classic art with the vigorous traditions and myths of the Longobards and
the symbolisms of the old Byzantine, thus producing the architecture
known as Lombardic, with its multiplicity of small columns and arches,
quaint imagery of sculpture, and the frequent use of a lion or dragon as
a support for the columns. These are features of the early art at Lucca,
and at Bergamo, Padua, Verona, and other towns in Lombardy; a beautiful
illustration from Lucca is given in the appendix to Ruskin’s “_Stones of
Venice_,” Vol. 1. Contemporary with this period came the Gothic
influence with its clustered columns, pointed arches, its cusps and
crockets, and its strong vitality, impressing the arts and architecture
with this Gothic personality; hence, during the 12th and 13th centuries
in Italy, this intermingling of styles, traditions, religious beliefs
and myths, produced an art barbaric and vigorous in character, the
imagery full of suggestiveness, and the detail rich and varied in
conception. Yet it was but the herald of a style which culminated in the
glorious epoch of the Renascence, a style where symmetry was to play an
important part, as in classic art, where refinement of line and detail,
of culture and craftsmanship, are found; and which, though beautiful in
proportion, unity of parts, and perfect adaptability, yet lacked that
symbolism, suggestiveness, inventiveness, and rugged personality of the
early Byzantine, Lombardic and Gothic styles.
ITALIAN Renascence is broadly divided into three periods. Tre-cento,
A.D. 1300 to 1400; Quattro-cento, A.D. 1400 to 1500; and Cinque-cento,
A.D. 1500 to 1600. In the Tre-cento style this intermingling of the
classic details with the Lombardic and Gothic constructions produced
such remarkable buildings as S. Maria della Spina, and the Campo Santo
at Pisa, by Giovanni Pisano 1240-1320; the Palazzo Vecchio, the Church
of Santa Croce, and the Cathedral of Florence, by Arnolfo di Cambio
(1232-1310), with its alternate courses of black and white marble, and
its Gothic arches and tracery; the beautiful Campanile by Giotto
(1276-1336) is a noble accessory to Arnolfo’s Cathedral. A charming
illustration of this Tre-cento period, from Giotto’s Campanile, is the
frontispiece to Ruskin’s “_Seven Lamps of Architecture_.”
The sculpture and decorative arts of this period are marked by dignity
of conception, and a mingling of Gothic and classical traditions.
Perhaps the earliest examples known are the hexagonal pulpit in the
Baptistery at Pisa, a similar one in the Cathedral at Siena, and the
fountain at Perugia, all by Nicolo Pisano (1206-76). He was assisted in
much of his work by his son Giovanni, who also executed the pulpit in
the Cathedral at Pisa. Andrea Pisano (1273-1344), a pupil of Giovanni
executed a beautiful bronze gate or door, cast in 1332, for the
Baptistery at Florence.
A fine monumental work of this period is the tomb of St. Peter the
Martyr, in the Church of St. Eustorgio at Milan, by Balducco di Pisa,
1308-47.
The QUATTRO-CENTO period, of which Lorenzo Ghiberti (1381-1465), was the
great master, is remarkable for its vitality and naturalism. Ghiberti’s
chief works are the two bronze gates for the Florentine Baptistery; the
first gate is dated 1403-24, and the second 1425-50. Both have panels
modelled in low relief, the first with incidents from the New, and the
second from the Old Testament. The frame-work of these gates has a
series of single figures in niches, with circular medallions between
them. The bronze architrave round each of the Ghiberti gates, in
addition to the one he placed round the earlier gate, by Andrea Pisano,
are rich examples of Quattro-cento design. The details are natural
fruits, flowers, and foliage, banded-together with ribbons, with the
introduction of birds, squirrels, &c. The egg-plant and pomegranate
portion (fig. 1) is a familiar example.
[Illustration]
Other masters of this period were Jacopo della Quercia (1371-1438) who
executed the beautiful monument here shown, to Ilaria di Carretto, in
the cathedral at Lucca. The recumbent figure of Ilaria is sculptured in
white marble with perfect simplicity and beauty; another famous work of
Jacopo was the fountain at Siena.
Luca della Robbia (1400-82) executed a beautiful organ gallery in marble
for the Cathedral at Florence, with admirable singing and dancing
figures in relief. But beautiful as this work is, Luca’s reputation
rests upon his Enamelled Terra Cotta, which he perfected to a
remarkable degree. Modelled first in clay and coated with tin enamel
(see Maiolica), he produced a marvellous series of these reliefs, which
were invariably surrounded with the typical quattro-cento border of
modelled fruit and flowers, enamelled in bright colours. His nephew,
Andrea della Robbia (1445-1525) continued the traditions, methods, and
skill, with marked success; and also Andrea’s son Giovanni (1524) who
executed a beautiful frieze upon the façade of the hospital at Pistoja.
