184G.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



29.7 



is no law — sayB Charles Lamb — to judge of the lawless, or canon by 

 which a dream may be criticised." 



Seeing, therefore, by what false criteria St. Marks has been judged, and 

 consequently how Ihe beautiful characteristics of ibis strange pile, have 

 been misunderstood, I speak in praise of it now, out of pure love and 

 recollection of the feelings which it gave on the spot, and am grateful — as 

 those who have seen and been wrought upon by it must be — for the proud 

 vision which memory frequently brings before the fancy. Its effect on the 

 mind, as well as of tlie scenery amidst which it is placed, should be pon- 

 dered over, as a means of raising the taste and increasing our ideas of the 

 beautiful in art. 



This Basilica (combining, as it were, the Mosque or Mahommedan house 

 of prayer, with the Christian temple), both in its parts and as a whole, is 

 magical in the extreme. Look for a moment at the profusion and magnifi- 

 (*nce of its ornaments. The Byzantine-Greeks, unlike their forefathers, 

 avoided the horizontal line as much as possible, and indulged in the curve- 

 the fondness for it resulting from their co-operations with the Saracens ; 

 and the commuDication of the crusaders with the East served to spread it 

 over mauy parts of Europe.* This love of wavy lines and intricate forms 

 characterises the Venetian architecture, and is most conspicuous in St. 

 Marks. (See Ihe annexed engraving of a portion of the vestibule.) 

 The object of the designers was a great richness of effect — which 

 certainly the nature of the ornaments produced, and often also a gran- 

 deur of ensemble, — although, on a close examination into their minu- 

 tiiB, we find much that is defective : as in the ornate and kindred style 

 of the Alhambra, or that of the Elizabethan. But with all the blemishes 

 in its details, the mind is presented with a view, resulting from the union 

 and consent of so many opposite parts, which is a principal cause of its 

 beauty. The wildness or irregularity in the simplicity of the whole affect 

 the mind with a series of strong impulses, more delightful than that mono- 

 tonous, though sometimes agreeable, sentiment which is experienced in 

 works built after ordinary rules and common -place precepts. Even the 



* An Infnaton of the Saracenic style Is seen in many parts on the continent— from 

 Venice, traces of it along tbs road to brescia, and in other directions- The border orna- 

 oent so common in the Venetian palaces, is round the windows of St. Peter's cethsdral, 

 Geneva; and the minarets and metal globes on the towers of many churches in Switter- 

 laad, give to the towns a rather Eastern appearance. For details, sculpture, &c., of St. 

 Uarks, tee the works of Clcognva, Zanotto, Kieutter, Cwaletti, kc. 



littleness and multiplicity of the ornaments, spreading over a vast surface, 

 produce a great eflect-beau.iful and rich in its mass.s, l.ke the foliage o 

 a majestic and wide-spreading tree. 



The nch colouring of the many mosaic pictures also greatly add to the 

 splendour of San Marco. Here Iris may be said to have dipt the woof. 

 These mosaics are described by Northcote in his " Life of Titian " This 

 painter as also Giorgione (who first introduced frescoes to the Venetian 

 palaces), contributed much by their pencils to the architectural decoration 

 of A enice ; delighting the eyes of the inhabitants with that colour, a love 

 of which they imbibed from the gorgeous landscapes of their native city. 

 The effect imparted to most of the churches in Italy, and abroad generally, 

 by mosaics, painted glass, frescoes, tapestries, carvings, .^c, makes one 

 regret that these arts are not more in use amongst us. Or, without refer- 

 ing to the decorated and impressive interiors of the foreign churches we 

 have eminent examples at home, in the magnificent cathedrals of our Gothic 

 ancestors. 



In looking at the rich mosaics in St. Marks, and observing what taste 

 and skill are displayed in shrine, altar, screen, lamps, candelabra, and, in 

 short, every work which the ceremonies and splendour of the church re- 

 quired, we see how every art, that was known at the time, was had re- 

 course to for heightening the eOecl, both of its exterior and interior. Every 

 object that enriched it, received an additional attraction from, and was in 

 keeping with, the splendid crosses and reliques borne by the processions in 

 the celebration of the festivals ;-witiiess it, for instance, on the festa of 

 Corpus Domini. The one absorbing object in its erection and adornment 

 was to render it as splendid and symbolic as possible,-most precious in 

 all materials and workmanship, and to surpass even the Orientals in its 

 magnificence. This was Ihe purport of its inscription : " Istoriis, auro 

 forma, specie tabularum ; hoc templum Marci fore die decus ecclesiarum " 

 Its interior, though far from " glooray"-as it has been miscalled-has, it 

 IS true, become somewhat dimmed by age and the frequent burning of 

 incense ;-but in its palmy days, how bright and glittering must have beeu 

 Its gold ! what life and light must it have transfused around, by reflection 

 and refraction i 



There is another point for our admiration. Placed in one of the finest 

 piazzas in the world, can anything be conceived more enchantin- on such 

 a spot, viewed from the Palazzo Reale, either at noon, when the sun pours 

 lis full brilliance upon it; or at night, when the numerous lights below 

 bring out in all their contrast and colours and proportions the wonderful 

 details of its facade ;-the moon shedding a bright light on its cupolas and 

 pinnacles, and the dark blue sky around heightening its effect ) Can any 

 object be more appropriate than this to Venice ? Wealth and gaiety 

 luxury and romance, make the character of the city,-and the irchitecture' 

 partakes of it. \ et the vesture of mosaics, and gold, and sparkling mar- 

 b es, in which it is arrayed, seen anywhere else but in Venice, would look 

 like a mountebank in a company of diyines. 



