ft ORNAMENTAL TREASURES A COLLECTION OF DESIGNS FROM INDIA, CHINA, JAPAN, ITALY, GERMANY, FRANCE ETC. OF ALL STYLES AND TIMES COMPRISING 100 PLATES WITH EXPLANATORY LETTERPRESS BY H.DOLMETSCH NEW YORK PUBLISHED BY R. DAVIS, BOOKSELLER & IMPORTER 41 WEST 42D STREET FIRST ENGLISH EDITION 1898; SECOND ENGLISH EDITION, REVISED, 1912. Printed by Hoflmann, Stuttgart. List Plate Egyptian. Painting and Plastic Art i Architecture, Painting- 2 Assyrian. Painting, Polychrome Sculpture, Pottery . 3 Greek. Ornamental Architecture and Sculpture . 4 Polychrome Architecture 5 Pottery 6 Roman. Ornamental Architecture and Sculpture . 7 Pompeian. Mosaic Floors 8 Wall Paintings, Polychrome Basso Relievos 9 Bronzes 10 Chinese. Painting 11 Painting, Weaving, Embroidery, and l^namel 12 Japan. Lacquer Painting 13 Weaving, Painting, and Enamel . . . . 14 Indian. Metal Work 15 Embroidery, Weaving, Plaiting, Lacquer Work 16 Metal Work, Embroidery, Weaving, Painting 1 7 Inlays in Marble 18 Persian, Architecture 19 Pottery 20 Weaving and Illumination 21 Metal Work 22 Arabian. Ceramic Decoration 23 Weaving, Embroidery, and Painting . . 24 Ornaments in Wood and Metal .... 25 Illumination of Manuscripts 26 Arabian-Moresque. Architectural Ornaments 27 Mosaic Work, Glazed Tiles 28 Moresque. ' Architectural Ornaments 29 Turkish. Architectural Ornaments in Glazed Clay 30 Celtic. Illumination of Manuscripts 31 Byzantine. Glass Mosaic, Coloured Enamel, Illumination 32 Incrusted Enamel, Marble Mosaic, Glass Mosaic 33 Weaving, Embroidery 34 Russian. Manuscript-Painting 35 Architectural Ornaments and Wood Carvings 36 Enamel, Majolica, Paintings on Walls and Ceilings, Japanned Woodwork .... 37 Northern. Wood Carving • ... 38 Byzantine and Middle Ages. Architecture and Sculpture 39 Middle Ages. Enamels and the Illumination of Manuscript 40 Wall Painting 41 Stained Glass 42 .Stone Mosaic 43 Wood Mosaic 44 Stained Glass 45 Ornamental Architecture and Sculpture . 46 Plate Middle Ages. Weaving, Embroidery, Enamel, and Poly- chrome Sculpture 47 Illumination of Manuscripts 48 Ceiling and Wall Painting 49 Italian Renaissance. Glass Painting 50 Polychrome Pottery 51 Ornamental Painting 52 Intarsia, or Wood Mosaic 53 Painted Ceilings 54 Laces 55 Embroidery and Carpet Weaving ... 56 Sgraffito, Marble Mosaic, and Stucco Reliefs 57 Ceiling and Wall Painting 58 Illumination, Weaving, Marbte, Mosaic . 59 Pottery Painting 60 Plastic Ornaments in Marble and Bronze 61 Ceiling and Wall Painting 62 Works in Precious Metals with Paintings in Enamel 63 French Renaissance. Typographic Ornaments 64 Block Printing, Embroidery 65 Carpet Painting 66 Plastic Ornaments in Stone and Wood . 67 Painted Ceilings 68 Weaving, Embroidery, and Book Covers . 69 Wall Painting, Polychrome Sculpture, Wea- ving, and Book Covers 70 Gobelin Tapestry 71 Enamel on Metal, Pottery Painting, and Metal Mosaic 72 Ornaments on Wood and Metals etc. . . 73 German Renaissance. Ceiling and Wall Painting, Wood Mosaic, and Embroidery 74 Stained Glass Painting 75 Metal Work 76 Polychrome Plastic Work 77 Ornaments for Book Covers 78 Embroidery and Weaving 79 Typographic Ornaments 80 Polychrome Plastic Work 81 Plastic Ornaments in Stone and Wood . 82 Wall-Painting , Plastic Ornament in Stone and Wood 83 Ceiling and Wall Painting 84 Cartouches and Works in Precious Metals with Enamel 85 XVI^^ XVIII*\ XIX*h Centuries. Gobelin Tapestry and Book-Binding . . 86 Embroidery, Leather Tapestry, Goldsmith's Work 87 Metalwork and Woodcarving 88 Parquetry or Mosaic Floors 89 Plastic Ornaments 90 Painting, Leather Tapestry, Stucco Orna- ments 9 ^ Painted Plasterwork 92 Gobelin Tapestry 93 Plastic and Painted Ornaments .... 94 Lace Weaving, Embroidery 95 Metal Fittings 9^ Wall Painting and Ceiling Decoration . 97 Gobelin tapestry and lacework .... 98 Metal Ornaments 99 Silk Weaving 100 For Index of Subjects see next page. Index of Subjects. (Tlie numbers are tliose of the plates.) Acroteria. 4. Anthemion decorations. 4. Architecture. 2. 4. 5. 7. iS. U). 29. 36. 38. 39. Architecture, polychrome. 5. Ba.s.so relievo.s, polychrome. 9. 57. Block jjrinting. 65. Book binding. 69. 70. 78. 86. Bricks, glazed. 3. Bronzes. 10. Candelabra. 7. 12. 52. Capitals. 2. 4. 7. 27. 29. 38. 39. 46. 61. 67. 82. 90. Carpet painting. 66. Carpet weaving. 56. Cartouches. 77. 85. Caryatides. 4. 67. Damascened work. 15. 22. Embroidery 12. 16. 17. 24. 34. 47. 56. 65. 74. 87. 95. Enamel, cloisonne. 12. 14. Enamels. 12. 14. 17. 32. 33. 37. 40. 45. 47. 63. 72. Engraved - work. 73. Faience. 19. 30. 51. 65. 72. Glass mosaic. 32. 33. Glazed tiles. 19. 20. 23. 28. 30. 37. 43. 51. 60. Gobelin Tapestry. 71. 86. 93. 98. Goldsmith's work. 40. 63. 85. 87. Grisaille. 45. Illumination. 21. 26. 31. 32. 35. 40. 48. 59. Initials. 31. 40. 4S. 59. 64. 80. Intarsia. 53. 73. 74. 89. Ivory, inlaid. 73. Lace. 55. 95. 98. Lac(|uer painting. 13. i6. 17. 37. Leather tapestry. 87. 91. Linen embroidery. 74. Majolica. 37. f)0. Marble, inlaid. iM. 57. Marble mosaic. 59. Marble ornaments. 18. 61. Metal, inlaid. 22. 73. Metal work. 10. 13. 15. 17. 22. 25. 33. 37. 61. 63. 72. 73- 76. 85. 87. 88. Mosaic floors. 8. 33. 43. 57. Mosaic work. 8. 28. 33. 43. 44. 57. 59. 89. Niello work. 57. Ornament. 4. 5. 7 27. 29. 30. 46. 64. 67. 73. 81. 83. 94. Ornament, plastic. 56. 62. 67. 77. 82. 94. Ornament, typographic. 35. 59. 64. Painting, i. 2. 3. 9. 11. 12. 14. 17. 24. 41. 49. 52. 54. 58. 62. 66. 68. 70. 74. 81. 83. 84. Plaiting. 16. Plastic art. i. 27. 29. 61. 67. 77. 81. 82. 83. 90. 91. 92. 94. Plastic, polychrome, i. 3. 65. 72. 76. 77. 81. 83. 94. Porcelain. 14. Pottery. 3. 6. 20. 51. 60. 65. 72. Precious metals, enamelled. 40. 63. 85. 87. Robbian ware. 51. Sculpture. 3. 4. 7. 15. 39. 46. 47. 61. 67. 82. 94. Sculpture, polychrome. 3. 47. 70. Sgraffito. 57. Stained glass. 42. 45. 50. 75. Terra cotta. 5. 6. Typographic ornaments. 64. 80. Tapestry. 71. 86. 93. 98. 100. Wall and ceiling painting. 9. 37. 41. 49. 52. 54. 58. 62. 68. 70. 74. S3. 84. 97. Weaving. 12. 14. 16. 21. 24. 34. 47. 56. 59. 69. 70. 71. 79. 95. 98. 100. Wood work, inlaid. -14. 53. 73. 74. 89. Wood decorations. 25. 36. 37. 53. 67. 77. 82. 84. 88. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/ornamentaltreasuOOdolm EGYPTIAN .1 PAINTING AND PLASTIC ART Plate I Egyptian. Painting and Plastic Art. he mode of decoration with the Egyptians, the most ancient of civilized nations, comprises figure-subjects chiefly in conjunction with hieroglyphics. Columns and walls were used to write a pictorial chronicle of religious and every-day-life. The figure representations on the outer walls of Egyptian buil- dings consist of very flat, frequently painted reliefs, called coilanaglyphs. The contours are deep cut, the object is treated plastically, but in such a way, that the most pro- minent parts remain on the same plane as the surface of the wall. Plate i Fig. i . The paintings themselves are carried out in flat tints without any modelling at all, they have sharp contours and show a rich and harmonious combination of colours. From the vegetable and animal kingdoms in Egyptian ornamentation the most frequently employed are: the lotus flower, (an attribute of Isis and a symbol of the generating power of nature); the Nymphaea, the papyrus, the reed etc.; moreover the ram , the sparrow-hawk and especially the dung-beetle — Scarabaeus — PI. I Fig. 2. Another symbol, frequently used, is the winged disk of the sun. PI. 2 Fig. 2. The capitals in PI. 2 show also the application of the above mentioned vegetable motives, viz. Fig. 3 of the papyrus, Fig. 4 a capital composed of buds, the shaft representing a bundle of wood-stems. Fig. 5 palm-leaves and Fig. 6 a bud of the papyrus. symbolic thereon Fig. 12. „ 17- Fig. I. Painting of figure from a column of the temple at Denderah. ., 2 and 3. Paintings from mummy-cases. „ 4 and 5. From a mummy-case in the Louvre, Paris. „ 6. Painted border from sarcophagus. „ 7. Border from a mummy-case. British Museum, London. „ 8. Ornament on a wooden sarcophagus. British Museum. Border on a mummy-case. British Museum. Portion of a border. British Museum. Painting on a sarcophagus. British Museum. Dado with designs of lotus and papyrus; above model of flat ornament, to 16. Painted flat ornaments and borders. Painted vulture holding two feather insignia, the emblems of supreme power. 9- 10. 1 1 . 17- Plate 2. Egyptian. Architecture and Painting. 1. Pylon (entrance-gate) with figure representations and hieroglyphics. Louvre, Paris. 2. Cornice of the entablature of the great temple at Philae. Sculpture and painting. 3. Capital from the temple at Luxor, representing full-blown papyrus. 1200 B. Chr. 4. Capital from a temple at Thebes. (Lotus bud.) 10. II. 5. Capital from a j^ortico at Edfu. (Representing a palm-tree.) 6. Capital from Thebes, 12 B. Chr. Represents a lotus bud. 7. Munimy-case-painting. 8 and 9. Tile designs. Paintings from tomb-chambers. Louvre, Paris. 10 and 1 1. Painted columns with entablature. EGYPTIAN aRCHITEC ASSYRIAN 1000 >>>>>>>>> it m >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>/> 9 1.1 1 /Pi PAINTING, POLYCHROMR Srt'LPTURF POTTrRV Plate 3. Assyrian. Painting. Polychrome Sculpture, Pottery. he excavations on the banks of the Tigris at Khorsabad, Nimroud and Koyunjik brought to light a great number of architectural remains, paintings and sculptures of Assyrian origin, which give us an idea of the magnificence and the exuberant luxury of the buildings of this nation. Assyrian ornament certainly betrays Egyptian influence, but there is no denying its originality. Besides geometrical figures, such as interlacements, zigzag lines, rosettes, etc. animal and vege- table motives are used in sculpture and painting. Frequently we find even the so-called sacred tree (Fig. 11 and 12), mostly as bas- reliefs and painted, further winged griffins, lions and bulls with human faces. The winged male figure in the midst of our plate symbolizes the soul. For wall-facing glazed bricks frequently were employed and painted with regular!}' repeated figure-subjects or with interlacing designs. Fig. I. Portion of a glazed brick from a palace at Khorsabad „ 2 — 4. Painted bas-reliefs from Koyunjik. „ 5. Painted ornament from Nimroud. „ 6. Glazed brick from Khorsabad. „ 7 — 10. Painted ornaments from Nimroud. Fig. II — 12. Sacred trees „ 13. Painted ornament from Nimroud. „ 14. Enamelled brick from Khorsabad. „ I'. Assyrian king from a bas-relief at the Louvre, Paris 15- Painted bas-reliefs from Nimroud. Plate 4. Greek. Ornamental Architecture and Sculpture. Cjreek ornament preserves for ever a classical value, chiefly because the Grecian artists knew how to adapt the decoration to their artistic productions in such a way, that it nowhere overpowers the construc- tive groundwork, but rather accompanies it in beautiful lines and forms. Thus the fundamental form remains visible in its distinct substantiality, only relieved all the more by the ornament. Whether you look on the magnificent works of architecture or on the simplest objects for domestic use, produced by the Greeks, you will find, that all these works strike and surprise the beholder by their high perfection of form and their sublime beauty. Fig. I — 3 show examples of the three forms of development of Greek architecture: of the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian styles. The calm simplicity of the Doric capital expresses the purpose of supporting, and its forms put us in mind of the severit}' of the Doric race. Fig. 2 shows elegance and perfect grace, in conformity with the character of the lonians. But in the exuberant forms of the Corinthian capital that love of splendour is represented, which from Corinth, the rich trading-place, spread over all Greece. Fig. 4 .shows one of those noble virginal figures, used instead of columns in the Caryatide porch of the Erechtheum. Fig. I. Doric capital from Paestum (with painted ornament). „ 2. Ionic capital from the Erechtheum on the Acropolis of Athens. „ 3. Corinthian capital from the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates at Athens. „ 4. Caryatide figure from the Erechtheum. ,, 5 and 6. Acroteria from stelae (sepulchral columns), Paris. ,. 7 — 9. Anthemion-decorations. „ 10 and II. Griffins. Portions of friezes. „ 12 and 13. Trazephonc in the National Museum at Naples. „ 15 and 16. Trazephoroe in the British Museum at London. ,. 17. Pilaster capital from the Temple of Apollo at Miletus. ORNAMENTAL ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE. GREEK mm 2. 8. U. 13. l^nVTF ARCTITTRCTURE Plate 5. Greek. Polychrome Architecture. R late 5 shows a number of remains oi polychrome (many-coloured) mouldings. These forms are in general the same conventional ones as we find in plastic ornament and likewise in the decorations of vases on Plate 6. (Meanders, heart-shaped leaves, ovolos, palmettes, anthemion-decorations, etc.) It cannot new be questioned, that formerly colour was used in architecture ; in fact, as the plastic ornaments were not seldom treated in a very fiat way, they could hardly do without polychromy for producing an effect at long distances. 17 Fig. I. Polychrome cyma (ogee) with lion's head from Selinus. 2. Acroterium from a temple at Athens. 3 — 6. Painted cornices from the Propylaea. Athens. 7. Ornament of an anta-capital from the temple of Theseus. Athens. 8. Ornament from a temple at Selinus. g. Frieze of the temple of Jupiter at Aegina. 10. Cyma-ornament from the Parthenon. 1 1 . Ornament, found at Palazzolo. 12 and 13. Fret meanders. 14. Decoration of coffers (caissons), British Museum, London. 15. Panel of metopes of baked clay, found at Palazzolo. 16. Panel of coffers from the Propylaea. 17. Terra-cotta slab. Plate 6. Greek. Pottery. It was the Greeks, who raised pottery to a fine art. Whereas in Egypt the labourers, a lower caste, were charged with making the earthenware goods, which certainly were only used for domestic purposes or as a cheap substitute for precious vessels, the Greek potters, on the contrary, were so higly estimated that medals were struck and monuments erected in their honour. Vessels formed by hand, with plastic decorations, are very rare with the Greeks. The introduction of the potters wheel, already mentioned by Homer, took place in prehistoric times. Proofs of this kind of fabrication have also been found in the ruins of ancient Mycenae and Crete. The oldest Greek vases are most simply decorated ; on a light (white or yellowish) ground colour of clay brown bands, circles, squares etc. used to be painted. But soon they appear also with friezes, decorated with figures of animals. Subsequently figure representations, treated after a scheme, appear between bands : undulating lines, heart-shapes and laurel leaves, meanders etc. but, as before, dark on a light ground with frequent employ- ment of white. In the zenith of Greek ceramic art the colouring of the ground and of the ornamental and figure representations underwent a change. The orange colour of the clay was spared, the back ground filled with black. The figures, drawn with the brush, show much firmness and a noble elegance. Fig. lo. Then followed a polychrome period which, without doubt, must be called the decay of Greek pottery. The colours now were used in larger masses, especially light-yellow, gold-yellow, blue, violet, even gold. Fig. I — 9. Forms of Greek vases. I. Amphora, vessel for oil, wine, etc. ,, 2. Cylix, drinking-cup. ,, 3. Urn, a cinerary vessel. ,, 4. Oenochoe, wine-can, pouring-vessel. ,, 5. Ilydria, vessel for carrying water. ,, 6. Deinos, crater, vessel for mixing wine and water. ,, 7. Lecythus, vessel for anointing-oil. ,, S. Cantharus, two-handled drinking-cup. ,, 9. Rhyton, drinking-vessel. Fig. 10. Female figure on an Amphora in the National Museum at Naples. ,, II — 17. Greek frets. ,, 18. Wave borders. ,, 20, 21. Rosette borders. ,, 22, 23. Ivy buds. ,, 24, 25. Anthemion borders. ,, 26-29, 32- Palmette borders. ,, 30, 31. Olive leaf borders. )5 33) 34- Ornaments from vases. ,, 35. Painting from the interior of a cup. GREEK |BiigMEjiHij iMgiBiaig. OIF 15. 16. 17. 16. 20. ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ 2 2. ri(ir#r*i 19. p -^rv -j^v -J^ \.< /. ',// 1 /• .V ^. II 30. O O • o o o ..o o.. -31. ft ORNAMENTAL ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE. 1 1. Plate 7. Roman. Ornamental Architecture and Sculpture. T J. he Romans, for want of artistic talent of their own, seemed mainly dependent on Greek and Etruscan art, but instead of the classical pureness of form characteristic of the latter, an exaggerated decorative treatment is frequently met with in Roman work. In accordance with their love for pomp and splendour the Romans had a predilection for the Corinthian order, the capital of which they sometimes elaborated with very fine artistic feeling, for instance in the Pantheon at Rome, Fig. i ; whereas the form of the so-called Composite capital, Fig. 3, exhibits, on the contrary, a mechanical mixture of the Corinthian and Ionic styles. — An abundance of other Corin- thian-like capitals, which we shall meet again in the Renaissance period, with dolphins, winged horses, etc., in the place of volutes, prove the extravagant imagination of their inventors. In Roman ornament the different forms of leaves often are idealised in such a rigid manner, that their natural origin is hardly to be recognized. Most frequently employed was the acanthus-leaf, but with its rounded points and fuller forms it appears much less fine and delicate than in Grecian art. Besides this we find oak-leaves, laurel, pine apples, vine-leaves, palm, ivy, aloe, convolvulus, corn-flower, poppy, etc. alternately in bold execution, enlivened by a rich di.splay of flowers, fruits and figural decorations. Fig. I. Corinthian capital from the Pantheon at Rome. „ 2. Head of a candelabrum from the Vatican Museum. „ 3. Composite capital from a temple of Juno at Rome. „ 4. Fragment of a frieze, found in the Villa of Hadrian at Tivoli, now in the Lateran Museum at Rome. „ 5 and 7. Rosettes from the Vatican Museum. „ 6. Fragment of a frieze from Rome. „ 8 and 1 1 . Bases of columns from the later Roman period. „ Q and 10. Members of cornices from the ruins of the Imperial palaces on the Palatine. „ II. Ornaments from a marble chariot in the Vatican Museum. Plate 8. Pompeian. Mosaic Floors. ]\/Iosaic-work probably had its home in the East. This technical branch, considerably improved by the Greeks, was carried at last to the culminating point of perfection by the Romans, who produced not only geometrical mosaic-work, such as that found in so many floors excavated at Pompeii, but also flowers, animals, still-life, human and divine beings, even complete pictures, the latter being probably, for the most part, imitations of Greek originals no longer existing. Regarding the material, stones of different colours were generally employed, chiefly marble (seldom glass-pastes). In mosaic floors made of plates, Fig. 2 and 3, there is a great variety in the forms of the plates, whereas in mosaic proper, little stones, embedded in baton, were arranged into interesting carpet- patterns or figure representations. Fig. i and 4 — 10. Mosaics of this kind were also applied to walls and vaults. In a later period motives like that on Plate 5, Fig. 13, with a tendency to relief-like appearance, were frequently used for floors, proving, that the taste of that period was already decaying. Fig. I. Mosaic frieze in the house of the Faun at Pompeii. „ 2 and 3. Mosaic floors in the Palatine Museum at Rome (drawn by H. Dolmetsch). „ 4 and 5. Mosaic floors from the Hunting Villa at Fliessem near Trfeves. „ 6 and 7. Mosaic floors from Pompeii (drawn by H. Dolmetsch). „ 8, 9 and 10. The same from the Thermae of Caracalla at Rome (drawn by H. Dolmetsch). „ II and 12. Mosaic floors from Pompeii (after Niccolini). MOSAIC FLOORS Plate 9. Pompeian. Wall paintings and Polychrome basso relievos. T^e wall paintings found at Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae as well as at Rome, serving in the first place for decorative purposes only, give us some idea of the lost Grecian painting; for probably most of them are reproductions of originals of Greek masters, although they are executed in a free-hand manner and impressed with the splendour- loving spirit of the Romans. — These pictures are usually painted al fresco in cheerful colours by mere artisans, but with admirable artistic feeling and bold mastership. The apartments of the Pompeian houses are all without win- dows; the walls, being covered with lofty architectural designs, suggest the idea of increased size of the room. They are divided into a dado, a middle and an upper compartment. The dado generally, has a black ground with simple ornaments or linear decorations; the purple, green, blue or yellow ground of the middle space is enlivened with one or more figures, landscapes, etc., between pretty ornamental borders. The upper space is mostly white, enlivened with graceful scenes in various colours. There are, however, apartments, the walls of which begin with yellow dados and terminate with black friezes. Besides very rich arabesques, there are garlands, fruit, masks, candelabra, animals, suspended arms, etc. which, imitating nature with great fidelity, arrest the eyes of the beholder. — The most favourite plants were ivy and vine-branches, laurel, myrtle, cypress, olive and palm. The walls usually terminated at the top in a small painted stucco -cornice, from which the ceiling rose. The latter, frequent- ly vaulted, was decorated with graceful variegated .linear-ornaments on a light-coloured ground, or, often, with coloured stucco. Fig. I. Wall painting, representing a figure of Victory, from Pompeii. „ 2 and 3. Colonnettes, in the Museum at Naples. „ 4 and 5. Borders from Pompeii. „ 6. Frieze from Pompeii (drawn by H. Dolmetsch). „ 7 — 12. Borders from Herculaneum and Pompeii. „ 13 and 14. Painted dados from Pompeii. „ 15 — 20. Cornices, executed in stucco and painted, Pompeii (drawn by H. Dolmetsch). „ 21. Fresco painting from Pompeii imitating architectural features. Plate lO. Pompeian. Bronzes. T JLhe National Museum at Naples as well as the collections at Florence and other places in Italy afford a full survey of the smaller works of art and industry produced by the ancients. Contemplating the bronzes, down to the meanest objects for daily use, one cannot but be filled with admiration for their noble and beautifully balanced shapes which interfere not at all with their practical usefulness. There are candelabra, lamps, little lamp- stands, most of them in tripod-form, vases, uten- sils for cooking, eating and drinking, in which the free and vigorous form of the profile and especially of the handles and ears, was carried to great perfection ; there are couches, coal-pans, theatrical masks, armour and many other objets, all of which emit, as it were, the fresh breath of Grecian beauty, equally manifest in that wise moderation almost throughout observable. The bronze statuettes are composed, as a rule, of several separately cast pieces, and many of them, on account of their highly artistic form, may fairly, be reckoned among the best produc- tions of the ancient world. Fig. I. Bronze helmet with embossed figures, in the Museum at Naples. „ 2 and 3. Two lamps (lucerna), in the Museum at Naples. „ 4 and 5. Great candelabra, in the Collection of the Louvre at Paris. „ 6 and 8. Great candelabra in the Museum at Naples. „ 7. Side-view of the head of the candelabrum Fig. 6 (enlarged). „ 10. Two-armed small candelabrum with figure of Silenus at Naples. „ II. Bisellium, seat of honour for magistrates, beautifully profiled, in the Louvre at Paris. „ 12 and 13. Tripods from Herculaneuui, in the Museum at Naples. „ 14 and 15. Bronze masks, being fragments of decorations, at Naples. „ 16 and 17. Handles of mirrors found at Hildesheim. .. 