Andrea’s other sons, Girolamo and Luca carried the art into France under
Francis I. (1531.) Donatello (1386-1466) was remarkable for the singular
grace and sincerity of his portraiture, especially of children; the
dancing figures in relief on the panels of the singing gallery of the
Cathedral of Florence, are perfect examples of his art. Donatello also
carried the art of low flat relief called “_Stiacciato_” to the greatest
perfection. An illustration of Donatello’s work, from the high altar of
St. Antonio at Padua, is here given.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The art of the medallist, which had declined since the Roman period, now
took its position among the arts of the quattro-cento period, under
Vittore Pisano, called Pisanello (1380-1451). The vigour of his
modelling, and the individuality of his medals of the contemporary
Princes of Italy, are exceedingly fine. Among other remarkable
medallists were Sperandio of Verona (1423-90); Caradosso, of Milan
(1480-1545); Vincentine, of Vicenza (1468-1546); Benvenuto Cellini, of
Florence (1500-71); Lione Leoni (1498-1560); Pompeoni Leoni (1530-1610);
and Pastorino, of Siena (1510-91). The great dome of Arnolfo’s Cathedral
at Florence was designed by Brunelleschi (1377-1446), who was a
competitor with Ghiberti for the bronze gates of the Baptistery at
Florence. Other names of this period were Desiderio da Settignano
(1428-64,) his masterpiece being the tomb of Carlo Marzuppini, in the
Church of Santa Croce, Florence; Mino da Fiesole (1430-84); Andrea
Verrocchio (1435-88); the author of the fine equestrian statue of
Bartolommeo Colleone at Venice (see Bronzes); Matteo Civitali
(1435-1501); and the Rossellini, a remarkable family of five brothers,
of which the most famous was Antonio Rossellini (1427-79), who executed
a charming tomb to Cardinal Jacopo di Portogallo in the Church of the
Nunziata, Florence.
The CINQUE-CENTO period was the culmination of the Renascence, when
architecture, sculpture, painting, and the decorative arts, were under
the magnificent patronage of the Popes and Princes of Italy. Palaces,
churches, and public buildings were completed and embellished with
beautiful sculptures and decorations; hung with the most sumptuous
fabrics of the Venetian, Florentine, and Genoese looms; decorated with
altar paintings and mural decorations, by the most renowned of painters;
and enriched with the magnificent productions of the gold and
silversmiths’ art, and the loveliest of intarsia or inlaid woodwork.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Michel Angelo Buonarroti (1474-1653), by his great intellect and power,
stands above his many contemporaries. The colossal figure of _David_,
and the _Madonna_ and _Child_ at Bruges, are familiar examples of this
great artist’s work. The magnificent tombs of Lorenzo and Giuliano de
Medici at Florence, show his noble power and conceptions of art. The
splendid decorative work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the
Vatican is another example where unity of conception and marvellous
execution are shown in a remarkable degree. Two illustrations of this
ceiling are given--one of the panels, with the expulsion from Eden, and
one of the Sibyls or Prophets, both showing beautiful harmony of
incident and composition.
[Illustration]
Contemporary with Michel Angelo was Raphael (1483-1520), who displayed
the highest capacity for grace and refinement in painting. His principal
mural paintings are in the stanze of the Vatican, where four rooms are
painted in fresco, almost entirely by Raphael. The Loggia of the
Vatican, by Bramante, was also decorated by Raphael and his pupils. The
then-recent discoveries of the Baths of Titus and House of Livia, with
their Roman mural painting, influenced in a remarkable degree the
decorative painting of the Cinque-Cento period. These arabesques (or, as
they were termed, Grotteschi, being found in the supposed caves or
grottos of Roman gardens), were utilised by Raphael in the decoration of
the pilasters, piers, and walls of this Loggia. The designs were painted
with a fine range of colour upon white ground, and enclosed within
borders of modelled stucco ornaments. In the panels upon the ceiling,
Raphael painted a series of 52 incidents of the Bible. These are spoken
of as “Raphael’s Bible.”
[Illustration]
Raphael was assisted in this work of the Loggia by many contemporary
artists: Giovanni da Udine (1494-1564), Giulio Romano (1492-1546),
Francesco Penni (1488-1528), Perino del Vaga (1500-47), and Primaticcio
(1490-1580), who completed much of the work after Raphael’s death. These
artists carried his traditions and methods to other parts of Italy.
