1843.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



which occupies the medallion, may be noticed, as a violation of pro- 

 bability. A being to cleave the air, should not be selected from the 

 most heavy and awkward of animals. It is undoubtedly intended for 

 a.jeu d'esprit, and is quite in the spirit of the antique. The ancient 

 frescos are full of such whimsical combinations, but always, as in the 

 present instance, occupying a subordinate place. 



No. 6 is worthy of an attentive examination ; the lower part is ex- 

 tremely fanciful, and well adapted to its purpose. For his principal 

 object the artist has chosen the Diana of Ephesus, with her attributes, 

 forming, with some arbitrary deco. 



Fig. 7. 



rations, a remarkably well balanced 

 composition, of which the recti- 

 linear shapes contrast in the hap- 

 piest manner with the flowing lines 

 above. The Diana constitutes a 

 foreground, behind which rises a 

 slender tree. There is nothing 

 more graceful throughout the 

 whole series than the branches of 

 this tree, and the winged boys who 

 sport among them and enjoy the 

 fruit. (Fig. 7.) Equally graceful 

 are those who gather barley from 

 the Cornucopia, and grapes from 

 the loaded trellis above. 

 No. 7 is one of the most remarkable of the series. In this the artist 

 has ventured, and with the most perfect success, to discard every 

 thing conventional, and to represent a natural tree, balancing its irre- 

 gularities of ramification and foliage by the numerous birds which 

 occupy the branches, where they may be supposed to have been col- 

 lected by the call of the bird-catcher, who is concealed in the under- 

 wood with his bird-call in his mouth. (See Plate I, Fig. 1.) One 

 bird, fettered by a limed twig, is about to fall into his hands. It is 

 impossible to admire too much the skill with which this simple motivo 

 is worked out. The arabesque of the side pilaster is one of the best 

 of this order; all the parts are graceful in themselves, and well ba- 

 lanced, both in form and colour. This composition is also to be 

 remarked for the introduction of some of the heraldic insignia of the 

 holy see. The keys in saltire, the umbrella, the papal tiara, and the 

 fisherman's ring, with which the successors of St. Peter are invested. 

 I am rather surprised that this sort of allusion has not been more libe- 

 rally used. 



No. 8 is perhaps the least pleasing of the series. There is a total 

 want of unity in the composition, which is merely a repetition of 

 similar designs, and these not a little stiff and formal. There is like- 

 wise too great a weight, both of form and colour, toward the top ; but 

 the scroll in the half pilaster is beautiful, and closely resembles that 

 in No. 4. 



It will be unnecessary to dwell upon No. 9, since it is precisely the 

 same in general character as No. 5, though varied in its details, in 

 the disposition of the animals, and the mode of spreading the lighter 

 ramifications at the top. 



No. 10 bears nearly the same relation to No. 4, upon which we 

 have already remarked at some length. It may be further observed 

 in reference to Nos. 4 and 10, that folds of drapery are too broad and 

 heavy to be successful in arabesque, its effect is seldom pleasing. I 

 must also protest against the birds which crown this composition. 

 Nature has provided a variety which makes it quite unnecessary to 

 seek novelty by combining the neck of one species and the tail of 

 another with imaginary wings. The first impression is that these 

 birds are meant for swans ; the second, and abiding one, that the artist 

 did not know how to draw a swan — he has not mended them by dress- 

 ing them in trousers. The scroll in the half pilaster is composed in 

 the same manner as in No. 5, but is better filled. 



The next example may be considered a pendant to No. 7, which, 

 however, it by no means equals. The stem is a natural reed, each 

 joint conventionally expanded into a calix, from every one of which 

 sprouts a branch of a different species ; here are the wild celery, the 



rose, the blackberry, the arundo, the privet, the grape, the olive, and 

 the barley. The panthers in the stucco panels are appropriately 

 combined with the ivy and grape. 



