the villages of Holland; quaint appliances for wells, ingeniously
worked (page 80), or little bridges that span dividing dykes,
and connect homesteads with the highways. One from Zuiderwoude,
near the edge of the Zuider Zee, is illustrated on this page. It is
built of brick relieved by a little stonework. On the keystone of the
arch appears the date of 1799. The wooden gates above give access
to the farm and the fields. The Dutch, too, have a marked fondness
for natural beauty, as is demonstrated by the skill they display in
laying-out open spaces. All towns can show flower gardens and lawns,
or old fortifications overlooked by gaunt watch-towers, transformed
into pleasant parks. Nijmegen and Arnhem are noteworthy in this
respect. Very charming, too, are the village streets, of which that at
Brigdamme (page 18) is a typical instance. They are lined with many
trees that afford kindly shade in summer and shelter from the wind,
and gratify the eyes with traceries of green.
DIVISION II
EXTERIOR FEATURES--DOORS, WINDOWS, GABLES & ORNAMENTS
From the time when Dutch houses were built in a definite recognised
style the features were always treated with skill and care. The
many and crowded openings were accentuated. Doorways became imposing
through the enrichment that surrounded them and windows were similarly
emphasised. Panels, carvings, and ironwork decorated the walls, while
the crowning gables, crow-stepped or curved, completed the richness of
the buildings. Upon all these details, whether for a public building
or private dwelling, great labour was expended. A careful examination
of them discloses much inventive readiness and meritorious execution.
Particular prominence was given to external doorways. The manner
of their treatment varied widely. They were regarded as more than
mere ways of access and upon them the best skill of the craftsmen
was frequently concentrated. A personal note would be added by
the introduction of the owner's arms or initials, the date of the
work, or some quaint conceit of peculiar and subtle meaning. Among
the examples extant, those of the early period incline to greatest
simplicity. They were based on the current forms that were employed
in ecclesiastical and civic architecture. The openings are spacious
and are surrounded by mouldings. The arches at the heads are pointed,
trefoil, or elliptic shapes. When there are label-mouldings above
they follow the curves of the arches and support or surround the arms,
panels, or other decorations.
The doorway at Delft (page 87) is a good example of work dictated by
Gothic influences. From carved stops at each side spring the simple
mouldings that extend round the opening. It is surmounted by a label,
near the centre of which is a three-sided space, enclosed by mouldings
and filled by a winged cherub's head carved in relief, while the
label is terminated by a finial. The wooden door is noteworthy. It
is composed of six boards and upon the outer face of each are shallow
grooves running continuously from top to bottom. Projecting nailheads
arranged in vertical lines, together with other ironwork, give further
interesting ornamentation. Another doorway from the same town (page
88) is built of stone and moulded bricks. The space at the head,
contained within a trefoil arch, has carved upon it a shield--lacking
armorial bearings--supporters, and a scroll with the date of 1547. The
semi-circular arch which surrounds the trefoil is one of the series
that repeat across the building. That other early type of house,
peculiar for its windowed ground floor front constructed in wood,
such as is given from Veere on page 44, had its entrance doorway made
with three plain stout timbers, one at each side and one across the
top as a lintel. An elaboration of the simple wooden doorway occurs
at Leiden (page 89). It is crowned by mouldings, below which appears
an ogee arch shaped in wood. The parti-coloured effect of the door
itself is achieved by the application of contrasting tints of paint.
The circular arch followed the pointed although simultaneously a
modified form of the latter, of which that from Haarlem (page 89) is an
instance, continued to be used. Of circular-arched doorways there are
endless examples which were erected in a manner that became general
and customary. They were usually built in stone and bricks. Those
from Leiden (below), Flushing (page 91), and Leeuwarden (page 86)
are characteristic. The Leiden doorway of 1615, with moulded opening
and carved archstones, is doubtless the earliest of the three and most
nearly allied to the work of the preceding century. The two remaining
examples incline to later influences, particularly to be observed in
the enrichment of the jambs.