18. Goblet without handle found at Hilde.sheim. „ 19. Two handled goblet with symbols to the cult of Bacchus; found at Hildesheim. 19. Fig. 9. Candelabrum-head, at Naples. POMPEIAN CHINESE 11 2o^cpEccD0cgpocopa:s^=^^^ /^^r\ /^"^r\ /^^r\ / V 13. PAINTING Plate 1 1. Chinese. Painting. In very early times the Chinese had already attained a high degree of perfection in the art of decoration. But they did not go beyond that point, and for many centuries their system of ornamentation shows no progress at all, without mentioning that their modern productions are mere imitations of ancient subjects, often calculated to deceive. Most remarkable however are their painted porcelain vases. They are generally bounded with borders, among which the meander pattern in various forms predominates. Fig. 9, 10, 11, and the upper part of Fig. 4 represent some of the few conventionally treated examples of such borders. On the faces of these vases we find geometrical patterns, as well as flowers, fruit and every kind of plants, some of them grace- fully idealizing the forms of nature, others, copying them with anxious minuteness. All these ornaments cover the vases either in continuity, or, more frequently, they are irregularly and capriciously scattered over them, sometimes still enlivened by human figures and animals. The principal native plants used for decorative patterns are the leaves and flowers of the tea-shrub, roses, camellias, melons, etc. Finally the whole receives a splendid impression from the peculiar brilliancy of the Chinese porcelain- enamel, the colour of which is not a pure white, as in our representation, but always somewhat greenish. Fig. 1 — 5 and 9 — 13 borders; Fig. 6 — 8 continuous patterns of painted China vases, the greater part of which are to be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. In Fig. I an inclination towards Persian manner is to be observed in composition and character. The yellow colour, used in Fig. 4, 6 and 10, is gold on the original objects. Plate 12. Chinese. Painting, Weaving, Embroidery and Enamel. A fantastic mixture of patterns is characteristic of Chinese painting, although this peculiarity is somewhat compensated for by the richness and successful combination of the colours. In special favour are black, white, blue, red and gold outlines, by wich the designs are more prominently and beautifully relieved from the light or dark ground. It is well known that silk manufacture in China had reached a high degree of perfection long before the Christian era, but it may be less known that the gold-threads employed in Chinese weaving and embroidery most probably consisted of silk-threads covered with gilt paper. Most renowned, too, are the vases and dishes ornamented with so called "cloisonne enamel". Where this kind of enamelling was first invented, has up to now not been ascertained; the use of it be the Chinese is, however, of very ancient date. The process of making cloisonne work is as follows : — After the intended design has been traced upon the metal ground intended to be enamelled, the separate figures of the pattern are bordered by thin wire of gold or copper-alloy soldered to the metal-plate. The 'cloisons' so formed are then filled in with enamel of bright colour which is fired in the furnace. When cool, the whole surface is poHshed smooth. Here too recur the same motives as in painting, etc. Fig. 10 shows, executed in this manner, the often- varied Imperial emblem of China, the primeval dragon (compare Fig. 6). According to a Chinese idea, man once developed out of the imperfect state of a dragon. Fig. I. Conventional representations of fruit and flowers painted on porcelain. „ 2. Painted border from a china vessel. „ 3. Painting from a small wooden chest. „ 4, 5 and 6. Portions of bed-curtains embroidered in silk and gold (XV. century). ., 7, 8 and 9. Patterns from woven stuff's. „ 10 and II. Portions of an old China copper-vase executed in 'champ-leve enamel'. „ 12 — 23. Ornaments on vases, bowls and censers executed in 'champ-leve enamel'. CHLNESE 12 PAiiNTlNG, WEAVING, EMBROIDERY AND ENAMEL JAPAN 13 IS!S!ia!g!S!Ei!a iits!f5!ls!iB!f§!is! igiigifigi isi n m KS1 ^^^^^^ * ^^^^^ ^^^^^ '^^^^^ 4a. LACQUER-PAINTING Plate 13. Japan. Lacquer-Painting. o Concerning the relation of Chinese to Japanese art compare the letterpress to Plate 14. f all productions of Japanese art, lacquer-ware has attained a high and well-deserved celebrity long since; for this work shows an unrivalled technical perfection resulting from a traditional manufacture transmitted in the course of centuries from generation to generation within certain families. It is to the separation of the castes and guilds in Japan and China, that this increasing perfection of artistic manufacture is to be ascribed. Whereas the Chinese in ornamenting their lacquer-ware employ, almost throughout, types from nature, the Japanese more frequently use geometrical or mere linear ornaments. But here, as well as in other branches of their Art, we often notice that apprehension of a systematic arrangement of the ornaments which we have already referred-to when speaking of the Chinese. (Compare Fig. i — 8, 11, 12, 14, 20 and 21, 22 and 23; Plate 14, Fig. 10). The style as well as the extremely complicated process of lacquer-painting have remained unaltered up to now. The ground material is almost invariably wood. Hinoki or Kiri wood for fine objects; Sugi or Keyaki for common bowls or trays. Occasionally, but rarely, metal. papier mache, or porcelain are lacquered. The wood is covered with hemp and glue before the first coat of lacquer is applied. It is then dried and rubbed smooth with a whetstone, the same process being repeated with each additional coat. The more precious objects require from twenty to thirty coats or more, involving a great deal of time and labour. Sometimes mother-of-pearl or ivory is inlaid for decoration, but the most common practice is the powdering with gold dust. In Taka-makiye lacquer the ground is raised in parts by repeated coatings and by applications of gold powder. Lacquer is supplied by nature as a product from the sap of a tree in different qualities, viz. yellow, brown and Hght yellow, the colour of the latter being soon changed in deep black with exposure to the air. 5'- 52- Fig. 1 — 50. Designs for lacquer ware. 51. 52. Angle posts, and panel from the Portal of the Temple of Nishi-Hon-gwan-ji. Plate 14. Japan. Weaving, Painting and Enamelling. is hardly productions possible to point out exactly the characteristics which distinguish Chinese and Japanese of art from each other, an active commercial intercourse and an exchange of the successive acquirements and progress in industrial art having been kept up between both countries for ages, the result of this mutual teaching and learning being a uniformity of taste as well as of technique with both nations. That the latter reached a high point of perfection in these two countries , we have already remarked, but probably in consequence of this straining after technical skilfulness, the intellectual element has been checked and the individual genius of the artists suppressed in China as well as, with some restriction, in Japan. Although what we have said above in reference to Plates 11 and 12 applies equally to Japanese art in general, it must be observed, that in our days, this art has seemed to revive with fresh vigor, excelling as it always did in a more regular style of ornamentation, in a closer observation of nature and a more individual freedom of design. The Japanese had the advantage over the Chinese being able to apply cloisonne work to porcelain vases. In this technical manipulation, (never yet succeeded in by Europeans ,) the metal wires are fixed on the objects by means of enamel of high fusibility, after the glaze has been removed from the parts concerned. The further proceeding is the same as we have described with Plate 12. In the latest development the wires are taken out before the last firing. Althougth it was from the Chinese that the Japanese learnt the manu- facture of porcelain, yet the latter nation has never been able to approach either the beauty of the porcelain or the colour of the blue decoration of the former; the nearest attempts being in the Hirado and Nabeshima porce- lains. Japanese vases are sometimes of colossal size, and when covered with cloisonne enamel are magnificent in their decoration. 56. Fig. I — 7. Borders and patterns from silk stuffs. „ 8 and 9. Paintings from an old porcelain vase. » lo. Painting from an old cup-shaped vase. „ II and 12. Borders from two faience vases. 13-19. Ornaments from cloisonnd enamelled vases. » 20. Sketch for a painting. JAPAN u WEAVING, PAINTING AND ENAMEL INDIAN 15 METAL-WORK Plate 15. Indian. Metal work. Compare also the letterpress to Plate 16. T J_ he manufacture of decorated arms and metal ware was at all times an important branch of Indian industrial art, and we have due cause to be astonished at the refinement of taste combined with the magnificence of ornamentation. Damascened work, specially exemplified on our plate, is executed in steel, iron or tin-alloy, in the latter case the design being brought out in deep black by the agency of sulphur. The damascened ornaments are made in silver- and gold-foil , fixed on either by pressure or hammering to the metal ground, which has previously been slightly engraved, after which the whole is polished with the burnisher. Fig. I. Vessel with damascened inlays. „ 2. Battle-axe with etched decorations. „ 3. Battle-axe with damascened work. „ 4. Shield of rhinoceros-skin inlaid and mounted with metal. „ 5—8. Ornaments from damascened Hookahs (water-pipes). „ 9. Repousse decoration of a gilt copper-can. „ 10. Repousse decoration of a copper-can. „ II. Decoration from a damascened tin-vase. „ 12. Damascened work on steel of a dagger-sheath. „ 13. Neck-decoration of a demascened tin-cup. „ 14. From a copper-plate in repousse work. „ 15. From a tin-plate in repousse work. „ 16. Design for a carved column or pier. Fig. 2, 9, 10, 12—13 drawn from original objects from the Royal "Landes- gewerbemuseum" at Stuttgart. „ I, 5— 8 and 11 drawn from original objects belonging to Mr. Paul Stotz, manufacturer at Stuttgart. tm 16. Plate 1 6. Indian. Embroidery, Weaving, Plaiting and Lacquer- Work. India, that country full of luxurious vegetation rich in natural products of every kind, with inexhaustible mines of precious metals and stones, displays her character of overflowing abundance and the fantastic spirit of her inhabitants also in the productions of her art. But notwithstanding her old and comparatively high civilisation, a certain conservatism, extending for nearly a thousand years, due to the social and religious conditions and institutions, exercised, as a matter of course, its unavoidable influence also on the artistic productions , especially when you look on the caste-like separation of the several trades. Only since the beginning of our century can we report new introductions in Indian art. Being little conventional and flowing freely, Indian ornament seems to have a great affinity to the Persian style. The surface decoration, never losing its specific character, mostly exhibits a profuse richness of recurring, motives, and a splendour of colouring which, far from harassing the eyes of the beholder, affords, on the contrary, a salutary repose to them. The outlines of the design, in which all modelling is avoided, are generally executed on light ground in deeper colours than the pattern itself, and on dark ground in light colours. The Indians found their principal motives, among their native plants, employing in the first place lotus, excellently drawn roses, pinks, pomegranates, etc.; but most frequently, especially in modern productions, we meet with the palm-branch always treated conventionally (Fig. ii and Plate 15, Fig. 9, 15; Plate 17, Fig. 23, 28 and 29). In consequence of British competition, the art of weaving, formerly brought to the highest perfection, is now decaying; also in modern silk embroidery the former quiet harmony is frequently disturbed by using the too vivid aniline colours. But the Cashmere shawls , celebrated for ages all over the world, still keep their renown owing to their unrivalled fineness and delicacy and to their magnificent colours. Many-coloured cotton carpets (Fig. 8 and 9), the striped design of which is excellently fitted to the stuff, are widely spread as a cheap substitute for woollen carpets. — The plaited mats too are well worthy of attention, as regards their colour and design (Fig. 10). Indian lacquerwork, when compared with that of the Chinese and Japanese, is far less elaborate as regards technical perfection , and it differs from them in this essential point, that the lacquer serves only, as it were, to preserve the gilt or polychrome ornaments. '5- Fig. I. Woven carpet of the 1 6th century. „ 2 — 6. Borders from silk embroideries. „ 7. Pattern embroidered in silk. „ 8 and 9. Cotton carpets. „ 10. Mat of plaited rushes. » II and 12. Border patterns of Cashmere shawls. „ 1 5. Corbel bracket from the temple of Jambukesvara near Trichinopoly. INDIAN. 16 EMBROIDERY. WEAVING, PLAITING AND LACQUER-WORK. Plate 17. Indian. Metal Work, Embroidery, Weaving and Painting. r V — 'hamp-leve enamel was artistically employed, especially in goldsmiths' work. The parts of the metal intended to be enamelled were deepened with the burin, narrow rims being left to separate the several compartments. The further process is nearly the same as we have described whe speaking of ,, cloisonne enamel". — A brilliant specimen of that work may be seen in Fig. 4, representing an ancus (in.strument used to drive and train elephants). We often meet with illumination in India, betraying however Persian influence and applied to old royal edicts, documents and other manuscripts of a religious and poetical character. Fig. I. Ancus in chiselled iron. „ 2 and 3. Pendants and button embossed in gold and chiselled. „ 4. Ancus, enamelled and adorned with jewels. „ 5 — 9. Decorations from enamelled arms. „ 10. State parasol with rich gold embroidery. „ II — 13. Embroidered fans. „ 14. Covering for the foot, woven in gold and embroidered in silk with pearls. „ 15. Embroidered table-cover. „ 16. Border from a saddle-cloth. Fig. 17. Embroidery on black stuff. „ 18. Border from an embroidered velvet-carpet. „ 19 — 22. Flowers from silk embroidery. „ 23. Woven shawl. Showing Persian influence. „ 24. Border from woven stuff. „ 25 and 26. Patterns from silk- and gold-wea- vings. „ 27. Lacquer painting. „ 28. Portion of a book-cover in lacquer painting „ 7() and 30. From illuminated manuscripts. „ 31. Carved wood from Burma. Plate 18. Indian. Inlays in Marble, If we cast a glance at old Indian Architecture, we are at once struck by the unmistakable character of an exceedingly varied and complex style, which however may very likely be traced back to ages long gone by. Even the most ancient monuments of India consisted of stucco-work richly embelhshed with sculpture, mo- saics and colour decoration whose technique naturally favoured the display of a pompous richness. This same over-loading was later on extended also to rock-cut and other buildings in stone and thus the places of worship as well as the Palaces of India present a bewildering diversity of fantastic forms. A hundredfold repetition of idol's ])ictures or long rows of lions and elephants, fantastic and co- lossal figures of men supporting, caryatide-like , the projecting cornices, all sorts of m\ thologi- cal representations, descriptions of battles and victories with a motley crowd of inscriptions between. The characteristics on the forms of the columns, pillars and pilasters which are worked out with infinite variation, are tlie continually recurring change from the angular to the circular form, the frequent cording with narrow bands and the bulging out of the capitals. On these latter arises, console-like, a broadly projecting flag- stone, resembling a wooden structure, which very often supports a reposing lion, the symbol of Buddha. In later periods, after Arabian influence had introdu- ced the Mahometan style also into India, a peculiar grandeur became observable in the buil- dings. The use of curved and pointed arches forming arcades as also the mtroduction ot cupolas presents internally and externally a new feature, which frequently cul- minates in a truly extravagant splendour. This period had its climax in the XVH and the first half of the XVIII century. It is to the first-named epoch that the marble-inlays from the Mogul tombs at Agra belong, which are shown in the present plate. These artistically furnished mausoleums were built with white marble, whilst all j^rominent architectural parts of the structure were ornamented with many coloured stones, such as jasper, heliotrope, chalcedony, agate, etc. Every curved line, every closed bud and opening flower we find represented with a close regard to the beauties of nature yet the whole is in thorough harmony. Fig. I to 9. Marble marquetry from the mausoleums af the Shah Jehan and tlie Heguni Mumtaz-i-Mahall. Taken from 'I'ortfolio of Indian Art' ;ind the lournal of Indian Art'. INDIAN INLAYS IN MARBLE ARCHITECTURE. Plate 19. Persian. Architecture. T J. he great number of monumental buildings, which still exist although more or less dilapidated, conveys an idea of the fairy-like magnificence of the ancient empire of the Caliphs, as well as of the gorgeous palaces and mosques of Persia ; especially in Ispahan, the former capital, a series of examples still proves how well the Persians were able to give a rich appearance to their edifices by employing glazed tiles, either variegated or painted. Almost all the domes of the mosques, chiefly pear or bulb-shaped, and the points of the minarets, as well as their walls and, in short, nearly all parts of these buildings are covered with such tiles. (Fig. i, 6, 7, 10, 1 1 .) This rich polychrome ornamentation, so abundantly used, is not less characteristic of Persian archi- tecture, when compared with any other Mahometan, than the peculiar mode of decoration. The latter shows much less variety in combining geometrical ornaments (Fig. 11), than we find with the Arabs and Moors, and in the floral ornament, though conventionally treated, there still prevails an attempt at the imitation of nature, the rich vegetation of the country offering a great variety of subjects. Scroll-work and flowers are either separately distributed over the surfaces, or interspersed between the linear ornaments. An interesting feature is the frequently occurring pierced stone window- frames, the open spaces being filled in with painted glass (Fig. 8 and 15). We may mention here, also as worthy of notice, the so-called stalactite vaults (Fig. 14) composed of miniature niches projecting one above the other. Fig. I. Upper part of a minaret from the mosqi-.e Mesdjid-i-Chah. „ 2 — 5. Bases and capitals of columns. „ 6. Wall-border from the portal building of the mosque Mesdjid-i-Chah. „ 7. Decorated cavetto from the same. „ 8. Pierced stone window-frame (belonging to Fig. 12). „ 9. Wall-border. S „ 10 and II. Spandrels from the College or Medresseh Maderi-Chah-Sultan-Hussein. „ 12. Pierced stone window-head. „ 13. Entablature from the Pavilion Tchehel-Soutoun. „ 14. Stalactite vault from the Pavilion of the Eight Paradise-gates. „ 15 — 17. Dome finials. „ 18. Glazed tile from the 16"^ century. All from Ispahan. 18. Plate 20 Persian. Pottery. e beautiful faience ware produced by Persian artists settled at Rhodes has been at all times a consi- derable article of export. In all countries professing Islam the productions of this very earl}' and highly developed industry are found down to the present time. After having remarked with regard to Plate 18, the dazzling manner in which the Persians decorated the exterior of their buildings with tiles, we must especially record here their tastefully coloured dishes, of which Plate 20 gives some examples. Both the invariably flat treatment of the ornament and the prevalence of the natural imitation of flowers constitute the characteristic style of Persian decoration. Fig. I — 5. Ancient Rhodian faience plates in the Musee Cluny at Paris. „ 6 and 7. Borders from walls wainscoted with faience. „ 8 and 9. Tiles. Fig. 3. After an original drawing by C. Bauer from the 'Kunstbibliothek der Kgl. Centralstelle fiir Gewerbe und Handel' at Stuttgart. POTTERY PERSIAN 21. WEAVING AND ILLUMINATION -n pottery as well as in weaving and illumination, we find the use of secondary and tertiary colours predominating, which being mostly in complete harmony with each other and the ground colour, produce a certain delicacy and brightness of effect, which distinguishes all those objects. Owing to these circumstances Persian carpets covered with flowers and in many cases enlivened with animals and birds, and the delicately painted Koran-manuscripts are widely dispersed and much in favour throughout the East. But although the masses are rather unevenly distributed on the surface, the produc- tions of Persian art are considered superior to those of the Arabs and Moors. Fig. 1 we see almost all flowers conventionally treated, and in Fig. 3 the large leaves quite usual with the Arabs (compare also Plate 19, Fig. i). idealised in Fig. I. Persian carpet, XVI. century. „ 2. Patterns for weaving from an old Persian book of ornaments in the Victoria and Albert- Museum, London. „ 3. Illumination from a Koran. „ 4. 