Of the more varied and fanciful compositions on this side of the 

 Loggia, No. 12 is one of the best. It wants unity, and the introduction 

 of so dull a reality as a curtain in the midst of so many objects of pure 

 fancy is displeasing; neither can I reconcile myself to the termini in 

 the upper part. Independently of other objections, they are too es- 

 sentially terrestrial to enter into combination with these light sprays — 

 an aerial terminus is a contradiction. They are, however, well treated 

 when compared with those in No. 4. The separate parts of this com- 

 position are greatly to be admired, especially the motivo of the lower 

 part, and the unity which pervades the fanciful combination above it. 

 No. 13 is in the same style, but much superior. Taking the lower 

 half as complete in itself, nothing can be more gracefully designed, or 

 more perfectly balanced, which latter is, perhaps, after all, the most 

 important point in the composition of arabesques ; they will certainly 

 be found more or less pleasing on a first impression, as this condition 

 is more or less perfectly fulfilled. The solidity of the base, the 

 breadth of the parts forming the next step, the lightness of the Pom- 

 peian architecture above, and the fluttering character of the objects 

 which surmount it, constitute a gradation which satisfies the eye, 

 while the variety of detail fills the imagination. The upper parts of 

 both these examples abound too much in trivial and wiry details, such 

 as ribbons and strings of jewellery, which are introduced to convey 

 the idea of excessive lightness, but have rather a contrary effect, by 

 producing confusion, and are also too artificial to harmonize with the 

 general character of the composition. 



The last on this side repeats No. 3 in the principal composition, 

 and No. 10 in the half pilaster, and therefore requires no observation. 

 The twelve compositions which occupy the piers on the open side 

 of the Loggia, differ remarkably from the 14 which have been de- 

 scribed, and a perfect unity of design distinguishes the majority. 

 This was, perhaps, the more easily accomplished, since (the architec- 

 ture necessarily differing from that on the side next the wall) the 

 dado is continued across the pilaster, and forms a separate series of 

 panels, each of which is filled with a natural or imaginary being, 

 adapted to the element of water. The half pilasters are also omitted 

 on this side, and a greater breadth of design given to the stuccoes 

 which are brought into immediate contact with the larger arabesque. 

 In No. 15, the artist has chosen the apparently incongruous subject 

 of fish to combine with his foliage. In a painting by Hogarth we see 

 in the fashionable furniture of one of his scenes, a composition o f 

 foliage inhabited by fish instead of birds, and though this absurdity be 

 intended as a caricature of the taste of his day, it is no great exagge- 

 ration of the fact. In this design, the foliage and the fish are brought 

 together without the slightest violation of probability ; the fish have 

 been hung to the branches; the variety of their forms and colours 

 produce an admirable effect, and above all, they are perfect in the 

 condition, more especially indispensable in objects not intrinsically 

 graceful or pleasing, of being represented witli the most absolute 

 truth to nature. We have the haddock, the lobster, the dory, the 

 cuttle-fish, the whelk, the perch, the shrimp, the crab, the gorbill, the 

 muscle, the cockle, the mullet, and the anchovy. This example may 

 teach us that objects for decoration may be sought throughout the 

 whole range of Nature's works with hopes of success. 



A more graceful conception than the double scroll which forms the 

 subject of No. 16 it is difficult to imagine. It combines unity of de- 

 sign with an unexceptionable balance of parts, and the most perfect 

 lightness devoid of any thing trivial. This composition might be con- 

 sidered absolutely faultless, were not the two figures placed within the 

 scroll rather too small to bear a proportion to some analogous forms, 

 combined with other parts. 



Of No. 17 it can hardly be said the effect is pleasing ; but both the 

 motivo and the grouping of the musical instruments are greatly to be 

 admired, as well as the skill with which the ends of the ribbon are 

 made to fill up and balance the composition, which is well worthy of 

 study, as showing how advantageously familiar artificial objects may 