Changing taste brought a new treatment to external doorways. They
were affected by the same forces that altered the outward character
of late sixteenth and seventeenth-century houses. Renaissance detail
gradually became established and doorways of the seventeenth-century
were frankly treated in a Classic way, rich in pilasters, capitals,
friezes, pediments and mouldings, with an especial preference for an
adapted form of the Ionic order. Stone was now almost exclusively
used for this feature, unaccompanied by brick. "Delvitt's Poort"
at Woudrichem (page 85) shows a rather advanced development for
the period of 1611 to which it belongs. The whole of it is painted,
with the carved details picked out in different colours. Two doorways
illustrated here are well designed and proportioned. They are
distinguished by the elaboration that appears at their heads. Upon the
frieze immediately above the arch of the Kampen example (page 93) will
be seen the inscription and date of 1665, over which is a broken
pediment surmounted by particularly well-rendered armorial bearings
carved in stone. The frieze at Leeuwarden (page 89) is similarly
inscribed, the date in this case being 1675, while within the heavily
moulded pediment is a coat of arms. Less complicated is the doorway
from Leiden of 1655 (page 96). It is crowned by mouldings and decorated
below by festoons in relief. The above will show the fashion of the
time, tending towards correctness in design, with details carefully
thought out and well executed.
Many eighteenth-century doorways were unduly florid and may well
be described as rococo. That from Marssum in Friesland (below),
belonging to the year 1713, is of this kind. The overladen ornament and
peculiarities of design suggest the unreality of a poor stage-setting,
rather than serious architecture; while the incongruity of the work
can only be appreciated by an inspection of the original, situated as
it is among cottages in a quiet village street. Later in the century
French influence was predominant. Details, such as are noticeable in
the Arnhem doorway (page 94), were based on the Louis XV. style which
not only affected the work of the towns but permeated into the heart
of the country. The small cottage doors and doorways in villages such
as Broek have all the attributes of the then prevailing mode.
The wooden doors were much enriched either with applied ironwork,
or mouldings and panels. Metal locks, bolts, hinges and nails are
conspicuous in the early specimens. The use of ironwork on the door
from Dordrecht (page 95) is carried to an extreme degree; but, be it
noted, all the fittings have a practical purpose. It was only after
needs had been provided for that embellishment was added, discernible
in the shaping of the lock-plates and hinges and the arrangement of the
nailheads. The centre of the more recent example from Haarlem (page 95)
is occupied by a large sunk panel surrounded by mouldings, a section of
which is given. A good piece of woodcarving is that appearing on the
lintel, having for its subject a ship sailing on rough water.
Windows of houses were almost always square-headed. They appear so in
existing examples belonging to the Gothic period. The traceries and
pointed heads, usual in early civic buildings, were rarely adopted
for house windows, although arched spaces, filled with tracery, were
not uncommonly built over them. A fine series of such window-heads is
to be seen on the stone front of the "Scotch House" at Veere (page
97); there are others at Kampen and on a house in the Groenmarkt at
Dordrecht. Except in cases where the openings were small, they were
divided vertically by mullions and transversely by cross-bars. The
lower windows were closed by wooden shutters. Two examples, from
Nijmegen and Dordrecht (page 99), both of Gothic design and of
sixteenth century workmanship, are illustrated. The Dordrecht shutter
is constructed of beautifully grained pieces of oak, jointed and
pegged together.
Late Gothic windows have also pointed and elliptical arches over
the heads unenriched by decoration. They were customarily built in
brickwork, with the window spaces flush, or set back from the face
of the walling. Pointed arches ceased to be generally used after
the coming of the Renaissance. The elliptical shape, however,
continued, and the establishment of the circular arch was but a
short and natural step in development. These two forms obtained
for many succeeding years. Instances of either type are presented
in the drawing from Zwolle (page 101), and innumerable others are
shown by the illustrations in this volume. They were not given up
until displaced by classic pediments, or the overhead feature was
altogether abandoned. The gabled front at Gorinchem (page 103), built
in stone and brick, has circular arches appearing over the windows.
