462 RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE IN FRANCE. 



strips at the angles, and a band enriched with swags ranging with the 

 capitals of the order. The row of arched windows at the base of their 

 walls, now built up, can have added little to their charm, and the present 

 effect of these elevations is one of chilling aridity, which has not even 

 truthfulness to justify it. For in his efforts after classical correctness 

 and simplicity, Soufflot was driven to an expedient which became char- 

 acteristic of his age, and has been pointed out at the Hotels de Salm 

 and Brunoy (Figs. 410 and 412) the concealment of the storeys and 

 openings. A church with aisles and clearstorey has, in effect, at least 

 two storeys, and this was usually expressed in the elevations of Gothic 

 and Renaissance churches of all ages. But here the church is made 

 to appear as if it had no windows, or at least no clearstorey windows, 

 and but one storey, by the use of blank screen walls and of a colossal 

 order. The latter is quite a different thing from the traditional use of 

 the giant order, the purpose of which is merely to give unity and 

 monumental scale to a building whose storeys are frankly exhibited. 



Construction, Dimensions. The most remarkable feature about the 

 Pantheon is the boldness of its construction. A comparison of its plan 

 with that of other domed churches shows that the area covered by 

 walls and piers is smaller relatively to the voids than is usual. But 

 the excessive cleverness displayed in the design incurred the penalty of 

 instability, though it must be admitted that the danger which once 

 threatened the dome is attributable to other causes than the slender- 

 ness of the supports, or any defect in Soufflot's calculations. 



The building was begun in 1757, the whole of the substructures and 

 the crypt were complete when Louis XV. laid the first stone of one of 

 the dome piers in 1764, the base of the drum was reached at Soufflot's 

 death in 1780, hastened by the worry caused by the numerous attacks 

 made on the design, of which those of Patte were the most virulent. 

 The work was continued by Soufflot's nephew Franois (died 1802), 

 nicknamed " Le Remain," his pupil Rondelet, and others. After the 

 building of the dome, all the supports began to be riddled with ominous 

 cracks. On examination it appeared that among the chief causes of 

 failure were defective masonry, due to the ill-timed parsimony of the 

 clergy, and the brittle nature of the stone in the piers, which, among 

 other remedial measures, had to be repaired and thickened. The 

 principal dimensions of the Pantheon are approximately as follows : 

 Total length from outside of rear wall to front of portico, 360 feet ; 

 width over all across transept, 272 feet; width over all across nave, 

 118 feet; internal diameter of dome, 66 feet. The diameter of the 

 opening in the inner dome is 31 feet, and its height from the floor, 

 188 feet. The height to the top of the lantern from the floor is 265 

 feet. The diameter of the columns of the portico is 5 feet 9 inches, 

 and their height 62 feet. 