Giulio Romano executed some fine mural decorations at the Villa Madama
in Rome; and for Federigo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, he enriched with
beautiful decorative paintings and arabesques, the Palazzo Ducale and
the Palazzo del Te. These arabesques were upon richly coloured or
parti-coloured grounds (see plates 86-9 “_Grammar of Ornament_,” by Owen
Jones).
[Illustration]
These arabesques of Raphael’s, which were excelled by later ones of
Giulio Romano, show a great inventiveness and skilful combination of
parts, but they are not to be compared with the refined and beautiful
modelling and harmonious composition of the contemporary carved work of
Andrea Sansovino (1460-1528), Jacopo Sansovino (1486-1570), Agostino
Busti, Pietro Lombardo (1500), and his sons Tullio and Antonio. These
delicate reliefs have the traditional Roman acanthus, but treated with a
fine feeling for relief modelling, and beauty of line; vases, masks,
shields, and similar accessories are found in profusion in some examples
(fig. 3, plate 19). The composition of the Cinque-cento ornament is
symmetrical, the details being varied and most interesting in the best
work, and whilst lacking the vigour and symbolism of the Lombardic and
Byzantine styles, it excelled them in its absolute adaptation to
architectural conditions, with perfection of design and craftsmanship.
[Illustration]
Andrea Mantegna (1431-1517) executed nine paintings or cartoons in
tempera upon linen, representing the triumphs of Julius Cæsar, which are
a portion of the cartoons for a frieze 9 feet high and 80 feet long,
painted for Lodovico Gonzaga’s Palace of St. Sebastian at Mantua, they
were purchased by Charles I., and are now at Hampton Court. An
illustration of this frieze, from an engraving upon copper in the
British Museum, is given on page 55; they were also engraved on wood by
Andrea Andreani in 1599.
Many beautiful examples of the Cinque-Cento ornament may be found in
contemporary printed and illuminated books. The advent of printing in
Italy (1465) by the Germans, Conrad Sweynheym and Arnold Pannitz at the
Benedictine Monastery of Subiaco, near Rome, gave a great impetus to
Literature, and printing rapidly progressed in Italy, more especially at
Venice, where in 1499 Aldus Manutius produced the Hypnerotomachia, or
dream of Poliphilus
[Illustration:
RENASCENCE ORNAMENT. Plate 19.
]
with illustrations ascribed to Mantegna. Good reproductions of many of
these early illustrated books are given in the “_Italian Book
Illustrations_,” by A. W. Pollard, No. 12 of the Portfolio, December,
1894; and in “_The Decorative Illustration of Books_,” by Walter Crane.
[Illustration]
The study of classical architecture was stimulated by the publication at
Rome in 1486, of the treatise by Vitruvius, an architect of the time of
Augustus; an edition was also published at Florence in 1496, and at
Venice in 1511. In 1570, Fra Giocondo, at Venice, published “_The Five
Books of Architecture_,” by Andrea Palladio (1518-80). Another treatise
upon architecture, by Serlio (1500-52), was also published at Venice in
1537 and 1540.
[Illustration]
Beautiful types of the Renascence decorative art were the Venetian
well-heads, situated as they were in most of the public squares of
Venice, and in many of the court-yards of her princely palaces. Designed
with details of the most varied and beautiful character by such artists
as Andrea Sansovino, Pietro Lombardo, and his sons Tullio and Antonio,
the Venetian well-head became a type of beauty, diversified in its
treatment, but never losing its characteristics or its usefulness.
Venetian well-heads display a great variety of form and decoration. The
earlier examples are square or circular, with enrichments of Byzantine
character, consisting largely of interlacing, circular, and angular
lines, enclosing quaint bird and animal forms. In the later examples the
Renascence treatment is used with singular richness and appropriateness,
the grace, delicacy and diversity of detail being a tribute to the
vivacity and artistic feeling of the Venetian Republic. These
well-heads, worked mostly in white marble and evincing good judgment in
the quality of relief, now show comparatively little injury after
centuries of usefulness. Occasionally they were of bronze, of which two
fine examples are still in position in the court-yard of the Doge’s
Palace. Many of these well-heads are carefully treasured in our
European Museums, teaching us that beauty of form, and perfection and
delicacy of ornament are quite compatible with usefulness, when used by
an artistic people.
[Illustration]
The Renascence in Italy was remarkable for the many magnificent secular
buildings erected during the 15th and 16th centuries in the chief cities
in Italy.