5- Ornaments from a book cover. Plate 22. Persian. Metal Work. JL n all ages weapons , armour and metal vessels of Persian origin were highly estimated in the East as well as in Western countries up to the present day. Being decorated with excellent Damascened work or beautifully embossed, they exhibit in their ornaments the above-described features of the Persian st3'le in wonderful variety. Moreover we are struck by Persian characters expressing proverbs or religious sen- tences (Fig. I and 2 and Plate i8, Fig. i). Animals and human hgures are likewise represented in some- times fantastic imitations (Fig. i, 2 and 3). Fig. 1 and 2, Helmet with accompanying shield. ,, 3. Damascened Border. ,, 4 8. Decorations on metal vessels. 9 — 12. Knife and dagger handles. ,, 13. Metal vase. Fig. 1 — 3 drawn after original objecis from the Royal .Landesgewerbemuseum' at Stuttgart. PERSIAN 22 CERAMIC DECORATION. Plate 23. Arabian. Ceramic Decoration. C3ur Plate represents a wall-lining of the 16''^ century in the mosque of Ibrahim Agha at Cairo, exempli fying a mixture of the Persian and Arabian styles, inasmuch as the predominance of vegetable ornamen tation directly points to Persian influence. 2 and 3. Fig. 2 and 3. These figures represent the fundamental design with border of a Persian wall-cove ring of tiles. Plate 24. Arabian. Weaving, Embroidery and Painting. H ardly 250 years had elapsed since the establishment of Islam through Mahomet, when the Arabs had already developed a style of their own, which, though frequently following Persian, Roman and Byzantine examples, yet possesses its own peculiar features. This is especially the case in their style of decoration, which perfectly demonstrates their artistic talent being identical with their nature and feeling. A simple imitation of real beings could not be in accordance either with their boundless imagi- nation or with their character, imbued with poetry; representations of men or animals are therefore of comparatively rare occurrence, although images are not actually forbidden by the Koran, as is supposed. The Arabian artists, however, found full satisfaction in that pompous ornamentation which, most extensively employed in all branches of their artistic performances, engages both the eye and the intellect. They created in changeful play an abundance of rich combinations of lines, called Arabesques after their in- ventors, the Arabs, consisting either of figures geometrically constructed or of foliage rigidl}^ idealised In such interlaced scroll work, exhibiting its finest forms in ingenious rosettes and stars, the principle prevails that each scroll and each leaf is always traceable to its root and parent stem. Brilliant colours serve more especially to disentangle the seemingly insoluble intricacy, and to diffuse a quiet harmon}- over the decorated surface. The curved points of the leaves are a special characteristic of such Arabian foliage (Fig. 3). The Arabs seem also to have first introduced those ingenious patterns, of which we see a specimen in Fig. 2, where two similar figures, lying in an opposite direction, are produced by one single line. Fig. I. Woven carpet of the XVI. century, preserved in the church at Nivelles. ,, 2. Embroidered applique work of the XVIII. century. ,, 3. A portion of the richly painted ceiling of the mosque el Burdeni at Cairo, XVII. century. ,, 4. Frieze from the mosque el Dhahir, XIII. century. ARABIAN 3. 2. WEAVING, EMBROIDERY AND PAINTING ARABIAN. 25 ORNAMENTS IN WOOD AND METAL. Plate 25 Arabian. Ornaments in Wood and Metal. T. o prevent looking in without hindering a free look-out the window-openings facing the street were furnished with wooden lattices, shaped, in a very elegant manner (Fig. 2 and 3). The inventive ingenuity of Arabian art-workmen was more especially engaged in decorating the doors. lb. 17. Fig. I for instance presents us a panel of a richly carved and chiselled door, whilst in Fig. 5 — 15 a large selection of bronze door fittings will be found, the latter being applied so as either to form the ornament itself, or so that the parts of the wood uncovered by the metal, bring out the pattern. Fig. 4 is an escutcheon executed in bronze, and occurring also on many Arabian coins. Fig. I. Enriched door panel. ,, 2, 3. Lattice work. ,, 4 — -15. Various kinds of metalwork decorating the doors of Mahometan mosques. 16, 17. Window lattices. Plate 26. Arabian. Illumination of Manuscripts. I_vikewise in their paintings on parchment the Arabian artists show special skill in surface decoration. Scroll work, rigidly idealised, alternates with geometrical figures, or else the arabesque ornament fills the compartments formed by the lines and bands. In this manner whole pages are painted in many Koran manuscripts, from which Fig. 4 and 5 give us four specimens of coloured motives of this rich method of treatment. — The writing itself is in most cases bordered and surrounded with rosettes and friezes, which are filled in with various combinations of lines and foliage. The splendid and at the same time harmonious effect of this illumination arises principally from the exquisite arrangement of the colours, the brilliancy of which is further enhanced by a profuse employ- ment of gold. A glance at Fig. 6 with its many-coloured flowers might induce us to suppose Persian or Indian influence, and Romanesque in Fig. 8 and 9; everywhere, however, we see the curved or involuted points of the leaves which characterize the art of the Arabs and Moors. Fig. I. Decoration from an Arabian Koran 2 and 3. Decorations from an Arabian Koran 4 and 5. ,, ,, a Moorish 6 and 7. 8—10. II and 12. 13. Ornament an Arabian a Moorish an Arabian XIV. century, XVI. XVIII. XVI. „ XVII. XVIII. XVII. ARABIAN IT.LUMINATION OF MANUSCRIPTS ARCHITECTURAL-ORNAMENTS. Plate 27. Arabian-Moresque. Architectural Ornaments. M oorish architecture is of importance for us on account of some of its mouldings being entirely covered with ornaments, sometimes magnificently gilded and painted. Friezes and cornices received their par- ticular adornment by pinnacles, either simply and plainly treated (Fig. 11 and 12), or richly decorated (Fig. 13-15)- The columns at first followed Egyptian and Byzantine examples or were, in fact, composed of parts of Greek or Roman columns; later on however (since about the 12^'^ century) they were formed in a style of their own, the capital consisting mainly of a cube decorated with foliage and scroll work (Fig. 6 and Plate 28, Fig. i). •1:M- M-I'I-I-II' .I -M-M-M 17- iS. 19- A most artistic treatment is exhibited especially in vaults and [portions of vaults composed of more or less gorgeous stalactites. Fig. I represents a wall decoration executed in plaster and low-relief and in many cases coloured. Here we meet the so-called Arabian feather, so very frequently employed, especially in the Alhambra (compare Fig. 13; Plate 24, Fig. 4, 7, 11; Plate 28, Fig. 2, 6, 7, 9, 10). Fig. I. Panel from the Alhambra. ,, 2. Decoration in stone above a door in Cairo. ,, 3 and 4. Base and capital of a column from Cairo. „ 5 and 6. „ „ „ „ ,. „ „ the Alhambra. ,, 7 and 8. Stalactites from Cairo. ,, 9 and 10. Corbels from Cairo. II — 15. Crested battlements from Cairo. ,, 16 — 19 Decorations from Cairo. Plate 28. Arabian -Moresque. Mosaic Work and Glazed Tiles. A rabian and Moorish mosaics are made partly of small pieces of coloured marble, partly of small tiles, painted and glazed. Sometimes (as in Fig. 5 — 11) the designs are cut into the marble plates and the deepenings filled in with coloured cement. 12. In these mosaics the geometrical principle predominates. Regarding the colours used, it is noti( cable that the secondary and tertiary colours were most in favour; it ma}' also be observed, that the Moors relinquishing here the primary colours exclusively used by them at other times, preferred on the contrary green and orange. These mosaics served for covering the floors as well as the lower parts of the walls. Fig. I, 3 and 4. Wall-lining of glazed tiles from the Alhambra. ,, 2. Wall-lining of glazed tile from the mosque of the Shekhun at Cairo. ,, 5 — 7 and 9 — II. Marble wall-lining inlaid with coloured stuccoes from Cairo. „ 8. „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ Damascus. ,, 12. Frieze from the ceiling of the mosque El BurdOni. ARABIAN-MORESQUE 28, >Qq' 4- V „ ,, ,, ,, A. Borkhardt, ,, 11 5 — 9- I. >. „ ,, H. Gross, painter and teacher at the Royal Kunstgewerbeschule at Stuttgart. BYZANTINE 32 GLASS-MOSAIC, COLOURED ENAMEL AND ILLUMINATION BYZANTINE Plate 33. Byzantine. Incrusted Enamel, Marble Mosaic and Glass Mosaic. Incrusted enamel was not less employed than "cloisonne work". Fig. i shows us, executed in this manner, Christ enthroned on a rainbow and surrounded by the symbols of the four Evangelists. This example proves that in course of time, a certain lifelessness prevailed in the figure representations; specially looking at the image in the middle , we are struck by the expression of quietness having quite grown into rigidity. In marble mosaic, with which the floors were lavishly covered, decorative art again made use of the various changes of geometrical motives. In this practice the Byzantine artists gave many suggestions to the Mahometan. However a conventional treatment of foliage and scroll work was not excluded and reminds us of antique examples. Fig. 21 — 23. Mosaic-bands from a ceiling in St. Mark's at Venice. 1. Book-cover of gilt bronze decorated with incrusted enamel and stones, XII century, in the Museo Civico at Venice. 2, 3 and 5. Marble mosaics from floors in S. Alessio at Rome. 4. Marble mosaics from floors in S. Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. 6. ,, „ ,, „ „ S. Vitale at Ravenna. 7. Glass mosaics from S. Maria in Aracoeli at Rome. 8. „ „ „ S. Alessio at Rome. 9 and 10. Glass mosaics from the Duomo at Messina. II — 13. „ „ „ „ „ „ Monreale. 14 — 16. „ „ „ „ Facade of the Cathedral of Orvieto. 17 and 18. Marble-mosaic-bands from capitals in St. Mark's at Venice. 19 and 20. „ „ „ from the walls of Sta. Sofia, Constantinople. Fig. I. After an original drawing by A. Borkhardt, architect at Stuttgart. „ 2—5, 7, 8, 14, 15 and 16 after original drawings by H. Dolmetsch at Stuttgart. Plate 34. Byzantine. Weaving and Embroidery. -Eyver since the importation of silk in the 6'^ century, Byzantium could successfully compete in woven fabrics with the Asiatic productions of this class, taking the lead in Europe till far into the 12'^^ centur}'. During this period an extensive trade was carried on in the most precious woven fabrics, figured or not, in gorgeous embroidered materials and stuffs, adorned beads (Fig. 3, 5, 7 and 8). The Saracenic weavers in the island of Sicily rivalled, it is true, the Byzantine; however it was not before the conquest of Sicily by the Normans, when a great number of captive Grecian weavers were transported to Palermo, (thus uniting Christian and Mahometan art) , that the stuffs and robes from the Royal manufactories of Sicily attained the highest value in the emporiums of the world for their splendour and their beautiful designs. Plate 34 shows us such Sicilian articles exhibiting clearly the in- fluence of Arabian ornamentation , without denying Byzantine origins. In these woven fabrics the ornament is always treated as surface de- coration. The plants and animals which we see applied, do not exactly imitate nature , but are more or less idealised. — In Fig. 9 the lion overpowering the camel seems intended to symbolize Christianity over- Fig. 12. Design on a shroud in the ruling Islam Cathedral at Sens. Fig. I. Embroidered purple robe in the cathedral treasury at Bamberg. „ 2. Figured silk-stuff on the tunic of Henry II. in the National Museum at Munich. „ 3, 4 and 7. Embroidered borders from the Imperial Alb in the Treasury at Vienna. ., 5 and 6. Embroidered borders from an Imperial tunic at Vienna. „ 8. Embroidered borders on the German Emperor's mantle in the Imperial Treasury at Vienna. „ 9. Embroidery on the German Emperor's mantle, Vienna. ,, 10 and II. Patterns painted on garments from tomb-stones in the church of S. Lorenzo fuori- le-mura at Rome. BYZANTINE . WEAVING AND EMBROIDERY MANUSCRIPT-PAINTING. Plate 35. Russian. Manuscript painting. e old Slavonic Manuscripts handed down to us, which reach back as far as the X"' century, are rather numerous, thanks to the almost complete state of preservation of the libraries and treasuries of the many- old monasteries in Russia. Besides there is an important collection of manuscripts at the Imperial Public Library of St. Petersburg and of the library at the Synodal printing works of Moscow. On Plate 32 we have added to the patterns of Byzantine Ornaments some examples of manu- script-painting found in Russian libraries, dating from the X"^ up to the XIII"' century. In connection therewith our Plate represents a considerable number of characteristic examples from the XIV''' and XV"' centuries, during which the style of Russian manuscript-painting was most flourishing. This period is marked by the assertion on the one side of braided work displayed on a geometrical base and on the other side of more unconstrained motives combined with animal forms which remind us of Celtic ornaments. The few pigments used are as a rule confined to blue, red, yellow and green. This simplicity of colour, together with a symmetrical order of forms, confers a most agreeable effect on the manuscript-paintings in question; the motives of that time are still employed for coloured letter-press, enamels and similar artistic work. Figure i. From a Gospel of the XIV Century in the Imperial Public Library, St. Petersburgh. „ 2, 3, 12 and 13. From Psalters in the library of the Trinity Monastery, near Moscow. ,, 4 and 5. From Psalters in the Imperial Public Library. „ 6 and 7. From Gospels in the Rumjantzoff Museum, Moscow. „ 8. Book-ornament, XV Century from Rostow. „ 9 and 15. From a prayer book in the Monastery of Miracles, Moscow. „ 10 and II. Portions of alphabetical characters. XIV. Century. „ 14. From a prayer book in the Bjeloserski Monastery. XV. Century. „ 16. From a Gospel in the Monastery of Mary's glorification near Novgorod. „ 17. From a Psalter of the XV. Century. „ 18. Book-ornament from the work »Appendice a I'imitation de Jesus-Christ. « „ 19. From a Gospel XII. Century in the Rumjantzoff Museum, Moscow. The plate is arranged by M. Scherwinsky, Director of the Industrial school, Riga. Taken from „The publication of the Moscow Museum of Art Industry" and from „W. Stassow, Slavic Ornament in old and new manuscripts". „History of Russian Ornaments from the X. to the XIV. Century. Museum of Art Industry at Moscow" and „Appen- dice a I'imitation de Jesus-Christ". Fig. 19. Plate 36. Russian. Architectural Ornaments and Wood-Carvings. As regards their form and decoration the oldest Russian buildings resemble closely the Byzantine monuments which is explained by the fact, that it was from Byzantium that the Gospel was carried to and extended over Russia in the IX'"^ Century. These Russian-Byzantine structures certainly do not lack original motives which were improved upon in Russia, but in many cases it is almost impossible to trace them to their source. Many forms of this style, and especially of the distinct Russian style of the XVI''' Century may no doubt be regarded as importations from the far East. The Russian style flourished until the XVIIP'' Century only, when French influences began to assert themselves there as all over Europe. One of the most prominent and peculiar buildings of the XVI"' Century is the church of Saint Basil at Moscow (built in memory of the capture of Kasan). The forms of the XVT'' Century are frequently adopted for modern constructions in the Russian st3de. A characteristic of Russian churches is their bulb-like form cupolas (Fig. i) which we see in a variety of shapes. The balda- quins in most places of worship present a particularly rich con- figuration; they are often crowned with keel-like gables and turrets, reminding us somewhat of Gothic superstructures. (Fig. 4.) Not seldom we come across arched ornaments meeting between the chief supports which rest upon a hanging corbel. (Fig. 3.) Very abundant are motives for wood-architecture on the farm- houses in the central and northern governments; the origin of which is often ancient. It is astonishing to notice the severe st3'le of these ornaments which consist of planed boards cunningly perforated and sawn out, and to consider the uniformity bestowed on the work. A favourite device is the use of ornamental boards suspended from the projecting cornices of the roofs (Fig. 11, 12 and 13) which are also employed as an embellishment beneath the sills of the windows. Frequently these boards are brightened up with colours and thus at a distance look like the richly embroidered and lace-bordered towels which in Russia garnish the portraits of Saints or mirrors etc. For this reason these ornamental boards are popularly called „towels". Fig. 22. Capital with leaf ornament. Fig. I. Fantastic church cupolas at Jaroslaw. XVII and XVIII Century. „ 2 and 3. Gilt wood carvings of the baldaquin of the Imperial chair in the Nicolay church. Jaroslaw. XVII Century. „ 4. From a baldaquin in the Museum of the Imperial Academy of Arts. „ 5 and 6. Carved roses on the principal door of the altar, church of St. John, near Rostow, XVII Century. „ 7—10. Window frames of wooden houses in the Government of Wologda. „ II — 13. Gable ornaments in the same district. „ 14 and 15. Ornamental boards on sills etc. „ 16 — 19. Roses on the wings of doors, made of small panels from Samara. „ 20 and 21. Portions of such roses. The figures i, 4 and 15—21 after copies taken by M. Scherwinsky, Director of the Industrial School at Riga. The remaining figures are taken from: „Prince Gagarin, Collection of Byzantine and Old Russian Ornaments." nl'Architecte, St. Petersbourg, 1885," and „Viollet-le-Duc, L'art russe." RUSSIAN. 36 ARCHITECTURAL ORNAMENTS AND WOOD-CARVINGS RUSSIAN LNAMEL MAJOLICA PAINTINGS ON WALLS AND CEILP JAPANNED WOODWORK Plate 37. Russian, Enamel, Majolica, Paintings on Walls and Ceilings. Japanned Woodwork. In Russia we find enamel ornaments on gold, silver and copper still as widely distributed and as highly esteemed as in former times when they first attained their reputation. Figures 15 — 18 present some inte- resting examples of this kind. Figure 15 especially shows how extensive was the employment of this beautiful decoration, for here we see the edge of a gold dish belonging to a set for 120 persons which Czar Alexis Michaelowitsch (1645 — 1676) is said to have had manufactured by Russian artists. In like manner majolica found an early and extensive employment in consequence of its being preferred and used for the ornamentation of the fronts of palaces and churches no less than of the interior of altars, but most particularly of stoves in private rooms. This we find confirmed in many towns along the river Volga, especially at Jaroslaw, where there is an abundance of examples. In recent times the use of majolica has been taken up again in many parts of Russia with highly satisfactory results. Fig. 22. Ornament in chased metal. As to ornamental painting on walls and ceilings, the remaining examples which Russia can furnish are not very numerous. They present to us tender creepers with large leaves and flowers in deep colours which betray an Oriental origin, and some of them are enlivened by portrait-medallions interspersed. One of the most interesting branches of the home industries practised to this day in the central parts of Russia , is the production of japanned zvood articles which possess great durability. (Fig. 1 9 — 21.) These utensils first receive a surface of precipitate of graphite upon which the patterns are painted, generally in black or red colours, and finally they are coated with linseed oil boiled down to a jelly. This latter confers a greenish gold tint on the graphite which imparts a rich and warm colouring to the articles. Fig. I — 4. Wall-paintings on a spiral staircase in the Cathedral of the Annunciation at Moscow. XV Century. „ 5 — 7. Ornaments on vaults in a house of Moscow. XVII Century. „ 8 and 9. Majolica pilaster as window frame at the Terem (Palace of the Empresses) in the Kremlin, Moscow. „ 10 — 14. Portions of encaustic stoves made in the market-town of Ustjug. XVII Century, in the Museum of the Imperial Society for the promotion of Art in St. Petersburg. „ 15. Edge of a gold dish in the treasury of the Kremlin, Moscow. „ 16 — 18. Veil from the portrait of a saint of the XVII Century. Enamel on silver. From the Museum of the Imperial Society for the promotion of Art, St. Petersburg. „ 19 — 21. Japanned wooden spoons and top of a footstool. Articles made by peasants in the district of Novgorod. Fig. 19—21 after copies made by M. Scherwinsky. Director of the Industrial School at Riga. The other subjects taken from: „N. Simakof: I'ornement russe dans les anciens produits de I'art industriel national." „Th. Sonzew: „Altertumer des russischen Kaiserreiches, Moskau 1849 — 1853." „Viollet-le-Duc: I'art russe." Fig. 24. Frieze in the church at Opdal. Plate 38. Northern. Wood-Carving. If we devote a chapter to the "Northern style" it is by no means our intention to embody in our plate every variation of style appertaining to this category, which succeeded each other from the Roman-Ger- manic period down to the introduction of Christianity. Our representations, on the contrary, are confined to the