uninterruptedly from the days of ancient
Rome through the entire Middle Ages to the Renais-
sance in Italy, were all endlessly varied and trans-
formed into new shapes. The grotesques and symbolic
25


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
forms of antique art were likewise revived, their pagan
significance being ignored, or new meanings attached
to them. Infant forms—the "genii" of Roman sym-
bolism—became the amorini and putti of the Renais-

Fio. 11.—Entarlature, Porch Chapel of Palazzo Purrlico, Sienna.
sance, and were modeled with great charm of realism
(Figs. 55, 56). The festoons and wreaths of flowers
and fruit carved on Roman temples were transferred
from their pagan sacrificial significance to Christian
funereal symbolism, or used purely as decorations.
Griffins, sphinxes, masks or "mascarons," and other
26


RENAISSANCE IN GENERAL
"grotesque" forms, symbolic in pagan art, were em-
ployed freely, sometimes perhaps symbolically, more
often purely*as ornaments, for their intrinsic decorative
value {e.g., the griffins in Figs. 10, 11, the masks and
grotesques in Figs. 12, 57, 58, 59). Trophies of arms
and armor were imitated from Roman models for use
on tombs of warriors. To these were added many
\AKEZ7.Q

Fio. 12.—Mascaron, Palazzo Fossomrroni, Arezzo.
motives of Christian origin and significance, such as the
winged cockle-shell, the symbol of life's pilgrimage, the
cross, the Agnus Dei, the winged cherub-head,.and later
the palm-branch of the martyr and the victor.
The Personal Factor.
All the art of the Renaissance is intensely personal.
A history of its architecture is a history of the works of
particular architects, and the "schools" of Renaissance
painting are the groups of pupils and imitators of one
and another great master. So is it with the more im-
portant, at least, of the works of Italian decorative art;
each is the work of a master or of a group whose names
have come down to us, and each master has his peculiari-
ties of conception and treatment which distinguish his
27


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
work from others of the same class. This emphasis of
personality had for centuries been more or less an
Italian characteristic as compared with the medieval
art of western Europe, where the individual artist was
lost in the corporate entity of his monastery or guild,
and where style was corporate, local or provincial rather
than personal. The Ren-
aissance movement, which
insisted on the rights of the
individual, emphasized this
tendency of Italian art to-
ward personal expression,
and communicated it to the
other countries to which it
spread from Italy.
The Beginnings in Florence
Although the roots of the
Renaissance penetrate far
into the Middle Ages, it was
in the 15th century that the
movement became insistent,
Fro. i3.-Sc.oxx, paZZI Cha«l. Seneral and controlling,
first in Florence, as the
most artistic city in Italy and the one animated by the
most intense and independent civic and intellectual life.
Great works and great men, early in that century, gave
opportunity in Florence for a splendid efflorescence of
the new taste and ideals. The powerful personality of
Brunelleschi (1377-1446), asserting itself in the colossal
dome of the Duomo and revealing the results of his

28


RENAISSANCE IN GENERAL
years of study of the Roman monuments in the details
of the Pazzi Chapel (Fig. 13; Figure 15) and other
works, stamped its impress upon the architecture of his
time. Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455) in his second pair
of doors for the Florentine Baptistery—those for the
eastern entrance (Figure 2)—exhibited the influence of
the new taste in a com-
plete change of style
from that of his earlier
pair for the northern
doors of the same build-
ing. Luca della Rob-
bia (1400-1480) exe-
cuted for the porch and
for the dome of Brunel-
leschi's Pazzi Chapel
decorative reliefs in
enameled terra - cotta,
of great charm in a
style full and free, as
far removed as possible
from that which had
prevailed during the preceding half-century; and the
kind of decorative work in terra-cotta which he origi-
nated and which his nephew and grand-nephews de-
veloped, employed in its ornamental details a combina-
tion of forms derived from the classic with others drawn
directly from Nature (Figs. 14, 18; Figure 10). Luca's
and Andrea's handling of fruit and foliage in the frames
and borders of their medallions and lunettes is especially
noteworthy.

Fig. 14.—Faurr Border ry Luca dei.la
Rorria, from Medallion in Quaratesi
Palace, Florence.
29


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Thus the study of Nature went hand-in-hand with the
study of the antique. The progress of this latter study
may be seen by comparing, for instance, the architec-
tural designs of Michelozzi1 (e.g., the Riccardi Palace)
with those of Alberti [e.g., the Rucellai Palace). They
were contemporaries, but Alberti's study of the antique
was far more detailed than Michelozzi's. During the
second half of the 15th century Florence and the neigh-
boring cities and villages of Tuscany produced an ex-
traordinary group and succession of masters of decora-
tion—sculptors, goldsmiths, inlayers and woodworkers
—gifted with a surpassing sense of decorative effect,
with remarkable skill in workmanship, and with a refinec1
taste which seldom erred, whose tombs, shrines, choir-
stalls and pulpits are a priceless legacy to art, and an
inspiration to designers of our own day. These quattro-
centisti as they are called, although taking their inspira-
tion from antique art contented themselves with a very
free rendering of Roman models, combining and varying
them in original and almost always charming ways
(Figs. 11, 18, 22-27; PI. I). Their most successful
works were those in which decoration and not construc-
tion was the essential consideration. In the more severe
and monumental forms of architectural design they were
less successful; least so in church facades, though some
of these are so beautiful as to excuse in a measure their
lack of structural expressiveness (Figure 5).
The Cinquecento.
The masters of the first half of the 16th century, the
Cinquecentisti, developed their style of decoration
'Miclielozzo Michelozzi, 1397-1472; Leo Battista Alberti, 1404-1473.
30


RENAISSANCE IN GENERAL
along more strongly architectural lines than their pre-
decessors. While Raphael was primarily a painter and
Michelangelo a sculptor, both were also architects.
Bramante, Peruzzi, the San Galli, Vignola and the
Venetian Sansovino were primarily architects, though
Peruzzi was also a painter and Sansovino a sculptor.
Architecture was developing as a distinct art, and the
architects were bestowing more care than their pre-
decessors upon the composition and architectural
membering of their buildings, basing them upon a more
detailed and minute study of antique models. The classic
orders and the Roman type of arcade came into more
general use (see p. 115); ornament was less minute
and less exuberant: scale was better understood; while
stucco-relief combined with painting supplied new re-
sources for interior decoration. The Loggie of the
Vatican, the Camera della Segnatura and the Borgia
apartments in the Vatican, the Villa Madama, the
Palazzo del Te at Mantua, the Farnesina at Rome,
furnish superb examples of the architectural decoration
and ornament of the golden age of the Italian Renais-
sance (Figure 29; PI . II).
The Later Phases.
The second half of the 16th century witnessed the
culmination and the beginnings of the decline of this
phase of Italian art. A growing impatience of the
restrictions and grammar of the antique Roman models
led to bold and sometimes unhappy innovations in the
effort after originality. Palladio, Michelangelo—
whose long career began in the late Quattrocento and
81


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
extended into the early Baroque; Maderna, Bernini,
the brilliant Baroque sculptor-architect, and Borromini,
the most extravagant exponent of the new taste, led in
this movement of retrogression, to which the fatal facil-
ity and cheapness of stucco lent its constant temptation
to sham splendor and meretricious display (Figures
42-46; PI. VI). The Jesuit Order, officially consti-
tuted in 1543, grew rich and powerful during the suc-
ceeding century, and by the erection of many churches
marked by a pretentious and often deceptive mag-
nificence, exercised a disastrous influence on ecclesi-
astical decoration. The name of Baroco or Baroque
has been given to this development of style, which
gradually merged into the Classic Revival of the 18th
century. It exhibits at times certain admirable notes of
ingenuity, vigor, original and effective combinations of
form and a striking play of light and shade. But there
is also so much that is cheap, vulgar and gaudy that it
is generally considered as marking the extinction of the
artistic spirit which made brilliant the first century and
a half of the Renaissance (see Chapter V).
The Classical Reaction.
During the 18th century there was a notable reaction
from the extravagance of the Baroco. Designers, alike
of architecture and of ornament, returned to the study
of the antique and produced a number of works of
considerable merit, marked by dignity and severity of
design after the classic manner. But the springs of
artistic invention seem to have been well-nigh exhausted,
82





Figure 3. Tomr of Ilaria pel Caretto, Luca Cathedral.

Fioure 4. Cantoria ry Luca dei.la Rorria.


RENAISSANCE IN GENERAL
and these works are generally as cold as they are correct,
and singularly lacking in vitality.
Spread of the Style.
The Renaissance in the arts of decoration began in
Florence, spread slowly thence through northern Italy
and eastward to Venice between 1450 and 1470; south-
ward at the same time to Sienna and Rome, producing
in Sienna and Pienza a number of important works
about 1460. Its first appearance in Rome dates from
about 1456, and about the same time Florentine and
other North-Italian artists carried the movement to
Naples and later to Sicily. By 1480 the new style was
established throughout the entire peninsula. Florence,
Venice and Rome may be considered the three most
important centers of this development and spread;
Milan, Pavia, Sienna, Bologna and Verona come next
to these in importance.
The movement entered South Germany, Austria
and Bohemia through the medium of works by Italian
artists during the closing years of the 15th century;
invaded France as a result of the Italian campaigns of
Charles VIII, Louis XII and Francis I, but at first
only through sporadic works by imported Italians. It
was Francis I who made the foreign fashion the official
and royal style of France, but in a form so changed as
to create a wholly new and peculiarly French version
of the style (1515-1547). The Spaniards carried back
with them from the battle of Pavia a fresh impulse
to stimulate the movement of the new style which had
for twenty years been gathering momentum and volume
33


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
at the hands of both Italian and native artists; while
Henry VIII took back to England Torregiano and
John of Padua and new ideas of architecture and
decoration. There, however, the Renaissance movement
was chiefly promoted by German, Dutch and Flemish
artists, as we shall later see, Holland having herself
received the impulse from Germany, and Flanders from
Italy and France. It was not till 1530 or perhaps even
1550 that the last vestiges of Gothic design dis-
appeared from northern and western Europe. Russia,
Greece and Turkey remained outside of Renaissance
influence for a century longer, and never wholly aban-
doned their national styles; but the 17th-century
Baroque crept even into these countries and set its
modifying stamp upon the local art.
Books Recommended:
W. J. Anderson: The Architecture of the Renaissance in
Italy (Batsford, London, 1898).—J. Blrckhardt: The Ren-
aissance in Italy (Holt, New York, 1904); Der Cicerone
(Seemann, Leipzig, 1893); also an edition in French.—
J. Durm: Die Baukunst der Renaissance in Italien (Bcrg-
strasser, Stuttgart; also later edition pub. by Gebhardt,
Leipzig, 1914).—Galland und Rosenkranz: Italienische
Renaissance (Lemmc, Leipzig, 1887).—T. J. Jackson: The
Renaissance of Roman Architecture (Univ. Press, Cambridge,
1922).—G. Scott: The Architecture of Humanism (Hough-
ton, Boston, 1914).—Schutz: Die Renaissance in Italien
(Strumpcr, Hamburg, 1886).—J. A. Stmonds: The Renais-
sance in Italy: the Fine Arts 'Holt, New York, 1888).
34


CHAPTER II
THE EAHLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
The Precursors.
The real beginnings of Renaissance art are to be
sought, as we have already observed, in many scattered
manifestations of a new
spirit in design in the
fourteenth and even the
thirteenth century. The
classic traditions o f
shaft and capital,
round arch and hori-
z o n t a 1 entablature,
acanthus leaf and rin-
ceau had never lost
their vitality in Italy
(Figure 1; Fig. 15).
The definitive recourse
to antique models for
inspiration in sculpture
had been foreshadowed
by Niccolo P i s a n o
(1207-78); and Giotto
(1267-1337) had for-
saken Byzantine types for the study of Nature in his
paintings. In the pseudo-Gothic "Mandorla" doorway

Fig. 15.—Rinceau from Mandorla Door,
Cathedral op Florence.
35


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
of the Florentine Duomo (1389) the acanthus-moldings
and almost classic rinceau are an earnest of the coming
Renaissance in decorative detail (Fig. 15). The Italian
Gothic style had been always a foreign fashion modified
and adapted to serve as a dress for buildings designed
after the old Romanesque tradition, itself descended
from the Roman; it was an interruption to the natural
process of the evolution of Italian architecture along
its own national and racial lines. To turn to the antique
was merely to resume more actively this partially in-
terrupted evolution. Between the 14th-century decora-
tions by Talenti of the east end of the Cathedral of
Florence and Brunelleschi's work around the base of
the dome there is no such discrepancy of style or method
as the names of Gothic and Renaissance would seem
to imply.
Early Renaissance Masters.
Three architects—Brunelleschi, Michelozzi and Al-
berti—have already been mentioned; also two sculptors,
Luca della Robbia and Ghiberti; to whom, if we add
Donatello,1 we have the sextet of great men who gave
form and direction to the new movement. Second only
to these was Giacopo della Quercia (1374-1438), whose
work, however, is not found at Florence but at Sienna
and Lucca (Figure 3; Fig. 16). The labors of these
seven enriched Italy during the middle quarters of the
15th century with a number of epoch-making master-
pieces. In architecture we have, for instance, besides
the colossal dome of the Duomo at Florence the lovely
"Donato Niccolb di Betti Bardi, 1385-1466.
36


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
Pazzi Chapel (1420-25) in the court of Santa Croce
(Figure 15); the two Renaissance basilicas of San
Spirito and San Lorenzo; the Foundling Hospital or
Innocenti, and the beginning of the vast Pitti Palace,
all by Brunelleschi; the church of the Annunziata and
the noble Riccardi Palace (1430) by Michelozzi and
the Rucellai Palace by Alberti, all these being in
Florence; the great church of San Andrea at Mantua
and the much smaller church of San Francesco (Cap-
pella Malatestiana) at Rimini, by Alberti; and a large
number of lesser works of great beauty. In decorative
sculpture the East doors of the Baptistery of Florence
by Ghiberti (1424-52) clearly mark a new era by their
complete change in style from the North doors which
Ghiberti had not yet finished when he received the com-
mission for these (Figure 2). The charming terra-
cotta decorations by Luca della Robbia for the porch
of the Pazzi Chapel, and numerous lunettes and medal-
lions in the same medium by Luca and his successors,
are in the full spirit of the Renaissance in their refined
naturalism and complete absence of medieval tradition-
alism and stiffness (Figures 4, 9, 10). Della Quercia's
lovely monument to Ilaria del Caretto in the Cathedral
of Lucca is adorned with a series of nude infants sup-
porting huge festoons or swags, a motive frankly de-
rived from the antique and interpreted with naive
simplicity and excellent decorative effect (Fig. 16;
Figure 3). A like naive naturalism appears in the
sculptures of the two cantorie or balconies for singers
by Della Robbia and Donatello, formerly in the
Cathedral, now in the Opera del Duomo at Florence
87


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
(Figure 4). In these one observes a still incomplete
mastery of classic details: a phenomenon to which we
may presently recur.
The latter part of the century witnessed the wide
expansion of the style, as well as the appearance of a
new generation of decorative artists of great ability,
many of them Florentines, or at least Tuscans, who
worked in vari-
ous towns of
northern Italy,
in Rome and
even in Naples.
Among these
men two
brothers were
oonspicuous—
Giuliano and
Benedetto da
Majano 2 as
architects and
decorative de-
signers, working in Florence, Naples and elsewhere.
Bernardo Rossellino 2 was active in Rome, Sienna and
Pienza as an architect of the school of Alberti. Desi-
derio da Settignano 3 and Mino da Fiesole 3 worked as
decorative sculptors and architects in Florence, Fiesole
and elsewhere; Matteo Civitale4 in like manner at
Lucca; the family of Pietro Lombardi4 at Venice as
•Giuliano Baglioni da Majano, 1432-1490; his brother Benedetto, 1442-
1497; Bernardo di Matteo (Gambarelli) Rossellino, 1409-1463.
•Desidcrio da Settipnano, 1428-64; Mino da Fiesole, 1435-1484.
'Matteo Civitale, 1436-1501; Pietro Lombardi (Solari), 1433-1515.

Fio. 16.—"Putti" and Festoon, Tomr of I laria
uel Caretto, Lucca.
38


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
architects; at Pavia a group of artists which included
Omodeo,5 Borgognone and about thirty pupils and
assistants. Andrea della Robbia (1435-1525), nephew
of Luca, and his sons after him, continued the tradi-
tion of glazed terra-cotta sculpture established by his
uncle and elaborated it with new colors and effects
in altar-pieces and architectural embellishments. An-
drea's work is equal to Luca's in beauty and as full
of the spirit of religious devotion (Figure 10). An-
tonio (Averulino) Filarete (1400-1465?) at Milan,
Benedetto di Briosco at Milan and Pavia, Agostino
di Duccio (1418-1490) at Perugia and Rimini are
others among the great host of artists who blended
architecture, sculpture and the minor arts in works of
remarkable beauty throughout Italy, especially north-
ern Italy.
The Renaissance in Lombardy.
The province of Lombardy contains the cities of
Milan, Pavia, Cremona, Brescia, Bergamo and Mantua,
all of them interesting to the student of Renaissance
architecture and ornament. The Renaissance move-
ment seems to have reached these cities about the middle
of the 15th century; it rapidly effloresced into full
splendor. The abundance of clay and the general use
of terra-cotta and brick encouraged profusion and
minuteness of ornament, and the superb facade of the
Certosa at Pavia (about 1456-72) is the most ornate
facade produced during the Renaissance in Italy: the
work of a whole school of artists including Ama-
'Giovanni Antonio Omodeo or Amadeo, 1447-1522.
39


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
deo, Formentone, Borgognone, Bambaia, Brambilla,
Cristoforo Lombardo and others (Figure 5). It is,
like so many other Italian church-facades, an archi-
tectural screen, an illuminated frontispiece, having little
relation to the Gothic church behind it, and displaying
curious inconsistencies of
scale. But every detail is in
itself so perfect, the execu-
tion so exquisitely wrought
in fine marble, the color har-
mony so pleasing, that it dis-
arms criticism. The semi-
Gothic brick and marble fa-
cade of the Great Hospital
at Milan (1457) by An-
tonio Filarete; the over-or-
nate facade of the Miracoli
church at Brescia (cir. 1490-
1513, Figure 6); the Col-
leone Chapel at Bergamo by
Amadeo; the court and por-
tal of the Stanga Palace at
Cremona (the portal re-
moved to the Louvre Mu-
seum at Paris), are among
the buildings which best ex-
emplify the richness, delicacy and charm of Lom-
bard ornament. The early works of Bramante 6 and
his pupils at Milan (East end and portal of Santa
Maria delle Grazie, and the sacristy of San Satiro),
• Donato I<azzari, surnamed Bramante, 1444-1514.

Fio. 17.—Two Candelarrum
Shafts.
40








EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
Como (East end of the Cathedral by Rodari), Lodi
(church of the Incoronata) and other works, reveal
the progress of Lombard decorative art in archi-
tectural propriety and a maturer and more classic vigor
of detail.
A -striking feature of Lombard architectural orna-
ment is the frequent use of a form of decorative support
derived from the classic candelabrum-shaft of bronze
or marble (Fig. 17). The most ornate of these shafts
are those which serve as mullions in the great double
windows of the Certosa front (Figure 5). In the
Stanga Palace portal massive candelabrum-shafts take
the place of columns to carry the entablature, and
certain of the columns in the Miracoli church at Brescia
are treated like candelabrum-shafts. Slender shafts
of the candelabrum type adorn the pilasters of the
exterior of the East end of Santa Maria delle Grazie
at Milan. It was in imitation of these examples, which
greatly impressed the soldiers of Charles V and Francis
I, that the Spaniards, and after the battle of Pavia the
French also, began to introduce the candelabrum shaft
into their own Renaissance decoration (see pp. 192
and 276, 277).
Emilia and Venetia.
Parma, Piacenza, Modena, Bologna and Ferrara are
the chief cities of Emilia which, lying between Lom-
bardy and Venetia, received the Renaissance seed at the
same time as Lombardy but matured the fruit rather
more slowly. Like Lombardy, this province abounds
41


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
in clay and its cities are largely cities of brick and terra-
cotta. The earliest decorative work of the Renaissance

Fio. 18.—Pn-aSTER Araresques ry B. da Majano and P. Lomrardi.
in this province was probably the remarkable Cap-
pella Malatestiana or church of San Francesco at
42


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
Rimini by Alberti and di Duccio, dating from about
1450. It is a Gothic structure revetted with a classic
exterior and remodeled internally also in the new
style with classic details and much delicate relief-
carving; the interior largely by Agostino di Duccio.
Most of the Renaissance work in the early style at
Bologna and Ferrara is of late date (1450-1510 or
thereabout), and much of it is in terra-cotta. The
front of the little church of San Spirito is an example
of unregulated composition, confused scale and pic-
turesque charm. The street arcades offer many bits
of charming detail in terra-cotta, and in that material
or in marble are interesting window designs and a few
good doorways; e.g., the Palazzo Bevilacqua at Bo-
logna; Pal. dei Diamanti and Pal. Roverella at Fer-
rara, and others (Figure 17).
To Venice the new style was brought by a family of
Lombards, the Solari, more commonly known as the
Lombardi. The earliest, Martino, probably came from
Lugano about 1456, and may have been the designer
of the choir of the church of San Zaccaria; but this is a
semi-Gothic work, and it was not until about 1480 that
his son Pietro (1433-1515), a consummate decorative
designer, with the assistance later of Tullio his son
(died 1532), established the new style as the dominant
fashion by a remarkable series of architectural works of
great decorative beauty. In this movement Antonio
Rizzio (sometimes called Bregno) and later Barto-
lommeo Buon, called Bergamasco (d. 1529), also took
part, while in near-by Padua another Lombard, Andrea
43


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Briosco (1470-1532), executed bas-reliefs and tombs
and candelabra in the Renaissance style. Verona was
enriched by Fra Giocondo with a beautiful town-hall,
the Palazzo del Consiglio, about 1470; but the stucco
enrichments which now adorn it are a modern adapta-
tion, though based on the original
decorations.
Apart from the architectural com-
position of the Venetian works, which
does not directly concern us, they are
remarkable for the combined dignity
and richness of their decorative carv-
ing. Pilasters and friezes of door-
ways and tombs, projecting fireplace
hoods, altar railings and reredoses,
all display the Venetian taste for
splendor and refinement in carvings
in which varied relief is most effect-
ively used (Figs. 9,19, 25 a, 28). The
railings and altar decorations of the
exquisite little church of Santa Maria
dei Miracoli by Pietro Lombardo
(1489), with their grotesques, ara-
besques and symbolic dolphins and tridents; the carved
panels of the piers flanking the Giants' Stairs in the
court of the Doge's Palace; the doorways of San
Giobbe, Santa Maria del Orto and other examples; the
facade of the Scuola di San Marco (with perspectives
carved in relief, of doubtful taste by modern standards),
the exquisite painted interior of San Giorgio dei Schia-
voni, and innumerable tombs, altar-pieces, wellcurbs

VfNICE-
Fio. 19.—Pilaster De-
tail from Venice.
44


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
(vere di pozzo) and like works of minor art, tes-
tify to the rapid progress of the style between 1470 and
1500.
A decorative practice peculiar to Venetian archi-
tecture is the use of marble veneer for both internal and
external embellishment, as in the Miracoli church, the
Casa Dario and other examples. The practice was in-
herited from the preceding Gothic style, which in turn
derived it from Venetian Byzantine art as seen in St.
Mark's and the Fondaco dei Turchi.
Tuscany Outside of Florence.
Omitting for lack of space special mention of the
numerous works of the early Renaissance in the
Marches and Umbria—except to note the Confraternita
di San Bernardino at Perugia, with its charmingly
sculptured facade by di Duccio (1461), and in the same
city the delightful Sala del Cambio, to which reference
will be made later (see p. 132)—the principal center
of early Renaissance activity in Tuscany outside of
Florence was Sienna. The movement in this home of a
well developed Gothic style hardly made its appearance
before 1460, with the accession of Aeneas Silvius
Piccolomini to the Papal throne as Pius II. The archi-
tectural details of the early Renaissance palaces and
loggias are strongly Florentine; so also the minor works
like the baptismal font in San Giovanni under the east
end of the cathedral (Figure 14); various altar-pieces
and the earlier woodwork of stalls in the Palazzo Pub-
blico. The richest decorative work comes a little later,
nearly in the transition to the Middle Renaissance: e.g.
45


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
the fine marble doorway and doors to the Library of
the cathedral by Lorenzo Marina (Fig. 20) and the
stalls in the cathedral. At Lucca and Prato there are
important examples of early Renaissance work in
tombs, pulpits and metal-work; some of these will be
later described or illustrated.

Fio. 20.—Top of Doorway to Lirrary, Sienna Cathedral.
To other parts of Italy—to Rome about the same
time as to Venice and Sienna, to Naples and southern
Italy somewhat later—the Renaissance style in archi-
tecture and minor works was carried by Tuscan artists:
e.g. Porta Capuana and Arch of Alfonso of Arragon,
both at Naples, the latter by Giuliano da Majano.
While the architecture took on various forms in these
cities there are scores of minor works in them all of
great richness and beauty, of the same general style as
46


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
in Florence, which it would be vain to try to enumerate.
These cities differentiated their own styles of decora-
tion chiefly in the Middle and Baroco periods, as will
be later shown.
The Leading Motives.
In the domain of plastic art the leading motives of
Renaissance ornament, both early and late, were, as we
have seen, derived from antique Roman art, modified
by a new naturalism in many details. There was com-
paratively little of surface-patterning except in textile
art, which was strongly affected in tapestry by the
pictorial art of painting, and in woven fabrics, such as
velvets and brocades, by Oriental and especially Persian
stuffs and ceramics imported through Venice and Sicily.
Spanish textiles and ceramics, in a style derived from
the Hispano-Moresque also influenced Italian textiles
and, by way of the Balearic Isles, Italian ceramics also
(see p. 104).
Under these influences were developed a wide range
of decorative motives, a few of which are briefly dis-
cussed below.
Treatment of Classic Detail.
What first attracted the Italian artists in the remains
of antique art was its decorative detail, especially its
architectural moldings, capitals and carved arabesques,
and the vases, candelabra and bronzes which were be-
coming objects of eager quest for museums and studios.
For the most part they had as objects of study only
fragments of that art. No effort was made to recon-
stitute the ancient buildings from their ruins, most of
47


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
which had been during the Middle Ages incorporated
into the structure of houses and fortresses. Archae-
ological study was not yet a science, and for nearly a
hundred years the Italians contented themselves with
an uncritical and free but sympathetic imitation of the
decorative details of the antique fragments. This imita-
tion was, however, as already remarked, never a literal
copying; it was a free and original interpretation. It
would be more correct to say that the details of this
early work were suggested by the antique than that
they were copied from it. Thus we find no textual
reproduction of the Roman orders even in the work
of Brunelleschi or of Alberti. It would be hard to find
a "correct" Corinthian capital or entablature in any
Italian work before 1510, and rarely even then. The
cornice of the Riccardi Palace (Fig. 30 a) is Roman in
character, but it is a copy of no Roman example; the
same is true of the others shown in that illustration.
The Quattrocentisti understood the character of the
Roman entablature and employed it in tombs and altar-
pieces and palace fronts, but it was no new conception
to them in the 15th century. The tradition of the com-
bination of architrave, frieze and cornice had never been
wholly lost in Italy, and the Quattrocentisti used this
familiar combination with the utmost freedom and
variety of treatment.
A catalogue of the forms thus revived out of a rather
neglected but still vital tradition, or discovered in
Roman fragments and freely varied, would include the
classic pilaster and column with the entablature; the
round arch framed in a banded and molded archivolt;
48


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
Roman types of molding and molding-ornaments; and
Roman types of carved arabesques, especially the single
and double rinceau or foliated scroll; and the anthe-
mion type of frieze decoration. The modillion was de-
veloped into the bracket (or "cantilever" as it is some-
times called; Fig. 21). The Roman keystone and the

Fio. 31.—Two Cantilever Brackets.
classic pediment were not common before the end of
the 15th century, and the free-standing column rarely
appears except in the arcades of courtyards and loggias
and to separate the aisles of churches, and occasionally
to flank the arches of doorways and tombs. The Roman
candelabrum became the parent of numerous variations
in supporting-members or standards for vases, fonts
and fountains, and even for mullions and columns
(Figs. 17, 33).
Capitals.
The favorite type of capital was a free modification
of the Corinthian (Figs. 22-25), differing, however, in
49


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
essential particulars from the classic and hence com-
monly called the Corinthianesque. Instead of the six-
teen acanthus leaves in two rows of the prototype it
usually had only four 7 tall and broad leaves set at the
"corners" of the capital, occasionally with a small inter-
mediate leaf on each face (Fig. 24 b, d). There were
usually but four instead of eight pairs of volutes; these
Fio. 22.—Capital from Courtyard of Gondi Palace, Florence.
supported the "horns" of the abacus and formed the
terminations of S-scrolls, of which the lower ends met
in the centers of the faces of the capital and gave rise
to anthemion-like ornaments filling the spaces between
them. The caidicoli of the Roman type were thus
wholly wanting, and the whole capital was simpler and
more open in design and perceptibly shorter than the
'This description applies only to the complete capital on a free column.
Pilaster-caps and corbels of this type show only two of these leaves and
two pairs of corner-volutes (Figs. 23, 25 a).

50


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
classic Corinthian. Corbels were designed much like
pilaster capitals. The varietjT with which this general
type was treated, and
the great beauty of
the capitals thus pro-
duced testify to the
creative originality of
their designers (Figs.
22-25; PI. I, 2, 3).
Fig. 24 a shows a cap-
ital of the Ionic type;
b and c, Composite
types, and d a Bolog-
nese Corinthianesque
capital with uncut
leaves.
The Doric order
was never widely used
during the Renais-
sance, least of all in
the early period; a
rare example is shown
in PI. I, 1. The Ionic
appears occasionally,
in wide variations
from the classic type;
sometimes with vol-
utes showing on front
and back and bolsters
or rolls at the sides, as in Fig. 24 a; sometimes with
doubled corner volutes, after the four-faced late

Fio. 93.—Pilaster Capital, Naples;
Correl, Fiesole.
51



Fig 2S
Fig. 24.—Four Capitals from Sienna, Cortona, Gurrio, Bologna.
Fig. 25.— (a) Pilaster Capital, Venice; (i>) Pier Capital, Bologna.
Fig. 28.—Pilaster, Venice.
Fig. 29.—Column from Spei.lo.
Fig. 30.—Four Entarlatures, from Riccardi, Strozzi, and Gondi
Palaces, Florence, and Palazzo Pretorio, Lucca.
52
J








EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
Roman type, often erroneously called the "Scamozzi"
capital. The Composite capital—or at least its much-
varied derivatives—occurs quite frequently, coming
next to the Corinthian type in frequency (Fig. 24 b, c;
PI . 1,7).
Bases and Pedestals.
Bases of columns and pilasters were almost always of
the Attic type, with a scotia between two tori above a
square plinth. They were rarely enriched by carving.
Ornamented pedestals or pedestal-blocks were some-
times used, as in the Miracoli church at Brescia, where
the corners of the pedestal are adorned with acanthus
leaves. A highly original and beautiful device is seen
in the columns of the choir of San Zaccaria at Venice
(about 1456), in which a high octagonal pedestal is so
blended with the shaft of the column as to form a single
composition (Fig. 26). The result is so beautiful and
so logical that one wonders that it was never repeated
or imitated elsewhere, except once in Spain (see p. 277).
Shafts.
Pilaster-shafts (Fig. 27) were sometimes left plain,
more often they were fluted, occasionally with the lower
third of the channels filled with convex beads, as in the
tomb of Lionardo Bruno in Sta. Croce at Florence by
Bernardo Rossellino (cir. 1445), and in the interior
of Sta. Catarina at Sienna (PI. I, 1). Still oftener the
pilaster-shaft was treated as a long panel in a frame
of delicate moldings and decorated with carved rin-
ceaux, single or double, or with delicate arabesques
53


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT

(Figs. 6, 9, 18, 19, 28). This
treatment, of which there were but
few Roman prototypes, became
one of the most beautiful and
characteristic elements in the
architectural decoration of the
early Renaissance, and persisted
through the Middle Renaissance.
□ □□□

Fio. 26.—Column in
San Zaccaria,
Venice.
Fig. 27.—Three Types of Pilaster Treat-
ment.
The shafts of columns were always left plain in
arcades of courts or churches, and sometimes in porches
and doorways. They were sometimes, though not very
often, fluted in minor works, such as tombs and pulpits,
54


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
where the columns are generally engaged and not free-
standing: e.g. the beautiful pulpit in Sta. Croce at
Florence (Figure 8). A characteristic and not in-
frequent treatment for free or engaged columns is to
carve the lower part of the shaft in relief, with
arabesques, festoons and other ornaments, leaving
the upper two thirds
plain or fluting it, as
in the over-rich porch
of Sta. Maria dei
Miracoli at Brescia
(Figure 6). Some-
times the whole shaft
is covered with carv-
ing, as in the exam-
ple from Spello
(Fig. 29); but this is
exceptional.

UnJLTUUUUULlULfUUU


Entablatures and
Moldings.
The classic type
of entablature with
architrave, frieze and
cornice had never
passed wholly out of
use in Italy during
the Middle Ages. It appeared with increasing fre-
quency as the 15th century drew near, and during
that century the classic types were more closely fol-
lowed. The modillion cornice was used to crown palace-
Fio. 31.—Entarlature of Shrine, Ma-
donna DEL SaSSO, BlBBIENa.
55


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
facades, as in the magnificent example on the Riccardi
Palace (1430) and the later Strozzi Palace (1498, Fig.
30); but in neither case are the Roman proportions fol-
lowed. In the Rucellai Palace Alberti patterned his
cornice after the upper cornice of the Colosseum at
Rome (Figure 26), but this long remained an isolated
instance of such close imitation. On smaller buildings,
and on porches and minor works such as tombs, the
modillion cornice is not common, the denticular type
being generally preferred (Figs. 11, 31; Figure 1).
On the other hand these minor works display an extra-
ordinary richness of decoration in their entablatures,
almost every molding being carved, and the face of the
corona frequently enriched with vertical flutings, as in
the upper part of the porch-chapel of the Palazzo
Pubblico at Sienna by Federighi (about 1465; Fig. 11),
and on many tombs. The corona of the Riccardi Palace
is similarly ornamented. The molding-enrichments are
the usual Roman ornaments of beads, bead-and-reel,
egg-and-dart, water-leaf and acanthus leaf, but treated
with great freedom: the oves or "eggs," for instance,
often showing nearly the whole oval, and being made
much wider than in most Roman examples (see Figs.
20, 31, 32, 36 and PI. 1,1, 2).
The Florentine Pediment.
Until the High Renaissance developed the monu-
mental use of Roman features, the classic triangular
pediment was seldom employed except over doorways
and tombs, and rarely over these in Florence. The
Florentine designers preferred to place over them a
56


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY

3

wall-arch, framed in a richly-decorated archivolt and
enclosing a tympanum or "lunette" adorned with a
medallion or with figure sculpture. At the spring of
the archivolt were often two small rosettes over the
projecting ends of the cornice (Fig. 32). This device
was frequent in Lom-
bardy as well as Florence,
and was carried by Lom-
bard artists to Venice in
the second half of the
15th century; but it was
there soon replaced by
semicircular and seg-
mental pediments even to
crown principal facades,
as in the churches of San
Zaccaria, Sta. Maria dei
Miracoli and the Scuola
di San Marco. In Milan, Como and Perugia are a num-
ber of semicircular arched canopies over church doors.
An unusually elegant example of the triangular pedi-
ment of almost classical correctness of proportion and
detail is shown in Figure 25, from the church of San
Michele, Venice. But such examples are rare before
1500.
Candelabrum Forms.
The use of the candelabrum motive in Lombardy
has already been referred to (see p. 42). Derived
from Roman candelabra in bronze and marble, and
from representations in Roman reliefs, it was used in
Fio. 32.—Typical Florentine Arch
Pediment.
57


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
a great variety of ways, not only in Lombardy but in
other parts of Italy as well. Its essential feature is
the vertical stem, swelling upwards from the bottom
and then contracting in a graceful curve, the lower part
often swathed in acanthus leaves and
springing from a spreading acanthus
nest. In very slender form it appears
in the central stem of pilaster ara-
besques; in more massive form it is
used for actual supports such as mul-
lions or even columns (see ante p. 42,
Fig. 17); and in shorter and still
more massive proportions, to carry
fonts, holy water stoups, even pulpits
(Fig. 33). In the High Renaissance
it suggested the balustrade, as will be
later shown.
Arches and Spandrels.
Fio. 33.—Standard
.or holy water The Quattrocento treated arches
r ont, Badia ^
Fiesolana. with great freedom, using the classic
banded archivolt only in the more
monumental forms of architecture (Fig. 20), and not
always then. In Tuscany, at least in Florence and
Sienna, the rusticated arch was common in palace
facades (see also PI. I, 8). In Lombardy and Emilia
the prevalent use of terra-cotta induced the habit of
minute ornamentation of archivolts in relief. In minor
works throughout all North Italy there was great
variety in the decoration of archivolts, which were
sometimes radially fluted and adorned with enriched

58


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
moldings on both intrados and extrados. Especially
characteristic of the early Renaissance was the decora-
tion of archivolts with wreaths or bands of fruit

Fio. 34.—Spandrel from a Chapel in Genoa Cathedral.
(Figures 10, 11), or with laurel bands as in Fig. 34
(see also Fig. 67). The soffits were usually plain,
though sometimes paneled and rosetted. Figs. 34, 67
and 72 illustrate a few of the varieties of this decoration.
59


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Spandrels of arches were seldom left plain. In ex-
terior architecture medallions were the most common
ornament, sometimes sculptured, sometimes exe-
.. -.. cuted in Della-Rob-
bia ware. In minor
wo r k s sculptured
figures, heads, rin-
ceau motives and ar-
abesques appear
(Figs. 20, 34).
The Acanthus; Ara-
besques.
Throughout the
Middle Ages the
Italians had never
ceased to use the
acanthus leaf, either
in carved or painted
ornament. Italian
Gothic foliage never
followed the French
forms, but was al-
ways modeled after
the type of the clas-
sic acanthus (see
ante, Fig. 15). The
Renaissance naturally gave fresh vogue to this most
adaptable of all foliage forms; but it is worthy of notice
that the early artists seldom or never copied the Roman
leaf textually; they modeled their acanthus foliage after

Fig. 35.—Acanthus Decorations,
and Bologna.
Venice
60





Figure 9. Lunette ry Luca della Rorria.

Figure 10. Altarpiece ry
Andrea della Rorria.


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
their own fashion, with delightful^ freedom and variety.
Whether in their Corinthianesque capitals or in the
details of their foliated scrolls or rinceaux and
arabesques, it is treated with the same delicacy and

Fro. 36.—Acanthus from Sarcophagus of Mar-
suppini, Santa Croce, Florence.
variety of relief as all the other motives of their carved
ornament (Fig. 36). Two of the most notable examples
of the acanthus appear on sarcophagi of tombs. The
first (Fig. 36) decorates the tomb of Marsuppini in
61


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT


Fio. 37.—Acanthus from Tomr of Piero di Medici, San
Lorenzo, Florence.
the church of Santa Croce at Florence, by Desiderio da
Settignano; it dates from about 1456, The second
forms a part of the bronze
enrichments of the tomb of
Piero di Medici in the "Old
Sacristy" of San Lorenzo
in the same city (Fig. 37;
Figure 11); it is by Ver-
rocchio,8 dated about 1472,
and is a decoration of ex-
traordinary splendor and
vigor of design and ex-
quisite execution. Certain
bronze torch-holders set in
the walls of Siennese palaces are also masterly examples
of the decorative use of the acanthus (Fig. 38). Fig.
39 shows nine varieties of the Renaissance acanthus,
* Andrea di Cione, nicknamed Verroechio (True-Eye); Florentine gold-
smith and sculptor, 1435-1488.

Fig. 38.—Acanthus from Torch
Bracket, Sienna.
62



selected from the scores or hundreds of variant treat-
ments to be found in both the architecture and the minor
arts of the early Renaissance.9
• The examples of the acanthus leaf in Fig. 39 are but a few among the
almost innumerable Italian variations of the motive. They are taken from
a variety of works in stone and marble, bronze and wood. Professor
Moore in his "Character of Renaissance Architecture" disparages the in-
ventiveness and the feeling for natural beauty of the Italian Renaissance
artists in comparison with the Greek, as shown by the Greek and Italian
acanthus respectively in the illustrations he presents. It is of course easy
to select in any style one or two details inferior to corresponding details
63


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
While painted arabesques
word arabesque itself belong

Fio. 40.—Araresque Panel, "Giant's
Stairs," Doge's Palace, Venice.
and the invention of the
properly to the 16th cen-
tury, the early artists
made free use of the
carved arabesque, especi-
ally for panels (Fig. 40)
and pilasters, preferring
this treatment of pilasters
to the more formal fluting
of the shaft. In the pilas-
ter-arabesques there was
generally the combination
of a central stem or axis
composed of vases, can-
delabrum-forms and fan-
ciful stalks, with symmet-
rically-diverging acan-
thus leaves, as in Fig. 41,
or with branching foli-
ated scrolls to flank them
on either side, the whole
treated in a light, grace-
ful and fanciful manner
(Figs. 6, 9, 18, 42 b).
Examples from the Pazzi
Chapel at Florence
in another style. But comparing the Italian examples as a whole .with the
Greek as a whole, one must, I think, admit that in variety, flexibility of
adaptation, beauty of movement and delicacy and suavity of modeling the
Italians far surpassed the Greeks. This is, indeed, not surprising, for
the Italians inherited the acanthus from the Romans, who had carried
its development far beyond the point at which the Greeks had left it to
them. (See my Hist, of Orn., I, 15-2.)
64


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
(1420-25) and San Francesco at Rimini (1450) show
the inexperience of early efforts (Figs. 13, 42); the de-
tails are thin and tight. The carvers of Tuscany and
Lombardy very soon acquired skill and developed the
exquisite technic of carving already described. As time
went on there was an increasing use of grotesques—
griffins, harpies, and other animal and
human figures, often ending" in acan-
thus leaves and scrolls (Figs. 12, 57,
58, 59).
The Rinceau.
This is the French name—for which
there is no exact equivalent in English
—for a branching foliated scroll in
which a continuous waving stem
throws off alternately on either side
spiral branches terminating in rosettes
or bunches of leaves, each branching
being concealed by a wrapping acan-
thus leaf or caulicolus. The whole
composition generally springs from a
vase, a monster's tail, an infant's torso,
or a large and elaborate nest of acan-
thus leaves 10 (Figs. 19, 42 b, 43, 92).
The rinceau is the most prolific, the
most persistent and the most adaptable of all decorative
motives. It can be traced through the whole history of
M The history and origin of this very characteristic Roman ornament are
briefly recited in my "History of Ornament, Ancient and Medieval," I, pp.
98, 122, 123, 153.

Fio. 41.—Flat Re-
lief Ornament
from a Tomr
Dated 1496.
65


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
medieval and Renaissance art, and appears even in
Oriental art, especially that of India. In Fig. 1 it was
shown in Italian pre-Renaissance ornament of the 14th
century; Figs. 246, 266 and 268 in my "History of Or-

Fio. 42.—Two Araresoues: (a) San Francesco di Rimini; (6) Badia
FlESOLaNa.
nament, Ancient and Medieval" illustrate its appear-
ance in Italian and French Romanesque ornament. In
the Italian Renaissance, both early and late, it was ap-
plied to the greatest possible variety of uses in architec-
tural carving, in painted ornament, in woodwork, metal-
66


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
work, embroidery, laces and ceramics, and treated with
a sensitive appreciation of relief, detail and distribution.

Fio. 43.—Panel, Altar in Orvieto Cathedral.
As a vertical running ornament, symmetrically doubled
on either side at a central stem, it was the favorite

Fio. 44.—Araresque, Villa Salviati, Florence.
pilaster-ornament; on friezes it commonly extended
both ways from a central motive; as a restricted pattern,
it was used as panels of any and every shape. Figs. 4,
67



68


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
6, 9, 15, 18, 19, 42-45 illustrate a few of these
applications; others will be recognized in many later
illustrations.
The Anthemion.
Next in importance to the rinceau as a frieze decora-
tion was the anthemion-motive. As used by the Renais-
sance artists this varied all the way from close approxi-
mation to the Roman type as in Fig. 46 and in the

. io. 47.—Detail of Frieze over Door, Ducal Palace, Urrino.
smaller frieze in Fig. 11, to wholly novel versions like
the example from Urbino in Fig. 47, or that from
Florence in Fig. 48, in which only the fundamental
principle of the anthemion remains, the classic honey-
suckle-like motives being replaced by sprays of wheat
and other plant forms, highly conventionalized. It
must be understood that by the anthemion-motive is
meant not merely the Greek ornament derived from
69


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
the palmette,11 but the entire combination of two con-
trasting forms set vertically and linked by reversed
curves or voluted bands; the one originally derived from

Fio. 48.—Anthemion from a Cast is Florence.
the palmette, the other from the lotus; the one often
framed in an oval, the other never so enclosed. The
basic idea of both features of the combined motive is a

Fio. 49.—Detail, Chimneypiece in Doge's Palace, Venice.
central vertical stem springing from between voluted
scrolls, and flanked on either side by diverging leaves,
which may be of any desired form taken from any sort
of plant real or imaginary (Figs. 46, 49). Separate
u See my "History of Ornament, Ancient and Medieval," pp. 104-107,
118, 155, and Figs. 133, 134, 143, 183.
70


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
anthemions were often enclosed between, or sprung
from, two reversed-curve scrolls forming a "lyre" or
heart-shaped motive, as in Fig. 50, from the stucco
decorations of a pier in the court of the Palazzo Vecchio
at Florence. A variant of this is shown in Fig. 51, from
a tomb in Naples. Renaissance
anthemion-ornaments occur not
only in carved ornament but also in
wood-inlay, painted decorations
and textiles (PI. V, 2, 20).
The Rosette.
This occurs in nearly all the his-
toric styles of ornament, and may
represent almost any of a great


Fio. 50.—Typical Lyre Motives from Piers in
Court of Palazzo Vecchio, Florence.
Fig. SI.—Detail from
Tomr of Cassandra^
Misata, Naples.
variety of flower-forms. In Renaissance practice it is
so conventionalized as generally to defy identification
with any particular plant, and varies from such simple
five-leaved blossoms as those shown in Fig. 6 to the
71


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
most elaborate compositions of acanthus leaves or of
anthemions as in Fig. 8.
The Festoon or Swag.
This, as already explained (p. 38), was in Roman
art a sacrificial emblem, carved only on altars and
temples, to represent festoons of fruit, flowers and
leaves suspended between ox-skulls or bucrania sym-

Fio. 52.—Detail from Fossomrroni Palace, Arezzo.
bolizing the victims of previous sacrifices, and bound
with ribbons or fillets with fluttering ends (Hist, of
Orn., I, Fig. 186). This motive the Renaissance trans-
ferred to Christian funereal symbolism, omitting the
bucrane, and supporting it either from rosettes or from
the shoulders of infants, as on the tomb at Lucca of
Ilaria del Caretto (Fig. 16, Figure 3). Usually com-
posed of continuous "ropes" of fruit and flowers (Fig.
52), it was sometimes made up of separate bunches of
these, or of sprays of leaves and berries, as in Figs. 7
72








EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
and 53 and Figure 12. The motive thus originating in
symbolism soon passed into purely decorative use as
a pure ornament. There is no sharp distinction between

Fro. S3.—Festoon, Base of Pilaster in Santa Maria dei Miracom,
Venice.
those of the Quattrocento and of the early Cinquecento.
The beautiful isolated swags on tombs by Sansovino in
Sta. Maria del Popolo at Rome and on the screen in the
Sistine Chapel have all the
charm of the early Renaissance
with the assured technic of the
16th century (see Figure 12).
Fruit and Flowers.
The early Renaissance artists
represented fruit and flowers
with sympathetic naturalism,
combining them more or less
conventionally with a keen and
unerring sense of decorative
values. The Della Robbias, as
we have seen, modeled them with
consummate art in the borders to their lunettes, altar-
pieces and medallions (see Figure 10 and Fig. 14). The

Fio. 54.—Fruit from Alrer-
toni Monument, Santa
Maria del Popolo, Rome.
73


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
festoon or swag, both in the Early and Middle Renais-
sance, always displayed a careful study and conscien-

Fig. 55.—"Pirn" and Wreath, Doorway of Pazzi Chapel, Santa
Croce, Florence.
tious modeling of fruit, flowers and foliage. In the
anthemion patterns generally, floral and foliage forms
were treated in con-
ventional rather than
naturalistic fashion.
Figure Swilpture.
While pure figure
sculpture, as such,
does not properly be-
long in the category
of pure ornament,
the use of the human
figure as an ele-
ment of a decorative
scheme and not as
an independent work
brings it within that
category. The Ital-
ians of the Renais-
sance, with their
newly awakened love


Fig. 56.—Arove, "Putti" and Shield,
Archrishop's Palace, Florence; relow,
Detail from Tomr at Folleville,
France, ry Ant. Tamagno.


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
of natural beauty could not fail to discover and employ
the nobly decorative forms of the human figure in both
carved and painted ornament, and they studied it with
passionate enthusiasm. Here, as in other details, they
took their inspiration primarily from Roman art, but
developed their ideas independently. They were especi-
ally fond of the infant
form, which they han-
dled with great sympa-
thy and charm (Figs.
15,16, 20, 55, 56). The
putti or bambini by
Andrea Della Robbia
on the facade of the
Foundling Hospital at
Florence, and Luca
and Andrea Della
Robbia's lunettes and
altar decorations (see
Figures 9, 10), are
early examples of this
charm of treatment;
but it is displayed in

COUntleSS Carved deCO- F"10- 57.—Mascaron and Araresque from
a Column of Tomr in San Domenico
rations ot later date, Maooiore, Naples.
and appears even in
works of the Baroque period. The adult figure also
occurs frequently, and both human and animal forms
are carved with careful regard to anatomical propriety,
even in grotesques (Figs. 10, 11, 59; PI. IV, 9, 14).
In all this sculptured decoration one recognizes an al-
75


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
most unerring sense of beauty of line and surface and
of decorative propriety in the composition.
Grotesques.
In its applications to panels of various shapes as well
as to figures the rinceau motive was frequently asso-

Fig. 58.—Grotesques from Lirrary of San Lorenzo, Florence, Attriruted
to Michelangelo.
ciated with grotesques, as in Roman ornament. The
word "grotesque" is used in two different significations:
originally by the Italians to designate the fanciful
arabesques imitated from Roman ruins on the Esquiline
Hill called "the grottoes"; more generally in a technical
sense to-day to designate any combination of hetero-
76


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
geneous parts or features of animals, human figures or
plants into an artistic whole. Infant forms were made
to terminate in acanthus-nests from which issued the
stem of the rinceau (Fig. 43); the tails of griffins or
chimeras, of lions or other beasts, and the beard and hair
of grotesque faces or sjx r
pulpits, etc. (see PI.
III, 1, 5, 7; PI. IV, 9), the dolphin combined with
acanthus leaves (Fig. 35 a), purely fantastic dragons
or nameless monsters, like that in Fig. 58 and PI. III,
5, 6, 7,12 and the human torso ending in acanthus leaves
u Both Ruskin in his "Stones of Venice" and Moore In his "Character of
Renaissance Architecture" inveigh against the Renaissance grotesques.
Ruskin calls them "ignoble"; each selects as evidence for his condemnation
a single example, as if one could thus argue from the particular to the
universal. The Renaissance grotesques, it is true, lack the power and the
symbolic significance of the medieval monsters; on the other hand many
from such combinations
with foliated scrolls the
grotesques oftenest em-
ployed were the cherub-
head, the chimera or
griffin, the winged lion-
paw, the mascaron or
grotesque mask, the
sphinx (or rather the
fore-part of a winged
sphinx), especially on
bases of candelabra,
masks, were made its
starting-points (Figs.
11, 12, 57). Apart

Fig. 59.—Grotesque, Palazzo del Mao-
nifico, Sienna.
(Fig. 59; PI. IV., 9).
77


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Treatment of Relief.
In nearly all the early Renaissance work the relief
is handled with remarkable delicacy and charm of effect.
Certain details are carved in moderately high relief,
with rounded masses producing emphatic spots of light
and shadow, while the subordinate elements of the de-
sign are kept low, and the minor details almost melt

Fig. 60.—Flat Relief Ornament, Santa Maria dei Miracoli, Venice.
away at the edges into the background. Thus the de-
sign shows its salient masses at a distance, and the lesser
features come into view progressively as one comes
nearer; while the contrasts of low and medium and high
relief produce an effect of great elegance and refine-
ment. All the early carving is small in scale, and there
are no hard and sharp lines and undercut edges such
as one sees in Greek carving (Figs. 18, 19, 29, 36, 40,
43, 44-49, etc.).
of them are of great beauty of outline and modeling as pure ornament,
and it is purely as ornament that they generally appear. They are usually
subordinate elements in a decorative scheme, not independent features
existing for their own sakes, as in most medieval examples. There are
poor grotesques in Renaissance ornament, as there are inferior examples
of any motive in any and every style. But in general the Renaissance
grotesques, "monsters" and mascarons fit admirably into the decorative
scheme and possess intrinsic beauty of line and modeling.
78


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
On the other hand, these same designers could pro-
duce charming effects by the judicious use of flat low
relief, in which the decorative pattern, preferably flat
and without modeling, stood in the lowest possible
relief against a finely-tooled background, as in Figs.
41, 53, 60.
The principle of "varied relief," as it is called, may
have been in part derived from the study of Roman
fragments, though it is by no means universal even in
the best Roman carving. It is characteristic of the
Roman stucco-reliefs, but these were not known to the
early Renaissance carvers, and its general adoption by
the Italians is probably due in a measure, at least, to
the fact that so many of them were trained to the gold-
smith's art. Such minuteness of detail and delicacy of
relief are natural and characteristic in works in gold
and silver.
The purpose of the architects, carvers and goldsmiths
in their handling of plastic ornament, both in composi-
tion and detail, was to produce a decorative play of
light and shade and a harmonious movement of line
which by their richness in contrast with plainer surfaces
should appeal to the esthetic emotions through the eye.
As in Greek ornament, this appeal was that of sensuous
beauty rather than of symbolism or of any recondite
significance; it was esthetic rather than intellectual,
and should be judged accordingly. In frankly pur-
suing this aim, the Italians of the early Renaissance
sometimes overstepped the mark, at least in their minor
works, losing the advantage of contrast by an excess
of decoration on all parts of the object decorated.
79


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
But even in these cases the beauty of the ornament
itself and the refinement of its execution compel
admiration.18
Books Recommended:
As before, Anderson, Durm, Gannand und Rosenkranz,
Schutz.—Also, consult list at end of Chapter III.
M Ruskin, in his "Seven Lamps of Architecture" (Chap. I, § IS), declares
that "Ornament cannot be overcharged if it be good, and is always over-
charged when it is bad." This is one of his characteristically misleading
maxims, defensible only when special meanings are assigned to the adjec-
tives "good," "bad" and "overcharged." It is absurd to contend that there
can be no excess in the use of ornament that is good in itself when used in
moderation. Moreover ornament that is thin, scanty, meager, cannot be
called "overcharged," however bad in itself.
80


Figure 15. Fa9aDE of Pazzi Chapel, Florence.

Figure 16. Ceiling, Sacristy
or San Spirito, Florence.
Figure 17. Window from
Casa Caracci, Bologna.





