1843.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



99 



orders in good proportion, but these supported arches. The celebrity of 

 Bramante's St. Pietro, in Montorio, doubtless arose, in great measure, from 

 the accomplishment of the trabeated entablature, though the scale was indeed 

 small, only 3 ft. 10 in. from column to column. But the timid application 

 of the classical orders to the middle age buildings, often of large dimensions, 

 gave them rather the character of trinkets hung upon them than of constitu- 

 ent parts of the fabric. Bramante, indeed, made a great step in the palace 

 of Cardinal Wolsey, but the orders are still delicate in low relief, the windows 

 circular-headed (from the difficulty of executing the square trabeated head) 

 with the horizontal entablature above them. The basement, though elegant, 

 has a gothic character, and the crowning cornice has but a small projection ; 

 the whole is dry and timid. But Bramante had the merit of inventing the 

 coupled columns, which gave breadth and proportion to the front not other- 

 ways attainable. The ancients had left no examples of this disposition — but 

 such were its advantages that it was at once accepted by Raphael and his 

 successors ; Perrault used it in the Louvre and Wren in St. Paul's. 



Alberti's bold and master mind originated many of those features which 

 his successors knew how to adopt, particularly in his church at Mantua ; he 

 gave the hint which M. Angelo followed in St. Peter's, of incorporating the 

 whole height of the interior (not done till then) in one order, and vaulting 

 the ceiling. His church at Rimini bears the stamp of Roman magnificence, 

 quite beyond his age. 



Peruzzi was the first to render his orders homogeneous with the structure, 

 and his giving to the entablature of the upper order (especially in the Far- 

 nesina) a proportion suited to the entire height of the two, was as beautiful 

 as it was new ; it was afterwards adopted by Sansovino in the library at 

 Venice with the greatest effect. 



But Peruzzi executed an entablature in the Palace Massimi, and square- 

 headed doors of no mean dimensions (six feet six inches between the capi- 

 tals) ; but it was especially in perspective that he made advances far beyond 

 the conception of his day. In other particulars, the merit of Peruzzi is un- 

 folded by Serlio, his pupil, who possessed his collections and published them, 

 through the patronage of Francis I., in the first elementary work on the art 

 written since the revival. The first edition in French is dated Paris, 1345 ; 

 it was translated into Italian at Venice, 1550, and, by Robert Peake, into 

 English, 1611, under James I. 



San Gallo was remarkable for the dignity which he gave to his buildings 

 (especially the Palace Farnese), without the aid of the orders, except in 

 subordinate dimensions, in the windows only, and in the interior court and 

 vestibule. The vertically which is designed and usually conveyed by the 

 orders he communicated to his buildings by- rustic quoins, which carry the 

 eye up, and enable it to embrace the whole front. This invention, which 

 appears to be wholly his own, became popular and universal. 



The windows, with their small orders, are undoubtedly taken from the 

 Roman tabernaculum, or ornamented niche, so often seen in the baths and in 

 the Pantheon, and was also a new application. 



Raphael, as great in architecture as in painting, adopted his master Bra- 

 mante's invention of coupled columns, as also San Gallo's windows and 

 quoins, and if he did not invent, he employed the balustrade with singular 

 grace and effect — for grace united with strength and nobility, his palace 

 Pandolfini, Caffarelli, and Uggieri are unequalled ; indeed, his letters show 

 his enthusiasm for architecture, his profound estimation of the antique, and 

 his ardent aspiration for the restoration of Rome to its antique character and 

 splendour. The backgrounds of his pictures are not less to be regarded as 

 examples than his executed works, being designed with as much care as if 

 they were to have been perpetuated in marble. 



M. Angelo distinguished his designs by vastness and singularity, compared 

 with the previous schemes of Raphael, Peruzzi, and San Gallo. We are 

 surprised at his boldness in proposing one order, eight feet in diameter, for 

 the external front, and a corresponding disengaged entablature for an ex- 

 tended portico in the west front— which latter, however, was never at- 

 tempted. His palace of the Capitol has many merits and peculiarities, one 

 of which, practised in the Laurentian library also, was the sinking his co- 

 lumns in niches. 



Vignola has been deservedly regarded as a master of the first merit, and 

 has been hitherto the great authority in the French school, as Palladio lias 

 been of the English. His stereotomy, profile, proportion, and composition 

 are admirable; his orders are generally subordinate, often at the top of his 

 buildings — they are never coupled as in Bramante and Raphael, but he 

 reconciles the wide intercolumniation by a panel which gives proportion and 

 sustains the pilaster with excellent effect. This expedient, much followed in 

 Italy and in France, was original with him, as was also his modillion cornice, 

 extending to the frieze, and giving extent and importance to the entablature, 

 proportioned to the whole height of the building, in a better mode than 

 that of Peruzzi. This beautiful invention is recommended without ostenta- 

 tion : — " Questa cornice," says he, " la quale ho mesa phi volte in opera per 

 finimento di facciate, ho conosciuto che riesce molto grata." This cornice 

 was made the termination of the fabric, on which he never permitted a 

 blocking or balustrade. But Vignola was chiefly remarkable for an artifice 

 of composition, which, by subordinating the parts, gave apparent vastness 

 to the whole ; his doors and windows are remarkably small, the latter 3 feet 

 8 inches by 7 feet, only in Capralola — but, being finely proportioned and 

 complete in their members, deceive the spectator into the belief of actual 

 scale. This artifice has been much used by his successors, especially in the 

 upper portions of churches, with good effect, where no means of comparison 



or admeasurement are offered, just as a man becomes a giant when seen upon 

 a hill and against the clouds. 



