ARCHITECTURE 



327 



ARCHITECTURE 



King Charles VIII of France to Rome in 1494, 

 the revival of classic forms began to influence 

 French architecture, and soon spread to other 

 countries. It is characteristic of the new age 

 that other edifices than churches were now 

 thought worthy to try the architect's skill, and 

 the palaces, castles, chateaus and town halls 

 of the Renaissance period show plainly that 

 their designers were influenced by those of far- 

 off, imperial Rome. 



The Church of Saint Peter, at Rome, is a 

 product of this age of classical study. Its 

 great cupola, constructed in the second half of 

 the sixteenth century according to plans which 

 Michelangelo had drawn, may be seen in the 

 upper part of the page of illustrations with 

 the article VATICAN. The dome, like that of 

 the Pantheon, is formed entirely of masonry 

 without the timber frame found in most Euro- 

 pean domes. But its umbrella-like ribs, and 

 the lack of the Pantheon's heavy walls, show 

 the lessons learned in Romanesque and Gothic 

 vault construction. The big drum, or circular 

 wall, beneath the dome, and the small drum 

 above, are each marked by a row of pillars 

 shaped to give the appearance of pairs of 

 classic columns. In the lower picture on the 

 same page may be observed other examples of 

 the fashioning of details after ancient models; 

 'at the center Greek roofs over the two win- 

 dows in the small tower, and the pilasters, or 

 flat decorations made to look like pillars sup- 

 porting them; at the top of the building at 

 the right, the colonnades, or rows of columns, 

 'and their Greek gables. A picture of the 

 Louvre, perhaps the best instance of French 

 Renaissance architecture, appears in the article 

 on that building. 



I Since the Renaissance the practice of study- 

 ing the best work of days gone by has con- 

 tinued. Fresh problems have arisen, especially 

 in America, where the sky-scraper built with 

 a skeleton of steel or concrete has transformed 

 tii-- science of building. But so far no new 

 style worthy to succeed has been evolved. In 

 the exterior design of a modern tall building 

 two of the tasks of the architect are to avoid 

 the monotony which is apt to result from the 

 multitudes of regularly arranged windows, 

 and to prevent the great height of the struc- 

 ture from making the dimensions seem poorly 

 proportioned. In solving these problem* tin- 

 architect draws from his knowledge of the 

 achievements of past centuries. Thus, as any 

 observer may discover, many recently con- 

 structed office buildings have elements of 



classic or of Gothic design. Continuous verti- 

 cal strips between windows often end at the 

 top in pilasters, and cornices are almost uni- 



AN HISTORIC STYLE 



Adapted to modern needs. The University 

 Club, Chicago, called the finest example of pure 

 Gothic In America. 



versal. The striking resemblance between the 

 tower of the Woolworth Building, the tallest 

 of tall buildings, and those of Lincoln Ca- 

 thedral, built nearly six centuries earlier, is 

 shown at the head of this article. C.U.H. 



Consult Sturgis's How to Judge Architecture; 

 Ruskln's Seven Lamps of Architecture ; Reinach's 

 Story of Art Throughout the Age. 



Related Subject*. The following lists, which 

 contain general architectural topics, buildings 

 of note, and the world's greatest architects, will 

 give to the reader a comprehensive view of the 



UKNKKAI. 



At. 1..-V 



Aqueduct 



Armdt 



Atrium 

 Basilica 



I : , .nil 

 Blue Print 



Capitol 

 Cartouche 



Outlt 



Cathedral 



Chimney 



Circus 



Cleopatra's Needle* 



Clol.v 



Column 



Corbel 



Capital 



