> m ..X THE GRECIAN, ROMAN, AND GOTHIC CONSIDERED AS APPLICABLE TO PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUILDINGS, IN THIS COUNTRY; To which are added, J>omc HcmarltjJ •■■Js ON ORNAMENTAL LANDSCAPE, DESIGNED TO RECOMMEND, AND TO INTRODUCE A MORE CORRECT TASTE . INTO THE RESIDENCES OF THE NOBILITY AND GENTRY OF GREAT BRITAIN. By WILLIAM FOX, AUTHOR OF (i Cl SKETCHES AND OBSERVATIONS MADE ON A TOUR THROUGH VARIOUS PARTS OF EUROPE, >»_ u LA BAGATELLA, A DESCRIPTIVE POEM,* CURSORY REMARKS ON APELEUTIIERUS,” &C. &C. LONDON: PRINTED FOR JOHN HATCHARD AND SON, N9 187, PICCADILLY. Ml'H fyl IV THE GRECIAN, ROMAN, AND GOTHIC ^rcfntecture, ' x §c. I THE t GRECIAN, ROMAN, AND GOTHIC 9rc$ftrcttt¥*» CONSIDERED AS APPLICABLE TO PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BUILDINGS, IN THIS COUNTRY; To which are added, J»ome flniinrhg ON ORNAMENTAL LANDSCAPE, DESIGNED TO RECOMMEND, AND TO INTRODUCE A MORE CORRECT TASTE INTO THE RESIDENCES OF THE NOBILITY AND GENTRY OF GREAT BRITAIN. By WILLIAM FOX, AUTHOR OF “ SKETCHES AND OBSERVATIONS MADE ON A TOUR THROUGH VARIOUS PARTS OF EUROPE,”-“ LA BAGATELLA, A DESCRIPTIVE POEM,”- “ CURSORY REMARKS ON APELEUTHERUS,” &C. &C. LONDON: PRINTED FOR JOHN HATCHARD AND SON, N° 187, PICCADILLY. 1821 .* ..... i v I i . l v.' A J ' Jj ■ A t> , * - - * 4.1/* t a — Printed by J. BrettelL , Rupert Street, Uaymarket, London. PREFACE. t Having been led to engage professionally in some pursuits connected with the fine arts, which, during several past years, were considered as merely an amusement, I now venture, in the following pages, to submit, with great defe¬ rence, some of my particular opinions thereon to the public eye. This Essay was originally designed as an introduction to a larger work, wherein examples were given, illustrative of the opinions here advanced. Some reasons, however, which, it is judged will be admitted as sufficiently strong, prevailed with me to suppress the work in its original form, although considerable progress had been made in preparing the specimens intended to be brought forward. 4 VI In the first place, the present introductory “remarks had already swelled to a volume; and secondly, I was unwilling, by raising into public notice a variety of instances of bad taste, to wound the feelings of any contemporary artist; and am better satisfied in leaving my publication in a less perfect state, than to risk giving pain to one respectable individual. I have, therefore, in the following observations, carefully abstained from distinctly marking, either the work or the name of any living artist, unless it has been to com¬ mend the one, or in the hope of serving the other: It is delightful to praise and to admire; and the numerous examples in a contrary strain in the succeeding pages will, it is hoped, be con¬ sidered as arising not from any proneness to descry and to expose what is imperfect, but from the wish to recommend a higher, and a more improved style of art in this country. I am aware that many of the opinions here delivered will meet with opposition; upon which, I can truly aver, that I entertain no further predilection for them than what arises from the conviction that they are founded on correct principles; derived, not from fashion, or local prejudice, or partial views, but gathered from the nature of the objects themselves, as con- * • Vll / iiected with the purposes to which they are designed to be applied. As, however, these opinions, in many cases, differ so widely from common practice, I have thought it needful, in the notes subjoined, to support almost every opinion here advanced by some authority of acknowledged judgment and taste. Those who are strangers to such inquiries, would scarcely credit the large sums which are annually expended both on public and private buildings, on what are termed ornaments, deco¬ rations, and improvements, in so bad a taste as would do little credit to the most degraded periods of the arts in this country*. At one * “ In my opinion buildings might be much more “ varied than they are; for, after fitness hath been strictly “ and mechanically complied with, any additional orna- “ mental members, or parts, may be varied with equal “ elegance; nor can I help thinking, but that churches, “ palaces, hospitals, prisons, common houses, and summer “ houses, might be built more in distinct characters than “ they are, by contriving orders suitable to each; whereas, “ were a modern architect to build a palace in Lapland, “ or the West Indies, Palladio must be his guide; nor “ would he dare to stir a step without his book.” Hogarth's Analysis vilifying of a rival artist or a rival produc¬ tion. There is something so truly capti¬ vating in all the pursuits of the fine arts— so promotive are they of amenity—of kind and placid feeling—that he who can indulge "V » in a narrow and a rancorous spirit towards either the person or the works of the brother¬ hood, is not worthy to be classed with the members of this honoured fraternity. But, superadded to the disgrace of such feelings, it should be remembered, that he who i harbours them, deprives himself of a large i 17 proportion of the actual enjoyment which his pursuits are in their own nature cal¬ culated to supply. “ It seems to me,” says Sir Joshua Reynolds, “ that the object “ and intention of all the arts, is to supply “ the natural imperfection of things, and “ often to gratify the mind, by realising “ and embodying what never existed but “ in the imagination. It is allowed on all “ hands, that facts and events, however “ they may bind the historian, have no “ dominion over the poet or the painter. “ With us, history is made to bend and “ conform to this great idea of art. And “ why? because these arts, in their higher “ province, are not addressed to the gross “ senses, but to the desires of the mind, to “ that spark of divinity which we have “ within, impatient of being circumscribed, “ and pent up by the world which is about “ us 1 .”