time this side of the twelfth century. We have already on Plate 31 when speaking of Celtic ornaments , expressed our opinion that they betray original and independent characteristics and that traces of this style may be noticed more especially in Scandinavia. In the same manner as Irish missionaries, animated by an enthusiastic migra- tory impulse, disseminated the Irish style over the whole of Western Europe, its intro- duction in Northern countries and particularly in Norway took place as far back as the VIIF'^ Century. It was then that motives of the oldest Irish style began to be most inti- mately blended with the style introduced by the migration of nations (Charlemagne) which had up to that time been dominant in the North. Thus a peculiar compound style was created and this developed — especially in the IX"^ Century during the Viking period with its Northern ascendancy — to that so-called Northern-Irish style which testifies to Icelandic artistic influence up to the XP^ Century. In the same manner as animal orna- ments used to form the universal basis of style in contemporaneous west and northern European Art, so do above all animal motives play an important part also in Scandinavian Art. At first they represented an intricate surface decoration loaded with animal figures, difficult to unravel but free from any admixture of other motives. Later on foreign ele- ments are added in the form of quadruped animals, birds, snakes, images of lions and winged dragons, which are changed into novel and strange forms of animals as found in the earliest mediaeval style. These varied animal motives are then surrounded by all sorts of foliage and interlacing motives. The foliated ornaments, elaborated in romanesque fashion, were gradually enlarged to such extent that the original style was thereby forced into other paths more in sympathy with the traditions of Greek Art. No symbolic signi- ficance can be attached to the animal figures here introduced, they are simply ornamental motives. At free terminal points, such as gableheads, gargoyles, ships'-prows etc., also at the upper termination of pilasters, human and animal heads or birds were preferably made use of. (Fig. 13 — 16). Frequently we also meet with original ornaments composed of letters and with that notch-work so widely adopted for minor objects of art. A rich store of Northern ornaments still remains in the wooden churches of the XIP'^ and Xlir'^ Centuries in Sweden and Norway, while in the Art Museums at Copen- hagen, Stockholm, and Christiania may be studied a wonderful variety of domestic articles carved in wood with that infinite exactne.ss which is characteristic of the work of this period. Figure i. Portal of the church at Hedal. „ 2. Jamb of the Portal of the church at Austad. ,, 3. The same of the church at Hyllestad. „ 4. Arches of the Arcades in the church at Opdal (Numedal). „ 5 and 6. Ornaments on cylindrical capitals of pillars in the church at Lomen. „ 7. Gallery in the church at Hurum. „ 8. and 9. Ornaments on C3'lindrical capitals of pillars in the same church. „ 10 and II. Capitals in the church at Urnes. Figure 12. Portion of a stall in the choir of the church at Urnes. „ 13. Upper termination of a pilaster in the church at Gol. „ 14. Prows of Swedish Ships in the Museum at Christiania. „ 15 and 16. Gargoyles on the church at Moere. „ 18 — 22. Swedish Patera in the Nordland Museum at Stockholm. „ 23. Carving from the porch of the churcli at Urnes. Taken from: „Ruprich-Robert, I'architecture normande." ,,Tidskrift for Kunstindustri." „01denburg, trasniderimonstcr ur Nordiska Museet i Stockholm." „Dietrichson, de norskc stavkirker." ,,Minde.smerker af Midde'alderens Kunst i Norge.' WOOD-CARVING. BYZANTINE and MIDDLE AGES. 39 ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE. Plate 39. Byzantine and Middle Ages. Architecture and Sculpture. A Ithough on the whole the difference between Byzantine and Romanesque architecture is very con- siderable (when we look on both styles in general), yet as regards decorative details, it moves within very narrow limits, which fact is easily accountable from the active export of Byzantine objects of art into Western countries, and from the influence of Byzantine artists. The Byzantine capital is either an imitation of antique capitals, especially of the Corinthian (Fig. i), or it exhibits an original shape in the form of a cube contracted at the bottom, and rounded off at its lower angles (Fig. 2). In the former case however, the treatment of the foliage, inclining with its broad indentments and sharp points to a certain rigidness, no longer manifests that close observation of nature, as in the classical period. In the latter case the four sides are framed with low raised ribbon or plaited work inclosing either foliage, always conventionally treated, or symbolical figures. Romanesque architecture shaped its capitals either in Corinthian- like or Byzantine-like manner (cushion capital), or it created special forms in its bell-shaped and calycate capitals, these being either plainly treated or richly ornamented. Most frequently we find the cushion capitals covered with figure ornaments (Fig. 10), human figu- res and animals, often fantastically transformed, not being generally, despised as means of decoration. Besides these, the so-called tarin- capitals were frequently used. As decoration for pillar-shafts, key- stones, friezes, cornices etc., scroll work and foliage were in great favour, appearing, without exception, in idealised forms, and often showing, at least in the earlier examples, an inferior understanding of nature. The leaves are broadly treated and their points frequently rounded. To produce an effective change of light and shadow, all forms were worked out in very high relief, sometimes almost completely standing out from the ground, as in Fig. 13. The latter 23. Capital from St. Mark's at Venice. figure as also fig. 14 belong already to the so-called transition-style. Fig. I. Capital from Agia Theotokos at Constantinople. Close of IX century. „ 2. Capital from S. Vitale at Ravenna. „ 3. Lintel-decoration from Agia Theotokos at Constantinople. „ 4. „ „ from the church of St. Nicolas at Myra. „ 5. Pilaster-capital from Agia Sofia at Constantinople. „ 6. Door-frame on the abbey-church at St. Denis. Middle of XII century. „ 7. Richly carved panel, Perigord. „ 8. Pillar-decoration from the cathedral at Bourges. « 9" » )i 11 n " " " „ 10. Capital from the abbey-church at St. Benoit-sur-Loire. „ II. „ „ „ palace of Barbarossa at Gelnhausen. ,, 12. Arch-border from the church St. Amand de Boixe. „ 13. „ „ „ „ „ at Gelnhausen. Beginning of the XIII century. „ 14. Console bracket „ „ „ „ ,. „ „ „ „ 15. Decoration of a pillar-shaft from the church at Tournus XII century. „ 16. „ „ ., „ „ ,, „ cathedral at Chartres. „ 17. Portion of a door-frame from the former Benedictine-abbey-church at EUwangen. ,, 18. Frieze in the interior of St. Walderich's chapel at Murrhardt. „ 19 and 20. Arch-consoles on the side-aisle of St. Sebald, Nuremberg. ., 21. Key-stone decoration in the same church. ., 22. „ „ „ from the cathedral at Bamberg. Plate 40. Middle Ages. Enamels and the Illumination of Manuscripts. Jt^omanesque ornament found its greatest freedom in the illumination of manuscripts, where particularl}' the large initials were magnificently treated (Fig. i and 2). Especially animals were here combined with scroll work in strange arabesque-like representations. The ground of the paintings in earlier times was gold, later on many- coloured. In the art of enamelling, which had been transferred from Byzantium to Germany, the German artists attained a high degree of perfection; utilising for their metal ground copper plates instead of the expensive gold plates, and instead of "cloisonne" enamel they employed '"champleve work" which then spread also in France where the manufactories of Limoges were much renowned. — Generall}', when figure representations were designed, the artists treated only the background and the surrounding ornaments in this manner, spacing out the figures themselves in metal and after having engraved the details (contours of garments etc.) with the burin, raised their effect by coloured enamel. (Compare the head in Fig. 20.) Fig. 3 shows a somewhat different kind of enamelling, the contours themselves being spaced out, and the remainder of the figure worked in enamel. The prominent head is made of gilt copper, as in many such objects of art, and put on separately. Fig. 6 and 11 show the zigzag and circular-arched mouldings, so much favoured in architecture. Fig. I. Initial from a German manuscript (Rhenish school), XI — XII century, in the Library at Paris. „ 2. Initial from a German manuscript of the XII centy from a private collection at Cologne. „ 3. Relic-cross from the first half of the XII centy in the Diocesan Museum at Freising. „ 4. Pilaster from the shrine of St. Heribertus in the Benedictine Abbey at Deutz. Middle of the XII centy. „ 5 and 10. From the shrine of the great relics at Aachen. XII centy. „ 6. From a collection at Bonn. XII centy. „ 7. Decoration from the Hannoshrine in the former abbey at Siegburg. XI centy. „ 8 and 9. From a reliquary in Victoria and Albert Museum at London. XII centy. „ II. From a reliquary. XII centy. ,, 12 and 13. From the portable altar of St. Andrews in the cathedral at Treves. X centy. „ 14. Flat disk of gilt copper in private collection at Bamberg. XII centy. „ 15. From a shrine in the former abbey at Siegburg. XI cent}'. „ 16 — 19. Decorations on double crosses at Essen. XI centy. „ 20. Half figure of an angel from the shrine of St. Heribertus. (Vide Fig. 4.) ., 21. From the shrine of Charlemagne at Aachen. XII cent)'. „ 22 and 23. From the Mauritius-shrine at Siegburg. XI cent}'. „ 24. From an altar. XII centy. ENAMEL AND ILLUMINATION OF MANUSCRIPTS. MIDDLE AGES WALL-PAINTING Plate 41 Middle Ages. Wall Painting. T JLhe colours used in wall painting are cheerful and of great variety. The figures do not exhibit that rigidity as in the contemporary Byzantine, but show a freer and more youthful movement. The folds of the garments following closely the forms of the body, are much better modelled than, for instance, in the Byzantine images. As regards the ornament, all the pecuHarities of the Romanesque style previously mentioned, are likewise applicable to it. Frequent use is made of the circle or parts of a circle. Fig. I and 2. From the apse of the Basilica di S. Angelo-in-Formis near Capua. XI century. ,, 3 — 5. From the chapter-house of the Benedictine abbey of Brauweiler near Cologne. XI century. ,, 6 — 9. From the lower church at Schwarz-Rheindorf near Bonn. Middle of the XII century. „ 10, II and 15. From the choir of the cathedral at Brunswick. XII century. „ 12 From the abbey church at Marcigny. XII century. „ 13 and 14. From the church at Anzy. XII century. ,, 16 and 17. From the lower church S. Francesco at Assisi. 18. From the church at Schwarz-Rheindorf. XII century. Plate 42. Middle Ages. Stained Glass ^^.Ithough the production of coloured glass was already known in the 9*^ century, we cannot speak of glass-painting^efore the close of the 10''^ century. At that time the first trials were made to shade glass panes, stained in the substance, by melting a darker colour upon them, and in tlie 13^'^ century the makers proceeded to cover or "flash" transparent glass (which had, however, always a greenish-yellow hue), with coloured glass and to engrave the design on to the latter, so that according to the requirements the flashed glass had more or less thickness in some places or was even entirely removed. Then these colourless places were often painted with another colour, and in order to produce a greater richness of eff"ect different colours were laid on both sides of the glass. Finally the glass was framed together with lead-lines so as to form the required design. In the Romanesque period glass paintings still bear quite the character of carpets, the place of which they in reality supply. The window surface is covered with ribbon and leaf ornaments, in the midst of which, we find however, very early medallions with small figure representations ; less frequent!}' we meet with standing figures, filling up the whole window. The single figures are still heavy and clumsily drawn. Key to figures on plate. Fig. I — 6. From the cathedral at Chartres. ,,7. „ „ abbey church at St. Denis. „ 8. v 11 church St. Urbain at Troyes. „ 9. „ .. cathedral at Tro3'es. ,, 10. „ „ „ at Laon. „ II and 12. From the cathedral at Angers. „ 13 and 14. ,. „ Samaritan church at Bourges. „ 15. „ ., cathedral at Bourges. „ 16. „ „ „ at Chalons. „ 17 and 18. „ „ St. Chapelle at Paris. „ 19. .. „ minster of Strassburg. „ 20 — 23. „ „ choir of the upper church of S. Francesco at Assisi. „ 24. ., „ church S. Paolo fuori-le-mura at Rome (modern). „ 25. „ „ National collection of Antiquities at Stuttgart. STAINED GLASS 0 MIDDLE AGES STONE MOSAIC Plate 43. Middle Ages. Stone Mosaic. Where stones of various colours for artistic floor -incrustation were not available, glazed tiles or engraved flag-stones were often used. Such flag-stones, with the designs executed in coloured cement, we met with already, when speaking of Arabian ornamentation, likewise with small tiles joined together as a kind of mosaic -flooring (Fig. 9 — 16). In the latter case we find, especially in the period of the predominance of the Romanesque style, either each single colour represented by a corresponding little plaque (Fig. 13 — 16), or the ornament impressed on a tile, the ridges filled up with variously coloured cement, and the whole finally faced with transparent glazing, (Fig. 17 — 27). Besides this, there arose the custom, which spread es- pecially during the Gothic period, of drawing on the separate tiles a sunk or raised design by means of a model. It took usually four of these little tiles put together to form the in- tended ornament; they were left in their natural colour and frequently glazed. In the mosaic-like composition simple geometrical pat- terns are almost exclusively met with, whereas, in the other kinds of floor- incrustation mentioned above, human figures, animals and plants are chiefly represented. Among the plants the lily is most variously idealised, and as in glass painting, oak and vine leaves are everywhere repeated. Fig. I — 8. Engraved flag-stones from the old cathedral at St. Omer, XIII century (ground brown, interior design of horse and horseman filled up with red). „ 9 and 10. Mosaic floors of burnt clay, glazed, from a collection at Dresden (black and red centres with white edging) XIII century. „ II and 12. Mosaic floors of burnt clay, glazed, from the Monastery-church of Colombe les-Sens (red, black and yellow), XII century. „ 13 and 14. Mosaic floors of burnt clay, glazed, from the abbey-church of St. Denis (red, black and yellow), XII century. ,, 15 and 16. Mosaic floors of burnt clay, glazed, from the old abbey-church at Pontigny, XII century (yellow, red and black on green ground). ,, 17 — 23. Glazed-tiles from St. Pierre-sur-Dive, XII century (yellow and black-brown). „ 24 and 25. „ „ from the church at Bloxham, XIII century (red and yellow). „ 26 and 27. ., ., from Beddington Church in Surrey, XV century (red and yellow.) „ 28. Engraved glazed-tiles from the town-hall at Ravensburg (natural colour without glazing). ., 29. Engraved glazed-tiles from a patrician house at Ravensburg, XIV century. „ 30. Glazed-tiles with deepened ground, natural colour without glazing, XIV century, from the church at Gaildorf. „ 31. Glazed-tiles with deepened ground and relief-figures from the Monastery at Alpirsbach, XII cent. Plate 44. Middle Ages. Wood and Stone Mosaic. I t was no great step from adorning walls and floors with variously coloured materials to a similar deco- ration of wooden objects. Here however, ornamentation was somewhat limited by the nature of the material and in consequence vegetable and figure representa- tions are seldom found, at least in the Gothic style, whereas we meet most frequently with band and line ornament, in conjunction with a kind of mosaic work, consisting of small pieces of wood arranged as stars, etc. (See also description to plate 53). Fig. I — 6. From a reading desk in the cathe- dral of Orvieto. „ 7 and 8. From the stalls of Frari Church at Venice. „ 9 — 17. From the vestry door in S. Ana- stasia at Verona. „ 18 — 27. From the stalls in the minster at Ulm. Fig. 28. Incised slab in a church at Noyon (1350). WOOD MOSAIC. MIDDLE AGES 45. STAINED GLASS Plate 45. Middle Ages. Stained Glass. Wh, hereas in the Romanesque period purely ornamental decorations but in a perfect style were chiefly executed, there took place a great change in this regard during the 14''^ century. The Romanesque style of glass-painting, after having been carried far into the Gothic period, was now completely superseded, and the artists were induced to fill up the wide window openings principally with orna- mental figures. The carpet- patterns , formerly so much in favour, were frequently employed only as a background for the figures, a lofty architectural design being added. The idealised foliage and scroll work however, still takes its place as a border; but being treated more and more freely later on, it frequently degenerates into wild extrava- gance. However, besides the windows with figure represen- tations, we also find some purely ornamented, a special ^° figures on plate, kind of which, termed "grisaille", is decorated with a black design on colourless glass, other colours generally being used but sparingly. 5 3 Z 6 1 9 10 12. II 7 8 13 Fig. I. From a choir-window in the minster of Ulm. „ 2 and 3. From the choir-windows of the Frauenkirche at Esslmgen. „ 4 — 8. In the National Museum at Munich, formerly in the cathedral of Regensburg. „ 9. From a choir-window in the cathedral of Cologne. „ 10 and II. From the choir of the cloister-church at Konigsfelden (Switzerland). „ 12. From one of the aisle-windows of the upper church of S. Francesco at Assisi. „ 13 and 14. From the side-aisle-windows of the lower church of S. Francesco at Assisi. ,, 15. Window from "Lacroix, le Moyen-age et la Renaissance" Paris. 15- Plate 46. Middle Ages. Ornamental Architecture and Sculpture. I n the Gothic style we find throughout (setting aside the degenerations of the latest Gothic period) the decorations subordinate to the architecture. Therefore, according to this principle, the ornament nowhere predominates over the architectonic structure, it never becomes independent, but serves onl}- to supplement harmoniously the impression of the architecture, or to mark out single mouldings according to requirement. In this way especially the pointed-arch doors and windows, the boldly -rising towers and turrets, the pinnacles, the capitals and cornices, and the stalls and galleries have ornamental decoration, with which also the smaller objects, such as household furniture and sacred utensils, are not at all sparingly supplied. The capitals of the columns represent in most cases only a bell-shaped enlargement of the shaft, around which leaves and flowers are wound in a free style (Fig. 15 — 17). In general the employment of floral decoration is very extended; for instance the crockets on the edges of the gables and tower-pyramids are in reality nothing else than leaves freely transformed; likewise the key-stones of the vaults, the consoles etc. are very frequently adorned with foliage. From the manner of treatment of these leaves and flowers can be determined pretty nearly to which period a building or a piece of carving belongs. For, whereas in the first Gothic period (XIII century) a full and large treatment prevails, idealising the natural forms only slightly (Fig. 4, 5, 6, 15, 16, 21), later on a bolder execution gains ground (Fig. 10 — 12); whilst in the last Gothic period a gradual departure from the natural forms is evident, all foliage having a knotty appearance, which produces on the one side a certain rigidness (Fig. 8, 9, 22), and on the other sometimes a want of repose (Fig. 17, 18, 20). This want arises particularly also from the common practice of undercutting the leaves so freely, that they appear scarcely affixed, the consequence of which is frequently a too hard change of light and shade. The foliage of the native plants is in special favour. Everywhere we meet with the leaves of the vine, thistle, oak and beech, of ivy and trefoil, of roses etc., most of these plants being symbolically used. Human figures and animals are often humorously employed in the gargoyles ; also consoles, ke}- stones and particularly the pediments or gables above the doors are adorned with figure representations. Fig. I. Carved figure from the stalls of the Minster at Ulm. Projecting bracket of a miserere of the same stalls. Key-stone decoration from the cathedral at Naumburg. Projecting bracket of a capital from the church at Gelnhausen. „ ,. ,, „ „ of French origin. Finial from Notre-dame at Paris. Crocket of a finial from Notre-dame, Paris. Finial from the tabernacle of the former hospital-church at Esslingen. Crocket from Nuremberg. „ ,, Cologne Cathedral. II and 12. Arch-decoration, Cologne Cathedral. 13 and 14. Gargoyles from Cologne Cathedral. 15. Capital of French origin. „ from the cloister of the church at Wimpfen-im-Thal. „ from the bell-hall of the Frauenkirche at Esslingen. „ from the font in the Marienkirche at Reutlingen. Cornice decoration on the cathedral of Troyes. 20. Carved and pierced panel of a little shrine-door of French origin. 21. Cavetto-decoration from the church at Wimpfen-im-Thal. 22. „ ,. from Nuremberg. 23 — 27. Various ornaments from the Marienkirche at Reutlingen. I. 2. 3- 4- 5- 6. 7- 8. 9- 10. 16. 17. 18. 19- 21. 