CHAPTER III
THE EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY, II
ARCHITECTURE AND ACCESSORY ARTS
The Orders of Architecture.
So far we have been dealing with motives of general
application, without reference to their occurrence in
works of major or minor architecture or the allied arts.
It remains to discuss briefly certain features of their
use and application in these arts.
The Early Renaissance made no sudden break with
the architectural practices and traditions of the 14th
century. Not only was the Italian Gothic architecture
full of reminiscences of ancient Roman forms and ideas
(see p. 15), which the Renaissance had only to take
up and develop; the new Renaissance architecture was
also characterized by the persistence of many concep-
tions and ideas of medieval origin. In both styles in
Italy there was a blending of antique and medieval
elements, but in differing proportions; in the Early
Renaissance the decorative features of Roman art,
freely varied, were applied to the traditional types of
construction inherited from the Trecento. Many of
these motives we have already discussed, but only brief
allusion has been made to the use of the classic Roman
"Orders."
81


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Of the five Roman "Orders," the architects of the
Quattrocento, at least until about 1475, used by prefer-
ence only freely-modified versions of the Corinthian
(see p. 25; PI. I, 2, 3). A species of Ionic appears
occasionally, and capitals of the Composite type also
occur; but the important point to notice is that none of
the Orders was at first used with classical "correctness."
In other words the Roman models were not copied with
exactness, but were taken as suggestions for design and
varied with the utmost freedom. Even the most cur-
sory comparison of the columns and pilasters of the
Quattrocento with the Roman prototypes must make
evident the independence and originality of the Renais-
sance designers. Particularly noteworthy is the fact
that not a single colonnade was built in Italy during
the 15th century. The Roman arcade—the character-
istic Roman combination of the open arcade with en-
gaged columns carrying the entablature, as in the
Colosseum—did not come into general use before 1500,
and the few examples occurring before that date are
experimental and exceptional. The earliest example of
the engaged column on a palace facade is that of the
Vendramini Palace at Venice, dated 1480 or 1481
(Figure 27).
Ceilings.
Throughout the entire Renaissance the Italians
bestowed particular care upon the decoration of their
ceilings. While vaulting was still frequently used in
churches and in court-arcades, the horizontal ceiling was
generally preferred, especially in palaces and private
82


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY, II
domestic architecture. It was of course constructed of
wood or plaster upon a timber framework, and was
almost always paneled or deeply coffered and enriched
with carved rosettes, with sculptured heads or other de-
vices, or more rarely with paintings. In all the earlier
ceilings, and generally throughout the Quattrocento,
the paneling or coffering was upon the simplest possible
geometric scheme. Thus in the Hall of the Two Hun-

Fio. 61.—Ceiling Detail, Church at Bironico.
dred in the Palazzo Vecchio, and in the Riccardi Palace,
both in Florence, as also in the ceiling in Fig. 61 from
the parish church at Bironico, we have ceilings of uni-
form square coffers; in Fig. 62 and Figure 18 the
cofferings are also composed of squares; in the
Academy at Venice and the Reggio Gonzaga at
Mantua they are in the form of circles with small
"lozenges" between. In the corridor of the Sacristy of
San Spirito at Florence, the barrel-vault is paneled
with circular coffers connected by intersecting bands;
it is by Andrea Sansovino (Figure 16). The frames
83


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
of the coffers in all these and other examples are profiled
with enriched moldings; the centers of the panels are
ornamented with rosettes or paintings; blue and gold
predominate in the color scheme. The vaulting of the
porch of the Pazzi Chapel at Florence is in rosetted
panels of della Robbia ware (glazed and colored terra-

Fig. 62.— (a) Ceiling of Pazzi Chapel, Florence; (6) Ceiling of
Santa Maria dei Miracoli, Venice.
cotta; Fig. 62 a). The wooden barrel-vault-shaped
ceiling of the Miracoli church at Venice has a rich and
elaborate system of large shallow square panels with
rounded corners, and smaller rectangles, with pictures
in the larger panels, the whole decorated in color (Fig.
62 b). The simple and dignified square-paneled ceiling
of Sta. Maria Maggiore at Rome gilded about 1500
with the first gold brought to Italy from the New
World (such at least,is the legend), is of course of
84








EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY, II

Fio. 63.—Ceiling, Cortona Cathedral.
earlier date, but when it was built, and whether or not
it reproduces an antique design, is apparently not cer-
tainly known. In nearly all these ceilings the "beams"—

Fio. 64.—Ceiling, Santo Spirito in Sassia, Rome.
the soffits of the coffer-frames—were ornamented in
relief, either with bands of leaves of oak or laurel or
with running ornaments, and small rosettes were com-
85


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
monly placed at their intersections. The tendency was
towards over-decoration and loss of contrast between
frame and panel. Later, more elaborate geometric
patterns came into vogue, as can be seen in Figs. 63,
64; but simple elements still predominated—octagons,
circles, squares, rectangles, crosses and oblong hexagons.
Doorways, Doors and Windows.
Doorways with either arched or square-headed open-
ings were framed in enriched moldings, usually flanked
i ^ by pilasters and capped

Fio. 65.—Frame of Doorway, Palazzo
Doria, Genoa.
by an entablature, a tri-
angular pediment or a
"Florentine" pediment
(see p. 56); but they
display the greatest va-
riety of treatment, and
cannot be reduced to a
formula covered by any
general description.
Engaged or detached
columns, usually of the
Corinthianesque or Composite type, sometimes took
the place of pilasters. In some cases the doorway was
enclosed by a richly molded and carved architrave
crowned by a cornice or pediment, without pilasters
(Fig. 65; Figure 24). In a few cases candelabrum-
shafts take the place of columns. Only in a few church
fronts do we find the doorway preceded by a porch with
free columns as in the Certosa at Pavia (Figure 5) and
in Sta. Maria delle Grazie at Milan.
86


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY, II
The doors themselves, if of wood, are usually square-
paneled (Fig. 66); if of bronze, \hey are paneled and
richly sculptured. Ghiberti's second or East doors for

Fio. 66.—Florentine Door-Panels.
the Baptistery at Florence (Figure 2) are the most
celebrated; they date from 1400-1420 or later. Those
by Antonio Filarete for the Basilica of St. Peter at
Rome (1445) are pre-
served in the present St.
Peter's; those of Pisa Ca-
thedral are almost equal-
ly noted. Figures 2, 24
and 25 illustrate a few
among the endless va-
rieties of the early Re-
naissance doorways.
Windows belong more properly to architecture than
to ornament; but their decorative detail enters within
our field. The early Renaissance, however, seldom

Fio. 67.—Arched Window, Urrino.
87


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
lavished much ornament upon windows, except in Lom-
bardy and Emilia. One example from Urbino is shown
in Fig. 67; one from Bologna in Figure 17; the cele-
brated lower windows from the Certosa at Pavia are
illustrated in Figure 5. The Cathedral of Como pos-
Brlr^^S!^1" Tommaso Rodari (about
Niches to contain statues were almost invariably
capped with a fluted shell (Fig. 68). The origin of this
feature in Renaissance practice is not easy to determine.
It is rarely if ever found in ancient Roman architecture,
except in Baalbek and Palmyra in Syria, which were
unknown to the Italians of the 15th and 16th centuries.

sesses nave windows of un-
usual elegance of design by
Fig. 68.—Niche and Statue, Tomr
in Fiaschi Chapel, Genoa
Cathedral.
1500). They are unusual
in having flanking pilasters
with arabesques surmount-
ed by dwarf pilasters car-
rying a delicately molded
pediment. It was not un-
til the Transition that
pilasters and columns came
into general use to flank
window openings and to
carry a pediment above the
opening. The windows of
the Ducal Palace at Ur-
bino are exceptional in
having entablatures above
fluted pilasters.
88








EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY, II
Balusters.
The balustrade in the various forms with which we
are familiar was an invention of the Italian Renaissance.
Roman antiquity knew nothing of the balustrade; in
its place the Romans had-only either the solid parapet
or railings framed of intersecting bars of wood or
bronze. The Gothic architects of Western Europe
employed miniature arcades or panels of open tracery

Fio. 69.—Seven Types of Baluster.
as parapets along the edges of church roofs or for
stairways. The earliest Renaissance balustrade is that
which crowns the Pitti Palace at Florence (Fig. 69 a);
it is probably by Brunelleschi, and consists of a row of
colonnettes supporting the rail (1435-46).
Who it was that first conceived the idea of the
"double-vase" type of round baluster (Fig. 69 b, c, d),
I do not know; it appears frequently in the latter part
of the 15th century. It consists of two opposed vase
or candelabrum-units connected by a scotia or two
scotias and a torus or bead or by a bead alone; the top
and bottom each resemble a rather thick Doric capital
89


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
(Fig. 69 &). Sometimes the "vases" or candelabrum-
stems are enriched with acanthus leaves on the belly,
and the more slender part of the stem with flutings
(Fig. mc.d).
The "single vase" type of baluster, the one most
familiar to modern eyes (Fig. 69 e,
f, g) was a creation of the Middle
Renaissance, and probably first used
by Vignola (1507-73). The disad-
vantage of the double-vase type is
its slenderness in proportion to its
height. In order to secure a more
robust support for a broad stone
rail, Vignola devised the form which
from that time forward was increas-
ingly employed, with a single vase-
like body, set, in the earlier examples
on a small pedestal, in the later ones
on a low block or plinth. It has no
prototype in classic architecture,
and the various forms assigned to it
in Vignola's and other books of the
"Orders," respectively for the Tus-
can, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and
Composite orders are the purely in-
dividual fancies of the authors. Modern designers space
these balusters more closely than did Vignola, for
example, around the fountain of the Villa Lante near
Viterbo, and with better decorative effect. Later archi-
tects found in the balustrade an effective crowning
decoration for use above the cornices of church and

Fio. 70.—Balustrade,
La Scala Hospital,
Sienna.
90


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY, II
palace facades—a practice initiated by Brunelleschi in
the Pitti Palace as has already been noted on page 89
(Fig. 69 a).
We have by no means exhausted the list of early
Renaissance ornament-motives of an architectural
character; but those we have briefly reviewed cover the
greater part of the decorative work of importance
belonging to this period.
Minor Architecture.
While a distinctly architectural quality is observable
in Italian Renaissance ornament generally, the Italians
were on the whole decorators rather than designers of
construction. In their architecture, as already observed
(pp. 21, 22), they made of construction not the mistress
but the servant of decorative effect, with the result that
in some cases the sacrifice of structural expression was
carried too far, and the design appears iu consequence
superficial and lacking in substantial logic. In minor
works, in which the decorative purpose is less likely to
be hampered by structural questions, the Italians were
preeminently successful. Tombs, pulpits, choir-stalls,
shrines, altar-pieces they designed with a propriety, a
mastery of decorative effect, a refinement of detail and
a beauty of execution never surpassed in works of the
same class elsewhere. The same genius for producing
beauty of mass, line, surface and detail is seen in all
their work in the accessory arts: in carving and inlaying
of woodwork, in metalwork—mast-bases and candelabra
of bronze, chests of silver, goldsmith's work of all kinds,
gates and grilles of iron; in their embroideries, laces,
91


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
brocades and velvets. They touched nothing in the
equipments and appurtenances of life that they did
not adorn.
Tombs.
Among the hundreds of beautiful early Renaissance
tombs in the Italian churohes, the earliest and one of
the most beautiful is that of Ilaria del Caretto in the
Cathedral of Lucca, by Giacopo della Quercia, which
dates from about 1413. It is of the floor-tomb type,
a sarcophagus after the Roman fashion set upon the
floor and bearing the recumbent efligy of the person
buried in the tomb (Figure 3).
In the beautiful tomb of Bishop Federigo Benozzi in
the Church of San Francesco di Paola near Florence,
the tomb proper is set in a square niche or recess,
bordered by an exquisite colored terra-cotta frame of
flowers and fruit. It is one of Luca della Robbia's
masterpieces (Figure 7).
The most frequently occurring type is the wall-tomb,
in which the sarcophagus, with or without the sculptured
recumbent figure of the deceased, is set on a pedestal
within an arched or rectangular niche flanked by
pilasters or columns carrying an entablature, or sur-
mounted by either a classic or a Florentine pediment
(Figures 22, 23). All the resources of carving and
sculpture in marble and bronze, aided by inlays and
panels of colored marble or of della Robbia terra-cotta
(Figure 7), were lavished upon these tombs. The
variety of detailed treatment of this general type is
endless, and the number of notable examples far too
92








EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY, II
great to permit of even a summary mention. As ex-
amples, however, of the general type one may cite the
Salutati monument in the cathedral at Fiesole, by Mino
da Fiesole; the Bruni monument by Rossellini in Santa
Croce at Florence—the earliest of this type, dated
1444 (Figure 22); the splendid Marsuppini tomb
(detail in Fig. 36) in Santa Croce by Desiderio da
Settignano, a superbly executed but somewhat over-
ornate example of later date, badly imitated in the
Tartagni tomb in San Domenico at Bologna; a number
of fine tombs in churches at Naples chiefly by Giovanni
da Nola, others in the Frari and Santi Giovanni e Paolo
at Venice; several at Rome, especially an early example
in Sta. Maria del Popolo, and in the sacristy of that
church two very elaborate and imposing tombs by
Andrea Sansovino, in the style of the transition to the
Middle Renaissance (1515; Figure 23). Two beautiful
floor-tombs also deserve mention: that of Ilaria del
Caretto already referred to, and the much later and
richer, but hardly more beautiful tomb of Pius II in
St. Peter's at Rome. In a category by itself is the
transitional tomb of Gian Galeazzo Visconti in the
Certosa at Pavia, a two-storied canopied structure of
great magnificence begun in 1494 by Romano and
Briosco but not completed until 1562. While the
sculpture and the ornamental details are admirable, the
lack of restraint and of contrast in its composition
renders it less satisfying than the simpler earlier works
of the same class. Another type is seen in the beautiful
tomb of Piero di Medici (Figure 11) set in a bronze-
grilled arch in the Old Sacristy of San Lorenzo at
93


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Florence, the work of Andrea Verrocchio in 1472 (see
also Fig. 37).
Pulpits and Music Balconies.
Among the many beautiful pulpits of the early
Renaissance two are especially worthy of mention and
of study. The first is that by Benedetto da Majano
built against a pillar of the nave of Santa Croce,
Florence, a masterpiece both of composition and of
decorative detail. The design of the supporting corbel
and of the radiating brackets or cantilevers that support
the octagonal body is in every way admirable, and the
appropriateness and beauty of every detail of the orna-
ment, exquisitely carved in white marble, justly elicit
one's admiration (Figures 8, 13). The other example
is the outdoor pulpit at one corner of the cathedral of
Prato, designed by Michelozzo, with sculptures by
Donatello, a charming work of the very early Renais-
sance (1432-1438).
Two balconies for singers originally intended for the
cathedral of Florence, but now preserved in the Museo
del Duomo, are by Donatello and Luca della Robbia
respectively; they have already been alluded to (p. 38,
Figure 4). In these the sculptured panels of singing
and dancing children are the most important features.
The architectural details and ornament of the balcony
by Della Robbia are superior to those by Donatello
(1431-40). A later music-balcony in the Sistine Chapel
shows highly ornate balusters of the "double-vase" type.
Similarly ornate balusters decorate the rich marble
stairway added in 1543 by Bernardino di Giacomo to
94


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY, II
Niccolo Pisano's Gothic pulpit in the cathedral of
Sienna.
Sedilia and Choir-Stalls.
The decorative skill of the early Renaissance artists
of Italy was nowhere more brilliantly displayed than
in the choir-stalls of churches and sedilia of officials in
town-halls and public
offices. They lavished
upon these a wealth of
artistic effort and a
disregard of labor
which render absurd
Ruskin's charge that
the artists of the Re-
naissance were "un-
happy" in their work.
Enthusiasm and lov-
ing care appear in
every detail in hun-
dreds of examples of
this minor architec-
ture. The high back
or screen was divided
by pilasters or colonnettes into narrow bays for the
seats; above, an overhanging cornice or entablature was
richly sculptured; the spaces between the pilasters were
carved in low relief or inlaid with marquetry (intarsia);
the arm-rests were boldly carved, and the lower seats of
the front rows were made to carry out the decorative
scheme of the higher seats behind. In such works a

Fio. 71.—Acanthus Correl, Stalls in
Palazzo del Comune, Pistoria.
95


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
greater freedom of treatment and a richer and minuter
decoration were permissible than in more formal and
monumental architectural works. The carving of this
woodwork is technically almost faultless, generally dis-
playing the most perfect finish, but remarkably vigorous
and bold in details that
suggest strong support, as
in the fine bracket-acan-
thus from sedilia in the
Palazzo del Comune at
Pistoia (Fig. 71).
The details of these
stalls and sedilia are too
varied and complex to be
here described or discussed,
and we cannot here even
list the more important ex-
amples. A few details are
shown in PI. III, 1, 5, 7.
Shrines, Fonts, Altar-Pieces,
Etc.
The numoer of these in
the churches of Italy and
in European museums is
extraordinary. There are
also in American and private collections a considerable
number of original works of this class, while casts of
many others are to be found in our museums of the first
or second rank. Most of the examples that date from
the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries are of great

Fig. 72.—Shrine, Hospital of San
Francesco, Gurrio.
96


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY, II
beauty, whether adorned with figure sculpture or only
with conventional or symbolic ornament. Shrines for
the sacred oil or for the consecrated elements of the

Fio. 73.—Holy Water Font, Pisa Fio. 74—Holy Water Font ry
Cathldral. Ant. Federighi, Sienna Cathe-
dral.
Mass were often set in the wall and adorned with
miniature pilasters and pediments and with sculptured
angels, cherub-heads, and the like (Figs. 31, 72). The
number of such works—altar-pieces, shrines, lunettes
97


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
over church doors, etc., by the della Robbias is as ex-
traordinary as their beauty (Figures 9, 10). Others in
terra-cotta and in marble by Donatello, Mino da
Fiesole and Benedetto da Majano abound in Italian
churches and in public and private museums on both
sides of the Atlantic. Holy-water stoups and baptismal
fonts were commonly supported on a stem somewhat
like a baluster or
massive, short can-
delabrum-shaft (see
ante, p. 58, as in
Figs. 73, 74 and Fig-
ure 14). One of the
richest of these is
that in the cathedral
of Sienna, attributed
to Antonio Fede-
righi (about 1466);
it is' supported on a
carved pillar sur-
F,0. TS.-DKTaI^^lKLan, FU.OE. SlEKNa rounde(J {om fig.
ures, and is adorned
with every device of Christianized Roman symbolism
(Fig. 74). The finest of all baptismal fonts is that in
the undercroft or baptistery of the same cathedral,
shown in Figure 14. It is the work of Giacopo della
Quercia, and dates from 1416-30. Altar-pieces or pre-
delhis were of marble, della Robbia ware (Figure 10),
or carved and gilded wood. They consist of a picture
or relief set in a framework of architectural mem-
bers.

98


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY, II
Marble Inlay; Intarsia.
The art of mosaic passed into partial eclipse with the
Middle Ages, to be revived only in the later years of
the 16th century. Inlaying generally took its place,
especially for floor pavements. The most important
and splendid of these, the floor of
the nave of Sienna Cathedral, be-
longs in large measure to the
early 16th century, though a part
was of earlier date. A detail
from the later portion is shown
in Fig. 75. It is by Beccafumi
(1486-1551), and in spite of its
late date the lightness and grace
of its design are in the full spirit
of the Quattrocento.
An important branch of the
art of the Quattrocento was the
decoration of all kinds of wood-
work by the inlaying of decora-
tive patterns, sometimes of pic-
tures, in light woods on a darker
wood, or the reverse. This art,
called intarsia, was practised by a guild of artists or
artisans called tarsiatori, many of whose members
rose to fame as architects and decorators. The inlaid
patterns comprised all sorts of architectural motives and
classic ornament details, especially the acanthus, anthe-
mion and rinceau, together with foliage, festoons and
floral and fruit forms executed in woods of two or
three tones (PI. III, 1, 2, 3; Figs. 76, 77). In the

Fig. 76.—Detail op In-
tarsia >y B. da Majano
in Palazzo Vecchio,
Florence.
99


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
scoff ale or clothes-presses in the sacristy of Sta. Maria
delle Grazie at Milan, the painter Bernardino Luini
was employed to paint ornaments of the same character

Fio. 77.—Detail of Intarsia on Harpsichord in Bariuni
Collection.
as those of intarsia, but these remain an almost unique
example of this exceptional treatment.
Furniture.
The furniture of the early Renaissance was compara-
tively limited in range of variety, but its variety in-
creased as time went on. Cassoni or chests, benches,
tables and chairs, with four-post beds set on a platform,
constituted the entire equipment of a palace. Not
until the Middle Renaissance did the Italians make use
of sideboards and elaborate cabinets with drawers and
doors, while sofas, couches and upholstered furniture
generally, did not come into use until the 17th century,
and were then quite generally imitated from French
models. The cassoni, commonly called marriage-chests,
were long enough to hold a dress without folding. The
100


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY, II
earlier examples were of simple rectangular form with
molded lid, corners adorned with colonnettes or
pilasters, and the panels of front and ends painted with
pictures on gesso (tempera painting on a kind of hard
thin stucco), or directly on the wood. By the end of the
15th century carving in relief had generally displaced
painting on these chests (Fig. 3; PI . III, 11). Each
province developed its own style of design, recogniz-
able by experts though not always obvious to the ordi-
nary student. Benches were often merely chests with
a high back and arms, of stately design in the finest
examples. Chairs were few, and it was in Venice that
they were made of richest patterns; but with all their
carving and gilding they were hardly comfortable
according to modern standards; and broad and easy
fauteuils with arms and upholstered seats and backs
were not in use until a very late date.
Tables were solid and heavy objects of one or two
principal types: round or polygonal on a central sup-
port, and oblong on two heavy carved end-supports
connected by a bar at the bottom. Four-legged tables
were rare, at least until foreign fashions invaded Italy
in the 18th century. When they occur in genuine early
Italian work the legs are usually massive supports,
turned, with swelling vase-like or baluster forms, and
almost invariably connected by cross-bars near the bot-
tom, making a perfectly rigid construction of the whole.
All this furniture was richly carved, and being intended
to "stay put," was far heavier than most of our modern
movable furniture.
The further development of furniture design, and
101


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
the general subjects of ceramics and textiles are re-
served for a later chapter.
Accessory Arts.
All forms of the minor and industrial arts were
practised and developed with enthusiasm throughout
the whole duration of the Renaissance. Decorative
beauty was sought in every craft, in every department
of human design and production. The modern separa-
tion between design and production was not dreamed
of; the artist both designed and executed, and so highly
developed was the decorative taste of the artists of the
early Renaissance and so broad their training in the
fundamentals of artistic invention that they could turn
their hands equally well to work in widely different
fields and materials. Their versatility was astonishing.
Goldsmiths became sculptors; sculptors and painters
designed great buildings; architects executed mural
paintings; wood-inlayers designed tombs and altar-
pieces, and brocades were woven from patterns by great
masters. Thanks to this phenomenal versatility all the
allied and minor or industrial arts of the Early as well
as of the Middle Renaissance display a unity of spirit
and a distinction of style which make their products
precious acquisitions for museums and collectors, and
unsurpassed models for the study and inspiration of
modern designers.
The furniture, woodwork and intarsia of the early
Renaissance have already been briefly discussed, and
the metal-work in bronze mentioned incidentally in
speaking of the tomb of Piero di Medici (p. 93).
102


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY, II
Among the most famous masterpieces of the bronze
founder's art in this period are the three magnificent
mast-bases in front of St. Mark's at Venice, one of
which is shown in PI. IV, 1. They are the work of
Alessandro Leopardo, and date from about 1505. Very

Fig. 78.—Oriental Motives from Ceramics and Textiles (above), and
Three Details from Italian Textiles (below).
beautiful grilles were produced in both bronze and iron,
and candelabra and ecclesiastical vessels in gold and
silver and bronze of great elegance of outline and
delicacy of detail (PI. IV, 3, 4. 7). The great age of
work in metal was, however, yet to come in the follow-
ing period. To that period also belongs the chief de-
velopment of the art of the ceramist, although the art
of glazed and enameled pottery had its beginnings
103


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
about the middle of the 15th century. This branch of
decorative art will therefore be reserved for later dis-
cussion (see pp. 145-150).
Textile art is the most important topic still remain-
ing to be noticed. Both weaving and the various forms
of needlework were actively and brilliantly developed

Fig. 79.—Two Textile Motives Framed in a Mesh.
during this period. Especially worthy of note are the
figured fabrics which it produced, particularly the vel-
vets and brocades. The most interesting factor in the
development of their design was the great expansion
of commerce with the East. Genoa and Venice had
long maintained close commercial relations with the
Byzantine Empire, and the Venetians had even cap-
tured Constantinople in 1204 and held it for fifty-nine
years. The great tower built by the Genoese colony
in that city in the 14th century is still a dominant
104


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY, II
feature in its silhouette. By way of Constantinople
Italy received not only Byzantine silks and embroid-
eries but also the products of the Persian looms and
potteries, and even to some extent Chinese and Indian
fabrics and other wares. The Oriental influence also
entered Italy from Spain, and Sicily had long before
the 15th century learned from
the Arabs and Moors the art of
making encaustic tiles and of
weaving rugs and wall-hangings
with Oriental patterns. It is
not therefore surprising that
nearly all the patterns of the
15th-century brocades and vel-
vets betray their Oriental inspi-
ration (Figs. 78, 79). Even be-
fore the 15th century the Italian
— especially the Venetian —
painters had been accustomed to
dress the Madonna in robes fig-
ured with Oriental patterns
(Fig. 81 a, c). The entire system of all-over pattern-
ing of the early Renaissance fabrics is based on Oriental,
chiefly Persian, precedents. The majority of these
fabrics were diapered with floral units enclosed in the
meshes of a quarry system (Figs. 79, 81 d). The pat-
tern in Fig. 80 from the Madonna's robe in a painting
by Crivelli in the National Gallery in London, is ex-
ceptional in owing nothing to Oriental suggestion. The
flower motive in these patterns may be simple or com-
plex, but it always recalls Persian prototypes, as may

105


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
be seen by comparing them with the patterns in Fig. 78.
The network of the quarry may be generated by the
contact of decorative framing-lines surrounding each
flower, or may form an independent system into

Fio. 81.—Fol'r Textile Motives: (a) Florentine, Fifteenth Century:
(6) Blue and White Wool on Linen; (e) Pattern from Painting ry
Guido da Sienna; (d) Venetian Velvet.
which the flowers are set (Figs. 79, 81; PI. V). Pow-
dered or spangled patterns are also of frequent oc-
currence, the flower motives being distributed over the
surface without an enclosing mesh (81 a, b, c). The
fabrics were usually two-toned, the pattern in one
106


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY, II

color appearing on a background of another color,
or, as in the case of velvets, of another tone of the
same color. Three tones sometimes occur, produced
by the contrasts of the long pile, a short pile, and a
background sheared close. The weaving of multi-
colored brocades was a later development, but combina-
tions of cotton or linen with wool were not unknown,
producing patterns in ^
two colors.
Needlework was an
important branch of tex-
tile art, employed gener-
ally where minute and
complicated detail in va-
ried colors was desired,
as in church vestments,
costumes of state and the
like. While the Western
Church never rivaled the Oriental in the gorgeou^ness
of its vestments, and while on the whole those of the
Renaissance may have been less magnificent than
the finest medieval examples, there was much splen-
dor at least in the copes, chasubles, stoles and miters
of the higher clergy and bishops. The beautiful
patterns on these, worked in brilliant colors and silver
and gold thread with the needle, show a mixture qf
details derived from architecture and from manuscript
illuminations; but it was not till the 16th century that
these were developed to their fullest perfection (see
Fig. 114).
The beginnings of the art of lace-making belong to
Fio. 82.—North Italian Needlework.
107


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
this period, though this art also was chiefly developed
in the 16th century. Its earliest form consisted of the
filling-up of decorative embroidered openings cut in
fine linen, with ornamental net-patterns worked with
the needle. The natural tendency was to multiply and
enlarge the openings to form
richer openwork patterns
and at the same time to elab-
orate the filling-patterns.
Bobbin lace, worked on a
pillow with a multitude of
threads on small bobbins,
was a still later development.


Fig. 83.—Three Lace Patterns. Fig. 84.—Venetian Punta-in-Aria.
The technic of the art in its final phases is too compli-
cated to be set forth in a work of this kind; the am-
bitious student is referred to the article on the subject
in the "Encyclopaedia Britannica" and to special
technical books on lace (Figs. 83, 84).
Typographical ornament also had its beginnings in
this period, the invention of printing with movable types
having occurred in 1453. For some time the decorative
initials of chapters in printed books were still inserted
108


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY, II



Fio. 85—Two Fif-
teenth-Century
Initials.
by hand and illuminated, in some cases,
in color. The engraving and casting
of typographical ornaments developed
slowly, and while many of the finest
examples belong to the Middle Renais-
sance and will be referred to later, dec-
orative initials of great beauty were
produced between 1470 and 1500, es-
pecially in Venice, where Radoldt, Pan-
nartz, Sweinheim, Renner and other
Germans were active after 1474, and
where Aldus Manutius established his
celebrated press as early as 1495 (Figs.
85, 86).
Manuscript-illumination was by no
means at once displaced
by the invention of
printing. Some of the most splendid ex-
amples of this art belong to the 15th cen-
tury, and even to the second half, the
art having greatly profited by the ad-
vance in painting. French and Flemish
masters rivaled the Italian, and the pic-
torial miniatures were often of extraor-
dinary beauty. Architectural forms and
classic details were increasingly em-
ployed in the decorations, initials and
borders, and suggestions were borrowed
from other arts, especially that of jew-
elry. The two examples Nos. 16 and
18 in Plate V are from a MS. by Capella
Fio. 86.—Typo-
graphic Orna-
ment, Venice,
1497.
109


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
in the Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris, illuminated by
the Florentine Attavanti. No. 20 is also a Florentine
15th-century example; No. 19 is of the beginning of the
16th century, to which belongs also the "Book of Hours"
of Arragon, from which Nos. 21 and 23 are taken.
Books Recommended:
As before, Anderson, Galland und Rosenkranz, Schutz.
—Also: J. Baum : Baukunst und dekorative Plastik der Renais-
sance in Italien (Hoffmann, Stuttgart, 1920).—L. Beltrami:
La Certosa di Pavia (Hoepli, Milan, 1895).—A. F. Butsch:
Die Biicherornamentik der Renaissance (Hirth, Leipzig, 1898).
—E. Calzini: Urbino e Suoi Monumenti (Cappelli, Rocca San
Casciano, 1897).—G. S. Davies: The Sculptured Tombs of the
Fifteenth Century in Rome (Murray, London, 1910).—G. and
F. Durelli: La Certosa di Pavia (Civelli, Milan, 1863).—J.
Durm: Die Baukunst der Renaissance in Italien (Gebhardt,
Leipzig, 1914).—Geymuller und Stegman: Die Architektur
der Renaissance in Toscana (Briickmann, Munich, 1885-1908).
—W. Griggs: Portfolio of Italian and Sicilian Art (Griggs,
London, 1890).—A. Guerinet: La Renaissance italienne,
recueil d'ornements, etc. (Guerinet, Paris, 1891).—J. Kinross:
Details from- Italian Buildings (Waterson, Edinburgh, 1882).
—C. Laspeyres: Die Bauwerke der Renaissance in Umbrieii
(Ernst & Korn, Berlin, 1883).—C. Magenta: La Certosa di
Pavia (Bocca, Milan, 1897).—A. Marquand: Luca della
Robbia (Univ. Press, Princeton, 1914).—M. Meurer: Italien-
ische Flachornamente der Renaissance (Wittwer, Stuttgart,
1879).—Montigny et Famin: Architecture toscane (Didot,
Paris, n. d.).—G. Morandi: UArte della decorazione italiana
(Moretti, Milan, 1874).—H. J. Nicolai: Das Ornament der
itaUenischen Kunst des XV Jahrhunderts (Bleyl, Dresden,
1882).—G. J. Oakeshott: Detail and Ornament of the Italian
Renaissance (Batsford, London, 1888).—Paoletti: L'Archi-
tettwra e la scultura del rinascimento in Venezia (.Ongania, Ven-
ice, 1897).—T. G. Paravicini: Die Renaissance-Architektur
der Lombardei (Gilbers, Dresden, n. d.).—M. Reymond: Let
110


EARLY RENAISSANCE IN ITALY, II
Delia Robbia (Alinari, Florence, 1897).—E. Stegmann: Orna-
mente der Renaissance aus It alien (Voigt, Weimar, 1861).—V.
Teirich: Ornamente aus der Bluthezeit italienischer Renais-
sance (Intarsien) (Holder, Vienna, 1873).—Thomas and
Fallon: Northern Italian Details (Amer. Architect Co., New
York, 1917).—Tosi and Becchio: Altars, Tabernacles and
Tombs (Giroux, Lagny, n. d.).—A. T. Tuckerman: Details
from the Italian Renaissance (Comstock, New York, 1892).—
S. Vacher: Fifteenth Century Italian Ornament (Textiles)
(Quaritch, London, 1890).
Ill


CHAPTER IV
THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
General Character.
The dawn of the 16th century witnessed the begin-
nings of a change in taste which was to transform the
whole character of Italian art. This change was in
some respects a retrogression; in others, and on the
whole, a notable advance. Architecture and the
decorative arts lost something of their naivete, of their
early exuberance, of their minuteness and delicacy of
detail; something also of their spontaneity. They
gained, on the other hand, in breadth and stateliness
of scale and composition, in variety and mastery of
technic, in a certain expression of knowledge and
power.
Three factors are especially noteworthy in this
development. The first is the progress and wider diffu-
sion of learning, stimulated by the development of
printing. The classic authors were studied, commented
and printed; classic art and culture were better under-
stood; the architectural remains of antiquity were care-
fully measured and drawn, and the principles of Roman
architecture were analyzed and discussed. Alberti's
"De Re Aedificatoria"—the first modern book on
architecture—had been printed in 1474; it may be called
the modern Vitruvius, and like its ancient prototype
112


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
it assumed to set forth the ideal proportions of the
Orders. Architecture became more scholarly and began
to emerge as the work of men who made it their life-
profession, wholly distinct from painting, intarsia, gold-
smith's work and all the other allied arts; a subject of
book-knowledge as well as of artistic inspiration; it was
the dominant decorative art.
The second factor was the phenomenal progress of
painting. From an art of restricted purpose and range
employed chiefly for religious instruction and the
decoration of churches it became a universal art, no
longer based on medieval traditions, but drawing in-
spiration from the study of Nature and the desire to
represent objects and scenes and persons in as close an
approach to realism as possible. The study of anatomy,
the working out of the laws of perspective, and the
discovery and development of oil-painting were power-
ful influences in the advance of the art, which became
the most important and magnificent element in interior
decoration.
The third factor was the emergence of an extra-
ordinary galaxy of architects and decorative designers,
all men of learning and of distinguished talent, some
of them men of ^cal genius. Bramante, Peruzzi, the
elder and younger Antonio di San Gallo, the two
Sansovini, Sammicheli, Galeazzo Alessi, Serlio, Vig-
nola, Palladio and Michelangelo among the architects—
the last-named equally great as sculptor and decorative
painter—; Raphael and his three pupils Giulio Romano,
Giovanni da Udine and Perino del Vaga among a host
of lesser decorators; the universal genius Lionardo da
113


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Vinci; the immortal Venetians Titian, Tintoretto and
Paolo Veronese; Benvenuto Cellini the sculptor and
goldsmith, with others only less noted than these, gave
to the Middle Renaissance a luster which entitles it to
be called the Golden Age of the Italian Renaissance.
To these three factors should be added the steadily
increasing wealth and magnificence of the Roman
pontificate. The Popes, with their nephews and the
other princes of the Church became the richest patrons
of the arts, not alone in the building of St. Peter's and
other great churches, but also in the erection and decora-
tion of splendid palaces, villas and fountains, and in
the accumulation of rich collections of antiquities of art.
The center of art activity was thus transferred from
Florence to Rome, where the influence of the classic
ruins and of the collections of Roman antiquities stimu-
lated the increasing classicism in all the arts of design.
While painting was the art which in this period de-
veloped most rapidly and reached the highest perfec-
tion, architecture still remained the mistress art, taking
painting into its service and employing it in a new
style of mural and ceiling decoration of extraordinary
nobility and beauty. In this decoration, which derived
much of its inspiration from remains of ancient Roman
work, chiefly through the influence of Raphael and his
pupils, relief-ornament molded free-hand in stucco was
combined with painting of ornaments of a fanciful
character in arabesques of marvelous delicacy and
charm (PI. II). Along with this decoration of walls,
vaults and ceilings there went a corresponding change
in architectural forms and in carving both of wood and
114


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
stone. The Orders, whether as columns or pilasters,
the framework and dressings of windows and doorways,
the arcades of churches and courtyards, were all treated
with closer conformity to antique precedent, with
greater severity as to ornament, with greater dignity
of scale, with more vigor of relief, than in the preced-
ing period. This more stately and more scholarly
architectural spirit dominated all the decorative arts.
Furniture, both fixed and movable, was conceived on
architectural lines; intarsia gave place to carving in
relief; tombs, whether more or less ornate than those of
the Quattrocento, were more imposing architecturally.
Metalwork, ceramics, laces, tapestry and all forms of
textile work alike underwent the stimulating effect -of
this new development of taste and were designed and
executed with astonishing fertility of invention and
perfection of technic. It was an age of increasing re-
finement and elegance of life and manners; of greater
luxury and display; an age of increasing materialism
but also of increasing intellectual inquiry, as in the
opposed tendencies of Protestantism and Jesuitism.
It was during this brilliant period that the Renaissance
in art spread to France, Spain and Germany, the
Netherlands and England, although it had been fore-
shadowed in France and Spain by sporadic works in
the later years of the fifteenth century.
The Orders of Architecture.
The early Renaissance designers, as we have seen,
made little effort to combine and proportion their
columns, pilasters and entablatures according to the
115


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
canons of antique Roman practice or the rules of
Vitruvius. It was the Middle Renaissance that de-
veloped these canons into definite formulas which varied
as to details, but were all based on the general propor-
tions of the Vitruvian canon and measurements of
extant Roman examples (see pp. 24, 25). Five orders

Fro. 87.—Four Orders of Architecture.
were recognized: the Tuscan, Doric (in two forms, one
having mutules, the other dentils under the corona),
Ionic, Corinthian and Composite. Fig. 87 presents the
first four of these in elevation (the middle portion of
the shaft being omitted) : the Composite is omitted, as
its proportions are identical with those of the Corinthian.
In this figure D represents the lower diameter of the
shaft. It will be observed that (a), the total heights
of the columns in the four orders are respectively 7, 8,
116


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
UUUJUUUUIJ
3C
9 and 10 diameters; (b), the height of each entablature
is one-quarter of the height of the column; (c), the three
divisions of the entablature—architrave, frieze and
cornice — measure in
height respectively
%D for the Tus-
can; % and %D for
the Doric; % and
%D (approximately)
for the Ionic, and %D,
%D and D for the Corin-
thian and Composite;
and (d), the base is
in height in all cases.
The Cinquecento archi-
tects gradually aban-
doned the Corinthian-
esque capital and other
free variations common
in the Quattrocento, and
used with increasing con-
formity to Roman prece-
dents the Doric, Ionic
(Fig. 88) and Corinthian
orders, and sometimes
the Composite; the Tus-
can very rarely. The
Tuscan shaft was never fluted; the Doric rarely; the
other orders were often, though not invariably, fluted;
never when of polished marble, granite or porphyry.
The fluting and inlaying of polished shafts was an

Fio. 88.—Iovic Order, Palazzo Pietro
Massimi, Rome.
117


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
innovation of the Baroque period, as in della Porta's
interior of Sta. Annunziata at Genoa.
The Orders as Decoration.
During the Quattrocento the orders, as we have seen,
were used as wall-decorations both for exterior facades
and for tombs, pulpits and minor architecture generally.
The Rucellai Palace at Florence (1451) was the earliest
example of a facade divided into bays by superposed
pilasters (Figure 26), and the Vendramini Palace at
Venice (1481) the first in which engaged columns took
the place of pilasters, and in which the columns were
coupled for greater solidity and richness of effect
(Figure 27). Alberti had used engaged columns on the
facade of San Francesco at Rimini, and pilasters on
that of San Andrea at Mantua. Brunelleschi had em-
ployed pilasters internally in the Pazzi Chapel, in the
aisles of his two churches at Florence, San Spirito and
San Lorenzo, and in the interior also of the Badia
Fiesolana. While the propriety of using pilasters as
features of wall-decoration has been questioned and
even denied by purist critics, their serviceableness and
beauty as decorations have been generally conceded, as
they serve both to divide the wall into bays or panels,
and to provide for the satisfaction of the eye a visible
system of vertical supports for the horizontal lines of
the entablature (PI. I, 1-3). The artists of the Cin-
quecento certainly felt no scruples of the artistic con-
science against using not only pilasters, but engaged
columns as well, to divide and decorate both external
and internal walls. While it is by no means true that
118


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
architecture now became merely a matter of design
with the orders, it is true that these were now used with
greater freedom and variety of application than at any
previous time. They were employed singly and
coupled, with and without pedestals, often in combina-
tion with arches after the Roman fashion, as in Fig. 89 a,

Fio. 89.—Column ar Arcades: (a) Palazzo Pompei, Verona; (6) Basilica,
Vicenza.
especially in church interiors and courtyard arcades,1
sometimes in the combination called the "Palladian
arch," in which the arch springs from the entablature of
a smaller order set between the rather widely spaced
columns of the main order, as in the exterior arcaded
galleries added by Palladio to the Basilica at Vicenza
1 The propriety of the Roman combination of arch and order has been
denied by some purists. A brief discussion of this question will be found
in my "Hist, of Orn.," I, p. 147.
119


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
(Fig. 89 b). Palladio was not, however, the inventor
of this combination; the first to use it was Giacopo
Sansovino, in his magnificent facades of the Libreria
San Marco (or Reale) at Venice, in 1528, over twenty
years earlier than the date of the Vicenza arcade. In
Venice, Verona and Vicenza
the orders were used with es-
pecial richness and variety of
design on facades of palaces
and churches. Towards the
end of the period the "co-
lossal order" came into use
—the column or pilaster run-
ning through two stories and
carrying an entablature,
which, being proportioned to
the columns, was thus made
large enough to crown the
facade adequately (PI. I,
7). This avoided the di-
lemma of the superposed or-
ders, the upper entablature
of which is either too heavy
for the upper order which carries it, or too small in scale
to crown the whole facade.
In this decorative use of the orders the architects were
led to a careful study of scale, of the proportioning of
all spaces, voids and solids and features of the design,
and of the profiling of the various moldings and belt-
courses for artistic effect. The result is seen even in
compositions without columns, for many of the Roman

Fio. 90.—Window, Pandoi.fini
Palace, Florence.
120





Figure 26. Detail, Facade of Palazzo Rucellai, Florence.

Figure 27. Detail, Facade of Palazzo Vendramini, Venice.


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
facades are astylar. The proportions of stories, the
spacing, size and shapes of the openings, were studied
with the greatest care, producing an artistic rhythm and
harmony of effect which owe nothing to carving or other
ornament than the moldings, belt-courses, dressings of
doors and windows and cornices of the facade.
A wholly new use of the orders as decoration came in
when they were applied as architectural frames for
windows, as in the Bartolini and Pandolfini Palaces at
Florence by Baccio d'Agnolo and Raphael2 respectively
(Fig. 90); later in the two upper stories of the Farnese
Palace at Rome (about 1530-46), and quite generally
thereafter. Meanwhile the candelabrum-shaft, the
carved or arabesqued column and the Florentine pedi-
ment (see ante,, p. 57) disappeared from architecture,
both because they had no classic warrant and because
they did not fit in with the more sober and monumental
aspect of the architecture of the time.
Moldings.
There was less variety in the moldings of the Middle
Renaissance than in those of the Quattrocento, but a
closer adherence to antique models. The egg-and-dart,
the water-leaf, the bead-and-reel and the vertical fluting
of the corona were the chief and almost the only mold-
ing-ornaments in use by the Cinquecento architects. All
these typical moldings are shown in the entablature of
Fig. 88. The profiles of the cyma recta, cyma reversa,
ovolo, bead and fillet and combinations of them were
'Baccio d'Agnolo Baglioni of Florence, 1462-1543; Raffaele Santi
d'Urbino, 1483-1520.
121


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
mmmm.
Lid URIAH CREDENCE

ROMAN table:
conformed to the ancient practice and studied with the
greatest care as to their proportioning and grouping.
In this careful study Peruzzi attained the highest suc-
cess, with Antonio da San Gallo the Younger, Giacopo
Sansovino and Vignola following him closely in reputa-
tion for the refinement and beauty of their details.
In furniture and
woodwork the va-
riety both of profile
and ornamentation
of moldings was
much greater, as be-
fitted the material
and the objects de-
signed. Especially
important was the
™« "thumb molding,"
a convex profile
adorned with carved fiutings or "thumbs," usually con-
vex themselves but sometimes concave; this type of
molding was chiefly used for chest-covers, table-edges,
shelves and the like (Fig. 91). Narrow fillets and un-
dercutting also occur frequently in the profiling of the
woodwork, rarely in architecture.
Rustication.
A few of the earlier facades of this period have the
basement story rusticated (Cancelleria Palace, Rome,
1495-1510; Massimi Palace, ab. 1515-20; Pompei
Palace, Verona, PI. I, 8), but for the most part rusti-
cation was restricted to the portals (Farnese Palace,
Fio. 91.—Typical "Thumr-Moldings"
Furniture.
122


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
1530), and to "chains" or vertical strips, and quoins or
"long-and-short" work at the corners (Bartolini and
Larderel Palaces, Florence). Oc-
casionally, however, even columns
were rusticated, as in some of
Sammichele's city gates at Ve-
rona (PI. I, 9) and the rear fa-
cade of the Pitti Palace at Flor-
ence by Ammanati (about 1575).
Sansovino 3 in the Zecca or Mint
at Venice and Palladio in the Val-
marano Palace at Vicenza intro-
duced an unhappy innovation in
columns having the alternate
drums square instead of round,
an ugly and wholly indefensible
device.
Interior Decoration: Stucco and
Fresco.
The discovery by Morto da
Feltro in 1488 of the perfectly-
preserved stucco decorations of
the piers and vaults of the Baths
of Titus and Golden House of
Nero on the Esquiline Hill—or
rather of the combined sub-
structions of these two buildings—attracted the atten-
tion of Raphael, ever alert and eager for fresh sug-
'Giacopo Tatti Sansovino, pupil of the sculptor Andrea Sansovino,
H86-1570.

Fio. 92—Painted Rin-
ceau, loooie op the
Vatican.
123


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
gestion and inspiration. In the unrivaled Loggie
(arcades) of the court of San Damaso of the Vatican
he, with the aid of his pupils Giulio Romano * and
Giovanni da Udine,4 applied
the results of his own study


VIUA MAPAMA
Fio. 93.—Stucco-Relief, Loggie
of the Vatican.
Fio. 94.—Stucco - Relief,
Villa Madama.
of these remains to the decoration of the piers and
arches of the arcades, with triumphant success. The
exuberant fancy and decorative richness of his ara-
besques, modeled in low relief and painted in bright
colors (Figs. 92, 93; also PI. II, 1-5), have been justly
admired, in spite of certain discrepancies of scale
* Giulio Pippi Romano, 1492-1546; Giovanni Ricamatori da Udine,
1487-1564.
124


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
in some of the details. His two pupils, more or less
under his direction or with his aid, executed decora-
tions in stucco in the same general style in the two
loggias of the Farnesina Villa or Palazzetto at Rome,
in the Villa Madama just outside the city (Fig. 94) and
in the Palazzo del Te at Mantua. From this time on
(all the above works are dated between 1508 and 1528)
stucco modeled in relief and painted became a resource
of increasing popularity, not merely for interiors but
even for exteriors in works of the less monumental sort,
like villas and garden structures. Later there set in an
abuse of this easily-worked material, of which we shall
take note in the chapter on the Baroque style (pp.
155-172). Plate II illustrates details from this period,
from the Vatican Loggie and Stanze, and the Pal. del
Te and Ducal Palace, Mantua.
Painting, as already remarked, was the most bril-
liantly developed of all the arts in Italy during this
period. As applied to the decoration of walls and
ceilings, it combined purely pictorial decoration with a
lavish use of conventional ornament. For the most
part, especially in Rome and generally outside of
Venice, the medium employed was fresco. True fresco
or "buon fresco" is a difficult process, in which a slightly
thickened water pigment is applied to wet or damp
plaster. This necessitates executing a completely-
finished portion of the entire design on a limited area
of plaster, which must be freshly applied for each day's
work; but the result is permanent. The purely conven-
tional ornament was freely varied from, though based
upon, the Roman prototypes found in the Baths of
125


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Titus. It employed arabesques of the most varied
character with grotesques of human and animal forms
mingled with exuberant fancy and composed with con-
summate skill and with unfailing grace of line and
movement. Raphael was the first great master of this
art, but was followed by a host of capable artists
throughout Central Italy and some parts of North
Italy.
While decorative painting, as such, apart from its use
of conventional ornament, lies outside the scope of this
work, brief mention must be made of the extraordinary
richness, beauty and abundance of the applications of
pictorial art to the decoration of walls and ceilings, espe-
cially in Rome and Florence, and later in Venice. The
Sistine Chapel, the "Camere" and "Stanze" of the
Vatican, the Farnesina, and many other palaces and
churches, are adorned on walls, vaults and domes, with
allegorical, historical, scriptural and mythological paint-
ings, each a masterpiece by an artist of consummate
skill or by his pupils under his direction. Early ex-
amples of painted ceilings are illustrated in Figures 20
and 21, from Sienna and Perugia. The frames, borders
and accessories of these pictures are generally admirable
examples of the classic inspiration in ornament. Of
this, the culminating phase of decorative painting, the
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican, Michel-
angelo's 5 masterpiece, is without dispute the supreme
example. It was executed by the master's unaided hand
between 1508 and 1512. It is so purely a work of
decorative painting that its relation to the history of
5 Michelangelo (or Michelagnolo) Buonarotti Simone, 1475-1564.
126


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
ornament is less important than that of many less
notable works, except in one respect in which its in-
fluence on later decorators was perhaps deleterious.
The architectural divisions and ornaments which frame
the mighty symbolisms of the design were painted in
chiaroscuro? in a sort of false perspective as if to de-
ceive the eye into the impression of actual relief (Figure
30). This was done with consummate skill; but it
started Michelangelo's followers on a false path,
which resulted in the following period in much un-
fortunate striving after theatrical and sensational
effects.
In Venice oil-painting was developed as a means of
both mural and ceiling decoration by the artists already
named on p. 114 and others, with a brilliancy and har-
mony of resulting color effects unapproached elsewhere.
Pictures, often of great size, were executed on canvas
and applied to walls and ceilings within frames of
carved and gilded wood of great splendor, as in the
Doge's Palace, the Scuola di San Rocco and many
churches.
Sgraffito.
During this period decoration in "sgraffito," originat-
ing in the preceding century, was applied with increas-
ing skill to the exteriors of palaces and even of more
modest private houses. By this process a thin coat of
fine white plaster spread over a ground-coat of dark
brown plaster, is scraped away according to a more or
'Chiaroscwo—"light and dark"; the technical name for monochrome
painting which represents the lights, shades and shadows and modeling of
relief by gradations of a single color of gray or brown.
127


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
less elaborate pattern, uncovering the dark ground-coat
to form either a decorative design in brown against the
prevailing white of the wall, or the reverse. It is a
species of etching on a monumental scale, whose only
drawback is the necessity, even in the Italian climate,
of renewing the decoration from time to time, though

Fio. 95.—Kxampi.es of Florentine Sgraffito Decoration.
at long intervals. In many cases—as in those from
Florence shown in Figs. 46 b and 95—the white was
scraped away from the background, leaving the pattern
in white against the brown of the wall. This kind of
decoration seems to have fallen into disuse by the middle
of the century. It is a charming and effective embellish-
ment for stuccoed buildings, not unduly expensive to
execute, and there seems to be no good reason why it
128





Figure 28. Ceiling, Palace at Caprarola.

Figure 29. Stucco Detail.
Villa Mamma, Rome.
Figure 30. Stucco Detail,
Court of Palazzo Vecchio,
Florence.


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
should not be revived and used to-day in regions where
the climate is dry and frosts unknown or rare.
Ceilings.
Four kinds of ceilings claim attention in this period:
flat ceilings of wood or plaster; coved ceilings with

Fig. 96.—Two Ceilings from Farnese Palace.
penetrations; vaulted ceilings (barrel vaults, groined
vaults and cloistered vaults); and domes.
Flat ceilings were paneled or coffered; no longer, as
a rule, with simple geometric forms like the square,
octagon and circle as in the preceding period, but with
129


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
more complex and Varied forms, such as combinations
of rectangles, crosses, T-forms and their derivatives,
forming a definite pattern for the whole ceiling, usually
about a large central panel (see ante, Figs. 63, 64; also
Figs. 96, 97). The entire ceiling was treated as a single
decorative composition, as in the two examples from the
Farnese Palace in Fig. 96, and in the later develop-
ments of this system of treatment it will be seen that
all suggestion of structural design was abandoned

Fig. 97.—Half-Plan of a Church Ceiling in Venice.
(Figure 19). This was in a sense more honest than
the former practice of uniform geometric coffering,
which simulated—like the Greek stone cofferings of
pteroma ceilings—a non-existent construction of inter-
secting wooden beams. All these ceilings, executed
sometimes in wood, sometimes—and perhaps more
frequently—in plaster, were now frankly what they had
always really been, decorative coverings to hide the
joists of the floor above, or the trusses of the roof.
Many of the medieval basilicas of Rome and some
of the newer churches there and elsewhere were adorned
130


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
with such ceilings, usually of geometric design; while in
Venice in the Doge's Palace, the ceilings of the
Collegio, of the Scrutinio and of the Maggior
Consiglio were treated as compositions of elaborately
carved picture-frames for the paintings of Veronese,
Palma Giovane and Tintoretto. A frequent detail of
these ceilings, as also of mirror-frames and decorative
escutcheons of this period in general, is the use of
voluted "curl-overs" (Fig. 98), the effect of which is

Fig. 98.—"Curl-over" Detail, Ceiling of Sala del Senato, Doge's Palace,
Venice.
often excellent, but the origin of which it is difficult or
impossible to trace (see also p. 142).
Coved ceilings were the most distinctive type of this
period; the central portion flat or nearly so, surrounded
by a large coving of quadrant section above the main
cornice. This coving was usually penetrated by trans-
verse vault-compartments enclosing semicircular tym-
pana or lunettes in the plane of the wall, or the tops of
open arches. These varied surfaces provided scope for
every sort of decoration in relief and color; paintings in
the lunettes, on the triangular vault-penetrations, and
131


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
in the spandrels of the coving between them, as well as
on the flat central ceiling-space (Figures 20, 21). It
would take a volume to describe the various forms of
ornament employed on these ceilings, or to enumerate
fully even the more notable examples of them. We can
only mention among the earlier examples: the ceiling
of the Piccolomini Library attached to the Cathedral
at Sienna, chiefly by Pinturricchio, with paintings
framed in wreaths of flowers and fruit; the ceiling of the
beautiful Sala del Cambio at Perugia by Perugino;7
that of the Loggia of the Farnesina at Rome by
Raphael and his pupils (about 1518), already men-
tioned on p. 125. All these belong to the earlier stages
of the Middle Renaissance. The Vatican abounds in
fine coved ceilings of the full Middle Renaissance, and
others are to be found in nearly all the greater palaces
of Rome, Florence, Genoa and Naples. Many of those
in the Pitti Palace at Florence belong, however, to the
Baroque period and will be mentioned later.
Vaulted Ceilings.
These, whether groined or barrel-vaulted, whether of
brick or stone construction or of lath-and-plaster, were
ornamented generally in one of two ways: by paneling
or by painting. Of the first of these treatments the
most important example is the nave-vault of St. Peter's
at Rome; the earlier portion by Michelangelo dates
from about 1560; the later portion by Maderna, from
about 1620. Both are alike in general style, but differ
slightly in detailed pattern. They are both composed
1 Pietro Vanucci, called II Perugino, 1444-1524.
132








THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
of simple rectangular and cruciform units, and are rich
and dignified in effect. A beautiful early example is
that of the hall of the Palazzo del Te at Mantua by
Giulio Romano, of great refinement of treatment and
excellent effect. Very elaborate but less pleasing is
the ceiling of the Sala Regia in the Vatican, attributed
to Antonio da San Gallo the Younger (Figure 19).
In all the ceilings of this class the gilding of the enriched
moldings is relied on for much of the decorative effect,
although color is applied to certain parts. Sometimes
the panels frame pictures instead of mere ornament.
The finest example of this combination and one of the
noblest ceilings in the world is that of the Camera della
Segnatura in the Vatican, in which the admirably de-
signed decoration of panels and relief ornament frames
four circular and four rectangular pictures, supple-
menting the symbolism of the superb mural paintings
on the walls. The entire decoration of this room is by
Raphael and his assistants.
Of the second system of vault-decoration, that by
painting alone or by painting chiefly, the most impor-
tant example, in some respects the grandest painted
decoration ever executed, is Michelangelo's masterpiece
on the barrel-vaulted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the
Vatican, already described on pp. 126, 127. Other ex-
amples, mostly of much later date, abound in the Vati-
can, and in the palaces and churches of Rome, Naples
and other cities; but they belong rather to the history of
painting than that of ornament. More purely orna-
mental are the charming decorations by Raphael and his
assistants in the square domes or cloistered vaults over
133


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
each bay of the Vatican Loggie. The purely ornamental
as opposed to pictorial painting of vaulted ceilings from
this time through the century and well into the Baroque
period tended to develop the suggestions drawn from
the Roman examples referred to on page 125 with the
use of arabesques and grotesques handled often with
charming grace and fancy: e.g., the groined vaults of
the Lateran court arcades, the ceilings of the Hall of
Maps and of the Library of the Vatican, and ceilings in
numerous villas, as for example in that of Pope Julius
III at Rome, the circular court arcade at Caprarola
(about 1550), and parts of the vaulted ceiling of the
Villa Madama at (near) Rome.
Domes were the special contribution of the Italian
Renaissance to church architecture. Many of the early
domes were left undecorated, except by ribs converging
to the opening of the lantern at the top. In the Middle
Renaissance they were more generally painted, often
without architectural subdivisions; but the success of
these efforts was far less than was attained in other
fields of decoration. Doubtless the greatest failure of
all was the painting in the great octagonal dome of the
cathedral of Florence by Giorgio Vasari.8 Some domes
of this period are paneled or coffered. That of St.
Peter's, the finest of all, is decorated with pictures in
mosaic framed in panels which form appropriate divi-
sions of the vast surface. It was the work of Giacomo
della Porta, Vignola's gifted pupil and successor (1541-
1604).
"Giorgio Vasari of Arezzo, 1511-1374; painter, architect and author of
"The Lives of the Artists."
134


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
Stucco Decoration.
The use of stucco, stimulated by the triumphant suc-
cess of Raphael's revival of Roman methods and adap-
tation of Roman models, as already explained, was very
rapidly extended and applied to exteriors as well as to
interiors. The most noted and thorough-going example
of pure stucco relief independent of painted ornament
is the entrance-hall or "loggia" of the Villa Madama.

3PADA PALAtE.ROME
Fig. 99.—Stucco-Kelief, Facade of Spada Palace, Home.
This villa, whose plan is attributed to Raphael, was
never completed, but the "loggia" and some of the ad-
jacent portions were finished after his death, and deco-
rated with relief-ornaments in stucco by Giulio Romano
and Giovanni da Udine, who had worked with Raphael
on the loggia of the Farnesina and the loggie of the
Vatican. These stuccature of the Villa Madama are
of great delicacy and wonderful variety and fertility
of invention, and have been the objects of study by
135


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
many generations of decorators, who have never been
able to surpass them (Fig. 94). Later, stucco-relief
was used externally, especially on villas, as on the Villa
Pia in the Vatican Gardens and the Villa Medici (about
1540-1560), and even on palace facades, as on both
the street and the court facades of the Spada Palace at
Rome (Fig. 99). The Roman climate is not unkind to
this rather perishable form of decoration. In the fol-
lowing period the use of stucco degenerated into abuse.
Even in this Middle Period the fatal facility of the
material and the growing tendency towards sensational
novelty of effect—bravura as the Italians call it—led to
its use in a sculptural fashion for which the material was
ill suited. This misuse was especially common in church
interiors; it seems to have begun in the last quarter of
the 16th century. The stucco decorations in the church
of the Gesu at Rome, built by Vignola and Della Porta
in 1558-1575 are, however, by a Baroque artist of the
17th century.
Villas and Gardens.
The wealth and splendor of the Papal court in this
period gave rise to an extraordinary activity in the
building of villas, not only in and near Rome (Tivoli,
Frascati, Castel Gandolfo, etc.) but also in and near
Florence, Como, Genoa, Verona, the Italian Lakes and
other places. In these villas and the superb terraced
gardens in which they were set, the princes of the
Church and their relatives created a new style of archi-
tectural and landscape design, dominated not by the
formal stateliness of the classic palace, but by a spirit
136


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
of levity, of free fancy, of the desire for present enjoy-
ment and esthetic relaxation. In the casino or house,
in the minor buildings like belvederes, grottoes and
loggias, in the balustrades and stairways, and above all
in the ever-present water-architecture of cascades and
fountains, the decorative fancy of the architect and
sculptor found absolutely free expression. The use of
stucco was carried to the limit of its possibilities; sculp-
ture of gods and goddesses, nymphs and Tritons, fauns
and satyrs and dolphins was omnipresent, executed in
stucco, stone, marble, lead and bronze; and mosaics and
colored marble lent their added brilliancy to the decora-
tions of hemicycles, grottoes and loggias. The orna-
ment-forms used were those of classic Roman art, freely
varied, except the balustrades, which, as has been shown,
were a purely Renaissance invention (see p. 89 and
Fig. 69). The "single vase" type of baluster, invented
by Vignola, appears first in the central fountain of the
beautiful Villa Lante at Bagnaia near Viterbo, dating
from about 1540, and soon after in the court of the villa-
palace of Caprarola, about 1550. The game or sheath-
figure, which he introduced in the lower court of the
villa of Pope Julius III a little later (Fig. 105 b), from
this time on found increasing favor as a fanciful substi-
tute for the pilaster and as an isolated stele or decorative
pillar in gardens (Fig. 105 c). The fountain basins are
often of extremely graceful form in this villa-decoration
(Figures 31, 32). The design of fountains became, in-
deed, almost a distinct branch of decorative art, develop-
ing types which have served ever since as classic models
in this field.
137


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Woodwork and Furniture.
The perfected technical skill and the assured facility
of the handling of decorative detail as well as of com-
position, space-filling and relief in this period are well
exemplified in its woodwork. An early example is the

Fig. 100.—Lower Half of Door in Vatican Palace.
series of carved panels in the stalls of the church of San
Pietro in Casinense at Perugia, attributed to Raphael;
the stalls in the choir of the cathedral of Sienna are also
famous, but no more beautiful than the stalls of scores
of other churches and public buildings in Italy (Figures
33-35). The wooden doors of the Camera della Segna-
tura in the Vatican, the carved shutters of its great win-
dows, and other doors opening from the Loggie are of
138


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
about the same date as the Perugiarr- stalls, but of more
monumental design (Fig. 100). The very simple door-
way and doors of the Pietro Massimi Palace by Peruzzi
(Fig. 101), despite the lack of carving,
are a model of exquisite proportion and
refined detail. They are of about the
same date as the Vatican doors.
Carved furniture was both richer and

Fig. 101.—Doorway and Door, Palazzo
Pietro Massimi, Rome.
Fig. 10 2.—
Itaijan Ren-
aissance Bed-
post.
more varied than in the Quattrocento. Tables were
more generally used (Figure 36) ; chests were heavier
and more elaborately carved and in higher relief (PI.
III, 11); armchairs came into use (PI. III, 10) and
139


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
were sometimes upholstered in leather; and cabinets,
credences and elaborate writing-desks were produced of
extraordinary richness in carving and paneling, with
figure-sculpture, gaines and other sculptural ornaments
of great elegance of design (Figure 37). Painting and

Fio. 103.—Italian Renaissance Footroard.
intarsia disappear almost entirely as decorations of fur-
niture. The bedsteads of this period were of the four-
post type, with carved posts, head-board and foot-board;
often with carved side-pieces as well (Figs. 102, 103).
Mirrors were a Venetian specialty, but the Florentines
excelled in the carving of frames for both mirrors and
pictures (Fig. 104).
Innovations.
By the middle of the century the severity of classical
precedent began to be relaxed, and a new spirit of deco-
rative fancy made its appearance in minor details both
of architecture and furniture, especially the latter. The
gaine or sheath-figure became the favorite form for
vertical supports in woodwork (Fig. 105 a), and in the
gardens at Caprarola a row of gaines were set up to
decorate the parapet of a terrace in place of the more
classic canephorje (human figures crowned with bas-
kets; Fig. 105 c). Another detail of increasing fre-
quency of occurrence was the spiral volute, which was
140






Figure 34. Detail, Stalls of
San Pietro Casinense,
Perugia.
Figure 35. Panel, Stalls
in San Severino, Naples.


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
introduced at every possible point, as in the sgabellone
or pedestal in Fig. 106, in which it occurs twenty times.

