The Project Gutenberg EBook of Architecture, by Thomas Roger Smith This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Architecture Gothic and Renaissance Author: Thomas Roger Smith Editor: Edward J. Poynter Release Date: October 3, 2010 [EBook #33837] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARCHITECTURE *** Produced by Chris Curnow, Sam W. and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Transcriber's Note A considerable number of the page references in the index are incorrect; however, they have been preserved as printed. The transcriber has, as far as possible, linked to the correct place in the text. ILLUSTRATED TEXT-BOOKS OF ART EDUCATION EDITED BY EDWARD J. POYNTER, R.A. Decoration ARCHITECTURE GOTHIC AND RENAISSANCE BY T. ROGER SMITH, F.R.I.B.A. Decoration A view from a central courtyard to a high tower P. 114 THE CERTOSA, NEAR PAVIA. From the Cloisters. Begun by Marco di Campione, A.D. 1393. TEXT-BOOK OF ART EDUCATION, EDITED BY EDWARD J. POYNTER, R.A. ARCHITECTURE GOTHIC AND RENAISSANCE BY T. ROGER SMITH, F.R.I.B.A. Occasional Lecturer on Architecture at University College, London T NEW YORK SCRIBNER AND WELFORD. LONDON SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET 1880 (All rights reserved.) LONDON: R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, BREAD STREET HILL, E. C. Crête from Notre Dame, Paris PREFACE. HE history, the features, and the most famous examples of European architecture, during a period extending from the rise of the Gothic, or pointed, style in the twelfth century to the general depression which overtook the Renaissance style at the close of the eighteenth, form the subject of this little volume. I have endeavoured to adopt as free and simple a mode of treatment as is compatible with the accurate statement of at least the outlines of so very technical a subject. Though it is to be hoped that many professional students of architecture will find this hand-book serviceable to them in [vii] their elementary studies, it has been my principal endeavour to adapt it to the requirements of those who are preparing for the professional pursuit of the sister arts, and of that large and happily increasing number of students who pursue the fine arts as a necessary part of a complete liberal education, and who know that a solid and comprehensive acquaintance with art, especially if joined to some skill in the use of the pencil, the brush, the modelling tool, or the etching needle, will open sources of pleasure and interest of the most refined description. The broad facts of all art history; the principles which underlie each of the fine arts; and the most precious or most noteworthy examples of each, ought to be familiar to every art student, whatever special branch he may follow. Beyond these limits I have not attempted to carry this account of Gothic and Renaissance architecture; within them I have endeavoured to make the work as complete as the space at my disposal permitted. Some portions of the text formed part of two courses of lectures delivered before the students of the School of Military Engineering at Chatham, and are introduced here by the kind permission of Sir John Stokes. Many of the descriptive and critical remarks are transcripts of notes made by myself, almost under the shadow of the buildings to which they refer. It would, however, have been impossible to give a condensed view of so extended a subject had not every part of it been treated at much greater length by previous writers. The number and variety of the books consulted renders it impossible to make any other acknowledgment here than this general recognition of my indebtedness to their authors. T. R. S. Stained glass from Chartres Cathedral CONTENTS. PAGE ILLUSTRATED GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL WORDS. xv to xxxix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. 