The enclosed spaces are richly decorated by stone carvings, and the
character of the work seems to be advanced for the period to which it
apparently belongs. Much interesting sculpture is also distributed
over the gable and walls of this building.
Windows were first glazed with leaded lights. Small squares of glass,
as at Dordrecht (page 98), or diamond panes were used. But during the
seventeenth century the employment of wooden bars became universal and
leadwork went out of fashion. The openings were divided centrally by
transoms, the lower windows receding inwards considerably more than
the upper ones.
Wooden shutters, opening outwards, were still customary. They were
occasionally large enough to cover the whole window, but usually
only the lower half was furnished with them. Seventeenth-century
shutters are not comparable, in point of carved enrichment, with
those of Gothic times; the woodwork, frequently devoid of ornament,
is fastened to the window-frames by iron strap-hinges, and fitted
with bolts and catches. They are, however, brightly painted and
are interesting in consequence, giving colour to the architectural
groups. Many harmonious schemes are to be observed; green and white;
white, green and red; yellow and black; red and black; and numerous
others. The coloured drawing from Nijmegen (opposite) shows shutters
painted in red and black; while several specimens, from North and
South Holland, are given (pages 98 to 100). The glazing of windows
was first enclosed by casements, with hinges to open and shut. After
casements came sash windows, which were substituted for the older
form. There are many shown in the illustrations. Those from Flushing
(page 105), appearing on a house dated 1625, differ somewhat from the
usual type, being surrounded by mouldings and carvings. Dormer windows
also, as has already been stated, became much-developed features during
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Three characteristic
specimens are given: two from Kampen, of the years 1626 and 1634, and
a later dormer, from Marssum, belonging to the eighteenth century, all
shown on page 102.
The distinguishing gables--so often mentioned, and intimately
associated with house development--exhibit infinite varieties of
treatment. Between the early stepped shapes, and the fantastic outlines
of later days, there is an innumerable succession. They followed the
trend of design prevalent at the time of their erection. Thus, the
two gables, from Kampen (page 104) and Dordrecht (page 107), are in
keeping with the current forms of the late Gothic period. They are
both built of stone and decorated on the face with sunk panels and
carvings. The Kampen gable has pinnacles rising from the coping of the
steps, usual features in work of the time; while the twisted finials at
Dordrecht, associated with the first quarter of the sixteenth century,
are worthy of notice.
It is impossible to consider here in detail the numerous vicissitudes
through which the development of the gable passed during the many years
that Gothic and Renaissance motives were acting together as guiding
influences. Roughly and briefly, mediæval character was observed in
respect to construction and general management of masses--evident by
the stepped and curved gables--with a marked tendency to Classic
feeling in the handling of details. Work was carried out wholly in
brick, or in brick relieved by stone. Among the large number of
different outlines that are in evidence, those based on the original
stepped form show predominantly. But the spirit of the times is
discernible in the culminating pediments, mouldings, and stone
decorations. Four typical gables, all sketched in North Holland,
are illustrated (pages 106 and 109). A good example of shaping,
achieved by the use of oppositive curves, is that from Arnhem (page
108), and the stonework of the copings extends to the strapwork
ornament.
Two gables from Leiden (page 109) are well carried out in
brickwork. How effectively window-heads and copings were handled,
yet withal in a perfectly workmanlike way, is demonstrated by the
larger drawing; the brickwork is flush and obliquely tailed into the
horizontal courses of the wall.
Long sweeping curves were much employed in the shaping of later
gables. The house opposite the bridge in the Franeker illustration
(page 113) has such a gable, and it is dated 1735. Another, from
Amsterdam (page 110), has similar characteristics. Both are enriched
with stone representations of fruit and flowers, vases and festoons,
all quite in the spirit of late seventeenth and eighteenth-century
work.