20 22. ORNAMENTAL ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE. Plate 47- Middle Ages. Weaving, Embroidery, Enamel and Polychrome Sculpture. Weavings and embroideries, a great number of which were, during the Gothic period, made especially in monasteries, followed at first the examples from the South and East (Fig. ii). But this imitation was more and more rejected, and perference given to decoration with flowers and leaves, rigorously idealised without excluding the figure element. The latter was employed specially in ecclesiastical robes, curtains and carpets in churches, where they involved a symbolical meaning. If we bear in mind the influence exercised in earlier times by Byzantine and Arabian art, we cannot wonder, that the linear ornament preserved its place in the Italian Gothic style (Fig. 6 — 9) Compare also Plate 49, fig. 13, 16, 19. Wood or stone sculptures were frequently painted, in which case the patterns of the robes usually show the above mentioned motives. Fig. 12 and 13 pertain already to the transition of the Gothic to the Renaissance style. Enamel was most richly applied to the splendid reliquaries, especially in the 13''^ century; here, however, the Romanesque 22. Key-stone in the cathedral at Stuttgart. fo™s of decoration still prevailed. Fig. I. Statue of St. Simon in the choir of Cologne Cathedral. „ 2. Pattern on the robe of another statue ,, „ „ 3. Embroidered fringe of French origin. XIV century. „ 4. Embroidered stuif (in the original, silver is employed instead of gold). XV centy. „ 5- „ „ XIV centy. „ 6-9. Borders and patterns of carpets from the wall-paintings in the upper church of S. Fran- cesco at Assisi. XIV centy. ., 10. Pattern of a carpet from a tempera painting of Niccolo Alunno (1466) in the Pinacotheca at Perugia. „ II. Sicilian weaving from St. Mary's church at Danzig. XIII centy. „ 12. Border of a carpet on the painting of Hugo van der Goes in the Gallery of the Uffizi at Florence. XV centy. „ 13. „ ,. „ on a picture of Mantegna in S. Zeno at Verona. Close of the XV. cent. „ 14. Border from an embroidered chasuble. XIV centy (German work). „ 15 and 16. Patterns of stuffs from the XIV centy, of French origin. ,. 17. Gilt copper-engraving from the cross-relics-table in the church at Mettlach. „ 18 — 20. Enamelled decorations on the shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral. Beginning of the XIII centy. „ 21. Enamelled border from the beginning of the XIII centy in the Musee de Cluny. Plate 48. Middle Ages. Illumination of Manuscripts. In the illumination of manuscripts the more lively forms of the ornament gradually superseded the round, surface-filling forms of the Romanesque style. The flowers were partly idealised, and partly taken direct from nature. Fig. 8 and 13 illustrate how both kinds of treatment were often combined, especially in the later Gothic time. Characteristic of this period is a deep shading, as well as the use of half tones, and the laying on of lights. Remarkable is the variety and splendour of the colours which represent the abundance and bright- ness of the flowers in the miniatures of the manuscripts of this period. Fig. I — 4. From a XIV century manuscript. „ 5 — 13. Manuscript with single leaves and flowers of the XV century. „ 14. Painting from the ceiling of the vestibule of the cathedral at Freiburg. ILLUMINATION OF MANUSCRIPTS MIDDLE AGES CEILING- AND WALL-PAINTING Plate 49. Middle Ages. Ceiling and Wall Painting. Ihe further progress in wall-painting in the Gothic period was somewhat impeded by the want of wall- surfaces suitable to the reception of larger pictures, whereas sufficient opportunity was given for ornament- ation. The occurring figures were influenced by the upward direction and the frequent narrowness of the space at disposal, wherefore they of- ten exhibit a too slender appearance. But differing from the Romanesque figures, nearly all of them show a certain life and grace in atti- tude and gesture, which led, however, in the further deve- lopment to somewhat tor- tuous and mannered postures. (Compare Fig. 4 and Plate 42, Fig. I.) The folds of the robes flow softly down in long, beautiful lines, the outlines of the dra- pery are black and there occurs very little shading with variegated colours. In Fig. I shading is done with black hatching. Fig. 17 gives an example of the way in L"" ' "'" 1 ' 1 1 ' ' ' 1 |.n.ri which the Antique begins to Fig. 22. Ceiling of the wood baldachin above the abbot's seat in the convent church assert itself and to lead into at Blaubeuren. the Renaissance. Fig. I. From a painting in the hospital church at Stuttgart. XV century. „ 2. Portion of Fig. 22. Painted flat ornament, the ground being deepened. ,, 3 and 4. From the church at Brauweiler. XIV centy. „ 5. From a chapel at Ramersdorf. XIV centy. ., 6 and 7. From the collegiate church at Fritzlar. XV centy. ,, 8. From the Jacobin church at Agen. XIII centy. „ 9 and 10. From the Ste. Chapelle at Paris. XIII centy. „ II — 19. „ „ upper church of San Francesco at Assisi. „ 20 and 21. „ „ lower church ., .. „ „ Plate 50. Italian Renaissance. Stained Glass. A XA-Iready in the Gothic period, the practice of filling in window-openings with stained class, declined more and more. In its place (especially in the beginning of the Renaissance style), small glass paintings on colourless ground were employed, these were often encircled with borders and framings, generally so elabo- rately ornamented that they seem to form the chief decoration. The subjects of the paintings are generally plants and animals, but often include human figures; neither are all kinds of symbolic subjects and figures wanting, as a glance at the annexed plate shows; but these certainly belong to a later time of the Renais- sance period. Fig. I. From the National Museum in the Bargello at Florence, drawn by H. Dolmetsch. „ 2 — 8. From the Certosa near Florence (by Giovanni da Udine), drawn by Reg.-Baumeister Borkhardt and Architect Eckert in Stuttgart. Fig. 9. 1' roni a window of the Laurentian Library at Florence. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE 51 POLYCHROME POTTERY Plate 51. Italian Renaissance. Polychrome Pottery. O, wing to the nature of the material and method of manufacture, it was not possible for floors and wall linings executed in glazed tiles to be so minutely and elaborately decorated as when marble was employed. Therefore, when the "technique" goes beyond the simple geometric pattern, the ornaments, which for the most part bear resemblance to B3'zantine and Oriental models, are rather modest, but all the more clear and vigorous. Their effect, however, is still increased by the excellent combination of colours, although, in wise moderation, rarely more than 4 colours were used. In the manufacture of floor tiles and wall linings, the school of Delia Robbia attained special celebrity, hence such work has come to be known as "Delia Robbian'' ware. Fig. 18. Tile from the Oratory of St. Catharine at Siena. Fig. I, 6, 9, II, 12, 13, 14 and 15. Dado tiles on the staircase-walls of the house Nr. 26 in Via Luccoli at Genoa. „ 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 10. Dado tiles in the house Nr. 10 in Via S. Matteo at Genoa. „ 16 and 17. Floor tiles from San Fetronio at Bologna. Plate 52. Italian Renaissance. Ornamental Painting. It was at the commencement of the 1 5 ''^ century, that the Renaissance style began to make its first appearance in Italy, and the period till about 1550 ma}' be called the Early Renaissance, in centra-distinction to the Later Renaissance wich lasted till the middle of the 17^'^ century. The Renaissance was a new adaptation, not a servile imitation, but a free treat- ment of antique forms ; the plainest evidence of this is given by the ornament, of which this style makes a richer and ampler use than any other. This applies more parti- cularly to the motives we meet with; and here we observe above all the floral ornament, which in Early Renaissance generally covers the ground only moderately. We find almost everywhere delicate, beautifully curved branches in a symmetrical or at least regular arrangement, in which the antique acanthus-leaf acts the principal part, although, not without the most various transformations. Also vine, laurel, ivy etc. are frequently employed, partly copying nature directly, partly idealised. But this foliage with its branches and fruit is still enlivened by a rich variation of animals, fantastical beings, human figures as well as symbolical subjects, arms, masks, emblems, vases, candelabras etc. Most cultivated is the combination of human figures and animals with floral motifs (Fig. 3 ; compare also plate 45). Finally a not less important part of the decoration is that in which coats of arms and escutcheons are employed, forming decorative friezes on house fronts in the Early Renaissance period and latei' on taking the form of cartouches. 1—7. From the front of a house in Genoa (Via San Matteo. Nr. 10). 8. Front of the court of 'Casa Taverna' at Milan. 9 — II. ,, ,, ,, ,, Palazzo Piccolomini at Pienza. 12. Design for a candelabrum, ITALIAN RENAISSANCE. 52 — — 1 |a| 1 a i a a a 1 11 B a g II a a a 8 f ' ' ' • ORNAMENTAL PAINTING. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE WOOD-MOSAIC Fig. 14. From the choir-stalls in the Cathedral at Genoa. Plate 53. Italian Renaissance. Intarsia, or Wood Mosaic. Woo d-carving in general flourished during the Renaissance period, especially the branch termed Intarsia, i. e. inlaid wood-work, with which stalls, shrines in vestries etc., were richly decorated. As far as the subjects represented are concerned there is actually no restriction, for we meet with a great variety of complete pictures as well as perspective views and ornaments. The latter, for the most part light on dark grounds, present an abundance of idealised floral motives, mixed or combined with representations of various vases, vessels, human figures, etc. The arrangement of the scroll-work is strictly symmetrical, at least on regular, framed surfaces, where also the acanthus-leaf is in the rirst place made use of, but it is singular to observe, that the points of the leaves are influenced by the mode of making them. Fig. I. From the choir-stalls in S. Anastasia at Verona. „ 2. From the dado of the vestry-shrines in S. Maria- in -Organo. ., 3 — 7. From the choir-stalls in S. Maria -in -Organo. „ 8. From the choir-stalls in Monte Oliveto Maggiore. „ 9- 20. „ „ „ ., in S. Petronio at Bologna. (Ground of the centre compart- ments black). ,,11 — 13. " " -1 r the Certosa near Pavia. (In Fig. 12 ground black). Plate 54- Italian Renaissance. Painted Ceilings. the ceilings of churches and palaces, whether arched or Iiorizontal wood-ceilings, a rich field of activity was opened to the genius of artists. The most distinguished masters did not disdain to improve the ornamentation by framing their frescoes with decorations of their own invention (Fig. I and 2). In these ornaments, vegetable and animal motives being mixed, the ground is mostly light, the colours them- selves being cheerful and bright. Besides these, however, more simple patterns are not wanting. Where figure representations are missing, their place is supplied by painted coffers or rosettes, edged with geome- trical ornaments. It is noticeable how such coloured ornaments are combined with more or less simple stucco decorations, the latter however being often, as in Fig. i, strikingly imitated with the brush. The two rosettes (Fig. 11 and 12) certainl}' belong, in respect of their origin, to a period antecedent to that of the Renaissance, but in their formation they already show an evident affinity to Renaissance work. Fig. I — 4. From the choir in S. Maria del Popolo at Rome. (By Pinturicchio.) „ 5. From one of the Borgia chambers in the Vatican at Rome. „ 6 and g. Patterns from the arch-panels in the Certosa near Pavia. „ 7 and 10. Borders round these panels. ., II and 12. Medallions from the vault-panels in S. Francesco at Lodi. Fig. 13. From the Loggia of Ra]ihael in the Vatican, ITALIAN RENAISSANCE. PAINTED CEILINGS. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE. 55 LACES. Plate 55. Italian Renaissance. Laces. e art of lace-making, unknown to the ancients, and not brought to artistic perfection previously to the close of the 15*^ century, may truly be called a creation of the Renaissance. And it is the soil of Italy, principally the two cities of Venice and Genoa, to which we owe the needle-made lace as well as the finest kind of pillow-lace. The former (the so-called point) is generally considered to be the more precious kind. The method of making it — ground and ornament consisting of nothing but an infinity of stitches made a jour — admits of an extremely delicate and graceful formation. But its exe- cution requires a very complicated and diffi- cult process, as only small pieces of about four inches in dimension can be made at a time, which, after being done, must be joined so as to form a complete whole, for which reason, in designing the patterns, the neces- sity of a scarcely visible joining of the several parts must be taken into account. The most esteemed of the sewed lace is the Venetian point in relief, all leaves, flowers etc. which show raised edges. A still higher degree of perfection in this kind of lace is attained in work with leaves in high relief (Fig. 7 and 8). The way of making pillow-lace (dentelles) con- sists in dexterous twisting and plaiting of the threads after an ingenious system. As regards the fineness of this pillow lace there are considerable differences in its degree, which exercise the greatest influence on the difficulty of the work, as well as on its costliness. Lace ornament follows closely other Renaissance ornament, with the only restriction, that here, of course, floral motives prevail, without exclusion, however, of figure representations such as birds etc. Fig I, 2 and 3. Venetian point lace. 4, 5 and 6. Venetian point lace in relief. 7 and 8. Do. with highly raised leaves. 7) 9- Roselina lace. 5» 10. Reticella lace. r 1 1. Italian Guipure. 71 12. Genoa church lace. 13- Collar in Venetian Guipure. 51 14. Needle lace of the 1$^^ century in Needle-made. Pillow-made. at Leipzig. Plate 56. Italian Renaissance. Embroidery and Carpet Weaving, In accordance with its love of pomp and splendour, the Renaissance period did not fail to express this disposition by making skilfully embroidered robes, carpets, etc. Churches especially were richly furnished with such vestments. Embroidery, either applique or flat work, the latter frequently relief-like, took its motives from the same sources as other branches of art, and examples are often found in which figure subjects or portraits are introduced in circular medallions. Carpet- weaving , inasmuch as it is not fancy - weaving, but applying geometric or floral designs, follows in the main features Byzantine and Oriental examples. Here also bright colours are in great favour, and especially for embroidered fabrics, gold is used everywhere, in accordance with the general inclination for ostentatious display. Fig. I. Embroidery on an ecclesiastical mantle in S. Croce at Florence. 2. Embroidered velvet cover in the 'Museum vaterlandischer Altertiimer' at Stuttgart. ,. 3. Embroidered velvet-border from a chasuble, in the same Museum. „ 4. Silk-embroidery in applique work from a chasuble, in the same Museum. „ 5. Relief-embroidery in gold upon silk from a chasuble, in the same Museum. „ 6 and 7. Silk-embroideries in applique work upon damask-ground. „ 8. Carpet-border from a Venetian picture at Verona. „ 9. Do. from a picture by Paolo Giolfino in the museum, at Verona. Do. „ „ „ by Moroni in the Pinacothec at Munich. .. II. Tapestry in the Vatican at Rome after a design by Raphael. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE. 57 Plate 57. Italian Renaissance. Sgraffito, Marble Mosaic and Stucco Reliefs graffito ornament is not to be considered as mere flat ornament, for it shows for the most part a tendency to imitate plastic decoration by design, without however having other tones of colour at disposal, other than black, white and grey, the latter being produced by hatching. The process of making sgraffito consists in covering the surface to be decorated with dark stucco, which is afterwards white -washed with lime water. The required designs are then produced by scraping away with iron styles, as far as required, the upper coat of white, revealing thereby the dark ground underneath. By this simple process sgraffito, in opposition to painted and inlaid ornaments, keeps more the character of a design, notwithstanding which, by a judicious distribution of light and shade, com- positions of a grand and rich effect are often attained. On sgraffito-fronts plaster mouldings appear only rarely, for often the very frame of the architecture is suggested by means of sgraffito. As regards ornamental flooring in Renaissance art, besides the geo- metrical mosaic-work (as it occurs in the early Christian and middle ages) we meet with marble inlay and niello-marbles. In order to make the former, the cut-out marble pieces are inlaid in the correspondingly hollowed out ground, whereas for making niello-marbles, the deepened places are filled up with black or red stucco, or sometimes with metal. The colour of these floor decorations is always simple in treatment ; whereas the designs frequently go beyond the legitimate bounds of ornament, as for instance in the cathedral at Siena, the renowned floor of which shows many figured historical representations, sometimes together with perspective architecture. Stucco reliefs are mostly made without the assistance of coloured contrasts, the ground only being made rough, above which the flatly treated ornament rises but a little. Fig. 1. Sgraffito on a house at Rome. Via Giulia Nr. 82. ,, 2. ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, Via dei Coronari Nr. 148. 3. ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, Vicolo Calabraga Nr. 31 and 32. ,, 4. ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, Vigna alia via Porta S. Sebastiano Nr. 27. ,, 5and6. ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, Borgo al vicolo del Campanile Nr. 4. ,, 7. Inlaid marble-work on the floor of the cathedral at Siena. ,, 8 and 9. ,, ,, ,, from a tomb-plate in San Giovanni e Paolo at Venice. ,, 10. ,, ,, ,, from a tomb-plate in San Giovanni in Sta. C oce at Florence. ,, II. ,, ,, ,, from a tomb-plate in San Giovanni in the Frari- church at Venice. ,, 1 2 and 13. Stucco reliefs from tomb-plates in Sta. Maria del Popolo at Rome. ,, 14 and 15. ,, ,, from the tomb of Vendramin in San Giovanni e Paolo at Venice. ,, 16. From the Loggia of Raphael. Plate 58. mmmmmMMmimiM^ Italian Renaissance. Painted Walls and Ceilings. (^^rnamental wall and ceiling painting of the Renaissance is represented in its highest beauty and dignity by the works of Raphael and his school, especially in the Loggia of the Vatican. Although a great part of those paintings are not from Raphael's own hand, yet they were carried out by his pupils after the master's design, and in his spirit. We cannot fail to recognize however, that the Thermae of Titus, shortly before discovered at Rome, exercised a great influence, especially in the combination of stucco with marble; and not only led the master to imitate, but also incited him to create new variations of motives for figures, garlands etc. Thus the Vatican presents a richness of paintings, in which the figures and ornaments, decoration and architecture, and more par- ticularly the colours, are balanced in perfect proportions. The prevalence of secondary colours is also remarkable. (Fig. 2.) To a pupil of Raphael also, Pierino, the paintings in the Palazzo Doria at Genoa are to be ascribed. Although they do not equal the superiority of Raphael's works, yet they are throughout beautiful in their details, and ex- liibit great ingenuity in the combination of the colours. Concerning the motives employed, com- pare the above with plate 45 and those which follow. Fig. I. Ceiling-painting in the Palazzo Doria at Genoa. ,, 2. Pilaster decoration from the Loggia of the Vatican at Rome. ,, 3 and 4. Panels in a window recess in the Vatican Museum, Rome. ,, 5. From the Loggia of Raphael. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE. 58 PAINTED WALLS AND CEILINGS. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE Plate 59. Italian Renaissance. Illumination, Weaving and Marble-Mosaic. he invention of the art of printing had far-reaching effects upon the art of illuminating manuscripts. For in proportion as the multiplication of literary productions became easier and simpler and hence their market- price considerably cheaper, so much less labour was bestowed upon the artistic deco- ration by painting, particularly since the new art offered also the means of producing beautiful initials and title-pages. Notwithstanding this we find, even at that time, many artists occupied in illumination; for in the period of the Renaissance the printing of books did not embrace all branches of literature, and even m printed books a title executed by hand, or initials beautifully decorated, especially with different colours, were still favoured by the public. Therefore that period gives us still many examples of fine illumination, presenting frequently a varied mixture of antique, mythological and Christian motives. The arabesques of the initials, as well as the leaves and flowers, show us fewer natural than conventionally idealised forms. However, decidedly natural are these forms in the most carefully executed mosaics, composed of smaller and larger marble pieces of the most varied colours. With such decorations table-slabs, chests etc. were embellished, and at Florence this technique is still cultivated with success up to the present day. The greatest affinity with the traditional ornament is manifest in weaving, which, without keeping clear of modern influences, preferred going back to Oriental models. Fig. 1-6 9 10 Paintings from various manuscripts. Velvet-stuff in the 'Museum vaterlandischer Altertumer' at Stuttgart. Border from a silk-stuff. Inlaid marble from a table in the National Museum at Munich. Border from an old Italian manuscript. 