CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



roofed with domes after the manner of Santa 

 Sophia. That of Suleiman the Magnificent (1550) 

 is one of the finest The minarets which adorn 



Fig- 33- From Fergusson. 



the mosques are amongst the most beautiful 

 features of this style. 



In Persia and India, there are many splendid 

 examples of this pleasing but fantastic style. 



ITALIAN ARCHITECTURE. 



We have now followed the various styles which 

 succeeded the architecture of Rome in the differ- 

 ent parts of Europe, and we have seen that these 

 styles had exhausted themselves, and were pre- 

 pared for a change. In Italy, there was even 

 during the middle ages a certain leaning towards 

 the classical forms of the existing Roman build- 

 ings. But it was the revival of classical literature 

 that gave the great impetus to the re-introduction 

 of the old classical features. The modern Italian 

 style may be defined as Roman architecture 

 applied to the forms and requirements of modern 

 buildings. It is well adapted to domestic pur- 

 poses, but not so suitable for ecclesiastical 

 edifices. There are three schools of ' Italian 

 architecture' namely, the Florentine, Roman, and 

 Venetian. In the first and last, the Roman 

 details are freely used, but the medieval general 

 arrangements are only slightly departed from. 

 The Renaissance palaces of Venice have the same 

 disposition of parts and general arrangements as 

 their earlier prototypes ; while the Italian palaces 

 in Rome more closely adhere to the ancient 

 models, so plentiful beside them. The Venetian 

 style, being the most picturesque, was speedily 

 imitated north of the Alps. The invention of 

 printing spread a knowledge of classical literature 

 and art over Europe, and a taste for classic 

 architecture rapidly arose. 



France, from her proximity to and intercourse 

 with Italy, was the first to introduce the new style 

 north of the Alps. 



The Renaissance buildings in Italy were chiefly 

 churches, Saint Peter's at Rome being the great 

 model ; but in France and England, the stock of 

 churches was ample, and as people were now 

 beginning to turn their attention more to domestic 

 architecture, we find the early application of this 

 style chiefly in houses and castles. In France, 

 the chateaux of the early Renaissance are very 

 abundant, and 1 strongly resemble in general fea- 

 tures their Gothic predecessors. It is only on 

 close inspection that the classic details ingrafted 



476 



on the early forms are detected. This picturesque 

 style gradually yielded to the classic influence, 

 and for about a century the style used was mixed 



Fig. 34. Chateau of Chambord. 



and unsatisfactory. But during the eighteenth 

 century a style more becoming the dignity of the 

 Grand Monarque was introduced. The classic 

 element now prevailed, to the exclusion of Gothic 

 forms. The buildings of this period, though 

 grand and rich, are tame and uninteresting ; the 

 palace of Versailles is the most striking example. 

 The two Mansards, architects of this period, 

 introduced the device of giving a row of separate 

 houses the appearance of one palace. This idea 

 has been universally followed in modern towns. 

 It is one of the falsest ideas of the Renaissance, 

 and has almost entirely ruined street architec- 

 ture. 



The classic Renaissance was completed in the 

 beginning of the present century by the literal 

 copyism of ancient buildings. Hitherto, architects 

 had attempted to apply classic architecture to the 

 requirements of modern times ; now they tried to 

 make modern wants conform to ancient archi- 

 tecture. 



In the Madeleine, for instance, a purely peripteral 

 temple is chosen as the object to be reproduced, 

 and the architect has then to see how he can 

 arrange a Christian church inside it! But this 

 was found to be an impossibility, and the archi- 

 tecture a sham. 



The result has been, that in France this cold 

 and servile copyism is now entirely abandoned, 

 and the French are working out a free kind of 

 Renaissance of their own, which promises well for 

 the future ; and is at the present time, as the new 

 streets of Paris testify, the liveliest and most 