Fio. 104.—Florentine Mirror-Frame.
A third new feature, which was destined to become more
important architecturally and decoratively than any
other innovation of the time, was the cartouche9 or
•The precise origin of this name as well as of the thing itself is a sub-
ject of some controversy. Derived etymologically from carta = paper, the
word may have crept into decorative terminology either through the prac-
tice of decorating or heading cartels (challenges) and important papers
with the arms or escutcheon of the sender, or through the decorative
quality of the great seals affixed to State documents, bearing the arms,
crest or portrait of the monarch or prince, often with ribbons with which
to tie the paper or parchment when rolled up.
141


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT



Fio. 105.—Three GaInes: from a
Florentine Carinet; from
Villa Papa Gidlio, Rome;
Canephora, Caprarola Gardens.
Fio. 106.—Florentine Soa-
BELLONE.
decorative escutcheon, consisting
of a medallion or shield, usually
oval, set in a rich frame of com-
plex outline, adorned with "curli-
cues" and volutes, curious notch-
ings and curled-over or square-
ended tabs. The "curlicue" or voluted projection was
probably suggested by the curling over of the ends or
Fig. 107. — Escutcheon
with Montefeltro Arms.
142


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
edges of rolled-up documents; the curious tabs may-
symbolize or recall the ends of ribbons attached to seals
or used in tying up the roll. As employed in cartouches
these details are purely fantastic and conventional dec-
orations (see details in Fig. 106; PI. III, 8, 12). Ar-
morial bearings of the first half of the 16th century,
carved in marble as architectural decorations, seldom or
never show these innovations: e.g., the Montefeltro
arms from Urbino shown in Fig. 107.
Metalwork.
One of the greatest of all metalworkers of the Renais-
sance was Benvenuto Cellini, whose life practically
spanned the Middle Renaissance, as he was born in 1500
and died in 1572. His versatility was extraordinary;
he was equally at home in the modeling of medals or
golden salt-cellars and in the casting of colossal bronze
statues. A consummate goldsmith and sculptor, a great
roysterer and braggart, he was the incarnation of one
aspect of the Middle Renaissance: its frequent combina-
tion of artistic preeminence with utter lack of moral
principle. He illustrated the creative versatility of the
period which produced Michelangelo, Giovanni da
Bologna, Benedetto da Rovezzano, Lionardo da Vinci,
Vignola, Palladio, the San Galli, the post-Raphaelesque
stuccatori, and the giants of the Venetian school. His
works belong, however, rather in the domain of sculp-
ture than of pure ornament, and many of them were
executed in France. His most famous extant work,
Perseus slaying Medusa, is in the Loggia dei Lanzi at
Florence, and its pedestal (Figure 39) is an admirable
143


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
example of his decorative skill and of the amazing facil-
ity and bravura of his design and execution.
An important branch of this Middle Renaissance
metalwork was the making of armor, in which kings,
nobles and condottieri alike loved to display their splen-
dor and the armorers their artistry and technical skill.
Casques, corselets and greaves were covered with deli-
cate arabesques, repoussees 10 in low relief or engraved
and chased, combined with figure subjects of a mytho-
logical or symbolic character in higher relief. The most
celebrated product of this art was the suit of armor
made for Henry II of France (1547-1559), but others
nearly equal to it abound in the museums of Italy,
France, Germany, Austria and the United States.
Figure 40 shows two examples in the Riggs collection
in the Metropolitan Museum at New York.
In other departments the metalworkers produced
equally notable works, ranging from those of gold-
smiths and silversmiths, like the famous silver casket in
the Naples Museum set with reliefs in rock-crystal,
candlesticks of silver or of bronze (see ante, Fig. 2,
and PI. IV, 3), and bronze door-knockers modeled with
consummate sculptural art (PI. IV, 10), to magnificent
fountains of bronze in which sculpture and ornament
are superbly combined, as in that of the Villa Lante at
Bagnaia, or the fountain by Giovanni da Bologna 11 in
the Villa Petraia at Florence. Even small objects bike
"Repousse = executed by hammering and blunt-punching from the back
or reverse side, or sometimes by hammering and punching down the back-
ground on the display-side.
"Giovanni (da) Bologna called Fiammingo (the Fleming), born in Flan-
ders in 1534., died 1608 in Italy.
144



Figure37'QjnomtmCr&knceJi)kn6tian Table and Mirror. J8^ Qn(A





THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
keys, vase-handles and drawer-pulls were treated as
works of high art (PI. IV, 8, 12, 14, 15). Window-
grilles and lamp-brackets of wrought-iron were also
produced in great numbers (Fig. 108; PI. IV, 5, 6);

Fio. 108.—Iron Lioht-Bracket, Citta di Castello.
and every branch of the bronze-founder's and iron-
worker's arts displayed the prevalence of high decora-
tive skill and excellent taste.
Other Arts; Ceramics.
Until the 15th century the art of pottery in Italy
was almost entirely confined to the coarser kinds of
domestic earthenware, for which the clays of Tuscany
and the Marches furnished abundant material. A few
examples of enameled tiles from the 13th and 14th cen-
turies show that there was some slight knowledge of
fusible mineral colors, but it was not generally applied
for purposes of decoration. It was not till after the
145


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
middle of the 15th century that there was any system-
atic production of majolica—that is, of earthenware
glazed and decorated with fusible enamels. The name
"majolica" is presumably derived from Majorca, an
island in the Balearic group from which there was ap-
parently a sufficiently important exportation of enam-

Fio. 109.—Plate with Portrait from Vienna Museum.
eled pottery of this kind to have given its name to it.
There is no evidence that potters from that island ever
taught their art to the Italians; but these in the course
of time appear to have worked out for themselves the
processes necessary for imitating the imported product.
The principal factor in this development was the dis-
covery of the secret of making opaque glazes with
fusible earths containing salts of tin or lead, and it is
146


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
not known who first in Italy discovered this secret. The
discovery has been attributed to Luca della Robbia of
Florence, and its earliest application was made by him
in the beautiful ceramic frame around the tomb of
Federigo, bishop of Fiesole (Figure 7). Whether or
not he was the very first, he was certainly one of the
earliest to use a stanniferous white glaze, with which he
embellished and protected the terra-cotta reliefs which
Fio. 110.—Border Pattern from Plate, Florence or Urrino.
he, and after him Andrea and other nephews, modeled
for lunettes, altar-pieces and decorative medallions
(Figures 9, 10). To this white glaze he added a blue
glaze, chiefly for background to his exquisite groups in
relief, and also occasionally, and in small quantities,
green and yellow. Luca was a sculptor, not primarily
a ceramist; his decorative sculptures have been referred
to on pp. 29, 75. His nephew Andrea and Andrea's
five sons continued the production of decorative works
of the same general character well into the 16th century;
their works show greater elaboration of detail and a


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
wider range of color than those of Luca. Among the
hundreds of della Robbia works in churches in Italy
and in museums throughout the world, one may men-
tion the infant medallions on the Foundling Hospital
at Florence, the charming little lavabo in the Sacristy
of San Spirito, both at Florence; the frieze of the Seven
Works of Mercy on the Ospedale del Ceppo at Pistoia,
and a fine altar-piece in the Metropolitan Museum at
New York.
All these are, however, rather works of decorative
sculpture than of ceramics, pure and simple. The pro-
duction of decorated pottery, of plates, bowls, vases,
ewers and druggists' vessels began only in the later
years of the 15th century. Nearly all the examples in
the museums (there are 600 of them in the Louvre)
date from after 1500. By that date, however, the art
and industry were firmly established in twenty or thirty
towns, mostly in northern Italy; of these the most im-
portant were Faenza in the Marches (whence the word
faience), Caffagiolo, Florence and Sienna in Tuscany,








THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
Deruta in the former Papal States, and Castel Du-
rante, Gubbio, Pesaro and Urbino in the Duchy of
Urbino.
While the expert can generally distinguish between
the products of these various potteries, it is impossible
to specify their distinguishing characteristics in a man-

Fio. 112.—Urrino Plate in Germanic Museum, Vienna.
ner to make them easily recognizable by the general
student. They possess certain common characteristics,
such as an opaque creamy glaze and a predominance of
blue and yellow in the color scheme. The great major-
ity of the open ware—plates, platters, bowls and basins
—is decorated in the center with pictorial subjects taken
about equally from classic mythology, ancient history
and Scripture, copied for the most part from engravings
149


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
of paintings, and often altered by the ceramist, not
always wisely; sometimes with portraits as in Fig. 109.
The borders we're decorated with motives in like manner
drawn from architecture and painted ornament, such as
anthemions, rinceaux and the like (Figs. 110, 111), or
from any other source that offered suggestions. The
craftsmen who produced these wares were artisans, not
great artists, and they did not always observe the law
of fitness in adapting the borrowed motives to the form
of the object decorated. Besides the lighter blue and
the yellow—which varies from light yellow through
orange almost to brown—there was employed some-
times a deep blue which gives great richness and dignity
to the design. Figs. 109-112 and PI. V, 3, 9, 11-15
illustrate a few of the varieties of decorative treatment
with anthemions, scrolls, grotesques, portrait or fancy
heads, and armorial bearings.
Textiles.
The textile arts shared in the growing taste of the
Renaissance for artistic elegance and splendor. Tapes-
tries were woven from the designs of great masters, e.g.
those in the Vatican from cartoons by Raphael. Italian
masters designed cartoons for the tapissiers of Flanders
(see Chapter IX); Mantegna and Giulio Romano both
sent designs to Brussels, and those of Mantegna are
particularly noted for the rich ornamental details of
costumes, furniture and buildings in the historical com-
positions which were his specialty. From the point of
view of ornament the tapestries of this time are, how-
ever, chiefly interesting for their borders, which borrow
150


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
their motives mainly from architecture, often suggest-
ing frames in relief (Fig. 113).
The laces, the church vestments, the velvets and

Fio. 113.—Two Details, Top and Fig. 114.—Chasurle, Sixteenth
BORDER OP TaPESTRY BY RaPHaEL CeNTURY, StUBOIS COLLECTION.
in Vatican.
stateliness of effect naturally brought about (PI. V, 1, 2,
4-6; Fig. 114).
In the art of stained glass, as in that of tapestry de-
sign, one observes the dominant influence of the paint-
ers. These had raised pictorial representation to the
151


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
highest perfection it had ever attained, and the glass-
designers, like the tapestry-designers, lost sight of or
deliberately ignored the special qualities and limita-
tions of their material in the effort to produce trans-
parent pictures with
all the shadings and
gradations of an oil-
painting, rather than
to develop to the ut-
m o s t the brilliance
and glow of which'
glass is capable. Even
when the window
was treated in a more
purely decorative
manner the details
were handled as in a
painting (Fig. 115).
The color-scheme was
generally sober, with
ornamental motives or
pictures set on a white
ground, and the great
decorative possibilities
of the leading were
singularly neglected. The less pictorial the design,
the better is their decorative effect, and many of the
windows of the Middle Renaissance possess charm in
the harmony of their color-tones and the judicious
balance of their composition. But they lack the depth
and glow of the best medieval glass of western

Fio. 115.—An Italian Renaissance
Window.
152


THE MIDDLE RENAISSANCE
Europe, the architectural magnificence and decora-
tive dignity of the great Gothic windows of France,
England and Germany. Even in the churches these
Italian windows have little of the religious or didactic
character; they are ornamented windows, nothing more
in most cases. Although they sometimes display trans-
parent paintings of religious subjects, they are more
often designed with a few religious emblems mingled
with conventional details of escutcheons, festoons,
scrolls and the like, of a purely secular and even pagan
character, and with architectural forms to frame and
hold them together. It must, however, be remembered
that in Italy windows were generally small and far
apart, of far less decorative importance than in north-
ern and western Europe, and generally quite subordi-
nate to the rich interior color-decorations of painted
walls and ceilings.
Books Recommended:
As before, Durm, Geymuller, Kinross, Montigny,Paoletti,
Schutz, Stegmann, Thomas and Fallon.—Also: Anony-
mous: Ornati del Coro di San Pietro Casvnense (Rome, n. d.).—
Bates and Guild: Ornament of the Italian Renaissance
(Guild Co., Boston, 1914).—W. Bode: Italian Renaissance
Furniture, tr. by Herrick (Helburn, N. Y., 1921).—Cam-
porese: Loggie di Raffaele nel Vaticano (Rome, n. d.).—A.
Colasanti: Volte e Soffiti italiane (Arch. B'k. Pub. Co., New
York, n. d.).—H. D. Ererlein: Interiors, Fireplaces and
Furniture of the Italian Renaissance (Arch. B'k Pub. Co., New
York, 1916).—G. Ferrari: Lo Stucco nell'arte italiana
(Hoepli, Milan, n. d.).—M. P. Gautier : Les plus beaux edifices
de Genes (Didot, Paris, 1832.)—W. H. L. Gruner-.Fresco
Decorations and Stuccoes in Italy etc. (Murray, London,
1844).—G. L. Hunter: Italian Furniture and Interiors (Hel-
153


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
burn, New York, 1918).—P. Letarouilly: Edifices de Rome
Moderne (Gilbers, Paris, 1868); Le Vatican et la basilique
de St. Pierre (Morel, Paris, 1882).—W. Odom: A History of
Italian Furniture, XIV-XtX Century (Doubleday, New
York, 1918).—A. Palladio: / Quattro libri di architet-
tura (Franceschi, Venice, 1570); also English translation
(Ward, London, 1742).—Reinhardt: Palast-Architektur
Genuas (Wasmuth, Berlin, 1886).—W. F. Schottmuller:
Furniture and Interior Decoration of Italian Renaissance
(Brentano, New York, 1921).—H. Strack: Die Baudenkmàler
Roms des XV-XIX Jahrhundert (Wasmuth, Berlin, 1891).—
I. Triggs: The Art of Garden Design in Italy (Longmans,
London, 1921).
154


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
example—of this restless striving after a novel and in-
dividual expression (Figure 42). Preeminently a
sculptor, he designed in light-and-shade, modulating
and breaking his surfaces to gain lines and spots of
shadow. A Colossus himself, both artistically and in-
tellectually, he loved colossal orders, big details, and a
certain restlessness and movement of lines and surfaces.
His successors and imitators reproduced and exagger-
ated his eccentricities and extravagances without his
genius. They developed in time an architecture whose
external composition and details, often ingenious and
effective, are too frequently coarse and heavy, suggest-
ing a labored striving after novelty rather than an easy
mastery of effects and means. There seems to be a
constant effort to surprise the spectator rather than to
charm him; an appearance of ostentation in strong con-
trast to the delicately-adjusted proportions and refined
details of the works of a Bramante, a Peruzzi, or a
Vignola. The leaders in this tendency were Carlo
Maderna, Francesco Borromini, and the great sculp-
tor-architect Lorenzo Bernini.1 All three were men of
decided ability, Bernini distinctly the greatest of them.
The time-limits of this period cannot be exactly de-
fined, for architecture of a restrained and classic or
Middle Renaissance character continued to appear well
into the 17th century, while a reaction towards a se-
verely classic treatment manifested itself before the end
of the same century. In general use the entire Seicento
is considered as Baroque in its decorative art; but the
'Carlo Maderna, 1556-1629; Francesco Borromini, 1599-1667; Lorenzo
Bernini, 1598-1680.
156


ITALIAN BAROQUE ORNAMENT
name "Baroque" or "Baroco" is applicable rather to a
quality than to any definite period of years. The word
Baroque itself is of Italian origin, technically applied
to pearls of unusual and irregular shape; hence to archi-
tecture which defies the classical canons by singularities
and unusual and surprising combinations and effects.
The name "Rococo" sometimes applied to works of
Baroque style is a misnomer, since it belongs more prop-
erly to the interior decoration of the Louis XV style
and its German and Italian imitations.
The Jesuit Influence.
The Jesuit Order, formally recognized and estab-
lished by a Papal bull in 1543, grew so rapidly in wealth
and power that before the end of the century it had
become an important if not dominant factor in the prog-
ress of church architecture. Proceeding upon the prin-
ciple that the masses should be attracted to the services
of the Church by any and every means that might most
strongly appeal to their senses, the Jesuits aimed to
produce in their church interiors the utmost possible
impression of decorative magnificence. Colored marbles
combined in violent contrasts, complicated architectural
detail, sculpture of angels, cherubs and saints in striking
and theatrical attitudes, painted perspectives, abundant
gilding and every device that could amaze the beholder
were employed lavishly to produce sensational effects
of splendor. Stucco was freely used for sculpture to
replace the more costly marble, and for many of the
architectural details, and "scagliola" (sham marble)
was used in many places in imitation of the more costly
157


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
varieties of colored and variegated marble, though
these are not lacking in certain interiors, especially of
chapels, and in tombs where the available funds per-
mitted. Since surprising effects were desired rather
than the purer sorts of artistic excellence, the finer
qualities of design tended to disappear, and the per-
nicious influence of this theatrical art affected more or
less all architectural design.
Architectural Detail.
Effects of general composition belong to the field of
architecture rather than of ornament, but the details of
the architecture are properly part of our subject.
The "orders," especially "colossal" orders extending
through two or even three stories, were used with no
essential change in their proportions or profiles, except
that the "breaking" of the entablatures to produce
multiplied planes and lines of shadow was carried to an
extreme. In some instances, by setting the pedestals
and capitals diagonally, especially to flank portals, the
breaking-out of the entablature over them was made to
produce novel and conspicuous effects of perspective
and shadow. But while the pedestals, columns and
entablatures were otherwise generally treated according
to traditional rules, every sort of license was taken with
both triangular and curved pediments. Pediments were
placed within pediments, the horizontal cornice of the
pediment was broken back in the center or even cut
away with the frieze and architrave below it, in order
to receive the upper part of an arched door, niche or
window. In other cases the apex of the pediment was
158


ITALIAN BAROQUE ORNAMENT
broken back or cut away to admit a bust, vase or
cartouche; curved pediments were likewise interrupted
in the center, the two adjacent halves terminating in
scrolls (Fig. 116).
The earliest example of the pediment within a pedi-
ment may be seen in della Porta's facade (1575) to

Fio. 116.—Top of Gateway, Villa Falconieri, Frascati.
Vignola's church of the Gesu at Rome. This fine
church, the central church of the Jesuit Order, exercised
a powerful influence on the later architecture of the
Order. Its interior decorations in painted and gilded
stucco do not, however, belong to the date of its erection;
they were executed between 1668 and 1683 by Antonio
Raggi and G. B. Gaulli. The fashion of the scrolled
curved half-pediment may have been set by Michel-
159


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
angelo's pedestals for the four reclining figures of his
monuments to the Medici in the New Sacristy of San
Lorenzo at Florence (1534); each pedestal being
crowned with such a half-pediment.
It is interesting to observe that the Italians in many
of these innovations on classic Roman precedent were
reproducing, without knowing it, combinations and de-
tails employed 1300 years earlier by the Syrians at
Baalbek (cf. my Hist, of Orn., I, p. 137, Fig. 165).
As the Italians of the Seicento knew nothing of this
Syrian architecture, this example of identical recurrence
is extremely interesting.
Nearly all the distinctive details of the Baroque
architecture can be traced to origins in works dating as
far back as the period 1550-1575. Thus in the upper
windows of the Farnese Palace, attributed to Michel-
angelo, the arches break through the horizontal entabla-
tures into the tympana of the pediments. "Colossal"
pilasters were used by Sammichele at Verona, by Pal-
ladio at Vicenza, by Michelangelo on the facades of the
palaces of the Campidoglio at Rome, and on a still more
colossal scale in and on St. Peter's at Rome. Other
Cinquecento germs of Baroque details will be mentioned
later.
On the other hand, the Baroque use of diagonally-
placed pedestals and of entablatures broken out at 45
degrees, the curving of facade wall-surfaces, and the
hideous twisted columns of the baldacchino of St.
Peter's, were inventions of a later age, having no proto-
types in the Middle Renaissance.
160


ITALIAN BAROQUE ORNAMENT
Twisted Columns.
A late Roman twisted column of white marble, re
puted to have been brought from the Gate
Beautiful at Jerusalem, where St. Peter
healed the lame man,2 is preserved in a
chapel of St. Peter's at Rome. This
richly-carved column, of a type which is
essentially ugly and could only have been
produced in an age of decline, was greatly
admired by Bernini, who copied it on a
colossal scale in the huge baldacchino or
altar-canopy of St. Peter's, where its ugli-
ness was magnified tenfold (Figure 43).
From this time on the twisted column
seems to have been accepted as a desirable
bequest from classic art and Christian his-
tory, and was frequently employed for
works of minor architecture, where it was,
on the whole, less objectionable than in
more monumental works (Fig. 117). The
twisted column ("colonne torse") is not
to be confounded with the spirally-fluted
columns of the Middle Ages and early
Renaissance, which retain some rigidity
of aspect and are generally used with dis-
cretion.3 Examples of the "colonne torse"
abound; e.g. in a confessional at Vercelli;
in a fountain of the Villa d'Este at Tivoli; on the
sacristy cupboards of the church at Macerata; in the

flZEuSGidrM
Fio. 117.—
Twisted Col-
umn, Confes-
sional in San
Andrea, Ver-
celli.
'Cf. in the Bible, Acts iii, 1-10.
*Cf. my "Hist, of On.," I, Figures 385, 396.
161


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Chapel of the Crucifix of Monreale Cathedral; in the
altar of the Annunciation of San Ignazio at Rome, this
last dated as late as 1730; and many other instances
could be given.
In the same spirit of the quest of novel effects the
architraves or framing-moldings of doors, windows and

Fio. 119.—Voluted Buttresses, Santa Maria della Salute, Venice.
panels were complicated by multiplied crossettes, pro-
jections, ears and tabs; rectangular brackets were
treated like triglyphs, and gutta? were placed under all
sorts of projections. Consoles or inverted brackets, as
well as brackets set upright (that is, with the large
volute at the top), were designed with interrupted
curves, as in the upper part of Fig. 118. The huge and
picturesque voluted console-buttresses of Sta. Maria
della Salute at Venice (by Baldassare Longhena, 1631;
1C2


ITALIAN BAROQUE ORNAMENT
Fig. 119) are the most famous examples of this feature,
which became the standard device for uniting the high
central part of a church facade to the lower side-aisle
fronts.
Rustication and Carv-
ing.
Rustication under-
went a similar elabo-
ration and experimen-
tation in the search for
variety and animation
of effect. Banded and
rusticated columns
had been used in a
number of Middle
Renaissance buildings
.at Verona (PI. I, 8,
9), Florence, Venice
and elsewhere. Fig.
116 shows an early
Baroque rusticated pi-
laster, from Frascati,
with a rusticated arch;
Fig. 120 the gate of
the Archiepiscopal Seminary at Milan; Fig. 121 a
pilaster from Caprarola; all illustrating the tendency
to over-elaboration and the striving after ingenious
novelties. Vermiculations as in Fig. 122, and in foun-
tain-structures "congelations" or conventional repre-
sentations of icicles or lime-deposits, symbolic of water,

Fio. 120.—Gateway of Seminary at
Milan.
163


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT

164








ITALIAN BAROQUE ORNAMENT
mm
v&rmicolaLwns
c
Fio. 122.—"Vermiculated" and "Congelated" RUSTICaTIONS.
were among the common devices for producing a
speckled play of light and shadow on masonry sur-
faces.

Fio. 125.—Three Escutcheons from Verona.
Shields, armorial escutcheons and cartouches were
almost the only carved ornaments for exteriors to be
165


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
added to the preceding list. In these, voluted forms
and "curl-overs" were introduced wherever possible,
especially in the elaborate Papal escutcheons on church
facades and ecclesiastical palaces. Great ingenuity was
shown in these compositions (Figs. 123-125). Palm
branches as symbols of victory sometimes enter into
Fio. 126.—Half-Wreath and exteriors in favor of the larger,
broader effects of the Baroque facades.
Both the cartouche and the multiplication of volutes
and of curl-overs occur frequently in the later Middle
Renaissance, especially in furniture and other works of
minor architecture and industrial art, as already ex-
plained on p. 131. The Florentine "sgabellone" of
Fig. 106 is decorated with a cartouche of almost Ba-
roque character, and twenty volutes can be counted in
various parts of the design. Broken or "shouldered"
curves appear both in the outer silhouette of this pedes-

these designs, possibly a reflex
influence from France, where
they occur frequently under
Henry IV (1589-1610). The
example in Fig. 126, though
of the 18th century, is thor-
oughly in the Baroque spirit.
The carving of moldings
was of little importance, and
all the minuter and more deli-
cate forms of carved ornament
disappeared from the Baroque
Palms, San Giovanni La-
terano, 1734, ry Galilei.
heavier and bolder details re-
quired by the larger scale and
166


ITALIAN BAROQUE ORNAMENT
tal and in the cartouche, which may be compared with
the Baroque cartouche in Fig. 124 with the arms of
Pope Urban VIII, dated over 80 years
later. The curl-over scroll was a favor-
ite device with the furniture-carvers of
the second half of the 16th century.
Indeed, the cartouche with curl-overs
occurs as early as 1559 in the stucco
decoration of the vault of the Scala
d'Oro in the Ducal Palace at Venice,
if the attribution of this work to Ales-
sandro Vittoria is correct.

The Gaine.
This feature, already referred to in
the preceding chapter, became so impor-
tant in the German, Flemish and Eng-
lish Renaissance as to deserve a para-
graph to itself. Its origin goes back to
the ancient termini or boundary-posts
set at the corners of fields. These were
in primitive days wooden posts driven
into the ground, the small end down,
and the "butt" end above carved into a
head of Mercury, whose Greek name,
Hermes, was frequently given to these
posts. Later they were imitated in stone,
square instead of round in section and
executed with high art, so that even in
Cicero's time Greek Hermes-posts were in demand for
decorating Roman villa gardens. The Italians of the
Fio. 127.—Gaine
or Sheath
F i o v a E, Sa-
cristy of Cer-
tosa, Pavia.
167


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Renaissance revived the ancient custom and imitated
the antique termini, elaborating them into such stately
half-figure posts as those in the Caprarola gardens
shown in Fig. 105 c.
It was perhaps from the furniture-
makers that these garden decorators de-
rived their suggestions for the use of
half-figures emerging from a sheath.
The architects of the Seicento, ever in
quest of new forms and combinations,
seized on the gaine as a substitute for
the pilaster in major works, finding it
more decorative than the pilaster and
capable of endless variety of treatment.
Figs. 127 and 128, the latter from the
Villa Albani at Rome, are only two
variant examples among a long list that
might be cited: e.g. the tower of .San
Andrea delle Fratte at Rome (1650 by
Borromini); the Madama Palace,
Rome, where it is used to flank the win-
dows; the doorway of the Pallavicini
Palace, Genoa; and a very early ex-
ample by Galeasso Alessi on the Muni-
cipio or Marina Palace at Milan, dat-
ing from about 1550.

Fio. 128.—Gains
from a Gate-
way or Villa
Alrani, Komi.
Interior Decoration.
While the exteriors of buildings were treated with
a certain bigness of composition and scale and in a
manner that demanded little of carved ornament, the
168


ITALIAN BAROQUE ORNAMENT
interiors were often fairly riotous with showy decora-
tion. Columns, pilasters and panels were veneered
with strongly veined and rich-colored marbles—black,
brown, dark red, green and yellow, contrasting
with capitals and moldings of white marble. Above
all, stucco was employed to an extent, and in ways,
never dreamed of by Raphael and his school. It was

Fio. 129.—One Quarter op a Stucco Ceiling, Palazzo Mattei, Rome.
used for ceilings and for many architectural features,
with an extraordinary profusion of rich details in
panels, scrolls, enriched moldings, cartouches, gro-
tesques and human figures (Fig. 129; Figure 44). The
variety of these plaster ornaments is endless, and any
effort to classify and enumerate them would be futile.
An inartistic and indefensible abuse of the material is
seen in frequent imitations of draperies, represented as
held up over tombs, doors, canopies, etc., usually by
infant figures, as in certain rooms in the Vatican.
169


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Sometimes a festooned bit of drapery takes the place of
a "swag" of fruit or flowers, even as an ornament of an
Ionic capital. It would be hard to find any artistic
justification for so absurd a detail. One is forced to
the conclusion that true artistic invention declined as
the pursuit of sheer novelty became more and more
insistent.
Figure Sculpture.
A notable element in the Baroque scheme of decora-
tion is the important part played by the human figure,
in churches and palaces alike. Amorini or Cupids,
angels, genii and human grotesques, modeled with great
technical skill and for the most part posed in sensational
and acrobatic attitudes, were placed in every possible
position, as if clinging to cornices, coasting down the
archivolts of arches, peering over pediments, holding
wreaths, shields or emblems, and adding to the restless-
ness of the whole interior effect (interiors of St. Peter's,
of Sta. Maria della Vittoria, of St. John Lateran, all at
Rome; church of the Scalzi at Venice; church of the
Carmine and several others at Naples; ceilings in the
Pitti Palace, Florence; several interiors in the Vatican
at Rome, etc.; Figures 44-46).
But while much of this very theatrical sculpture is
open to the severest condemnation, high praise cannot
be withheld from the skillful and generally charming
treatment of infant forms. They were modeled in gen-
eral with singular sympathy and full appreciation both
of infantile beauty and of decorative effect. Even the
colossal marble babes which hold the huge holy-water
170


ITALIAN BAROQUE ORNAMENT
basins in the nave of St. Peter's, though wrong in scale
—for a gigantic babe is a contradiction of ideas and an
artistic absurdity—are in themselves finely modeled,
and on a smaller scale would be charming.
Villas, Fountains and Gates.
The love of luxury and display
found full and free expression in this
age in the decoration of villa gardens,
casini, grottoes, fountains and gate-
ways. Stucco, stone and bronze were
molded into fantastic shapes, and a
humorous grotesquery played its
pranks in water-organs, trick-foun-
tains and the adornment of garden-
grottoes artificially created under the
terraces. The gaine or sheath-figure
appears frequently, as on the famous
water-organ at Tivoli, and later in the
amusing hobble-skirted caryatides of
the gate of the Villa Albani, a belated
bit of Baroque design of the late 18th century (Fig.
128). The gate of the Archiepiscopal Seminary at
Milan in Fig. 120 illustrates the use of rustication in
a design which substitutes a polygonal for a curved
arch to the gateway; such arches were not infrequent
in the 17th century.
Balustrades.
The simple and elegant forms of the baluster em-
ployed by the early Renaissance artists or developed by

Fig. ISO.—Balus-
ter, Cernetto
Palace, Bi-
TONTO.
171


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Vignola (see ante, p. 89 and Fig. 69), no longer
sufficed the restless innovators of the Baroco. They
varied the Vignola types, cut them square instead of
round, set them upside down, even alternated them
upright and inverted (terrace of Doria Palace, Rome),
crowned them with Ionic and Corinthian caps, and oc-
casionally substituted openwork parapets for balus-
trades. Fig. 130 illustrates a square single-vase balus-
ter of unusually elegant design.
The Classical Reaction.
No art based on eccentricity and sensationalism can
long survive, and the inspiration of the quest for novelty
must in time exhaust itself. Such a quest is in itself an
unmistakable sign of the decline of creative power, and
to this the Italian Baroco was no exception. As the
17th century drew to its close, artistic production, both
in architecture and in the allied arts began to diminish.
The Jesuit Order could not forever continue growing
richer and building more churches, and both the secular
and the ecclesiastical nobility were at last well supplied
with palaces and villas. The reaction towards classical
simplicity appears first in Bernini's time, in his colossal
Tuscan colonnades in front of St. Peter's, which are
totally destitute of ornament. In the 18th century this
tendency became more pronounced and was marked by
a deliberate effort to return to antique Roman types,
both in general composition and in decorative detail.
In this century we meet the beginnings of classical
archaeology as a distinct artistic and scientific pursuit.
172


Figure 44. Ceiling, Sala di Giove, Pitti Palace, Florence.

Figure 45. Door, Palazzo
Negrone, Genoa.
Figure 46. Stucco Details,
Palazzo Negrone, Genoa.





ITALIAN BAROQUE ORNAMENT
The discovery of Pompeii in 1721, the epoch-making
rediscovery of Greek architecture by Stuart and Revett
in 1752, Wood and Dawkins' exploration of Palmyra
and Baalbek, and the marvelous engravings of Roman
antiquities by Piranesi,4 directed the attention of de-
signers to new sources of classic art. Archaeological

Fio. 131.—Wall Decorated in Classic Revival or Louis XVI Style.
correctness, the textual copying or close imitation of
particular antique models, took in large measure the
place of original invention and creative adaptation.
Meanwhile in palace and garden design there was a
reflex influence from French art as exhibited in the
palace of Versailles, affecting both exterior and interior
details, as for example in the palace, the decorations and
the gardens of Caserta near Naples. The ornament of
'Giovanni Battista Piranesi, 1720-1776.
173


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
this period is—so far as the exterior at least is con-
cerned—for the most part dry, correct and uninspired.
When, later in the century, interior decoration and
furniture underwent the influence of the French Louis
Quinze style, the Italian Rococo imitations of this style
lacked the vivacity and spontaneity, and generally also
the delicacy of the French originals. The facades of
uA^^mwm^jr^^^M St' John Lateran bv
^5S^3Mr(ifa^^l Galilei (1734), of Santa
^JIM Maria Maggiore by Fer-
dinando Fuga (1743),
of the Trevi Fountain
by Niccolo Salvi (1735),
all at Rome; and of the
palace of Caserta al-
ready mentioned, by
Vanvitelli (1753), are
fair examples of this re-
action: designs not with-
out dignity but lacking
in decorative interest.
The further reaction to-
wards simplicity and
delicacy of detail which
manifested itself in
France in the style of
Louis XVI and in England in that of the Adam broth-
ers, found its reflection in many palace interiors in Italy
towards the close of the 18th century (Fig. 131). The
way was being prepared for the various "revivals" of the
nineteenth century.

Kig. 132.—Italian Brocatelle, Seven-
teenth Centi-ry.
174


ITALIAN BAROQUE ORNAMENT

Fio.
133.—Traditional Motive,
Wool on Cotton.
Blue
Minor Arts: Textiles,
Furniture, Metalwork.
There was no such no-
ticeable change in style
in the minor arts as in
architecture in this pe-
riod, but rather a grad-
ual increase in splendor
and variety of decora-
tive treatment corre-
sponding with the grow-
ing love of display. All
the textile arts were car-
ried on with increasing elabora-
tion of design. In church vest-
ments, altar-cloths and robes of
state one observes the departure
further and further from the
Oriental types of motive which
dominated the brocades and vel-
vets of the preceding century.
The Oriental origin of these mo-
tives is still traceable, but the
elaboration of all motives gradu-
ally transformed them from their
original aspect. A comparison
of the brocatelle pattern in Fig.
132 with even the most elaborate
patterns of the 15th and 16th
centuries reveals the greater
complexity of detail in the later

Fio. 134. — Wall-Hanging,
Applioue and Needle-
175


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
example, though there is no change in the principle of
the design. On the other hand the motive in Fig. 133
might have occurred in a 15th century fabric. There
was a great increase in the use of applique, that is of
patterns cut out of one material and applied upon an-
other material of contrasting color. Applique and em-
broidery of great splendor
were combined in patterns
a predominantly architectural in
derivation—rinceaux, vines,
grotesques not unlike those
used in architectural carving
(Fig. 134). The art of lace-
making was developed to high
perfection in Venice especially
(Fig. 135); and tapestry-
weaving continued to furnish
opportunities for splendid
combinations of pictorial and
ornamental design, though
these arts was passing to
as will appear in a later

Fio. 135. — Venetian Lace,
Seventeenth Century, in
Metropoi.itan Museum, New
York.
in both
Flanders,
preeminence
France and
chapter.
It was in furniture that the Baroque style asserted
itself more than in any other of the allied arts, unless
it were in metalwork. The architectural character
necessarily belonging to the more important articles even
of movable furniture, naturally brought them under the
influence of the general movement of architectural
style. This architectural character was especially
marked in the high cabinets, imposing articles of furni-
176


ITALIAN BAROQUE ORNAMENT
ture of a kind which had begun to come into use in the
16th century, but which did not reach its full develop-
ment until the 17th. The wide or deep lower part con-
tained drawers, sometimes concealed behind doors, and
could serve as a desk; the upper part with its drawers
and pigeon-holes was a useful receptacle for papers
and accounts, as well as for jewels and other small
objects. In those of this period there is much use of
ivory and ebony for inlays and moldings, and even onyx,
agate and fine marbles are sometimes found. The de-
signs were strongly architectural; the upper part was
flanked by pilasters, colonnettes or gaines and sur-
mounted by a broken pediment, and even the smaller
parts were framed within miniature columns and entab-
latures and adorned with niches and other architectural
features. The workmanship was admirable, even in
those examples in which the decline of taste is most
clearly evident. (Figure 37.)
With the increasing provision of cabinets, dressers
and cupboards for the storing of many different kinds
of household goods, the cassoni or chests of an earlier
period lost their importance and ceased to be made, or
at least to be made of decorative splendor. On the other
hand the chair took on new importance and was made
less as an article of ornament and more as one of use
and comfort. Chairs were provided with arms shaped
with graceful curves and were given forms and propor-
tions better adapted for comfort, and were sometimes
upholstered, at first in leather, later with real cushions
covered with brocades, velvet or tapestry. In these
developments the Germans, Flemings and Hollanders
177


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
seem to have played an important part. It was they
who taught the French furniture-makers of the reign
of Louis XIV (1643-1715).
The style developed by the
French out of this teaching
—or rather the three styles
of Louis XIV, XV and
XVI—in turn affected the
work and fashions of the
Italian cabinet-makers and
woodworkers in the second
half of the 17th century and
throughout the entire 18th
century.
The ironwork of this pe-
riod calls for no special no-
tice, except as the patterns
used in grilles, window-guards and gates discarded the
simpler forms of the Middle Renaissance and made use

dKONZt
KVIIlhC
Fio. 136.—Venetian Seventeenth-
Century Bronze Knocker.

Fio. 137.—Half of a Seventeenth-Century Plate.
of more complicated curves and more intricate combi-
nations (PI. IV, 11). The same reversed, interrupted
178


ITALIAN BAROQUE ORNAMENT
and broken curves that had come into use in the archi-
tectural details of buildings appeared now not only in
the ironwork but also in the silhouettes of candelabra,
vases and other works of the gold- and-silversmith,
jeweler and bronze-founder (Fig. 136; PI. IV, 2, 3);
in typographical ornament, in ceramic decoration (Fig.
137), and in the minor arts generally.
Books Recommended:
Anonymous: Deckenmalereien des ersten Korridors der
Koniglichen Galerie [the Uffizi] zu Florenz (Wasmuth, Berlin,
1880).—M. S. Briggs: Baroque Architecture (Unwin, London,
1913) .—A. Charvet: Reiche Plafonds aus italienischen
Schldssern und Paldste (Claesen, Berlin, n. d.).—Gurlitt:
Geschichte des Barockstiles in Italien; also Das Barock und
Rokoko-Ornament (Ebner & Seubert, Stuttgart, 1888).—R.
Norton: Bernini and Other Studies (Macmillan, New York,
1914) .—C. Ricci: Baroque Architecture and Sculpture in
Italy (Heinemann, London, 1912).
179


CHAPTER VI
THE RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
Character of the French Renaissance.
The Italian Renaissance was the natural and spon-
taneous outgrowth of the forces that had been progres-
sively molding the thought and life of the people for a
century at least before the time of Brunelleschi, Dona-
tello and della Robbia. It spread to other countries
partly as the result of changes in the ideas and senti-
ments of their peoples, but more often by the contagious
influence of the Italian Renaissance and its brilliant
works, appearing in those countries as a foreign fashion
rather than as a spontaneous and popular movement.
To France it was brought by royal influence, and its
early development was almost wholly due to three suc-
cessive kings whose campaigns in Italy had filled them
with admiration for Italian art. These were Charles
VIII (1483-1498), Louis XII (1498-1515), and Fran-
cis I (1515-1547), each of whom fought in Italy in
vindication of alleged dynastic claims to the throne of
Naples and the dukedom of Milan; each of whom, at
first victorious, was finally defeated, but each of whom
on his return to France brought with him Italian artists
and sought in a new palace to reproduce something of
the beauty and elegance of the foreign style: Charles
VIII at Amboise, Louis XII at Blois and Francis I
180





Figure 47. Tomr of Cardinals of Amroise, Rouen.

Figure 48. Tomr of Louis XII, St. Denis.


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
at Blois, Fontainebleau and many other places. As
Mr. W. H. Ward has happily phrased it in his "Archi-
tecture of the Renaissance in France," "Charles and his
courtiers fell in love with Italy, and when they brought
her home with them, the Renaissance was found in her
train." From this time on the kings and their courts
were the leaders in every movement in the arts of design,
building palaces and churches which set the style for
their time, and filling their palaces with furniture de-
signed by artists of distinction which exercised a power-
ful influence on all the decorative arts. Hence the
French are accustomed to designate the various phases
of their Renaissance art by the names of their kings, and
they thus enumerate the styles of Louis XII, Francis I,
Henry II, III, and IV, Louis XIII, XIV, XV and
XVI, and finally that of the Empire, that is of Napo-
leon Bonaparte. These various styles might more
properly be grouped somewhat as follows: (a) the
Transition, covering the reigns of Charles VIII and
Louis XII and extending into that of Francis I, 1483-
1525; (b) the Valois Period from 1525 to 1574, covering
the greater part of the reign of Francis I (d. 1547), and
those of Henry II (1547-1559), Francis II (to 1560),
and Charles IX (to 1574); (c) the Bourbon Period—a
period of oscillation between classical and Baroque
tendencies, 1574 to about 1620, covering the reigns of
Henry III (1574-1589) and IV (to 1610) and the
earlier years of that of Louis XIII from 1610 to 1620
or thereabout; (d) the period of Louis, 1620-1789, cov-
ering the reigns of Louis XIII from 1620 to 1643,
Louis XIV (1643-1715), Louis XV (1715-1774) and
181


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Louis XVI to the Revolution in 1789; commonly sub-
divided into the phases peculiar to each of these four
reigns. The Empire style belongs to the 19th century
and will be discussed in Chapter XIII.
This multiplicity of styles and phases in the French
Renaissance is due to no fanciful and arbitrary classifi-
cation; it reflects a fundamental and significant fact in
the development of the art of that long period. This
fact is the presence of two contrasted currents or
tendencies, due perhaps to the composite make-up of the
French people; two opposed tendencies which we may
call the Gallic and the Latin; the first romantic, viva-
cious, imaginative, impatient of rule and formula; the
second classic, orderly, taking pleasure in the subjection
of design to formal canons, to the demand of symmetry
and monumental disposition. To the first we owe the
vitality and originality of French art; to the second its
restraint, its freedom from vulgarity and extravagance,
its inherent good taste. Throughout the Renaissance
the pendulum swung gradually now toward one, now
toward the other end of its arc, except during the period
when it oscillated uncertainly under the disturbing in-
fluence of the Italian Baroque. Unless we grasp the
significance of these conflicting tendencies the variations
of French style become utterly confusing and incom-
prehensible.
The Transition: 1483-1525.
Even before the reign of Charles VIII Italian artists
had found their way into France here and there, to
execute minor works such as tombs, chapels, altars and
182


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
the like, and it is highly probable that examples of the
new taste in the accessory arts, in stuffs and embroider-
ies, perhaps in typographical ornaments, had also been
introduced. Certain it is that a new enthusiasm for
classical learning had begun to manifest itself at least
as early as the reign of Louis XI, revealing itself in the
paintings of Jean Fouquet and the miniatures of
Etienne Chevalier.
The two Counts of Le
Maine, father and son,
both known as Charles
of Anjou, were en-
lightened patrons of
the arts, and about
1476 summoned Luci-
ano da Laurana to Le
Mans, where he later
executed the tomb of
the elder Charles in the cathedral. He was employed
by the son at Marseilles, where he built the Chapel of
St. Lazare, and at Avignon, where, aided by Tommaso
of Como, he executed a sculptured reredos in the church
of the Celestins.
But until the 16th century was several years old the
foreign fashion made but slow headway against the
national style, the "Flamboyant" Gothic, which con-
tinued to prevail in ecclesiastical work generally, and
with diminishing strength in secular and domestic ar-
chitecture and furniture. The portion of a turret-
corbel in Fig. 138 shows the mixture of the two styles in
its moldings. The influx of Italian artists who came in

Fig. 138.—Correl from Verneuh..
183


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
with Charles VIII and Louis XII made no perceptible
impression on French architecture in general. But
they at least taught the French carvers—the tailleurs
de pierre—to execute scrolls and arabesques in the
Italian or "antique" manner, as in certain ornaments in
the arcade-piers of the East side of the court of the
chateau or palace of Blois, and in the decorative details
of the Chateau de Gaillon now in the court of the Ecole
des Beaux-Arts at Paris.1 In the expense accounts of
this work one Pierre Delorme signs his name with the
addendum "Tailleur [de pierre] a l'antique et a la mode
de France"; that is, carver in both the Renaissance and
Gothic styles. The beautiful tomb of the children of
Charles VIII in the cathedral of St. Gatien at Tours is
probably the earliest work wholly in the new style by a
French artist; it is by Michel Colombe, the greatest
exponent of the early French Renaissance and a deco-
rative sculptor of consummate skill (1430-1512). He
was assisted in this, and perhaps also in other works,
by an Italian, Geronimo da Fiesole (Fig. 139). To
Colombe also are attributed the two great compositions
which adorn the interior ends of the transepts of the
Abbey of Solesmes, representing the Entombment of
Christ and the Life of the Virgin. These sculptured
groups are framed in architectural compositions in
which the Italian forms of pilasters and entablatures
and arabesques are curiously blended with late Gothic
details. Colombe also executed the splendid tomb of
Francis II, Duke of Brittany (who died in 1488) in
'The Chftteau de Gaillon near Rouen was built between 1502 and 1510
for the Cardinal of Amboise, and was demolished during the French
Revolution.
184


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
association with a certain Jean Perreal; this work is in
the cathedral of Nantes and dates from 1502 (Fig.
140). In his panel of St. George and the Dragon from
Gaillon, now in the Louvre, the architectural frame is
wholly in the new style.
Fig. 139.—End Elevation, Tomr or Children or Charles VIII, Tours.
Since the disappearance of the Chateau de Gaillon,
in which the Cardinal Georges d'Amboise embodied to
the utmost his enthusiasm for the ideals of the Renais-
sance, the finest remaining monument of this period of
transition is the Cardinal's tomb in the cathedral of
Rouen: the masterpiece of Roland or Roulland Leroux
(Figure 47). This tomb was not erected until 1525, but

185


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
it is absolutely in the maturer style of the Transition,
in which we constantly find the medieval feeling and a
strongly Gothic composition, even when every detail is
confessedly in the new style. Rouen was the home of
a particularly brilliant development or "school" of the

Fig. 140.—End Elevation, Tomr of Francis II, Duke op Brittany,
Nantes.
Flamboyant Gothic style, and it here resisted for a long
time the inroads of the Italian or "antique" manner,
except in subordinate details, in which the old and new
styles are constantly and curiously mixed. But this
mixture was by no means confined to Rouen or to
Northern France; the door whose detail is shown in
Figure 49 a is from Aix in Southern France.
The Style of Francis I.
Under this monarch, after his disastrous defeat at
Pavia in 1525, his imprisonment at Madrid for a year
and his release on payment of an enormous ransom,
186


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
French architecture underwent a gradual but steady
and complete transformation, covering the first half of
the Valois Period. After 1526 it is almost impossible
to find a Gothic detail except in ecclesiastical works, and
even in these the apparently Gothic forms of taber-
nacles, ribbed vaults and clustered shafts, are treated
with purely classical profiles and details, as in the choir-
screen of the cathedral of Limoges, the doors of Beau-
vais cathedral, the entrance-portal of the chateau of
Azay-le-Rideau, the vault of the chapel at Tillieres and
the whole interior of St. Eustache at Paris. Francis I
was an indefatigable builder of palaces and chateaux
and an enthusiastic employer of Italian artists. At
different times during his reign of thirty-two years he
summoned from Italy the architects Serlio and Vignola,
the painter-decorators Primaticcio and II Rosso ("le
Primatice" and "Maitre Roux"), the sculptor and
metalworker Benvenuto Cellini, the sculptor-ceramist
Girolamo della Robbia, and several others of less note.2
Except for medallions on the now-vanished Chateau de
Madrid by the last-named, and decorations of the Gal-
lery of Francis I at Fontainebleau by Primaticcio and
II Rosso, their direct influence on architecture was
almost nil. Their indirect influence, however, was
great; for although constantly overruled by the French
master-builders in the general composition of the pal-
aces on which they were employed, they taught the
French the decorative value of the classic moldings and
* Sebastiano Serlio of Bologna, 1475-1555; Giacomo Bnrozzi da Vignola,
1507-1573; Francesco Primaticcio of Bologna, 1490-1570; Giovanni Bat-
tista di Giacopo, called II Rosso, of Florence, 1500-1571; Girolamo della
Robbia of Florence, 1500-1566.
187


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
orders and planted the seeds of a new taste in decorative
detail. The extent of the change which resulted may be
gauged by compar-
QjJLlJLILILILJlJlfJLBJLIL^JLIJLIJJLIJIJLI j jng the Francis I
open staircase at
Blois (Figure 49),
dating from about
1528, with the court
of the Louvre begun
in 1546, a year before
the death of Francis
I, by the courtier-
architect Pierre Les-
cot, or the tomb of
the Cardinal of Am-
boise with that of
Louis XII at St.
Denis (Figures 47,
48). Intermediate
between these two
extremes are such
works as the Chateau
of Chambord, wholly
Gothic in feeling but
without a trace of
Gothic detail, the
Hotel d'Ecoville at
Caen, or the Archbishop's Palace at Sens, this last late
in date but not yet classical in character.
Characteristic features of the decoration of this pe-
riod are the following: As to general composition, the

Fio.
141.—One Bay of Court
North Wino of Blois.
Fa9ade.
188








RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I

"plaid" system of wall or facade design, with contin-
uous vertical lines of pilasters flanking the windows,
crossed by widely separated architrave and cornice
moldings (Fig. 141); mullioned and transomed win-
dows; high dormers and chimneys, and an animated sky-
line of pointed roof-masses;
openings usually square-
headed or spanned by flat
elliptical arches. There are
no colonnades, and the
stateliness and formality of
classic architecture are
wholly wanting.
Francis I Details.
In the details of this archi-
tecture we observe first of
all the utter freedom with
which the orders were
treated, partly through
ignorance of the classic
canons, partly through the
persistence of the Gallic laMg0BaJ
• •. m • j j j Fio. 142.—Pilaster and Entarla-
spint ot independence and TUREi chamrord.
love of the picturesque.
Pilasters were almost always preferred to columns;
they were with few exceptions of the Corinthianesque
type, and hardly ever fluted. They were given but
slight projection, and their faces were either plain, pan-
eled with circular or diamond-shaped panels (Fig. 142),
or carved with arabesques (Fig. 143; PI. VII, 3). A

189


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
common treatment of the entablature was to run the
architrave over the tops of the windows of one story and
to separate it by a very wide frieze from the cornice,
which was made to serve as a continuous sill for the win-
dows of the next story (Fig. 141). Cornice and archi-
trave were little more than groups of moldings broken
out over each pilaster, thus producing the "plaid" effect

Fio. 143.—Upper Part of a Francis I Doorway, Toulouse.
mentioned above. Examples are seen in the Francis I
wing at Blois and the chateau of Chambord. Engaged
columns are rare, and free columns hardly occur at all
except in arcades, as in the Archbishop's Palace at Sens.
A unique type of cornice, and one so beautiful that it de-
served a development and perpetuation which it never
received, is the arcaded cornice that crowns the court
facade of the Francis I wing at Blois.
Arches are more often elliptical than semicircular
190


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
(Fig. 143), especially over doorways, and are some-
times molded in the soffit like Gothic arches, though in
other cases the soffits may be paneled like the pilasters
with circular or diamond-shaped panels. Doorways are
commonly flanked by pilasters, and not infrequently

Fio. 1+4.—Upper Part of a Fig. 145.—Typical Francis I
Francis I Dormer. S-Scroix.
adorned with surface-decoration of the wall-space above
them in a manner suggestive of Spanish influence (Fig.
143). Dormers are a conspicuous feature of the style.
They were usually flanked by pilasters and topped by
gables of capricious outline or carried up into a deco-
rative second story narrower than the lower or window-
story, with pilasters and gables of its own connected
with the lower stage by pseudo-flying-buttresses com-
191


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
posed of an S-scroll abutting against a candelabrum-
pinnacle (Fig. 144; PI. VII, 2; Figure 50). TKey
constitute a highly decorative element
of the chateau exteriors, reminiscent
of the high Flamboyant Gothic dor-
mers of the late Gothic and Transi-
tion periods, and persist through the
whole reign of Francis I.
Carved details of the style include,
first of all, the heraldic salamander
(Figure 49 b) of Francis I and the F
adorned with a crown (Fig. 144; Fig-
ure 50); the shell adorning niche-caps
and small semicircular pediments
(Fig. 143; Figure 50); the S-scroll
in manifold combination (Fig. 145;
Figure 50; PI. VII, 2); the candela-
brum-shaft in an endless variety of
forms, used as a pinnacle or as an or-
nament against piers or pilasters
(Figs. 146, 153; Figure 49 b, c; PL
VII, 4); paneling with circles, half-
circles, "lozenges" or diamonds and
half-diamonds as already explained;
and arabesques of extraordinary deli-
cacy and variety on panels and
pilasters (Fig. 147; Figures 53, 55; PI . VII, 3).
The decorative candelabrum-shaft is a significant
reminiscence of Pavia and the French campaign in
Lombardy, where it was widely used (Fig. 146; see
p. 42). It is interesting to note its almost simulta-

Fio. 146.—Candela-
rrum Shaft from
Toulouse.
192


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
neous blossoming out in the architecture of France and
Spain (see p. 276) after the battle of Pavia, victors and
vanquished alike having, so to speak, carried it back
with them to their respective countries.
The treatment of the carving in relief, based upon
the arabesques derived from Italy (Fig. 147; Figures
49 h, 53), was frequently more delicate, certainly lighter
and more minute, than the corresponding Italian work.

Fio. 147.—Carved Rinceau, Chateau de Paony.
The principle of varied relief, with its contrasting of
strong rounded masses with subordinate details almost
fading into the background, is often both brilliant and
subtle, as in the examples from Bonnivet and the tomb
of Philippe de Commines (Figures 49 h, 53). But it
often errs by over-minuteness, suggesting silversmith's
work or jewelry rather than architecture, as in the stair-
case of Francis I at Blois (Figure 49 /). This tendency
to minuteness is a survival from the late Gothic and
Transition periods. It is less open to criticism in the
choir-stalls and furniture of the period than in major
works of architecture.
193


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Capitals; Balustrades.
The Corinthianesque was the only type of capital in
general use until the time of Henry II, during whose
reign the Doric and Ionic orders began to appear. The
capitals of the Francis I period show great variety of
treatment, often a charming fancy, and in beauty of
light-and-shade and relief fall little behind their Italian
exemplars (PI. VII, 3, 5). The classic Italian balus-
trade was during this period replaced either by carved
stone parapets or by fanciful and highly ornate balus-
trades as at Blois (PI. VII, 11).
Interior Decoration: Ceilings.
The favorite type of ceiling in the earlier half of the
period was the "beam ceiling," with heavy timber
girders where the span demanded them, and square
beams set about two feet apart and richly painted. The
wood or plaster ceiling-spaces between the beams and
carried by them were also painted with arabesques or
other devices, as at Blois. In the Francis I Gallery at
Fontainebleau the ceiling between the girders is pan-
eled in wood in an intricate geometrical pattern in place
of the more usual treatment with beams. Such paneled
ceilings became increasingly common thereafter, but
the panels were usually shallow and not deeply coffered
as was later the practice derived from Italy. (See
PI. VII, 14.) Vaulting in carefully-cut stone occurs
in secular work chiefly over corridors and entrance halls,
as at Chambord, and is then often treated with square
rosetted coffers. In ecclesiastical work various forms
of ribbed vaulting are found, often highly ornate with
194


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
elaborate pendants at the intersections as at Tillieres,
the Chapel at Rue and some other examples. These
show a curious persistence of the influence of English
fan-vaulting on the late French Gothic, transmitted to
the French Renaissance architecture and interpreted
with Renaissance details. The vaulting of the great
church of St. Eustache at Paris is a purely Gothic
ribbed vault except for its round arches and the profil-
ing of its rib-moldings. The use of stucco enrichments
was not general until a later period.
Fireplaces.
With the increase in privacy and comfort in domestic
architecture, fireplaces were provided in every room of
importance and treated with elaborate decorations of
carving and sculpture. They were of stone, the wooden
mantelpiece being as yet unknown, and were built with
projecting hoods, though these were much smaller than
those of the preceding century. In some cases, however,
the chimneypiece was set back into the projecting
chimney-breast itself. Those in the Chateau de Blois
are chiefly modern restorations from fragments sur-
viving from the demolitions and alterations of the
eighteenth century, but they are no doubt fairly correct
reproductions of the original aspect of these important
features of the interior decoration of the age of Francis
I (Figure 49 c).
Woodwork and Furniture.
Wainscoting in wood was a practice peculiar to the
damp and well-wooded countries of northern Europe.
195


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
It never prevailed in Italy and was not common in
southern France, but was frequent in northern France.
The most notable example is
that of the Francis I Gallery at
Fontainebleau, where the de-
cidedly bizarre and baroque
character of the stucco decora-
tions above the wainscot, by the
Italians Primaticcio and II
Rosso (Fig. 148) to some ex-
tent influenced the carving of
the wainscot panels. In these
the ragged and curled-over es-
cutcheons so dear to the Italians
appear for the first time in
France (Fig. 149; PI. VII, 1);
they were destined to great pop-
ularity during the next three or
four reigns. Other examples
of wainscot design show more
of the delicacy and charm of the
Francis I style, as in the ex-
Fio. i48.-Sru«o Enrich- ample from St- Vincent at
men™, Galimt or Francis Rouen (PI. VII, 4) . The Same
I, Fontainerleau. v'
French refinement of taste ap-
pears in various choir-stalls, wooden screens and carved
doors of the period.
With regard to the furniture, it must be observed
that the French were behind the Italians in the amenities
and refinements of their social and civic life, and there
was no such abundance and variety of sumptuous furni-

196








RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
ture in the French chateaux and palaces as in the Ital-
ian of that time. But though less varied and numerous,
the examples of French furniture that have come down
to us from the Francis I period are often of great
beauty of detail and execution. This is particularly

Fig. 149.—Panel from Wainscot, Fig. 150.—A Francis I.
Gallery or Francis I, Fon- Chair.
TaINEBLEaU.
true of the chairs which, although uncomfortable and
uncompromising in shape, with straight backs, legs and
arms, are carved with shells, arabesques, S-scrolls and
candelabrum shafts and finials, in a fashion which in-
clines one to wonder whether the cabinet-makers derived
their designs from architecture or the architects theirs
197


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
from the furniture (Fig. 150). Tables seem to have
been but little used, and there have come down to us
no type-forms of table-support, of bedsteads, benches,
clothes-chests, cabinets or dressers from this period
until its very close. This is the more remarkable when
we recall the lavish display of costumes and jewels of
this reign and the monarch's extravagance in castle-
building.
For the introduction of the other sumptuary arts the
king depended entirely on foreigners, chiefly Italians
and Flemings. The weaving of brocades and of tapes-
tries was thus domesticated in France. Ceramic work
made little progress during this reign. The famous
Bernard Palissy began his experiments in 1538, but did
not finally produce his white enameled and decorated
wares until 1554 under Henry II.
The Later Valois Period.
Henry II was a less enthusiastic patron of the arts
than his father, but the onward march of the style con-
tinued, and the Italian queen Catherine de' Medici
("de Medicis" as the French write her name) supplied
what the king lacked in artistic zeal and greatly en-
couraged the Italian trend of taste and style. In archi-
tecture three architects, whose careers had begun under
Francis I, achieved their most notable masterpieces
during this reign:—Pierre Lescot the courtier and ama-
teur, descended from the Alessi of Italy, in the new
palace of the Louvre; Jean Bullant in the chateau of
Ecouen; and Philibert Delorme,3 the first professionally
•Pierre Lescot, 1510-78; Jean Bullant, 1515-78; Philibert Delorme or
de l'Orme, 1515-70.
198


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
trained French architect, in tlje tomb of Francis I at
St. Denis, the Tuileries projected and partly built for
the queen, and the Chateau d'Anet, of which only minor
parts are now extant, and of which the entrance-bay was
saved and re-erected in the court of the Ecole des
Beaux-Arts at Paris. In these works, as in the Chateau
of Ancy-le-Franc, now known to have been largely de-
signed by the Italian Serlio but long ago demolished, in
the church at Les Andelys, the Fountain of the Inno-
cents by Lescot and Jean Goujon (taken down and re-
erected in modified form in 1788), the classic forms of
column, pilaster and entablature appear as essential
features employed in the classic manner, though not
always with classical correctness. In churches espe-
cially, as at Les Andelys, the lingering tradition of
Gothic design still appears in details, though even these
are Gothic only in derivation, not in actual form.
The change in style, and particularly in the use of
the orders, may be gauged by comparing the tomb of
Francis I by Delorme with that of Louis XII also at
St. Denis, executed in 1525 by the two Justes, or
the facade of the Louvre by Lescot with Chambord or
the north wing of Rlois (Figure 49 /).
Architectural Details.
Resides the more classic proportioning, profiling and
treatment of the orders in this period as compared with
the preceding, a complete change occurred in the
character of all the details. Dormers were no longer
made either as high or as ornate as formerly, and all
the details were more strictly classic (PI. VII, 16).
199


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Instead of the salamander, the symbol of Francis I,
there appears the king's monogram, in some cases asso-
ciated with the D as the initial of his mistress Diana of
Poitiers, though ostensibly the two reversed D's were

Fio. 151.—Doorway at Clermont-Ferrand.
supposed to be two C's—Catherine's initial—reversed
against the uprights of the royal H (center of
escutcheon PI. VII, 13; see also fanlight in Fig. 151).
The elliptical arch gives place to the round arch; doors
and windows appear with entablatures or pediments
above them; the circular and diamond-shaped panels
200


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
disappear from the pilasters, and the candelabrum-
shaft no longer serves as an architectural support or
pilaster decoration. The escutcheon and cartouche
with "curlicue" ornaments became established as
decorative features in architecture both external and
internal (see PI. VII, 13, 17), testifying to the Italian-

Fio. 152.—Chimney-Top, Chateau d'Anet.
izing influence of the Medicean queen. This also
appears in the gcdne, of which an early example is
shown in PI. VII, 6, from the Hotel Lasbordes at
Toulouse, and in the same plate No. 17, a doorway of
the church of Notre Dame at Chalons-sur-Marne dating
from the last years of Henry II, contemporaneously
with its earliest use in Italian architecture.
201


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
In all this transformation of forms and details there
is a corresponding change in the spirit and artistic
character of the carving. It no longer exhibits the
finesse, the minuteness of detail and delicacy of relief
of the previous period, inherited from the expiring
Gothic. The relief is stronger, the forms more dis-
tinctly classic and architectural, the combinations more
formal and correct (Figs. 151, 152).
Interiors.
The transformation of the interior ornament corre-
sponded with that of the exterior. Ceilings were
coffered and paneled more after the Italian fashion;
though at Fontainebleau and Blois the combination of
girders and flat paneling still continued in use.
Wainscoting was simpler, with plain rectangular panels
(Fig. 153; Figure 54), and chimneypieces were more
strictly architectural in design. The "mantel" or hood
was flattened back to the chimney-breast or disappeared
entirely (Figure 54).
Furniture and Minor Arts.
The third quarter of the century (under Henry HI
and IV) saw a great and rapid increase in the variety
of furniture commonly employed in fine houses: in
chairs, tables, bedsteads, dressers and cabinets, all of
which had begun to appear during the reigns of Henry
II and Charles IX in considerable number and great
elegance of design, but were greatly multiplied and
elaborated under their successors (Fig. 154). Here
also the influence of the Florentine queen counted for
202


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
much in assimilating the Italian ^standards of Court
life in the furnishings and equipments of her own
French environment; for she dominated the taste and
life of the French Court during the reigns of Charles

Fio. 153.—Wainscot and Bahut, Chateau de Che^verny.
IX and Henry III, dying in the same year as her
grandson, 1589.
The furniture of these three reigns (Francis II
reigned but a few months in 1559-60 and may be dis-
regarded) exhibits generally a strongly architectural
203


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
quality in its composition and main lines (Fig. 154),
combined often with a riotous profusion of carved and
sculptured ornament. This ornament displays much
more of figure-sculpture and grotesques than that of
Francis I; it is all in stronger relief, more crowded,
more sumptuous in general effect, less well composed

Fio. 154.—Tarle, Style or Charles IX - Henry II.
and distributed (Fig. 155; Figures 58, 60), although
superb in technical execution. The Italian influence,
transmitted in part indirectly by Flemish cabinet-
makers, is seen especially in the increasing use of gaines
and of curlicued escutcheons, in the forms of tables and
in the grotesques. This tendency may be recognized
in the beautiful shrine or urn by Pierre Bontemps,
serving as a receptacle for the heart of Francis L
Though not precisely an article of furniture in the
2CM








RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
ordinary sense, in style and scale it may fairly be classed
in this category (Fig. 156). The dominant per-
sonalities in this field of design were J. Androuet
Ducerceau and Hugues Sambin.4 Of the two, Sambin
was the more prolific of executed works, but Ducerceau,

Fig. 155.—Panel of Cuproard ry Fig. 156.—Shrine for Heart of
Samrin. Francis I.
who executed little, and who on account of his religion—
he being a Huguenot—was twice driven from France,
exercised a powerful influence on design by his books
of engravings of buildings ("Les plus excellens
* Jacques Androuet, surnamed "du Cerceau" ("of the circle" from a
circle in tbe sign over his studio): architect, engraver and author, 1515-
84; Hugues Sambin, architect and sculptor of Dijon, contemporary of
Ducerceau; dates of his birth and death not available.
205


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
bastimens de France") and of decorative details and
designs. His two sons Jacques and Batiste were
prominent in the architec-
ture of the following reign.
In the works of father and
sons we observe the growth
of the Italian Baroque in-
fluence, a tendency towards
exaggeration, towards the
bizarre and the fantastic.
But a tasteful simplicity is
sometimes met with in this
period, as in the door-panel
(Fig. 157), and the panel
from the Louvre in Fig.
158.
In the minor arts, tap-
Fio. is7.—Panel from a Door, estry and needlework de-
Cluny Museum, Par is. i j a j .
veloped to a moderate ex-
tent, though the Court depended for these chiefly on
importations from Italy and Flanders. The atelier for


Fio. 158.—Panel from So-Called Chamrer of Henry IV, Louvre, Paris.
tapestry-weaving established by Francis I with Flemish
weavers does not seem to have long continued. Neither
206


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
could the French metalworkers as yet rival those of
Italy, and the famous suit of armor of Henry II was of
Italian make (see p. 144). But much excellent work
was done in smaller objects in iron and brass, such as

Fio. 159.—Henry II Bronze Fio. 159a.—Door-Knocker from
Door-Pull. Narronne.
door-hardware, drawer-pulls and the like (Fig. 159;
Figure 60; PI . VII, 9). The beginnings of French
ceramic art belong to this period, as its foundations
were laid under Francis I and its most significant early
development occurred under Henry II and Charles IX
207


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
(Fig. 160). But for greater continuity of treatment
the discussion of this branch of French decorative art
will be deferred to the close of the next chapter.
Decorative Sculpture.
Sculpture, which under Francis I had been almost
entirely subordinated to architecture, began under
Henry II to assume independent importance, and to
take on more of the classic and
monumental quality in its associa-
tion with architecture. It was
developed under the hands of a
remarkable group of sculptors
who united great technical skill
with exquisite artistic taste and
a keen sense of architectural
F». 160-Enameled Plate propriety. The greatest of these
ry Penicaud. men> an(j one Gf the greatest
decorative sculptors of all time,
was Jean Goujon of Rouen (1510-78), like Ducerceau
and Palissy a Huguenot, who, however, succeeded in
retaining the favor of the kings and of Catherine, under
whom he worked in association with Pierre Lescot on the
Louvre, and with Philibert Delorme on the Chateau
d'Anet and other works. He designed the Fontaine
des Innocents in its original form, the famous Tribune
des Caryatides in the Louvre, and the tomb of Louis de
Breze in the cathedral of Rouen. To him are also at-
tributed the beautiful carved doors of the church of St.
Maclou at Rouen. Next to him in ability was Germain

208


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
Pilon (1535-90), who executed the sculptures of the
tombs of Francis I and of Henry II at St. Denis and
the exquisite decorative group of three female figures
supporting the urn containing the heart of Henry II
now in the Louvre; these figures are carved in wood.
Other noted sculptors of the time were Barthelemy
Prieur and Pierre Bontemps. To the latter is due the
funerary urn of Francis I (Fig. 156), also at St. Denis.
Hugues Sambin, already mentioned on p. 205, was
chiefly occupied with designs of furniture.
To sum up briefly the character of this period, which
came to an end with the extinction of the Valois dynasty
at the death of Henry III in 1589, we note first of all
the final disappearance of the last vestiges of Gothic
tradition and detail before the growing classicalism of
the age. This was due in part to the influence of
Catherine de Medicis herself and of the Italians whom
she attached to her court; but it was quite as largely
due to the training of the architects and sculptors, and
in part also to the general progress everywhere of the
"New Learning" and of the public taste educated under
its influence. At the same time, along with this Italianiz,
ing tendency towards the formal and the classic, towards
carefully-ordered architectural stateliness and propriety,
there are still traces of the refinement and freedom of
the preceding style, and the orders are still employed
with much license of detail, though with careful restraint
in the matter of scale. The best work of this period pos-
sesses great decorative charm by reason of these quali-
ties, for it has neither the smallness and lack of force
209


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
of much Francis I work nor the Baroque fantasticality
and frequent heaviness of the next period.
The Bourbon Period: 1574-1620.
This period of forty-six years or thereabout, cover-
ing the reign of Henry III, the last of the Valois
kings, of Henry IV the first Bourbon king, and the
first part of that of Louis
XIII, can hardly be other-
wise characterized than as a
period of oscillation between
conflicting tendencies. On
the one hand we have the
Palladianizing drift of arch-
itecture, strongly reinforced
by the advent of a new
Medicean queen, Marie de
Medicis, Henry IV's impe-
rious Florentine consort,
who introduced a whole new
train of Italians into the
French church and state.
On the other we have the
Gallic spirit, impatient of formulas, independent and
imaginative. Between these two tendencies archi-
tectural design oscillated now towards the extreme of
Baroque stiffness, as in the Grande Galerie of the
Tuileries (1595-1608), with its huge bare pilasters,
alternating triangular and curved pediments and
awkwardly broken entablatures, or the Hotel Lamoig-

210


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
non (Fig. 161); now towards the extreme of fanciful
and unregulated detail, as in the portal of the Hotel
de Vogue at Dijon (Figure 56), or that of the Chateau
des Ifs. The French builders of the time seized upon
the eccentricities of Baroque detail and used them in
their own way, with results which are rich and playful
in effect, but often so illogical and bizarre as to merit

Fro. 162.—Brick and Stone Architecture, Detail.
severe criticism. A frequent fault is the exaggeration
of the voussoirs of arches, and of bossages or pro-
jecting blocks interrupting the architectural lines
(PI. VII, 12).
But the French builders of this period introduced one
innovation of the greatest importance in the combina-
tion of brick and stone in exterior design, which they
handled with great skill. The stone-work forms the
corners, the window-dressings and the cornice, in a
system of rusticated "chains," usually of long-and-short
work, with brickwork either plain or patterned for the
flat wall-surfaces or fillings (Fig. 162), as in the Places
211


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Dauphine and des Vosges, Paris. In the Chateau de
Beaumesnil the same system was employed although
the wall-surfaces are of ashlar instead of brick.