1 CHAPTER II. THE BUILDINGS OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 6 CHAPTER III. GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE. 21 CHAPTER IV. GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN ENGLAND. Analysis of Buildings. Plans. Walls. Towers and Spires. Gables. Piers and Columns 28 CHAPTER V. GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN ENGLAND (continued). Analysis (continued). Openings. Roofs. Spires. Ornaments. Stained Glass. Sculpture 45 CHAPTER VI. GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN WESTERN EUROPE. [viii] [ix] [x] 1. France. Chronological Sketch. Analysis of Buildings. Plans. Walls, Towers and Gables. Columns and Piers. Roofs and Vaults. Openings. Mouldings and Ornaments. Construction and Design 69 2. Belgium and the Netherlands 87 3. Scotland, Wales, and Ireland 91 CHAPTER VII. GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN CENTRAL AND NORTHERN EUROPE. 1. Germany. Chronological Sketch. Analysis of Buildings. Plans. Walls, Towers and Gables. Roofs and Vaults. Openings. Ornaments. Construction and Design 93 2. Northern Europe 111 CHAPTER VIII. GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN SOUTHERN EUROPE. 1. Italy and Sicily. Topographical Sketch. Northern Italy. Central Italy. Southern Italy. Analysis of Buildings. Plans. Walls, Towers, and Columns. Openings and Arches. Roofs and Vaults. Mouldings and Ornaments. Construction and Design 112 2. Spain. Chronological Sketch 137 3. Portugal 142 CHAPTER IX. GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE. Principles of Construction and Design. Materials and Construction 143 CHAPTER X. RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE. General View. Analysis of Buildings. Plans. Walls and Columns. Openings. Construction and Design 154 CHAPTER XI. RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE IN ITALY. Florence. Rome. Venice, Vicenza, Verona. Milan, Pavia. Genoa, Turin, Naples. Country Villas 165 CHAPTER XII. RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE IN FRANCE AND NORTHERN EUROPE. 1. France. Chronological Sketch 193 2. Belgium and the Netherlands 206 3. Germany 210 CHAPTER XIII. RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE IN GREAT BRITAIN, SPAIN, AND PORTUGAL. 1. England. Chronological Sketch 214 2. Scotland 227 3. Spain and Portugal 229 [xi] [xii] Sculptured ornament from Rheims Cathedral LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Certosa, The, near Pavia. From the Cloisters Frontispiece Saint George. Panel from the Tomb of Cardinal Amboise in Rouen Cathedral Title Page Glossary. Forty Engravings of Details xv to xxxix 1.West Entrance, Lichfield Cathedral. (1275.) 5 2.Ground Plan of Peterborough Cathedral. (1118 to 1193.) 6 3.Transverse Section of the Nave of Salisbury Cathedral 7 4.Choir of Worcester Cathedral. (Begun 1224.) 9 5.Nave of Wells Cathedral. (1206 to 1242.) 9 6.Ground Plan of Westminster Abbey 11 7.House of Jaques Cœur at Bourges. (Begun 1443.) 15 8.Plan of Warwick Castle. (14th and 15th Centuries.) 16 9.Palaces on the Grand Canal, Venice. (14th Century.) 18 10.Well at Regensburg. (15th Century.) 20 11.Gothic Ornament. From Sens Cathedral (Headpiece) 21 12.Lincoln Cathedral. (Mostly Early English.) 35 13.St. Pierre, Caen, Tower and Spire. (Spire, 1302.) 37 14.House at Chester. (16th Century.) 38 15.Houses at Lisieux, France. (16th Century.) 41 16.Lancet Window. (12th Century.) 46 17.Two-light Window. (13th Century.) 47 18.Geometrical Tracery. (14th Century.) 48 19.Triforium Arcade, Westminster Abbey. (1269.) 49 20.Rose Window from the Transept of Lincoln Cathedral 50 21.Perpendicular Window 51 22.Roof of Hall at Eltham Palace. (15th Century.) 53 23.Henry VII.’s Chapel. (1503-1512.) 57 24.Spire of St. Mary Magdalene, Warboys, Lincolnshire 59 25.Decorated Spire. All Saints’ Church, Oakham 60 26.Early Arch in Receding Planes 62 27.Arch in Receding Planes Moulded 62 28.Doorway, King’s College Chapel, Cambridge. (15th Cent.) 63 29.Stained Glass Window from Chartres Cathedral 65 30.Sculpture from Chapter House, Westminster Abbey 67 31.Church at Fontevrault. (Begun 1125.) 