Sansovino, the Lombardi, and San Michele, Palladio and Scammozzi, 

 formed a school peculiar to Venice, uniting sculpture in the happiest manner 

 with architecture. In the library of Venice, one of the most beautiful 

 buildings of the world, Sansovino adopted two orders, to the upper of which 

 he applied the deep frieze and entablature suited to the entire height, after 

 the invention of Peruzzi, the intercolumniations being occupied with the 

 Venetian window, so much employed afterwards in England — these windows 

 having columns doubled transversely in the thickness of the wall, by which 

 an amazing solidity and richness is communicated to the architecture ; an 

 arrangement subsequently adopted by Palladio in his town house at Vicenza 

 with admirable effect. 



San Michele, chiefly a military architect, and who first gave the gates of 

 cities the character afterwards universal, is remarkable for the energy, rich- 

 ness, and expression given to his works. His employment of the orders and 

 of rustics is exemplary. His gates at Verona, and his palaces in Venice, es- 

 pecially of the Grimani, are masterpieces. 



Palladio, by much the most laborious and learned architect of the revival, 

 produced his effects by a happy employment of two orders, the one on a 

 scale comprehending the entire height, the other subordinate, comprehending 

 about two-thirds of that height. This principle had been employed by the 

 ancients in the adjustment of side porticoes to the temple, and in the Pro- 

 pylea of Athens. In this last, the subordinate being 10, the principal is 15 ; 

 in the Casa del Capitano, it. is 10 to 161; the same in the Basilica; in the 

 Casa Valmarana 10 to 20i. This principle may be regarded as the secret of 

 Palladio's magnificence, just as the subordination of windows and features 

 was of Vignola's. But his employment of the arch in conjunction with the 

 trabeated arrangement adopted from the baths, his classical plans, his mas- 

 tery over all the features aad parts of architecture, cannot be enough 

 studied. 



The two volumes on the architecture of Venice, by Cicognara — the single 

 volume of the works of San Michele at Verona, by Albertolli — and the 

 works of Palladio, by Bertotti Scammozzi, should be within the reach of 

 reference to the architect at all times. 



The pompous Scamozzi (braggadocio, as Inigo Jones calls him, probably 

 from personal acquaintance, in his visit in 1614,) was a follower of Palladio, 

 though he assumed to be an inventor. He was, however, the first to ac- 

 complish a portico, of any size, with a disengaged trabeation, in the church 

 of the Theani. He was chiefly remarkable for the employment of orders 

 above orders in well-studied proportions. 



Galeazzo Alessi turned the peculiar locality of Genoa to immense advan- 

 tage, and was the most active of those who have stamped upon the archi- 

 tecture of Genoa that sumptuous character so original and exemplary. This 

 architect was in frequent competition with Palladio and Vignola at Brescia, 

 Bologna, and other cities. 



L'Escot and Philibert de l'Orme, in France, laboured with great advantage 

 on the materials thus offered by the great masters of Italy ; and they are 

 chiefly remarkable for their adaptation of their inventions to the require- 

 ments of a northern climate, in large windows, chimney shafts, high 

 roofs, &c. 



The student will add many more peculiarities and titles of merit to the 

 great masters of the revival from the hints here offered. 



AN ARCHITECTURAL DOCTOR, AND ARCHITECTURAL 

 IDLERS. 



Sir — Whatever may be the merit of Mr. Gvvilt's work, as one of 

 elementary and practical instruction — and he must have been inge- 

 nious, indeed, to have got up so bulky a volume without at the same 

 time bringing together information, new as such to many, if not to all 

 — whatever merit, I repeat, it may so have, the intolerance and illibe- 

 rality not only betrayed in it, but in many places openly expressed, are 

 not very creditable to him, nor likely to recommend his book. The 

 most that can be said in his favour is, that be does not stoop to flat- 

 ter, nor has even attempted to conciliate the good opinion of, those 

 whose opinion is likely to have some influence in stamping the cha- 

 racter of his " Encyclopedia." It is to be hoped that the bulk of the 

 profession — at any rate those who follow it as a liberal art, do not at 

 all agree with him in his "bow-wow " depreciation of a class of per- 

 sons to whose labours in the study of Gothic architecture we are greatly 

 indebted, and professional men themselves not least of all. It may 

 be fairly questioned if that style of the art would have been revived 

 among us at all, but for the diligence of extra-professional students, 

 and the attention directed to it by their writings. 



It might be thought that, if not disinterested generosity, at least a 

 sort of enlightened and generous selfishness would induce architects to 

 encourage as much as possible a taste for the study of their art — and 

 without some study, a taste for the art itself cannot be acquired — and to 

 aid in removing the prejudices which deter persons in general from ap- 

 proaching it, under the false notion of its being entirely a practical one, 