Fig. 163.—Bull's-Eye Window, House in Toulouse.
In the carved ornament of this period the cartouche
became increasingly common, together with palm-
branches, seldom of graceful design, and cansoles with
broken curves, meaningless draperies and other Baroque

Fio. 1(54.—Typographic Ornament ry Th£o. de Bry.
features (Fig. 163). Typographic ornament was in-
fluenced both by Dutch taste and by Italian ceramics,
as in the border by Theodore de Bry (1598) in Fig. 164.
212


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
Interior Detail.
The beamed ceiling still continued to be used, but
heavily paneled ceilings were more generally favored.
Chimneypieces were often overloaded with sculpture
and carving. Interior woodwork of wainscotings and
doors was frequently painted in white with gilt moldings
and painted arabesques or "nielles," in marked contrast
to the heavy and overcharged detail of the chimney-
pieces (Fig. 165 a).
Period of Louis XIII.
No clear dividing line can be traced between the
styles of Henry IV and Louis XIII, but there is a
gradual progress towards the monu-
mental classicism that was to mark the
reign of Louis XIV, combined with fre-
quent and singular exaggerations of
Baroque decorative detail. It would
seem as though the independent Gallic
spirit wished to protest against the in-
creasing domination of the classic ten-
dency by greater extravagance in the
use of scrolls and escutcheons, car-
touches, palm-branches, heads, gaines
and every device of non-structural, fan-
tastic ornament to break up the monot-
ony of plain surfaces, both without and
within the building. The result was a
Baroque style quite different from the Italian, but ani-
mated by the same effort to surprise the spectator and

Fio.
164a. — Louis
XIII Painted
Nielli, Chateau
of Cheverny.
213


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
to produce an effect of restlessness rather than of repose.
This is seen in such examples as the facades of St. Paul-
St. Louis and St. Etienne du Mont at Paris, of the
Minimes at Tours and Ste.
Marie at Nevers; and in inte-
rior works at Fontainebleau,
especially in the* Chapel of the
Trinity, as well as in many
doorways and chimneypieces.
At the same time there were
built such dignified and classic
edifices as the Luxembourg
Palace by Salomon de Brosse
for the Dowager Queen Ma-
rie, with almost no ornament
but that of the rusticated or-
ders, inspired from the garden
front of the Pitti Palace at
p ,« Tj n „ Florence (Figure 59), the
Fig. 165.—Facade, Church op \ o / >
St. Paul-St. Louis, Park. same architect's facade for the
church of St. Gervais, Lemer-
cier's Pavillon de l'Horloge in the Louvre, and Francois
Mansart's 5 'Aile de Gaston" or West wing of the
Chateau of Blois for Gaston d'Orleans.
Doors and Doorways.
Many of the Louis XIII doorways, both interior
and exterior, display in the over-door space or the arch-
tympanum singular and even grotesque variations of
•Jacques Lemercicr, J500~l654; Francois Mansart, 1598-16G6; both under
Louis XIII and XIV.

214


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
the cartouche motive, which often ^takes on a meaning-
less and sprawling form (Fig. 166). In some cases it
is made to assume the likeness of a grotesque mask; in
others a helmeted head or bust forms the central

Fig. 160'.—Three Louis XIII Ovek-Doors.
motive. But these eccentricities disappear by the end
of the reign.
The doors themselves received very diverse treat-
ment. Main entrance-doors had in the previous period,
215


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
especially under Henry IV, begun to take on a definite
type which has, with variations, persisted to the present
day. With the progress of domestic architecture in
cities the driveway-entrance into the court—the porte*
cochere or coach-gate—took on greater importance (PI.
VIII, 5). It was usually arched, with an ornately
carved tympanum above the door proper. The latter
was in two leaves, in one of which a smaller door was
provided for the admission of pedestrians when the two
leaves were closed. This smaller door provided a motive
which was repeated in the other half, and the entire
composition was decoratively treated with richly molded
panels, colonettes, small pediments and carving of
masks, scrolls and escutcheons. This decoration in-
creased in richness and in crowded detail in high relief
under Louis XIII. The celebrated door to the Chapel
of the Trinity at Fontainebleau illustrates the heaviness
and inappropriateness of much of this detail, in spite of
its remarkably skilful execution.
Furniture.
During the entire period of nearly one hundred years
from the accession of Henry II to that of Louis XIV
(1547-1643), there was steady progress in the variety
and richness of domestic furniture. Under Francis I
the simplicity and scarcity of furniture had been, as we
have seen, in singular contrast to the splendor of the
architecture and the magnificence of the costumes and
plate to be seen in palaces and chateaux. The contribu-
tion made by the books of designs of Hugues Sambin
and J. A. Ducerceau to the art of furniture-making has
216


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
been mentioned. To these should be added the name of
Nicolas Bachelier of Toulouse, a cabinet-maker, archi-
tect and sculptor, to whom we owe the very ornate
chapel-screen in the cathedral of Rodez (Figure 55).
Thus Dijon, the home of Sambin, and Toulouse, the
home of Bachelier, became important centers of furni-
ture design, and Southern France began to rival the
North.
The furniture of this entire period is marked in
general by extreme richness, often excessive in its
use of grotesques, gaines, escutcheons and human
figures, all in high relief and crowded in composition.
Heads, female busts, deities and symbolic figures
abound, quite unrelated to any special purpose of the
furniture or to each other; beautifully carved and pro-
ducing an undeniably sumptuous effect, but lacking in
sobriety and restraint. Many of the artists were
foreigners from Flanders, Holland, Germany and
Spain, and the Flemish influence was particularly
strong. "The impression resulting from an examina-
tion of all this furniture of complicated structure and
inordinate decoration ... is very much the same as
that produced through studying the history of the
manners of the time. French life under Henry II,
Charles IX and Henry III, all semi-Italian princes,
dominated by their talented mother the Florentine
Catherine de Medicis, was an extraordinary mixture of
terror and luxury." 6 The extravagance of the court
and nobility knew no bounds and "was reflected," says
Saglio, "in the domestic furniture by the excess of
"Andr£ Saglio, "French Furniture," p. 102 (Batsford, London).
217


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
ornamentation lavished upon it. . . . Everything, must
be alike costly and distorted."
This verdict on the taste of the three reigns which
closed the Valois period is also valid for the reign of
Henry IV, the first Bourbon king, and a large part of
that of Louis XIII, who succeeded him (Fig. 167).
sons and descendants under Louis XIV. The Italian
influence was reinforced by the Jesuits who flocked to
the French Medicean court after the decree of expul-
sion against them of 1595 was repealed.
The most important changes in furniture design in
this early Bourbon period were in the shapes of chairs,
in the increased vogue and variety of cabinets or
"armoires" and dressers (Fig. 168), and in the intro-

Fio. 167.—Louis XIII Cradle.
The foreign element com-
pletely dominated furniture
design, the Spanish being par-
ticularly strong, along with
the Italian and Flemish, the
German and the Swiss; while
the French artisans were en-
couraged by Henry IV to
study their art in Holland. A
veritable school of furniture
design was established in the
Grande Galerie of the Louvre
by Louis XIII under foreign
masters, among whom was the
Swiss Boulle, whose name
later became famous in the
persons of his French-born
218


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I

duction of ebony, whence the French word "ebeniste"
for a cabinet-maker. Chairs were now made with light
frames, often with turned posts and braces or "rounds,"
and with curved arms. The legs were sometimes
straight, either square
or turned, sometimes
curved, with elaborate
carved details. Under
Louis XIII began the
upholstering of seats
and backs with tapes-
tries or brocades in-
stead of wood and
leather—the beginning
of a concession to ease
and comfort, and of a
special application of
textile art, destined to
become very important
in the next reign.
Four-legged tables
now began to displace
the Italian type with
two carved end-supports, probably as the result of
the Northern influences from Flanders, Germany and
Holland. The legs, like those of the chairs, were in
some cases straight, in others curved, and the straight
legs were sometimes turned, more often square and
tapering. The curved or cabriole leg, a reflection of
the Baroque tradition, was to become a dominant and
distinctive feature of later furniture.

Fio. 168.—Louis XIII Carinet.
219


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
More monumental and costly than either tables or
chairs were the various types of cabinets or armoires
which came into vogue, a fashion imported either from
Italy or Spain. The French name suggests an original
use of such pieces of furniture for the safe keeping of
small arms, which were often costly works of French,
German, Spanish or Italian armorers, engraved, chased,
carved and inlaid, and sometimes set with jewels (see
p. 144). In Italy cabinets were also employed for the
keeping of medals, coins and jewels. Figure 64 and
Fig. 168 illustrate the type, which was more varied than
the Italian, quite as architectural in form and composi-
tion, highly ornate but not as profusely adorned with
"attributes," emblems, figures and grotesques as the
furniture of the preceding period. Figure 57 shows a
mirror-frame almost Florentine in design. Ebony was
much used, its cost and hardness apparently commend-
ing it in spite of its funereal and somber color, which
absorbs light and shade alike and kills delicate relief.
The Minor Arts: Henry II to Louis XIV.
Woodworking has been sufficiently discussed for the
limits of this book. Metalwork was not extensively
developed in this period, and the earlier examples now
extant show no ornament forms differing greatly from
those of- architectural carving and furniture design.
PI. VII, 9, representing a keyhole-plate from the Hotel
d' Assezat at Toulouse is a fair specimen of the art,
displaying the cartouche-motive, scrolls and grotesque
heads which so abound in the architecture and furniture.
During the reign of Louis XIII, however, wrought
220


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, I
iron came increasingly into favor for grilles, gates,
window-guards and balustrades. This last was a new
application of the art, in which, through the entire re-
mainder of the Bourbon period, the French excelled
all others, in designs architecturally appropriate and
artistically elegant.
Textile art was in this period, like metalwork, mainly
dependent on foreign importation; needlework, brocades
and velvet coming chiefly from Italy, especially from
Genoa and Venice; laces from Italy and Flanders,
tapestries from Flanders. Such work as was produced
in France in these arts was for the most part executed
either by foreigners or by Frenchmen under foreign
direction and in close imitation of the foreign products.
No distinctively French types of design had as yet been
matured, and no forms of ornament are in evidence in
the textile work made in France at this time that can be
called peculiarly French. It was not till the 17th cen-
tury had passed well into its second half that the French
genius asserted its independence and created its own
models and patterns in these fields of design.
Limoges Enamels.
Limoges, which had been in the Middle Ages famed
for its production of ecclesiastical vessels enameled on
metal, revived this ancient art in the early 16th century
after a long period of decline. The great names asso-
ciated with this revival are those of Penicaud, Raymond,
and Leonard Limousin; they executed painted enamels
in which the fusible coloring-earths were applied with
a brush to the metal, without previously cutting out a
221


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
bed for each separate color. The designs were in-
fluenced by Italian majolica models; but a deep blue or
violet generally formed the background of the design,
and the pattern in white was enriched with high lights
in gold and shadings in grisaille. Fig. 160 illustrates
the style and general effect of these productions in a
plate by Pénicaud (see also Pl. X, Nos. 2-4, 6-9).
Books Recommended:
A. Berty: La Renaissance monumentale en France (Morel,
Paris, 1864).—Blondel: Architecture française (Paris,
1756).—C. Daly: Motifs historiques d'architecture et de
sculpture (Ducher, Paris, 1870).—J. A. Du Cerceau: Les
plus excellents bastiments de la France (Lévy, Paris, 1868);
Oeuvres, Meubles etc. (Baldus, Paris, n. d.).—P. Gélis-
Didot: La Peinture Décorative en France du XVIe au XVIII"
siècle (Schmid, Paris, 1919).—H. v. Geymuller: Baukunst
der Renaissance m Frankreich (Bergstràsser, Stuttgart,
1901).—A. Guérinet: Détails de sculptures d' ornements.
Renaissance à Louis XV (Guérinet, Paris, n. d.).—W.
Lubke: Geschichte der Renaissance in Frankreich (Ebncr &
Seubert, Stuttgart, 1885).—C. Martin: La Renaissance en
France (Morancé, Paris, 1913).—C. T. Mathews: The
Renaissance under the Valois Kings (Comstock, New York,
1892).—H. Morley: Palissy the Potter (London, 1852).—
E. Muntz: La Renaissance en Italie et en France à l'époque
de Charles VIII (Hachette, Paris, 1895).—L. Palustre: La
Renaissance en France (Quantin, Paris, 1885).—R. Pfnor:
Le Château d'Anet (Poupart-Davyl, Paris, 1867); Le Palais
de Fontainebleau (Champollion-Figeac, Paris, 1863).—E.
Rouyer: La Renaissance de François I à Louis XVI (Baudry,
Paris, 1867).—Rouyer et Darcel: L'Art architectural en
France (Noblet & Baudry, Paris, 1866).—A. Saglio: French
Furniture (Batsford, London, 1907).—C. Sauvageot: Palais,
hôtels, châteaux et maisons de la France (Morel, Paris, 1867).
—W. H. Ward: Architecture of the Renaissance in France
(Batsford, London, 1911).
222


CHAPTER VII
THE RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
The Age of the Louis.
The long period of 131 years covered by the extra-
ordinarily long reigns of Louis XIV and his great-
grandson Louis XV was marked by an equally extraor-
dinary development of French art. Two styles, easily
distinguished in their culminating works and yet passing
gradually from the first into the second through a brief
transitional period called the Regence, are known by
the names of the two kings, in French Louis Quatorze
and Louis Quinze. The reign of the first was the
period in which French art, so long tutored by foreign
designers, at least in all the minor arts, at last emanci-
pated itself from their control, and while it assimilated
their teaching, dominated them completely and thor-
oughly Gallicized every foreign element. So completely
was this accomplished that in the second half of the
18th century we find both Italy and Germany borrow-
ing freely the French decorative elements, at least in
interior decoration and furniture.
Character of the Louis XIV Period.
Louis XIV, small of stature, homely of countenance
but filled beyond measure with the conceit of his own
223


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
greatness and craving the most servile flattery, was
nevertheless a great king and a great patron of the arts.
The man who could say "L'fitat c'est moi" and who
loved to be called the Sun King (le Roi Soleil) knew
how to surround himself with men of distinguished
ability, and encouraged literature and the arts by lavish
expenditures for the works of men of genius, and for
pensioning the creators of those works. He was the
greatest builder-monarch of modern times, surpassing
Francis I in the extent and cost if not in the number
of his palaces. He was, moreover, a man of pronounced
tastes in the fine arts, and while he employed a host of
foreigners in the development of the minor and acces-
sory arts, he entrusted his great building enterprises
wholly to French architects. Moreover in all the arts
of decoration the foreigners were so dominated by the
French taste that these arts took on an entirely new
aspect and developed a new and purely French style,
quite justly called by the monarch's name. The king's
taste favored the formally classic, alike in literature,
in painting, in sculpture and in architecture, but it was
the antique as seen through French eyes and interpreted
in a French manner. In interior decoration and furni-
ture the independent Gallic fancy and taste were given
free rein, and while there was everywhere observed a
certain stateliness in the general lines and more struc-
tural features of the design, the details were treated
with the utmost freedom and with increasing caprice of
fanciful invention.
Louis XIV came to the throne in 1643. In 1655 he
established the Academy of Painting and Sculpture.
224


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
In 1661, on the death of Mazarin, he assumed absolute
and supreme power, and made himself the dictator in
the field of art as in all else. "His taste must govern
throughout his kingdom, wherever the power of his
Academie could reach. . . . His adulators proclaimed
that Louis was the only person in France who had taste.
He was certainly the only person in France who could
exercise his taste to the extent of his desires. Le Brun
was the man selected by the king to administer to his
taste. All painters, sculptors, architects, designers and
decorators must receive their orders from Le Brun and
obey them.1 In 1663 Louis founded the "Manufacture
royale des Meubles de la Couronne," in a mansion which
gave the name of its former owner, Gobelins, to the
establishment. This enterprise, due to Colbert, the suc-
cessor of Mazarin, later developed into the greatest of
all establishments for the weaving of tapestries, but was
for a long time concerned with all forms of decorative
art—furniture, metalwork, jewelry and textiles. The
Academie and the Gobelins thus became great art
centers, and the "eclat of these two establishments was
so great throughout the whole of Europe as to eclipse
all other schools or to convert them into mere reflections
of themselves. It is from this moment that the world-
wide supremacy of French art really begins." 2
Architectural Design.
Louis' love of the grandiose after the formally classic
manner was expressed in the exterior design of a re-
*D. Cady Eaton, "A Handlwok of Modern French Sculpture" (Dodd,
Mead & Co., New York, 1913).
'Andre1 Saglio, "French Furniture," p. 102 (Batsford, London).
225


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
markable series of great buildings. The completion of
the Louvre with its magnificent colonnade, the vast
Hotel des Invalides, the stately Dome of the Invalides
added to the Hotel, and above all the colossal palace of
Versailles with its gigantic gardens, were so many ex-
pressions of this taste. It was by no mere accident that
the commonplace design by the aged Bernini, whom
Louis had invited from Rome to design the East front
of the Louvre, was rejected in favor of the purer classic
design of the Frenchman Claude Perrault, the Court
physician. The Italians had taught the French archi-
tects how to use the Orders, and from the Italian
Baroque the Frenchman had learned the stateliness of
the "colossal order"—the column and pilaster of the full
height of two or more stories—with the resulting big-
ness of scale in all the details; but under the influence
largely of the king's severer taste they had rejected the
eccentricities, the curved wall-surfaces and fantastically-
broken pediments and huge scrolls of the Italian
fashion. Now also the crowded and meaningless detail
and contorted cartouches of the Louis XIII style were
rejected—as indeed had already been the case with the
work of men like de Brosse, Francois Mansart and
Lemercier, who began their careers under Louis XIII
but who lived and worked during the first part of the
reign of the Grand Monarque. These men, with Louis
Levau, were succeeded by Jules Hardouin3 (surnamed
Mansart after his grand-uncle Francois Mansart), who
had assisted Bruant in the design of the Place Vendome
and who was the architect of the greater part of the
•Louis Levau, 1612-70; J. H. Mansart, 1646-1708.
226


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
palace of Versailles, the Grand Trianon, the Dome of
the Invalides and the Chateau de Marly.
J. H. Mansart followed his grand-uncle in his general
preference for "small orders," that is, superposed orders
each of the height of one story, as in the Dome of the
Invalides and the Versailles palace; but in the Grand
Trianon and the Chapel Royal at Versailles he wisely
departed from this general rule. In the latter part of
the king's reign the colossal order appeared more fre-
quently, as in the colonnade of the Louvre and the
Hotel de Ville at Beauvais. In all these works the
Palladian or Vignola proportions and details were
faithfully followed. Exterior ornament was severely
pruned; rustication was used sparingly and discreetly;
ressauts or broken entablatures were rarely resorted to,
and the general effect of the exterior was more often
cold and bare than over-decorated (Figure 63). The
combination of brick and stone so popular under Henry
IV and Louis XIII hardly appears except in the
earlier parts of the Versailles palace by Levau. A
severe stateliness was the effect generally sought.
Interior Decoration.
The metaphorical "battle of the styles" between the
Gallic and Latin tendencies appears therefore to have
resulted in a decisive victory for the Latin, so far as the
architecture of the exterior was concerned. In reality
it was a truce, or a divided victory, for in the interiors,
at least of palaces and mansions, the Gallic tendency
was increasingly dominant, and by the end of the period
completely triumphant. The style or styles that de-
227


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
veloped in the sumptuous interior decorations of the
Louvre, Versailles, the Trianon and some of the great
mansions or lesser palaces of the royal family and

Fio. 169.—Decorative Treatment, Galerie d'Apollon, Louvre.
relatives, were thoroughly and completely French. The
Flemish and Italian elements in it were so thoroughly
assimilated and fused that it requires the most minute


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
critical analysis to discover and separate them. In the
earlier part of the period the classic pilaster, round arch
and regular entablature were still used as at Maisons-
Lafitte (PI. VIII, 1) and Versailles, and the larger
lines of the decoration were formal and monumental,
but the details were free, and the classic forms were
varied in ingenious and often
charming ways (Figure 62; PI.
VIII, 2, 10).
This severer phase reached its
highest expression in the Galerie
d'Apollon in the Louvre. In this
splendid apartment one sees in the
wall-decoration none but rectangu-
lar panels and classic moldings
(Fig. 169). The crossetted panels,
each framing a (modern) picture
in tapestry, are adorned with tro-
phies of arms, grotesque masks,
acanthus-leaves and the like. But
there are departures from classic
precedent: the frieze is a new
French adaptation of the triglyph;
the brackets or consoles under the picture are curved and
carved in a French rather than Roman spirit; the mold-
ings are carved with ornaments drawn from Nature or
from fancy (Fig. 170). In the second half of the period
the Gallic fancy played alike with the composition and
the details. The wall was divided into panels above the
square-paneled wainscot; the wall-panels were alter-
nately broad and narrow, framed in gilded moldings

229


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
with smaller moldings forming a repeat or echo of the
larger frame enclosing it; tops and bottoms of these
frames were curved, or if square-ended, had their
corners cut off by concave curves; medallions of con-
ventional ornament adorned the centers of the panels,
and often their tops and bottoms also; and the details
of the decoration in relief displayed the utmost freedom
of fancy in the scrolls, wreaths, festoons and acanthus
foliage. Flat surfaces and
ceiling-coves were often
filled with a diaper or net-
work in low relief, and all
the relief was gilded upon
a ground of white or very
pale green or gray. In
contrast to this elaborate
splendor, wainscot and
Fio. 171.—Ceiling Cove, Versailles, doors were treated with
square panels with little or
no ornament except the gilded moldings; but delicately-
painted flowers and melles sometimes appeared on the
panels. De Cotte, the elder Oppenord, Girardon and
Berain were among the leading designers of this, the
most purely French of all the French phases of deco-
rative art.
Ceilings were coved and finished in richly molded
plaster (Fig. 171), with decorative paintings filling the
larger spaces. The barrel vault was used in some cases,
decorated in like manner with molded ornament in
relief and historic or allegoric paintings, as in the im-
posing Galerie des Glaces at Versailles and the magnifi-

230


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
cent Galerie d'Apollon in the Louvre. The chimney-
piece and chimney-breast were flattened closer to the
wall. The painting of arabesques in a manner derived
from the Italian but more solid and massive in effect
was frequently resorted to. Tapestries were not hung
loose but framed and permanently set in the wall-panels.

Fio. 172.—Door-Panel, Church of St. Louis-en-l'Ile, Paris.
All this interior decoration was carried out with a
truly French delicacy and freedom of invention. While
the rinceau, the acanthus leaf and the rosette formed
the basis of this detail, these forms were handled with
playful disregard of classic and Italian canons (Fig.
172; PI. VIII, 2, 3). Orders, arches and moldings
were treated often with great freedom of detail, as in
Fig. 173. The heavy cartouches and curlicues of the
Louis XIII style disappeared. Curved and sweeping
lines gradually displaced the severe rectangularity of
the earlier phase of the style, especially in the consoles
and shelves of the fireplaces. A new element in the
231


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
decorative scheme is the gold-framed mirror of plate
glass over the mantel-shelf (PI. VIII, 10). This, which
became an indispensable feature of every salon, cabinet
and boudoir, and which in the Galerie des Glaces at
Versailles gave the key to the entire design, cannot be
traced to its origin. It was probably an indirect im-
portation from Venice,
which had long excelled in
the production of mirrors.
The mirror, of large size as
an adjunct to the bureau
or desk-cabinet, had be-
come common under Louis
XIII. It now was trans-
ferred from an article of
movable furniture into a
fixture on the wall, serving
to multiply by reflection
„ ,„ . T~ „. . the sparkle and glow of the
Fio. 173.—Arch Impost, Hotel de r o
Lauzun, Paris. hundreds of candles in
sconces and crystal chan-
deliers, which were another Italian feature domesticated
under Louis XIII.
Another new element in the decorative system was
the increasing use of marble, especially of dark-hued
marbles in panels and as wall-veneers in the more public
parts of palaces, such as entrance-halls and stairways—
an obvious derivation from the Italian Baroque practice
(see ante, p. 168).
As the reign of the aged king matured towards its
close in 1710 (although his death did not occur until

232


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
1715), classic formality in palace interiors progressively
disappeared. Round corners and swaying curves
dominated all interior design, and the dignified and
monumental sumptuosity which had prevailed under
the artistic dictatorship of Le Brun gave way to the
less serious, sometimes frivolous, intimate fancifulness
of the Regence. The later o/nament of the reign is
often not distinguishable from that of the Regence and
earlier Louis XV period (Fig. 184).
In all this transformation of architectural design,
certain special influences must be noted. In the first
place the triumph of the classical or Latin tendency in
exterior design as well as in the interior design of
churches, and the banishment from these of the florid
and Baroque extravagances of the two preceding reigns,
was largely due to the French Academy at Rome, estab-
lished by Colbert in 1666. Although architects were
not sent to this Academy until the 18th century, its
influence was powerful through the painters and
sculptors who were its pupils, and this was exerted al-
ways in favor of the antique and against the decadent
Baroque of Italy. To this must be added the personal
influence of the king and of his art-dictator Le Brun,
who with all his faults and deficiencies used his vast
authority in favor of the monumental, the dignified and
the grandiose in decorative art, and who had the wisdom
to call forth the best and ablest artists in France to serve
the national art, not merely in architecture but also in
furniture and all the minor arts. Nothing was slurred,
nothing was cheapened or vulgarized under his domina-
233


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
tion, and all the artistic resources of the realm were
marshaled, organized and encouraged.
Another powerful influence was that of a number of
consummate draftsmen, designers and engravers who
published books of decorative designs that had a wide
circulation. Among these were Varin. Jean and Daniel
Marot. Berain, and the two brothers Jean and Antoine

Fio. 174.—Ornamest by Lepautre.
Lepautre. The volumes of designs by these artists are
to this day precious possessions in the libraries of art
of at least two continents. Fig. 174 is taken from
Lepautre, and illustrates the unrestrained fancy and
inventiveness of this artist.
W. H. Ward in his admirable book "The Archi-
tecture of the Renaissance in France" lias so well
characterized the style of Louis XIV that I cannot re-
frain from quoting a part of his comments (in Vol. ii,
p. 273): "Meanwhile in decoration France turned
231


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
alternately to Flanders and to Italy for inspiration, but
the Flemish influence with its naturalism or its license,
declined and the Italian increased. The influence of
Italy was composite. On the one hand the ancient
monuments and the Palladian school helped the puristic
current. But on the other, in contemporary Italy the
Roman barocco school was predominant. The French
under Louis XIV did not follow this school in its con-
tempt for classical traditions, but borrowed first
some of its fire and bigness of conception, secondly
a few decorative motives, and lastly that sense of
unity with which, like all Italian schools, it was
animated.
"Both the strict and the free classic influences thus
had in them something congenial to the absolutist, cen-
tralizing trend of the age and something in opposition
to it. On the one side was respect for law and to some
extent severity, combined with diversity; on the other
was lawlessness but splendor, majesty and unity. The
third or rationalistic influence acted usually as a moder-
ating force, but allied itself now with the one school in
encouraging simplicity, now with the other in giving
rise to bizarre forms."
"The three points in which the growth of classical
influence is most marked during the first Louis XIV
period are the more correct use of classical elements,
the attempts to increase unity of composition, and the
refinement of decoration" (p. 275).
These quotations refer primarily to exterior archi-
tecture. Le Brun's influence on interior decoration
the same author characterizes as resulting in "a free
235


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
decoration within a severe architecture"; "he always
used a well-defined geometric pattern or architectural
framework as a foil for the riot of swirling lines and
the movement of painting arid altp-rilievo" (p. 292).
"Louis XIV decoration retains the sumptuousness and
the massive character of that of Louis XIII, with even
increased scale but greater refinement in the profiles
and enrichments, and it dispenses with its complications
and intricacies, its multiplication of similar members
and repeated breaks and ressauts. With the fatiguing
fussiness the coarse and grotesque elements also
disappear. . . . There is an intellectual quality, a
spirit of order and organization in Louis XIV decora-
tion which is as characteristic as its pomp and
sumptuosity."
The student of this style cannot do better than to
read carefully the whole of the chapter from which these
excerpts are taken (Chapter V in Vol. ii), especially
pages 267-278 and 290-297. No better analysis of
the style has been written either in English or in
French.
Louis XIV Furniture.
The splendor and extravagance of the Court life
under Louis XIV, as well as the extraordinary artistic
activity fostered by the king and his great minister
Colbert under Le Brun's direction, are reflected in the
furniture. In Italy the development of furniture-
design had been independent, spontaneous and provin-
cial. In France it was national, royal, and dominated
by a single mind. There were two groups of designers
236


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
under the royal patronage, one domiciled in the Louvre,
the other in the Gobelins. Many of the artists in both
groups were Italians or of Italian origin, like Domenico
Cucci and Filippo CafReri, Giacetti and the two
Migliorini; but these were all naturalized, as were also
a number of distinguished Flemings, especially among
the tapestry-workers. With these was associated a
brilliant galaxy of French artists—painters, sculptors,
engravers, jewelers and "ebenistes"—some of whom
have been already mentioned. Nowhere else, in any land
or age, have so many artists of consummate skill been
employed upon the single task of producing the decora-
tions, hangings and furnishings of the palaces of a
single monarch. It is no wonder that this became the
great age of furniture.
In the production of the tables, armoires or cabinets,
the bureaux or table-desks surmounted by a cabinet or
small chest of drawers, the chairs and sofas, the clocks,
andirons, candelabra and girandoles or sconces, the
mirrors and the commodes, the master-mind was that
of Andre Charles Boulle (1642-1732), the son of an
ebeniste Jean Boulle, probably of Swiss origin. He
first appears in the Royal accounts in 1669, and three
years later was lodged in the Louvre. He was assisted
and succeeded by his four sons. While few of his own
works are still in existence, those of his sons, who suc-
cessfully continued the paternal tradition, have been
preserved and are among the most precious objects at
Versailles and in the Louvre, and they had many imi-
tators. The Boulles were makers rather than designers
of furniture, working largely from designs by Berain
237


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
and Lepautre,4 the greatest ornamentists of their time,
and by Le Brun. Second only to Boulle in artistic rank
was S. J. Oppenord (Sander Johann Oppenordt), a
Hollander, whose son later became famous as an archi-
tect under Louis XV.
The characteristics of the royal furniture were in
general a certain severity of mass and outline in the
heavier articles such as cabinets and bureaux, while the
lighter objects, such as chairs and fauteuils, were de-
signed with easy flowing curves in legs, backs and arms,
and were upholstered with specially woven tapestry
seats and backs. The exposed framework was deli-
cately carved, with no superfluous elements, and was
often gilded. The heavier pieces, made of dark wood
and designed with monumental simplicity of outline,
bore little carving in relief. The symbolic sculpture,
the grotesques, gaines and cartouches of the Italian taste
and of the preceding reign, were abandoned in favor
of a rich surface decoration with inlays of marquetry,
brass and tortoise-shell, and applied ornaments of gilded
bronze (Fig. 175; Figure 61). It was in the elegance,
the dainty perfection of modeling of these ornaments
that the furniture-makers of this period displayed their
highest artistic skill, as they displayed their consum-
mate workmanship in the framing and finish of the
woodwork. Boulle was not the inventor nor by any
means the sole user of inlays of metal and tortoise-shell,
but his name has been given by an uninformed public
•Jean Berain, 1038-1711; Jean Le Pautre or Lepautre, 1618-168:.';
(btniste, designer and engraver; often confused with his brother Antoine
(16J1-91) the architect, and with his son Pierre who was Hardouin Man-
sart's chief draftsman at Versailles.
238


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
to this entire style of decoration. Metal inlays and the
use of gilded bronze enrichments on furniture were in
reality derived from Florence, though never there used
to nearly the same extent as by Boulle and his followers.
In the cheaper furniture of the bourgeoisie which imi-

Fio. 175.—Carinet ry Boulle.
tated the royal furniture, gilded papier-mache and gesso
replaced the cast and chiseled bronze; or the relief orna-
ments were carved in wood, gilded and applied. But
even in this cheaper product there is often much of the
French elegance and decorative effect of the style.
In the designing of chairs and fauteuils (easy-chairs),
settees and sofas, the French in this period introduced
239


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
entirely new types. Disregarding the straight lines and
rectangular framework naturally suggested by con-
struction in wood, they curved the back and arms of the
chair and the front of the seat-frame, and later the legs
also, sometimes the
front legs only, leaving
the back legs straight;
sometimes all four. The
fautevil was often made
wide enough for two or
three sitters, and finally
developed into the sofa.
Towards the end of the
17th century all the
lines were curved. The
arms and front legs
were generally carved,
but without excess of
ornament (Fig. 176).
Seats and backs were
upholstered with rich
brocades, or with tapes-
tries specially designed
and woven to fit each
piece of furniture,
often from cartoons by artists like Berain and Marot, as
in the fine set in the Altman collection in the Metro-
politan Museum, New York.
Tables, like the chairs, were made with curved legs,
richly but delicately carved and either gilded or orna-
mented with applied decorations in gilded bronze (Fig.

Fio.
176.—Louis XIV Fauteuil or
Easy-Chair.
240



Figure. 65~Faxitan of 'Oroxxz tlorloge.", Rouen Trwai/'af JauoMt. K?/s'*J





RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
177). A sort of half-table permanently set against the
wall came into fashion and was called a console. Clocks
set upon a stand were also in demand.
Other Secular and Ecclesiastical Woodwork.
Of other woodwork than that of furniture the most
important branch was that of doors, both internal and
external. The carved moldings and ornaments of such

Fio. 177.—Louis XIV Tarle.
doors as were not decorated exclusively by painting or
by gilded ornaments in low relief, usually but not
always upon a white ground, were identical in character
with those of the wall-paneling, but somewhat larger in
scale and heavier in relief.
The general type of external doors developed under
the two previous reigns remained substantially un-
changed, but the details of the ornamentation reflected
the general advance in classic refinement which marked
the architecture of the period (PI. VIII, 5).
There was a good deal of ecclesiastical woodwork
241


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
produced for the churches erected in this period: stalls
for the choir and armoires for the sacristy. This wood-
work was paneled and carved with the same delicate
moldings, the same rounded corners, flowing acanthus
leaves, palm-branches and fanciful scrolls as appear in
the secular and domestic wall-decorations; there was no
special adaptation to its religious function further than

Fig. 178.—Iron Balcony Railing.
the introduction of occasional religious emblems. The
choir-stalls in the cathedral of Notre Dame at Paris,
although out of keeping with the architecture of the
church, are in themselves excellent examples of Louis
XIV decoration in its more sober and restrained mood
(PI. VIII, 13).
Metalwork.
The skill of the Louis XIV bronze-workers was not
confined to applied relief-ornament on furniture. It
was displayed also in the hardware of doors and win-
dows, upon which even the great Cucci did not disdain
242


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
to bestow his skill; and in the sconces or light-brackets,
the andirons and fireplace-utensils of the royal palaces.
Ironwork was a less important art, but the grilles,
window-guards- and gates of this period show the same
"swagger" of pom-
pously dignified de-
sign, the same flowing
grace of line and care-
ful execution observ-
able in the other
branches of decorative
art (Figs. 178, 179;
PI. VIII, 6).
Garden Art.
While the magnifi-
cent style of garden-
design introduced by
the great Le Notre
(1613-1700) and car-
ried to its utmost limit
of imperial grandeur
at Versailles does not
properly fall within
the province of orna-
ment as such; and
while the decorative
details employed in it were for the most part sculptural
or purely architectural, the monumental vases which
served to accentuate the composition at important
points were works of ornament of the highest interest.

Fig. 179.—Gate, Choir of St. Ouen,
Rouen.
243


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
They were often of great size, executed in stone, marble,
bronze or lead, of forms based on Roman precedents,5
and decorated sometimes in purely classic fashion (e.g.
the Vase Medicis, Ver-
sailles, PI. IX, 11) or in
freer style like the example
from Menard-le-Chateau
in Fig. 180.
Textile Decoration: Tapes-
tries.
It was under Louis
XIV that the leadership, if
not the supremacy, in the
art of tapestry-weaving so
long held by the Flemings,
passed from Brussels to
Paris, thanks to the devel-
VasE, meFn'ar^le-Chateau opment of the establish-
ment at the Gobelins.
While the greatest designers of tapestries in the 16th
century had been Italians, the majority of the most
notable Italian tapestries had been actually woven
in Flanders. As early as in 1601 Marc de Comano and
Francois de la Planche, Flemish tapestry-weavers, in-
stalled their work-rooms on the bank of the Bievre in
Paris, where later the Gobelins were established, and
received a royal patent in 1607. The works of this
atelier are known as "early Gobelins." Sixty years
later there were five small ateliers of tapestry in Paris,
s See my Hist, of Orn. I, Figures 191, 192.

24t


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
which Le Brun consolidated into the royal atelier of the
Gobelins. Meanwhile in 1664 another atelier had been
established by royal decree at Beauvais under a certain
Louis Hinart, who was later bought out by Ph. Behagle
of Tournai. The tapestries of Arras in French
Flanders, which had been the most celebrated of all
the Flemish weaves and had given the name of the city
to tapestries in general ("arras" in English and "arazzi"
in Italian), had long before this lost their preeminence.
The Gobelins tapestries were not the first to be woven
in France. There is a tradition that the Saracens had
brought the art to France in the time of Charles Martel
(732 a.d.), but if this be true, the art did not long
flourish among the half-civilized Franks, although it
was called in the 17th century "an immemorial in-
dustry." Francis I had attempted to domesticate the
industry at Fontainebleau, and the atelier there con-
tinued to exist into the reign of Henry II, but it seems
to have disappeared before the end of the 16th century.
It required the immense resources of Louis XIV and
the energy and artistic wisdom of a Colbert and a Le
Brun to establish it on a firm foundation. The Gobelins
weavery has ever since continued to maintain its
supremacy in the art.
The royal tapestries woven at the Gobelins were
chiefly wall-hangings of great size in sets representing
series of scenes and episodes from ancient history and
mythology, from cartoons by the most distinguished
painters, including Le Bmn himself. For the orna-
mentist the most interesting feature of these splendid
works is the treatment of the borders. These were for
245


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
the most part of a distinctly architectural character,
with cartouches, festoons, heraldic attributes, infant
forms and grotesques in rich colors, reproducing as
closely as possible the effects of painted decorations,
such as were executed in connection with mural and ceil-
ing paintings (PI. X, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 26). This
is, indeed, the chief
fault of all the 17th
century tapestries;
they sought to imi-
tate painting with all
its light and shade
and perspective, and
thereby lost the frank
flat and "mural"
quality of the Flem-
ish weaves of the
14th and 15th centu-
ries.
Besides these huge and monumental picture-tapestries
there were others woven of a more purely ornamental
character, which, although they also imitated painted
decorations—many of them from designs by Berain,
Lepautre, etc.—were less open to the above criticism
because of their more purely conventional and orna-
mental character. From a decorative point of view
they are admirable in the playful fancifulness of their
design. With these may be classed the pieces specially
woven to serve as seats and backs for chairs and sofas.
They made free use of floral designs—bouquets,
wreaths, garlands and festoons—too realistically repre-

Fio. 181.—Poi.nt-d'Ai.encon Lace.
246


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II

Fig. 182a.—French Lace,
Seventeenth Century.
sented, perhaps, for the truest art,^but so well designed
for the forms and spaces they were to decorate and so
completely in harmony with the entire scheme of in-
terior decoration of the
time that severe criticism
of their naturalism is
fairly disarmed.
In the velvets, broca-
telles and brocades of this
period there was a similar
emancipation from for-
eign styles, whether
Flemish or Italian. Es-
pecially rich were the bro-
cades, both of velvet and
of satin, in which on the one hand floral designs began to
appear, and on the other the classicizing influence of Le
Bran asserted itself indirectly in patterns and motives
based on the acanthus
and rinceau with little
or no reminiscence of
Oriental models. The
same is true of the
needlework and laces.
Colbert introduced into
the royal ateliers thirty
lace-makers from Italy,
and thus inaugurated
an art and industry which rapidly developed into great
importance. The "point d'Alencon" (Fig. 181) was
employed in patterns of remarkable richness, and has

Fig. lS-2b.—Needlework, Velvet
Lamrrequin.
Bed-
247


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
art; a throwing off of the formality and pompous dig-
nity that had so long been-the rule. There began a
great activity in the building of sumptuous mansions
for the nobility, in which the rebound towards a gay
and frivolous social life could find free expression.
Externally these mansions, such as the Hotels Biron,
Matignon, Soubise and others, still exhibit a classical

Fig. 184.— Keystone Decoration, Versailles.
simplicity, even severity, of mass and detail. The
"Latin" tendency is dominant, but without the ostenta-
tion of colossal orders and huge sculptured pediments,
and here and there segmental arches and concave re-
veals to the jambs of doorways appear, and bits of fan-
tastic ornament on keystones or door-tympanums (Fig.
184). Within the walls, however, a new freedom of
Gallic fancy finds expression, alike in the decoration
of walls and ceilings and in the furniture. Every
vestige of classical formality disappears. The straight
line and right angle are avoided wherever possible;
249


A HISTORY OF ORXAMENT
swaying lines are everywhere; shells, palm-branches and
a kind of ragged acanthus leaf are constantly recurring
motives. The tops and bottoms of all panels are curved
and the corners cut off with a concave curve and a
leaf (Fig. 185). Roman cornices and round arches
are banished. Panels of walls and doors are enclosed
nished the subjects of this decorative painting, treated
with consummate skill and great delicacy of technic.
This was the age of the salon and the boudoir; the
decoration was gay, trivial or charming; the revolt
from the academic, the formal, expressed itself in every
line and curve, parallel with the licentiousness and un-
blushing immorality of the social revolt from the
• Antoine Wnttenu, 16H1-1721; Nicolas Lancret. 1690-1743; Francois
Boucher, 1703-1770; Jean Honore Fragonard, 1732-180d.

PARIS. Hotel SoublSfc
Fic. 185.—Corner of Panel in
Hotel Sourise, Paris.
in two or three separate lines
of moldings, the finer ones
inside the heavier outer
moldings (Figure 62).
Decorative painting aban-
dons the field of history, war
and classical mythology and
allegory, under the influence
of Watteau and Lancret
and their successors Van
Loo, Boucher and Fragon-
ard.6 An affectation of pas-
toral simplicity and an arti-
ficial rusticity of shepherds
and shepherdesses dressed
in satins and brocades fur-
250


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
affected pietism of the later years of the Louis XIV
regime.
The Regency, 1715-1723.
It is customary to assign the name of the eight years'
period of the regency of Philip of Orleans to a supposed
definite style, distinct alike from those which preceded
and followed. No such distinction really exists; every
feature and detail of the ornament of this period can be
found either in the Louis XIV or the Louis XV style.
Indeed the Louis Quinze style itself is little more than
the accentuation and exaggeration of elements already
existing in that of Louis Quatorze. The "Style
Regence" is merely the transition from the relative
severity and formality of the Louis XIV work to the
greater freedom and fancifulness of the reign of the
Grand Monarque's grandson. The decoration of the
closing years of the 17th century and opening years of
the 18th, even before the Regency, cannot be easily
distinguished from much that was done after 1723; it
differs more from the earlier Louis XIV work than
from that of Louis XV. The Regency may, however,
be easily identified in its furniture, which has more
grace and freedom of form than that which preceded,
without the fantastic and contorted extravagance of
that which followed.
Louis Quinze Details.
Except possibly for the shell (Fig. 186), usually with
ragged edges, it is impossible to find an ornament which
is new or distinctive. The peculiarities of the style are
251


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
those of manner and degree. The coves and other
spaces filled with network or basket-diaper, the curved
tops and bottoms of panels, corners cut off by quad-

1 g |
Fig. 186.—Louis XV Shells on a Bracket.
rants, interrupted moldings, repetition of panel mold-
ings within moldings, the ragged acanthus and palm,
occur in both Louis XIV and Louis XV work. But in
252


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
the latter style the curves dominate, the architectural
framework is less classic, less formal; there is more of
minute and delicate arabesque, the shells and foliage are
more ragged than ever (Fig. 187).
In f urniture the straight line is completely abandoned
(Fig. 188); the silhouette is often torn and distorted
beyond all reason; the last vestige of structural expres-
sion disappears. A
new element, though
not a new form, shows
itself in the use of lac-
quer or "vemis Mar-
tin" as a finish for fur-
niture. This received
its name from Robert
Martin (born 1706),
who with his family
received a patent from
the king for making
furniture after the
Chinese and Japanese Fig. 187.—Ceiling-Cove, Versailles.
fashions, and was later
appointed official "Varnisher to the King."7 The
verms Martin became extremely fashionable; it was
applied in various colors in designs which imitated
Chinese landscapes and figures and were known as
Chinoiseries. Pictures introducing monkeys in the
place of human figures also caught the fancy of the
jaded society of the day; they were called singeries.
'Madame de Pompadour is recorded as having paid Martin 58,000 livrcs
in a single year for work done to her order.

253


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Both on lacquered furniture and on tapestry and
needlepoint upholsterings and draperies these chinois-
eries and singeries competed with the pastorals and
affected rusticalities of the Watteau school for aristo-
cratic favor, and were even introduced into the panel-
paintings and wall-arabesques of salons in the great
houses and royal palaces, Watteau himself not disdain-
ing to furnish the sketches for some of them.

Fio. 188.—Commode ry Caffieri.
In the design and making of furniture, apart from
this superficial decoration, the dominant name is that
of Cressent,8 an artist of inherited gifts, the son of a
sculptor and himself primarily a worker in bronze,
noted for his "exquisite figures of women placed at the
corners of furniture, chiefly on tables, to which the name
of espagnolettes was given." 9 Among his pupils was
J. A. Meissonier (1695-1750), an Italian by birth, who
"Charles Cressent, 1685-1768; probably a pupil of Boulle.
*A. Saglio, "French Furniture," p. 134 (Batsford, I-ondon).
254


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
was responsible, more than any one else, for the extrava-
gances of the later Louis Quinze works, both in furni-
ture and in interior decoration generally. The name
genre rocaille (rockwork style) has been given to this
later phase of the style, and often been applied incor-
rectly to the entire Louis XV development. Along
with Meissonier one should mention the two Cafrieri,
Jacques and Philippe, son and grandson of that Filippo
Caffieri who worked for Louis XIV in the Gobelins
establishment; and the three brothers Slodtz.
It must not be supposed that the vernis-Martin finish
was the only one employed. With the decline of the
structural expressiveness that had never been lost sight
of under Louis XIV, and the growing taste for purely
superficial decoration, there appeared a quite new effect
in the use of decorative veneers, applied so as to form
symmetrical patterns of veining. These were especially
resorted to on the smooth bulging surfaces that char-
acterized much of the furniture, such as cupboards,
commodes, chests of drawers and the like. The relief
ornaments of gilded bronze, or in the commoner furni-
ture of gilded wood or gilded gesso, were applied to
these veneered surfaces. Inlays of tortoise-shell and
metal a la Boulle almost wholly disappeared, but wood-
inlay or intarsia came back into favor. Many of the
finest Louis XV pieces in the Metropolitan Museum at
New York are decorated in this way.
In these developments as a whole we recognize the
uninterrupted continuance of many of the Louis XIV
traditions, handed down from father to son and from
master to pupil. There is nothing absolutely new ex-
255


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
cept the spirit in which these traditions were handled.
Even the chinoiseries and singeries were not new; one
finds them occasionally under Louis XIV, for the
fashion of collecting objets a" art from the Far East
had begun under Louis XIII and Mazarin. Whatever
may be said in dispraise of the riotous frivolity and
fanciful extravagance of Louis
XV detail at its worst, one can-
not deny its originality of inven-
tion, its frequent charm of effect,
and above all its wonderful exe-
cution. There was no falling off
in the painstaking workmanship
or exquisite finish of detail in
architectural works, in furniture,
in textiles, in every appurte-
nance of life on which the de-
signer's skill could be bestowed.
The Louis XV style was, in
all that distinguished it, a style
of protest against tradition, at
least against academic classical-
ism and above all against royal
dictation. In this, as in its predilection for curves, it re-
sembled the Art Nouveau of the early 20th century.
But unlike the latter movement, it never sought to
break loose from the control of inherited traditions of
pure design, or to ignore those fundamental laws of
design which spring from the demands of construction,
balance and order. In its wrought-ironwork the Louis
Quinze style found the most congenial field for its love

Fio. 189.—Balustrade ry
H£ret, Nancy.
256


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
of free unhampered design and for linear patterning in
swaying curves. The special qualities of the material
and the structural requirements of its use in grilles,
gates and railings, lent themselves to this sort of design,
which here, therefore, exhibits a propriety too often
lacking in the furniture and architecture (Fig. 189).
And in church architecture, in external architectural
form generally, the age of Louis XV still adhered to
much of its classical inheritance: witness the facade of
the church of St. Sulpice, the cold classical purity of
the Pantheon, and most of the works of J. A. Gabriel.10
The Style of Louis XVI.
It was inevitable that a reaction should follow the
extravagances of the Louis XV style as well as those
of the Louis XV social regime. The pendulum was
bound to swing back from the Gallic end of its arc
towards the Latin and classic. Indeed, this return had
already begun under Louis XV, as already suggested,
asserting itself in the more monumental forms of archi-
tecture, but appearing also in such works of lesser size
as the Petit Trianon by Gabriel and the Grenelle Foun-
tain by Bouchardon, dating as far back as 1739. Many
influences tended to accelerate the movement before the
death of the aged roue Louis XV in 1774. Probably
the most potent was the rapid development of archaeo-
logical interest, stimulated by the discoveries in Hercu-
lanum, Pompeii and Paestum between 1719 and 1750,
the publication of Stuart and Revett's "Antiquities of
Athens" in 1764, and a remarkable succession of archaeo-
"Jacques Ange Gabriel of Lyons, 1698-1782.
257


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
logical expeditions and publications in the last half of
that century. The classical purism of English taste
also influenced the French, and a new interest in Na-
ture, in the beauties of the landscape, in flowers and
outdoor life were tak-
ing the place of the
artificial and dressed-
up rusticity of the
Watteau tradition.
Simplicity, natural-
ness, sobriety and re-
finement began to find
favor as a welcome
change from the rest-
less extravagance of
the Louis XV regime.
The educated middle
class, the upper bour-
geoisie, was growing in power and was destined in time
to overthrow both the aristocracy and the monarchy it-
self, as its ultimate protest against a corrupt and selfish
domination.

CHALONS-jun MARNE
Fig. 190.—Rustication and Paneling,
Arch at Chalons-sur-Marne.
Architectural Decoration.
The classical purism of the later Louis XV architec-
ture continued to prevail in all exterior design. The
twin colonnaded fronts on the north side of the Place
de la Concorde, finished in 1770; the Pantheon, begun
in 1757 but not completed till 1802; the Ecole de Medi-
cine by Gondouin and his Hotel de la Monnaie; the
Hotel de Salm (now the Palace of the Legion of
258


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
Honor) by Rousseau (1782); the Grenelle fountain
and the Petit Trianon, all alike exhibit this new taste
for classic purity and refinement, although built at dates
ranging through more than sixty years. Along with
these somewhat stately edifices, in which the Roman
orders were still the dominant element of the design,
were many others from which they were wholly absent.

Fio. 191.—Louis XVI Window-head, House in Rue du Temple, Paris.
In these the careful proportioning of the voids and
solids, a studied refining of all the profiles of cornices
and moldings, a discreet use of quoins and rustication,
a frequent resort to rectangular wall-panels, and a gen-
eral avoidance of strong projections and large features,
were the most noticeable characteristics (Figs. 190,
192). The colossal pilasters of Victor Louis' extension
of the Palais Royal to enclose the garden behind it are a
marked exception.
259


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Interior Decoration.
It was in interior decoration that the period of Louis
Seize achieved really new and distinctive results. The
change came about rapidly, almost suddenly. The
curved line disappeared from the wall-paneling and
from the supporting members of the furniture, and with
it the shells, the palms, the ragged acanthus leaves and

Fio. 192.—Two Console-Brackets, Ixiuis XVI.
the quadrant-corners of the Louis Quinze style. Chi-
noiseries, singeries and sugary denatured pastorals were
banished. All the ornament was based on classic prec-
edents. Frets and honeysuckles and rosettes of Greek
or Roman origin came into favor. Consoles and brack-
ets were often designed largely or wholly with straight
lines (Fig. 192). The heavy swags or festoons of the
Louis XIII and XIV periods were replaced by light
and graceful festoons of naturalistic flowers, tied with
fillets and bows of narrow ribbon and often hung across
the upper part of a panel or mirror (Fig. 193; PI. IX,
6). The relief decorations of plaster ceilings were in
260


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
light and graceful pat-
terns in low relief, based
on simple geometric sys-
tems of composition, re-
flecting perhaps some in-
fluence from the Adam
brothers' work in Eng-
land (see p. 373). In
general, refinement, deli-
cacy, quiet restraint char-
acterized the style.
Furniture and Metalwork.

MARtE ASTOlNETft- JXU.TTOCBE
L
These qualities appear Fl0. i93._loDIS xVi p.cture-Frame.
especially in the furniture
and the metalwork, in which many of the motives above
described were used. The
straight line and right an-
gle dominate the design
of tables, bureaux and
desks, cabinets, commodes
and armoires (Fig. 194;
PI. IX, 4). While ve-
neering, inlays of wood
and sometimes of metal,
and applied ornaments of
gilt bronze were still
characteristic, the entire
aspect of the furniture
was transformed by this
Fig. 194.—Louis xVi Commode, change of form and detail.

261


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Chairs still had curved arms and sometimes curved backs,
but the legs of both chairs and tables were always
straight and tapered downwards (Figs. 194, 195). The
tapestries of the upholstering were woven with designs

Fio. 195.—Louis XVI Chair. Morilier Fio. 196.—Louis XVI Candle-
National. STICK.
chiefly floral. Sconces, candlesticks, andirons and light-
stands often affected the slender and graceful forms of
Pompeiian bronze tripods and candelabra, or were other-
wise designed with classical restraint and propriety
combined with much refined and charming detail
(Fig. 196).
262


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
The outstanding names in the interior decoration and
furniture of this period are, first of all, Cauvet and
Delafosse, among the decorative designers, correspond-
ing in a measure to Lepautre under Louis XIV and
Rousseau, Oppenord and Meissonier under Louis XV;
Lasalle, whose figured silks and brocades, with natural-
istic designs, are justly
celebrated (PI. IX, 9),
and in furniture the
great Riesener, who had
already, in his late works
under Louis XV, begun
to develop the character-
istics of the style of
Louis XVI, and Fay.
The ironwork of this
period is particularly
noteworthy. Wrought
iron balustrades or stair-
railings and balcony- FlG. 197.-1,0™ XVI W Gate.
parapets came into
vogue, and these, along with gates and grilles, were de-
signed with remarkable grace of line, free from affecta-
tion or display of technical tours-de-force in hammered
foliage or intricate twists and spirals. Nearly all this
ironwork was wrought of bars of rectangular section,
giving it a certain refined severity of aspect, and decora-
tive effect was produced by the patterning of the scrolls
and a moderate amount of forged and repousse orna-
mentation of rosettes, wreaths and "drops" or festoons
of leaves or flowers (Fig. 197).

263


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
French Ceramic Art.
It has seemed better to treat this subject as a whole,
rather than to break it up into the periods under which
we have studied architectural ornament. The pioneer
work of Palissy was briefly referred to on page 198;
but for the real beginnings of French ceramic art we
must go a little further back. The Italians who came
over in 1526 with Girolamo della Robbia to work on the
glazed terra-cotta enrichments of the Chateau de
Madrid do not seem to have founded a lasting industry.
But shortly after the beginning of their activity, about
1529, the earliest purely French faience—that is, glazed
earthenware or majolica—was made at Oiron near
Thouars in Poitou, in an establishment created by a
certain Helene de Hengest-Gouffier, and continued by
her sons until its extinction in 1568 in the disorders of
the Huguenot wars. This Oiron ware (sometimes
called Henri Deux ware), of which the small number
of authentic extant pieces are almost priceless, was
glazed with an ivory ground on which the peculiar
banded and interlaced decorations were executed in
varying shades of brown (Fig. 198 a, c). The later
pieces bear the monogram of Henry II and the triple
crescents of Diane de Poitiers; but these were ex-
tensively counterfeited in later and inferior productions.
Meanwhile Palissy, a Huguenot glass-painter and an
original and self-trained naturalist, had after infinite
labor and experiment succeeded in producing a white
enamel (1554), and later various colored glazes, with
which he adorned all sorts of vessels, especially plates
and platters of great size, modeled with naturalistic
26t




e Neveix Pilgrim 3otl)r"i*<aid) fStrasbourg ClockfonJc) gSeyrej Vose: Cvfrrd)
Figure 67- Illustrations of French Ceramics.





RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
ornament in relief (Figure 67). As he kept to himself
the secret of his enamels and was opposed on principle
to cheapening or popularizing his art, it left no really
lasting impress on French ceramic art in general. Its
too naturalistic decoration of eels, fishes, shells, fruit,
flowers and human figures in relief was artistically in-

Fio. 198.—Early French Faience: (a, c) Oiron Ware; (b) Palissy Ware.
appropriate, and was never imitated by other French
potters. Many of Palissy's works were, however, de-
signed in a purer and less personal style, making free
use of Renaissance motives and classic mythological and
allegorical figures. Palissy died in prison for his re-
ligion in 1590 (Fig. 198 b; Figure 67).
Another early center of ceramic art in France was
Rouen, where for fourteen years from 1548 a certain
Abaquesne produced finely glazed floor-tiles and drug-
pots; but after 1564 this industry, like that of Oiron,
became extinct in the confusion of the religious wars
265


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
and political disturbances of the time. It was, how-
ever, revived in 1644 by Poirel, sieur de Grandval, who
later ceded the works to a certain Edme Poterat, whose
son Louis developed the Rouen ware to a state of high
perfection, which was maintained by other Rouen pot-
teries throughout the greater part of the 18th century.
The Rouen ware has been called the "Queen of French
faiences"; confined at first to the simpler forms of plates,
platters and ewers, it was later made in the greatest
variety of shapes. Its distinguishing characteristic is
its decoration by delicate patterns derived from laces
and embroideries, sometimes called "lambrequin pat-
terns" (Figure 67), later varied by figures, scrolls,
flowers, cornucopias, etc., outlined in a delicate red or
blue, and almost always admirably disposed with ref-
erence to the form of the object decorated. The Rouen
potteries became extinct in 1800, having sacrificed the
quality of their wares in a vain effort to compete with
the better organized English porcelain potteries (see
p. 383). The Lille potteries, established about 1700,
produced mainly imitations of other wares, including
that of Rouen (Figure 67 d).
Two other early centers should be mentioned: Nevers
and Moustiers. By the marriage in 1565 of Margaret
of Cleves to Ludovico Gonzaga, Nevers came under the
dukes of Mantua, who established in that city a colony
of Italian potters, whose early works imitate the Urbino
majolica. Later the product became more varied;
Persian forms and above all Persian floral decoration
were imitated, and the Chinese fad of Louis XIV's age
led to the painting of Chinese scenes and some repro-
266


RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE, II
duction of Chinese forms. Modeling in relief was in-
troduced, and the fine taste and beautiful execution of
the earlier works disappeared. This industry also be-
came extinct with the close of the 18th century.
The faience of Moustiers rivals that of Rouen in ar-
tistic merit. This industry was founded by Clerissy near
the end of the 17th century; its products display a cer-
tain originality in their freedom from imitation of for-
eign wares. Strasbourg also developed an important
ceramic production, whose decoration was divided be-
tween naturalistic floral ornament and Rococo or Louis
Quinze forms.
The great royal pottery at Sevres was one of the
creations of Colbert under Louis XIV. Here was de-
veloped a rare perfection of manufacture both of hard
and soft porcelains, in sets and display-pieces for the
royal palaces and for presentation to foreign princes.
Its special distinction lies in the fineness of the ware, the
perfection of the glazes, the splendor of the deep blue
and of the gold employed in its decoration, and the
classic elegance of the forms of its major productions
(Figure 67 g).
The period of Louis XVI came to an end in the
bloody upheaval of the French Revolution. France and
the monarchy paid the price of the long-continued ex-
travagance of royalty and the aristocracy. For fifteen
years war, proscriptions, executions and political over-
turnings absorbed the energies and minds of the nation,
until the genius of Napoleon restored order under a
new absolutism and inaugurated a new series of archi-
267


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
tectural enterprises. In these the classical movement
took on a new phase, more completely Roman than ever,
to which the name of the Empire Style has been given.
But as it belongs to the 19th century its discussion must
be left to a later chapter.
Books Recommended:
As before, Blondel, Daly, Gélis-Didot, Guérinet, Lurke,
Rouyer et Darcel, Ward.—Also: Anonymous: Architecture
de Louis XV ( , Paris, n. d.).—E. Baldus: Versailles,
Motifs de Décoration (Baldus, Paris, 1879).—Dilke (Lady):
French Furniture and Decoration of the XVIII Century (Bell,
London, 1901).—P. Favier: L'Architecture et la décoration
aux palais de Versailles et des Trianons ( Imprimeries Réunies,
Paris, 1900).—V. Garnier: Les Palais et musées nationaux:
meubles d'art, etc. (Paris, n. d.).—P. Gille: Versailles et les
deux Trianons (Mâme, Tours, 1900).—Hessung: Le Mobilier
Louis XV au musée du Louvre (Hessling, Paris, 1910).—J.
Lepautre: Collection des plus belles compositions (Noblet,
Paris, 1854).—E. Mounier: Le Mobilier, XVIle et XVIIle
siècles (Lévy, Paris, 1898).—P. de Nolhac: Histoire du
château de Versailles au XVIlie siècle (Emile-Paul, Paris,
1916); Versailles and the Trianons (Dodd, Mead, New York,
1906).—C. Percier: Recueil de décorations intérieures (Per-
cier, Paris, 1812).—R. Pfnor: Architecture, décorations, etc.,
Louis XVI (Morel, Paris, 1865).—S. de Ricci: Louis XVI
Furniture (Putnam, New York, 1913).—W. G. Townsend:
Measured Drawings of French Furniture in South Kensington
Museum (Truslove, London, 1899).
268


CHAPTER VIII
RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN SPAIN
Beginnings.
The Renaissance came to Spain.primarily from Italy,
but "at sundry times and in divers manners." Christian
Spain had through the entire Middle Ages been exposed
to contending influences and dependent on foreigners
for much of its productive art, and this condition was
not at once changed by the final conquest of the Moors
in 1492 and the elan of national enthusiasm of the early
16th century. Moorish decorative art could not fail to
influence Spanish design, even during and after the
gradual eclipse of the Moorish power. The name of
Mudejar 1 denotes the mixture of Moorish with Gothic
details in many buildings of the late 15th and early
16th centuries; and long after the fall of Granada
Moorish carpenters continued to work for their Chris-
tian lords. During the last quarter of the 15th century
when, following the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella
in 1474, the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon had been
united, many French, German and Flemish artists had
entered Spain by way of Burgos, working in the late
Gothic style of northern Europe, and developing in
and about Burgos a school of Hispano-Flemish archi-
1 Mudejares = conquered or subject Moors.
269


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
tecture and carving comparable with that of Rouen of
the same period (see p. 186). Several of the Spanish-
born descendants of these foreigners, trained in this
ornate style, later became pioneers in the style of the
early Renaissance. Meanwhile an Italian invasion of
artists from Florence, Genoa and Lombardy had been
introducing the style of the Quattrocento into eastern
and central Spain by way of Barcelona, Valencia and
Murcia, and skilled carvers from the marble quarries of
Carrara had established a flourishing art-industry as
makers of tombs, extending their influence as far west as
Toledo. Spanish artists began to study their arts in
Italy, and the elevation of a Borja (Borgia) of Valencia
to the Papacy as Alexander VI in 1492 immensely
strengthened the Italian influence. Moreover whatever
contribution was made to the new style by Germans or
Flemings was primarily derived from Italy, so that the
Spanish Renaissance was as completely Italian in its
origin as was the French.
The closing years of the fifteenth century witnessed
a remarkable series of events which raised Spain to a
high pitch of power and wealth and provided the in-
spiration and opportunity for a marvelous artistic ac-
tivity. These events were the conquest of Granada and
final destruction of the Moorish dominion in 1492;
the discovery of America and the elevation of Borja to
the Papal throne in the same year; and in 1495 the
union of the kingdom to that of Spain. Following the
brilliant reign of Ferdinand and Isabella came the
still more brilliant era of Charles V (1516-56), when
Spain was the first power of Kurope, and when the
270


RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN SPAIN
conquests of Mexico and Peru had brought to Spain an
enormous wealth in gold and silver.
Succession of Styles.
The early Renaissance style thus developed in Spain
is called the Plateresque (from platero, a silversmith or
goldsmith), and
lasted almost exactly
a half-century (1500-
1550). The name by
which it is known,
displacing the earlier
designations of obra
del Romano (Roman
work) and arte vie jo
(antique art), came
into vogue in the
17th century, either
because of an erro-
neous theory that the
style had been intro-
duced by Italian
goldsmiths, or be-
cause of the minute-
ness, delicacy and
profusion of its sur-
face-ornament, sug-
gestive of work in the precious metals (Fig. 199; Fig-
ure 68).
A tendency towards a more academic and classical
style manifested itself during the later years of Charles

Fig. 199.—Top of Doorway, San Clemente,
Toledo.
271


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
V, and was strongly accentuated under Philip II
(1556-98), a monarch of ascetic taste and autocratic
will, who made Juan de Herrera 2 his artistic agent as
the supreme arbiter of all architectural designs. The
charming gaiety and freedom of the Plateresque gave
way to the cold monumental style known as the Griego-
Romano 3 exemplified in such buildings as the Palace of
Charles V at Granada, the vast Escorial, and the Cathe-
dral of Valladolid.
By the middle of the 17th century the Griego-
Romano in turn began to give way to mingled and con-
fused influences from France, Germany and Italy,
among which the Italian Baroque was the strongest
until about 1700. The Spanish love of exuberant deco-
ration, rising in protest against the barrenness of the
academic "unadorned style," then found its exponent
in Josef Churriguera of Salamanca (1650-1723), a man
of erratic genius whose name has been fastened on the
styles of the first half of the 18th century, and whose
sons and nephews continued to work in his vein. The
lawless and fantastic character of the overloaded orna-
ment of the Churrigueresque style is often shocking to a
conservative taste, sometimes fascinating by its bril-
liance and ingenuity, but instructive chiefly, perhaps
always, by way of warning.
The architecture of the last half of the 18th century
displays the decline of Spanish originality and creative-
ness in decoration. Side by side there were examples
of the expiring Churrigueresque taste and monuments
'Juan de Herrera, born 1530; died about 1600.
•Called also Estilo desornamentado or "unadorned style."
272


RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN SPAIN
exhibiting a new influx from Italy, in a dry and unin-
spired phase of renewed classicism.
Italian Works.
The first acquaintance of the Spaniards with Renais-
sance art came through an important series of minor
works by Italians—tombs, retablos or altar-pieces and
enameled tile-work. As early as 1417 a pupil of

Fio. 200.—Tomr in Capilla Real, Granada.
Ghiberti had worked in Valencia, and the Carrarese and
Genoese artisans had carved tombs and retablos before
1500. But it was after that date that the most notable
Italian works were executed. Thus in 1503 Niculoso
of Pisa made for the Chapel of the Alcazar at Seville
an altar of enameled tile-work (azulejos); in 1512
Domenico Fancelli of Florence carved the fine tomb of
the Infante Don Juan in San Tomas at Avila, follow-
ing in 1517 with one still finer—that of Ferdinand and
Isabella in the Chapel of the Catholic Kings (Capilla
Real) at Granada (Fig. 200). Later the Ribera tombs,
273


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
now in the University Chapel at Seville, were carved by
two Genoese sculptors, Aprile and Gazzini (or Gag-
gini?), and the portal of the Casa de Pilatos in that city
and some of the columns of its patio or court were
carved in Genoa. As late as 1542 Giovanni Moreto
executed the rich silleria or choir-stalls of the Cathedral
of El Pilar at Saragossa.
More important architecturally even than the works
enumerated above was the great Mendoza palace at
Lacalahorra, by a Genoese architect, Michele Carlone,
begun in 1508. This was the first purely and com-
pletely Renaissance building in Spain, and it exerted
a powerful influence toward the extinction of the still
lingering Gothic style in the details of Spanish archi-
tecture.
Plateresque Architects.
The leading names in the development of the richly
decorative Plateresque style are: Enrique de Egaz (d.
1534); Pedro Gumiel (d. about 1516); Alonso Covar-
rubias (first half of 16th century); Diego de Siloe
(1490?-1563); Rodrigo Gil de Hontafion (d. 1560);
Diego de Riano (active in 1533); Alonso Berruguete
(1480-1561), and Juan de Badajos (d. about 1550).
Many of these architects were gifted also as sculptors
in relief, and the charm of their work lies in part in the
beauty of their carved and sculptured ornament in stone
and wood. Berruguete shares with the sculptor Bar-
tolome Ordonez (d. 1520) the distinction of producing
the finest sculptural work of the period; e.g. the fine
tomb of Cardinal Tavers at Toledo.
274


RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN SPAIN
Architectural Ornament.
The style is characterized by a profusion of deli-
cately carved Renaissance relief ornament applied to
the flat-walled, sparsely-windowed style of structure
developed during the late Gothic period (Fig. 206).