70 32.Doorway at Loches, France. (1180.) 72 33.Notre Dame, Paris, West Front. (1214.) 74 34.Plan of Amiens Cathedral. (1220-1272.) 76 35.Amiens Cathedral, West Front. (1220-1272.) 78 36.Piers and Superstructure, Rheims Cathedral. (1211-1240.) 80 37.Capital from St. Nicholas, Blois, France. (13th Century.) 84 38.Beauvais Cathedral, Interior. (1225-1537.) 86 39.The Town Hall of Middleburgh. (1518.) 89 [xiii] 40.Tower at Ghent. (Begun 1183.) 90 41.Abbey Church of Arnstein. (12th and 13th Centuries.) 94 42.Church at Andernach. (Early 13th Century.) 96 43.Church of St. Barbara at Kuttenberg. East End. (1358-1548.) 99 44.Double Church at Schwartz-Rheindorff. Section. (1158.) 101 45.Double Church at Schwartz-Rheindorff. (1158.) 102 46.Cologne Cathedral. Ground Plan. (Begun 1248.) 104 47.Western Doorway of Church at Thann. (14th Century.) 106 48.Church of St. Catherine at Oppenheim. (1262 to 1439.) 107 49.St. Sebald’s Church at Nuremberg. The Bride’s Doorway 109 50.Palace of the Jurisconsults at Cremona 117 51.Cathedral at Florence. With Giotto’s Campanile 121 52.Cathedral at Siena. West Front and Campanile 123 53.Cathedral at Orvieto. (Begun 1290; Façade, 1310.) 125 54.Ogival Window-head 129 55.Tracery in Window-head, from Venice 130 56.Window from Tivoli 134 57.Italian Gothic Window, with Tracery in Head 136 58.Cathedral at Toledo. Interior. (Begun 1227.) 139 59.The Giralda at Seville. (Begun in 1196; Finished in 1568.) 141 60.Doorway from Church at Batalha. (Begun 1385.) 151 61.Strozzi Palace at Florence. (Begun 1489.) 169 62.Part of the Loggia del Consiglio at Verona 171 63.The Pandolfini Palace, Florence. Designed by Raphael 173 64.St. Peter’s at Rome. Interior. (1506-1661.) 177 65.Monument by Sansovino, in Sta. Maria del Popolo, Rome 179 66.Palazzo Giraud, Rome. By Bramante. (1506.) 180 67.Italian Shell Ornament 183 68.The Church of the Redentore, Venice. (1576.) 185 69.Certosa near Pavia. Part of West Front. (Begun 1473.) 188 70.Villa Medici—On the Pincian Hill near Rome. By Annibale Lippi (now the Académie Française). (A.D. 1540.) 191 70a.Early Renaissance Corbel 192 71.Window from a House at Orleans. (Early 16th Century.) 195 72.Capital from the House of Francis I., Orleans. (1540.) 197 73.Pavillon Richelieu of the Louvre, Paris 199 74.Part of the Tuileries, Paris. (Begun 1564.) 201 75.Capital from Delorme’s work at the Louvre 202 76.Hôtel des Invalides, Paris 204 77.Window from Colmar. (1575.) 208 78.Zeughaus, Dantzic. (1605.) 209 79.Council-house at Leyden. (1599.) 211 80.Quadrangle of the Castle of Schalaburg 213 81.Holland House, Kensington. (1607.) 216 82.St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. (1675-1710.) 220 83.Houses at Chester. (16th Century.) 225 84.The Alcazar at Toledo. (Begun 1568.) 231 [xiv] [xv] Stained glass from Chartres Cathedral GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL WORDS. Abacus.—The upper portion of the capital of a column, upon which the weight to be carried rests. Aisle (Lat. ala).—The side subdivision in a church; occasionally all the subdivisions, including the nave, are called aisles. Apse.—A semicircular or polygonal termination to, or projection from, a church or other public building. Arcade.—A range of arches, supported on piers or columns. Arch.—A construction of wedge-shaped blocks of stone, or of bricks, of a curved outline, and spanning an open space. The principal forms of arch in use are Semicircular; Acutely-pointed, or Lancet; Equilateral, or Less Acutely-pointed; Four-centred, or Depressed Tudor; Three-centred, or Elliptic; Ogival; Segmental; and Stilted. (Figs. a to f.) Architrave.—(1) The stone which in Classic and Renaissance architecture is thrown from one column or pilaster to the next. (2) The moulding which in the same styles is used to ornament the margin of a door or window opening or arch. Ashlar.—Finely-wrought masonry, employed for the facing of a wall of coarser masonry or brick. Attic (In Renaissance Architecture).