10, Plate 60. Italian Renaissance. Pottery Painting. ^ he earthenware called 'majolica' in all probability derives its name from the island of Majorca, where glazed pottery was extensively manufactured, especially by the Moors, and whence this art found its way into Italy. In our days the term 'majolica' is generally applied to all finer faience- ware , when executed with more care than coarser pottery i. e. to such earthenware, the main substance of which is potter's clay covered with non-transparent glaze and coloured. There were two ways of glazing pottery: either the vessel of clay after having received the required shape, was burnt, then plunged into a non-transparent, tin-glazing fluid and immediately afterwards painted, then finally burnt again, or, since this process remained for a long time the secret of a few masters, one chose the following way: the rude earthen object was covered with a thin layer of white pipe-clay, and only after that was the transparent lead-glazing put on. Tin-glazing is believed to have been invented by Lucca della Robbia, who towards the close of the 15**^ century effected thereby a total change in the technique. The numerous splendid reliefs created by members of this artist's family attained great celebrit)-. Up to the present day, the Italian majolicas of the Renaissance period excite our well-deserved admiration, not only on account of the noble forms of the various vessels, but chiefly for the paintings with which they are covered. Those clay -workers and painters were masters of their branch, and although the ready sale of their productions induced many of them to manufacture rather mechanically, yet all these objects manifest a fine As regards the colours used, blue, green, yellow, orange and violet prevail. Many vessels exhibit a rich pearly lustre, other pieces a comparatively rare red and other colours, marks which point to a certain master, or a certain manufactory. On these dishes, plates, etc. not only scroll work, single figures, etc. were represented, but even copies or free renderings of complete images and pictures by famous masters, which frequently covered the whole vessel and the borders etc. of the dishes. 30. feeling of artistic form and sublime beauty. Fig. I. Lower termination of a Madonna-relief by the Robbia-school. )) 2. Surface-pattern on the vestry-fountain in the church St. Maria Novella )! 3- -5- Border decorations on dishes from the manufactory at Faenza. n 6. Border decoration on a handled vase from the same. )l 7- -9- Border decorations on a vase from the same. )i 10. Border decoration on an inkstand from the same. )i 1 1 — 13- Border decorations on dishes from the same. ») 14- 19. Border decorations on dishes from the manufactory at Chaffagiolo. )i 20. „ „ „ „ „ .. Gubbio. 11 21 — •23- „ „ „ „ „ Urbino. 5) 24- -27. Divers vessels from the manufactory at Urbino. )) 28. Dish from the manufactory at Pesaro. » 29. 30- Border decoration on a dish from the manufactor}' at Pesaro. Virgin with Infant from a church at Citta di Castello, POTTERY PAINTING PLASTIC ORNAMENTS IN MARBLE AND BRONZE. Plate 6 1 Italian Renaissance. Plastic Ornaments in Marble and Bronze. arble-sculpture revived in the 15^'' Century with a vigour never known in former times. There exists this difference between Later Renaissance and Early Renaissance, that the former liked strong intersections of the flower and scroll-work as well as of the figure element. The capitals show, especially in Early Renaissance a close affinity with those of the Corinthian order; but the volutes are frequently replaced by floral motives, mostly however by dolphins, dragons, cornucopiae etc. In this very point the emi- nent productivity of the Renaissance manifests itself principally. Also figure adornment of the capitals is not wanting. The acan- thus leaf however appears more scantily, usually only in one row. In the Later Renaissance the artists more closely followed the antique orders, all of which were revived in this period. It was the bronze-technique which in point of modelling overstepped nearly all limits, the consequence of which was a direct imitation of nature, especially in the floral ornament. How the flourishing of art influenced even common objects in a high degree, is shown by the two fine door-knockers shown in the plate. Fig. 9. Capital of a column from the portal of the Badia at Florence. Fig. I . Door lintel with marble frieze in the palazzo Ducale at Urbino. XV century. n 2. Frieze on a marble chimney-piece in the same palace. n 3- Console capital of marble from the church of Fonte Giusta at Siena. (Close of the XV centy.) n 4- Frieze on a tomb. n 5- Door frame of bronze from the Ghiberti Gate of the Baptistery at Florence. 11 6. Panel of a pilaster strip in marble, from the altar in the church of Fonte Giusta at Siena. )i 7 and 8. Bronze door-knockers. Plate 62. Italian Renaissance. Ceiling and Wall Painting. I t is about the year 1550 that the period of the so-called Late Renaissance begins. Its peculiarities in the domain of decorative art are demonstrated especially in Figs. I and 9 — II. We find no more the same charm and grace which characterised the creations of the Early Renaissance, but some cool, rather restrained features pervaded the whole treatment. The beautiful harmonious union of the figure with the vege- table element, as well as the nicely balanced proportion of the colours to each other are somewhat decaying. The larger admission of white surfaces makes a dry and barren impression upon the spectator. The floral ornament is less elabo- rately finished, its place being often taken by elements, from which later -on the so-called cartouches were developed, and most of the figures do not show to ad- vantage by their artificial composition. Neither in the disposition of the ornament over the field to be decorated, is the perfection of the previous epoch of art within this domain attained. Compare also plate 45. Fig. I. Tympanum from the Sala Ducale in the Vatican at Rome. ,, 2 — 5. Details from the Loggia of Raphael in the Vatican. ,, 6. Severey above the fountain-hall of the Villa di Papa Giulio at Rome. ,, 7 and 8. Ceiling borders in the same Villa. ,, g and 10. Pilaster panels from a chapel in S. Maria Aracoeli at Rome. ,, II. Pilaster from the cloister of the monastery of S. Maria sopra Minerva at Rome. ,, 12. From the Loggia of Raphael. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE 62. ITALIAN AND FRENCH RENAISSANCE WOR1 KP:ciors mft\ts \\\tu pmxtixcs iv fvampi Plate 63. Italian and French Renaissance. Work in Precious Metals with Paintings in Enamel. e works in metals comprise two kinds: on the one side those objects, which, being made of gold and silver, were still decorated in a particular manner with precious stones, pearls and enamel as for instance jewelry; on the other those by which any rare mineral, such as lapis lazuli, onyx, etc., or a beautifully shaped glass were made by the application of a handle, foot, cover etc., into a vessel or utensil of luxury. For both kinds, Benvenuto Cellini was the leading master about the middle of the 16"^ century. The colours chosen are harmoniously combined. The noble vessels, especially their handles and lids, gave ample opportunity to represent a profusion of elegant lines and beautiful forms. Plants, animals, human figures, frequently in the most strange compositions, by far pre- ponderate over the purely geometric ornament. On the whole French Renaissance metal-work of this kind, at least during the 16'^ century, follows the Italian style, for it was by Italian artists, that the new style was introduced into France. The change procee- ded slowly, of course, in the latter country owing to Fig. 20. Crystal cup (cover fig. 3). the influence of Gothic art. Fig. 1. Crowning feature of an altar in the Galerie d'Apollon of the Louvre (Italian work). „ 2. From a vase of lapis lazuli in the Uffizi Gallery at Florence (do.) 3- Cover of a crystal cup in enamelled gold, in the Uffizi Gallery (do.) „ 4 and 5. Pendants by Benvenuto Cellini (do.) 6—8. Pendants by an unknown master (French work.) „ 9 and 10. Handles on vessels in the Galerie d'Apollon of the Louvre (do.) ,, II and 12. Masks on a shield, in the Louvre (do.) „ 13 and 14. Foot and upper portion of a water-jug, in the Louvre (do.) 15—19- Borders on vessels in the same collection (do.) Plate 64. French Renaissance. Typographic Ornaments. i!^\-lready towards the end of the 15^^ century, French printers, especially at Paris and Lyon, were renowned for the carefulness and beauty of their prints. Yet they had not their own ways in forming initials, flou- rishes etc., until Tory, the great master of French book-ornamentation, released his countrymen from their slavish dependence on Italian models, by offering them original decorations of his own invention. They still clung for a long time, far into the 16''^ century, to the Gothic forms; even when the nobility of France had been made acquainted with the Italian renaissance by travelling or by foreign artists, still the firm attachment to the old style impeded the development of a truly French renaissance ornament so much, that Italian and German examples prevailed almost throughout (Fig. 1). Then, about 1520, that change was inaugurated by Tory. His ornaments, consisting mainly of flowers and foliage, sometimes united with figure representations, are simple lines, in initials for the most part, white on black ground (Fig. 2) and not shaded. In this method Tory follows the Italian custom and his mode of representation and ornamental forms survived him for a long time. Nevertheless Italy continued to exercise a certain amount of influence, a proof of which we have in the "puttini", or chubby boys, as well as in initials directly borrowed from Italian masters (Fig. 14). The graceful elegance of French renaissance ornament is especially obvious in Figs. 9 — li, where however we are reminded of Arabian Ornament, as in Fig. 2 of Gothic. Fig. 6 and 12 show the acanthus elegantly applied. Fig. 4 exhibits the manner in which titles of books or whole pages were decorated. Fig. I „ 2 „ 3 4 n 5 „ 6 Initial of the time of Louis XII. by Tory. „ „ „ „ Francois I. „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ ,, „ Claude Garamont. Cartouche of the time of Henry II. by Jean Goujon. .* 11 M 7 and 8. Initials ,, 9 — II. Borders ,, 12. Initial ,, 13- 14- » )) 15. Tail-piece ,, ,, ,, ,, from Salomon Bernard's school. )' >) )> )) )) )) >> ,, ,, ,, by Petit Bernard. ,, ,, III. John Tornesius. „ „ IV. ,, LouisXIII. TYPOGRAPHIC ORNAMENTS. FRENCH RENAISSANCE 65 Plate 65. French Renaissance. Block Printing and Embroidery. >y the term "block printing" is meant the printing or stamping of a certain repeated pattern on stuffs. In Fig. i, 2 and 4 the design is raised like high-relief, whilst in Fig. 3 the outlines project but little above the ground. The rather hard treatment of the acanthus leaf in Figs, i and 4, the arbitrary arrangement of the decoration in Fig. i and the super-abundance in Fig. i —3 demonstrate at once the later origin of these designs, whilst the simple and, when compared with the other ornaments, noble treatment of the embroidery betrays much more the connexion with the antique. Fig. I, 2 and 4. Patterns in relief printing, XVII century. ,, 3. Pattern in flat printing, XVIl century. ,, 5. Border on an embroidered carpet in the Musee du Louvre, XVI century. ,, 6. Faience pitcher from Giron known as Henri -deux ware. Victoria and Albert Museum. In all these figures yellow means gold. In Fig. 3 the original has grey violet instead of red. Plate 66. French Renaissance. Tapestry Painting. e tapestry painting of dwelling rooms, so much favoured in the Gothic period, was carried forward into the Renaissance. But even here, notwithstanding a frequent going back to antique forms, the Gothic tradition breaks out very often, or Oriental influences impede the development of a pure renaissance. Fig. 10. Painted tapestry at the Chateau de Blois (Francois I. period.) In carrying-out the painting it was usual for the two lower thirds of the walls to be covered witli a fuller and heavier pattern, and the upper portion with a simpler and lighter one (compare Fig. 3 and 4V Scroll-work, where it occurs, is nearly always much idealised; the monograms (initials) of tlie sovereigns as well as crowns, and the lily, (the royal insignia of France), recur most frequently in this ornament. In the colour treatment the secondary and tertiary colours are in favour, and gold is frequently- used. Fig. 1 — 9. Painted wall tapestries in the Chateau de Blois (Francois I. period). FRENCH RENAISSANCE CARPET PAINTING PLASTIC ORNAMENTS IN STONE AND WOOD. Plate 67 French Renaissance. Plastic Ornaments in Stone and Wood. I n sculpture the French Renaissance appears freer of strange ingredients than in other departments. Especially in the earlier examples the ornament shows a fine and noble treatment of low and high reliefs, being almost without exception mixed ornament , in which the cartouches (framed tablets) play a conspicuous part, their forms being adapted to the most varied shapes. In the Early Renaissance the cartouches are still treated in a rather simple way, but later on, they become richer and rolled up bolder on their edges. The acanthus leaf is in as great favour as in Italian work of the same period and treated lighter or harder according to the time. The shafts of the pilasters and columns are richly adorned ; the capitals often exhibit peculiar compositions, sometimes overloaded, it is true, but fre- quently by no means without a certain elegance. Fig. I. Pilaster-capital from a chimney in the Hotel Lasbordes at Toulouse (Fran9ois I period). j2 ,, 2. Carved panel on the wainscot of the gallery of Francois I. in the Palace at Fontainebleau. Fig. 3. Carved panel-ornament from a door in the Palace of Justice at Dijon (Francois I. till Henri II.). ,, 4. Torus-decoration in the chapel of the Chateau d'Anet (Henri II.). ,, 5. Decoration of a window-frame on the Louvre at Paris (Henri II.). ,, 6. Wood-rosette from the gallery of Henri II. in the Palace at Fontainebleau. ,, 7. Rosette from a chimney in the Chateau d'Anet (Henri II.). ,, 8. Herm from the Hotel d'Assezat at Toulouse (Henri II.). ,, 9. Panel on a chimney in the Museum of the Hotel de Cluny at Paris (Henri II.). ,, 10. Carved-wood panel on a door of the chapel near the Chateau d'Anet (Henri II). ,, II. Capital from the baptistery of Louis XIII. in the Palace at Fontainebleau. ,, 12. Wood carving in the Avignon Museum. Plate 68. French Renaissance. Painted Ceilings. In this plate the soffits of binders and joists only are taken into consideration, the character of which is entirely preserved by the applied painting. Each single beam has a special painting, several of them to- gether forming a pattern regularly repeated (Fig. i, 3, 5). The lateral faces of the beams have generally only one tone; the connecting beams however, are distinguished by a rich decoration on the sides and on the under face, or soffits, (Fig. 2, 4 and 6 — 8). The floral ornament shows sometimes a decided harking back to the antique; the figure element is also frequently employed. Fig. 9. Ceiling, after an original design for the room of Marie de Medicis at the Luxemburg Palace, Paris. Fig. I and 3. Painted soffits of joists in the Chateau de Blois (Francois 1 period). I and 4. Painted soffits of binders of the same ceilings. „ 5. Painted soffits of joists in a French chateau of the Louis XIII period. „ 6, 7 and 8. Painted soffits of joists and binders of the same ceiling. FRENCH RENAISSANCE 69 ^ROyOERY ANO ROOK-COVERvS Plate 69. French Renaissance. Weaving, Embroidery and Book-Covers. G. reat care used to be bestowed on the binding of books, according to their importance; their covers were decorated in two ways: either a continuous pattern spread over the surface of the cover, whilst only the corners were specially distin- guished, a small shield in the middle being sometimes added; or the ornament constitutes a many-membered whole with ten- dril-work andgeometric elements alternately. The small shield in the middle generally contains the library-mark, the book-title as well as the name of the owner. Fig. 4 and 5 represent the former way. Fig. 6 and 7 the latter, which however is rather too profuse. During the best period, the ornament in work of this kind is, almost throughout, trea- ted as flat-ornament. Fig. I Silk-weaving (close of the XVII century). 2. Silk-weaving middle of the XVI century). 3. Woven carpet in theMu- see du Louvre (XVI century). The border belonging to it is shown in Plate, 65 Fig. 5- 4 and 5. Corner-pieces of a book-cover made of red morocco (Hen- ry III.). Fig. 6. A book-cover (Early XVII century. „ 7. A book-cover (close of the XVI century). „ 8. A book-cover with coat of arms (Henry II period). Plate 70. French Renaissance. Wall Painting, Polychrome Sculpture, Weaving and Book -Covers. C3n this plate the difference between Early and Later French Renaissance is most striking. Whereas Fig. I and 2 show an elegant but moderate movement, Figs. 3 and 4 even a certain rigidness of the rather hard forms, in Fig. 8 on the contrary all is activity and lively motion, the garlands themselves seeming to wave in the wind. Besides, the arrange- ment and combination of the single groups, as well as the excessive profusion of figured motives, point to a time when the principle of wise moderation no longer prevailed in artistic productions. This want of restraint appears also in the two bookcovers (Fig. 6 and 7), which exemplify a type of decoration distinct from that represented on plate 69, Fig- 4- 7- In Figs. 2 — 5, 10 and 11 we recognize, that, in painting plastic ornaments few colours were used, and that gold always predomi- nated. In stucco decorations the latter was often the only colour used, set off at the utmost by a coloured ground. (Compare Figs. 10 and 11.) Fig. I. Painted frieze on both sides of a chimney in the Hotel d'Alluye at Blois. Style of Louis XII. (First half of the XVI century.) ,, 2. Carved-Wood panel from the Chateau de Gaillon. Style Louis XII. (First half of the XVI centy.) ,, 3 and 4. Carved and painted girder-panels on a ceiling in the Palace of Justice at Dijon. Style of Francois I. (First half of the XVI centy.) ,, 5. Carved and painted ceiling-panel from the Diana-chamber in the Chateau d'Anet. St3-le of Henri II. (Middle of the XVI centy.) ,, 6 and 7. Book-covers. (Second half of the XVI centy.) ,, 8. Painted wall-panel in the library of the Arsenal at Paris. Style of Henri IV. — Louis XIII. (First half of the XVII centy.) ,, 9. Painted wall-frieze from the Palace at Fontainebleau. Style of Louis XIII. (First half of the XVII centy.) ,, 10 and II. Painted stucco-friezes from the Galerie d'ApoUon in the Louvre at Paris (by Berain). Style of Louis XIV. (Second half of the XVII centy.) ,, 12. Border from a Gobelin tapestry, by le Brun. Style of Louis XIV. (Second half of the XVII centy.) ,, 13. Wall decoration from the dining room of a house at Blois (Henri II). FRENCH RENAISSANCE 70 WALL-PAINTING, POLYCHROME SCULPTURE, WEAVING AND BOOK- COVERS FRENCH RENAISSANCE 71 GOBELINS Plate 71. French Renaissance. Gobelin Tapestry. We have pointed out before, that windows, painted in imitation of carpets, owed their origin to the custom of covering the openings for the day-light with carpets. In course of time the wall-surfaces, treated in the same manner, in order to give them a more comfortable appearance, were likewise adorned with colours, i. e. with pictures or simple designs. Meanwhile however, the use of carpets for such pur- poses was not entirely dispensed with, and especially, in the 16^^ century such wall-decorating carpets again found favour in the houses of the wealthy, all the more since the hangings of wool , woven in the Netherlands, and embellished with various figure representations, were sold all over the world and quite superseded the silk or linen tapestry. Also in France, under Louis XIV. such a manufactory of tapestry was established by Gobelin brothers, from whom the tapestries woven there, and afterwards all similar fabrics were named 'Gobelins'. Although the manufacture of these tapestries is a very difficult and troublesome one, yet a glance at our plate, shows that in point of fact this mode of painting both, in respect of colour and of forms, met with considerable success. Fig. 8. Tapestry at the Chateau de Fontainebleau (XVI century). Fig- I — 3- Borders on a tapestry carpet after Le Brun (made 1665 — 72). ,, 4 — 6. Border from a tapestry after Noel Coypel (made 1670 — 80). ,, 7. ,, ,, ,, ,, of the XVI century. „ 8. Tapestry at the Chateau de Fontainebleau (XVI. century). Plate 72. French Renaissance. Enamel on Metal, Pottery Painting and Metal Mosaic. Xt was at Limoges that enamel-painting attained a high degree of perfection. Figs, i — 10 illustrate not only smaller and simpler gold-decorations, but also complicated scroll-work, even figure representations, painted in this way, the choice of colours being almost unlimited. The difference in the productions of our period and those of the Middle Ages consists chiefly in the fact that the metal, forming the under- ground, was not visible. Most frequently we find enamel painted in grisaille, gold being always put on, whilst coloured representations, when required, were executed with semi-transparent vitrifiable pigments. Figs. II and 12 represent two faience gable- heads very much favoured, especially in palaces, as a finish to gables, towers etc. Among the faience-painters of the 16'^ centur}' Bernard Palissy, of whose works some specimens are shown in Figs. 13 — 18, was of great impor- tance for French ornamentation. The decorations of this artist's work are not flat, but consist of bril- liantly coloured reliefs of a warm and vigorous tone. He brought into fashion especially those plates, on which various animals of the water, earth and air are painted with remarkable fidelity to nature. But complete pictures also owe their origin to him. Finally his ornaments, executed in but few colours, are to be reckoned among the most graceful of the French Renaissance. A century and a half after Palissy, another artist attained a certain celebrity at the French Fig. 22. Faience pitcher from Rouen. court, viz. Andr6 Charles Boule, cabinet-maker to King Louis XIV. He had a special skill in deco- rating objects of any kind with inlaid-work and it is after him that marquetry composed of different metals mother-of-pearl, ivory, tortoise-shell, fine woods etc. is commonly called Boule-work. (Fig. 21.) Fig. I— 10. Decorations on Limoges vessels (copper-enamelling). Fig. i in private possession. Fig. 2 from the Galerie d'Apollon in the Louvre at Paris. Fig. 3 and 4 in the Bavarian National Museum at Munich. ,, II and 12. Faience gable heads. „ 13 — 18. Decorations on faience vessels by Bernard Palissy. From the Mus^e du Louvre at Paris, and in private collections. „ 19 and 20. Borders on faience plates from Kouen. „ 21. Small Boule chest in the ^lusee du Louvre at Paris. ENAMEL ON METAL, POTTERY PAINTING AND METAL- MOSAIC FRENCH AND GERMAN RENAISSANCE ORNAMENTS ON WOOD AND METALS ETC. Plate 73 French and German Renaissance. Ornaments on Wood and Metals. The productions of the artisans of this period have a singular charm. We see arms, small chests, articles of every day use etc., most variously ornamented, either by inlaying of ivory etc., when they are made of wood, or mostly by engraving and chasing when made of metal. The peculiarity of the faience, known as Henri-deux ware, is, that the ornaments and figures are traced on the surface, as in niello, the ground probably having been deepened according to circumstances either by a mould or by an instrument, whereupon the deepenings were filled up with a cement generally of a yellow or brown colour. Fig. I. Boule work from a clock in the ,, Museum vaterlandischer Altertumer" at Stuttgart (French). ,, 2 and 3. Inlaid wood-work of ebony and ivory from a table in the same Museum (German). „ 4. Inlaid wood-work from a tent-bed in the golden hall at Urach (German). ,, 5 and 6. Inlaid wood-work on a wall-deepening in the Palace of Justice at Dijon (French). ,, 7. Inlaid wood-work from a chest at Ravensburg (German). ,, 8. Silver inlaid work on a golden bumper in the Royal treasury at Munich (German). ,, 9. Inlaid ivory work on a pistol in the Royal Hi.storical Museum at Dresden (German). „ 10. Low relief from a tent-bed in the golden hall at Urach (German). ,, II. Ditto from a wooden frame with gilt ground in the Musee de Cluny at Paris (French). „ 12. Pattern for etched or engraved work by Peter Flotner (German). ,, 13. Chased work on a padlock from the Collegiate Church of Heiligenkreuz in the „K. K. Museum" at Vienna (German). ,, 14. Chased work on a saw in the Royal Historical Museum at Dresden (German). ,, 15 and 16. Small borders on the cover of a gilt silver chest, by Wenzel Jamnitzer, in the little treasury at Munich (German). ,, 17. Pattern for etched or engraved work (unknown German master). ,, 18 and 19. Small borders on Oiron vessels in the Musee du Louvre at Paris (French). ,, 20 and 21. Surface patterns on Oiron vessels in the Musee du Louvre (French). 