The sides of the gables of farmhouses and country cottages, straight
and unshaped, are not uncommonly protected by barge-boards. The two
timbers, running from base to apex, may have mouldings worked at the
edge of them; or the undersides are diversified by repeating curves,
with pendants appearing at the lower ends. Both methods are figured
in detail in drawings 1, 2, and 4 on page 111. Fascia-boards, applied
to overhanging stories of wooden houses, are similarly decorated;
two are exemplified in numbers 6 and 7. The wooden finials, which
are planted on the outer faces of the gables at their highest points,
are variously shaped and perforated, and the details numbered 1, 2,
3 and 5 give four examples of them.
There is an absence of interesting chimneys in Holland, for the gable
ends of the high and narrow-fronted houses, bordering the street,
obscured from view these objects of usefulness. Solely utilitarian,
therefore, they generally remained, shafts of the simplest form,
serving the purpose for which they were devised, owing nothing to
beauty or ornament and little to precedent. When hipped roofs were
employed, instead of gables, chimneys came into greater prominence. But
even then--with an absence of developed, traditional forms to give
the basis for the evolution of a settled type--they did not constitute
important decorative factors in the architectural scheme. Many stacks
have neither mouldings nor other projection at the top. Chimneys a
little more elaborate than was usual are shown by the two illustrations
from Hoorn and Zutphen (page 112). They deviate somewhat from the plain
rectangular shape, and both have moulded heads; while the Hoorn example
has a pyramidal hood covered with lead and supported by four metal
uprights.
Isolated stone ornaments are numerous. They were inserted into walls
with freedom and wheresoever caprice or fancy suggested--high up on
gables, around doorways, over windows, or distributed on what would
otherwise have been unrelieved spaces. The rich appearance of the
buildings is in no small measure due to the extravagant use of these
details. That bizarre kind of ornament, known by the name of strapwork,
and well shown in the Arnhem gable (page 108), was freely used, as
was carved work based upon Italian motives. Among the latter may be
mentioned the more or less conventional representation of human forms,
fruit and flowers, birds, fishes and beasts, with prominence given
to heads of lions, or the complete animal in the attitude sejeant,
popularly used as a gable termination.
Of a more homely and personal character are the frequently occurring
panels bearing, in well-cut figures and letters, dates, mottoes,
and inscriptions; four are exemplified by the accompanying drawings
from Zutphen (page 115) and Haarlem (pages 114 to 116). Equally
symbolic of pride of home are the carved coats-of-arms which keep
green, by visible sign, the memory of the builder and the honour of
his house. One such armorial decoration from Workum, dated 1644, is
illustrated on page 115. All these little enrichments, so constantly
seen, are more than mere examples of craftsmanship; they essentially
express the sentiments of the man who caused the stones to be laid.
Things to be observed in everyday life naturally furnished subjects
for carvings in stone. The forces of Nature, greatly influential
in Holland--that is to say, water and wind and all that resulted
therefrom--were turned to for inspiration. Decoratively treated
water, with ships, windmills, and other appliances relevant to
human convenience or suggestive of enterprise, were especially
favoured. A windmill from Sneek, high in relief and painted black,
red, gold and white, together with a ship from Haarlem appearing in
an oval panel surrounded by a scrollwork frame, are illustrated (page
115). Interesting is the wall-panel at Franeker (page 114), with a
scene from local history depicted upon it; there is much spirit shown
in the carving of the men and horses, while the water, drawbridge, and
distant houses are well managed. The house known as "Inde Steenrotse,"
situated on the Dwars Quay at Middelburg, dated 1590, is noteworthy for
its large panels in high relief. It was built by a wealthy mason. Five
of the carved subjects portray various episodes connected with the
working of stone and two are here given (page 116); others, higher
up the building, represent biblical scenes from the Book of Exodus.