In FLORENCE the palaces have a severe dignity of treatment, with bold
rusticated courses of stone-work, circular-headed windows, and
finely-proportioned cornices. The first Renascence palace was the
Riccardi (1430) by Michelozzi (1370-1440); and it was followed by the
Pitti (1435), by Brunelleschi (1377-1444), the Rucellai (1460), by Leon
Battista Alberti (1389-1472), the Strozzi (1489), by Cronaca
(1454-1509), the Gondi (1490), by Giuliano Sangallo (1443-1507), the
Guadagni and the Nicolini, by Bramante (1444-1514), the Pandolfini
(1520), by Raphael (1483-1520), and the Bartolini (1520), by Baccio
d’Agnolo (1460-1543).
In ROME the palaces were characterised by largeness of scale and the
frequent use of Ionic and Corinthian pilasters or columns, and
square-headed windows with triangular or curved pediments. The chief
palaces in Rome are the Cancelleria (1495) and the Giraud (1506) by
Bramante (1444-1514), the Farnesina (1506), the Massimi (1510), and the
Villa Ossoli (1525), by Baldassare Peruzzi (1481-1536), the Palma and
the Farnese, by Antonio Sangallo (1476-1546), the Borghese (1590), by
Martino Lunghi, the Laterano, by Fontana (1543-1610), and the Barberini,
by Carlo Maderno (1556-1629), Borromini (1599-1667), and Bernini
(1598-1680).
In VENICE the palaces were rich and varied; with the frequent use of
pilasters, semi-columns and circular-headed mullioned windows suggested
by the earlier Gothic palaces. The Renascence period commenced here with
the re-building of the court-yard of the Doge’s Palace (1486) by Antonio
Bregno, and completed in 1550 by Scarpagnino. Then came a beautiful
series of buildings, the chief being:--the Vendramini, the Trevisani,
and the Gradenigo Palaces, by Sante Lombardo (1504-1560); the Cornaro
Palace and the Library of St. Mark’s, by Sansovino (1479-1570), and the
Grimani Palace by San Michele (1484-1559).
FRENCH RENASCENCE.
Towards the close of the 15th century, the vigorous and beautiful Gothic
architecture of France, with its rich traceried and mullioned windows,
its niches and canopies, its crocketed spires and varied treatment of
floral enrichment, lost its vitality; and was succeeded by the
Renascence style, which at first was purely Italian, but afterwards,
with the intermingling of Gothic traditions and craftsmanship, became a
distinct phase of the Renascence.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
French Renascence may be broadly divided into distinctive periods: 1st.
The earlier or transitional, 1453-1515, when the influence of the
Renascence began to be felt. 2nd. 1515-47, FRANÇOIS PREMIER. This period
is remarkable for the number of Italians engaged by Francis I. for the
embellishment of the Château Fontainbleau, the principal being Rosso,
painter; Serlio and Vignola, architects; Primaticcio and Penni,
ornamentists, Benvenuto Cellini, with his beautiful goldsmiths’ art; and
Girolamo della Robbia, who produced enamelled Terra Cotta. The work of
these renowned craftsmen necessarily had a marked influence upon the
traditional French art. Of the architecture of this period, there is the
south-west angle of the Louvre, commenced in 1548 by Pierre Lescot
(1510-78), and enriched with sculpture by Jean Goujon (1515-72), who
also executed the sculptures that embellished the beautiful Château
Ecouen, by Jean Bullant (1515-60), and the beautiful fountain of the
Innocents at Paris, of which an illustration of one of the panels is
here given. The tomb of Louis XII., at St. Denis, by Jean Juste (1518),
is remarkable for the purity of its enrichments.
3rd. HENRI DEUX and HENRI QUATRE period, 1547-1610, when the building of
the Tuileries was commenced in 1564 by Philibert de Lorme (1500-78), the
building of the Louvre being continued by De Carreau and Duperac; the
Luxembourg being subsequently built by De Brosse, 1610. This period was
also represented by the exquisite Ceramics of Oiron or Henri Deux Ware,
and the fine geometrical interlacings and arabesques of the bookbindings
of Grolier.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
4th period, 1610-43, under LOUIS TREIZE, when considerable skill was
shown in the carved and painted shell and scroll ornament, and in the
bookbindings of Le Gascon.
[Illustration]
5th. LOUIS QUATORZE period, 1643-1715, of which the palace of Versailles
and the Château Maison, by François Mansard (1598-1666), are typical
examples of architecture. The decorative compositions of le Pautre (see
annexed illustrations), and the richly-decorated furniture, with
marquetry in tortoise-shell and brass, by André Boule (1642-1732); the
magnificent Gobelins tapestry, so liberally encouraged by the Minister
Colbert (1667); and the beautiful Rouen pottery; are characteristic of
the industrial and decorative arts.