22. Etched pattern on the lid of a small iron box. Plate 74. German Renaissance. Ceiling and Wall Painting, Wood Mosaic and Embroidery. A, .Ithough German Renaissance, following its own course deviated still more from the antique than Italian and French did, yet there are always traces, (and often very clear ones), visible which lead back to the mother-land of the Renaissance. Figs. 2 — 5, for instance, show unquestionably Italian influence, which however may easily be explained by the fact, that the authors of these paintings travelled to Italy to study there. So amongst others, A. Diirer took a longer sojourn in Italy to become acquainted with the new style in its birth-place. In these paintings generally light and gay tones are chosen upon an entirely or nearly uncoloured ground, their character bearing much resemblance to old Roman decorations. The same is to be said of Fig. i Probably the author of these and other similar decorations in the Fugger-house at Augsburg was an Italian painter who was brougth from Italy by Hans Fugger 'the rich' to decorate his grandly built house. Fig. 6 gives a specimen of that inlaid work so frequently found, which | commands the just admiration of our time by its charming designs as well as the amazing patience and labour bestowed upon it. In these objects too, the artists set a high value on effective colouring, the shades being burnt in. In the middle portion of this plate we observe a form of ornamen- tation peculiar to German Renaissance and deriving its origin no doubt, from the art of smithing which then was most flourishing; for we see flat metal- work with its rivets and nails directly imitated, and the bands, into which the imitated sheet-metal runs out, frequently elaborated into idealised foliage, or curved and rolled up. Concerning linen embroidery, which was greatly esteemed in the German family, it is interesting to note that great artists, such as Holbein father and son, did not disdain to support this branch of art industry by designs from their own hands. Fig. I. Wall-painting from the bath-room in the 'Fugger'-house at Augsburg. „ 2, 3 and 5. Ditto in the knights' hall of the Trausnitz at Landshut. „ 4. Ceiling painting in the same hall. „ 6. Wood inlay on the cover of a small chest. „ 7. Embroidered border orua linen cover. „ 8. Decorative panel. CEILING AND WALL PAINTING, WOOD MOSAIC AND EMBROIDERY STAINED GLASS PAINTING Plate 75 German Renaissance. Stained Glass Painting. CjTlass-painting is to a certain degree an exception to the general advancement of art industry during the time of the Renaissance. Although in town-halls and guild-rooms, in the castles of the nobility and the houses of citizens, windows painted with coats of arms, symbolical or historical representations etc., were often found, and as a rule beautifully executed, yet this art vanishes more and more from the sphere most Fig. 4. Medallion, with coat of arms of V. Eriach, from a window in the Choir at Hindelbank ( 1521). favourable to its development, viz. the erection of churches; later on, however, the glass-painters, sedulously striving to get the start of painting proper, were misled into great figure compositions, which are, strictly speaking, quite opposed to the true principles of this art. However it still confines itself to its limits in the glass-paintings of the Chapel in the Royal resi- dence at Munich. Serving principally for decorative purposes, they are of great beauty in spite of a cer- tain tendency towards naturalism. Figs. I — 3. Glass paintings from the dome of the Chapel in the Royal residence at Munich. Plate 76. German Renaissance. Metal Work. T -I his plate is devoted to one special branch of metal work, embracing such numerous objects as were produced by the armourer. Many weapons and much armour, the surfaces of which are, with marvellous ingenuity and endless variety, decorated with scroll-work, frame-work and strap-work, were for a long time believed to be works of the great Italian masters, who were thought to have made them chiefly at the French court. Some years ago, however, the surprising discovery was made, that the most and very finest of these objects were of German origin, German masters, above all, having been called by Francis 1. and Henry II. for that purpose to France. Parts of the harness shields, helmets etc. are splendidly decorated with complete figured represen- tations, others with animals, birds, and mythical beings as well as with flowers and scroll-work ; later on, however, the scrolls and involuted bands, likewise cartouches predominated, as they did in Italian and French Renais- sance, taking the place of that finer floral ornament for the former time. The metal-plates were either etched, chased or damascened, more frequently however the designs were raised by embossing. Figs. I — 6. Representations of armour from the "Kabinet der Handzeichnungen alter Meister" at Munich. ,, 7. Ornament for a chalice by Hieroniraus Banng of Nuremberg. GERMAN RENAISSANCE. 76 METAL-WORK. 7 Plate 77 German Renaissance. Polychrome Plastic Work. It was the delight taken in bright, life-like representations, which induced the artists of the Renaissance period to enliven their sculpture by means of colour. The large and magnificent ceiling, for instance, in the knights'-hall of the Castle at Heiligenberg is almost en- tirely covered with colours, which being in perfect har- mony with each other, serve to heighten the effect of the sculpture. In like manner by the aid of colour, a pecu- liar charm is bestowed upon the two supporters of stags' horns and on the central figure, which wood or stone work alone could not have given them. In wood and stone carving too of the later German Renaissance a predominance of cartouches and band- work is perceptible, the latter causing various and interes- ting twistings and interlacings. The female figure in Fig. ii represents Ursula, by birth Countess Palatine by Rhine, consort of Duke Lewis, the builder of the "Lusthaus". In the "Lusthaus" however, which unfortunately no longer exists, another figure stood on the console, illustrating the coat of arms referring to it. At one time about 50 such figures on consoles decorated the arcades surrounding this gorgeous building. Fig. 14. Upper part of fire place in the Town-hall of Liebenstein. Figs. I — 10. Portions of the painted ceiling in the knights'-hall of the Castle at Heiligenberg. „ II. Console-figure from the arcades of the former "Lusthaus" at Stuttgart. „ 12 and 13. Cartouches carved from peartree-wood in the "Museum vaterlandischer Altertiimer" at Stuttgart, being part of the former furniture of a hunting chamber belonging to the family of Besserer at Ulm. Fig. 37. Back of a binding from the library at Breslau. Plate 78. German Renaissance. Ornaments for Book Covers. F< or book-covers, the ornaments of which were, during the best period, always treated as flat ornaments, leather used to be employed almost exclusively. At first the outlines of the design were sharply cut into the leather and the space, not covered by it, was deepened. Later on, however, small metal stamps were used, the patterns of which, when repeated side by side, produced the border framing the cover. In this case the corners were not specially elaborated, the borders meeting at these points by no rule. Some- times the book-cover is edged by such borders in several rows, the exceeding height of the empty central field being met by inserting special cross -borders along the narrow sides. The latter end was some- times attained by beating or impressing the stamp-patterns in double rows, S3fmmetrical to each other (Figs. 5 and 35). The central fields, being for the most part small, are then decorated either with stulT-patterns or with corner- and middle-pieces (Figs. 9 — 11, 13, 14, 23 — -26, 28 — 32 show patterns of the latter kind). Besides these, however, many book-covers are found with free, often coloured, arabesques and inter- twisted bands (compare Plate 70, Figs. 6 and 7), these being in the flourishing time of art, framed with borders, whilst later on, instead of these borders, corner-pieces very similar to metal-work, were added. The most sumptuous, of course, were covers decorated with real metal-work, especially when pre- cious metals were employed. In this case the ornament is usually cast in relief or embossed. Fig. i how- ever shows an ornament of silver simpl)' sawn out and afterwards engraved. Finally, may be mentioned, that in decorating the back of the book, cording in a pretty manner was made use of, this being marked either by leather pads or by deepened horizontal lines, thus producing several compartments which were filled up with simple decorations. Fig. I. Silver-edged book-cover (full size) from the "Sammlung vaterlandischer Altertiimer" at Stuttgart. „ 2 — 36. Decorations on hog's leather covers (executed in blind-printing) from the Royal "Hand- bibliothek" at Stuttgart. GERMAN RENAISSANCE 78 ORNAMENTS FOR BOOK COVERS GERMAN RENAISSANCE 79. EMBROIUEKY AiND WEAVING Plate 79. German Renaissance. Embroidery and Weaving. In embroidery the character of the ornament depends principally, on the technical process; examining our plate, however, the immense difference between Figs. 3 and 4 on the one side and Figs, i and 5 on the other, results from the circumstance, that the former figures betray a strong Gothic influence, whilst in the latter the artist followed rather Oriental examples. Especially the elegant interlacing in Fig. 5, as well as the beautiful manner in which the surfaces in Figs, i and 5 are filled up, recalls Eastern ornament; the weaving in Fig. 7 showing a marked affinity with the Persian style. Fig. 7. Pattern of a woven material in the church at Weingarten. Notwithstanding all that however, the Renaissance preserves in these patterns its peculiar nature and its original features, (Figs, i, 5, 6). The embroidery in Fig. 5 was executed in the early years of the 17^^ century, at which time the silk-embroiderers of Munich were widely renowned. Fig. I. Table-cover embroidered in cross-stitch, in the possession of Mr. Schauffele at Schwabisch-Hall. „ 2. Linen embroidery from the Bavarian National Museum at Munich. „ 3. Embroidered border from a carpet in the same Museum. „ 4. Carpet embroidered on cloth in the same Museum (1560 — 1590.) „ 5. Curtain-border embroidered on velvet in applique- work from the chapel in the Ro3'al Residence at Munich. „ 6. Border of a gold-embroidered leather-pouch in the Bavarian National Museum at Munich. Plate 80. German Renaissance. Typographic Ornaments. T JLhe custom of decorating printing with artistic initials, marginal borders etc. is nearly as old as typo- graphy itself. In the beginning, Gothic forms, of course, still prevailed ; but the transition from the 1 5 ''^ to the 16^*^ century marked a new era for this branch of art. Of marked and decisive importance was the activity of the greatest German artists of that period, viz of Holbein, Diirer, and others; they were conti- nually creating new ornamental alphabets and drawing titles, tail-pieces etc. thus raising typography to a Fii^. 14. Head-piece by Theodor dc Bry. very high standard. Numerous towns were renowned for their printing presses, and in the third decen- nium of the 16^^ century, when the great masters were deceased, their successors carried on their traditions by making use of the ornaments accumulated by them. However it could not fail, that in the course of time this branch also participated in the general decline ot revived classical art, and Fig. 15 shows, how wood-cut ornamentation had degenerated. A glance at Plate 64 shows, that German book ornamentation can well stand comparison with the French, although the former often appears somewhat less refined than the latter. Fig. I. Title-frame probably by Hieronymus Hopfer (15 19). ., 2. Initial by A. Durer. „ 3. Frieze by A. Aldegrever (1539). '„ 4. Initial from a 'dance-of-death' alphabet, by Hans Holbein. „ 5. Marginal decoration from the prayer-hook of the Emperor Charles V., b}- A. Diirer. ,. 6. Frieze by H. S. Beham (1528). „ 7. Initial by an unknown master (1518). ,, 8. Ditto by Paul Frank. ,. 9. Ditto by Jost Aman. „ 10. Ditto from Hans Holbein's children's alphabet (1527 — 1532). „ II. Ditto by an unknown master. „ 12. Frieze by J. Binck. „ 13. Initial by P. Frank. Fig. 15. Tail-piece hy J. H. von Bemmel. GERMAN RENAISSANCE. so la.- TYPOGRAPHIC ORNAMENTS. GERMAN RENAISSANCE POLYCHROME PLASTIC WORK Plate 8 1 German Renaissance. Polychrome Plastic Work. C^ur representations illustrate further details of the ceiling in the knight's hall of the castle of Heiligen- berg mentioned with Plate 77. This ceiling is carved entirely of lime-wood and profusely coloured, specially with blue, red, green, gold and silver. But in spite of this richness of colours and the surprising variety of foliage, tendrils, ribbon-work, figures etc. it does not in the least appear overladen or restless, but the general impression to the eye is, as before mentioned, agreeable and harmonious throughout. Fig. 6. 7. Pedestal ornaments from the Cathedral at Mayence. 11. Figs. II — 13. From a tomb in the church at Boennij^heim. Plate 82. German Renaissance. Plastic Ornament in Stone and Wood. I n defining the general difference between Italian and German Renaissance ornament, we may say that the former, thoiigli equally profuse in the variety of forms, is still superior to the latter in refinement and elegance, especially of the figure element, and not less in a fairer distribution of the decorations over the surfaces; but it cannot be denied, that many achievements of German art are equal to those of Ital>-, notabh' the ornamental decorations of the magnificent Renaissance buildings of which a large number are to be found in the cities and towns of Germany. Fig. I. Herm from the tombs of the princes of Wurttemberg in the choir of the "Stiftskirche" at Stuttgart. ,, 2. Panel on a pilaster in the great hall of the Rathaus at Nuremberg. ,, 3. Side of jamb of a door in the, "Otto-Heinrichs-Bau" of Heidelberg Castle. ,, 4. Dado of tomb in the choir of the principal church at Gaildorf. ,, 5 — 10. Carved wood panels and friezes from a ceiling in the castle at Jever. PLASTIC ORNAMENTS IN STONE. GERMAN RENAISSANCE 83. WALL-PAINTING, PLASTIC ORNAMENTS IN STONE AND WOOD Plate 83. German Renaissance. Wall Painting, Plastic Ornaments in Stone and Wood. Whereas the Italian influence is distinctly shown in the German wall-painting on PI. 74, the examples on this plate present a strong contrast to them, and we find in this cartouche-like frame-work, with its bold, fanciful volutes and elegant festoons, the severity peculiar to German decoration of the commen- cement of the XVII*'^ centur}'. In German ecclesiastical Art the Gothic style was adhered to until far into the XVP^ century, and only in the latter half of this century was it displaced by the Renaissance in Church architecture. However, the vaulted ceilings with their gorgeous keystones, the pointed and sometimes traceried windows still recall the Art of the Middle Ages. The decorative artist by remarkable elaboration of detail then endeavoured to produce an impression of vivid colours and rich gold, recalling mediaeval colour decoration , but at the same time by the invention of new forms to create novel and charming effects. These are apparent on looking at the interior of the celebrated Church at Freudenstadt, built by the Ducal Architect Heinrich Schickhardt, of Herrenberg, and the examples on our plate are suffi- cient witness of its rich and magnificent decoration. In the detail of this splendid composition by the painter Jakob Zuberlein we observe a capricious and rather wild imagination, as is met with, to a still greater extent in Wendel Dietterlin's designs (Fig. 9), but when we see how agreeable and harmonious is the impression produced by the rich colouring of the decoration and details, we cannot but pay some respect to this period of Art, the more so as at that time the aim in the decoration of protestant churches was to break with the old traditions, and to create new forms on entirely rational principles — an experiment which was attended with marked success in the Church at Freudenstadt. Fig. I — 8. Portions of painted frescoes in tlie Church at Freudenstadt. Fig. 9. Duor-Panel by Wendel Dietteilin, painter at Strassburg, 1598. From his work ,,Architectura", Plate 84. German Renaissance. Ceiling and Wall Painting. C3ur plate presents a splendid, though very peculiar mode of wall painting. The so-called Golden Hall in the Castle at Urach is entirely decorated in this manner. The walls are generally flat, but divided in compartments by the painting, showing throughout a decoration which suggests a metallic origin. This resemblance is all the more apparent from the various interlacings and borderings. In the latter we find the palm tree with the device "Attempto", (see Fig. 5) frequently repeated, which seems to point to the reign of "Eberhard im Bart", but the painting and architecture of the hall undoubtedly belong to the end of the 16'^ century. The visible beams of the simply decorated ceiling are brownish red, but the narrow compart- ments between them are lightly coloured. Although the painting is limited to few colours (brownish red, white, gold and blue), yet it makes a beautiful and agreeable impression. Fig. I. Spandril on wall compartments. ,, 2. Panel in a window framing. ,, 3 and 4. Decoration of columns. ,, 5. Decoration on the window parapets. Fig. 6 and 7. Middle and corner pieces at the friezes bordering the wall compartments. ,, S — II. Decoration on the ceiling beams with wood rosettes in relief. ,, 12. Wood architrave. The whole from the Golden Hall at Urach. „ 13. Vault painting from the cathedral at Graz. GERMAN RENAISSANCE 8-1 CEILING AND WALL PAINTING. FRAMES AND WORK IN PRECIOUS METALS WITH ENAMEL. Plate 85 German Renaissance. Cartouches and Work in Precious Metals with Enamel. The forms of German and Italian Renaissance show the greatest affinity with each other in the department of works in precious metals; for the new style was introduced into Germany mainly by such works; the German artists, on the other hand, managed to attain the standard of the Italian goldsmiths' productions not only as regards their technical perfection, but also of the beauty of their forms. Southern Germany especially with its numerous industrial towns, soon became a centre for noted workmen in precious metals. Drinking vessels, table-services, weapons, rings, girdles, ornamented pendants, bracelets, ecclesiastical plate, etc. gave abundant scope for rich artistic treatment. However it must be mentioned, that the tendency to direct imitation of nature, especially in flowers and tendrils, as well as the liking for peculiarities, soon paved the way, in this as in other departments of art, for the Baroque style. How much cartouches were favoured in that period, may be inferred from their application to the most various purposes. (Fig. i and 2.) Fig. I and 2. Cartouches from a genealogical tree in the „Sammlung vaterlandischer Altertiimer" at Stuttgart. „ 3 — 17. Divers decorations on small altars, reliquaries and on a cross from the treasury of the chapel of the Royal Residence at Munich. „ 18 — 20. Jewelled crosses. „ 21 — 23. Buckles on a sword-belt from parchment drawings by Hans Mielich. „ 24. Ornamental pendant from the „Sammlung des griinen Gewolbes" at Dresden. „ 25. Lower part of a scabbard by Hans Mielich. „ 26. Richly enamelled pendant from the Museum at Budapest. „ 27. Border from a plate by Virgile Solis. Plate 86. XVII"^ and XVIII'^ Centuries. Gobelin Tapestry and Book-Binding. T J-o supplement Plate 71 we give here a Gobelin carpet with landscape back-ground, (Fig. i) which was intended for the decoration of a salon at the Chateau of St. Germain. In this line work we admire the imaginative composition in which the decorative forms of architec- ture and plants, with naturalistic flowers, surround a delicately coloured landscape. The artist responsible for this design was the painter D'Espouy, employed by Louis XIV., and he, like all great French decorators of that period, conformed to the laws and claims imposed by the technique of Gobelin weaving. Although the preparation of the woven copy demands great skill, and for an exact resemblance to the original a masterhand is necessary, which can employ the most effec- tual methods, yet we must also remember that the perfection of this "picture-weaving" abso- lutely depends on the excellence of the paint- ing. At the same time the painter must keep in mind the necessity of suiting his design to the technical processes at the weaver's com- mand, and must avoid effects onh- attainable by painting in oils. If these rules are follow- ed the resulting fabric will have an artistic value in spite of all temporary changes of taste. Already at the beginning of the XVII ''^ century the most celebrated artists did not disdain to place their talent in the service of the first workshop established under Henry IV., and afterwards in the royal manufactory. The French Government even succeeded in gaining for its manufacture the greatest foreign artists. The beautiful binding from the time of Louis XV. (Fig. 3) reminds us of the forms of big. 3. Binding with the Arms of Gaspard Moise de Fontanieu (1755). textile work. Fig. I. Gobelin tapestry for the Chateau of St. Germain, designed for Louis XIV. by D'Espouy. 