Fio. 201.—Casa Monterey, Salamanca.
Effects of strong contrast were sought between plain
wall-surfaces and rich decoration of restricted portions,
such as a very open upper story with elaborate crestings
and finials (Fig. 201). In the early years of the new
style Gothic features were sometimes naively mingled
with those of the Renaissance, especially in the ribbed
275


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
vaulting of churches and cloisters and even civic build-
ings like the Lonja (Exchange) at Saragossa. The two
styles are however never mixed in one composition to
the extent that was common in France under Louis
XII. The adoption of the new style even by men
trained in Gothic work was more rapid and thorough-
going than in France. Such works as the portal of
San Clemente at Toledo (Fig. 199) seem like anticipa-
tions of French Francis I work (see ante, Fig. 162).
Could the Toulouse doorway have been by a Spaniard?
The very Gothic courtyard of the Infantada at Guada-
lajara is exceptional; the lower arcade is Tuscan, the
upper one extravagantly flamboyant Gothic.
Decoratively the most important features of the
Plateresque compositions were the doorways, cornices
and crestings of the exterior, and the court-arcades,
stairways and ceilings of the interior. In churches the
tombs, retablos and rejas or grilles were often the most
interesting features. The most characteristic orna-
mental details of this decoration—those which, added to
the familiar Italian motives of the acanthus, rinceau,
pilaster-arabesque, anthemion, classic moldings and de-
tails from the classic orders are most distinctively Span-
ish—were heraldic escutcheons, medallion portraits and
candelabrum-shafts. The last-named motive, intro-
duced as early as 1510, evidently by the Lombards
working in Spain, became a favorite ornament, appear-
ing as a pilaster-decoration in retablos; as the usual
form for iron or bronze spindles in rejas; as a substitute
for Gothic pinnacles in crestings and other combina-
tions; as a substitute for engaged columns in doorways
276






J


RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN SPAIN
(see Fig. 199), in the upper
arcade of the Collegio de los
Irlandeses at Salamanca by-
Pedro Ibarra (1550); and
as an isolated support instead
of a column in the upper ar-
cade of the patio (court) of
the Casa de Zaporta, re-
moved from Saragossa to
Paris some years ago (Fig.
203). Doubtless the cam-
paign of Charles V in Lom-
bardy and



Fio. 203.—Candel-
arrum - Shaft,
Casa de Zaporta,
Fio. 202.—Heraldic Escutcheon,
Escuelas Menores, Salamanca.
his great
victory at Pavia in 1525 contributed
to enhance its popularity in Spain
(see pp. 42, 193).
In the Spanish doorways Moorish in-
fluence is plainly manifest. The uni-
versal Mohammedan tradition made of
the doorway a feature whose decoration
was always extended upward to the top
of the structure, and many of the Span-
ish doorways and church facades follow
this tradition. The doorway of the Uni-
versity of Salamanca, by an unknown
architect (ct'r. 1530) is the most notable
Renaissance illustration of this system
(Figure 68). The delicate arabesques,
the medallion portraits, the heraldic es-
cutcheons, the lace-like crestings with
277


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
candelabrum-pinnacles, and the purely decorative use
of pilasters and cornices as surface ornaments in this
fine decorative design, furnish an epitome of the orna-
ment of the Plateresque period. Other notable door-
ways, among many, are those of the sacristy of the
Cathedral of Cuenca, with superb carved doors by Ber-
ruguete; of the partly Gothic Hospital Real at Santiago
de Compostella, an
early work by de
Egaz; the Porta
della Pellejen'a
(north transept-por-
tal) of Burgos Ca-
thedral by Francisco
Colonia, and his door-
ways to the Medina-
celi palace at Cogol-
ludo; the portal to
the Gothic Capilla
de los Reyes Nuevos
in Burgos Cathedral;
the carved doors to
the Chapter-room of Toledo Cathedral by Gumiel and
de Egaz (1504-12), and the portal of the Convento
de San Clemente at Toledo (Fig. 199) by Covar-
rubias.
The classic orders played a very subordinate part in
the Plateresque period. Columns, where used at all,
chiefly in court arcades, were treated with the utmost
freedom, with entire disregard of Vitruvius and the
Italian precedents. Capitals were carved with great

Fro. 304.—Capital, Ai.cai.a de Hekares, in
?>Iauuiu Museum.
278


RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN SPAIN

originality and vigor (Fig. 204). Jn the courtyard of
the Casa Miranda at Burgos an unknown architect de-
veloped a beautiful type of bracket-capital, also used
in a courtyard at Guadalajara (Fig. 205) and in the
courtyard of the University of Alcala de Henares by
Rodrigo Gil de Hontafion. On the exterior of Diego
de Riafio's Ayunta-
miento (Town Hall) at
Seville the engaged col-
umns (a rare feature in
exterior design) are richly
carved and wreathed with
festoons. Arabesqued pi-
lasters of great beauty
also appear in this facade
and on the second story
of the Convent of San
Marcos at Leon, by Juan
de Badajos (1514-49; Fig. 206). In the Longa (Ex-
change) at Saragossa, Ionic columns, treated like the
columns of San Zaccaria at Venice (see Fig. 26), the
lower part of the shaft serving as a sort of pedestal for
the upper part, support a ribbed vault of Gothic design
but Renaissance detail. Classic columns also form the
chief architectural motives of the interiors of the Cathe-
dral of Jaen by Val del Vira, and of the magnificent
Cathedral of Granada by Diego de Siloe (begun
1523).
In courtyards classic columns, carrying sometimes
architraves, sometimes arches, are naturally of frequent
use, and many of these courtyards Or patios are of great
Fig.
205.—Bracket Capital,
guadalajara.
279


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
decorative beauty: e.g. (besides those already men-
tioned) that of the Hospital of Santa Cruz at Toledo,
by de Egaz; that of the
Lupiana monastery;
those of the Arch-
bishop's Palace at Al-
cala by Covarrubias, of
the Hospital Real at
Santiago de Compos-
tela by de Egaz, show-
ing Lombard influence
in the doubled bays of
the second story, and
of the Penaranda pal-
ace by Francisco de
Colonia (1530). Col-
umns are quite natur-
ally important elements
in some of the Italian
tombs, as in those of
the Riberas in the Uni-
versity Chapel at Se-
ville. An example of
the frankly and purely
decorative use of the
orders externally is seen
in the facade of the monastery at Piedra in Aragon, in
which two superposed orders of engaged columns with
ressauts or broken-out entablatures are applied as a
wall-veil, with no suggestion of structural function.
But this is an exceptional instance of such use of
superposed orders.

Fio. 206.—Part of Facade op Convent
of San Marcos, Leon.
280








RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN SPAIN
Rustications.
Rustications appealed to the Plateresque architects
not as suggestions or expressions of massive masonry,
but purely as devices for surface patterning. Thus the
Medinaceli palace (now
the Civic Hospital) at
Jativa, has a facade en-
tirely patterned over with
grooves that outline a
small-scale rustication of
the masonry. The con-
ception of the wall as a
broad surface to be en-
riched by all-over orna-
ment doubtless betrays
Moorish influence. In the
Casa de las Conchas at
Salamanca carved shells
in relief are applied like
nail-heads at regular in-
tervals along the horizon-
tal joints of the masonry;
and on the Infantada at
Guadalajara stone diamonds perform the same func-
tion.
Rustication was also used in interiors where the
masonry was exposed, especially on the supporting and
flanking walls of stairways, as in the Santa Cruz Hos-
pital at Toledo and in the Archbishop's palace at Alcala.
In these and similar examples each block of the rustica-
tion was treated as a panel to be ornamented by carving

Fig.
207.—Decorative
Alcala.
Rustication,
281


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
in relief (Fig. 207). This minute ornamentation of
interior stone walls, so much more suggestive of plaster-
work than of masonry, is another evidence of the power-
ful though doubtless unconscious influence of Moorish
art. A possible Italian prototype may, however, be
found in the carved rustication of the Palazzo Pretorio,
Bologna.

Fig. 208.—Artesonado Ceiling, University, Salamanca.
The stairways of hospitals and palaces were made the
subjects of rich decorative treatment in Spain earlier
than in either Italy or France, if we except the circular
stairways of Blois and Chambord. Besides the carved
rustications of the walls, they were adorned sometimes
by carving the risers, and the balustrades were executed
with especial delicacy and care. One of the most famous
examples is the double stairway in the north transept
of Burgos Cathedral, leading to a door on a higher
level opening onto the street. This is the work of Diego
de Siloe and Maestro Hilario, the latter a Frenchman
who executed the iron balustrade.
Wooden ceilings and cornices are a distinctive feature
282


RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN SPAIN
of Plateresque work, especially in Andalusia, where
excellent pine timber abounded, and where the Moorish
carpihteros in Spanish employ displayed consummate
skill in working it. Ceilings were ingeniously framed
and paneled in intricate designs, and then painted and
gilded with admirable decorative effect (Fig. 208; Fig-
ure 71). The deep panels or cofferings, or perhaps the
inverted troueh-like form of
° is ^ P. _ a.
many of these ceilings, gave
them the name of artesonados,
from arteson, a kneading-
trough. Notable examples of
such ceilings are those in the
Hospital of Santa Cruz, To-
ledo; over stairway of Pal-
ace of Pefiaranda de Duero,
in the house of the Dukes

of Alva, Seville, the Archivo Fw 209.-Cornice of Lonja,
at Barcelona and many oth- Saragossa.
ers.
The wooden cornices of palaces and hospitals were
sometimes conformed to classic models, as in the Lonja
of Saragossa (Fig. 209); sometimes given a projection
of several feet, casting a broad shadow beneath them,
somewhat after the fashion of the wooden eaves of
Florence and Pisa, though far more elaborate in their
details of brackets and framing. Both types offer fruit-
ful suggestions for American use, especially in the
Southern States, where the climate and the still-existing
forests of yellow pine provide conditions not unlike
those of Spain. The great merit of these Spanish
283


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
cornices is their frankly wooden character combined
with monumental solidity and vigor of design.
Tombs.
The Italian tombs already referred to as being among
the earliest Renaissance works in Spain were of two
types, the wall-tomb exemplified in the Ribera tombs at
Seville, and the floor-tombs, of which the finest example
is the magnificent tomb of Ferdinand and Isabella in
the Chapel of the Kings (Capilla Real, Capilla de los
Reyes) in the Cathedral of Granada, by Domenico
Fancelli or Foncelli of Florence (Fig. 200), who also
executed the tomb of the Infante Don Juan in San
Tomas at Avila. The tomb of Don Felipe and Dona
Juana adjoining that of Ferdinand and Isabella, and
of the same general form and style, is by the Spaniard
Bartolome Ordonez (1520). Another fine tomb of the
same type is that of the Cardinal Tavera at Toledo, in
the Hospital San Juan Bautista, a work of the versatile
Berruguete (1561).
Retablos.
The retablo is the distinctively Spanish type of the
reredos or altarpiece, and forms in many churches the
richest and most striking decorative feature of the in-
terior, covering the entire eastern wall of the apse or
chancel. Many of the retablos are of wood, painted
and gilded; a few are of stone or marble; in the chapel
of the Alcazar at Seville is one of faience, already
referred to, the work of Niculoso of Pisa. The retablo
consists of a lofty architectural composition of pilasters,
284








RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN SPAIN
candelabrum-shafts, shell-capped niches and entabla-
tures, all richly carved, as a framework for a multi-
tude of statues, pictures and reliefs. In these works
the "three arts" were thus made to collaborate on equal
terms; and while one may criticize the composition, one
cannot deny the beauty and delicacy of the detail nor

Fio. 210.—Detail, Retarlo in Porlet Monastery.
the splendor of the general effect. Notable examples
are, among others, the wooden retablo in the Capilla
Real of Granada Cathedral, by Felipe Vigarni, a Bur-
gundian; that in the Cathedral of El Pilar at Sara-
gossa; another in the Poblet monastery at Tarragona,
a carved detail from which appears in Fig. 210; and a
third in the Cathedral of Huesca, all three by Damian
Forment, greatest of Aragonese sculptors of the period.
285


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Equally sumptuous with the retablos, and sometimes
surpassing them in the riotous profusion and abandon
of their carved ornament, are the choir-stalls or sillerias
of the churches. The Cathedral of Saragossa has un-
usually fine Plateresque stalls; those of the Cathedral
of Jaen are illustrated in Figure 70. Lack of space
superposed tiers, are held in a metal frame of posts,
lintels and subordinate cross-bars, the upper lintel or
entablature usually surmounted by an elaborate cresting
and a dominant central motive (Fig. 211). The posts,
both those at the two ends of the screen and those flank-
ing the gates, may be square or round, adorned with
arabesques or faced with candelabrum-shafts; the cross-
bars or transoms are of ornamental work, forged or
repousse, and the entablature and cresting display fig-
ures, medallions, escutcheons, arabesques and foliage of
the finest hammered metalwork. The spindles are usu-
ally turned with candelabrum-like swellings, collars and

forbids any analysis or
further discussion of these
superb examples of Span-
ish woodwork.
Fio. 211.—Detail from Reja, Segovia
Cathedral.
The rejas or grilles
forming the screens or
clotures of chapels and
chancels are quite as dis-
tinctively Spanish as the
retablos. Their general
scheme is of the simplest:
long slender metal spin-
dles, sometimes in two


RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN SPAIN
scotise, but are otherwise unornamented, and there is an
almost complete absence of the flat-bar scrolls and
elaborate spiral and curved work that characterize the
grilles and metal gates of all other countries during the
Renaissance. In these rejas the Spanish appreciation
of decorative effect and the Spanish craftsmanship are
displayed in their highest development, and the names
of such famous rejeros as Sandro Munez, who executed
the reja in the Capilla Mayor of Seville Cathedral
(1518-33), and Maestro Bartolome, who designed
that between nave and transepts in the Cathedral of
Granada (1523) and others at Jaen and Ubeda, are
well worthy of being ranked with the architects, sculp-
tors and painters of the period.4
Classic Ornament.
The ornament of the Griego-Romano or Middle
Renaissance style in architecture calls for no special
notice. So far as it belongs to the style and is not a
survival from the Plateresque, it is of the stereotyped
Roman or Palladian fashion, sober and correct, appro-
priate and well-designed, but with little of the Spanish
exuberance and abandon. Examples of the style are
seen first in the Palace of Charles V in the Alhambra,
begun in 1526 by Machuca but never completed; in its
circular courtyard, the reliefs on the exterior, the ex-
aggerated rustication, the mishandled Ionic order of one
of the portals, and a number of handsome paneled ceil-
4 The painter Fortuny (Mariano Fortuny y Carbo, 1839-7*) so highly
esteemed the decorative value aJid effect of the Spanish rejas that he
introduced them into a great number of his paintings as decorative back-
grounds for his figure compositions.
287


RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN SPAIN
light-and-shade characteristic of this style, its curved
surfaces and fantastically-broken cornices and pedi-
ments, appealed to the Spanish taste; not so, however,
its preference for colossal orders and big and heavy de-
tails. Accordingly we find a certain oscillation between
a rather severe classicism and an extreme restlessness of

Fio. 213.—Upper Part, Facade op San Jorge, La Coruna.
design. The finest Baroque facade is the west front of
the Granada Cathedral by Alonso Cano (1601-67), a
close friend of Velasquez; to whom are also due the
Church of the Magdalen and the Capilla Mayor of the
Convent del Angel in the same city. Other examples
of the style are the facade of La Pasion at Valladolid
and the church of San Cayetano at Saragossa by Felipe
Berrejo, built between 1666 and 1683. Berrejo is cred-
289


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
ited with the introduction of a kind of flat relief orna-
ment, somewhat resembling the "applique" or "strap-
work" of Germany and England (see p. 335). The
detail from San Jorge at la Coruna in Fig. 213 is a
belated example of the persistent Baroque tradition.

Fio. 214.—Portal of San Andrea, Valencia.
The peculiar extravagances of the Italian Jesuit style
in church interiors, with their stucco abominations of
theatrical sculpture, never found favor in Spain, except
in the single feature of the twisted column. This un-
happy innovation, made famous by Bernini's monstrous
bronze baldacchino in St. Peter's at Rome (see p. 161),
290


RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN SPAIN
was copied, repeated and varied in churches, altarpieces
and doorways (Fig. 214), especially during the later
and distinctly Spanish phase or outgrowth of the Ba-
roque known as the Churrigueresque style.
The Churrigueresoo.
This style, in which for nearly a century after (say)
1680 the Spanish decorative fancy once more found ex-
uberant and extravagantly lawless expression, receives
its name from the architect Josef Churriguera (1650-
1723), who with his sons and nephews after him domi-
nated the architectural design of most of the 18th cen-
tury in Spain. Others prominent in this development
were Pedro Ribera, Antonio Tome and his sons Narciso
and Diego, Miguel de Figueroa, F. Manoel Vasquez,
Jaime Bort, Pedro Come jo and Cayetano Acosta.
The main characteristic of this style is the use of all
the resources of both classic and Baroque architectural
detail, with utter disregard of every rule of the classic
grammar of architecture and of every consideration of
structural and architectonic propriety or logic. Every
feature and detail was broken up, reduced to fragments,
contorted and travestied, and the resulting salmagundi
of caps, broken and twisted shafts, moldings, finials,
brackets, triglyphs and what-not was piled together
with amazing cleverness into a decorative mass which, in
spite of its incoherence and seeming lack of composition,
produces a distinct and powerful effect of decorative
richness. It is impossible to reproduce this effect in a
line drawing, however carefully detailed. Figure 69
represents, with all its fantastic complexity of detail, an
291


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
unusually restrained example of the style; while Figure
91 from Lima, Peru, illustrates it as practised by the
Spaniards in South America. The critics, classicist and
Gothicist alike, are shocked by its riotous defiance of
every law of architectural decency; the uninstructed
layman stands amazed before it; one hardly knows
whether to laugh or mourn at such misdirected skill and
energy; whether most to condemn its improprieties or
to admire its astonishing ingenuity. But it is true to
Spanish tradition, and to the persistent Moorish tradi-
tion, in its reduction of all decoration to a play of minute
spots of light and shadow, massed in larger or smaller
areas in strong contrast to other areas of perfectly plain
surface, in exterior design at least. In the case of in-
teriors, however, this contrast is too often lacking, the
decoration of every doorway and of every altar being
carried upward to the top of the structure, and often
spread over the whole wall.
It is evident from what has been said that there must
be not a few architectural works of the late 17th and
early 18th centuries which belong to the border-land
between the Baroque and Churrigueresque develop-
ments: such are, for instance, the doorway of the Arch-
bishop's Palace at Seville (Figure 69), and that of the
church of San Andrea at Valencia (Fig. 214). The
latter with its twisted columns is an evident prototype
of the side portal of St. Mary's at Oxford. Churriguera
designed the towers of Salamanca "New" Cathedral
and the Town Hall of the same city; the Tome brothers
the facade of the University of Valladolid; Ribera the
Provincial Asylum at Madrid; Bort the facade of
292


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
towers do not differ greatly from Italian Baroque types,
but the doorways are thoroughly Churrigueresque. This
type of church front was transported to Spanish
America, where in the 17th and the 18th centuries the
progress of colonization and the growth of population
and commerce made possible the erection of costly
churches in great numbers, especially those of the
Jesuits—the great missionary order. Executed some-
times in stone, often in brick or rubble and stucco, these
churches show the same variation between bareness and
over-decoration which is noticeable in Spain; but among
them are not a few of decidedly Churrigueresque char-
acter, as at Chihuahua (Mexico), Tucson (Ariz.), la
Merced church at Lima, Peru (Figure 91), the Sagrario
of the Cathedral at Mexico, and many others. The
Panama-Pacific exhibition at San Diego, California,
in 1915 was an ambitious effort to adapt certain phases
of the Spanish Renaissance architecture to the decora-
tion of modern exhibition buildings. The California
State Building by Bertram Goodhue was particularly
successful as an example of the possibilities of the Chur-
rigueresco in the hands of an able designer/'
The "Mission Style" in California, on the other hand,
represents the other extreme of simplicity, being almost
entirely devoid of ornament.
The Accessory Arts.
The Spanish genius for decorative design asserted
itself in all the accessory and minor arts. Decorative
1 It is interesting to compare this facade and that of the Chihuahua
church (Fig. 299) with, for example, the portal of the Hospicio Provincial
at Madrid by RiWra illustrated in Fig. 114 in Schubert's "Barockstil in
Spanien."
294


RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN SPAIN
sculpture, if we include carved ornament, was so inti-
mate and essential a part of the architecture as hardly
to be classed as merely accessory. Woodwork was an
important element in this art. The wooden retablos of
many churches have already been referred to as works
of architecture. Worthy of being classed with them are
the choir-stalls or siUenas, of which a famous example
among many is that in the choir of Granada Cathedral
by Berruguete and Vigarni. These, like the retablos,
are composed of architectural elements, and, with all
their splendor, do not call for separate discussion of their
ornamental details. It was in the furniture that Spanish
woodwork attained a special expression distinct from
the more strongly architectural works just mentioned.
Furniture.
Spanish wood-carvers never found in domestic furni-
ture so rich or congenial a field as did the wood-carvers
of Italy, France or Flanders. There is nothing in
Spanish movable furniture of the 16th and 17th cen-
turies to compare with the splendor and exuberant
decoration of the wooden retablos and choir-stalls of the
churches of that period. There are no cassoni, bed-
steads, credences, tables or chairs to rival those of the
countries mentioned. This scarcity of furniture is easily
explained. The domestic life and habits of the Span-
iards were until the 18th century still largely those of
the Orient, dominated by Moorish traditions, which had
little use for the wooden furniture required by Western
civilization. People generally sat, reclined, ate and
slept on rugs and cushions, and stored their clothes and
295


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
smaller belongings in small chests and leather trunks.
A chair or two, framed of straight members with little
or no carving, served for seats of state on formal occa-
sions, with velvet or leather thrown over the back and
seat. Later this material was nailed permanently in
place, and the nail-heads were made into ornaments and
multiplied for decorative effect (PI. XI, 3, 6).

Fig. 215.—A Spanish Seventeenth-Century Table.
The earliest distinctive product of the Spanish furni-
ture-makers was the vargueno, which derived its name
from the Castilian town of Vargas where it was invented
and largely made. This consisted of a rectangular
chest with a let-down front lid, set upon a stand. Later,
hinged folding doors were substituted for the lid
(PI. XI, 4, 9). The chest was at first covered with
velvet or leather, adorned with openwork fittings of iron
or brass; later it was of carved, paneled and inlaid wood-
296


RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN SPAIN
work; the stand was formed of carved supports set upon
transverse foot-bars and connected by longitudinal bars
and spindles, as in the illustration. The varguefio
served as cabinet, chest, table and desk. It was imi-

Fio. 216.—Detail of Church Book- Fig. 217.—Details of Chip-
Rest. Carving on Spanish
Furniture.
tated in Holland (see PI . XII, 11), and in England in
the 17th century.
With the progress of the 17th century Western habits
and furniture gradually drove out the primitive Moor-
ish customs, and chairs, cabinets and tables came into
general use, and were made after French and Flemish
models modified by the Spanish taste. There is nothing
new or original in the ornamental details of most of this
297


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
furniture; the Spanish character appears rather—if at
all—in their general style. There were, however, cer-
tain Spanish innovations and peculiarities. Iron was
sometimes used for decorative braces in chairs and
tables, and PI. XI, 5, shows a chair of considerable ele-
gance made entirely of iron. The use of decorative
nail-heads also continued, and leather was employed
much more widely than in any other European country.
Stamped leather, in-
deed, was a highly im-
portant and distinctive
Spanish product. The
art was, like so much
else in Spain, an in-
heritance from the
Moors. Two methods
of decoration were
employed: stamping
and gilding. For the
first, the leather, soft-
ened by soaking, was
pressed or hammered into or upon wooden molds.
For the second it was smeared with an oily paste over
which gold leaf was spread. Heated metal stamps, with
the desired ornament embossed upon them, were pressed
upon the gold leaf, which was thereby made to adhere
to the leather, after which the superfluous gold-leaf and
cement were washed or scraped away. The pattern in
both cases was often enhanced by applying color to the
background. The patterns used, while chiefly derived
from Renaissance sources—scrolls, acanthus leaves and

Fig. 218.—Araric and Moorish Lhy Mo-
tives: (o, b) from Cairo; (c) from
Alhamrra.
298


RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN SPAIN
the like,—frequently betray Moorish motives, such as
the Moorish or Arabic lily (see Fig. 218), certain forms
of quarry-mesh and diaper-treatment, and leaf-forms
common in all the Moslem decorative styles (see p. 103
and Figs. 78, 218). The decoration of these leathers was
usually broad and bold in design (PI. XI, 12). Cor-
dova was the greatest center of this branch of art, which
however has become en-
tirely extinct in Spain.
This branch of decora-
tive art, like many oth-
ers, was carried to the
Netherlands and there
practiced with great suc-
cess (see PI. XII).
Spanish textiles are
less important than the
leathers. Lace-making
was introduced in the
17th century, most prob-
ably from Flanders, but
never attained the importance it reached in Flanders
and Italy. The richest of the Spanish textiles are the
velvets, decorated with patterns in applique and
enriched with needlework in gold and silver thread
(Fig. 224).
Renaissance tiles, although belonging to a branch of*
art distinctly Oriental in origin, show less of Moorish
patterning than might have been expected. The Moors
learned the ceramic art from the Persians, and the
Spaniards from the Moors. The name majolica is de-

Fio. 219.—Patterned Tiles.
299


Fio. 220.—Single-Motive or One-Color Tiles.

Fio. 221.—Iron Window-Grille. Fio. 2 2 2. — Emrroidered
Wall-Hanging, Red on
White, Toledo Town
Hall.
300


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
be painted upon it in enamel pigments of various colors
(Fig. 220). The latter kind of tiles gradually super-
seded the first kind, and constitute the chief part of the
tile-work in the buildings of the Spanish Renaissance
and in museum collections. They are usually of a some-
what coarse earthenware, covered with a slip or glaze of
enamel in color, and designed with great skill as to both
pattern and details.
Fig. 221 represents a characteristic bit of the minor
ironwork of Spain; Figs. 222-224 three examples of
Spanish needlework and embroidery, an art in which,
as above stated, the Spaniards produced sumptuous
effects, especially on velvet. Lack of space forbids any
adequate illustration of this phase of Spanish art, in
which, however, the details employed were not essen-
tially different from those of Renaissance art generally
in this and allied fields.
Books Recommended:
Byne and Stapley: Spanish Architecture of the Sixteenth
Century (Putnam, New York, 1916); Rejeria of the Spanish
Renaissance (The Hispanic Society, New York, 1914);
Spanish Ironwork (The Hispanic Society, New York, 1915);
Decorated Wooden Ceilings in Spain (Putnam, New York,
1920) ; Spanish Interiors and Furniture (Helburn, New York,
1921) .—Caveda (tr. Kugler): Geschichte der Baukunst in
Spanien (Ebner & Seubert, Stuttgart, 1858).—W. R. Emer-
son: The Architecture and Furniture of the Spanish Colonies
(Polley, Boston, 1901).—A. Haupt: Baukunst der Renais-
sance in Portugal (Keller, Frankfort, 1895).—Junghaendel
und Gurlitt: Die Baukunst Spaniens (Bleyl, Dresden, 1898).
—Monumentos arquitectonicos de Espana (Fortenet, Madrid).
—A. N. P rentice' Renaissance Architecture and Ornament in
Spain (Batsford, London, 1893).—O. Schurert: Barockstil in
302


RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN SPAIN
Spanien (Neff, Esslingen, 1908).—C. Uhde: Baudenkmaeler in
Spanien (Wasmuth, Berlin, 1892).—Villa Amil: Espana
artistica y monumental (Hauser, Paris, 1850).—A. Whittle-
sey: The Renaissance Architecture of Central and Northern
Spain (Arch. B'k Pub. Co., New York, 1920).
808


CHAPTER IX
KENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS
The Netherlands.
Holland and Belgium are modern names, both geo-
graphically and politically. In the sixteenth century,
when the Renaissance began to invade the Low Coun-
tries or Netherlands, entering by various channels from
Italy, both directly and through Germany and France,
the greater part of modern Belgium belonged to the
Dukes of Burgundy, and was thus nominally an ap-
panage or province of France (Artois and Flandre).
The eastern portion of Belgium and the whole of Hol-
land belonged to Spain, as a part of the Holy Roman
Empire under Charles V and his successors, until the
revolt and establishment of the Dutch Republic in 1579.
Situated thus between Germany and France, inhabited
by three races—Hollanders, Flemings and Walloons,
speaking Dutch, Flemish and French—owing allegiance
at first one part to Spain and the other to France, and
later divided into the three dominions of the Dutch Re-
public, of the Empire under Spain, and of Burgundy
under France, the Low Countries developed neverthe-
less a robust and characteristic art, which if not by any
means uniform in the various provinces, was far less
chaotic and diversified than might have been expected.
There is a certain similarity in the architecture of all
304


ORNAMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS
the lowlands of this region, whether in Holland or in
what is now Belgium, due to similarity of conditions,
the^ lack of stone and consequent use of brick for build-
ing, and the development of wood-carving in regions
where stone was scarce and marble wholly wanting. All
this region was more .German than French in its taste,
the Rhine forming a main channel for cultural influ-
ences. Western Belgium (Flanders), possessing a
more varied topography, with moderate hills, valleys
and abundant building-stone, and being adjacent to
Burgundy with its splendid monuments of the Middle
Ages, had developed a more imposing and varied archi-
tecture in the 14th and 15th centuries, and a richer and
more prolific decorative art. The splendid achieve-
ments of the Flemish textile industry and art beginning
in the fourteenth century and immensely extended in
the fifteenth, when Bruges was the most important sea-
port of northern Europe, continued through the whole
of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Flemish Architectural Ornament.
In this field Belgium has little to show that is remark-
able for originality or splendor. The high decorative
skill shown in the late Gothic civic buildings of the
Flemings, and still more conspicuously in minor works
like choir-screens and tombs, seems to have declined
with the loss of their civic liberties, and the Renaissance
made apparently little appeal to their imagination. The
classic spirit calls for breadth, repose, emphasis of
horizontality, a certain largeness of detail and expres-
sion. The Flemish taste was always for the minute,
305


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
for the animated breaking up of surfaces, for multiplied
and crowded detail. Hence the stepped gables, the
small orders, the crowded windows, the too slender sup-
ports between them, producing in many cases an im-
pression of structural weakness and instability, as in
the Renaissance portion of the Town Hall at Ghent
(Figure 75), and in many of the guild-houses. Except
the dignified but monotonous Town Hall of Antwerp
there was not a single Renaissance building of com-
manding size erected in Belgium. The Baroque style
with its restlessness was more in the Flemish vein than
the purer phases of neoclassic architecture. Such a
facade as that of St. Pierre at Louvain illustrates the
skill with which the Flemings handled its decorative
possibilities; but they were at the same time corrupted
by its more vicious tendencies, and most of the Flemish
Jesuit interiors are as bad as the Italian.
In minor works, however, they were more successful
than in monumental architecture. The great chimney-
pieces in the town halls of Bruges and Louvain are un-
deniably fine, although not free from the Flemish
tendency to redundance. They do not, however, like
Spanish works of the same class, display any distinctive
novelty of detail or of composition. Belgium created
nothing like the Spanish Plateresque.
These tendencies and characteristics are displayed in
a great number of choir-screens, sacrament-shrines,
altars, pulpits and tombs, all exhibiting excellent work-
manship, but lacking the dignity, order and balance of
the best Italian work. The great sacrament-shrine
from the church at Leau, for instance, from whose hand-
306


ORNAMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS
some enclosing railing the detail shown in Fig. 225 is
taken, although designed by the architect of the Ant-
werp Town Hall, De Vriendt (1550), is singularly
monotonous in the repetition of identical motives in the
ten stories of its height of 90 feet.
In wood-carving the Flemings were notably success-
ful, combining fineness of execution with boldness of

Fig. 335.—Altar-Rail from Church at Leau, Belgium.
cutting, and attained especial reputation in furniture.
We have already seen how important an element they
contributed to the early development of French furni-
ture (see pp. 204, 218, 228, 235). Flemish wood-
carvers carried their art to Elizabethan England, and
in the late 17th century Grinling Gibbons was sent
to Flanders to perfect himself in that art, in which he
became the greatest in England. But even in this art
807


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
it was craftsmanship that made the Flemish reputa-
tion, rather than originality or creativeness in detail.
The Flemish character appears rather in the total
effect and the execution than in the novelty or deli-
cacy of the motives
and details. (Fig.
226.) There is notice-
able, especially in
the furniture, a fond-
ness for the intro-
duction of the hu-
man figure, which was
modeled and carved
with great skill. In
the earlier Renais-
sance wood-carving
the minuteness of the
detail, the sparkle of
the composition and
the effective handling
of the relief strongly
suggest French influ-
ence by their resem-
blance to Francis I
work. In the 18th
century there arose a
rio. 226.—Wooden Panel, Audenarde. J
new school of realistic
wood-carvers or rather wood-sculptors, who executed
an extraordinary series of pulpits in Antwerp, Brussels,
Ghent, Louvain and other cities. In these the extreme
of virtuosity in the minutely realistic representation of


808








ORNAMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS
figures, clothing, draperies, vegetation and common
objects, combined with an equally remarkable boldness
in the construction, was held to be the highest form of
art, to the detriment of all the higher qualities of true
art. These works belong more properly in the domain
of sculpture than of ornament, and require no further
mention.
Flemish Furniture.
In furniture, which does not call for the higher
proprieties of design requisite in architecture, the ex-

Fio. 227.—Flemish Chest and Credence.
cellent craftsmanship of the Flemish woodworkers found
free scope. The primary inspiration in their designs
doubtless came from Italy, but so mingled with elements
309


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
from Spain and Germany that it is not always easy to
distinguish work of Flemish design from that of these

Fio. 328— Flemish Tarle.
countries. There is much use of gaines and of human
figures and a tendency to overloaded decoration, and a
species of arch-motive, probably derived from Spain, is

Fio. 259.—Nielle Ornament from Furniture.
not uncommon; in the later Renaissance turned and
twisted spindles and connecting-bars appear in chairs
310


ORNAMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS
and tables. The technical skill of the Flemish furniture-
makers led to their employment*in foreign lands; in
France, as we have already seen (see p. 204), and in
England under Elizabeth and James I. A few illus-
trations of Flemish furniture are given in Figs. 227-229,
Figures 74, 75, and PI . XII.
Flemish Textiles.
The highest achievements of Flemish Renaissance
art were attained in the fields of painting, which is out-
side of our purview, and of textiles, in certain depart-
ments of which, both as an industry and as an aft,
Flanders surpassed all other countries of Europe. In
the weaving of tapestries even Italy and France were
obliged to depend largely upon the skill of the Flemish
weavers for the execution, if not also the design, of the
great woven pictures with which they were fain to deco-
rate their palace walls, and it was Flemings who taught
the art to the Italians and the French. The Flemish
lacemakers were of almost equal repute with the tapes-
try-weavers, and in this gentle and exquisite art have
retained their reputation to the present time, though
with no such monopoly of superior skill as they once
possessed.
The origins of the art of tapestry-weaving are not
easy to specify, because of the difficulty of determining
at what exact point tapestries should be differentiated
from other kinds of figured weaves or from needlework
pictures like the famous Bayeux "tapestry" of the 11th
century. Technically, tapestries are not woven; that
is, the threads of the woof are not carried continuously
311


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
across the whole width of the fabric and then returned;
the thread of any given color in the design is carried
across only as far as that color extends, often across
only two or three threads of the chain or warp,
and then knotted; the weaver confines himself to a
breadth or relay of 18 or 20 inches in width; and the
threads of the woof are "thrown" by means of a "broche"
instead of a shuttle. The oldest European tapestries are
fragments from the church of St. Gereon at Cologne,
dating from the 11th or 12th century; other very old
fragments are from Halberstadt and Quedlinburg in
Germany. Early in the 14th century the art had be-
come established in Arras in French Flanders, where a
certain Isabeau Caurree is known to have worked in
1313; by 1398 the name "arras" had come into general
use to signify a tapestry; and during the following cen-
tury the weavers not only of Arras but also of Ypres,
Brussels and Antwerp were developing the art to its
highest perfection. The subjects were generally Scrip-
tural and religious, based on the pictorial illuminations
of manuscripts, and were treated with a flatness and
simplicity befitting woven mural decorations.
With the advent of the Renaissance there came a
change not only in the character of the subjects but also
in the manner of their treatment. The progress of
painting naturally led to a more pictorial and realistic
representation of life, while the secularizing influence of
the Renaissance movement and of the revival of classical
learning brought about a general substitution of histori-
cal and mythological in place of Scriptural subjects,
although these were also sometimes favored. For the
312


ORNAMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS
palaces and villas of the Italian nobility the great paint-
ers of the Italian Renaissance designed series of decora-
tive mural compositions which were sent to Arras or
Brussels to be executed. Flemish weavers studied de-
sign in Italy; thus Bernhard van Orley, after studying
under Raphael, returned to Arras to weave eleven tapes-
tries from cartoons by his master of scenes from the New
Testament for the Sistine Chapel (see ante, Fig. 113);
these were finished in 1519. Giulio Romano, Andrea
del Sarto, Titian and other great painters likewise de-
signed cartoons to be woven in Flanders. Four of
Giulio Romano's set of scenes from the life of Scipio,
woven in Brussels, are in New York; eight of his Abra-
ham set are in Hampton Court Palace. Not all the
great sets of mural tapestries of the 16th century, how-
ever, were designed by foreigners; the celebrated
"Tunis" tapestries woven by Wilhelm Pannemaker for
Charles V were from cartoons by a Fleming, Vermey-
ren, and doubtless the majority of the tapestries, ex-
clusive of these great monumentally important sets,
were of Flemish design as well as execution.
Nevertheless, the influence of this invasion of Italian
art was on the whole deleterious. It introduced a false
standard of excellence in tapestry design in its textual
reproduction of pictorial painting, and in its total sepa-
ration of design from execution. The weaver became
more and more a clever workman instead of a creative
artisan. The 15th-century Flemish tapestries are dis-
tinguished by their soft harmonies of color and by the
flat, mural character of their portrayal of scenes, as
decorative in their way as Byzantine mosaics and per-
318


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
fectly adapted to the medium in which they were exe-
cuted. The 16th and 17th century tapestries, on the
other hand, are brilliantly executed copies of paintings,
or original designs absolutely in the style of painted
decorations, framed or bordered with conventional
wreaths of fruit and foliage, or with architectural orna-
ments, all rendered with full light-and-shade and bril-
liant color so as to produce as real an effect of relief as
possible. While this is less objectionable on a wall than
in a floor-rug or carpet, it marks a decline from that
higher art in which the design, the technic and the
medium are all three in perfect harmony and dependent
one on the other.
During the 17th century "verdure" tapestries came
increasingly into vogue for the walls of chateaux and
fine city houses. These were large panels representing
trees and shrubbery or forest scenes or partly wooded
landscapes, and hence of a predominantly green tone.
Such tapestries could be woven for the general market;
at least they did not require the services of great paint-
ers for their design, and are more characteristically
Flemish than many of the more famous pictorial pieces.
They are therefore highly esteemed and widely imitated
to-day.
It will have been observed by the reader that we have
said but little of the specific ornament-forms of these
tapestries. From its very nature and purpose this art
was chiefly pictorial, and developed almost nothing in
the line of distinctive conventional ornament. This
section would therefore have been made much shorter
but for the relation of this whole branch of Flemish art
314


ORNAMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS
to the decorative art of Italy and even more of France
during the 16th and 17th centuries, as already indicated
on previous pages.
Flemish Laces.
The art of lace-making is almost entirely a product
of the Renaissance, although its origin is to be sought
in the various forms in which needlework was applied
before the sixteenth century to the decoration of em-
broidered fabrics by the nuns in the convents of Italy.
The first stage in its evolution was the cutting of decora-
tive openings in the fabric, which were then buttonholed
around the edges and crossed by threads so intertwined
and interlaced as to produce delicate patterns in the
openings. The next stage was the execution of such
thread patterns with the needle independently of cut
openwork, producing real "needlepoint" or "point"
lace, of which Italy seems to have been the first pro-
ducer early in the 16th century. "Pillow" or "bobbin"
lace, on the other hand, originated in Flanders, also in
the early 16th century. In this kind of work the pattern
is drawn on parchment or paper stretched over a pillow
or cushion; pins are inserted along the lines of the pat-
tern and the design worked by means of a large number
of threads wound on bobbins and twisted over the pins
and around one another. But the Belgians by no means
confined themselves to pillow lace; Brussels point or
guipure rivals in beauty the Valenciennes pillow lace,
and Mechlin point is equally famous.
While the earliest laces of the 16th century were de-
signed by the women who wrought them, and bear the
315


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
character of designs developed out of the process of
their making, the later laces, those of the 17th and 18th
centuries, betray increasingly the influence of archi-
tectural ornament in the use of scrolls, rinceaux,
acanthus leaves and the like. One may divide the pat-
terns into two general classes: those in which the design
of flowing lines is wrought upon a background of fine

Fio. 230.—Brussels Point-Lace, Eighteenth Century.
network, as in Brussels and Mechlin guipure (Fig.
230); and that in which there is no such background,
the design forming an openwork pattern. To enumer-
ate and discuss the great variety of ornament motives
of the Flemish laces would require an amount of tech-
nical explanation and illustration far beyond the allow-
able limits of a general work like this; the inquiring
student must be referred to special books on the subject,
two or three of which are mentioned in the list of Books
Recommended at the end of this chapter.
316








ORNAMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS
Dutch Renaissance Ornament.
The Dutch developed no great architecture, either
in the Gothic or the Renaissance styles. The Republic
of the Netherlands did not attain independence until
1579, and it was not until 30 years later that Spain
finally acknowledged this independence; and the long
subjection to Spain before this, and the close relations
of Protestant Holland thereafter with the Protestant
states of Germany combined to prevent the develop-
ment of any great and independent style in the Nether-
lands. Moreover both the lack of stone, which restricted
architecture to construction in brick, and the national
taste and requirements tended towards a modest and
domestic quality in the Dutch buildings, whose pic-
turesqueness of composition and quaintness of detail are
not without charm. Such ornament as they display
suggests a dominant German influence, seen in the

Fio. 231.—Garle Ornament, Leyden.
317


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
the Netherlands, and it is from the minor arts of
Germany rather than of Holland that this sort of
ornament was derived. Jan Vredeman de Vries, who
died in 1588, and his son Paul, who lived till about 1650,
were the Lepautres of the Netherlands, and published
collections of designs for furniture and interior decora-

Fio. 235.—Doorway Decoration ry Paul V. de Vries.
tion, from which Figs. 234 and 235 are taken. In these
somewhat extravagant designs, which were apparently
never executed, baroque and German elements, gaines,
escutcheons or cartouches, strapwork and architectural
"jewels" are combined in fantastic fashion (Fig. 235).
In the 18th century Dutch furniture, like that of Italy,
Spain, England and Germany, underwent the French
influence, and the wavy lines, the swelling fronts, the
applied ornaments of gilt bronze and the lacquers and
320


ORNAMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS
veneers of the French styles were imitated with more
or less success in the Netherlands.
Typographic ornament was highly developed by the
Dutch printers, especially in the 17th century, not only
in the design of decorative initials, but even more not-
ably in head-pieces, tail-pieces and borders (Fig. 236).
The Dutch engravers attained distinction, and there
were published in Holland, as in France, pattern-books

Fio. 236.—Typographic Ornaments ry Elzevir, 1649.
of ornament for the use of painters, carvers, architects
and jewelers, for the most part reflecting the Italian
Baroque taste, like that of Vredeman de Vries for
furniture, already mentioned. The same general style
appears in the book-bindings, jewel-cases and similar
small works in wood, ivory, leather and metal which
Holland produced and exported in considerable quan-
tities, especially to England, where the Dutch influence
was considerable. To the artists who designed and
executed these minor works the general name of "Little
Masters" (Petits maitres) has been applied by the
321


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
French; in contradistinction, of course, to the Great
Masters of art, to whose ranks the Dutch contributed
several names of distinction, and one, at least, of the
very highest order in Rembrandt van Ryn.
Ceramics.
When Dutch ceramics are mentioned, one im-
mediately thinks of Delft; and quite justly, for Delft
was the chief and almost the
only important center of this
art. It is interesting to note
that it was not until 1584 that
the ceramic industry was first
established at Delft by Her-
mann Pietersz; by the middle
of the next century the Delft
wares had become famous,
and by the end of the century
the town had become the center
of a very extensive and pros-
perous manufacturing and ex-
port trade in these wares. A
powerful influence in this de-
velopment was the Guild of
St. Luke, founded in 1611,
which included artists of all
kinds, and exercised a rigid
Fio. 237,-dei^t Tiies, Seven- contl.0l over both the qualifi-
TEEiJTh Century. *
cations of its members and the
quality of their productions. The earlier ceramic wares
of Delft show a rather complex decoration of pictorial


322


ORNAMENT IN THE NETHERLANDS
scenes and conventional or naturalistic floral ornament,
executed in blue. After 1650 the ware is finer, imitat-
ing the Oriental porcelains and copying in its decora-
tion Chinese and Japanese models, Holland having by
that time established a colony in Japan, while Chinese
art, as we have already seen, was entering into Euro-
pean commerce and affecting French as well as Dutch

Fio. 338.—Delft Faience, Plate and Ewer.
art. Reygens, Keyzer and Pynaker are leading names
in this period.
By the end of the century Delft was producing an
extraordinary variety of shapes and styles of platters,,
bowls, table-ware and druggists' vessels, besides flat
tiles for fireplaces, "porcelain" stoves and walls. In
the decoration of these varied objects the famous Delft
blue predominates, but with some yellow, red and other
colors. The ornamentation includes floral forms,
escutcheons and cartouches, scrolls and figures, espe-
323


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
cially in the Chinese and Japanese imitations. Any
adequate illustration of the Delft wares would require
far more space than can be afforded in a work like this;
Figs. 237, 238 may serve to show something of the
character of their decoration.
Books Recommended:
G. von Bezold: Die Baldwinst der Renaissance in Deutsch-
land, Holland, Belgien und Danemark ( Bergstrasser, Stuttgart,
1900).—F. Boutron: L'Architecture aux Pays-Bas (Schmid,
Paris, 1900).—F. Ewerbeck: Die Renaissance in Belgien und
Holland (Seemann, Leipzig, 1891).—G. Gauland: Geschichte
der hollandischen Bauktmst und Bildnerei . . . der Renaissance
(Keller, -Frankfort, 1890).—A. Jolles: Architektur und
Kunstgewerbe in Alt-Holland (Miiller, Munich, 1913).—Moke
and others: La Belgique Monumentale etc. (Jaman, Brussels,
1844.—A. G. B. Schayes: Histoire de Varchitecture en Bel-
gique (Wasmuth, Brussels, 1850).—F. Strorant: Monuments
d'architecture et de sculpture (Brussels, 1854).—J. Van
Ysendyck: La Belgique monumentale (Nijhoff, The Hague,
1915) ; Documents classes de Vart dans les Pays-Bas (Maes,
Antwerp, 1889).—P. Vredeman de Vbies: Plusieurs menul-
series etc. (Brussels, n. d.).
324


CHAPTER X
RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN GERMANY
The Renaissance Invasion.
Germany had been slow in the 13th century to receive
and assimilate the Gothic style from France: she showed
herself equally slow to receive and assimilate the Italian
Renaissance influence in the 16th. The first invasion
of that influence was by way of southeastern Germany,
the Tyrol and Bohemia, where Italian architects were
employed in the later years of the 15th and early years
of the 16tn century. The Schloss Stern, the Schalaburg
Castle on the Danube, the Belvedere and Waldstein
Palace at Prague, the Schloss Ambras at Innsbruck,
and the Chapel of the Jagellons at Cracow are among
these early Renaissance buildings in Austro-German
territory by Italian architects—Paolo della Stella,
Valentino di Lira, Giovanni Marini and others. The
style spread gradually through Germany, but it was
not until the Peace of Augsburg (1556) that the adop-
tion of the new style began to be at all general, so far,
at least, as architecture was concerned. In the minor
arts it had made more rapid progress, through the in-
fluence of Italian painting and especially of the work
of the Italian typographers and engravers.
It must be remembered that, during the 38 years
preceding the Treaty of Augsburg, Germany—that is
S25


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
a large part of the German states as well as Bohemia 1
—was in the throes of the religious and political up-
heaval accompanying the Protestant Reformation. The
Reformation itself was one of the fruits of the spirit
of independent inquiry set free by the Renaissance
movement, and it was this, the intellectual and religious
phase of the movement rather than the artistic, that
took hold of the German consciousness. It was hardly
to be expected that during such a period of turmoil there
should have been any great and general artistic activity.
Facade Decoration.
Two influences long prevented the adoption in Ger-
many of any system of design at all resembling the flat
facades and rectangular flat-roofed masses of Italian
classical architecture.' These were first, the'fact that
nearly all the earlier Renaissance castles or palaces in
Germany were built on the foundations of irregularly-
planned medieval castles; and secondly, the German
preference for the picturesque and even the fantastic
alike in mass, skyline and detail, with broken surfaces,
varied play of light and shade and crowded detail. Thus
in a single exterior, that of the castle of Giistrow, there
are five varieties of rustication, three types of tower or
turret, and a broken and tumultuous skyline, all as far
removed as possible from the breadth, simplicity and
repose of classical design. When, however, a new erec-
tion on a more formal plan offered plane surfaces for
treatment, the fantastic German taste often introduced
'Germany in the 16th century was not a political unit, but a group of
small states owing a common allegiance to the "Holy Roman Empire" of
Charles V and Philip II.
326


ORNAMENT IN GERMANY
into their design singular irregularities of spacing and
a studied disregard of symmetry and superposition, as
in the curious facade of the Fiirstenhof at Wismar and
the court-facades of the Schloss Plassenburg.
The two most important Renaissance palace facades
in Germany are those of the Otto-Heinrichsbau (1556)
and Friedrichsbau (1612) forming two wings of the
Castle of Heidelberg. Both are in ruins, having been
burned in 1688 and again in 1764; both are straight
facades, originally topped each with two great dormer-
gables adorned with statues, but the Friedrichsbau
dormers are the only ones now standing. In spite of the
difference of date there is a strong similarity of general
style between them, and many details of one recall those
of the other, though the Friedrichsbau is the more
robust of the two. The substitution of niches for
pilasters in alternate bays, the use of gaines as mullions
and the fantastic rustications are typical of the German
Renaissance down to 1625 or later (Fig. 239).
Architectural Ornament: The Orders.
The classic orders were introduced into architectural
design only, as it were, under protest, and with modifi-
cations which amounted often to a travesty of the classic
originals, both as to proportion and as to detail. The
colonnade as such does not appear until the classic
revival of the 18th century; except in rare instances,
the free column was used only in columnar arcades in
courtyards and in porches, or on a small scale as a
purely ornamental detail in pulpits, shrines and sedilia.
As an example of the fantastic proportions of the
327


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT

Fio. 239.—Part of Facade, Ottd-Heinrichsrau, Heidelrerg.
328


ORNAMENT IN GERMANY
columns and the utter disregard of the classic or
Palladian canons of design we may cite the court arcade
of the Mint (Miinzengebaude) at Munich, and by ex-
ceptional contrast the very Palladian arcade of the

Fig. 240.—Columns from Portals op Rathaus, Munden, and Castle of
AsCHaFFENBURO.
courtyard of the Residenz at Landshut. The most
frequent occurrence of columns is in entrance portals,
where they may be either free or engaged, flanking the
entrance archway and carrying an entablature or pedi-
ment (Fig. 240). Such columns are usually more mas-
329


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
sive than the classic type and have Corinthianesque
capitals; they are seldom fluted but frequently have the
lower portion carved in relief, as was often done in Italy
and sometimes in Spain (Fig. 241).
In the porch of the Rathaus (Town
Hall) of Cologne (1556) we have the
anomaly of pointed arches with classic
archivolts and keystones, between de-
tached Corinthianesque columns carry-
ing an inordinately heavy bracketed
entablature. Doric and Ionic col-
umns occur but rarely. Rusticated
and fantastically banded columns are
quite frequent.
Gables and Dormers.
The high steep roof is a necessity of
Fio. 24i. —Carvino a\ northern climates, and the dormer
on Lower Half of . .
Column, Bevern. window is its natural accompaniment.
We have seen how the French Renais-
sance treated both features, eschewing the high gable in
favor of various types of hipped roof, and developing
the dormer into a subordinate rather than a dominant
feature after the Francis I-Henry II period (see Fig.
144; PI. VII, 16). The Germans, on the other hand,
as well as the Dutch and Flemings, preferred gabled to
hipped roofs, and made of the gable a dominant feature,
and of the dormer a feature second only to the gable in
importance. Gables and dormers alike were carried
through two or three and even four stories, with succes-
sive steppings decorated with curves, scrolls, obelisks

330


ORNAMENT IN GERMANY
and finials, and their facades treated with pilasters and
entablatures in small orders for each story (Figs. 242,
243). Peculiarly German was the occasional disposi-

Fio. 242.—Garle, State Pharmacy, Saalfeld.
tion of openings over pilasters and pilasters over open-
ings (Fig. 242), producing that effect of interruption^
and variation which the Germans cultivated in their
preference of decorative animation to repose. Obelisks
frequently adorned the steps of the gable, as in Fig. 242.
331


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Doors and Windows.
German entrance portals deserve more notice than
the brief reference to them on page 329, which relates
only to the use of columns to flank the openings. They

Fig. 243.—Dormer, Hamtelschenrurg Castle.
were in the earlier stages of the Renaissance of very
varied type, but were generally arched and broad in
proportion to their height, giving them often an air of
"squatness" hardly met with elsewhere. Carved decora-
332





ORNAMENT IN GERMANY
tion was usually abundant and figure sculpture is, not
uncommon. But there is nothing to compare with the
beauty and dignity of the Italian doorways, or the
sumptuous but refined decoration of those of Spain.
Such a wildly extravagant
work as the door to the
Golden Hall of the Schloss
at Buckeburg recalls the
lawless exuberance of the
Spanish Churrigueresque
of the next century. It is
amazingly clever techni-
cally but utterly destitute
of architectural propriety
(Figure 81), and illus-
trates a characteristic of
German architecture gen-
erally—the exaltation of
technical cleverness and
artistic tours de force
above finer qualities of
design.
German Renaissance
windows are as varied as
the doors, and few among
them conform to any Italian or classic type. Those,
for instance, of the Bremen Town Hall (1612) have
no architrave or frame whatever, and their weak pedi-
ments seem to rest on a void. The gaine-mullioned
windows of Heidelberg have already been referred to;
another type is seen in the Liebfrauenkirche of Wiirz-
~ -iiiF"' ma nir-"

Fio. 244.—Window, House at
Dinkelsrohl.
333


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
burg, while Fig. 244 shows still another from a half-
timbered house at Dinkelsbuhl, dated 1543.
Carving and Sculpture.
German architectural relief-carving .was based, as
was natural, upon the traditional Italo-classic motives,

Fig. 245.—Strapwohjc or Fig. 246.—Carving, Stalls
AppLiaufi Ornament of Chapel in Mayence
Marienkirche, Ror- Cathedral,
tock.
but, as in the case of the orders, the Germans developed
a peculiar treatment of their own. The most notable
element in this treatment was the evolution of patterns
in flat relief, suggesting ornament cut out of a sheet
of some material and attached to the surface to be
decorated (Fig. 245). This ornament was evidently
a transference to carving in stone of patterns and effects
334


ORNAMENT IN GERMANY
produced in sheet-iron ornaments on chests and other
woodwork, and in ornament applied to jewel-boxes,
book-covers and the like, by means of patterns cut out
of sheets of leather or metal or thin pjeces of wood or-
ivory and affixed to the object with nails, screws or
rivets. The origin of this form of decoration was
probably Oriental, perhaps by way of Moorish Spain

Fig. 247.—Carving, Portal of Gymnasium (School) at Corlenz.
(see p. 296). In carving these patterns in stone, how-
ever, additional decorative effect was produced by fillet-
ing the edges of the relief pattern, and sometimes by
curling up the ends or introducing minor details carved
in "round" relief (Fig. 246).
This sort of ornament is commonly called "strap-
work"; a more correct designation would be flat relief
or appliqut ornament. It spread from Germany to
Holland and, in the second half of the 16th century, to
335


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
England (see p. 365). An additional illustration of
this sort of detail is given in Fig. 247.
Not all architectural carving was of this character;
round and varied relief more after the traditions of
Italo-classic art was also
J frequently used with con-
siderable skill. The de-
tail and execution were
apt to be better than the
composition, which often
lacked unity of scale and
due subordination of one
part or element to an-
other. Bands of carved
decoration of equal width
and importance were jux-
taposed, vertically or hor-
izontally (Rathaus at
Bremen, Piastenschloss at
Brieg, etc.), and one sel-
dom finds the refined deli-
cacy and judicious dispo-
sition of the carved orna-
ment of the Plateresque
of Spain, of the French
Renaissance or of the Quattrocento and Cinquecento
of Italy (Fig. 248).
In the applications of sculpture to decoration,
whether in architecture or furniture, realism and a cer-
tain Teutonic humor often verging on the grotesque
are constantly in evidence. The figures over the door-

"Fig. 248.—Carvings from Nurem-
rero, 1590; Lead-Work, Six-
teenth Century.
336


ORNAMENT IN GERMANY
way of the highly ornamented facade of the Piasten-
schloss at Brieg illustrate the first of these character-
istics; of the second one could not ask a more emphatic
example than the doorway of the Furstenhof at Wismar
(Figure 82). Here the Biblical tales of Delilah and
Samson on one side and of David and Goliath on the
other, are intended to symbolize the triumph of intellect
over brute strength. The humor of the treatment here
is not that of primitive naivete but of intentional
grotesquery.
Interior Decoration.
There is no such relation between painting and
decoration in Germany as in Italy, and the Germans
never developed any important art of mural painting
during the Renaissance, although in the pictorial art of
painting they achieved notable results. Beginning with
Schongauer this art was developed to a high level of
dignity and excellence by such artists as Albert
Diirer, Burgkmair, the two Holbeins, Lucas Cranach
and others; but although the younger Holbein designed
goldsmith's work and ceilings for Henry VIII of Eng-
land, none of the German painters executed mural
paintings of importance that have survived, either
secular or ecclesiastical. Not a single church of first-
rate size or of great architectural importance was built
in Germany during the entire Renaissance period, and
until the latter part of the 17th century there were but
few erected even of second rank. The religious upheaval
of the Reformation doubtless accounts in large measure
for this; but whatever the cause, the result was to de-
337


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
prive German decorative art of the powerful stimulus
and the splendid opportunities offered by the Church
in Italy and Spain, and in a less degree in France also.
As in Holland and Belgium, decorative effect in church
interiors was sought rather in the furniture and ad-
juncts than in the architecture itself.
In the castles and town halls also this was true to a
certain extent, and where decoration was sought in
architectural interiors it was rather by purely archi-
tectural means than by stucco-relief and painting after
the Italian fashion; by pilasters, wainscoting, and door-
trim, and above all by the decoration of ceilings.
Ceilings.
These were less varied in type and treatment than
those of Italy, France or Spain. The dome and the
coved ceiling hardly occur at all until after the mid-
seventeenth century. Barrel-vaults with penetrations
cover some of the large halls and chambers of castles and
town halls, and these are generally painted on the
plaster, in a style peculiar to the country, less easily
described than illustrated. A very fine early Renais-
sance barrel-vaulted ceiling is that of the Schloss
Ambras, by an Italian architect, recalling by its paneled
decoration that of the hall of the Palazzo del Te at
Mantua (see p. 133). Another paneled barrel-vault is
that of the church of St. Michael at Munich by W.
Miiller.
The majority however of German Renaissance ceil-
ings are flat ceilings, coffered and paneled and painted
and gilded, somewhat after the fashion of the Italian
338


ORNAMENT IN GERMANY
ceilings of the Middle Renaissance (see p. 129), but
almost invariably heavier in design and detail, and
without the great picture-panels which are the glory of
many Italian ceilings, especially in Rome and Venice.
The ceilings of Heiligenburg Castle (Figure 83), of
the Golden Hall of the Rathaus at Augsburg, and of
the castle of Biickeburg are examples of this; the main
beams of the last named ceiling are over six feet deep.
The German Baroque.
It was inevitable that the bizarre and sensational
effects of the Italian Baroque style should appeal to
the German taste for the fantastic in art. It must be
remembered that the date 1556, which marks the begin-
ning of the general adoption of Renaissance forms in
German architecture, fell in the period of the greatest
activity of Palladio and Michel Angelo, when the first
symptoms of the change from the mid-Renaissance
classic reserve to the Baroque were showing themselves.
The development of German Renaissance architecture
therefore, so far as it was affected by contemporary
Italian influence, received that influence from the work
of Maderna, Bernini, Borromini, Martino Lunghi,
Longhena, and other Baroque masters, so that, given
the German dislike of classic restraint, it is not surpris-
ing that eventually German architecture surpassed even
the Italian in fantastic freedom and eccentricity of de-
sign. In Catholic Germany there was, during the late
17th century and throughout the 18th, a considerable
activity in the building of Jesuit churches and monas-
teries, reflecting the influence of the Catholic counter-
339








ORNAMENT IN GERMANY
Museum, on which he spent five years of labor, aided
by a painter, a sculptor and a jeweler. French in-
fluence became especially strong in the 18th century.
In one respect the Germans were more consistent
than the French, though less judicious in taste, for in
at least one instance they
applied the Louis-Quinze-
Rococo style to a monumen-
tal exterior—the Zwinger
Palace at Dresden, now a
museum (Figure 84). This
remarkable edifice by Pop-
pelmann, thoroughly classic
in its monumental plan, is
completely Rococo in every
detail, suggesting the exub-
erant splurge of Churriguera
but with none of the Chur-
rigueresque absurd shatter-
ing and confusion of detail.
It is theatrical, extravagant,
but artistically consistent.
The Belvedere and Schwarz-
enberg palaces at Vienna
show something of the same Rococo detail, but in a
more sober fashion and with more of the Italian
Baroque spirit.
A singular characteristic of the German 17th and
18th century decorative treatment of exteriors is the
"topping-out" of towers and turrets, both of churches
and civil buildings, which is often singularly fantastic

Fio. 249.—German Towar-
TorriNGS.
341


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
even when the main mass of the tower is sober or
elegant. Many of these decorative spires are bulbous
with turnip-shaped silhouettes that suggest Russia
rather than western Europe; or that look more like
exaggerated finials to chair-posts or bed-posts than
monumental structures (Fig. 249).
The Minor Arts.
Whatever the German deficiencies may have been in
the composition and decoration of monumental archi-

Fio. 250.—German Gaines from a Mantel in I.ureck; Heidelrerg
Castle; Monument at Pforzheim; National Museum, Munich.
tecture, in the minor arts the Germans achieved some
remarkable results. Their craftsmanship was always
of a high order, and craftsmanship counts for much
in the minor ai ts. The German patience, love of minute
detail and high standard of workmanship made the
312


ORNAMENT IN GERMANY
German craftsmen past masters, in ornament, in the
carving of wood and ivory, in the chasing, hammering
and embossing of metal, in the making alike of furni-
ture and armor, and in all the arts connected with
books.
In the more architectural forms of the minor arts,
such as choir-stalls, shrines, pulpits and monuments in
churches, the faults of German architecture are blended

Fig. 251.—Lower Part of an Etched Bowl, Seventeenth Century.
with the excellences of German workmanship and of the
undeniable feeling for decorative effect in even the most
extravagant Baroque and Rococo aberrations of Ger-
man design. The same is true of the furniture. The
Germans were particularly fond of the gaine, which
they introduced into every possible combination, and
developed with considerable decorative and imaginative
skill (Fig. 250).
In metalwork they were conspicuously successful,
particularly in the making of arms and armor, in which
they rivaled the Italians (Figure 85). The magnificent
collection in the Metropolitan Museum at New York
348


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
is especially rich in examples of Teutonic skill
and taste in this art. The Germans were consum-
mate engravers, always more successful in decorative
line than in decorative mass, and their suits of armor
for man and horse, their halberds and swords, and later
their cannons, pistols and carbines, as well as smaller

Fio. 252.— (a) Etched Tin Plate, Seventeenth Century;
(b) Iron Chest, Sixteenth Century.
objects in metal, even tin plates, were etched and en-
graved with patterns of great richness, in which the
rinceau, acanthus and symbolic grotesques were com-
bined with admirable decorative effect (Figs. 251,
252). Fig. 253 shows a carved ivory dagger-sheath of
the 16th century.
Goblets, ewers and other vessels of silver were made
of considerable richness of design in embossed orna-
ment, though too often lacking in simplicity and purity
of outline (Fig. 254). In ironwork, gates and grilles
344


ORNAMENT IN GERMANY
for windows and fanlights were wrought often with
round bars, unlike the Italian and French work which
was usually of flat bars (Figures 86, 88). The patterns
show frequent use of interlaced and crossed bars, with

Fig. 253.—Carved Ivory Fio. 254.—Late Sixteenth-
Daoger-Sheatr. Century Silver Gorlet.
less of spiral scrolls and flowing curves than was com-
mon in Italy and France (Fig. 255). This is true of
the pre-Baroque work, at least; in the 18th century the
patterns were freer and more elaborate and intricate,
following the lead of the French Louis Quinze style
rather than of the Italian (Figure 88). Fig. 256
345


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
shows a grille of the 16th century from Hungary, with
much fiat cut-out work.
In the 16th and 17th centuries Nuremberg was an
important center for decorative flat ironwork applied
to chests, locks and other movable objects, in patterns

Fig. 255.—Two Fan-Lights, from Nuremrerg Town Hall,
and Salt House at Frankfort.
cut out in sheet metal and chased or engraved with line-
ornament, in which Oriental influence appears. The
Nuremberg products were widely distributed and imi-
tated throughout Germany. The peculiar leaf and
scroll details in Fig. 257 are unquestionably of Arabic
or Turkish origin, but by what particular channel they
3t6


ORNAMENT IN GERMANY

Fio. 250.—Grille from Eperecs, Fig. 257.—Door-Lock, Bamberg
Hungary. Museum.
were introduced is not certain; very likely by way of
Moorish Spain. Figure 87 shows an example of silver-
smith's work in a book-cover.
Ceramics.
The most important product of German Renaissance
ceramics was the huge earthenware (miscalled "porce-
lain") stoves which took the place of open fireplaces in
Germany, as well as in Holland and parts of Switzer-
land. The architecturally decorative character of these
347


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
structures, built up of white and colored glazed earthen-
ware tiles, is shown in Fig. 258. The details of their

Fio. 258.—Earthenware Stove, Monbsee, Austria.
ornamentation varied with the general movement of
style.
The drinking vessels, jars and table-ware of the
German Renaissance, of majolica and porcelain,
348


ORNAMENT IN GERMANY


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
represent a very prolific production, characterized by
less decorative distinction than the Italian majolicas,
but having nevertheless a marked character, thoroughly
German in its clever use of line patterns and grotesques
(Fig. 259). Nuremberg was
the parent city of German
Renaissance ceramics. Here
the Hirschvogel family, espe-
cially Veit the elder and his
son Veit who died 1560, prac-
tised various arts including
ceramics and enameling. In
the 18th century Anspach,
Hochst, Frankenthal and
Bayreuth became important
centers for the production of
both majolica and porcelains.
The Germans developed no
new national type either of
pottery or of ornament ex-
cept the stoves already men-
tioned, unless it be the stein or
tankard with metal cover, and
the china pipe-bowl. In Fig.
260 from the Tyrol we recog-
nize the direct influence of the Italian potteries (com-
pare with Figs. 108, 111).
German furniture and woodwork partake of the gen-
eral character of the art of the Low Countries in the
use of gaines, half-figures and sculptured panels (Fig.
261). In the 17th century cut-out flat ornaments in

Fio. 262.—Sixteenth-Century
Chair, Dresden Museum.
350


ORNAMENT IN GERMANY
light wood on a darker wood (or vice-versa) were often
applied to the flat members of the frame of the furni-
ture, as earlier they had been used on boxes and small
objects (Fig. 262)
Typographic Ornament.
A German invented printing with movable type in
the middle of the fifteenth century. During the follow-
ing century the Germans, who had previously done ex-
cellent work as illuminators of manuscripts, developed
notable proficiency as engravers and as decorators of

Fig. 263.—"German Text" Initials, Sixteenth Century.
printed books. The persistence of the medieval "Ger-
man Text" characters, especially in the case of the
capital letters, gave opportunity for highly decorative
flourishes impossible with the more sober classic forms
of the Roman characters (Fig. 263). These last, used
of course for all works in Latin, which was still the
language of learning and science, were decorated in
quite different fashion (Fig. 264). The designing of
line-patterns of free ornament for chapter-headings,
tail-pieces, and borders was developed with great in-
genuity, the space-filling and distribution of the black
on the white being almost invariably of high merit.
351


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Patterns of this class are called technically niellos, be-
cause of their resemblance to niello-work on metal. Fig.