—A low upper story, distinctly marked in the architecture of the building, usually surmounting an order; (2) in ordinary building, any story in a roof. Bailey (from vallum).—The enclosure of the courtyard of a castle. Ball-flower.—An ornament representing a globular bud, placed usually in a hollow moulding. Baluster.—A species of small column, generally of curved outline. Balustrade.—A parapet or rail formed of balusters. Fig. a.—Semicircular Arch. [xvi] Fig. b.—Stilted Arch. The Semicircular and the Stilted Semicircular Arch were the only arches in use till the introduction of the Pointed Arch. Throughout the Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular periods they occur as exceptional features, but they were practically superseded after the close of the 12th cent. Fig. c.—Equilateral Arch. Fig. d.—Lancet Arch. The Lancet Arch was characteristic of the Early English period, is never found earlier, and but rarely occurs later. The Equilateral Arch was the favourite arch of the architects of the geometrical Decorated, but is not unfrequently met with in the early part of the Perpendicular period. Fig. e.—Ogival Arch. Fig. f.—Depressed Tudor Arch. The Depressed (or Four-centred) Tudor Arch is characteristic of the Perpendicular period, and was then constantly employed. The Ogival Arch is occasionally employed late in that period, but was more used by French and Italian architects than by those of Great Britain. Band.—A flat moulding or projecting strip of stone. Barrel-vaulting.—See Waggon-head vaulting. Barge-board (or Verge-board).—An inclined and pierced or ornamented board placed along the edge of a roof when it overhangs a gable wall. Base.—(1) The foot of a column; (2) sometimes that of a buttress or wall. Fig. g.—Base of Early English Shaft. Fig. h.—Base of Perpendicular Shaft. Fig. i.—Base of Decorated Shaft. [xvii] Basilica.—(1) A Roman public hall; (2) an early Christian church, similar to a Roman basilica in disposition. Bastion (in Fortification).—A bold projecting mass of building, or earthwork thrown out beyond the general line of a wall. Battlement.—A notched or indented parapet. Bay.—One of the compartments in a building which is made up of several repetitions of the same group of features; e.g., in a church the space from one column of the nave arcade to the next is a bay. Bay-window.—A window projecting outward from the wall. It may be rectangular or polygonal. It must be built up from the ground. If thrown out above the ground level, a projecting window is called an Oriel. (See Bow window.) Bead.—A small moulding of circular profile. Belfry.—A chamber fitted to receive a peal of bells. Belfry Stage.—The story of a tower where the belfry occurs. Usually marked by large open arches or windows, to let the sound escape. Bell (of a capital).—The body between the necking and the abacus (which see). Billet Moulding.—A moulding consisting of a group of small blocks separated by spaces about equal to their own length. Blind Story.—Triforium (which see). Boss.—A projecting mass of carving placed to conceal the intersection of the ribs of a vault, or at the end of a string course which it is desired to stop, or in an analogous situation. Bow Window.—Similar to a Bay-window (which see), but circular or segmental. Broach-spire.—A spire springing from a tower without a parapet and with pyramidal features at the feet of its four oblique sides (see Fig. 22) to connect them to the four angles of the tower. Broachead (Spire).—Formed as above described. Buttress.—A projection built up against a wall to create additional strength or furnish support (see Flying Buttress). Byzantine.—The round-arched Christian architecture of the Eastern Church, which had its origin in Byzantium (Constantinople). Canopy.—(1) An ornamented projection over doors, windows, &c.; (2) a covering over niches, tombs, &c. Campanile.—The Italian name for a bell-tower. [xviii] [xix] Fig. j.—Buttress. Capital.—The head of a column or pilaster (Figs. l to p). Cathedral.—A church which contains the seat of a bishop; usually a building of the first class. Certosa.