2. Border of a gobelin carpet made for Louis XI V''^ rooms at Versailles, designed by Noel Coy pel. Fig. I and 2. Drawn by N. Vivien of Paris. .V From Blanc's ,,Grammairc des Arts Dccoratifs". GOBELIN-TAPESTRY. 87. Fig. 6. Frieze by Paul Androuet du Cerceaii. Plate 87. XVII* and XVIIISi Centuries. Embroidery, Leather Tapestry, and Goldsmith's Work, our plate, the period of the decadent Renaissance and the dominion of the succeeding Rococo and Baroque styles are distinctly characterized by the naturalism of the flowers, the intricate lines, the restless motion in the drawing and embroidering in Fig. i, as well as more particularly by the tendency for a plastic treatment of the ornament. Fig. 3 belongs to the actual Rococo period. Fig. I. Embroidery from the "Sammlung vaterlandischer Altertiimer" at Stuttgart, having formerly served as a hanging over an altar in the convent church at Weingarten. „ 2. Embroidered chasuble from the same collection. „ 3. Border of stamped leather hangings. ,, 4 and 5. Decorations on a silver drinking cup, partly gilt, from a reproduction in the Hungarian "Landes-Kunstgewerbe-Museum" at Budapest. Plate 88. XVIIth- and XVIIIth, Centuries. Metal Work and Wood Carving. T JLhe Baroque style, which originated in the reign of Louis XIV, first took the form of a development of the Renaissance , but appropriated to itself many characteristics of ancient work. On the whole, especially as regards ornament, it can be described as grand and noble, and is not wanting in variety and change; it suffers, however, from extravagant profusion, even to heaviness. In the last 25 years of this reign, i. e. from 1690, the time of Charles Lebrun, the renowned decorator, there began a certain transformation in this style. The king, weary of the great ceremonials, retired into close family life, while the great banquets at Versailles were discontinued, and commissions for extensive decorative works kept on decreasing. In this way the demand arose for a less ornate and formal style, better adapted to domestic life. Hardouin Mansart tried to bring about a revulsion in this direction, but the change was only clearly felt under Robert de Cotte, 1699, and from this point a lighter and freer form of ornament is noticeable. I'iy. 13. I'lom an Engravini,' by Marot. Fig. I — 7. Ormolu mounts in the Royal Bavarian Museum, Munich. (Louis XIV Period), „ 8 — 12. Various French wood-carvings. Fig. 11 from the Choir stalls of Notre Dame at Paris. METALWORK AND WOODCARVING. XVIII™ CENTURY 89. MOSAIC FLOORS Plate 89. XVIIIi Century. Parquetry or Mosaic floors. (^ur plate represents some floors executed in a very original manner and according to the capricious style of art which extended its dominion over all the numerous German courts during the epoch in question. We do not find the customary geometric patterns applied to these inlaid floors, but rather grandly composed designs, displaying full life, and having a peculiar charm on account of the variously coloured woods, especially where floral forms are represented. The whole of the patterns illustrated were executed by Johann Georg Beyer, cabinet-maker to the court of Wurttemberg at Stuttgart, for the Chateau of Solitude, near Stuttgart, built by Charles, Duke of Wurttemberg, during 1763 — 1767. Unfortunately, only a small portion of these precious floors is preserved at the present day. The original drawings are in the possession of Mr. Beyer, joiner at Ludwigsburg, a descendant of the above named cabinet-maker. Part of a door in the Musee des Arts decoratifs, Paris. Plate 90. XVII* and XVIIIi Centuries. Plastic Ornaments. A glance at Plates 86—91 enables us to recognize plainly the characteristic difference between the "Baroque", "Rococo" and later Styles, termed also the styles of Louis Quatorze, Louis Quinze, and Louis Seize. The Louis Quatorze style appears first as a development of Renaissance, but contains many antique motives. On the whole this style may be described as gorgeous and grand, especially as regards ornament; nor is it devoid of change and variety, but sometimes degenerating into luxurious extravagance, it becomes overloaded. Henceforth shell-work plays a great role and scroll work in the corners characterizes the borders. All this, undergoing many exaggerations towards the close of the long reign of Louis XIV., gives a basis for the development of the Rococo style, which predominated under the reign of Louis XV. Panel decorations at door and window niches in the throne room of the Palace at Fontainebleau. (Style of Louis XIV.). Projecting relief of the panel in the Queen's bed-chamber in the same Palace. (Style of Louis XIV.). Wood carving from a wainscot in the Chateau de Bercy. (Style of Louis XIV.). Capital of a mirror in the state-room of the Hotel de Lauzun at Paris. (Style of Louis XIV.). Capital designed by the German Master, Paul Decker. (Style of Louis XIV.). Capital in the Salle des Medaillons of the Palace of Versailles. (Louis XV.). Corner of a mirror frame in the Queen's bed chamber at Versailles. (Louis XV.). Architectural design in the style of Louis XV. (After A. Rosis, 1753.) Fig. 9. Vignette designed by T. Johnson, Carver (1761V Fiff. I. 3- ., 4. „ 5. „ 6. PLASTIC ORNAMENTS. Plate 92 XVIIP Century. Painted Plaster Work. X, he figures of our plate, as well as figs. 2 of PI. 91 and fig. 6 of 93 show the nature of the Rococo style, and the method b}' which it was carried out in the Ducal castle of Bruchsal. If these examples are not distinguish- ed by the highest elegance and grace, they are at least of characteristic design and of specially interesting colouring. While in the Rococo style as a rule there is beside white but little gold, the natural portions are here very gorgeously executed, and produce a very charming impression. The richness and luxuriance of this style is best shown by the large cornices which surround the ceilings (figs. 4 and 5 of this plate and fig. 2 of 91). At the same time the ground of individual panels is kept in very light tones, and some- simes gaily painted allegorical subjects are inserted. This kind of painting, which is often over plaster in relief, is carried out with such nicety that separate limbs, such as feet and arms in painted plaster, are detached and stand-out from the painting without disturbing the harmony of the whole. The centre of the ceiling is used for hanging- groups or figures, or light decoration in plaster. The furniture, with its quaint curves, adjoins the rich wall-decorations, and seems to rival them in beautiful effect. In direct contrast to the fine orna- mental scroll work of Rococo interiors is the simplicity of the classical severity of the exteriors of the period. Fig. 6. Panel by Francois Boucher (1703 — 1770). Figs. I — 3. Portions of carved panelling in the Ducal Castle of Bruchsal. „ 4—5- Portions of plaster ceiling in the same room. F'g- '~5- Drawn by H. Eberhardt, Stuttgart. PAINTED PLASTERWORK Plate 93. XVIII!1L Century. Gobelin Tapestry. l^^efore proceeding to consider the Gobelin work represented on this plate, we will take a glance back at the period of Louis XIV. The most productive and brilliant period of Gobelin manufacture was about 1660, when Colbert, the able minister of finance, conferred on the gifted painter Lebrun the direction of the workshops erected for the furniture and decoration of the Royal Castles. Lebrun could not have succeeded in the gigantic responsibilities imposed upon him by his numerous undertakings, had he not understood, like no other, how to direct his workmen to unite their efforts to accomplish the stupendous tasks, the fulfilment of which the vain king impatiently awaited, and which were only to be surmounted by skilful division of labour. Thus we often find ten painters engaged at the same time on designs, the main ideas of which almost always came from Lebrun, and it is also noticeable that such subject as flowers, friezes, landscapes, hunting scenes, musical instruments etc. were each treated by a specialist, without the freedom of expression in the design suffering thereby. It is no wonder, therefore, that in the ensuing period under Louis XV and XVI artists such as Watteau, Boucher, Tessier, Jacques and others should have taken up the work, or that they were certain of a triumph in the pursuit of a special department of art. For instance, if we observe the tasteful manner in which Tessier, the king's flower painter, could group his flowers and fruit in characteristic garlands, and bouquets, we shall not hesitate to reckon him one of the finest flower-painters of the French school. The details here represented, from important works by this master, give some idea of his marked ability. Fig. I . Chair-seat by Louis Tessier (Louis XV period). ., 2. Basket of fruit by the same Artist (Louis XV.). „ 3. Garland „ „ „ ,, (Louis XV.). „ 4. Chair-back by Jacques (Louis XVI.). „ 5. Door-panel (Louis XVI.). Fig. I — 5. Drawn by W.Vivien, Paris. Fig. 6. „ „ E. Eberhardt, Stuttgart. Fig. 6. Portion of carved panelling in the Castle of Bruchsal. Plate 94. XVni% Century. Plastic and Painted Ornaments. 7 opfstyle" — this term which is sometimes mistaken for Baroque or even Rococo, signifies merely the style (certainly rather barren and stiff sometimes), which flourished under Louis XVI., in opposition, as it were, to the pompous and confused style under Louis XV, when returning to the antique. Compared with the extravagances of Rococo, the quiet, restrained forms of the Zopfstyle produce a feeling of satisfaction unless, as is often the case, repose degenerates into rigidness, and strictness into barrenness. Fig. 7. Frieze by Salambier. Fig. I. Wood carving on a wainscot in the music room of the Arsenal library at Paris (Style of Louis XV.). „ 2 and 3. Carved pilaster from the wainscot of a saloon at Paris. (Style of Louis XVL) ,, 4. Painted frieze from the boudoir of Queen Marie-Antoinette in the Palace at Fontaine- bleau. (Style of Louis XVL). 5. Panel from a ceiling of a saloon at Paris, (ditto.) ,, 6. Carved-wall panel above a saloon door in the Hotel de Ville at Bordeaux, (ditto. Fig. 8. Vignette from Berthault et Bachelier (1760). (Louis XV). PLASTIC AND PAINTED ORNAMENTS. XVIia AND XVIIia CENTURIES 95. Plate 95. XVIISl and XVIIIii Centuries. Lace, Weaving, and Embroidery. T JL he three kinds of style, referred to on the previous plate, exerted a wide influence on the ornamentation of dwelling rooms, and especially on the decoration of all articles of clothing. Here too, marked differences may easily be discerned. In Figs, i, 2 and 5 for instance, the stricter mode of idealising points still to a certain connexion with the Renaissance, whilst Figs. 5 and 6 and especially Figs. 4 and 7 manifest the in- creasing preponderance of naturalism. Fig. I. Lace in the style of Louis XIV., in the possession of C. Baur, at Biberach. „ 2. Embroidery on a silk waistcoat. (Louis XIV.). „ 3. Embroidery on a silk coat (Louis XV.) from the "Sammlung vaterlandischer Altertiimer' at Stuttgart. ,, 4. Silk embroidery from a velvet waistcoat (Louis XVI.) from the same Collection. „ 5. Silk texture from a chasuble. (Louis XIV.) ditto. „ 6. Woven silk stuff for clothes. (Louis XV.) ditto. „ 7. Woven stuff of silk and wool. (Louis XVI.) ditto. Fig. 8. From a design by Ranson. Plate 96. XVIIIi Century. Metal Fittings, ±he love of splendour common to all French sovereigns of the XVII th and XVIII th centuries was especially shown in the decoration of furniture, and every period had its master, who proceeded upon new lines, according to his individual taste or talent. In the reign of Louis XIV. , when gigantic and luxu- riousl}' fitted rooms were in vogue, we find furniture with bold mountings of bronze, as represented on PI. 88, Figs. I — 7, or the luxurious creations of Boule, the famous cabinet-maker of the court, which he manufactured from ebony with bronze fittings and fine metal inlay on a tortoiseshell ground (PI. 72, Fig. 21 and PI. 73, Fig. i). This gracefully-formed and effectively coloured furniture, was, however, still more appropriate for the smaller interiors of the ensuing period (the Regency and Louis XV.). The colou- ring became softer and rosewood, mounted in bronze, was substituted for ebony. (See Fig. 16). Here especially the great talent of Charles Cressent celebrated as sculptor, carver, and cabinet-maker comes Fig. 16. Desk of Louis XV. in the Louvre. into play, and his versatility was so great that he could impart to his work a uniform and very unusual charm. The versatile Mei.ssonier, previously mentioned (PI. 91) was also a goldsmith and bronze-worker of the highest reputation. In the same way we find Jacques Caffieri, the famous sculptor, founder, and carver, at work on bronzes which he very tastefully applied to furniture, probably in conjunction with Jean Francois Oeben, the court cabinet-maker. The figures of our plate show a collection of bronze furniture mountings of the time of Louis XVI., a time in which we are accustomed to see delicate decorations of a fanciful taste. To this period belongs the ornament in which swags and ribbons, doves, quivers, torches, and all kinds of trophies, are mingled into an agreeable and symbolic whole. Figs. I — 15. Ormolu mounts from casts in the collection of plaster casts in the Royal Technical Institute, Stuttgart. METAL FITTINGS. COMMENCEMENT OF THE XIXI2 CENTURY 1. WALL- PAINTING AND CEILING- DECORATION Plate 97. Commencement of the XlXi Century. Wall Painting and Ceiling Decoration. In speaking later of the so-called Empire style, we must be understood to imply the transitional style prevailing from the close of the Louis XVI. period to the first French empire, and the Empire style coming down to 1 81 5. Although the unsettled political condition at the end of the XVIIIth century seriously threatened to extinguish the Arts in France, yet the love of art inborn in her people sprang from the chaos of the revolution , and caused the national leaders, even at the time of greatest affliction, to found a National Museum in order to preserve for future study the finest products of the Arts of past times. By this step they preserved from destruction by the revolutionary fanatics many fine works of art which tell of the days of the over- thrown monarchy. The new republicanism was destined to find increasing expression in the realm of art, in which direction a tendency was already noticeable in the style of Louis XVI. In art the craze was now for the pure Greek and Roman styles, even to the extent of reviving the dress and customs of these countries. In this change the chief part was taken by David, the famous painter, who was closely connected with politics, and who, under the administration of Napoleon I., breaking with the old order, followed the style in which Caesar had lived. Besides David, the architect Percier, associated with his colleague Fontaine, often applied his great ability to all departments of industrial art. This new French style was so esteemed that it was soon adopted all over Europe. Figs. I — 6. Wall and ceiling decorations from King Frederick I work-room in the castle of Ludwigsburg. Fig. 7. Ceiling decoration by Basoli, from a photograph. Plate 98. Commencement of the XIX*^ Century. Gobelin Tapestry and Lace-work. ' J^he chief subject on this plate (Fig. i.) bears emphatic testimony to the fact that the art of flower-painting had descended without deterioration from the time of Louis XV. and XVI., when the work of Tessier, Jac- ques and others had attained such excellence, down to the days of the first Empire. This fine design is by the painter Saint- Ange, who was doubtless engaged in the Gobelin manufactory, but whose name, like that of many other capable artists of the kind , is but little known, and would have been completely for- gotten, had they not also occupied themselves in pre- paring designs to be engraved on copper, through the publication of which their names have been preserved. While it was customary until the end of the XVIII century to treat with much artistic skill the frames or borders of the tapestries, the Empire period was content with reproducing in it scenes from the time of the em- perors which were almost devoid of decoration. It is interesting to compare the form of the fruit basket in Fig. i with those in Figs. 2 and 4 of PI. 93, observing how the freedom of the age of Louis XV. changes in the following period to a more rigid and formal shape and then takes that stiff form, ornamented with classic splendour usual in the Empire style. The position which these baskets occupy with regard to their method of fixture is also characteristic. Those of the two first periods are suspended picturesquely from light ribbons, while the later example rises sedately from the stiff Roman acanthus. The successful colouring of this design calls for special praise, as counteracting the tendency to (hill colour otherwise noticeable in the st\'le. With regard to the hangings and draperies so poi)ular at the time of the first Empire, we here represent characteristic examples of the period. I' ig. 0. l abric in the Garde-Meuble' collection at Paris. (From a photograph.) Fig. 1. Panel of a Screen by Saint-Ange. Figs. 2 -5. Borders of silk and velvet with woven tassels from draperies in the Castle of Ludwigsburg. COMMENCEMENT OF THE XIX^^ CENTURY. GOBELIN TAPESTRY & LACEWORK. METAL-ORNAMENTS. Plate 99. Empire Style, XIX* Century, Metal Ornaments. tendency towards classical forms of art very noticeable in the style of Louis XVI., is even more evident in the period now under consideration. Furniture chiefly made of mahogany is adorned with pretty bronze ornaments, and this gives to their somewhat stiff construction a graceful form, which fully merits admiration. The Napoleonic wars had con- siderable influence on the Empire style, in which afterwards were to be found emblems of Victory, eagles, laurel wreaths and such like. In consequence of the Egyptian campaign new decorative elements were adopted, as for instance the capitals of lotus flowers, sphinxes, winged lions and other Egyptian figures, joined sometimes to Chinese designs. This enthusiasm for foreign forms unfortunately led to great errors by giving furniture the appearance of heavy Egyptian mo- numents, for instance writing tables formed like pyramids etc., it being a common mistake to form archi- tectural figures and ornaments of wood as though they were of stone. But in spite of such faults we must acknowledge, that at this period many objects of industrial art were created which, even if they show a certain dryness, still please us by the really noble effect they produce. The illustration to this text. Fig. 24, shows one of the most prominent pieces of French furni- ture of this time and by that we are able to comprehend the above. As in the Styles of the prece- ding century , so also in the Empire style the new French taste very soon gained admittance to all other European countries. Owing to this circumstance the King's Palace at Stuttgart contains a very large number of examples of Fig. 24. Jewel case of the Empress Marie Louise, by the ebonists Jacob Desmalter. the most beautiful Empire furniture, of which the greater part of the illustrations on our plate has been taken. Most interesting is the appearance of naturalistic ornamentation beside the strictly classical style. Fig. 1—23. Ormolu mounts on furniture in the King's Palace at Stuttgart and from the public collection of Wurttemberg antiquities in that town. Plate lOO. XVIIIti and XIX*: Centuries. Silk Tapestry, .1 he silk industr}', which flourished in France as early as the XIV century received a further impetus in the XVII''' and still more in the XVIII century by the fashion of covering the walls, and upholstering the furniture, with valuable silk fabrics. This fa.shion was also helpful to the still older German silk trade. To supplement the few silk fabrics of the time of Louis XIV., XV. and XVI. shown on Plate 95, we give similar exam])les of the transition from Louis XVI. to the Empire style. Figs, i and 2 are noticeable as inclining to the first style. Apart from traces of Chinese influence we have here the graceful swags and floral festoons, the vases, cornucopiae and torches, the charming and dainty lightness of which are so deliglitful in the style of Louis XVI., while in the frecjuent garlands, palms and shields we notice a fore- shadowing of the style of the first Republic. Similarly in Fig. 3 the natural flowers remind us of the earlier period, while the rest of the figure and Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7 are decidedly 'Empire' in feeling. Figs. I — 7. From specimens in the Royal Museum at Stuttgart. I'ig. 8. Wall-paper design (from a photograph). SILK TAPESTRY.