265 illustrates another type of typographic decoration
of a more architectural character.
Books Recommended:
As before, von Bezold.—Also: Anonymous: Tafeln zum
Studium der deutschen Renaissance und Barockstils (Seemann,
Leipzig, n. d.).—K. O. Fritsch: Denkmaeler der deutschen
Renaissance (Wasmuth, Berlin, 1891).—Gurlitt: Das Barock
und Rokoko-Ornament Dcutschlands (Wasmuth, Berlin, 1889).
—Helm: Ornamente und Motive dcs Rokokostils.—G. Hirth:
Das deutsche Zimmer (Hirth, Munich, 1882).—Lamrert und
352


ORNAMENT IN GERMANY
Stahl: Motive der deutschen Architektur (Engelhorn, Stutt-
gart, 1892).—W. Lurke: Geschichte der Renaissance in
Deutschland (Ebner & Seubert, Stuttgart, 1882).—F.
Luthmer: Deutsche Mobel der Vergangenheit (Seemann, Leip-
zig, 1902).—A. Ortwein: Die deutsche Renaissance (Seemann,
Leipzig, 1888).—R. Pfnor, Monographie du chateau de
Heidelberg (Morel, Paris, 1859).—W. Pinder: Deutscher
Barock (Langewische, Leipzig, n. d.).—Schmidt und
Schildrach: Der Konigliche Zwinger in Dresden (Dresden,
n. d.).
353


CHAPTER XI
RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN
The Beginnings.
At the beginning of the 16th century the English
were still building in that distinctively English phase
of the late Gothic style called the Perpendicular,1 or
as applied to civic and domestic architecture, the Tudor
style. The most splendid monument of the Perpen-
dicular style, Henry VII's Chapel at Westminster, was
not completed until 1515, when Henry VIII had been
six years on the throne; in domestic and collegiate
buildings the Tudor style persisted well into the reign
of Elizabeth, which began in 1558. This style was so
completely English in its development and so well
suited to English life and tastes, that it yielded but
slowly to the Renaissance influences from Italy, France,
Germany and Holland. It can easily be understood
that under Henry VIII who, though not ecclesiastically
Protestant, had broken with the Pope and disestablished
the monasteries; under Edward VI who was Protestant
and financially poor; under Mary who, though a
fanatical Romanist, enjoyed too brief a reign to change
the powerful anti-Papal current of English thought,
and under Elizabeth who established Protestantism as
the national religion, the commercial and artistic rela-
1 Cp. my Hist, of Orn. I, Chapter XVIII, pp. 360-363.
354


ORNAMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN
tions of England were closer with Protestant Holland
and Germany than with Italy and France. With the
Flemings also England maintained an active commerce,
and it was from Germany and the Low Countries
chiefly that the influences came that gradually trans-
formed English art.
Before this transformation really began, however,
a considerable number of Italians had found employ-
ment in England. Among them were the sculptors
Torregiano, Giovanni da Majano and Benedetto da
Rovezzano, the painters Bartolommeo Penni and Toto
del Nunziata, and the engineer Girolamo da Trevigi,
chiefly in the early years of Henry VIII (1509-47).
The earliest Italian decorative work in England was in
terra-cotta; the medallions with busts and Wolsey's
coat-of-arms in the walls of Wolsey's wing of Hampton
Court (1512-20, Fig. 266), the balustrade crowning the
facade and other ornaments of Sutton Place, Guildford
(1521-27), the tomb of Lord Henry Marney (1525)
and a tomb at Arundel are among many examples. As
in Spain and France, Italians were early in demand as
designers and makers of tombs; e.g., the tomb of Wol-
sey by Majano and Rovezzano, appropriated by Henry
VIII before its completion and long ago destroyed;
the tomb of Henry VII by Torregiano in Henry VII's
Chapel at Westminster and his tomb of the Countess
of Richmond in the same chapel; besides others of less
importance. Italians were also employed on the decora-
tions of Henry VIII's palace of Nonesuch, and on
various altars, chantries and minor works in churches.
The beautiful choir-stalls and screen of King's College
355


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Chapel are clearly, in part at least, of Italian
workmanship.
These scattered works, however, exerted little in-
fluence on English art in general, least of all on archi-
tecture. The formerly general belief that the imposing

Fio. 266.—Terra-Cotta Relief, Head of C.f.sar, Hampton Court.
design of Longleat Hall was by the Italian John of
Padua has been pretty thoroughly discredited. During
the second half of Henry VIII's reign and throughout
that of Elizabeth (1558-1603) the preference was for
Flemings, Hollanders and Germans, and artists and
artisans from these countries flocked to England, form-
356


ORNAMENT TN GREAT BRITAIN
ing colonies of foreign workers in some at least of the
artistic industries, such as weaving and wood-carving.
The greatest of the Germans was Hans Holbein the
Younger, who not only painted portraits for Henry
VIII but designed gold vessels, ceilings, gate-houses
and chimney-pieces for that monarch. From Flanders
came a group of wood-carvers and weavers, and in
1620 under James I, fifty Flemish tapestry-workers,
who were established at Mortlake. Under these varied
and confused influences the English worked out their
own versions of Renaissance architecture and ornament,
little by little grafting the details of the foreign styles
upon the core of their own strongly national design.
The transitional period under Henry VIII and his
successors may be considered as lasting from (say)
1525 to 1558, when Elizabeth ascended the throne, or
even to 1575, when the earliest distinctively Renaissance
buildings like Kirby Hall were erected. The names
"Elizabethan" and "Jacobean" have been given to the
architectural styles developed under Elizabeth (1558-
1603) and James I (1603-1625). There is no clear
dividing line between these two styles or phases, in
which there was a gradual increase of Renaissance de-
tails and character and a corresponding decrease and
final disappearance of Tudor characteristics.
Motives and Details.
During Elizabeth's reign the general prevalence of
peace, the defeat of the Spanish Armada and a remark-
able development of commerce led to a great activity
in the building of manor-houses and other large
357


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
residences. The extraordinary religious, social and
intellectual development of this brilliant period was re-
flected in the architectural enlargement of the univer-
sities of Oxford and Cambridge, the building of schools
and town-halls, the
rapid refinement of
manners, the increase
of foreign travel and
the multiplication of
objects of artistic
character for the
service of both public
and private life. But
the style and con-
struction of the great
houses continued to
be purely English,
and it was only in
the details that the
foreign Renaissance
influences showed
themselves. The
Germans and Flem-
ings and Hollanders
were employed to de-
sign doorways and balustrades and carved ornament,
and marble columns and statues were imported from
the Continent, but the general design was in the hands
of English builders. The architect had not yet ap-
peared as a professional designer and superintendent
of the work.

Fig. 267.—Doric Chimney-Tops,
Lacock Arrey.
358


ORNAMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN
Under these conditions classic design could not
flourish, and the Orders made slow progress in popular
favor. They appear on the exterior of Longleat, Kirby
(1576), Wollaton, in the form of chimney-tops (Fig.
267) on Burghley (1603) and in a portico on the front
of Hardwick (1576), but in all these and a few other
examples they are travesties of the classic originals.
Their principal occurrence is in doorways and chimney-
pieces, for which the designs are generally attributed to
German and Dutch pattern-books. A favorite device
was the superposition in two or three stories of coupled
columns flanking the main entrance and the windows
above it, as at Hatfield (1612) and the "Schools" at
Oxford (1609). There was no attempt at classical cor-
rectness either in the proportions or the details; the
effect is picturesque in the mass but wholly lacking in
the finer kind of beauty. Columns were often banded,
and gaines were substituted for columns with increasing
frequency, especially after 1600.
The chimneypieces show the same general taste;
many of them were the work of Germans, but they were
richer and more successful designs on the whole than
the doorways. The fantastic variations of the orders,
the gaines, the smaller scale and the enrichments of
carved panels above the fireplace shelf or cornice, were
more appropriate as interior decorations than for ex-,
terior monumental architecture (Fig. 276).
After the accession of James I in 1603 the round arch
became more common, and the classic proportions were
better observed (Fig. 268), though there was still much
extravagant detail of a baroque or German character.
359


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Windows were still generally mullioned and transomed
in Tudor fashion; it was not until Inigo Jones appeared,
near the end of the reign, that either windows or door-
ways were designed in the classic or "Italian" style.

Fig. 268.—Doorway, Hatfield House.
Ceilings and Plaster-Work.
As was natural in domestic architecture and in the
residential buildings of the universities, horizontal ceil-
360


ORNAMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN

Fig. 269.—Ceiling Pattern, Great Yarmouth.
ings were in general use and vaulting almost unknown.
These ceilings were rarely either beamed or coffered;
they were nearly always of plaster, decorated with deli-
cate relief-patterning of molded ribs forming geometric
panel-designs, often with a subordinate floral pattern in
each panel (Figs. 269, 270, 272 i). In Crewe Hall
and some other examples pendants occur at intervals,
an evident last survival of Gothic tradition (Fig. 271).
The walls were usually wainscoted up to a height of
six or eight feet, with tapestries or other hangings
above; but at Haddon Hall and
in some other examples the space
above the wainscot was deco-
rated with low-relief ornament
in plaster. The decorative use
of plaster was confined to do-
mestic work; at least it does not
this period appear to have
in

been used in churches or in build-
ings of monumental character,
and only rarely does it appear in exterior ornament.
Fio. 270.—Ceiling Pattern,
Slanfihangel, Wales.
361


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Figs. 269-272 show various examples of Elizabethan
and Jacobean ceilings and "strapwork" in wood, stone
and plaster.

Fio. 271.—Pendant, Ceiling in Crewe Hall.
Woodwork and '' Strapwork.''
England was a well-wooded country, particularly
rich in oaks and nut-trees of various sorts, that is, in
woods fitted both for construction and for cabinet work.
The distinctive English uses of wood under Elizabeth
and James were for "open-timber" ceilings over chapels
and halls, for wainscoting, and for stairways with their
newels and balustrades; these three features giving to
English manor-houses, college halls and other interiors
an aspect and quality wholly unlike those of any other
country.
The hammer-beam ceiling or roof (for it was both
combined) was a bequest from the late Gothic builders,2
'See my Hist, of Orn. I, pp. 361-364, Figs. 374, 374A.
362


ORNAMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN

Fic. 272.—Elizarethan and Jacorean Details.
363


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
and one so useful and so full of decorative possibilities
that it is surprising that it was so early and completely
abandoned; it rarely appears after James' accession in
1603, and never after 1625. Its essential features are
an arch supporting the two main rafters and springing
from the projecting ends of opposed hammer-beams,
which are supported in turn by curved braces connect-
ing them with wall-posts resting on corbels. These
elements were treated with great elegance in such ceil-
ings as those of the Great Hall at Hampton Court; of
the Great Hall of Trinity College, Cambridge; of
Middle Temple Hall and the Charterhouse dining-hall
in London (the last named disfigured by modern altera-
tions) and many others.
Wainscoting, usually of oak, was paneled in succes-
sive tiers of simple rectangular panels, which in early
Elizabethan examples are some-
times carved with the "folded
linen" ornament (Fig. 273); or in
rare instances was composed with
pilasters or gaines and arches, as
in the gallery of Haddon Hall.
Carved panels like those of Fran-
cis I at Blois are not found in Eng-
land.
Fio. 273. — "Folded The English staircases, unlike
Lin«n" cm Linenfold the French, were usually of oak
Panel, Elizarethan.'
instead of stone, preferably built
in two or three runs about an open wall, with carved
newels and balustrades, all of wood. They were im-
portant features of the interior decorative effect, and


361


ORNAMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN
display the customary ornamentation of the period in
their "strapwork," gaines, miniature arches and other
details (Fig. 272, e).
This strapwork or applique has already been de-
scribed as originating in Germany (see ante, pp. 334,
335), and widely used in the
Netherlands; it was brought by
German and Flemish or Dutch
artisans to England, where it
became the favorite detail for
decoration in both wood and
stone. It was easy to design and
required only moderate skill to
execute. The English extended
its application to openwork pat-
terns in wood and stone, using it
for balustrades and crestings,
especially under James I. It
appears on nearly all the screens
which separated the "withdraw-
ing room" of the masters from
the more public remainder of the
great hall of the manor house,
and formed a feature as distinc- I0' b^I^i^h^' AY'
tive as the great chimneypiece,
the oaken stairs and the plaster ceiling (Fig. 272, h,
276).
The Jacobean Phase.
During the reign of James I there was a gradual
approach toward the taste and forms of the German

365


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
and Flemish Renaissance, though the resemblance was
never close, and many Elizabethan details, like the
"strapwork," were still in use. But this last was now
more varied; "nail-heads" and "jewels" like those in
German and Netherlandish ornament were more fre-

Fio. 275.—Jacorean Garles.
quent. Round arches, balustrades and gaines are mul-
tiplied; pilasters and entablatures and pediments are
less grotesquely different from the classic; the linen-
fold panel disappears, and gables affect curved outlines
(Figs. 274-275). The change is gradual, not sudden,
and no line can be sharply drawn between the two
phases.
The Palladian Innovation.
An extraordinary phenomenon in the history of the
English Renaissance was the revolution in style and
taste which followed the return of Inigo Jones from
Italy. Born in 1573, he was seven years old at the date
366


ORNAMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN
of Palladio's death, and when he went
to Italy in his early manhood, the
name and fame of Palladio were still
in the ascendant. Inigo Jones ac-
quired in Italy in two visits a fairly
thorough knowledge of Palladio's
style and a great enthusiasm for the
Italian classic architecture. His arch-
itectural activity did not begin, how-
ever, until about 1617, but the works
carried out from his designs, though
not comparable in amount and import-
ance with those of his great successor
Christopher Wren, resulted in the
complete transformation of English
architecture. The most important of
his works extant to-day are the Ban-
queting Hall at Whitehall—a mere
fragment of a vast scheme for a royal
palace for James I,—the earlier part
of Greenwich Hospital, The "Water
Gate" for the Duke of Buckingham,
Wilton House and Lindsey House,
Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, a frank
imitation of Palladio's manner.
The change in English taste and
English architecture which followed
was due not merely to the merit of Jones's designs, but
also to the general progress of education and knowl-
edge of the outside world. The increasing tide of
travel and the multiplication of books were making
Fro
276. — Detail,
Chimneypiece in
Aston Hall.
367





A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
During this long period architectural ornament, hav-
ing lost the picturesque and amusing Germanesque
character of the Elizabethan-Jacobean period, gained
little in originality or creative inspiration, but was more
correct and more sober than before.
The architectural decorative details of
this period are in general rather dry
and cold, though appropriate as far as
they go (Fig. 277). The chief excep-
tion to the prevailing commonplaceness
of detail is in the wood-carving of the
interiors, especially in the work of
Grinling Gibbons (1648-1720), a Hol-
lander by birth, who carved the fine
stalls and throne in St. Paul's, London,
the woodwork in Trinity College
Chapel and Library at Cambridge, and
other works at Windsor, Whitehall,
Petworth and other great houses, as
well as fonts, tombs, etc., in marble.
No other English work of the time
compares with his in richness of a florid
kind and in combined vigor and delicacy
of execution (Figure 90). Much other
carving of the end of the 17th and of the 18th century
is notably rich and effective (Figs. 278, 279).
Wren's work is always dignified and well composed.
He used coupled columns with good effect and pro-
duced picturesque decorative effects in the treatment
of small domes, as at Greenwich Hospital, with
columnar buttresses on the diagonal axes, and in his

Fig. 280.—Steeple
of Bow Church
(S
B.
ry Wren.
St. Mary-le-
ow), London,
370


ORNAMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN
towers, in which by simple and inexpensive means he
accomplished charming results of silhouette (Fig. 280).
James Gibbs (1682-1754) followed with success some-
what the same lines, and his beautiful steeple of St.
Martin's in the Fields was the evident direct prototype
of many of the best American Colonial examples (see
p. 401).
Plasterwork took on great importance after the Great
Fire of 1666, following the Great Plague. The conse-

J HMD
tS ra=a 1 ■ r
ml
©1
Hi
B|
Fio. 281.—Ceiling Plan of St. Mary's Woolnoth, London.
quent destruction of wealth and necessity of extensive,
rapid and economical rebuilding compelled the substitu-
tion of lath-and-plaster for more permanent materials
for interior finish. The result was disastrous to the
cause of honest and solid construction, but favorable to
the development of decorative work in plaster, in which
the English avoided, the blatant shams and extrava-
gances of the Italian Baroque. Figs. 281, 282 illustrate
the new classic spirit in the patterning of ceilings as
compared with the interlacing geometric all-over pat-
371


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
terns of the Jacobean phase illustrated in Figs. 271,
272 b. Figure 89 presents an example of the best work

Fio. 282.—O.ve Bay of Dome Decoration, Radcliffe Lirrary, Oxford,
ry Girrs.
of the new style, in which Italians were often employed.
Later 18th-century work is less vigorous and interesting.
The Adam Style.
Robert Adam (1727-1792) was the most celebrated
of four brothers,3 who worked together on a great
* Robert, James and William, the last named of whom lived until 1822.
372


ORNAMENT IX GREAT BRITAIN
variety of important buildings and blocks of houses in
London and Edinburgh. In this work they developed,
especially in interior design and furniture, the English
phase of the reaction towards purity, refinement and
delicacy of detail, which we have noticed in France
under Louis Seize
(see p. 257). Rob-
ert's visit to Italy
and Dalmatia (1754-
60) and the influence
of Piranesi's4 ex-
traordinary engrav-
ings may account in
part for the develop-
ment of the very in-
dividual style of the
Adam brothers;
French influence
and the general re-
action from the
heaviness or extrava-
gance of previous
styles also had their
part in the change.
While the Adam ornament includes a very free treat-
ment of capitals, moldings and other architectural de-
tails (Fig. 283) with a studied preference for very
slight projections and small details, its most conspicuous
contribution was in the design of plaster ceilings. The
small scale of parts, the delicate moldings, slender
'Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1776), Venetian engraver.

Fio. 283.—Architectural Details, Adam
Style.
373


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT

Fig. 284.—Two Adam Ceilings.
371


ORNAMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN
scrolls, rinceaux, wreaths and festoons suggest Pom-
peiian and Roman stucco-relief rather than Spalato or
Piranesi's engravings, and bear some resemblance to
Louis Seize work (Fig. 284). The Adam furniture
and that of the nearly contemporary makers Chippen-
dale, Sheraton and
Hepplewhite, will be
referred to later.
The Minor Arts.
The English iron-
work, from the time of
Charles II for more
than a hundred years,
suggests a blending of
Italian and French
types, with no German
influence. Gates and
grilles of monumental
size and richness were
fashioned with flat
bars, with straight up-
rights predominating
in the main body, and
bent and scrolled work in the upper portions, and a
moderate amount of excellent forged and repousse
ornament (Fig. 285). Cast lead, despite the meanness
of the material, was handled with success for eaves-
troughs, finials and garden ornaments. The growing
wealth of the Georgian period led to a remarkable de-
velopment of the silversmith's art, in both sterling and

Fio. 285.—Detail, Iron Gate at Hamp-
ton COUBT.
375


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
plated ware. The details of this 18th century silver
were strongly influenced by the contemporary French
taste, but were generally heavier and more crowded

Fio. 286. — Silver Fire- Fio. 287. — Silver
Doc, Knole Park. Wine-Urn, 1710.
than the French (Figs. 286, 287). The workmanship
was, however, excellent, and there is a British solidity in
these sumptuous pieces that in part atones for their
frequent lack of delicacy in detail.
Furniture.
The Elizabethan furniture was simple and solid in
design; chests, tables, benches and chairs of a somewhat
massive type being the chief articles used. A frequent
ornament on chests and wooden mantelpieces is a carved
arch between pilasters or gaines or plain stiles, with
rather elementary carving and strapwork applique on
the panel as in Figs. 288, 289. Turned legs were com-
376


ORNAMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN
mon, often with inordinately swollen vase-forms (Fig.
290). In the Jacobean period there was, as we should
expect, an increase of elegance and lightness, with
greater variety in the carving and with Germanized
Renaissance details more in evidence. Turned supports
are more frequent in tables, chairs and cabinets; the
over-heavy swellings of vase-forms are less common,
and the earliest spirally-
turned legs begin to appear.
This evolution towards ele-
gance and towards a more
Italian type of ornament be-
came more pronounced dur-
ing the Inigo Jones-Christo-
pher Wren period. Spirally-
turned legs, stretchers and
spindles become common, in-
fluenced perhaps by the vogue
of the twisted columns of the
Italian and Spanish Baroque
styles (PI. XIV, 5; see p. 161). The carved detail
follows classic and Italian precedents, and shows in-
creasing refinement and elegance, not only in furniture
but even more effectively in the woodwork of mantel-
pieces, and the interior dressings of doors and windows.
PI. XIV, 4 shows three chairs of the style of the late
17th century or early 18th.
Towards the end of the 18th century chairs became
objects of especial attention, and there was a notable
increase in the variety and number both of kinds of
furniture and designs in each kind. A series of noted

Fio. 288. — Detail, Eliza-
rethan Oak Chest.
377


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT

Fig. 289.—Chimneypiece, Worcestershire.

Fig. 290.—The "Great Bedstead" of Cromwell.
378


ORNAMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN
architects and furniture-makers, including Sir William
Chambers (1726-96), Robert Adam (1727-92), Thomas
Chippendale (fl. 1760), Hepplewhite (died 1786), and
Sheraton (1751-1806), with their imitators, produced
entirely new models of chairs, of small and light tables
and lamp stands, of library desks, bookcases, chests of

Fig. 291.—A Chippendale Chair. Fig. 292.—A Heppiewhite Chair.
drawers, commodes, settees and the like, which are
known by their names. These cannot here be enumer-
ated and distinguished, but the illustrations Figs. 291-
293 show a few of the types of chairs, which were gener-
ally executed in mahogany, walnut or cherry, rather
than in the oak which had formerly been the almost
universal material used. Especial attention was given
to the backs, framed with curved bars; the rear legs
379


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
being usually straight, the front legs frequently curved
("cabriole"), and lightness and grace being sought
rather than massive richness. "Chinese" patterns, so
called, were sometimes used by Chambers, Adam and
Chippendale. Except in his "Chinese" designs, Chip-
pendale's work shows in its carved details the strong
influence of the French
Louis Quinze style, but the
forms of his furniture are
generally though not al-
ways simpler, and the deco-
ration always more re-
strained than in that style.
The Hepplewhite and
Sheraton patterns were
more severe in line than
■ ■ ... -it Chippendale's, but light
// U |y and graceful, with much
uJtlr* use of inlays and purflings
of lighter wood (Figs. 292,
293). Many of these ar-
ticles of Georgian furni-
ture were imported to the
American colonies before,
and to the United States after, the Revolution, and
became the prototypes of many examples of our
American-made "Colonial" furniture.
Another branch of decorative woodwork demands
mention, as influencing early American art: the wooden
spindles, newels, railings and stair-ends of English
houses during this same period. The mahogany hand-

Fig. 293.—A Sheraton Chair.
380


ORNAMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN
rail, turning outward in a spiral curve to meet the
turned or carved newel; the slender balusters, usually
of three different spiral designs to each step, and the
carved modillion-ornament at the end of each step,

Fig. 294.—Staircase Detail, House in Chichester.
shown in Fig. 294, were a common and elegant feature
of English hall stairways. They were imported to
America in considerable number, and later copied or
imitated as characteristic decorative elements in Amer-
»
ican interiors (see p. 407 ).
381


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Ceramics.
Except for the coarser and commoner kinds of
domestic earthenware, ceramic art does not appear to
have flourished in England until the time of Charles II,
a little after the middle of the 17th century, when Toft
began work in Kent, and others soon after in Stafford-
shire and at Lambeth, a suburb of London. Flemish
potters had, it is true,
established themselves
in London as early
as 1570, and under
Charles I (1625-42)
"patents" -had been
granted to various in-
dividuals (Thomas
Rous, David Ramsey
and others) for the
making of "pigs," bot-
tles, pots and tiles. But
F.o. 29S.-A Torr Plattm. these pioneers, chiefly
in Staffordshire, pro-
duced little except salt-glazed "stoneware," and the
nearest approach to artistic design was in ale-pots and
"bellarmines," which were fat-bellied, small-necked
jugs with bearded faces at the top, to caricature the
Catholic prelate Bellarmine who died in 1621. By
1650 Staffordshire was producing marbled and colored
wares; porcelain was made at Fulham by Dwight in
1671, and in 1688 the Elers brothers from Nuremberg
at Bradwell near Burslem began making red porcelain
and imitating Japanese designs. Fig. 295 illustrates

382


ORNAMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN
the crudity of Toft's work (1670). The great potteries
of Bow, Chelsea, Worcester and Derby were not started
until about 1749; that of Plymouth a little later; but
the Bow and Chelsea potteries were consolidated by
Duesbury in 1776 with the Derby works, and ceased
production the following year. "Crown Derby" ware
received its name in 1771, as the result of the making
of a dinner set in that year for the Princess of Wales; in
like manner Josiah Wedgwood's "Queen's ware" was
so called because of a set made in his works for Queen
Charlotte.
The rapid development of this highly important
branch of England's industrial art in the second half
of the 18th century received a great impetus on the
artistic side from the genius of Josiah Wedgwood
(1730-95); and on the commercial side from the inven-
tion by Sadler of Liverpool of the process of transfer-
printing on earthenware (about 1752). About the
same time the practice was introduced of painting on
imported Oriental china wares (by Planche at Derby).
During the second half of the 18th century there was
an extraordinary development of ceramic art and
activity in England, in the production alike of glazed
earthenwares and of porcelain. The variety of forms
and of kinds and processes of decoration was enor-
mously increased and its artistic quality correspond-
ingly improved, so that English porcelain became an
important article of export, especially to the colonies
and the United States. By far the most important
single agent in this development was Josiah Wedgwood,
whose cultivated taste found inspiration in the classical
383


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
revival of his time. First at Burslem, then at "Etruria,"
near Stoke, he built up an extraordinary industry., pro-
ducing wares of the greatest variety, shaped generally
after classic Roman models, and decorated both in color
and relief with remarkable refinement of design and
detail upon grounds of yellow, porphyry, light or dark

Fio. 296.—A Wedgwood Teapot. Fio. 297.—A Bow Vase.
crusted with delicately modeled reliefs of classic sub-
jects in white, has continued to be made to this day.
Many of these cameo-like reliefs were modeled or
designed by the sculptor Flaxman.
It is impossible within our limits to discuss or
illustrate in any adequate fashion the great variety of
384


ORNAMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN
forms and ornamental details of English ceramic art of
the 18th century. The preceding paragraphs and the
illustrations in Figs. 295-298 and PI . XIV will have to
suffice: for further details the reader is referred to

Fio. 298.—Crown Derry Cup and Saucer.
Llewellyn Jewitt's "Ceramic Art in Great Britain"
(London, Virtue, 1883).
Textiles.
Weaving as a branch of decorative art, and the asso-
ciated arts of the needle and lace-pillow, were of late
development in England, which long depended upon
its near neighbors, France, Holland and Flanders, for
fine fabrics, embroideries, tapestries and laces. Charles
II established Flemish tapestry weavers at Mortlake in
1660 or thereabout, and in Plate X, 23 and 26, are
shown details from tapestries woven in Mortlake. But
the art remained essentially a foreign art, developing
no distinctive character in England, and lasted only a
short period. Looms for brocades, velvets and other
385


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
fine fabrics were not numerous until well into the 18th
century, when the textile industries, which had been
greatly stimulated by the influx of Huguenots expelled
from France in 1685, began to develop those activities
which in the following century placed England in the
van of the world's textile manufacturing, though still
far behind France in silks and brocades. The English
lace industry dates only from the closing years of the
18th century.
Books Recommended:
R. and J. Adam: The Decorative Works of R. and J. Adam
(London, 1782; Batsford, London, 1901).—G. P. Bankart:
The Art of the Plasterer (Batsford, London, 1909).—Bates
and Guild: English Household Furniture (B. & G., Boston,
1900).—Belcher and Macartney: Later Renaissance Archi-
tecture in England (Batsford, London, 1901).—R. Blom-
field: A History of Renaissance Architecture m England
(Bell & Sons, London, 1897).—C. Camprell: Vitruvius Brit-
annicus (Campbell, London, 1725).—H. Cescinsky: English
Furniture of the XVIII Century (Routledge, London, 1911).
—A. E. Chancellor: Examples of Old Furniture etc. (Bats-
ford, London, 1898).—T. Chippendale: The Gentleman and
Cabinetmaker's Director (Chippendale, London, 1762).—D. J.
Errets: Examples of Decorative Wrought-Ironwork of XVII
and XVIII Centuries (Batsford, London, 1879).—J. S. Gard-
ner: English Ironwork of XVII and XVIII Centuries (Bats-
ford, London, 1911).—Gotch and Brown: Architecture of
the Renaissance in England (Batsford, London, 1894).—A.
Hepplewhite: The Cabinetmaker and Uplwlsterer's Guide
(1794; Batsford, London, 1897).—Hessling: Englische Kunst-
mbbel (Hessling, Berlin, n. d.).—P. Macqitoid: A History of
English Furniture (Lawrence & Bullen, London, 1908).—J.
Nash: Mansions of England (McLean, London, 1842).—
W. Papworth: Renaissance and Italian Styles of Architecture
in Great Britain (Batsford, London, 1883).—A. E. Richard-
386


ORNAMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN
son: Monumental Classic Architecture in Great Britain and
Ireland (Batsford, London, 1914).—C. J. Richardson: Archi-
tectural Remains of the Reigns of Elizabeth and James I
(Ackerman, London, 1840); Studies from Old English Man-
sions, Furniture etc. (McLean, London, 1848).—W. B.
Sanders: Examples of Carved Oak Woodwork (Quaritch,
London, 1883).—H. Shaw: Details of Elizabethan Architec-
ture (Pickering, London, 1839).—T. Sheraton: The Cabinet-
maker and Upholsterer's Drawing Book (Sheraton, London,
1794).—T. A. Strange: English Furniture, Decoration,
Woodwork and Allied Arts in XVll-XlX Century (Strange,
London, 1901).—J. Swarrrick : Robert Adam and his Brothers
(Batsford, London, 1915).—H. Tanner, Jr.: English Interior
Woodwork of XV-XVIII Century (Batsford, London, 1902).
—A. Tipping: English Homes (Scribners, New York, 1921).—
A. Bolton: Robert Adam (Scribners, New York, 1921).
387


CHAPTER XII
RENAISSANCE AND COLONIAL ORNAMENT IN AMERICA
Character of Colonial Art.
Colonists are always distributors of culture. They
carry to their new home the tastes and aptitudes of their
own people, and naturally seek to preserve these as long
and as completely as possible. But the new environ-
ment inevitably modifies these, and a new culture gradu-
ally develops, in which reminiscences of the art of the
old home are blended with the forms of the new. When
the new home is a wild and undeveloped country, as was
the case with those who first came to America, the modi-
fying influences are those of new conditions, a new
environment, new materials, and dependence on inter-
course with more favored lands for the finer comforts
and amenities of life. The style of the home-land is
therefore more persistent in such a case than when the
new home is among peoples already civilized, whereby
the two cultures are intimately blended. In a new and
raw environment the transplanted culture differs from
that of the home-land only in those characteristics that
result from the change in environment, climate and
materials and the struggle with Nature.
All this is as true of the architecture and ornament
of colonized lands as of their dress, manners and speech.
388








COLONIAL ORNAMENT IN AMERICA
The difference between Spanish America and English-
speaking America is evident to the most superficial
observer. The Spanish colonists carried with them
their architecture and their decorative taste, and estab-
lished these in lands where it was possible to preserve
and perpetuate them in a fashion strongly reminiscent
of Spain, thanks not only to the wealth of Spain and
of her Church in the sixteenth century, but also to the
wealth and resources of the parts of the New World
which they conquered, already the homes of ancient and
highly-developed civilizations, and not wholly unlike
Spain in climate. The English colonists of North
America, on the other hand, occupied at first, for the
most part, the heavily-wooded shores and river valleys
of New England, and were compelled to translate the
architectural forms of their own country from brick
and stone into wood. When the conquest of wild
Nature had proceeded far enough, the colonists were
able to concern themselves with the production of archi-
tectural and industrial works of an artistic character.
But only by slow degrees were the imported products
in wood and metal, in ceramics and textiles, replaced by
those of colonial manufacture. Commerce, travel,
tradition and a common language and literature all
tended to maintain the influence of the parent culture
and art, even after political independence had been
secured. Thus the criticism often heard from Euro-
pean, especially French, visitors, that American art
differs little from European art, is in substance correct;
but their further contention that it ought to be funda-
mentally different, a wholly new and original art,
389


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
ignores the facts that we are a European people, though
transplanted to a non-European environment; that our
entire cultural inheritance is European; that our his-
torical, literary and religious antecedents are Euro-
pean; and that precisely in those factors that belong
to our American environment our manners, customs and
art do differ from the European, even to-day when
commerce, ocean travel, the telegraph and the press are
constantly multiplying the links with the Old World.
Spanish-American Ornament.
The colonial ornament of the Western world we
naturally divide into the two general categories of the
Spanish and the English. The Spanish influence pre-
vails in Central and South America, in Mexico and in
those Spanish territories that were later absorbed into
the United States, especially Florida, New Mexico,
Arizona and California. In these States there is little
Spanish work antedating the 17th century, and the
greater part of what remains belongs to the 18th. In
South and Central America and Mexico, on the other
hand, there are specimens of ecclesiastical art of the
16th and early 17th centuries. Churches and altar-
pieces are purely Spanish, with but few exceptions in
which the Indian taste has found expression. The
wealth of both Church and State in Spain enabled the
colonists to build and adorn their churches with a
splendor in strange contrast to the poverty and sim-
plicity of those of the English colonies (Figures 91.
92; PI. XV), and to employ artists from Spain as well
as to import statuary, altars, church furniture and the
390


COLONIAL ORNAMENT IN AMERICA
richest products of industrial art in gold, silver, bronze,
ceramics and textiles from Spain itself. For the
Spanish colonists were not, like most of the English,
exiles for their faith or else independent pioneers, but
conquerors alike in the military, ecclesiastical and
political fields, sent out or aided by the Spanish
Government.
Moreover the traditions of the Aztec and Inca
civilizations were by no means extinct. The Indians of
Central and South America and Yucatan were skilful
stone-cutters and metal-workers, and the conquerors
availed themselves to the fullest extent of their crafts-
manship, so that the Spanish colonial arts exhibited a
magnificence wholly lacking in the northern continent.
Accordingly Spanish art in America underwent little
change, and the details do not differ essentially from
those of the traditional Spanish styles, even when the
work as a whole, in its composition and general aspect,
displays the qualities of a provincial art. As the
majority of the extant monuments were built after the
middle of the 17th century, it is the Churrigueresque
style that is most often in evidence. As a typical
example of this florid style, we may from a long list
select the facade of the church in Lima, Peru, shown
in Figure 91, that of El Posito at Guadalupe, Mexico
(Figure 92), and that of the church at Chihuahua,
Mexico, where in true Spanish style the entrance portal
provides the motive for a splurge of fantastic ornament
spread over the Otherwise plain front (Fig. 299).
The field of Hispano-American ornament is a very
extensive one, both in architecture and in the industrial
391


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
arts. The number and splendor of the churches in
Spanish and Portuguese South America, in Mexico and
in Central America, are such as to offer an immense
amount of interesting material for study. Much of

Fig. 299.—Church Facade, Chihuahua, Mexico.
this material is available in photographic reproductions
in published works, but as yet very few libraries in the
United States possess any of these works, which are
for the most part in Spanish. The limitations of this
work forbid giving to this subject the space which its
392


COLONIAL ORNAMENT IN AMERICA
intrinsic interest merits, and a very few illustrations
must suffice as samples of this widespread art.
Perhaps the most interesting single monument of
Hispano-American architecture is the Cathedral of
Mexico. This is not only the largest of all its works,
covering nearly 80,-
000 square feet, but
it is one of the larg-
est churches in the
world, ranking sixth
or seventh in area.
It is also interesting
as exemplifying all
stages of Spanish
architectural style
from the Plateresco
through the Chur-
rigueresque, having
been begun in 1573,
the main structure
being completed in
1625, though the fa-
cade was not finished
until 1662 nor the
dome until 1666. The "Sagrario" (sacristy) with its
ornate Churrigueresque facade (PI. XV, 5), is of the
18th century. The Churrigueresque extravagances are
confined to altars and chapels in the interior. The
main portal, though belonging to the Baroque period,
is in almost pure Griego-Romano style (PI. XV, 1).
The same Plate illustrates other phases of the style.

Fid. 300. Confessional, Cathedral of
Mexico, Mexico City.
393


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
The "Mission" style of California is interesting
architecturally rather than decoratively; its simplicity
and lack of ornament are in strong contrast to the
splendor of the more southern colonies.
Colonial Ornament in the United States.
There was little wealth among the early colonists of
the United States, whether English, French or Dutch.
The majority were agriculturists, and in considerable
proportion religious exiles. They came to an almost
virgin country peopled by savages, covered with forests,
with no background of ancient cultures like those of
the Mayas and Aztecs, and with no wealth of gold and
silver to enrich the new population. The earliest build-
ings were of wood; until the 18th century there was
little work for stone-masons or bricklayers, except in
limited regions where clay or easily-worked stone was
available without first cutting away the forests. After
1700 the conquest of Nature and the gradual growth of
towns at the natural seaports and upon the navigable
rivers, and the creation of practicable roads of inter-
communication, had progressed sufficiently to permit
of the beginnings of wealth and the introduction of some
of the amenities and elegances of life. Carpentry with
its allied art of joinery, weaving and needlework were
the arts earliest developed under these conditions; for
metalwork, pottery and china, glass, fine furniture and
textiles other than the simplest home-made products,
the colonists depended upon importations from Eng-
land or Holland, and later, to some extent, from France.
Gradually, and especially after the middle of the 18th
394


COLONIAL ORNAMENT IN AMERICA
century, the making and use of brick, the quarrying and
cutting of stone and marble, and the production of fine
cabinet-work and furniture in imitation of English
models, became more general; and towards the end of
the century glass-blowing, mining, smelting and various
forms of metal-work began on a modest scale in scat-
tered centers. Cotton-mills were built in New England
early in the 19th century; but until almost the end of
that century the United States were still largely de-
pendent on Europe for most of the finer products of
industrial art in textiles and china.
Architectural Ornament.
There was naturally very little effort at decoration of
even the finest houses of the seventeenth century. Life
was too strenuous, the energies of the colonists too much
absorbed by the struggle for existence, to allow of much
expenditure, whether of money, time or thought, on
the elegances of architecture. Almost the only char-
acteristic detail that has come down to us from that
early period is the axe-hewn or adze-hewn bracket and
pendant from the front overhang of a few houses in
Massachusetts and Connecticut. An example of this
naive and primitive decorative detail is shown in Fig.
301, sketched in 1878 from a house in Farmington,
Conn., built about 1649 but demolished about 1886.
By 1700 civilization, population, commerce and
wealth along the northern Atlantic coast had advanced
sufficiently to allow of a certain elegance in the archi-
tecture and domestic life of the well-to-do, which shows
itself alike in the houses and the churches. From about
395


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
1715 or 1725, for a full century, the prevalent archi-
tectural forms were those developed by the Colonial and
Early Republican carpenter-builders in wood. These
builders, whether English-born or not, were trained in
the English traditions of the Queen Anne and Georgian
periods; they used English molding-profiles and worked
from English pattern-books or
from traditional instruction re-
ceived in their apprenticeship.
But the English details, de-
signed chiefly for execution in
stone, had to be interpreted in
wood, which was the almost uni-
versal building-material. Under
these conditions architectural de-
tails were transformed, fortu-
nately in a manner which reflects
credit upon both the taste of the
builders and the soundness of
the traditions they inherited.
The proportions of columns and
pilasters were often more slen-
der than those of the English or
because the builders attempted
nothing startling, nothing beyond their modest powers,
the results were almost invariably pleasing. The re-
finement of the moldings, the delicacy of the carved
ornaments, the harmony of the proportions and the
simplicity of the composition are such as modern
architects have found not easy to surpass.
The most interesting ornamental details of the

Fro. 301.—Detail, Overhang
of House, Farmincton,
Connecticut.
classic originals, and
396






Figure 95. Mantelpiece, Ladd
House, Portsmouth, New
Hampshire.
Figure 96. Detail, Fireplace,
Brockiss House, Germantown,
Pennsylvania.


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
entablatures, rarely with pediments (Fig. 303), and
were almost invariably square-headed, with the excep-
tion of dormers. After 1750 or thereabout, Palladian
triple windows began to appear on the main stair-
landing and above the doorway (PI. XVI, 3). Dor-
mers were commonly pedimented over arched windows.
Cornices of classic type, denticular or with block-
modillions, crowned
the facade and ran up
the gables at either
end, but were rarely
carried horizontally
across the gable-ends.
They were generally
carried around the
corner a short distance
and returned into the
gable wall. Exterior
pilasters were rare
until 1750; then at
first only at the cor-
ners; then, at least in New England, also to flank the
central bay of the front and carry the steep pediment
with which the central bay was often crowned (Fig.
304).
During the second half of the 18th century the pros-
perity of the Atlantic coast towns and cities led to a
progressive enrichment of the exterior, especially with
porches to the central doorways, with roof-balustrades
and with Palladian windows. The doorways of this
period are often of great beauty, with a fanlight over

Fio. 303.—Scroll Pediment, Window of
Hancock House, Boston.
398


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
exteriors was the urn or vase used as a finial, alike for
gate-posts and to adorn the angles of gables (Fig. 305).
Church steeples were variants of the types developed
by Wren and Gibbs (see p. 370). They were usually
of wood, even when the tower below was of stone or
brick. The details were of a fairly pure classical type,

Fio. 305.—Decorative Urns and Gate-Post, Salem, Massachusetts.
as in the English models, which were quite closely fol-
lowed in many of the best examples (Fig. 306).
Fences and gates to private houses were usually of
wood and treated often with considerable elegance; but
few remain to the present time (Fig. 307).
Between 1780 and 1820 the influence of the Adam
style (see p. 373) became manifest in a greater delicacy,
freedom and attenuation of exterior details, especially
of pilasters, capitals and cornices.
400


COLONIAL ORNAMENT IN AMERICA
Brick and Stone.
In the James River valley, in the neighborhood of
Philadelphia, and here and there in restricted regions

V£k>rWW /7M.
Fio. 306.—Two Colonial Spires: Christ Church,
Philadelphia, and St. Paul's, New York.
elsewhere, the existence of abundant clay and the absence
or extinction of forest growth led to a more general
use of brick for houses and churches than in the wooded
401


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
colonies of New England. In the Hudson River valley
the Dutch farmer-colonists found a soft red sandstone
easily worked by masons of moderate skill, while a
greenish limestone supplied ambitious Philadelphia!!

Fig. 307.—Gate to Cowles Mansion, Farmington, Connecticut.
suburbs with material for house-walls of a very solid and
substantial aspect. Yet while these materials and the
provincial taste combined to produce architectural en~
sembles quite different from those of New England—
-402


COLONIAL ORNAMENT IN AMERICA
and of Old England as well—the details of decoration
differed little from the general Georgian types, and
were generally executed in wood and painted white.
No Colonial school of stone-carving or of ornamenta-
tion in terra-cotta developed from the use of these ma-
terials, and even in churches and public buildings stone
columns were hardly ever used before the Revolution.
The coarse details of the John Bartram house at Kinses-
sing near Philadelphia (1731) represent an interesting
early experiment which, in spite of its comparative suc-
cess, remained sterile of fruit in later work.
Interior Woodwork.
In the interior fittings of their houses, churches and
public buildings the Colonial woodworkers produced
their most interesting and charming results. The

Fio. 308.—Chimneypiece, Phillipse Manor, Yonxers, New York.
abundance of superb timber, and especially of enormous
white-pine trees, provided them with unsurpassed ma-
terials for framed work such as wainscot-panels, doors,
door- and window-trim and staircases and for carved
403


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
details; the white pine particularly being easily worked
and at once soft and durable. Panels two feet and even
three feet wide could be cut from a single board. In
many of the finer houses along the coast, even as early
as 1714-23, the entire side of the room containing the
fireplace was finished in paneling to the cornice, and the
staircase hall was in some cases paneled in like manner

Fio. 309.—Upper Part of Doorway, Gunbton Hall, Virginia.
up to the ceiling on all four sides. Chimney pieces were
especially elegant, with pilasters or colonnettes to sup-
port the shelf, which was finely molded, and above
which the face of the chimney-breast was usually
adorned with a large panel in a crossetted frame in wood
or plaster (Fig. 308; Figure 95; PI. XVII, 7). In the
later examples the details are finer and more attenu-
ated; and in place of the flutings, headings and fan-
panels previously common, we find an increasing
prevalence of applied ornaments in composition or
401


COLONIAL ORNAMENT IN AMERICA
papier-mache—vases, baskets, figures, swags, etc.—im-
ported from France and England and used with taste
and discretion (Figure 96). Doorway frames were
richly molded, the moldings in the finer houses, especially
of Maryland and Virginia, being carved with the egg-

Fio. 310.—Detail of Declaration Chamrer, Fio. 311.—Detail, Ionic
Independence Hall, Philadelphia. Order, Doorway of
Cary House, Batavia,
New York.
and-dart and acanthus (Fig. 309) and topped with an
entablature or even with a scrolled pediment (Fig. 309;
Figure 93). Interior cornices were also elaborate, exe-
cuted sometimes in wood, sometimes in plaster with
dentils and modillions (Fig. 312; Figure 94). The use
405


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
of the orders, whether internal or external, followed
either the classic precedents (Figs. 308, 310) or the
freer Georgian handling, as in Fig. 311. The Corin-
thian column is seldom used.
Staircases were treated as important features of the
interior. The ends of the stairs were sometimes carved
and the balustrade composed of slender spindles, three
mwwwwtmw

Fia. 312.—Detail, Interior Cornice of Homewood, Baltimore.
to each step. After 1750 the spiral spindle becomes
common, and sometimes a spiral newel supports the
spirally-coiled end of the hand-rail (Fig. 313). This
was generally of mahogany after the West India trade
had begun to develop to important proportions. Col-
umns to cany the arch separating the front parlor from
the rear parlor or the dining-room, or dividing the
entrance hall from the stairway, were not introduced
until about the middle of the century; they were at first
more common in the houses of the rich Southern plant-
406


COLONIAL ORNAMENT IN AMERICA
ers and merchants than in the North. AH these details
correspond fairly well with the contemporary work in
England, and the stair-balustrades were probably for a

Fio. 313.—Detail or Stairway, Lee House, Marrlehead, Massachusetts.
long time imported. This appears from the fact that
they are of practically identical design in New England
and in Maryland and Virginia. In the Ladd house at
Portsmouth, N. H., there is in one of the chimney-pieces
407


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
a fine carved panel attributed to Grinling Gibbons, and
almost certainly not carved on this side of the ocean.
But as the century advanced the native craftsmen de-
veloped increasing artistic skill; dependence on the
motherland diminished, and the later work was prob-
ably all home-made. Moreover in the woodwork as a
whole there is a fundamental difference of effect from
the English prototypes. The softness and fine grain
of the white pine led to the use of small, fine moldings
and delicate ornaments in low relief, contrasting with
the heavier, more vigorous English work in oak. More-
over the American woodwork, being mostly of white
pine, was usually painted white, though in rare instances
it was left unpainted and allowed to mellow into a dull
golden tone. A dull gray was also used sometimes, but
the prevailing finish was white, which gave to the
Colonial interiors a bright and cheerful effect in striking
contrast to the dark tones of the English woodwork in
oak. A characteristic feature of much of the American
woodwork, derived not from England but from the
facility of working the straight-grained white pine with
plane, gouge and chisel, is the prevalence of flutings,
reedings, headings and fanlike ornaments and rosettes,
as in Fig. 314 from the so-called "Jumel" (Morris)
house in New York.
By the middle of the centur}" a new civic conscious-
ness had appeared, a new solidarity of interest in each
colony, and civic architecture began to be developed in
buildings like Independence Hall, Philadelphia, of
which the central block dates from 1739, and Faneuil
Hall, Boston (1763). The churches, designed mainly
408








COLONIAL ORNAMENT IN AMERICA
after the Wren-Gibbs tradition, had already taken on
internally a dignity and classic elegance of detail not
always evident externally except in their spires. The
civic buildings show something of the same quality, as
in the dignified Doric treatment of the "Declaration

Fig. 314.—Details, Morris-Jumel Mansion, New York.
Chamber" of Independence Hall, illustrated in Fig.
310.
In the later years of the century there was greater
variety of effect. The influence of the Adam style in
England and of the Louis Seize in France gradually
made itself felt jn the young Republic in a greater free-
dom, refinement and delicacy of detail. This is ob-
servable in both the interior and exterior details. Fig.
315 shows an example of this new "Adam" spirit in a
409


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
doorway from the Mappa mansion at Trenton, N. J.,
and in the mantelpiece from Germantown, Pa., in Fig-
ure % already referred to. The importation of mahog-
any from the West Indies led to its increasing use not
only for furniture and stair-rails but also for doors,

Fio. 315.—Upper Part of Door, Mappa House, Trenton, New Jersey.
inside window-shutters and the trim of doors and win-
dows. This was more general in the rich Southern
colonies than in the North, but was by no means confined
to them. Marble was also sometimes used for fireplaces,
as in the Tayloe ("Octagon") house at Washington
(1801).
Furniture.
The home-made furniture of the early colonists was
extremely simple, all the finer pieces being imported
from England or Holland. The making of copies or
imitations of the English models in these finer grades of
work seems to have begun about 1750 to be quite gen-
eral, though there are many pieces of the William-and-
Mary and Queene Anne periods (1689-1714) of which
we cannot be quite certain whether they were of home
410


COLONIAL ORNAMENT IN AMERICA
or foreign production (Fig. 316)%. Even in the 17th
century there had been a sporadic production of pieces
of considerable merit by local artisans. Thus the carved
chests made in Hadley, Mass., are highly valued; and
the chest of drawers on a stand in Figure 97 a might be
taken for an excellent Dutch piece. The English types

Fig. 316.—Carved Details of Chair-Back,
William and Mary Style.
of chairs of the second half of the century—Chippen-
dale, Sheraton and Hepplewhite (see pp. 379, 380) —
were freely imitated after 1775, and the native cabinet-
makers of that time also developed types of their own
in chests of drawers ("low-boys" and "high-boys"), in
four-post beds, "secretaries," bureau-desks and the like.
The Louis Quinze or rococo ornaments that appear on
much of the English Chippendale furniture seem never
411


COLONIAL ORNAMENT IN AMERICA
ing though simple design, generally identical with Eng-
lish examples. There is almost no carving in relief, and
the adornments of pediments, arched tops and other
architectural features are very few. As in the archi-
tecture of this period, the charm of the furniture con-
sists not in the richness of its ornament, but rather in
the grace of its lines, the excellent sense of proportion
which it displays, its admirable workmanship and the
refinement of its very restrained decoration. Figure
97 c, d, illustrates the Americanization of Louis XVI
and Adam suggestions.
Other Arts.
In the field of textiles the production was very
modest. Only the simplest fabrics were produced on the
Colonial looms as a rule, although figured bed-coverlets
were woven by the more ambitious craftswomen in sim-
ple patterns of blue and white. Domestic needlework
and embroidery produced little that is of real artistic
value or importance. The traditions of English design
had faded, and there was no artistic training nor any
artistic background or environment to stimulate the arts
of design (PI. XVII, 6). It was easier to import than
to make the more elaborate fabrics. Where every one
was busy in raising the necessities of life there was little
chance for the development of an artisan class or of
trained craftsmanship in the minor arts. The elaborate
landscape wall-papers seen in the fine 18th-century
houses of Portsmouth, Marblehead and Salem and other
seaport towns, and in Virginia and Maryland, were all
imported, chiefly from France. So also with silks,
413 .