[Illustration]
6th. LOUIS QUINZE period, 1715-74, when the Rococo style was paramount,
the vitality of the preceding periods being lost. The pastoral scenes by
the painter Watteau (1684-1721), and the inlaid furniture of Jean
François Ochen (1754-65), for Madame de Pompadour, are typical of this
period.
7th. LOUIS SEIZE, 1774-89. The arts of this period are more refined and
reserved in line, as evinced in the fine marquetry furniture of Riesener
and David Roentgen with the ormolu mountings by Gouthière (1740-1810),
for Marie Antoinette.
The last period, EMPIRE STYLE, 1804-70, when purely classical forms and
Greek enrichments prevailed throughout the whole of the decorative
arts.
ENGLISH RENASCENCE.
The English Renascence period began during the reign of Henry VIII., and
was contemporary with that of France under Francis I. It was Torrigiano,
a contemporary of Michel Angelo, who about 1519 brought this new
Renascence style into repute by erecting the tomb of Henry VII., and
that of the Countess of Richmond, in Westminster Abbey.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
English Renascence was further developed by Hans Holbein (1498-1554),
who came into this country in 1526, followed by craftsmen from Flanders,
Germany and Italy. This intermingling of Flemish, German and Italian
styles with the traditional Gothic of our own country, distinguishes
English Renascence from that of France and Italy. The marked prevalence
of interlacing strap-work, which is so characteristic of Elizabethan and
Jacobean ornament, had its origin in Flemish sources.
[Illustration]
Of English Renascence architecture, Caius College, Cambridge, (1565-74),
by Theodore Hare, of Cleves, and Longleat House (1567-79), by John
Thorp, are the earliest examples extant. The Wonderful Palace of Nonsuch
(of which no trace remains) was erected by Henry VIII. about 1530-40,
doubtless in the Renascence style, as we know that it was embellished
with beautifully enriched stucco ornaments and figures by Tolo del
Nunziato. Robert Smithson built Wollaton House in 1580. Hardwicke Hall
and Haddon Hall are of the later Elizabethan age (1592-97). Typical
buildings of the Jacobean period are Holland House (1607), Hatfield
(1611), Bolsover (1613), Audley End (1616), Crewe Hall and Aston Hall
(1620). These are all enriched with many beautiful examples of modelled
plaster work. That at Longleat and Hardwicke being executed by Charles
Williams, and at Audley End, by Bernard Jansen (1615).
English stucco-work of this period often consisted of geometrical
panelling similar in style to the Tudor fan-tracery and the pendentives
of the preceding century. These richly-moulded pendentives were
connected together by bands of pierced strap-work decorated with
arabesques in low relief. From 1615 to 1650 the panels were composed of
purely geometrical forms, such as circles, squares, lozenges and
interlacing quatre-foils, enriched with delicate arabesques, the ribs or
mouldings frequently having a repeating pattern impressed in the soft
plaster.
The many fine friezes of this period were remarkable for their boldness
of conception and their skilful craftsmanship; frequently a double
frieze was used, the lower part consisting of delicate arabesques and
interlacing strap-work, while the upper part was of boldly modelled
cartouche and delicate arabesques. During the latter part of the 17th
century, owing to French influence, the stucco enrichment usually
consisted of acanthus foliage and festoons.
From Charles I., (1625), to Queen Anne, (1702), the purely Italian
Renascence prevailed; the Banqueting House at Whitehall, by Inigo Jones,
(1572-1652), being a fine example of this period. St. Paul’s Cathedral
(1675-1710) by Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) and his many beautiful
churches in London, mark a distinct epoch of English Renascence; the
tradition being carried-on by Vanbrugh (1666-1736) who built Blenheim
Palace and Castle Howard. Other architects of this period were Hawksmoor
(1666-1726), Kent (1684-1754), Gibbs (1674-1754), Chambers (1726-96),
who built Somerset House, and Robert Adam (1725-92), who carried on the
traditional method of stucco enrichment, but in a more rigid and formal
classic manner. His geometrical panelling of hexagons, octagons, and
ovals, was enriched with conventional renderings of the acanthus and
olive leaf arranged in small units and repeated without variation over
the whole of the surface. These enrichments were cast in plaster or
compo and were mechanical in treatment, lacking the beautiful decorative
quality of the modelled stucco of the early 17th century. The Wellington
Monument in St. Paul’s Cathedral, by Alfred Stevens, is distinguished
from much of the modern work by its strong vitality and architectonic
treatment of the composition, and the beauty and singular grace of its
detail.
[Illustration:
MAHOMETAN ORNAMENT. Plate 20.
]
MAHOMETAN & MORESQUE.