The mosaic decorations are of unusual interest, for they are of a kind
more or less peculiar to this country. They were formed by inlaying
small pieces of brick and stone set together to make repeating patterns
or panels. As was customary, materials were used with just regard for
their suitable adaptability to purpose; not employed unreasonably,
or strained to accomplish that for which they were not fitted. The
units were simple and results legitimate. This ornamental work was
principally used to enrich the arched spaces over window-heads; less
frequently it appears in bands carried horizontally across the
buildings.
The houses at Woudrichem (page 117)--inscribed "Iden Salamander 1606"
and "Zuden Gulden Engel 1593"--have notable examples of mosaics in the
window-heads. Two of the patterns are shown in detail on page 118,
together with two others from a house near by. All were achieved
by manipulating little shaped pieces of brick to form devices,
especially noticeable being the starlike figures with radiating
points. Work of a similar kind appears on the house at Zwolle, dated
1609, and illustrated on page 119. An enlarged drawing of one of the
window-heads (page 118) gives the precise arrangement of the brick and
stonework. There is quite a Moorish feeling evident in this design,
with the two main portions of inlay enclosed by arch-shaped lines
curved horseshoe fashion. The horseshoe arch was essentially a product
of Morocco, and the analogy with the East is further strengthened by
the fact that mosaic was a medium extensively used by Byzantine and
Saracenic artists. These circumstances all suggest the origin of the
employment of such work in Holland.
On page 118 is represented a small section of the horizontal mosaic
band that appears over the archway at Nijmegen (page 41). Simpler
patterns were also formed with ordinary narrow bricks and mortar. Two
examples are here given, both carried out in red and yellow bricks,--a
frieze at the first storey level of a house at Workum and shaped
spaces from Franeker (page 120).
Turning to external metalwork the most characteristic objects are the
iron wall-ties. They were applied to walls to give them stability. But
the possibilities for artistic treatment which the wall-ties offered
were by no means overlooked, as is demonstrated by the many and varied
forms produced by the blacksmiths, who regarded these accessories,
before all things, as the particular field for the display of their
skill. Endless varieties are to be found, certain patterns being
local to specific districts. Upon ordinary houses--and they were
practically invariably used--they are usually no more elaborate
than might be achieved by direct work on the anvil; of honest but
unambitious appearance and shaped in simple ways, such as are shown
by the illustrations on page 121. But the wall-ties of more important
buildings are often complicated affairs; beautiful examples of design
and craftsmanship which were wrought with labour. They are rich in
scrolls and curves with foliated ornament, and one of the examples here
given (page 123) has the date of 1798 worked within it. Iron letters
and figures also decorate the fronts of many houses. Each is detached
and secured to the wall by a single stay. They are arranged to denote
dates or monograms. An example has already been seen at the base of
a gable at Middelburg (page 35); another specimen, from St. Anna,
near Nijmegen, is reproduced on page 122.
Other wrought ironwork was used for various purposes on doors and
windows, as well as to heighten the effect of certain features. A good
instance of its application is demonstrated by the key-escutcheon,
with supporting iron decorations, from Middelburg (page 123). The
workmanship is of a traditional kind, with Gothic forms recalled by
the cusps on the pierced plates. The iron door-knocker, appearing
on the same page, is an interesting example of curious design and
belongs to the sixteenth or seventeenth century. For windows, ironwork
was used in the stout stay-bars and stanchions, instances of which,
fitted to an oval opening, are furnished from Leiden (page 122).
The magnificent wrought vanes of Holland, surmounting lofty belfries
on public buildings, are justly famous and are reflected in the less
elaborate shapes that adorn the roof points or gable terminations
of business and dwelling-houses. One, from Middelburg (page 122),
is a beautiful example of an iron terminal. The crowning figure and
fleur-de-lis are gilded, while signs and symbols of the Zodiac are
worked around the outer and inner open-framed globes. Simpler vanes are
common throughout the country, attached to farmhouses or stables. That
from Broek (page 122) is shaped like a swan; one may be seen at
Veere which takes the form of a ship. The shaft of the weathercock
from Hees (page 124) is made up of iron scrolls, welded together,
and four projecting arms point to north, south, east and west.