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
brocades, laces, china and glass. Silverware was, how-
ever, made by artisans of considerable skill in the latter
part of the 18th century (e.g. by Paul Revere); but it
was of simple form with little ornamentation. Stiegel
in Pennsylvania produced glass of great variety and
sometimes of genuine artistic elegance. Brass candle-
sticks and knockers, cast-iron firebacks (the earliest by
Stieffel in Pennsylvania), and wrought-iron gates,
grilles, porch-railings, door-hinges, sign-brackets and
the like, were produced in increasing amount as the 18th
century drew to its close. But there is little distinctive
ornament in any of these arts until well into the nine-
teenth century.
Books Recommended:
Asher Benjamin: The Country Builder's Assistant and
Other Works (Arch. B'k Pub. Co., New York, 1917).—Glenn
Brown: The Octagon Mansion (Amer. Inst, of Architects,
Washington, 1916).—J. E. Chandler: The Colonial Archi-
tecture of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia (Bates &
Guild, Boston, 1892).—L. A. Coffin: Brick Architecture of
the Colonial Period in Maryland and Virginia (Arch. B'k Pub.
Co., New York, 1919).—Corner and Soderholtz: Colonial
Architecture in New England (Boston Architectural Club,
1891).—F. Cousins: The Wood-Carver of Salem, Samuel
Maclntire (Little, Boston, 1916).—Cousins and Riley: The
Colonial Architecture of Salem; The Colonial Architecture of
Philadelphia (Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1919 and 1920).—
W. A. Dyer: Scale Drawings of Colonial Furniture (Helburn,
New York, 1895); Early American Craftsmen (The Century
Co., New York, 191'5).—H. D. Ererlein: Colonial Architec-
ture in America (Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1915).—P.
Elder: The Old Spanish Missions of California (Elder, San
Francisco, 1913).—N. W. Elwell: The Architecture, Furni-
ture and Interiors of Maryland and Virginia; Colonial Furni-
414


CHAPTER XIII
THE MODERN REVIVALS AND NINETEENTH CENTURY
Conditions After 1800.
The last quarter of the eighteenth century witnessed
a remarkable development of archaeological research.
The rediscovery of Pompeii, the publication of Stuart
and Revett's "The Antiquities of Athens," the mar-
velous engravings of Piranesi, stimulated new enter-
prises of exploration in classic lands. Robert Adam
published his "Spalatro" in 1764; Wood and Dawkins
their works on Baalbek and Palmyra in 1753 and 1757;
and other works on Attica and Ionia followed in quick
succession. The stream thus started flowed with in-
creasing volume through the early part of the following
century; the excavation of Pompeii was actively carried
on, and sumptuous works on both Greek and Roman
antiquities became an important feature of every schol-
arly library, public or private. The foundations of
scientific archaeological discussion were laid by Winckel-
mann in his studies of the Albani collection, and of the
philosophical esthetics of classical art by Lessing in his
"Laocoon," and a new literature of historic art came into
being. Every gentleman who pretended to scholarly
tastes was supposed to know something about Greek
and Roman architecture. But the new interest was
after all scholarly and literary rather than artistic; often
416


THE MODERN REVIVALS
an affectation, a polite accomplishment rather than a
native artistic enthusiasm. The stream of artistic
creation was running dry, and the impression became
general that good design could be produced only by
conformity to ancient models, even to the extent of
copying ancient buildings wholly or in part. Planning
and construction were neglected or wholly subordinated
to facade design, and a new era began of what may be
called imitative design, not only in architecture but in
all the arts.
The dearth of creative art was partly due to the pre-
occupation of Europe and America with tremendous
political and industrial movements. The American
Revolution, followed by the French Revolution, ushered
in a new age of democracy; the Napoleonic wars shook
Europe to its foundations, changed the boundaries of
nations and developed the new system of the "balance
of power." But the industrial revolution which fol-
lowed the invention of the steam-engine dealt an even
more disastrous blow to creative activity in the field of
applied art, for it brought about the decline, almost the
disappearance of craftsmanship. It made possible
three new things: cheap and rapid transportation, the
substitution of machine-processes for hand-labor, with
the resulting development of mass-production and end-
less repetition; and the concentration of production in
densely populated industrial centers. The advantages
of the modern industrial system in multiplying the com-
forts and conveniences of life and cheapening the cost
of many articles of consumption are certainly very
great; but the dissociation of design from execution, the
417


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
division of labor, the division of the former craftsman's
tasks between highly-paid designers and low-paid "op-
eratives" or mill-hands, the disappearance of the artisan
who made with his own hands the objects he himself
designed, and the mechanical uniformity of the machine-
product as contrasted with the individuality and human
touch of the craftsman's work—all these changes
wrought by the modern system have been disastrous to
the arts of design. The grave economic and social prob-
lems created by this system are outside of the fieldof our
present discussion.
Influence on Decorative Arts.
The industrial revolution was accompanied by an ex-
traordinary development of the natural sciences, and
by an equally remarkable advance in popular education,
in the dissemination of knowledge, and by a vast in-
crease in commerce and international intercourse. It
would be interesting to trace the inter-relations between
the progress of democratic institutions, the advance of
science and the development of both the higher educa-
tion and that of the masses, and of these with the social
and industrial changes and the rise of the labor move-
ment, and then to study the influence of all these related
movements upon the fine and industrial arts. This
discussion might well occupy a volume, and we can here
point out only a few of its more salient points.
In the first place, the preoccupation with these great
human problems was long fatal to any great movement
in art. Nations struggling with questions of national
existence and with the development of the new powers
418


THE MODERN REVIVALS
and resources created by the scientists, explorers and
industrialists, had little energy remaining for the cult
of the beautiful. The pursuit of the fine arts was left
to the few, to the intellectuals and the people of leisure;
art was more and more dissociated from life, as a luxury
or an accomplishment rather than an essential element
of life. The intellectuals felt the poverty of the art of
their time, but did not know how to cure it. Some de-
manded the revival of the historic styles, meaning thereby
the imitation or copying of the forms and details of the
past, with no understanding of the principles that had
given life and meaning to those forms. Others raised
the cry "Back to Nature," not realizing that only the
artist can interpret and use the forms of Nature in art,
and that the artist must be trained both in the technic
of his art and in the appreciation and delineation of the
beautiful, before he can create beauty even out of the
manifold inspirations supplied by Nature.
The development of scientific archaeology during the
first part of the century supplied a powerful stimulus
to the partisans of the first theory. This stimulus was
intensified by the invention of lithography by Alois
Senefelder in 1798; later by the invention of photog-
raphy (by de la Niepce in 1827, Daguerre in 1839, and
Talbot a little later); and later again (about 1870) by
the invention of various processes for photo-engraving
and photo-lithography. By these the publication of
archaeological works, monographs and books of all kinds
on architecture and the decorative arts was made pos-
sible at a cost within the reach of ordinary purses. To
these must be added two others: the multiplication and
419


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
development of museums of art, including architecture
and the decorative arts, and the equally remarkable
multiplication of schools of art. To offset the lack of
craftsmen and to meet the requirements of the factories,
it was necessary to train draftsmen and designers. The
popularization of various kinds of knowledge about the
arts had created, by the end of the nineteenth century,
a greatly increased popular demand for manufactured
products having at least a semblance of artistic beauty;
the books and the schools, the museums and the great
international exhibitions (the first at London in 1851)
stimulated both the demand and the supply. Mean-
while, especially since about 1880, there has been a
notable revival of craftsmanship, largely through the
activity of "arts-and-crafts" societies—a movement
initiated by William Morris in England in the second
half of the nineteenth century. As a result of all these
movements and developments there has come about a
notable revival of the arts, a great advance in the gen-
eral average of taste, a remarkable improvement in the
quality not only of the major arts, but also of all the
industrial arts, alike in hand-made and machine-made
products. The early recourse to a slavish imitation of
the historic styles has given place to a freer and more
intelligent use of them, based on a better appreciation
of their underlying principles. The study of Nature,
having been found to be futile by itself as a restorer of
the arts, has been subordinated to an intelligent training
in the fundamental principles of decorative design. The
movement known as "Art Nouveau" (see p. 464), aris-
ing in the later years of the last century as a protest
420








THE MODERN REVIVALS
against traditionalism in art, has had the effect, in spite
of its eccentricities and extravagances, of infusing a
fresh note of originality into modern design in archi-
tecture and the industrial arts alike. The difference
between the art of to-day and that of the "mid-
Victorian" era is the measure of the progress of the last
fifty years.
Commerce and Travel.
Another influence has also profoundly affected mod-
ern art. While archaeology, books on the art of the past,
and photography with all its allied arts, have placed
before the designer a confusing wealth of suggestive
material, commerce and travel have been breaking down
the barriers between the arts of different peoples. The
result has been a general universalizing of art, in the
sense that the art of every people is made available to
all others. Provincial and national styles and char-
acteristics therefore tend to disappear, or at least to
become less conspicuous because of the admixture of
influences and suggestions from other lands. Only
those characteristics survive which are most deeply
rooted in the national habits, mode of life, climate and
environment. A theater in New York may be much
like one in Buenos Aires, a railway station in New
Zealand much like one in South Africa, a church in
Algiers like one in Marseilles. Louis Quinze furniture
adorns New York drawing-rooms, some of it made in
France in the eighteenth century, some of it made in
New York or Grand Rapids in the twentieth. Persian
rugs and Chinese carpets cover the floors of mansions in
421


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
five continents. The postage-stamps and bank-notes of
half the world are engraved in New York. The sharp
distinctions that once divided the decorative styles of
different peoples have largely disappeared, and the de-
signer of to-day is forced to be an eclectic. The forms
of so many lands and ages are thrust upon him that he
cannot, if he would, ignore the art either of the past or
of other lands, and among them he must choose.
Under these conditions the remarkable thing is that
national and racial characteristics do assert themselves,
and that the artist possessed of an original and creative
mind can still, and often does, impress upon his work
the stamp of his own personality and the quality of
an original creation. He can do this not only when, like
the Art Nouveau designers of Europe or Louis Sullivan
in America he casts all tradition into the discard, but
even when, like the late H. H. Richardson, he bases his
design avowedly upon some phase of historic art. For
originality inheres in the artist, not in his materials; it
depends less upon the forms and details he uses than
upon the way in which he uses them. And in spite of
commerce, travel, books and photography, in spite of
many labored imitations of the artistic products of one
country by the designers of another, French decorative
art to-day is easily distinguishable as a whole, from
English art and German art, and American art from
all of these.
The Roman Revival and Empire Style.
The first results of the archaeological discoveries and
movements just described were seen in the closing years
422


THE MODERN REVIVALS
of the 18th century in the effort to reproduce as literally
as possible the stately grandeur of Roman buildings by
.prefixing Roman Corinthian porticoes to all sorts of
buildings and even, as in the Church of San Francesco
da Paola at Naples, by imitating an entire structure—in
this case the Pantheon, Thomas Jefferson's attempted
adaptation of the design of the Maison Carree at Nimes
to the requirements of the new State Capitol at Rich-
mond, Va., and of the Pantheon to those of a college
library at Charlottesville, Va., and the Mansion House
and later the Royal Exchange at London, illustrate this
tendency on both sides of the Atlantic. But it was in
France, under the Romanizing rule of the Emperor
Napoleon, that it asserted itself most forcibly between
1804 and 1810. The Madeleine, the Arc du Carrousel
and the Colonne Vendome, the portico of the Corps
Legislatif (now Chambre des Deputes) and the Bourse,
were under his inspiration made as Roman as possible.
All this was purely imitative architecture. In the in-
teriors, however, the Gallic originality asserted itself in
decorative details and furniture inspired, it is true, by a
Romanized taste, but employing Roman motives in a
new spirit and with considerable elegance of effect (see
PI. IX, 7; Figure 98). For this result the associated
architects, Percier and Fontaine, were chiefly respon-
sible. Walls were hung not with pictorial but with
conventionally-figured tapestries in sober colors. Furni-
ture passed from the classical lightness of the Louis
Seize style into a phase of classical massiveness, more
sparsely adorned with ornaments of gilded bronze than
under Louis XVI (PI . IX, 6, 8, 11, 12,14; Figure 98).
423


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
The imperial emblems, the eagle, the bee, the N in a
laurel wreath, the palm of victory and traditional
Roman ornaments, were used with discretion, always on
a dark ground. The sphinx, lion's paw and symbolic

Fio. 317.—Empire Chair, Sphinx, Footstool and Pilaster.
grotesques appear. The whole effect is formal, stately,
massive, sober and undeniably refined, but lacking in
charm and domesticity (Figure 98; Figs. 317, 318).
The style passed into Italy and Germany and later
424


THE MODERN REVIVALS
to the United States, where between 1820 and 1840
Duncan Phyfe and his successors and imitators adopted
its forms rather than its richer ornaments, in chairs,

Fio. 318.—Empire Ornaments: (a) from Bed in Grand Trianon,
Versailles; (b) from Tarle.
sideboards, tables and clocks still to be seen in uninter-
rupted use in old houses, and now sought for American
museums (Figure 105).
The Biedermeyer Style.
Partly accompanying, partly following the Empire
influence in Germany, there was developed in furniture
a modification of the Empire style known as the Bieder-
meyer style. The name is not that of its inventor nor
of any real person; it was a purely fictitious name for
"the man in the street." Those who developed the style
thus dubbed were seeking to substitute painted orna-
ment and cheap materials for the gilt bronze and ma-
hogany and ebony of the French models. The products
of this movement varied greatly in quality from clumsy
simplicity to a certain elegance of form and decoration,
often with painted floral ornaments of no little beauty
on a black background.
425


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
The Greek Revival, 1820-1850.
The causes that led to the archaeological revivals of
the nineteenth century have already been explained.
The Greek Revival was the second of these to take
form, and it received its first impetus in England, al-
though as early as 1788 the Brandenburger Thor had
been built by Langhans in Berlin, in feeble imitation of
the Athenian Propylaea. The results in England were
on the whole disappointing, although a number of dig-
nified facades to public buildings show a conscientious
effort to adapt Greek forms to modern uses. These,
however, belong rather to the history of architecture
than to that of ornament. The lack of decorative
sculpture and the general poverty of the ornament are
noticeable. The best British works in this respect are
perhaps two monuments of small size in Edinburgh, to
Robert Burns and to Dugald Stewart, both based on
the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates at Athens, and
both having distinct decorative value. The great St.
George's Hall at Liverpool is more Roman than Greek
in style and interior decoration, though the pilasters of
the flanks are derived from the internal piers of the
Apollo Temple at Didyme near Miletus. The fine
doorway and bronze doors by Cockerell are the finest
example of the effort to produce a modernized Greco-
Roman style of ornament by any English architect
(Figure 99). But the British taste and spirit were in
general too far removed from the Greek, and creative
originality was at too low an ebb, for the production of
any considerable amount of decorative design based on
426


THE MODERN REVIVALS
Greek models. The best was usually that which copied
most closely actual Greek details.
In Germany the movement was less general, being
confined chiefly to the work of two or three men in Ber-
lin and Munich in the middle third of the century. But
these were gifted men, possessed of a modicum, at least,
of independent imagination, and they sought to adapt
rather than to copy. The decorative details, internal as
well as external, of some of their works possess elegance
and charm, being original designs in the Greek spirit.
Among the finest works of the greatest of these design-
ers—Schinkel of Berlin, Von Klenze of Munich and
Hansen of Vienna—were a number of buildings erected
in Athens for the Academy, University and Museum
(Figure 100).
The French Neo-Grec.
In France, thanks to the dominating influence of the
IScole des Beaux-Arts, with its strongly classic Roman
traditions, the Greek movement never took the form of
an archaeological revival. But three successive winners
of the "Prix de Rome"—J. F. Duban in 1823, H. P. F.
Labrouste in 1824 and L. J. Due in 1825—together
sought to introduce into their work something of the
crispness and delicacy of Greek art, and developed what
came near to being a new style, to which some writers
have given the name of Neo-Grec. These men broke
away from the stereotyped rules of the prevailing
academic style, invented new profiles and combinations
of moldings, pilaster-caps, consoles and balusters, and
developed new forms of window-treatment and a some-
427








THE MODERN REVIVALS

Fro. 320a.—Details from Palais de Fig. 3206. — Console
Justice, Paris. West Front, Palais
de Justice, Paris.

Fio. 321.—Detail, Stair-Balustrade in
Palais de Justice, Paris.
429


THE MODERN REVIVALS
exterior polychromy; the paintings on the f ronl of the
church had at last to be scraped off, and the experiment
left no lasting results in French architectural decora-
tion. Even the polychrome effects attempted by Gar-

Fio. 323.—Details from Houses in Paris.
nier in the facade of the Opera by the use of rich colored
marbles and gilding long ago lost their original values
and faded into the general gray tonality of the
whole.
431


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
The Gothic Revival.
While one group of revivalists in Great Britain was
championing the study and imitation of Greek art as
the only means of artistic reform, another group was
even more energetically advocating the restoration of
the Gothic styles. This group was led by the elder
Pugin,1 whose successive books2 on English Gothic
architecture, followed by several books by his son
Augustus Welby Pugin in the same vein, were powerful
agents in awakening the British public to the glories of
their national medieval art. Gothic architecture was
advocated as being both English and Christian; Greek
and Roman models were "foreign" and "pagan" and
therefore unworthy of imitation. As with the Greek
advocates, it was the forms, not the underlying prin-
ciples that were studied at first. Architecture and
decorative art were to be reformed by the use of pointed
arches, tracery, finials and crockets and Gothic orna-
ments, irrespective of materials, methods of construc-
tion, or purpose.
In this medievalistic revival John Ruskin (1819-
1900) exerted a powerful influence by his lectures, his
books and his personal influence. Possessed of a deeply
religious nature, an intense hatred of all sham and pre-
tense, an artistically sensitive spirit, with a tinge of
puritan mysticism, he was strongly drawn to the art
of the Middle Ages, above all that of Italy, where he
repeatedly made long sojourns, especially in Venice.
'Augustus Pugin, a French tmigri to England (1762-1832).
"Specimens of Gothic Architecture, 1821; Examples of Gothic Archi-
tecture, 1831; Gothic Ornaments, 1831.
432


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
John Ruskin, who had been castigating the British in-
difference to art, which he allied closely to religious
faith, had in several works expressed enthusiasm for the
Italian Gothic style, especially that of Venice; and the
later Gothicists began to borrow freely details and sug-
gestions from the Italian. As that was preeminently a
derived style, which applied the borrowed forms of the
Northern Gothic as a purely superficial dress, it lent
itself easily to the purposes of the English Gothicists,
especially for secular buildings. In Figure 101 it is
easy to recognize many Italian Gothic features. The
famous and much criticized Albert Memorial in London
by Sir Gilbert Scott (Figure 102) is based in large
measure on Orcagna's altar in Or San Michele at Flor-
ence. In church architecture the Gothicists could follow
Northern Gothic models more closely, and here they
developed in time considerable freedom of design. The
earlier examples of decorative detail were more strictly
archzeological in character,—closer copies of actual
medieval details—than in the later work. The Perpen-
dicular style at first found especial favor, as in the im-
posing Houses of Parliament but as the understanding
of the true principles and historical evolution of the
Gothic styles advanced, the Perpendicular came to be
regarded as a style of the Decline, and the Early Eng-
lish and Decorated styles, modified by suggestions from
both the French and Italian Gothic, found greater
favor, as in Exeter College Chapel at Oxford, St.
Wilfrid's at York, etc. The later works of the century
show increasing independence of historic precedent.
In 1871 Charles L. Eastlake, son of a painter of some
434


THE MODERN REVIVALS
note and himself an artist and art-critic, published a
volume entitled "Hints on Household Taste," followed
soon after by another on the history of the Gothic Re-
vival in England. These two volumes, especially the
first, exerted so strong an influence on British taste
in matters of furniture and domestic art that there
ensued a movement known as the Eastlake, looking to
the creation of a new style in furniture and interior
woodwork. Two main principles were fundamental in
the movement: that design should be based on construc-
tion and material, and that as far as the first principle
permitted, Gothic models should be followed or at least
studied for suggestion and inspiration, especially for
decorative detail. The rather singular style that re-
sulted became popular, was commercialized, and after
a few years died out, having run its course (Fig. 324).
The trouble with this, as with so many other movements
of attempted reform, was that principles were expected
to take the place of artistic ability and creative origi-
nation. The furniture that was produced, however
faithful to the principles laid down, was stiff, often ugly,
lacking in grace or beauty of line, and quite destitute of
any right to be called Gothic. Nevertheless the move-
ment did good in abating much of the hideousness of
British interiors of the preceding period and in instilling
the idea of honest construction and expression of ma-
terial; it crossed the ocean and played its part in the
early years of the artistic awakening in the United
States of 1876-1900.
The net results of the Victorian Gothic movement in
England were chiefly three: first, the slow develop-
485


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
ment of a new national style of church architecture;
secondly, the realization that Gothic details are ill-
suited to the purposes of modern secular architecture;
thirdly, the revival of various crafts and art-industries,
especially those of carving, metal-work and stained
glass.

Fro. 324.—An Eastlake Sideroard.
In Germany there was a feeble echo of the English
movement, confined chiefly to ecclesiastical architecture,
as in the Votivkirche at Vienna, a somewhat similar
church at Munich and a few others. But the movement
never became truly national, and on the decorative side
may be dismissed without further mention. Its most
436








THE MODERN REVIVALS
important fruit was the completion of Cologne Cathe-
dral and of the spires of the Minster at Ulm and of the
Cathedral of Ratisbon (Regensburg). In the field of
secular architecture the one outstanding monument of
Germanic neo-Gothic design is the costly and impressive
Parliament House at Budapest, by Steindl (about
1885-90).
In France the movement, under the powerful lead-
ership of Viollet-le-Duc 3 was mainly archaeological. It
resulted in the restoration of many decayed and decay-
ing buildings, the erection of a few churches of severe
archaeological correctness of style, {e.g. Ste. Clothilde
at Paris and the Bonsecours church near Rouen), and
above all, through V.-le-Duc's monumental "Diction-
naire raisonne," 4 in a new understanding of medieval
Gothic architecture as a style based on the logic of con-
struction. The remarkable illustrations in this work did
more than any other agency except that of photography
to disseminate a clear understanding of the significance
and beauty of Gothic detail.
Both the Greek and the Gothic revivals had their
birth, as we have seen, in wholly mistaken conceptions
of architecture itself and of the relation of art to life.
The Greek movement was extinct by 1860. The Gothic
movement lasted in England to the end of the century,
and indeed still persists in church architecture and all
the arts of the church: of this more in the next chapter.
In secular architecture it was losing ground by 1876,
3 Eugene fimanuel Viollet-le-Duc, 1814-1879.
* Dictionnaire raisonne de l'architecture francaise du V au XVII siecle,
Paris, 1876.
437


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
when Alfred Waterhouse, one of its chief advocates,
shifted to the Romanesque for the inspiration of his
design for the Natural History Museum at South
Kensington, and George Edmund Street was demon-
strating by an awful example the unfitness of the
Gothic for modern civic architecture in the New Law
Courts in London. Like the Greek revivalists, the
leaders of the Anglo-Gothic revival were men of fine
culture and thorough scholarship. But scholarship
alone cannot take the place of artistic inspiration and
correct principles of design: it may even hamper origi-
nality and fetter inspiration.
The Renaissance Revival.
Meanwhile, during the second half and especially the
last quarter of the century, there was developing a new
interest in the monuments and spirit of the Renaissance,
not only in England but throughout Europe and
America as well. The revival of the Renaissance style
in France, with its brilliant results in the New Louvre,
the New Opera House (PI. XVIII, 2, 4, and Figure
103) and the new H6tel-de-Ville in Paris, strongly in-
fluenced architectural design and decoration on the Con-
tinent, and gradually made itself felt in England, es-
pecially in civic architecture. During the last half of
the century France was confessedly the leader in artistic
design in all fields. In architecture, even the most
ordinary street architecture, there is evident a touch of
refinement, a finish of detail and often a spark of origi-
nality, such as no other country could show. Fig. 325
presents a variety of details from what may be called
438


THE MODERN REVIVALS

Fig. 325.—Details of Paris Street Architecture, Nineteenth Centtjry.
439


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
the vernacular street architecture of Paris of this period.
In ceramics and textiles there was a like superiority to
the rest of Europe. The leaders in this revival in
France were Visconti, Lefuel and Garnier.8 The result
in England was a somewhat peculiar but interesting de-
velopment, in such buildings as the Imperial Institute

Fio. 326.—Detail, City Bank Ladyhill, ry Collcutt, 1891.
at South Kensington, the Town Hall at Oxford and
many town halls and public buildings elsewhere, and in
a fashion of house and school design curiously miscalled
the Queen Anne style. In this development the classic
details of the Renaissance were modified and combined
'Louis T. G. Visconti, born at Rome, 1791, died at Paris, 1853; designer
with Hector M. Lefuel (1810-1880) of the New Ixmvre. Lefuel was
Richard M. Hunt's preceptor. Charles Garnier, architect of the Opera,
was born in 1825, died 1898.
440


THE MODERN REVIVALS
under the English love for picturesque and irregular
masses, turrets, varied roof-lines and small parts. The
results were often exceedingly interesting, highly-
original, sometimes charming (Figs. 326, 327).
This was not, like
its Greek and Gothic
predecessors, an effort
to revive textually a
dead style, but a sin-
cere effort to draw in-
spiration from the his-
toric past without
copying, and to adapt
the suggestions of the
past to the special
needs of the present.
Architecture was now
better understod than
at the outset of the
Revivals; it was once
more becoming a vital
art, closely related to
modern life. The mul-
tiplication of museums and schools, on both sides of the
Channel and of the ocean, was providing the technical
training without which design can only limp along its
path, and which in older days had been provided by the
system of apprenticeship under great masters.

Fio. 327.-
-A Scotch Town Hall, ry
R. SanOii.ands.
441


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
The Nature Movement.
In the mid-Victorian period, about 1850, the British
public began to realize that in many lines of industry
the British products were outclassed by the Continental,
especially the French, because of the superior artistic
quality of the foreign products. The lack of museums
and schools of industrial art was felt to be one reason
for the inferiority of the
British manufacturers, es-
pecially in the field of
textiles and ceramics. The
establishment of the great
South Kensington Mu-
seum, with its library and
schools, was the first step
towards filling this want
(1852), and was followed
by the establishment of
many "provincial" schools
and museums. For some
time an underlying principle of the training in these
schools seems to have been that of recourse to Nature,
especially to the vegetable world, for suggestions of
decorative design. Historic ornament was also taught,
but the chief inspiration was sought in the forms of
leaves and flowers, which were to be dissected, analyzed,
recombined and treated either naturalistically or con-
ventionally, but always from the point of view of deco-
rative composition. This movement had some echo in
France and Germany (Figs. 328, 329). The last half-
dozen plates of Owen Jones's "Grammar of Orna-

Fio. 328.—A French Floral
Wall-Paper.
442


THE MODERN REVIVALS
ment," published in 1856, are devoted to various types
of flowers and foliage from Nature, appropriate for
ornament. In France the "Flore ornementale" of
Ruprich-Robert, published as late as 1876, performed
the same task in more elaborate fashion.
The results were not equal to expectation, for the
emphasis was laid too much on the plant-forms and not
enough on training in the fundamentals of decorative

Fio. 329.—A German Floral Plate-Border.
design, in which the source of the motives used is less
important than the way in which they are used. Never-
theless there was, on the whole, a decided gain. Any
sincere effort after greater beauty, even along mistaken
lines, is pretty sure to open the eyes of the seeker and
to develop his power of artistic appreciation. The
monstrosities of perverted pictorial naturalism in car-
pets, cretonnes, ceramics and wall-papers of an earlier
day began to give way before a better mastery of the
principles of decorative composition. Other influences
aided this progress: the increasing importation of Chi-
443


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
nese and Japanese and East Indian textiles, bronzes
and ceramics and rugs, the multiplication of museums
of industrial art, a more intelligent study of historic
ornament, the great international exhibitions of London
(1851 and 1862), Paris (1855 and 1867), and finally
in England the
Arts-and-Crafts Movement.
This was the outgrowth of an enterprise initiated by
the poet-socialist William Morris in 1863, which had as
its aim a return to the old-time relation between design
and execution, and the restoration of hand-craftsman-
ship in place of machine production. Wall-papers,
furniture, stained glass and especially textiles were the
objects to which attention was at first directed by the
band of artisans and amateurs gathered and led by
Morris (PI. XIX, 7, 12). Later he found in the
printer's art a field for careful design of types and the
treatment of the page as an artistic design in itself,
producing many beautiful books in his "Kelmscott
Press." The indirect results of Morris's preaching and
practice were more important than the direct. It was
impossible to overthrow the modern system of mass-
production and machine-processes. The works of the
Morris coterie could not be produced nor sold except
at prices far above the reach of the masses, but the move-
ment greatly stimulated the interest of the public in
the products of handicraft, with the result that many
old handicrafts have since then been revived, and that
thousands of individuals have been led to design and
execute with their own hands all sorts of artistic objects
444





THE MODERN REVIVALS
—textiles, book-covers, laces and embroideries, ceramics,
jewelry and the like. This has reacted on the general
public taste as well as on the quality of machine-
products in the industrial arts. These are in general
to-day vastly superior to those of the first three-quarters
of the 19th century in almost every field of design
(see pp. 472, 480). Plates XIX and XXI illustrate
some of these results.
An interesting episode of the movement outside of
the Morris enterprise was an earlier effort of John
Ruskin to persuade the architects to substitute crafts-
men's designing of architectural detail for that of the
architects' office in the New Museum at Oxford. The
carvers of the capitals in this building were allowed to
design their own capitals from the flowers and foliage
of the neighborhood, after the fashion of the medieval
builders. The results were interesting, but it must be
confessed that they were, after all, mediocre, for the
carvers had never been trained to original design. Yet
the experiment was worth trying, and is worth repeat-
ing, if only it can be continued long enough to train the
carvers in the principles of decorative design. It was,
indeed, repeated some years later in New York by
P. B. Wight, in the old Academy of Design (demolished
1904), with much the same result (see p. 454). The
difficulty lies in the fact that artisanship in the execution
of a craft does not in itself imply or confer the ability to
design. But this is not a very serious difficulty and
would disappear if only the trade itself in each artistic
craft were to set resolutely about providing for its mem-
bers the necessary training in design. This is precisely
445


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
4 i


Fio. 330. — Detail from
a German Carinet in
Berlin, 1875.
Fio. 331.—German Communion
Wine-Flaoon, 1873.
what the old-time guilds were accustomed to do. The
modern craft of architectural modelers, now growing
to increasing importance as an intermediary between
the architect's paper design and the executed carving,
446


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
This condition of things is greatly deplored by those
who cling to the idea that distinctive national styles are
in themselves essential to the production of good art.
A more philosophical view recognizes in this universal-
izing or commonizing of styles and in the eclecticism
of modem design necessary and inevitable conditions in-
separable from our present civilization; and in our
modern design, whether in the major or minor arts, the
clear expression of these conditions. This broader view
seeks to discover, and to some extent does discover,
national and racial differences not in the use of particu-
lar shapes, forms and combinations such as formerly
defined a style, but in subtler distinctions of character
and spirit. Where such distinctions are not discover-
able, we are in the presence of products of a kind com-
mon to several or all civilized nations; as for instance, in
many textiles like brocades, velvets and carpets pro-
duced by machinery and often in designs taken with
little or no change from the past (see PI. XXIII).
Thus a Florentine Renaissance velvet, a Persian or
Chinese carpet, may be textually reproduced on a
power-loom in England or France or Germany or the
United States with no discoverable characteristic of the
country of its production.
Books Recommended:
A. Barqui: L'Architecture rnoderne en France (Baudry,
Paris, 1864).—L. A. Boileau: Les preludes de Varchitecture
duXXe steele (Fischbacher, Paris, 1893).—C. Daly: L'Archi-
tecture privee au XIXe siecle (Daly, Paris, 1870).—C. L.
Eastt.ake, Jr.: The Gothic Revival (Longmans, London,
1872) ; Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, etc. (Long-
448


THE MODERN REVIVALS
mans, London, 1869).—F. v. Feldegg: Moderne Kirchen~
dekorationen (Schroll, Vienna, 1892).—C. Garnier: Le Nouvel
Opéra (Morel, Paris, 1881).—C. P. Gourlier: Choix d'édifices
publics (Colas, Paris, 1825-1850).—W. Hessling: Ameuble-
ment et décoration, style Empire (Beazley, Paris, 1913).—
T. G. Jackson: Modern Gothic Architecture (King, London,
1873).—Krafft et Ransonnette: Maisons et hotels à Paris,
1772-1802 (Lib. Art et Déc, Paris, 1909).—P. Lafond: L'Art
décoratif et le mobilier sous la République et l'Empire
(Renouard, Paris, 1900).—Liénard: L'Ornementation du
XIXe siècle (Liénard, Liège, 1855).—W. Lurke: Geschichte
der neueren Baukunst (Berlin, 1891).—F. Luthmer:
Malerische Innenraume moderner Wohnungen (Keller, Frank-
fort, 1888).—Lutzow und Tischler: Wiener Neubauten
(Lehman, Vienna, 1880).—Muthesius: Die neuere kirchliche
Baukunst in England (Ernst, Berlin, 1901).—F. Narjoux:
Monuments élevés par la vUle de Paris, 1850-1880 (Morel,
Paris, 1883).—L. M. Normand: Part* moderne, ou Choix de
maisons, etc. (Normand, Paris, 1843).—A. E. Richardson:
Monumental Classical Architecture in Great Britain and
Ireland (Batsford, London, 1914).—H. Ruckwardt: Façaden
und Détails moderner Bauten (Claesen, Berlin, 1892).—H. H.
Statham: Modern Architecture (Scribners, New York, 1898).
449


CHAPTER XIV
THE NINETEENTH CENTUEY IN AMERICA
It was inevitable that every movement of art in
Europe should in time reach the United States. Al-
though transatlantic communication by sail was slow,
it was constant; and as the States of the young Republic
were dependent on the Old World for almost everything
of an artistic character, they could not fail to reflect
sooner or later each phase of artistic development that
occurred in Europe, especially in England and France.
The first evidence of the French influence is seen in the
work of Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), who was at
once a statesman and an architect. While much of his
work, e.g. at Monticello and Charlottesville (Va.), was
based on book-knowledge, especially of Palladio, he
brought back from his sojourn of four years in France
(1785-89) a great admiration for the Maison Carree at
Nimes, which he made the basis of his design for the
Virginia State Capitol at Richmond, under the influence
of that classic revival in France which was maturing
under Louis XVI and was to develop under Napoleon
into the Roman Revival of the Empire (see pp. 422,
423). Through the closing years of the 18th and open-
ing years of the 19th century there followed a certain
mingling and confusion of influences: the delicate
Adam-like detail of the later "Georgian" or post-
450


•
I



Figure 105. American Nineteenth Cen-
tury Furniture.


NINETEENTH CENTURY IN AMERICA
Walter in the old Mint and Girard College at Phila-
delphia.
The Greek details were used with more freedom than
generally in Europe, especially in the handling of
window-openings and superposed stories. The decora-
tive detail was restrained but in good taste; but the lack
of sculptural adornment made itself felt as a serious
blemish here as in England.
The style spread rapidly, so that by 1845 not only
churches but private houses were designed with Greek
details, which displaced all others as the architectural
vernacular of the carpenter and house-builder. There
was much pleasing detail in the common molding
profiles and modest carved ornaments of ordinary
houses and small churches. Sometimes the proportions
of Doric and Ionic columns were altered to fit a purely
wooden construction: more often not, out of regard
rather to the tradition of a style which does not easily
lend itself to radical change of proportion, than for any
abstract logic as to the expression of material.
Figure 106 and Fig. 332 illustrate the style as it
worked out in doorways and interior details. There was
also not a little good ironwork in railings, balconies, etc.,
in which Greek details were used with good taste.
The Gothic Revival.
There was no background of Gothic tradition in the
United States on which to found a revival of the style,
though pointed arches were sometimes used for windows
of Colonial and early Republican churches, especially
under Dutch influence. The movement, when started
453


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
by the building of Trinity Church in New York in 1843
by the English architect Richard Upjohn, had little
vitality, and was chiefly confined to the architecture of
Episcopal churches. Except for the excellent work of
a few gifted men—the elder Upjohn and his son Rich-
ard M., James Renwick and F. C. Withers—there was
little merit in the attempts at Gothic design. There
were no craftsmen to execute good detail, except a few
who came over from England and Scotland, and the
style was not understood by the people nor by architects
generally other than those mentioned above. Lath-and-
plaster and painted pine liberally sanded, in place of
vaulting and honest masonry, made a travesty of most
of the efforts in the style, especially in secular archi-
tecture. Even the best work in this style in secular
buildings was singularly uninteresting (Fig. 107).
Two buildings in this field stood out, however, as excep-
tionally honest and interesting efforts to adapt the style
to modern secular uses. The Academy of Design in
New York by P. B. Wight (1865, demolished about
1904) drew its inspiration from the Venetian Gothic,
and was a remarkably well-studied and intelligent adap-
tation of the style (PI. XXII, 2). Two of the capitals
were designed by the imported stone-carvers them-
selves, from suggestions of the local flora, as was done
in the New Museum at Oxford a few years earlier,
(see ante, p. 445). The results were very much the
same, interesting but not so beautiful as to cause repe-
tition of the experiment elsewhere. The capitals de-
signed by the architect and executed by English carvers
were better (Figure 108). The second of these "secular
451


r
-
,
I



Figuee 106. Geeek Revival Dooeway, Figuee 107. Gothic Business Build-
South Fifth Ave., New Yoek. ino, Boston ..r. 1{


NINETEENTH CENTURY IN AMERICA
Gothic" buildings was the State Capitol at Hartford,
Conn., in which the younger Upjohn in 1876-77 en-
deavored to devise an American adaptation of the
Gothic style to secular uses. Apart from its merits and
defects as architecture, the effort is interesting but not
inspiring. The deviations from historical precedent in
the detail were seldom improvements, and it was again
shown that personal innovations in style have no vitality
unless they reflect something in the movement of the
public taste.
In St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, Mr. J. Ren-
wick frankly combined details and suggestions drawn
from French, English and German Gothic prototypes,
without attempting to adapt or "Americanize" them.
The blending, as symbolic of the three nations from
which at that time (1857-1883) the American Catholic
population was chiefly drawn, was managed with gen-
eral good taste. There are a few other churches in New
York, Brooklyn, Boston and Philadelphia in which
Gothic details are used with intelligence and taste.
The "Civil War" Period.
The general condition of taste during the period from
1850 to 1880 in the United States was lower than at any
time before or since. In every department of life there
was a deplorable lack of knowledge or appreciation of
the fine arts, and of opportunities for training in any of
the arts. In the industrial arts we depended wholly
upon importations from Europe. The domestic furni-
ture was heavy, dull, pretentious and ugly, predomi-
nantly of black walnut. Interior decoration consisted
455


NINETEENTH CENTURY IN AMERICA
in American art. The revelation which it made to a
million or two of Americans of the art of the Old World
created a profound impression, shaking the complacency
of the nation and arousing a popular interest, hitherto
lacking, in art as a factor in everyday life. To this
awakening a number of concurrent circumstances con-
tributed powerfully. The nation, recovering from the
disastrous panic of 1873, was entering on an era of
great prosperity, due to the opening up of the "Great
West." Travel to Europe was rapidly increasing in
volume, and returning travelers, like the Roman hosts
returning from their campaigns in Greece, were bring-
ing back objects of art from Europe and, above all,
new conceptions and ideals of artistic beauty. Three
schools of architecture had been established, at Boston,
Ithaca (N. Y.) and Urbana (111.); and by 1893 four
others, at New York, Philadelphia, Syracuse and Cam-
bridge (Mass.). The Art Museums of New York and
Boston were established during the 'seventies. Several
architects of great ability and strong personality at last
found appreciation by a public which had begun to learn
the difference between good and bad art. American
students in increasing numbers resorted to the Paris
ficole des Beaux-Arts, bringing back new standards of
planning, Construction and draftsmanship in architec-
ture and a new appreciation of painting and sculpture.
We began to attain success in domesticating various
industrial and decorative arts—in ceramics, in textiles,
in furniture, metal work, mural painting, stained glass,
etc. The first of these arts to attract attention abroad
was our silverware (Tiffany, Gorham, Whiting, etc.):
457



Figure 108. Four Capitals ry P. B. Wight for Academy of
Design, New York (demolished).


NINETEENTH CENTURY IN AMERICA
Trinity Church in Boston (1875-77), Richardson's first
important masterpiece, displayed internally the first
serious effort at systematic decoration by mural paint-
ing and stained glass, under the direction of John
LaFarge. Figs. 333, 334 and Figures 109, 110 illus-
trate characteristic
examples of Richard-
sonian ornament. Re-
flections of his influ-
ence are illustrated in
PI. XXII, 3, 8, 9.

Fio. 334.—Carvkd Detail, Harvard Uni-
versity Law School, ry Richardson.
Independent Develop-
ments.
While the style and
influence of Richard-
son's work were domi-
nant in the field of
architecture, they had
little effect on interior
decoration elsewhere than in the buildings erected
by Richardson and his followers. The awakened
taste of this period expressed itself in various in-
dependent fashions in the work of particular groups
and individuals. One group, calling themselves "The
Associated Artists," under the leadership of L. C.
Tiffany, produced interesting effects by the ingenious
use of all sorts of materials and processes, mattings,
glass rings, brass rings, hand-forged nails, stained wood,
hammered metal, painted burlap and other singular and
novel materials, besides needlework and stained glass
459


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
and mosaic. The result was a species of "Art Nouveau,"
long anticipating the French movement, and drawing
inspiration impartially from Japanese, Moorish, By-
zantine and Medieval art and the artist's inner con-
sciousness (Company rooms in Seventh Regiment
Armory; curtain of the Madison Square Theater, long
ago demolished). Much of this decoration was beauti-
ful, but its beauty depended wholly upon the taste and
ability of the associated artists, not upon any principle
of style, and the movement soon expired, like the Rich-
ardsonian, under the growing dominance of Renaissance
inspiration.
Other individualistic influences were noticeable in the
work of Caryl Coleman, which revealed a strong Japa-
nese inspiration, and in the silver work of Tiffany,
Gorham and Whiting, borrowing suggestions from East
Indian, American Indian and Nature sources, handled
with great skill. The Bryant vase of silver by Tiffany
(C. L. Tiffany, father of L. C. Tiffany, previously men-
tioned) now in the Century Club and exhibited in 1876
at Philadelphia, represents an effort to combine natural-
istic ornament based on American flowers with the
classic form of the vase itself. There was developed a
style of interior woodwork at this time which shows a
curious blending of Eastlake severity of construction
with a kind of denatured Japanesque carving. It ap-
pears singularly out-of-date and naive to modern eyes,
but it shows a sincere effort to break away from the
banality and vulgar ostentation of the preceding "black
walnut" period.
Technical skill and a new craftsmanship were de-
460


NINETEENTH CENTURY IN AMERICA
veloping under these influences. Carving, stained glass,
bronze-founding, artistic work in wrought-iron were all
carried on with increasing success. In wall-papers,
carpets, silks and brocades the native producers were
achieving a real artistic progress, though still largely
dependent on foreign-born artisans and craftsmen for
the execution of their designs.
The Neo-Classic Movement.
With Richardson's death in 1886 the vogue of his
style began to decline. Its success was largely due-to
its author's personal genius; his followers, though sev-
eral of them possessed ability, were unable to equal the
merit of his designs, especially as new currents of taste
were developing under the influences already men-
tioned. The coup-de-grdce to the style was adminis-
tered by the Columbian Exhibition of 1893 at Chicago.
In the festival architecture of this "White City" a
number of architects collaborated in producing an
ensemble of buildings in various versions of Renais-
sance or Neo-classic styles, as being best suited to a
monumentally decorative effect. The powerful influence
of the late C. F. McKim (1842-1909) and his partners;
of the late R. M. Hunt (1828-95); of the sculptor Saint
Gaudens (1848-1907), and of the young architects
trained in Paris and in the American schools, together
with an increasing public acquaintance with European,
Classic and Renaissance art, all combined to favor the
general acceptance of Renaissance types and ideas.
The superior fitness of the architectural and decorative
forms of the so-called classic and neo-classic styles for
4G1


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
modern requirements found increasing recognition,
especially for civic and monumental architecture. The
development of the decorative arts based on the tradi-
tions of the Renaissance was stimulated, after the
Chicago Exhibition, by the erection of two important
buildings in which mural decoration by distinguished
painters was made of nearly equal importance with the
architecture—the Public Library in Boston and the
Congressional Library in Washington (1895).
The development of decorative art in the United
States since the completion of those buildings in the
closing decade of the 19th century will be discussed in
another chapter.
Important contributing elements in the improvement
and decorative enrichment of architecture were, among
other things: the increasing use and high technical de-
velopment of terra-cotta; the opening up of new quar-
ries of limestone and marble of superior quality; the
increasing supply of capable craftsmen—carvers, metal-
workers, mosaic-workers, etc.; the new effects possible
in stained glass with the opalescent, mottled, and irregu-
lar-surfaced glasses available, thanks largely to the in-
ventions and processes of Mr. L. C. Tiffany and the
power and originality of the designs of John Lafarge,
the work of the brothers Lamb (all in New York), and
the progress made in decorative and monumental sculp-
ture by a group constantly increasing of native or nat-
uralized American sculptors (French, McMonies, Saint
Gaudens, Ward, Bitter, etc.) and of thoroughly trained
foreign craftsmen and a few of their American pupils.
In this connection mention should be made of Ellen and
462





NINETEENTH CENTURY IN AMERICA
Kitson in Boston, who had come over from England in
the 'sixties and were associated in the carved work in
Wight's Academy of Design in New York; and of the
decorative influence of the introduction of terra-cotta
for the embellishment of important buildings, in the old
(now demolished) Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in
1876 (PI. XXII, 1).
Books Recommended:
G. Brown: History of the United States Capital (Gov't
Printing Office, Washington, 1903).—J. W. Dow: The Ameri-
can Renaissance (Comstock, New York, 1903).—P. Graef:
Neubauten in Nordamerika (Berlin, n. d.).—F. Kimrall:
Thomas Jefferson, Architect (Privately printed, Boston,
1916).—Lamreth and Manning: Thomas Jefferson, Architect
and Designer of Landscapes (Houghton, New York, 1913).—
J. Mackson: American Architectural Interiors and Furniture
of Latter Part of 19th Century (Polley, Boston, 1900).—
Monographs of American Architecture (Amer. Architect Co.,
Boston, 1883-86).—M. Schuyler: American Architecture
(Harper's, New York, 1892).—Stevens and Corr: Examples
of American Domestic Architecture (Comstock, New York,
1889).—M. G. Van Rensselaer: H. H. Richardson and his
Works (Houghton, Boston, 1888).—F. R. Vogel: Das Amerv-
kanische Haus (Wasmuth, Berlin, 1910).
(For the decorative arts of the 19th Century in America the
reader should consult the architectural and trade periodicals.)
463


CHAPTER XV
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: EUROPE AND AMERICA
During the first fourteen years of the present century
the arts of Europe continued in the paths they were
following during the last decade of the nineteenth. In
all northern and western Europe there was a general
prevalence of the forms and styles of the Renaissance,
revived in each country generally along the lines of its
own previous national Renaissance, with a greater or
less admixture of the French influence and here and
there of naturalistic and of neo-Gothic forms. In other
words, the decorative arts were mildly eclectic, with the
Renaissance influence on the whole predominant. In
so far as historic styles were followed, they were treated
with freedom and intelligence.
The "Art Nouveau" Movement.
Along with this general current of Renaissance in-
fluence, however, there had developed, during the clos-
ing years of the 19th century, a fairly strong current of
independent design, as a protest against what was called
"the slavish imitation of the dead past," "adherence to
outworn formulae," "the blind following of tradition."
The movement appears to have started in France, but
was almost immediately taken up with enthusiasm in
Germany, Austria and Belgium, and to a much less
40t


THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
extent in Great Britain. It was called by various names
—Art Nouveau or New Art; Moderne Kunst or Mod-
ern Art; the Secession; Independent Art; and was to
a considerable extent associated with the arts-and-crafts
movement. It dealt at first only with architecture and
the industrial arts, but spread soon to painting, sculp-
ture and music, giving birth to Post-Impressionism,
Cubism and other singular recent developments of ec-
centricity and extravagance.
Starting about 1893 in Paris with the striking poster
designs of Cheret and Grasset, it made its first appear-
ance as a concerted movement in the Paris Exposition
of 1900, in furniture, jewelry, and vases, and in the
architecture of many of the exhibition buildings. These
works, widely differing in style and in merit revealed
as their common underlying motive two controlling pur-
poses: (a) the avoidance or ignoring of all historic styles
and traditional forms, and (b) the expression of per-
sonality. Thus the movement was characterized by "the
negative strength of protest rather than the affirmative
strength of a vital principle. Its lack of cohesion is seen
in the division of its adherents into groups, some looking
to Nature for inspiration, while others decry this as a
mistaken quest; some seeking to emphasize structural
lines and others to ignore them altogether." "The re-
sults ... as a rule have been most successful in small
objects; jewelry, silverware, vases and small furniture.
... In the field of the larger objects of design, in which
the dominance of traditional form and of structural
considerations is proportionally more imperious, the
struggle to evade these restrictions becomes more diffi-
465


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
cult, and results in more obvious and disagreeable ec-
centricities, which the greater size and permanence of
the object tend further to exaggerate." 1 The more
extreme manifestations of this movement in architecture
and interior decoration are equally destitute of grace
and propriety. They demonstrate the importance of
tradition and of structural fitness as restraints upon
unregulated fancy or
"originality," the ab-
sence of these restraints
being responsible for
most of the absurdities
of these designs.
On the other hand, the
beauty of many of the
results in jewelry, ce-
ramics and the minor
arts, in which con-
struction and tradition
Fio. 335.—Lady's Jeweled Comr ry „
Lauque. are ot less importance,
has been as notable as
its general failure in architecture. The jewelry of
Lalique (Fig. 335), the vases and lamps of Jean
Dampt and of the Belgian Meunier, the posters and
sculptural decorations of Cheret, the stained glass and
ironwork of the Belgians (e.g. of Victor Horta, Fig.
336), and innumerable typographical and textile deco-
rations by German, French and other designers, have
proved how possible it is to break away from tradi-
1 Quoted from my "History of Architecture," pp. 391-392, ed. 1915 (Long-
mans, and Green, New York).

166


THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
tion in these fields of design and still produce beautiful
effects of line and form (PI . XX). Particularly notice-
able is the frequent recurrence of what may be called
the "whiplash" line (Fig.
336), not only in flat
linear patterns but also
in the lines of draperies
and sinuously posed fe-
male figures in jewelry,
lamps, vases, etc.
In architecture, more-
over, there have been ex-
ceptions to the general
eccentricity and extrava-
gance of the movement.
Its most distinguished ex-
ponent in Austria, the
late Otto Wagner, pro-
fessor in the former Im-
perial School of Art at
Vienna (d. 1916), pro-
duced a number of build-
ings in which distinction
of general form and pro-
portion were maintained
and all mere eccentricity
was carefully avoided.
The detail, though sometimes eccentric, is in his work
generally reasonable and elegant (PI. XX, 1, 4).
Most of the Paris exhibition buildings in 1900 were
anti-traditional in composition rather than in decora-

Fio. 336.—Window ry V. Horta,
Brussels.
467


THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
which was also a movement of protest against classic
tradition, it is interesting to observe how largely both
movements expressed themselves in sinuous lines, in
waving and contrasted curves, and in efforts to avoid
straight lines, right angles, and rigidly structural forms.2
Eclecticism in Europe.
The influence of the Art Nouveau movement was not
strong enougn to change the entire course of the arts.
Alongside of its most conspicuous monuments of archi-
tecture and monumental decoration others were being
produced at the same time based upon the historic styles.
It is difficult if not impossible to improve upon the forms
which centuries of human effort evolved for the solution
of problems identical with many which the designer has
to solve to-day. They serve the purposes of the modern
designer so well that there can be no reason for reject-
ing them except the desire for novelty. That desire
must to a certain extent animate every creative mind;
it is the spring and source of every advance that has
been made in art. In the historic past, however, it has
manifested itself not in wholesale rejection and absolute
new-creation, but in gradual and almost insensible modi-
fications of detail. New and expressive styles have
grown up out of the accumulations of these minute
changes, building always upon the established and fa-
miliar tradition. Violent innovations and purely per-
* In this estimate and review of the Art Nouveau movement, written in
1921, I find I have had to make no substantial change from that which I
published nineteen years earlier in the "Craftsman" of December, 1902,
in an article to which I refer the reader for a more detailed account of
the early phases of the movement than the limits of this work will allow.
It was published by the Stickley Co. in New York.
469


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
imitation which avoids servile copying, do not make for
that progress in creative design which is essential to
vital art. The designers of the second class are those
who draw suggestion and inspiration from historic
models, but adapt and modify more or less freely what
they borrow from the past. They value fitness to
function, rational use of materials and intrinsic beauty
of form above conformity to historic models. Poor de-
signers, then, adapt and modify badly, but the true
artist adapts and modifies wisely and well, and thereby
infuses into his work something of himself. This is the
truer path of progress, alike in architecture and in the
minor arts. It cannot be too often repeated, it cannot be
too strongly urged upon the student and the profes-
sional designer alike, that the merit of his work depends
far less upon the style chosen or the historic elements
he uses, than upon the way he uses them. No teaching
of styles in the schools, and no recourse to Nature her-
self, will produce a good design, unless the designer be
an artist and work into his design the artistic quality
which comes from his own taste and imagination. The
technical training can only lay the foundation upon
which he must raise his own edifice of art.
The beauty of the products of European studios,
ateliers and factories, and their superiority, as a whole,
to the corresponding American products as a whole,
have been due to the more general recognition of these
principles in Europe. Tradition, training, a wise eclec-
ticism and the higher general level of artistic taste in
Europe and especially in France, account for the ex-
cellence and artistic charm of so many of the products
472


THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
of both the fine and the industrial arts which come from
the other side of the Atlantic.
Eclecticism in the United States.
It is only natural that twentieth-century decorative
art in the United States should be eclectic. Having no
age-long traditions of our own in a land in which the
decorative arts are but little over two centuries old at
the furthest, and with no environment of ancient monu-
ments and works of art to influence our design, we have
been peculiarly open to divers influences and sugges-
tions from foreign lands; as well to those that are sup-
plied by books and photographs as to those derived from
imported products of the various arts, or from travel
abroad. There is no particular reason, in the nature of
things, why the American designer should follow one
style rather than another. None of them except the
Colonial and Georgian has any special historic associa-
tion with American life and culture, and the Georgian
suggestions and precedents have little to offer in the
decorative arts outside of architecture and furniture.
American Indian art is a primitive and undeveloped art
of very limited range and is, after all, as foreign to our
culture—which is European in origin and type—as
Mohammedan or Chinese art. Yet even Indian art
may supply valuable suggestions for certain classes of
design, especially in beadwork, blankets and basketry,
and to some extent our designers have made use of these
suggestions. It is the nearest approach to a genuine
American "peasant" art.
In all the arts, architectural and industrial, the
473


THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
widely known, were creating designs of a thoroughly
personal and individual aspect (Figs. 339, 340; PI.
XXIII, 1, 2, 4, 9).
During the twenty-two years since 1900 this eclectic
freedom has taken on certain definite trends, both in

Fio. 340.—Upper Part of Schiller Building, Chicago.
architecture and the accessory and industrial arts. In
architecture the trend is toward the medieval styles for
ecclesiastical and collegiate buildings; and toward the
Renaissance styles for civic and commercial buildings.
In domestic architecture there is the greatest possible
475


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
variety, according to location, materials and personal
taste, but even here we note an increasing prevalence
of Georgian types. In each of these general trends
there are divided currents. Many Roman Catholic
churches are in an Italo-Lombard or Basilican style;
a strong Greco-Roman trend is observable in the more
monumental sort of buildings such as museums, banks
and libraries. In "sky-scrapers" all sorts of historic de-
tails may be seen; here eclecticism is freest in the effort
to find an appropriate dress in which to clothe the skele-
ton of steel. Thus in New York the West Street and
Woolworth buildings are dressed in Gothic details; the
Metropolitan Tower and Municipal Building have been
given an Italian Renaissance dress; others wear a plain
business dress, as it were, with a minimum of decoration
of Renaissance type. Of late there have been many
successful applications of Spanish Plateresque and
Churrigueresque models, closely followed as in the Cali-
fornia Building by Goodhue in the San Diego Exhibi-
tion (PI. XXIII, 13); or freely adapted, as in the
Catholic church at Fall River by R. A. Cram (Fig.
341). But these "styles" relate only to the apparel of
decorative detail. Underlying this is the fundamental
style of the building, due to its form, proportions, con-
struction and planning, which could not by any means
be mistaken for medieval or Italian, Greek, Roman or
French: and this underlying style is purely American.
In all these modern American applications of the
historic styles to modern purposes there is evidence of
a freedom of handling, an intelligence of adaptation,
which are far removed from the slavish copying and the
476


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
affectation of archaeological correctness of the revivals
of the last century. Many of the works produced under
this eclecticism are works of true originality. The
historic-style details have served merely as an alphabet
with which to express new ideas, new conceptions in a
new language. PI. XXIII gives illustrations of inter-
esting "historic" details from recent buildings.
Minor Arts.
In the minor arts the choice of form and detail is far
wider than in architecture. Oriental art, both from the
Near East, in rugs and embroideries, and from the Far
East, in fabrics, ceramics and bronzes, has supplied
abundant suggestions to our designers (PI. XXI).
The beginnings of the Oriental influence may be traced
back to the Centennial at Philadelphia. The multipli-
cation of art museums in which not merely the major
arts are represented but also the industrial and minor
arts, has placed before our designers during this century
a wealth of suggestion and resource previously un-
imagined. Commercial manufacturers as well as indi-
vidual designers and craftsmen are more and more turn-
ing to these splendid collections of art from the Old
World for suggestion and inspiration.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, has
for some time maintained an organized system for the
encouragement of artisans and designers in the indus-
trial arts in making use of the collections in the Museum
for suggestions of decorative design, and annual exhibi-
tions of their work and of the objects from which their
designs have been drawn have proved the value of this
478


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
Italian iron-workers of the Renaissance (Figure
111, 1).
Arts-and-crafts societies of various sorts are stimulat-
ing the production of personally designed and executed
work in jewelry, metal-work, book-binding and ceramics,
and by these prizes and exhibitions are slowly educat-
ing the taste of the public to appre-
ciate^—and pay for—such personally
designed and individual products.
Textile schools, silversmiths' schools
and general schools of decorative de-
sign or "applied art" are beginning
to accomplish what the French,
English and other European institu-
tions have long since accomplished in
the training both of designers and
craftsmen. The improvement in
taste and artistic capacity reacts on
all the machine-industries, so that
carpets, rugs, silks and brocades,
X" 1U, iTTT. 1/LV.UBA-
tive Initial. silverware, laces and ceramics, pro-
duced in quantities by machine proc-
esses, are to-day of an artistic quality impossible of
attainment twenty or even ten years ago. Figure 111
illustrates American metal-work of the last thirty years
(except No. 4, which dates from about 1850), showing
both free designs and designs based on the historic
styles. Figs. 342, 343, 344 show typographic orna-
ments taken from current periodicals.
But the American taste, though eclectic, is conserva-
tive; novel and singular designs are looked upon with

480





THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
doubtful favor; our people still prefer the styles they
are accustomed to, and changes to new artistic ideals
are only effected gradually.
Furniture.
By far the greater part of the furniture now made
in the United States is manufactured in great factories,
widely scattered over the country, with an especially
important group at Grand Rapids, Mich. While the
cheaper products of this system of manufacture possess
no artistic merit whatever, many of these establishments
have turned their attention to the making of fine furni-
ture after historic models in various styles, employing
highly paid craftsmen, chiefly foreign or foreign-
trained, upon the finer details. The enormous impor-
tations of old Italian, Flemish and French furniture of
the 16th-18th centuries to adorn the homes of rich
amateurs and collectors, the fine collections in many
museums, and the growing fashion, fad or craze for
"period" rooms, have combined to stimulate the system-
atic commercial reproduction of fine furniture-models
of these centuries and styles, including our own Colonial
models. While there has been a certain amount of
counterfeiting of "antique" pieces by unscrupulous
craftsmen, the great and better-known establishments
are not concerned in such frauds. And while there is
more or less direct copying or reproduction of "antique"
or historic pieces, advertised and sold as copies, there is
also an increasing output of original designs in the his-
toric styles. The best productions of this kind are of
high quality, alike of design, construction and execu-
481


THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Textile Design.
Much the same phenomena are observable in the field
of artistic textiles. The great factories of the United
States produce carpets and rugs in all the Oriental
styles; brocades and velvets reproducing the richest
patterns of Renaissance Italy and France, printed

Fig. 346.—American Drapery, Fio. 347.—Detail from an Ameri-
Canterrury Pattern. can Ingrain Rug.
cretonnes, chintzes and hangings of all styles, and ma-
chine tapestries and laces often of excellent design for
interior decoration (Figs. 346-348; PI. XXI, 1, 5, 7, 9,
12, 14). Not all the factory products, however, are
copies or imitations of historic patterns, and there are a
number of establishments for the weaving by hand of
tapjstries designed by distinguished artists. The schools
of decorative art, including schools of design maintained
by the manufacturers themselves, have begun to provide
483


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
American designers of ability, many of whom take their
suggestions from Nature, others from the work of the
American Indians, others again from the historic styles,

Lisa -«* «-a*<c^^7-3:5»^v^.&!1
Fio. 348.—Curtain of Machine Net.
adapting, varying and combining them often in wholly
new forms and combinations.
"Independent" Design in the United States.
From time to time individuals of pronounced origi-
nality and independence of imagination have appeared
in the United States who have achieved success in the
decorative arts while disregarding and even scorning the
traditions of the historic styles, or handling their details
with complete indifference to the way in which they are
used in those styles. Mr. H. H. Richardson was such
a man, although he founded his very personal style on
a basis of the Romanesque of southern France and
Spain. Mr. L. C. Tiffany, with his new kinds of stained
484


THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
glass and new effects therewith, and later with his
"favrile" glass in vases and other vessels; he and the
"Associated Artists" in the 'eighties of the last century,
already mentioned on p. 459; the late Stanford White,
in various fields of decorative art; and at the time of the
Chicago Exhibition and since, the gifted Louis H. Sul-
livan, the most prolific and most original of all Ameri-
can architectural ornamentists, who next to Richardson
has come nearest to creating a new decorative style, all
exhibit this tendency toward a free personal expression
in decoration. Mr. Sullivan excels in surface-orna-
mentation with intricately patterned designs of great
beauty, having a certain affinity of character with
Moorish wall-patterning, but far more varied, and,
unlike Moorish examples, making free use of conven-
tionalized foliage. This decoration is associated with a
style of architectural composition equally original and
striking, but not always equally commendable for
beauty (Auditorium Building, Chicago, 1892; Trans-
portation Building, Chicago, 1893; Guaranty Building,
Buffalo; banks at Ottumwa, Ia.; and many others; Figs.
339, 340, 349). He has had a few imitators, but none
possessed of his peculiar gift of decorative fancy and
his sure taste.
These original and independent productions consti-
tute the American "Art Nouveau," anticipating the
European movement and having no connection with it,
though identical in spirit and purpose. The priority of
the American movement has been acknowledged by
French critics, who, as early as 1893, called attention to
the work not only of Mr. Sullivan at Chicago, but also
485


THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
lacking in this country, which was in the closing quarter
of the last century only beginning to emerge from a
state of artistic ignorance and anarchy due to the lack of
traditions and historic background in art. Established
traditions were precisely what American art most
needed as a foundation upon which to build any healthy
progress. Hence the multiplication of museums and
schools of art, to meet a need consciously or uncon-
sciously felt to an increasing degree. The present
dominance of the neo-classic taste in public architecture,
the revival of the long-forgotten "Colonial" tradition,
and at the same time the new vogue of the Gothic for
ecclesiastical and educational buildings, are beginning
to provide this foundation. Meanwhile the incurable
eclecticism of American taste and the freedom with
which our designers handle traditional forms and his-
toric styles, may be relied on to prevent the hardening
of any one tradition into a formula of artistic enslave-
ment.
Peasant Art.
The name of "Peasant Art" or "Bauernkunst," used
to designate the industrial art of the peasantry of Ger-
manic, Scandinavian, Balkan and other countries, covers
a great variety of products of considerable artistic merit
and interest. The furniture, embroideries, local pot-
tery, rugs and blankets of communities as yet uninvaded
by modern factories, and only slightly or not at all
touched by the artificialities of civilization, preserve the
traditions of old-time design unchanged. In these re-
gions the old handicrafts survive, producing individual
487


A HISTORY OF ORNAMENT
objects almost always quaint, sometimes of great beauty,
full of the charm of the human touch in traditional pat-
terns and forms, in naive interpretations of floral
motives, and in bright colors. Such are the simple,
vigorous tables and chairs in old German and Swiss
cottages, hand-made in patterns hardly altered since
Luther's time. Such are the embroidered "towels" of
Macedonia and Bulgaria, the richly colored peasant-

Fig. 350.—Peasant Ornament: Chest from Bethlehem, Pa.
embroideries of Greece, Hungary and Jugo-Slavia, the
peasant pottery of Brittany, of Perugia, of the Bos-
phorus, the painted wares and woodwork of Central
Europe, including Poland, and much of the Russian
brasswork sold in our cities. Indian beadwork, Navaho
blankets and the native pottery and basketwork of our
Southwest, belong to this class rather than to "savage"
art. Figs. 350, 351, 352 illustrate only a few examples
of this sort of art, to which not merely one but many
volumes might be devoted. It tends to disappear
before the leveling influence of railways and commerce;
488





THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
filled the world with such a stupendous wealth of beauti-
ful things. Our inheritance from these centuries is
marvelous in its amount and in the stored-up riches of
esthetic enjoyment, it provides for all who have eyes to
see and minds to appreciate. The author confesses to
a feeling of personal gratitude to the thousands upon
thousands, mostly humble and unremembered by name,
who by their labors have provided for us this feast of
beautiful things: to architects and painters, sculptors
and carvers, inlayers and goldsmiths, weavers and lace-
makers and needle-workers and hammerers of iron and
casters of bronze, and "hands"—really human souls—
tending whirring machines and rattling looms, and
peasants in remote cottages. The world's treasure of
beautiful things is piling up year by year; each genera-
tion is richer than the last. And finally the conviction,
which the reader may or may not share, has grown upon
the author that despite all wanderings along mistaken
paths at times, the decorators and ornamentists of every
age have sought after beauty and loveliness, which is a
noble quest; and that in spite of all our criticisms and
intolerances, every age has bequeathed to us its own
contribution which we should be loth to throw away,
and for which we should be duly thankful.
Books Recommended:
American Architect: American Country Houses of Today
(Amer. Architect Co., New York, 1917).—J. Grerer: UArchi-
tecture aux £tats-Unis (Payet, Paris, 1920).—C. Holme:
Peasant Art in Sweden, Lapland and Iceland (Studio, New-
York, 1910) ; Peasant Art in Italy (Studio, New York, 1913);
other volumes on Peasant Art in various countries, published
491


LIST OF PLATES
PLATB
I. Italian Renaissance Architectural Detail.
II. Italian Renaissance Painted Decoration.
III. Italian Renaissance Woodwork.
IV. Italian Renaissance Metalwork.
V. Italian Renaissance Textiles, Ceramics, etc.
VI. Italian Baroque Architectural Ornament.
VII. French Renaissance Ornament, Francis I-Henry III.
VIII. French Renaissance Ornament, Louis XIV Style,
IX. French Renaissance Ornament, Louis XVI and Empire Styles.
X. French Renaissance Ornament in Color.
XI. Spanish Renaissance Furniture and Minor Arts.
XII. Flemish and Dutch Renaissance Ornament.
XIII. German Renaissance Ornament.
XIV. English Renaissance Ornament.
XV. Spanish-American Ornament.
XVI. American Colonial Architectural Ornament.
XVII. American Colonial Ornament: Furniture, etc.
XVIII. French Architectural Ornament, 19th Century.
XIX. English Ornament, 19th and 20th Centuries.
XX. European "Art Nouveau" Ornament.
XXI. English and American Color Ornament, 20th Century.
XXII. American Architectural Ornament, 19th Century.
XXIII. American Architectural Ornament, 19th and 20th Centuries.


I. Italian Renaissance Architectural Detail
1. Doric Order, Santa Caterina, Sienna.
2. Order of the Piccolomini Altar, Sienna Cathedral.
8. Upper Order of Pilasters, Facade of Cancelleria Palace,
Rome.
4. From Contarini Palace, Venice.
5. Detail, Court of Farnese Palace, Rome.
6. Detail, Court of Borghese Palace, Rome.
7. "Colossal" Order, Palazzo Valmarano, Vicenza.
8. Rustication, Pompei Palace, Verona.
9. Rustication, City Gate, Verona.
10. Cornice, Palazzo Pretorio, Cortona.
11. Cornice, Palazzo Larderel, Florence.
Illustrations 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 11 are from drawings by the author;
-I, 5, 6, 8, 9 are taken from drawings by Columbia students,
derived from various sources.


