THK ART OF TKKII.LAt.K. 



169 



Hotel dc St. Pol, Paris, was useful rather than ornamental. (The site is still remembered in the Rue 

 Beantreilhs.) It was not until the days of Le Notre and of .Mansart, who laid out the sii])erb gardens 

 ol Versailles, Clagny and Marly, that the art of treillage began to be recognised as a most elie&amp;lt; live 

 decorative adjunct, and its construction was handed over to workmen who made it their sole occupa 

 tion. ] he treillageur became a craftsman of importance, and, working either from his own or from 

 architects designs, found plenty of occupation in the chateaux round Paris. In 1760 the craft was 

 officially r e c o g - 

 nised and united 

 to the Corps d e 

 Menuisiers. 



Alter describ 

 ing the orders of 

 architecture and 

 t h e i r application 

 to (milage motifs, 

 t h e a u t h o r o I 

 &quot; 1. Art dti Treilla 

 geur &quot; gives elabo 

 rate directions for 

 the setting out 

 ol vaulting, the 

 const ruction 

 ol columns, cor 

 nices and other 

 details. Iron was 

 largely used in 

 building up the 

 construct lonal 

 in e in b e r s . 

 in strengthening 

 the vaults and the 

 angles, b o t h in 

 order to give a 

 lightness and deli 

 cacy that would 

 have been im 

 possible if o u 1 y 

 wood were used, 

 a n d a 1 s o o n 

 account of its 

 being better able 

 to resist climatic 

 e ft e c t s . Where 

 iron is used it is 

 recommended that 

 it should b c 

 painted the same 

 colour as the 

 wood. Diagrams 

 are given showing 

 the most effective 

 means of spacing 

 the laths together, 

 with designs for a 

 variety of ways of 

 filling in the com 

 partments, a n d 



stress is laid on the importance of properly proportioning the solids and the voids, which, as the 

 author says, &quot; distinguishes the work of the real artist of genius from that of the ordinary mechan 

 ical labourer who only works by routine &quot; Chestnut, oak and ash were the woods most generally used, 

 but almost any pliant wood served the purpose equally well. Chestnut laths, of lengths varying from 



190. THE TK.MPLE D AMOUR, CHAXTILLY. 