— u It is curious to reflect that the 1 Discourse xm. c 18 “ exertions of art seem to arise from the “ disappointment of the human mind, “ sated, disgusted, and tired with the “ monotony of the real persons and things, which this world affords, so full of im- “ perfection, and accompanied with so “ much misery, strife, and injustice. In “ proportion to the serenity and goodness “ of the mind, it naturally turns away from “ such a state of things, in search of some “ other more graceful and consoling" 1 .” There seems to prevail, at present, a strong spirit of opposition between the respective admirers of the Grecian and the Roman style of architecture", with a pretty m Barry’s Letter to the Dilettanti. n The comparative merits of the Greek and Roman structures are thus described by Mr. Elmes:— u The general character of the architecture of the " Greeks was superior to every thing that had been u seen before, and surpasses in purity of style and i 19 unanimous desire in both, to discounte¬ nance further attempts to restore, or to revive the antient Gothic, of which our country affords so many beautiful speci¬ mens. Without entering with any minuteness u propriety of character, all that has been executed “ since. u The Grecian architects never violated the inhe- “ rent properties of any object to produce an artifi- i( cial effect; the Romans, on the contfary, erected “ works, containing gross violations of the rules of “ architecture and pure taste. Such is the Colosseum, the theatre of Marcellus, the Pantheon, and such “ are their amphitheatres; structures that excite " wonder and amazement, and seize upon our admi- “ ration, not for their faults, but in spite of them.” It may be also remarked, that the arts were looked upon in a different light among the Romans to what they were among the Greeks: the latter loved and cherished them because they conferred honour and dignity on their country: the former encouraged them because they embellished theirs. In Greece, no man was disgraced by following the profession of an artist, in Rome it was commonly the business of slaves. 20 into the merits of these opinions, it will be more to the purpose of our inquiries to ask why we should not adopt and embody the beauties of all the three ; for that they each of them possess beauties peculiar to themselves, it would be no difficult task to . » evince. In simple beauty of form, probably no people will ever rival the Grecian artists. But of the Romans it may be affirmed, although in a variety of instances they greatly degenerated from their more per¬ fect models the Greeks 0 :—Yet as many of ° “ It has been justly observed, that long after “ painting, architecture, and sculpture, had flourished “ in Greece, these arts remained in a very imperfect “ state among the Italians. “ But when the Romans had subdued Greece, they iC soon became enamoured of these delightful arts. “ They adorned their city with statues and pictures, “ the spoils of that conquered country, and adopting u the Grecian style of architecture, they now first 21 their most famous buildings were con¬ structed by Greek artists, and as they expended vast sums annually upon public edifices in different parts of the empire, in which to Grecian skill was added all that Roman wealth and. magnificence could supply ; it is but just to presume, that many specimens were produced, which “ began to erect buildings of great elegance and “ magnificence, and the fine arts were at length “ assiduously cherished and cultivated at Rome. “ That city being now become mistress of the world* “ and possessed of unbounded wealth and power* “ became ambitious also of the utmost embellish- “ ments which these arts could bestow. They could “ not, however, though assisted by Roman munifi- “ cence, reascend to that height of perfection, which ci they had attained in Greece during her happiest “ periods. And it is particularly remarkable, that “ when the Roman authors themselves celebrate u any exquisite production of art, it is the work of “ Phidias, Myron, Lysippus, Zeuxis, Apelles, or c( some artist who adorned that happy period, and “ not of those who had lived nearer to their own “ times than the age of Alexander.” See Mr. Stuart's Preface , Athens 22 would be no disgrace to the age of Peri¬ cles, and to the hand of Phidias. Of ' ♦ these, a few, and but a few have been i j spared to us p ; but these are sufficient to p u Quoique les Romains ayent pris leur archi- (C tecture des Grecs, ils n’ont peut-etre pas trans- “ porte dans leurs monuments toutes les perfections a que Pon trouvoit dans ceux des Grecs: et quand “ nous avions assures qu’ils Peussent fait, il reste tc en Italie une si petite quantite de ces monuments, “ par rapport h. ceux qui Pornoient, que les plus pre- u cieux nous sont peut-etre