Plate I Italian Rbws&am&akmkiu*

Italian Early Renaissance flraweaural Delails-


II. Italian Renaissance Painted Decoration
I, 2,3,4. Various Details from Decorations of Loggie of the
Palace of the Vatican, by Raphael, Giovanni da Udine,
and Giulio Romano (Second-tier Arcade of Court of
San Damaso).
5, 6, 7. Various Details from Rooms in the Vatican Palace, Rome.
8. Painted Ornament from Palazzo del Te, Mantua, by Giulio
Romano.
9, 10. Details from Loggie of the Vatican.
II, 13. From Palazzo del Te and Ducal Palace, Mantua.
12, 14, 15, 16. From Loggie of the Vatican.
17- Ceiling in Ducal Palace, Mantua.
Most of the above illustrations are taken directly from Owen
Jones, "Grammar of Ornament." Numbers 1, 4, 17, and two or
three others are from drawings by W. Virick and R. S. Buck
Columbia students.


III. Italian Renaissance Woodwork
1. Stalls in Santa Maria Novella, Florence.
2. Stalls in the Certosa, Pavia.
3. Detail from Stall in Sta. Maria Novella, Florence.
4. Unidentified Panel of Florentine Intarsia.
5. Carved Panel from Palazzo del Commune, Pistoia.
6. Carved Panel, Early 16th Century.
7. From Stalls in St. Mark's, Venice.
8. Panel from Desk in San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice.
9. Pedestal from Genoa.1
10. Back and Seat of a Florentine Chair.
11. Florentine Cassone or Marriage-Chest, 1550-60.
12. Stalls in S. Maria Maggiore, Rome.
Illustrations 1, 2, 7, 10 are taken directly from The Workshop,
a periodical printed in New York, 1875-77. Numbers 3, 6, 9 are
from drawings by the author copied from or based upon illustra-
tions in Meyer's "Handbook of Ornament." Numbers 5, 11, 12
are author's drawings from photographs.
■The pedestal, Number 9. is almost if not quite identical with one shown
in some publications as that of a group by Germain (Pilon), the French
Kith century sculptor. Whether this is an incorrect attribution, or whether
Germain Pilon had seen and copied a pedestal in Genoa, or whether, on the
other hand, a pedestal from Genoa has been used to mount the Pilon group,
the author has so far been unable to ascertain.





IV. Italian Renaissance Metalwork
1. Mast-Base by A. Leopardi, Piazza San Marco, Venice.
2. Silver Chalice in Uffizi Palace, Florence.
3. Bronze Candlestick, 17th Century, Rome.
4. Iron Lantern, Strozzi Palace, Florence.
5. Iron Window-Grille.
6. Iron Window-Guard.
7. Chapel Screen in Lucca Cathedral.
8. Detail of Key.
9. Bronze Vase-Handle in South Kensington Museum.
10. Bronze Door-Knocker from Fcrrara.
11. Iron Gate, 16th Century, from Frascati.
12. Detail of a Florentine Key.
13. A Roman Key.
14. Bronze Door-Knocker in South Kensington Museum.
Illustrations 1, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13 are redrawn by author after
examples in Meyer's "Handbook of Ornament." Numbers 2, 3, 7
are taken directly from The Workshop (see notes to Plate III).
Numbers 5, 11, 14 are from author's drawings from photographs.


Plate IV Italian REMAi^AWCE/fat?^.


V. Italian Renaissance Textiles, Ceramics, Etc.
1. Florentine Fabric, 15th Century.
2. Venetian Velvet, Late 16th Century.
3. Italo-Spanish Tile, 16th or 17th Century.
4. Venetian Brocade, after Painting by Marziales in National
Gallery, London.
5. Genoese or Venetian Velvet. 15th Century in South Ken-
sington Museum, London.
6. Pattern from Madonna's Dress in Painting by Crivelli,
1496, in National Gallery, London.
7,8. Italian 16th Century Initials.
9. Italian Tile, 16th Century, perhaps by Serlio.
10. Typographic Border, Venetian, 1477.
11,12,13,14,15. Majolica Details from Faenza, Gubbio, etc.,
Examples in South Kensington Museum.
16,18,19,20. Florentine Manuscript Illuminations by Attavante
and others.
17,21,23. Details from "Book of Hours of Aragon." By a
Florentine Artist.
22. Tapestry-Border by Giulio Romano (Woven in France).
Illustrations 1, 6 are from drawings by author after examples
in J. B. Waring, Sidney Vacher, and Kelekian (see bibliographies).
.Numbers 7, 8 and 10 are taken direct from a circular advertising
"L'Arte della Stampa" by Ongania (Venice); 11-15 are taken
direct from Owen Jones, "Grammar of Ornament." All the rest
are taken direct from Racinet, "L'ornement polychrome."





VII. French Renaissance Oknament, Francis I—
Henry IV
1. Panel, Wainscot of Gallery of Francis I, Fontainebleau.
2. A Francis I Dormer.
S. Pilaster, Tomb of Louis XII at St. Denis.
4. Detail of Wainscot in Church of St. Vincent, Rouen.
5. A Francis I Capital.
6. A Henri II Gaine from Hotel Lasbordes, Toulouse.
7, 8. Two Henri II Gaines from Hotel Lasbordes, Toulouse.
9. Henri II Keyhole Plate, Hotel d'Assezat, Toulouse.
10. Pier and Gaine, Hotel d'Assezat, Toulouse.
11. Baluster-Parapet, Francis I, Church of St. Eustache, Paris.
12. Detail from Grande Galerie, Henri IV, Louvre, Paris.
IS. Henri II Door-Panel from Chateau d'Anet.
14. Chapel Ceiling, Chateau of Chenonceaux.
15. Window Detail, Francis I Wing, Chateau of Blois.
16. Henri III Dormer, Hotel de Sully, Paris.
17. Henri II Door-Panel, Church at Chalons-sur-Marne.
Illustrations 1 and 3 are from drawings by author from photo-
graphs. Numbers 2, 4, 6 and 14 are redrawn from examples in
Rouyer et Darcel, "L'art architectural en France." Number 5
is by a student, A. Hauser; 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 are drawn from exam-
ples in C. Daly, "Motifo historiques d'architecture et de sculp-
ture"; 11 is taken directly from Raguenet, "Materiaux et docu-
ments d'architecture"; 18 is redrawn from Pfnor. "Le Chateau
d'Anet"; and 15 is from a drawing by W. T. Partridge en "The
American Architect."








IX. French Renaissance Ornament, Louis XVI
and Empire Styles
1. Stucco Panel, Louis XVI, from Interior of a House in Aix.
2. Two Louis XVI Screen-Panels.
3. Louis XVI Wall-Hanging with Chinoiseries.
4. Louis XVI Desk.
5. Empire Cheval-Glass.
6. Louis XVI Clock.
7- Empire Interior Decoration, Fontainebleau.
8,11. Details from Empire Credence in Metropolitan Museum,
New York.
9. Silk Fabric by P. La Salle.
10. Louis XVI Picture-Frame.
12. Empire Clock.
13. Louis XVI Chandelier.
14. Louis XVI or Empire Clock.
15. Typical Louis XVI Ribbon Decoration.
All the above illustrations are reproduced by permission from
illustrations in the Good Furniture magazine, except Numbers 1
and 10, from Detailleur, "Documents de decoration, XVIIIe
siecle" (Calavas, Paris); and Number 2 from a Wanamaker
advertisement.


PLATE IX. FRENCH RENAISSANCE ©RNAMEETT WW-fapn*








XIII. German Renaissance Ornament
1. Painted Door, St. Mary Magdalen, Breslau.
2, 4. Door-Panels, Castle of Hollenegg.
3. Doorway of Schlosshof at Tubingen.
5. Painted Door St. Mary Magdalen, Breslau.
6. Applique Ornament, Hofburg, Prague.
7. Sculptured Mounting for Portrait, Ehrenhausen Castle,
Mausden.
8. Panel from Sekkau.
9. Cupboard-Front, Prague.
10. Finial of Fountain, Ettlingen.
11. German Metal Door-Knob.
12. Wall-Decoration, St. Michael's, Munich.
13. Developed Patterns from Columns in Market Church,
Goslar.
14. Wall-Decoration from Church at Comburg.
All the above illustrations except 12 and 13 are reproduced from
"Deutsche Renaissance und Borockstil," by A. Ortwein and
others. Numbers 12 and 13 are from The Workshop.





XIV. English Renaissance Ornament
1. Fountain in Quadrangle of Trinity College, Cambridge.
2. Pedestal by William Kent, 1735.
3. Fireplace in Ruins of Donegal Castle, Ireland, 1610.
4. Three Chairs, Late 18th Century.
5. English Varguefio or Table-Cabinet.
6. Chippendale "French" Mirror, from Collection of R. A.
Canfield, New York.
7, 8. Wedgewood Vases.
9. Carved Chair by William Kent.
All the above illustrations except Numbers 1 and 3 are repro-
duced by permission from Good Furniture. Number 1 from
"Minor Fountains" and Number 3 from "Odds and Ends, Fire-
places," published by the American Architect Company, New York,
are reproduced by permission of the publishers.





XVII. American "Colonial" Ornament,
Furniture, Etc.
1. Top of Highboy by William Savery of Philadelphia,
1760-75.
2. Carved Shell-Panel, Detail of Number 3.
3. Highboy by William Savery, Chippendale Influence.
4. Desk from Connecticut, 1790.
5. Fireback from New York, 1767.
6. New England Braided Rug.
7. Drawing-Room of Langdon House, Portsmouth, New
Hampshire.
All above illustrations are reproduced by permission from Good
Furniture.


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XXI. English and American Color Ornament,
20th Century
1. Rug or Hanging, Orinoka Mills, New York.
2. Wall-Paper by Walter Crane, London.
3. Stained Glass by Church Decorating Company, New York.
4. Wall-Hanging by Walter Crane.
5. Rug or Hanging by Orinoka Mills.
6. Wall-Paper by Walter Crane.
7. American Rug, Persian Styles.
8. Cloisonne Candlestick by von Lossberg.
9. American Persian Rug.
10. Stained Glass Windows in Studio of Bolton and Francis C.
Jones, New York.
11. Cloisonne Candlestick by von Lossberg.
12. American Silk Brocade, Cheney Brothers Company.
13. Chair-Back by Stroheim and Romann, New York.
14. American Rug, Chinese Style.
15. American Low Cabinet, Eclectic Design.
Illustrations 1, 3, 5, 12, 13 and 15 are reproduced from adver-
tisements in Good Furniture, and Numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11 from
illustrated articles in the same magazine. Numbers 7, 9 and 14
are reproduced from advertising circulars of Bigelow Carpet
Company, Hartford, Connecticut.


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15'American wwGiDtncl EclectteDesLgrv.


XXII. American Architectural Ornament,
19th Century
1. Part of Old Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1876 (demol-
ished).
2. Old Academy of Design, New York, 1865 (demolished).
3. Detail, Business Building, Boston, 1885, Richardsonian
Style.
4. Window Head, New York, 1851.
5. Keystone, City Hall, Philadelphia, 1875.
6. Panel, City Hall, Philadelphia, 1875.
7. Entrance, Detroit Business College.
8. Richardsonian Dormer by Schweinfurth, Cleveland, Ohio.
9,10. Details from Madison Square Garden, New York, 1890.
11. Cornice, Business Building, Boston.
12. Door of House in New York.
Illustrations 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 12 are from photographs, some of
which have appeared in the American Architect. Number 4 is
from an illustration in Stone (trade magazine, by permission).
Numbers 5 and 7 are from a Monograph published in 1875. Num-
bers 6 and 8 are from the Architectural Record, by permission.


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INDEX





INDEX
Brescia, Miracoli church 40, 41, 63,
(6)
Brick and stone: Colonial 401;
French 211, (162, 227)
Brieg, Piastenschloss 336, 337
Briosco, Andrea (archt.) 43, 44,
93
Briosco, Benedetto di (archt.) 39
Brosse, Salomon de (archt.) 226
Bruges, town-hall, 306
Brunelleschi, Filippo (archt.) 28,
36, 37, 48, 118
Bruni, Bruno, tomb in Sta. Croce
53, (22)
Brussels: laces 316, (230); tapes-
tries 313
Bryant vase 460
Biickeburg, Schloss: Golden Hall
ceiling 339; door 333, (81)
Budapest, Parliament House 436
Bullant, Jean (archt.) 198
Buon, Bartolomeo (Bergamasco)
(archt.) 43
Burghley House 359
Burgos: Casa Miranda, capitals 299;
cathedral, Capilla de los Reyes
Nuevos portal 278; cathedral
Porta Pellejeria 278; stairway
282
Burns, Robert, monument to 426
Burslem potteries 382, 384
C
Cabinets, armoires, commodes:
French 218, 219, 220, 237, 239,
(168, 175, 188, 194); Italian 140,
176, 177
Caen, H6tel d'ficoville 188
Caetano Acosta (archt.) 291, 293
Caffieri, the (cbms.) 237, 255, (188)
California Mission Style 294
California State Building, San
Diego 294, 476
Cambridge (Eng.): King's College
Chapel stalls 355; Trinity College
Hall 364; chapel, library 370
Cambridge (Mass.) Vassall-Craigie-
Longfellow House (304)
Camera della Segnatura in Vatican,
Rome 31, 133, 138
Campidoglio, palaces on 160
Candelabrum forms 57, 58, (2, 33)
Candelabrum shafts 2, 17, 42, 86,
121, 192, 276, 277, (146, 203)
Cano, Alonso (archt.) 289
Cantilever bracket 49, (21)
Cantorie (music-balconies) 37, 94,
(4)
Capitals 49, (23, 25); Composite 53;
Corinthianesque 50; Spanish 278,
279, (204, 205)
Capitol at Washington 451
Caprarola Villa or Palace, ceiling
(28); court arcade 134; gafne 168,
(105 c); pilasters 163, (121)
Cardinals of Amboise, tomb of at
Rouen 185, 186, 188, (47)
Carlo Maderna (archt.) 32, 132, 156,
339
Carlone, Michele (archt.) 274
Cartouches 141, 166, 167, 199; (123,
124, 126)
Carvings, Wren's Style, London
(278-279)
Cary House, Batavia (N. Y.), door-
way order (311)
Caryatides, Tribune of the, Louvre
208
Casa Caracci, Bologna, window
(17)
Casa de las Conchas, Salamanca 281
Cnsa de Monterey, Salamanca (201)
Casa de Zaporta, Saragossa 277
(203)
Caserta Pal. 173, 174
Cassoni (marriage coffers) 100, 101,
(3)
Cathedral of Beauvais, doors 187;
Burgos (see Burgos); Como, East
end 41; windows 88; Cortona, ceil-
ing (63); Cuenca, sacristy doors
274, 278; Florence (Duomo) 35,
36, 37, 134, (15); Granada 279,
285, 286, 289, 293, 295; Jaen 279,
498


INDEX
286, 287, (70); I-e Mans, tomb in
183; Limoges, choir-screen 187;
Nantes, tomb of Francis II of
Brittany 184 (140); Rouen, tomb
of Cardinals of Amboise 185 (47);
Salamanca ("New" cathedral)
towers 292; Sienna 14, 95, 99, 138
(75); St. Patrick (N. Y.) 455;
St. Paul's (London) 370; Toledo
278, 283; Tours, tomb of children
of Charles VIII 184, (139); Val-
ladolid 272
Caurree, Isabeau (tap.) 312
Ceilings: Caprarola 134, (28);
Coved 131, 132; Doge's Pal.,
early Ren'ce 82, 86, (61-64, 20,
21); English 360-363, 371, 372,
373, 374, (269-271, 281, 282, 284,
89); in Farnese Palace, Rome,
96; French 194, 195, 213, (171,
187); German 338, (83); Middle
Ren'ce 129-134, (96, 98, 18, 19,
28); painted 126, 134, (21, 28);
Pitti Pal. 132 (44); Sienna Li-
brary 132; Sistine Chapel 126,
127; Spanish 282, 283, (208, 71);
Vaulted 132-134
Cellini, Benvenuto (scp.) 114, 143,
187
Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia
456, 457, 478
Ceramics: Baroque Italian (137);
Dutch 322, 324, (237, 238); Early
Ren'ce Italian 145-147, (109, 7, 9,
10); English 382-385, (295-298);
French 264-268, (498, 67); Ger-
man 347-350, (258-260); Middle
Ren'ce Italian 145-150, (109-112)
Certosa, Granada 293
Certosa, Pavia 39, 40, 41, 86, 88, 93,
(127, 5)
Chairs: early 101; English 378-
380, (291-293); French 197, 239,
240, 262, (150, 176, 195); German
(262)
Chfilons-sur-Maroe, doorway 201
Chambers, Sir William (archt.) 379,
380
Chambord, chateau 188, 194, 199,
282
Chapel: Sistine (see Sistine Chapel);
of St. Lazare, Marseilles 183; of
Rue 195; of Tillieres 187, 195
Chapu (scp.) 430
Charles of Anjou 183
Charles VIII 180; tomb of children
of 184, (139)
Charlottesville, Va., University Li-
brary 423, 450
Chasuble, Italian (114)
Chateau of Amboise 180; Ancy-Ie-
Franc 199; Anet 199, 208, (152);
Azay-le-Rideau 187; Beaumesnil
212; Blois 181; east wing 184,
194; fireplaces 195, 282 (49 c);
Chambord 188, 194, 199, 282;
Ch£verny, wainscot, bahut (153);
fecouen 198; Fontainebleau 181,
202, 214, 216; Gallery Francis I
187, 189 (148, 149); Gaillon 184,
185; Madrid 187, 264; Pagny,
carved detail (147)
CMret (scp., dec.) 465, 466
CheVerny, wainscot, bahut (153)
Chevalier, fttienne (cbm.) 183
Chicago: Auditorium B'ld'g 485;
Columbian Exhibition 461, 462,
485; Schiller B'ld'g (339, 340);
Transportation B'ld'g 485
Chihuahua (Mex.), church facade
294, (299)
Chimney pieces: Colonial 404, (308);
English 359, 365, (276); Flem-
ish 306; French 195, 282 (49 c)
Chinoiseries and singeries 252, 256
Chippendale, Thomas (cbm.) 375,
379, 380, 411, 412, (291)
Chiswick, Villa 367
Christ Church, Philadelphia, spire
(306)
Christopher Wren, Sir (archt.)
368, 369, 370, 400, 410 (280, 96)
Church steeples: colonial 400, (306);
English (280)
Churriguera, Jose and sons (archts.)
272, 291, 293, 341
499


INDEX
Churrigueresque church facades 293,
294, 391-393, 476, (299, 341, 69.
91, 92)
Churrigueresque stvle 272, 291, 292,
293, 294, 341
Cinquecento 17, 30, 31
Cirque d'fite, Paris 430
City Hall, New York 451
Civil War period in U. S. 455, 456
Civitale, Matteo (scp.) 38
Classic detail in Renaissance 47
Classic origins of Renaissance orna-
ment 24-27
Classic reaction 32
Classic Revival 32, 422-427
Claude Perrault (archt.) 226
Clerissy (cer.) 267
Clermont-Ferrand, doorway (151)
Clifford'c Inn, London, carvings
(278)
Clocks, American 451 (105)
Coblenz, gymnasium, carving (247)
Cockerell (archt.) 426
Coffer or marriage chest 100, 101,
(3)
Cogolludo, Medinaceli Pal. 278
Colbert 225, 236, 245, 247
Coleman, Caryl (dec.) 460
Collegio de los Irlandeses, Sala-
manca, 277
Cologne: cathedral completed 437;
Rathaus 330; tapestry in St.
Gereon's 312
Colombe, Michel (scp.) 184
Colonia, Francisco (archt.) 278, 280
Colonial ornament in U. S. 394-414;
Colonial architectural 395-399,
(301-307); beginnings, early char-
acter 396; doorways 405, (309, 311,
315, 93); exterior details 397-400;
furniture 410-413, (316, 97); in-
terior decoration 403; minor arts
413-414; silverware 414; textiles
412; woodwork 403-406, (308-314,
93-96)
Colonnades: Louvre 226; of St.
Peter's 172
Colonne de Juillet, Paris 428
Colossal orders 158, 160. Jf26, 227,
(161)
Colosseum, Rome, cornice imitated
56
Columbia University Library, New
York 474
Columns, twisted 160, 161, 162, 290,
292, 293 (117, 214, 43)
Commercial furniture adv. (345)
Como, Cathedral East End 41;
windows 88
Como, Tommaso of (scp.) 183
Composite capitals 53
Concluding observations 490, 491
Conditions after 1800 416-422; ar-
chaeological discoveries 416-419;
industrial and political revolution
417, 418; influence on decorative
arts 418; arts-and-crafts 420;
commerce and travel 421, 422, 457
Congelations 163, (122)
Consiglio, Pal. del, Verona 44
Consoles, Baroque 162, (118, 119)
Corbels 51, 183, (23, 71, 138)
Corinthian capitals 49
Corinthianesque capitals 50, 51, 194,
330
Come jo, Pedro (archt.) 291
Cornices, wooden, in Spain 283,
(209)
Cortona, cathedral ceiling (63)
Corufia, San Jorge 290, (213)
Covarrubias (archt.) 274, 278, 280
Coved ceilings 131, 132
Cowles Mansion, Farmington, gate
(307)
Cracow (Krakau), Jagellons chapel
325
Craigie (Longfellow or Vassall)
house, Cambridge, Mass. (304)
Cram, R. A., (archt) 476
Cremona, Stanga Pal. portal 40, 41
Cressent, Charles (cbm.) 254
Crewe Hall 361; ceiling-pendant
(271)
Cristoforo Lombardo (archt.) 40
Crown Derby ware 384, (298)
Cucci, Domenico (cbm.) 237, 242


INDEX
Cuenca cathedral, racristy doors
274, 278
Curl-overs, curlicues 131, 142, 143,
167, 196, 201, (98, 106)
Curtain: machine-net (348); of
Madison Sq. Theatre 460
D
Damian Forment (archt.) 285
Dauphine, Place, Paris 212
Da Vinci, Lionardo (painter) 113,
114, 143
Declaration Chamber, Independence
Hall, Phil'a (309)
Decline of local styles 447-448
Decorative painting under Louis XV
250
De Bry, Theodore (eng.) 212, (164)
De Co'tte, Robert (archt.) 230
De la Planche, Francois (cer.; 244
Delft ceramists 323; tiles and wares
322-324, (237-238)
Delia Porta, Giacomo (archt.) 134,
136, 159
Delia Quercia, Giacomo (scp.) 36,
37, 38, 92, 98, (16, 3)
Delia Robbia, Andrea (scp., cer.)
29, 39, 75, 148, (10)
Delia Robbia, Girolamo (cer.) 187,
264
Delia Robbia, Luca (scp., cer.) 29,
36, 37, 39, 92, 148, (9)
Delia Robbia ware 84, 92, 148,
(62 a)
Delia Robbias, the 73, 98, 147
Delia Stella, Paolo (archt.) 325
Delorme, Philibert (archt.) 198
Delorme, Pierre (scp.) 184
Desiderio da Settignano (dec. scp.)
38, 93
Des Vosges, Place, Paris 212
De Vogue. H6tel, Di.jon 211, (56)
De Vriendt (Floris) (archt.) 301
De Vries, Vredcm.m, Jan and Paul
(engs.) 320
Diego de Riano (archt.) 274, 279
Diego de Siloe (archt.) 274, 279, 282
Dinkelsbuhl, window 334, (244)
Doge's Palace, Venice 44, 127, 131,
167, (40, 49, 98)
Domenico Cucci (cbm.) 237, 242
Domenico Fancelli (scp.) 273
Domes: decoration 134; of Duomo,
Florence 37, 134; of St. Peter's,
Rome 134
Donatello (Donato di Betti Bardi)
(scp.) 36, 37, 94
Door-knocker from Narbonne
(159 a)
Door-lock, Bamberg Museum (257)
Door-panel: H6tel Cluny (157);
St. Louis-en-l'Isle, Paris (172)
Door-pull, Henri II period (159)
Doors and Doorways: Biickeburg
333, (81); Chfilons-sur-Marne 201;
Clermont-Ferrand (151); Dutch
(233, 235); French 214-216; Ger-
man 329, 332, (239, 240); Hat-
field House (268); Leyden (232);
Liverpool, St. George's Hall (99);
Mandorla doorway, Florence 35,
(15); Massimi Pal., Rome (101);
in Spain 277, (68); Toledo, San
Clemente (199); United States
397, 398, (302, 309, 315, 93, 94,
106); Vatican 138, (100); Wis-
mar 337, (82)
Doors and Windows, early 86-88,
(65-67, 24, 25)
Doria Palace, Rome 172
Dormers: French 191, 199, (144,
50); German 330, 331, (243)
Dresden: chnir in museum (262);
Zwinger Pal. 341, (84)
Duban, J. F. (archt.) 427, 428
Due, L. J. (archt.) 427, 428
Ducal Palace, C rhino 88; window
(67)
Duccio, Agostino di (archt., scp.)
39, 43
Duccrceau, J. A. (archt.) 205, 206,
208, 216
Dugald Stewart monument 426
Duncan Phyfc (cbm.) 412, 451


INDEX
Floral design: French (328); Ger-
man (339)
Florence: Annunziata church 37;
Baptistery 15, 29, 37, (1); gates
of same 29, 37, 87, (2); Cathedral
(Duomo), dome of 37, 134; east
end of same 36; Mandorla door of
same 35, (15); cantorie in Opera
del Duomo 37, 94; Foundling
Hospital (Innocenti) 37, 75; Log-
gia dei Lanzi 143; Pal. Bartolini
121, 123; Pal. Larderel 123; Pal.
Pandolfini 121, (90); Pal. Pitti
37, 89, 91, 123, 132, 170, (44);
PaL Quaratesi (14); Pal. Riccardi
37, 56, 83, (30 o); Pal. Rucellai
37, 56, (26); Pal. Strozzi 56; Pal.
Vecchio 71, 83, (50, 18, 30); Pazii
Chapel 29, 37, 64, (13, 8); San
Lorenzo 37, 93, 118, 160 (11);
San Spirito 37, 83, 118, (16);
Santa Croce, Marsuppini tomb 61,
62, 93, (5, 36); pulpit in, 55, 94,
(8, 13); Villa Petraia, fountain
144
Florentine pediment 56, 57, 86, 92,
121, (32)
Floris (De Vriendt) (archt.) 307
Folded linen panels 364, (273)
Fontainebleau chateau 181, 187, 189,
202, 214, 216, (148, 149)
Fonts for holy water 98, 170, (73,
74, 14)
Foreign influences in England 359
Forment, Damien (archt.) 285
Formentone (archt.) 40
Fortuny, Mariano (painter) 287
note
Fossombroni Pal., Arezzo, detail
(52)
Fouquet, Jean (painter) 183
Fountains 137, 144, 171, 199, 208,
259 (31, 32); of Innocents, Paris,
199, 208; of Trevi, Rome 174
Fra Giocondo (archt.) 44
Fragonard (painter) 253
Francesco Borromini (archt.) 32,
155, 156, 168, 339
Francis I: balustrade and capitals
194; candelabrum-shafts 192,
(146); carving 192, (147, 193);
ceilings and interiors 194, (148);
details of style 189-193, (141-
147); doorway at Toulouse (143);
dormers (144, 50); facade system
189, (141); features 188, 189;
fireplaces 195, (49 c); furniture
196-198, (150); open stair 188,
(49 f) ; S-scrolls (145, 49 g) ; style
of, in general 186-198; tomb of,
St. Denis 199, 209; wing at Blois
188, 190; woodwork 195, (149,
150)
Francis II of Brittany, tomb 184,
(140)
Francisco Colonia (archt.) 278, 280
Francois Mansart (archt.) 214, 226
Frascati, Villa Falconieri 163, (116)
Frazee (archt.) (332)
French: Academy of Painting and
Sculpture 224; Academy at Rome
233; brocade or velvet (183); cam-
paigns in Italy 180; ceramics
198, 264-268; (67); doors and
doorways 201, 214-216, (151);
Gothic revival 437; influence in
U. S. 450; lace 247, (182 a);
needlework 247, (182 6); Neo-
grec style 427-431, (319-321)
French Renaissance: Baroque ele-
ments in 213; character 180; dec-
orative sculpture 208; furniture
(see below); Gallic and Latin ele-
ments 182, 210, 227, 229; interior
decoration 194-198, 213, 227-233,
249-250, 260-261, (148, 149, 169-
171, 185, 187, 54, 62, 66); minor
arts, Henry II-III 207; periods
180; Transition from Gothic 183
Friedrichsbau, Heidelberg 327
Fruit and foliage 30, 73, 74, (54,
14)
Fuga, Ferdinando (archt.) 174
Furniture: American 410-413, 455-
456, 481-482, (316, 345, 97c,d,
105) ; Empire 423-424, (317, 318);


INDEX
English 376-380, 435, (288, 290-
293, 324); French 196-198, 204,
217-219, 236-242, (150, 153, 155,
167, 168, 175-177, 188, 194-196);
German 350-351, (263-265); Ital-
ian 100-102,139-140,176-178, (102-
104, 106, 33-37); Netherlands 309-
310, 319-320, (227-229, 234);
Spanish 295-297, (213-217)
Fiirstenhof, Wismar 327; doorway
337, (82)
Gable ornament, Leyden (231)
Gables and dormers, German 330,
331, (242)
Gabriel, J. A. (archt.) 257, 259
Gaillon, chateau 184, 185
Gatne (sheath-figure) 137, 140, 167,
168, 171, 310, 318, 327, (105, 127,
128, 234, 244, 250)
Galeazzo Alessi (archt.) 113, 168
Galerie d'Apollon, Louvre 229, 231,
(169, 170); des Glaces, Versailles
230, 232
Galilei (archt.) 174
Gallery of Francis I, Fontainebleau
187, (148, 149)
Gallic and Latin elements in French
art 182, 210, 229, 233, 249, 257
Gardens: French 243, 244; Italian
136, 137, (105)
Gamier, Charles (archt.) 430, 431,
440, 447
Gaulli, G. B. (stucco-w.) 159
Gates, gateways 171, (128, 307);
(see Doors, doorways)
Gazzini (scp.) 274
Genoa: Pallavicini Pal. 168, (4);
Sta. Annunziata, interior 118
Genre rocaille 255
Georgian architecture 450 (see Colo-
nial)
Germain Pilon (scp.) 208, 209
German armor 343; Baroque style
341-342; carving and sculpture
334-336 (245-248); ceramics 347-
350, (258-260); gatnes 327, (244,
246, 250); metal work and minor
arts 343-347, (251-262, 85-88);
portals 329, 332, (239, 240);
rococo 340
German Renaissance 325-352; doors
and windows 332-334 (see German
portals); early monuments 325;
facade decoration 326, 327, (239);
furniture 350, 351, (261, 262);
gables and dormers 330-331, (242,
243); interior decoration 337-338;
orders, use of 327-328; painters
(list) 337; typographic ornament
351, 352 (26*3-265)
Germantown, Pa., chimney-piece 410,
(96)
Germany: Gothic revival 436-437;
Greek revival 427; modern devel-
opments in 442, 447, (330, 331);
Renaissance invasion of 325
Geronimo da Fiesole 184
Gesii, church of 136, 159
Ghent town-hall 306, (75)
Ghiberti, Lorenzo (scp.) 29, 36, 37,
87; pupil of in Spain 273
Giacetti (cbm.) 237
Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola (archt.)
31, 90, 113, 122, 134, 136, 143, 155,
172, 187
Giacomo della Porta 134, 136, 159
Giacopo della Quercia (scp.) 36, 37,
38, 92, 98, (16, 3)
Giacopo Tatti Sansovino (archt.)
31, 113, 120, 123
Gian Galeazzo, tomb of, Pavia 93
Gibbons, Grinling (carver) 307, 370
Gibbs, James (archt.) 369, 371,
400, 408, (282)
Gil de Hontafion, Rodrigo (archt.)
274, 279
Ginain (archt.) 430
Giocondo, Fra (archt.) 44
Giorgio Vasari (archt., painter) 134
Giotto (di Bondone, painter) 15, 35
Giovanni Battista Piranesi (eng.)
173
Giovanni da Bologna (scp.) 143
501


INDEX
Hancock House, Boston, Mass., win-
dow detail (303)
Hans Holbein the Younger 357
Hansen, Theophil (archt.) 427
Hardwicke Hall 359
Harvard University, capitals .from
Law School (335)
Hatfield House 359; doorway (269)
Hawksmoor (archt.) 369
Heidelberg Castle 327, 333, (239)
Heiligenburg Castle, ceiling 339,
(83)
Hengest-Gouffier, Helene de (cer.)
264
Henri-Deux ware 264, (198 a, c)
Henry VII's Chapel, Westminster
354, 355
Hepplewhite (cbm.) 375, 379, 380,
411, 412, (292)
Herrera, Juan de (archt.) 272, 288
Hilario, Maestro (iron-w.) 282
Hinart, Louis (tap.) 245
Hirschvogels (cer.) 350
Hittorff, J. J. (archt.) 430
Holbein, Hans the Younger 357
Holv-water fonts 98, 170, (73, 74,
14)
Homewood, Baltimore, Md., in-
terior cornice (312)
Hontaflon, Rodrigo Gil de (archt.)
274
Horta, Victor (dec.) 466; window
by (336)
Hospicio Provincedl, Madrid 292,
294 note
Hospital, Civic at Jativa 281
Hospital, Greenwich 367, 370
Hospital, Great, at Milan 40
Hospital Real, Santiago de Com-
postela 278; Santa Cruz, Toledo
280, 281, 283; San Juan Bautista,
Toledo 284
Hdtel de Ville, Beauvais 227; Paris
438
Hotels: d'Assezat Toulouse 220;
Biron, Matignon 249; Champs
eiysees, Paris, detail (337);
d'fecoville, Caen 188; des Inva-
lides (and Dome) 226; Lamoignon,
Paris 210; de Lasbordes, Tou-
louse 201; de Lauzun, Paris, de-
tail (173); de la Monnaie (Mint),
Paris 258; de Salm (Legion
d'Honneur), Paris 258; Soubise
249, (185); de Vogue, Dijon 211,
(56)
Houses of Parliament: Budapest
436; London 434
Huesca cathedral, retablo 285
Hugues Sambin (cbm.) 205, 209,
216, 217
Hunt, R. M. (archt.) 461, 474
I
Ibarra, Pedro (archt.) 277
Ifs, Chateau des 211
Ilaria del Caretto, tomb of at Lucca
37, 72, 92, 93, (16, 3)
II Rosso 187, 196
Imperial Institute,. S. Kensington,
London 440
Independence Hall, Phila. 408, 409;
Declaration Chamber 409, (310)
Independent developments in U. S.
459
Infantada, Guadalajara 276, 279,
(205)
Inigo Jones (archt.) 360, 367, 368,
399
Inlays, marble and wood 99, 100,
(75-77)
Innocenti, (Foundling Hospital)
Florence 37, 75
Innocents, Fountain of the, Paris
199, 208
Innovations in Middle Renaissance
140-143
Intarsia 99, (76, 77); painted imi-
tation of 100
Interior decoration: French 194-196,
202, 227-236, (148, 149, 153, 54);
Italian Baroque 168-170 (131);
Middle Renaissance 123-127 (92,
93)
506


INDEX
Leau (Belgium), altar-rail 387,
(225)
Le Brun, Charles (painter) 225, 233,
235, 236, 238, 245, 247
Lefuel H. M. (archt.) 440, 447
Le Mans cathedral, tomb in 183
Lemercier, Jacques (archt.) 226
Le Nfitre (landscape archt.) 243
Leopardo, Alessandro (bronze-w.)
103
Lepautre, Antoine and Jean (eng.)
234, 237, 246, 320
Le Primatice (painter) 187, 196
Le Roux, Roland (scp.) 185
I^es Andelys, church 199
Lescot, Pierre (archt.) 188, 198, 199
Levau, Louis (archt.) 226
Ley den: carved "jewels" 233; dor-
mer 232; town-hall 318; gable
from same (231)
Libraries: Boston Public, Congres-
sional 462
Library: of Columbia University,
N. Y. 474; Congressional at Wash-
ington 462; Piceolomini of Sienna
Cath. 132; Public, Boston, Mass.
462; of Ste. Genevieve, Paris 428;
of Vatican, Rome 134
Libreria San Marco, Venice 120
Liebfrauenkirche, Wiirzburg 333
Lille potteries 266
Lima (Peru), I-a Merced church
292, 294, 391, (91)
Limoges: cathedral, choir-screen
187; enamels 221, 222, (160)
Linenfold panels 364, (273)
Lionardo Bruno, tomb of, Florence
53, (22)
Lionardo da Vinci (painter) 113,
114, 143
Liverpool, St. George's Hall, 426;
doors of (99)
Lodi, Incoronata church 41
Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence 143;
of Villa Madama 135, (93, 94,
29)
Logtrie of Vatican, Rome 31, 124,
134, 135, 138, (92, 93)
Lombardi family (archts.) 38, 43;
Martino, Tullio 43; Pietro 41, 44
Lombardo, Cristoforo (archt.) 40
London: Albert Memorial 434,
(102); Charterhouse ceiling 364;
Clifford's Inn, carvings (278);
Houses of Parliament 434; Man-
sion House, Royal Exchange 423;
Middle Temple Hall, ceiling 364;
South Kensington Museum 438;
St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, steeple
371; St. Mary's, carvings from
(279); St. Mary-le-Bow, steeple
(280) ; St Paul's cathedral 370
Longfellow-Craigie house, Cam-
bridge, Mass (304)
Longhena, Baldassare (archt) 162
Longleat Hall 356, 359
Lonja at Saragossa 276, 279, (209);
at Seville 288
Lorenzo Bernini (archt.) 156, 172,
226, 290, 339
Lorenzo Ghiberti (scp.) 29, 36, 37;
doors by (2)
Lorenzo Marina (archt.) 46, (20)
Louis, Age of the, in France 223
Louis XII, tomb of at St. Denis, 188,
(48)
Louis XIII, style of 213, 214, (166-
168)
Louis XIV: architectural design
under 225, 227; character of
period of 223-225; furniture 236-
242, (175, 176); garden art under
243; interior decoration 227-236,
(169-171); metalwork 242, (178,
179)
Louis XV period and style 248-257:
decorative painting in 250; details
249, 250, 251, 252, (184-189);
furniture 253-256, (188); iron-
work 256, 257, (189)
Louis XVI period and style 257-
263; character of 257, 258; fur-
niture, etc. 261, (193-195); in-
terior decoration 259, 263; influ-
ence of 373, 375, 409, 413; metal-
work 263, (196, 197)
508


INDEX
Louvain, St. Pierre, town-hall 306
Louvre Palace, Paris: colonnade of
226; court 188; court facade 199;
Galerie d'Apollon 229, (169, 170);
XJrande Galerie 210, 218; interior
decoration 228; "New" Louvre
438; panel from Chamber of
Henry IV 206, (158); tribune of
Caryatides 208
Luca della Robbia (scp., cer.) 29,
36, 37, 39, 92, 94, (9)
Lucca cathedral, tomb Ilaria del
Caretto 37, 72, 92, 93, (16, 3)
Luciano da Laurana (scp.) 183
I.uini (Bernardo, Bernardino)
(painter) 100
Lunghi, Martino (archt.) 339
Lupiana monastery, court 380
M
Macerata, church 161
Machuca (archt.) 257
Madama Palace, Rome 168
Madama Villa, Rome 32, 125, 134,
135, (94, 29)
Madeleine church, Paris 423
Maderna, Carlo (archt.) 32, 132,
156, 339
Madison Sq. Theatre, N. Y. curtain
460
Madrid, chateau of 187, 264
Madrid, Hospicio Provincedl (Asy-
• lum) 292, 294 note
Maestro Bartolom£ (scp.) 288
Maestro Hilario (iron-w.) 282
Maine, Le, Counts of as art-patrons
183
Maison Carree, Nlmes 423, 450
Maisons-Lafitte 229
Maftre Roux (painter) 187
Majano Benedetto da (scp.) 38,
94, 98
Majano Giovanni da (archt.) 355
Majano Giuliano da (scp.) 38, 46
Majolica: origin 146; border detail
(111)
Mandorla doorway, Duomo of Flor-
ence 35, (15)
Manoel Vasquez (archt.) 291
Mans, Le, tomb of Charles of Anjou
183
Mansart, Francois (archt.) 214, 226
Mansart, Jules Hardouin 226, 227
Mansion House, London 423
Mantegna (painter) 150
Mantua, Pal. del Te 31, 125. 133,
338; Reggio Gonzaga 83; San
Andrea 37, 118
Manufacture des Meubles de la
Couronne 225
Manuscript ornament 109, 110
Mappa Mansion, Trenton, N. J. 410,
(315)
Marble inlay 199 (75)
Marc de Conrano (archt.) 244
Marina, Lorenzo (archt.) 46
Marine Exchange, Philadelphia 452
Marini, Giovanni (archt.) 325
Marly, chateau 227
Marot, Daniel and Jean (dec. and
eng.) 234, 240
Marseilles, early Ren'ce works at
183
Marsuppini tomb in Santa Croce 61,
62, 93, (5, 36)
Martino Lunghi (archt.) 339
Mascarons (12, 57)
Massimi Palace, Rome 122, 138,
(101)
Mast-bases, Venice 163
Matteo Civitale (scp.) 38
Mayence cathedral, stalls, carving
(246)
McComb and Mangin (archts.) 451
McKim, C. F. (archt.) 461
McKim, Mead & White, 474
Mechlin lace 315, 316
Medici monuments, San Lorenzo,
Florence 160
Medici Villa, Rome 136
Medinaceli Pal., Cogolludo, doorway
278
Medinaceli Pal., Jativa 281
Meissonier (dec.) 254


INDEX
Mendoza Pal., Lacalahorra 274
Merchants' Exchange, N. Y. 452
Metalwork: American 414, 479, 480,
(349, 111); English 375, 376,
(285-287) i French 207, 220, 242-
244, 256, 257, 263, (159, 178, 179,
189, 191); German 343-347, (251-
257, 85-88); Italian 103, 143-145,
178-179, (108, 38-41); Spanish
286, 287, (211, 72-75)
Metropolitan Museum, N. Y. 478;
altarpiece in 148; armor 144, (40)
Meunier (scp.) 466
Mexico: cathedral 393; confessional
in same (300); Sagrario of same
294, 393; Chihuahua, church
facade 391, (299); Guadalupe, El
Posito 391, (92)
Michelangelo 22, 31, 113, 132,
165, 159, 160; frescoes in Sistine
Chapel by him 126, 127, 133, 339;
grotesques attributed to him (58)
Michel Colombo (scp.) 184
Michele Carlone (archt.) 274
Michelozzi, Michele (archt) 30, 36,
37, 94
Middle Renaissance 112-153; char-
acter of 112-115; ceilings 129-136;
ceramics, etc. 145-150; interior
decoration 123-127; metalwork
143-145; painting 125-127; textiles
150-151; use of orders 115-120;
villas and gardens 136-137; wood-
work and furniture 138-143
Middle Temple Hall 364
Mid-Victorian period 442
Migliorini, The (cbms.) 237
"Miguel de Figueroa (archt.) 291
Milan: archepiscopal seminary 163,
171, (120); Great Hospital 40;
Marina Pal. 168; San Satiro 40;
Sta. Maria delle Grazie 40, 41, 86,
100
Miletus, Apollo Temple imitated 426
Mills, Robert (archt.) 451
Mino da Fiesole (scp.) 38, 93, 98
Minor architecture and arts (see
under separate countries)
Mint, Munich 329; Paris (Hdtel de
la Monnaie) 258; Philadelphia 453
Miracoli church, Brescia 40, 41, 53,
65, (6)
Miracoli church, Venice, 44, 45,
(62 6)
Mirror-frame, Florentine (104)
Mirrors, Middle Renaissance 140,
(104)
Modern German cabinet (330) ; wine
flagon (331)
Modern Revivals (see Revivals)
Moderne Kunst 465
Modillions 49
Moldings in Middle Renaissance 121,
(88, 91)
Monreale cathedral, twisted columns
162
Montefeltro escutcheon 142 (107)
Monuments: Dugald Stewart, Rob-
ert Burns 426; Medici 160; Reg-
nault 430
Moore, Professor Charles, remarks
on treatment of Nature in Renais-
sance 63 note
Moorish influence in Spanish art 269,
277, 282, 292, 295, 299
Moorish lily 299, (218)
Morden College, Blackheath, en-
trance (277)
Moreto, Giovanni (archt.) 274
Morris House, N. Y. 408; details
(314)
Morris, William 420, 444
Mortlake tapestries 385
Morto da Feltro (stucco-w.) 123
Motives in Early Renaissance orna-
ment 47 teq.
Moustiers pottery 266
Miiller, Wilhelm (archt.) 338
Mttnden, Rathaus, portal columns
(240)
Mufiez, Sandro (archt.) 287
Munich: Miinzengebaude (Mint)
329; St. Michael's church 338
Municipio, Milan, gatne 168
Miinzengebaude, Munich 329
Murcia cathedral facade 293
5
10


INDEX
Murguia (archt.) 293
Music balconies (cantorie) 38, 94,
(4)
N
Nantes cathedral, tomb of Francis
II of Brittany 185, (140)
Naples: Arch of Alfonso of Ara-
gon 46; Carmine church 170;
Porta Capuana 46; San Francesco
di Paola 423; tombs 93
Napoleon (Bonaparte),influence 423
Narbonne, door-knocker from
(159 a)
Nature-movement, The 442-444; in
U. S. 460
Nature in Renaissance orn't 22
Navaho blankets 488, (352)
Needlework, early 107, (82)
Neo-classic or Neo-Renaissance
movement in U. S. 461, 474
N£o-grec style in France 427-431,
(319-323)"
Netherlands 304-305; architecture
304-306, 316-318; ceramics 322-
324, (237, 238) ; furniture 309-311,
319-320, (227-229, 234, 77-80);
laces 315, 316, (230); tapestries
311-314
Nevers potteries 266
New Museum, Oxford 445, 454
Newport, R. I., door of house (397)
New Sacristy, San Lorenzo, Flor-
ence, monuments in 160
New York: City Hall 451; Columbia
University Library 474; Jumel or
Morris House 408, (314); Mer-
chants' Exchange (Nat'l City
Bank) 452; Metropolitan Museum
of Art 144, 148, 343, 478; Metro-
politan Tower; Municipal B'ld'g
476; old Academy of Design 415,
454, 462, (108); old Court House,
detail 332; St. Patrick's cathedral
455; St. Paul's 399, (306); Trin-
ity church 454; West St. and
Woolworth B'ld'gs 476
Niccol6 Pisano (scp.) 14, 35, 95
Niccolo Salvi (archt.) 174
Niches in Early Ren'ce 88, (68)
Niculoso da Pisa (cer.) 273, 284
Nielles, Flemish (229); French
(214)
Nimes, Maison Carree imitated 423,
450
Nineteenth Century: conditions in
416-422; in United States 450-463
Nonesuch Palace 355
Nuns (piano-maker) 456, (105)
Nuremberg: carving and leadwork
from (248); fanlight from (255)
O
"Octagon" House (Tayloe H.),
Washington 410
Oiron ware 264, (198, 67)
Old Academy of Design, New York
445, 464, (108)
Old Court-House, New York, detail
(332)
Omodeo (Amadeo) (archt.) 39, 40
Opera House, Paris 430, 431, 438,
(103)
Oppenord, Oppendordt (dec.) 230,
238
Orcagna, Andrea (archt., scp.) 434
Orders of architecture: in Early
Renaissance 81-82; in Middle
Ren'ce 115-121, 158, (87, 88); in
France 189-190,199, 226, 227, 259,
(161); in Spain 278
Orders, colossal 158, 227, (161, 63)
Ordonez, Bartolome (scp.) 274
Oriental influences 47, 175, 269, 277,
282, 292, 295, 299, 443, 444, 478
Oriental motives (78, 175, 218)
Or San Michele, Florence, altar imi-
tated 434
Ospedale del Ceppo, Pistoia; frieze
148
Otto-Heinrichsbau, Heidelberg 327,
328, (239)
Otto Wagner (archt.) 467
5
1


INDEX
187; St. Vincent de Paule 430;
Street architecture 440, details
(325)
Parliament Houses: Budapest 436;
London 434
Patent Office, Washington 452
Pavia: battle of, influence 33, 41;
Certosa 39, 40, 41, 86, 93, (5);
group of artists 40
Pazzi chapel, Florence 29, 37, 64,
84, 118, (13, 62, 16)
Peasant art and ornament 473, 487-
489, (350-352)
Pediments, Florentine 56, 57, 86, 92,
(32)
Pedro Gumiel (archt.) 274
Pedro Ibarra (archt.) 277
Pedro Ribera (archt.) 291
Penaranda (di Duero) Pal: ceiling
283; court 280
Penicaud (enameler) 222; plate by
him (160)
Penni, Bartolomeo (painter) 355
Percier and Fontaine (archts.) 423
Perino del Vaga (painter) 113
Perrault, Claude (archt.) 226
Perreal, Jean (scp.) 185
Perseus and Medusa, statue 143,
(39)
Persistence of Flamboyant Gothic
in France 183, 184
Personal factor in Renaissance 27,
28
Perugia: Confraternita di San Ber-
nardino 45; Sala del Cambio 45,
132, (21); San Pietro Casinese,
stalls 138, (34)
Perugino (Pietro Vanucci) (paint-
er) 132
Peruzzi, Baldassare (archt.) 21, 31,
113, 122, 155
Philadelphia, Pa.: Bartram house
403; Centennial Exhibition 456,
457; Christ Church spire (306);
Fairmount Waterworks 451; Gi-
rard College 453; Independence
Hall 408, 409, (310); Marine
Exchange 452; Mint 453
Philibert Delorme (De l'Orme)
(archt.)* 198, 208
Phillipse Manor, Yonkers, N. Y.
(308)
Phyfe, Duncan (cbm.) 412, 451
Pia, Villa at Rome 136
Piastenschloss, Brieg 336, 337
Piccolomini Library, Sienna 132 (20)
Piedra, monastery facade 280
Piero di Medici, tomb of, Florence
93, 102, (11)
Pierre Bontemps (scp.) 204, 209
Pierre Delorme (scp.) 184
Pierre Lescot (archt.) 188, 198
Pietro Lombardi (archt.) 38, 44
Pilasters, decoration of 53, 54, 64,
(6, 9, 13, 18, 19, 27, 28, 40)
Pilasters as wall-decoration 118
Pilon, Germain (scp.) 208, 209
Pinturricchio (painter) 132
Piranesi, Giovanni Battista (eng.)
173, 373
Pisa cathedral doors 87
Pisano, Niceolb (scp.) 14, 35, 95
Pistoia: Ospedale del Ceppo 148;
Pal. del Comune 96, (71)
Pitti Palace, Florence 37, 89, 91,
123, 132, 170, (44)
Pius II, tomb of in St. Peter's, Rome
93
Places Dauphine and des Vosges,
Paris 212; de la Concorde 258
Planche, Francois de la (cer.) 244
Planche (cer.) 383
Plassenburg, Schloss 327
Plasterwork in Great Britain 360,
371 (see also Ceilings)
Plate resque style 271, 306; in
America 393, 476; architects . of
(list) 274; architectural ornament
of 275; rustication 281
Poirel (cer.) 266
I'olish peasant ornament (351-352)
Polychromy in Paris 430, 431
Pompei Palace, Verona 122
Pope Julius III, Villa of, Home, 137,
(105)
Poppelmann, M. D. (archt.) 340


INDEX
279; Casa de Pilatos, portal 274;
Cathedral Capilla Mayor, reja
287; House of Dukes of Alva,
ceiling 283; Lonja 288; Provincial
Hospital 288; (212); San Luis,
twisted columns 293; San Salva-
dor, altar, etc. 293; University
Chapel, tombs in 273, 274, 280;
upper part of reja (72)
Sevres pottery 267
Sgraffito 127-129, (46 b, 95)
Shafts of pilasters and columns,
early 53, (26-29) (see Pilasters)
Sheraton (cbm.) 375, 379, 380, 411,
412, (273J*
Shrine for heart of Francis I 209,
(156); for heart of Henry II 209,
219
Shrines, fonts, etc. 96, (72)
Sideboard and cabinet, German
(Austria) (261)
Sienna: Baptismal font in San Gio-
vanni 45, 98, (14); cathedral
pavement 99, (75); pulpit 14, 95;
stalls 138; Library ceiling 132,
(20); doorway of same 46, (20);
Palazzo Pubblico 45, 56, (11, 138,
33); La Scala hospital balustrade
(70); Sta. Caterina 53
Siennese torch-holders 62, (38)
Silleria (choir-stalls) 274, 286, 295,
(70)
Siloe, Diego de (archt.) 274, 279
Silverwork, English 376, (286,
287)
Sistine Chapel, Rome: frescoes 126,
127; music balcony 94; swag on
same 73, 126, (12)
"Sky-scrapers" 476
Sladtz brothers (cbms.) 255
Solari (Lombardi) (archts.) 43
Solesmes Abbey, transept decora-
tions 184
South Kensington: Art schools 442;
Imperial Institute 440; Natural
History Museum 438
Spacla palace, Home, stuccoes 134,
(99)
Spain: Beginnings of Renaissance
in 269-273; becomes first power of
the world 270; Italian artists in
269, 270, 273; mixture of styles
in 276; Moorish influence in 269,
277, 282, 292
Spanish Renaissance: Baroque influ-
ence in 272; beginnings of 269-
273; Churrigueresque style 272,
291-292, 293, 294, 391-393, 476,
(299, 341, 69, 91, 92); courtyards
(patios) 279, 280; doorways 277,
(199, 68); Griego-Romano style
272, 393; metalwork 302, (211, 72-
74); Plateresque style and orna-
ment 271, 275-280, (199, 68);
rejas 286, 287, (211, 72); rustica-
tion 281; sillerfas 286, (70);
stamped leather 298, 299; succes-
sion of styles 277; textiles 299,
302, (222-224); tiles 299-302,
(221)
Spello, column from 55, (29)
Spread of Renaissance 33
St., Ste. = Saint, Sainte
Ste. Clothilde, Paris 437
St. Denis, tombs in 188, 199, 209,
(48)
St. Eustache, Paris 187
St. Gatien (cathedral) Troyes, tomb
in 184
Ste. Genevieve, Paris, Library
428
St. George's Hall, Liverpool 426
St. Lazare Chapel, Marseilles 183
St. Maclou, Rouen, doors 208
St. Mary-le-Bow, London, steeple
(280)
St. Mary's, Oxford, portal prototype
292
St. Mary's Woolnoth, London, ceil-
ing (281)
St. Michael's, Munich 338
St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York
455
St. Paul's Cathedral, London, carv-
ings 370
St. Paul's, New York 399, (306)
517


INDEX
St Peter's, Rome: Baldaechino 160,
161, 280, (43); colonnades 172;
dome 134; doors 87; holy-water
font 170; tomb Pius II 93; vault
132
St. Snlpice, Paris, facade 257
St. Vincent de Paule, Paris 430
St. Wilfrid's, York 434
Staffordshire potteries 382
Stained glass, Italian 151-153, (115)
Stairs: Colonial 406, 407, (313);.
English 364, 380, 381, (294); to
pulpit. Sienna cathedral 94
Stairways: Blois 188. 282, (49);
Chambord 282; English 364; Span-
ish 281, 282
Stamped leather, Spanish 29S, 299
Stanford White (archt., dec.) 485
State Houses: Annapolis, Md. 451;
Boston, Mass. 451; Hartford,
Conn. 455; ltichmond, Va. 423,
450
Steindl (archt.) 437
Stewart, Dugald, monument 426
Sticffcl (metal-w.) 414
Stiegel (glass-w.) 414
St rap work (applique) English 362,
365, 377, (269, 271, 272); German
334, 335, (245. 247)
Strasbourg pottery 267
Strickland (archt.') 452
Strozxi Palace, Florence 56
Stucco: in Baroque period 169, 170,
(129, 44, 46); in Middle Ren'cc
135-136, (94, 99)
Study of Nature in Renaissance 22;
in modern art 442-444, 460
Sub-treasury, New York 452
Sullivan, Louis H. (archt.) 422,
474, 485
Sutton Place, Guildford, terra-cottas
355
Swag or festoon 23, 72, 73, 170, (7,
52, 53, 12)
T
Tables: Early Italian 101; Flemish
311, (228) ;' French 198, 204, 219,
237, (154, 177); Middle Renais-
sance and Baroque 139, (36, 37);
Spanish 297, (215)
Talenti, Francesco (archt.) 36
Tapestries: Arras 245, 312; Bayeux
311; Flemish 311-315; French"206,
244-246; in Germany 312; in
Great Britain, Mortlake 357, 385;
Italian 150, 151, (113); in Vati-
can 150; in Sistine Chapel 313
Tarragona, Poblet monastery, re-
tablo 285
Tavera, tomb of Cardinal, Toledo
284
Tayloe ("Octagon") House, Wash-
ington 410
Tcrra-cotta head of Caesar, Hamp-
ton Court (266)
Textiles: Colonial (U. S.) 412; Eng-
lish 385, 386; French 207, 221,
244-247; Italian, early 104-107,
(78-S4); Middle Ren'ce 150-151,
(113, 114); later Ren'ce 175-176.
(132-135); Oriental motives and
influences 47, 175, (78); Spanish
299. (222-224)
Theodore de Bry (eng.) 212
Thomas Jefferson (statesman, archt.)
423
Tiffanv, Louis C. (dec.) 458, 459,
462,'484
files: Dutch (237, 238); Spanish
299, (219, 220)
Tillieres, chapel 187, 195
Tintoretto (Giacopo Robusti)
(painter) 114, 131
Titian (Tizinno Vecelli) (painter)
114, 313
Tivoli, Villa d'Este 161, 171
Toft (cer.) 382, 383, (295)
Toledo: cathedral, doorway 278;
Transparent*" in same 283; San
Clemente doorway 278, (199);
Santa Cruz Hospital court 280;
ceiling 283; stair-wall 2S1; Tavera
tombs 284
Tombs: Early types 92-94, (7, 11,
22, 23); Bruni in Sta. Crocc,


INDEX
v
Val del Vira (archt.) 279
Valencia: San Andrea portal 292,
(214); Santa Catalina, tower 293
Valenciennes lace 316
Valentino di Lira (archt.) 325
Valladolid: Cathedral 272; La
Pasion 289; University facade 292
Valmarano palace, Vicenza 123
Van Brugh (archt.) 369
Van Loo (painter) 250
Van Orley, Bernhard (tap.) 313
Vanvitelli (archt.) 174
Varguenos, Spanish 296
Varin (eng.) 234
Vasari, Giorgio (archt., painter) 134
Vases: Medicis at Versailles 244;
from Menard-le-Chateau 244,
(180)
Vasquez, Manoel (archt.) 291, 293
Vassall-Craigie house, Cambridge,
Mass. (304)
Vatican: Borgia apartments 31;
Camera della Segnatura 31, 133,
138; coved ceilings 132; Hall of
Maps 134; Loggie 31, 124; stuc-
coes 134, (93); doors 138, (100);
Sala Rcgia 133, (19); Sistine
Chapel 73, 94, 126, 127, 133;
tapestries 150, (113)
Venetia, Renaissance enters 41-45
Venetian knocker, 17th-century
(136)
Venetian lace 176, (135)
Venetian printers, early 109
Venice: Academy ceiling 83; Casa
Dario 45; chimney-piece ornament
(49); Doge's Palace 131, 167, (49,
88), ceilings 127, Giants' stairs
44, panel from (40); Fondaco dei
Turchi 45; Frari church, tombs in
93; I.ibreria (Library of San
Marco) 120; Pal. Vendramini 82,
118, (27); San Giobbe 44; San
Giorgio degli Schiavoni 44; San
Zacoaria 43, 53, 57, 279, (26);
Santa Maria dei Miracoli 44, 45,
57, 68, 73, 84, (45, 53, 60, 62 6);
Santa Maria del Orto 44; Santa
Maria della Salute 162, (119);
Santi Giovanni e Paolo, tombs in
93; Scuola di San Marco 44, 57;
Scuola di San Rocco 127; Zecca
(Mint) 123
Vercelli, San Andrea, twisted col-
umns in sacristy (117)
Verdure tapestries 314
Vermeyren (tap.) 313
Vermiculations and congelations 163,
(122)
Vernis Martin 253
Verneuil, corbel from 183, (138)
Verona: Palazzo del Consiglio 44;
Palazzo Pompef 122, (89 a)
Veronese, Paolo Cagliari (painter)
114, 131
Verrocchio, Andrea (di Cione)
(scp.) 62, 93
Versailles palace 226-227; ceiling-
cove (171); Galerie des Glaces
230, 232; interior 228; keystone
(184) ; the Trianons 227, 228, 257,
259; vase Medicis 244
Versatility of Renaissance artists
102
Vicenza: Basilica arcade 119, 120,
(89 6); Palazzo Valmarano 123;
Villa Capra 367
Victorian Gothic 433, 435, 436
Vienna: Belvedere Pal. 341; Royal
Library 340; Schwarzenberg Pal.
341; Votivkirche 436
Vigarnl, Felipe 285, 295
Vignola, Giacomo Barozzi da
(archt.) 31, 90, 113, 122, 134,
136, 143, 155, 172, 187
Villa: Albani, Rome 168, 170,
(128); Capra at Vicenza 367:
Caprarola, arcade 134, balus-
ters 137, ceiling (28); pilas-
ter 163, (121); d'Este, Tivoli
161, 171; Falconieri, Frascati
163 (116); I^inte near Viterbo
90, 137, 144; Madama, Rome
31, 125, stuccoes 134, 135,


INDEX
(94, 29); Medici, Rome 136; Pia,
Rome 136
Villas, Baroque 171
Villas and Gardens, etc. 136, 137
Vinas J. B. (archt.) 293
Vinci, Lionardo da (painter) 113,
114, 143
Viollet-le-Duc, Eugene Emanuel
(archt.) 437
Virginia State Capitol, Richmond
428, 450
Visconti, L. T. G. (archt.) 440
Viterbo, Villa Lante near (at Bag-
naia) 90, 137, 144
Vitruvius in Spanish Renaissance
278
Vittoria, Alessandro (archt.) 167
Vogue, Hdtel de at Dijon 211, (56)
Voluted buttresses: Cathedral of
Syracuse (118); Santa Maria
della Salute, Venice (119)
Von Klenze (archt.) 427
Votivkirche, Vienna 436
Vredeman de Vries, Jan and Paul
(engs.) 320
W
Wagner, Otto (archt.) 467
Wainscot: English 364; French 195,
196, 213, (149, 153)
Waldstein Palace, Prague 335
Walter, Thomas U. (archt.) 453
Ward, W. H., quoted 181, 234-236
Washington, D. C: Capitol 451;
Congressional Library 462; "Octa-
gon" or Tayloe House 410; Patent
Office 452
Washington Column, Baltimore,
Md. 452
Water Gate, London 367
Waterhouse, Sir Alfred (archt.) 438
Watteau (painter) 250, 254, 258
Wedgwood, Josiah (cer.) 383, 384,
(297)
West Street Building, New York,
476
Westminster Abbey, Henry VII's
Chapel 354, 355
White, Stanford (archt., dec.) 485
Whitehall Palace, Banqueting Hall
367
Wight, Peter B. (archt.) 445, 454,
463
Wilhelm Mttller (archt.) 338
Wilhelm Pannemaker (tap.) 313
William Morris 420, 444
Wilton House 367
Window, Dinkelsbuehl 333, (244)
Windows: English 360; Early
Renaissance Italian 87, 88, (67,
17); French 189, (141); Middle
Renaissance Italian 121, (90);
in United States (Colonial) 397,
398, 399, (303)
W'ismar, Fiirstenhof 327, 337, (82)
Withers, Frederick C. (archt.) 454
Woolworth Building, New York 476
Wooden cornices in Spain 283, (209)
Woodwork: Colonial 403, 406, (308-
314, 93-96); Early Renaissance
Italian 99-101, (76, 77); English
362-365, 370, (273, 278, 279);
French 195-198, 213, (149, 150);
Middle Renaissance Italian 138-
140, (100, 101)
Wren, Sir Christopher (archt.) 367,
368, 369, 370, 400, 409 (279)
Wright, Frank Lloyd (archt.) 474
Wurzburg, Liebfrauenkirche, win-
dows 333
Y
Yellin, Samuel (iron-w.) 479
Yonkers, N. Y., Phillip.se Manor,
chimney-piece (305)
York, St" Wilfrid's 434
7,
Zecca (Mint), Venice 123
Zwinger Palace, Dresden 341, (84)
521





7^ 2530
NK Hamlin, Alfred D.
1175. A history of
,H3 ornanent.
1973
Vol. 2