—A monastery (or church) of Carthusian monks. Chamfer.—A slight strip pared off from a sharp angle. Chancel.—The choir or eastern part of a church. Chantry Chapel.—A chapel connected with a monument or tomb in which masses were to be chanted. This was usually of small size and very rich. Chapel.—(1) A chamber attached to a church and opening out of it, or formed within it, and in which an altar was placed; (2) a small detached church. Chapter House.—The hall of assembly of the chapter (dean and canons) of a cathedral. Fig. l.—Early Norman Capital. Fig. m.—Early English Capital. Fig. n.—Later Norman Capital. [xx] Fig. o.—Perpendicular Capital. Fig. p.—Early French Capital. Château.—The French name for a country mansion. Chevron.—A zig-zag ornament. Chevet.—The French name for an apse when surrounded by chapels; see the plan of Westminster Abbey (Fig. 6). Choir.—The part of a church in which the services are celebrated; usually, but not always, the east end or chancel. In a Spanish church the choir is often at the crossing. Clerestory.—The upper story or row of windows lighting the nave of a Gothic church. Cloister.—A covered way round a quadrangle of a monastic building. Clustered (shafts).—Grouped so as to form a pier of some mass out of several small shafts. Corbel.—A projecting stone (or timber) supporting, or seeming to support, a weight (Fig. k). [xxi] Fig. k.—Early Renaissance Corbel. Corbelling.—A series of mouldings doing the same duty as a corbel; a row of corbels. Corbel Table.—A row of corbels supporting an overhanging parapet or cornice. Cortile (Italian).—The internal arcaded quadrangle of a palace, mansion, or public building. Column.—A stone or marble post, divided usually into base, shaft, and capital; distinguished from a pier by the shaft being cylindrical or polygonal, and in one, or at most, in few pieces. Cornice.—The projecting and crowning portion of an order (which see) or of a building, or of a stage or story of a building. Course.—A horizontal layer of stones in the masonry of a building. Crocket.—A tuft of leaves arranged in a formal shape, used to decorate ornamental gables, the ribs of spires, &c. Fig. q.—Decorated Crocket. Fig. r.—Perpendicular Crocket. [xxii] Crossing.—The intersection (which see) in a church or cathedral. Cross Vault.—A vault of which the arched surfaces intersect one another, forming a groin (which see). Crypt.—The basement under a church or other building (almost invariably vaulted). Cusp.—The projecting point thrown out to form the leaf-shaped forms or foliations in the heads of Gothic windows, and in tracery and panels. } Dec. The Gothic architecture of the fourteenth century in England. Abbreviated Dec. Decorated. Detail.—The minuter features of a design or building, especially its mouldings and carving. Diaper (Gothic).—An uniform pattern of leaves or flowers carved or painted on the surface of a wall. Fig. s.—Diaper in Spandrel, from Westminster Abbey. Dogtooth.—A sharply-pointed ornament in a hollow moulding which is peculiar to Early English Gothic. It somewhat resembles a blunt tooth. Dormer Window.—A window pierced through a sloping roof and placed under a small gable or roof of its own. Dome.—A cupola or spherical convex roof, ordinarily circular on plan. Domical Vaulting.—Vaulting in which a series of small domes are employed; in contradistinction to a waggon-head vault, or an intersecting vault. Double Tracery.—Two layers of tracery one behind the other and with a clear space between. } E. E. The Gothic architecture of England in the thirteenth century. Abbreviated E. E. Early English. Eaves.—The verge or edge of a roof overhanging the wall. Eaves-course.—A moulding carrying the eaves. Elevation.—(1) A geometrical drawing of part of the exterior or interior walls of a building; (2) the architectural treatment of the exterior or interior walls of a building. Elizabethan.—The architecture of England in, and for some time after, the reign of Elizabeth. [xxiii] [xxiv]