echappes.” Le Roy, Discours de VArchitecture Civile, Tome Premier, p. 5. We are informed by Pliny, book xxxiv. chap. vii. that Mummius having conquered Achaia, filled the city of Rome with statues. The Luculluses also brought many into it, but L. Mummius was the first who publicly gave reputation to foreign pictures. His triumph was adorned with Grecian pictures and statues, and he was the first who dedicated them in temples and other public buildings at Rome. It is said of Mummius, he was so ignorant in what related to the arts, that when he had taken Corinth, and was sending to Italy pictures and statues which had been brought to perfection by the greatest masters, he ordered those who had the charge of conveying them, to be threatened, if they lost these , they should give him new ones in their stead . 23 prove that Rome was not great in arms alone, but that she was only second—if second to Athens in the beauty and gran¬ deur of her public structures, and in the majesty and sweetness of her “ marble “ forms.” Why then shall we refuse to adopt whatever is excellent in either style, with¬ out rejecting the one because it is Roman, or preferring the other for no better reason than because it is Grecian ? An indiscriminating admiration of the antients has led many to extol every an¬ tique specimen, simply because it was discovered at Athens or at Rome, not reflecting that in both cities there were many indifferent artists, and consequently many inferior productions; and indeed it has been said of Rome at the present day, 24 that few cities exhibit more examples of bad taste. ,> It is well known that all the restorers of architecture in Europe, universally adopted the Roman models; and it is one of those singular occurrences which we can scarcely tell how to account for, that the beautiful remains of Grecian architec¬ ture lay hidden and almost unknown to Europe until nearly the middle of the last century, when M. Le Roy in France q , and Mr. Stuart in England, disclosed them to their respective nations. The publications of the former, although ushered into the world with all the advantages that splen¬ did decoration and embellishment could q M. Le Roy embarked at Venice for Athens on the 5th of May, 1754; and his magnificent work, entitled “ Les Ruines des plus beaux Monuments “ de la Gr£ce, &c.’ ; was published in 1758. 25 supply, yet appear by no means to have excited the attention which might have been expected, either in his own country, or on the Continent in general. Indeed, in one memorable instance, they provoked a very decided opposition and hostility. Giovanni Battista Piranesi, a distinguished Venetian architect, in the year 1761, pub¬ lished a splendid work r , entitled Magnifi- r Of this work, Mr. Stuart, no incompetent judge, has remarked that, notwithstanding its great merit, particularly in the engravings, it is to be esteemed in any other light rather than as a just delineation of Grecian architecture, of which, in the first place, the author has put all he thinks proper to exhibit into a single plate*; and in the next, he has taken his information from the incompetent specimens of Le Roy. Yet, after the beautiful Ionic capital of the Temple of Erechtheus, as well as that found at Eleusis, have been thus scandalously treated, they even there shine with a decided superiority over all the Roman Ionics, as he mistakenly calls them, they being very clearly descendants from the Grecians. * This is a mistake, there is more than one plate of Grecian specimens. 26 cenza di Romani, wherein he attempts to shew the great inferiority of the Grecian to the Roman architecture 8 ; and, by a It has been reported that Piranesi’s work was occasioned, in great measure, by some dialogues, published in London, in 1755, in a book called “ The Investigator.” These containing many foolish ca¬ lumnies against the antient Romans, had been in¬ terpreted to Piranesi, and inflamed his ardent spirit to this mode of vindication. In the “ Ruines de Pestum,” published by him not long after, we meet with the following passage, which is almost sufficient to overturn the opinion given in his former work:—“ Les voyageurs con- t( noisseurs assurent que, par rapport a ^architecture “ Grecque des temples batis dans l’ordre Dorique, “ ceux de Pesto sont superieurs en beaute a ceux “ qu’on voit en Sicile et dans la Grece, et que sans tl se donner la peine et la fatigue de longues voyages, u ceux-ci peuvent suffire pour contenter la curiosite, “ et qu’enfln cette grande et majestueuse architecture " donne en son genre l’idee la plus parfaite de ce “belart.” ' s u The architecture of Italy is tinged with the “ same romantic hues as its poetry; if not uniformly “ correct, yet luxuriant and sportive, wild and fan- u tastic. And who is so exclusively, not to say “ pedantically, attached to the classic authors of “ antiquity, as not to surrender himself willingly to 27 juxta position of representations of the two styles, in several examples, endeavours to demonstrate the truth of his assumptions* In examining this curious volume, it may be well to notice that, in the first place, the author was an Italian , and was most jealous, as appears by the style of his dedications, for the glory and the renown of his native country. It may be also observed of him, that his own conceptions were of a character so vast and sublime, (as may be seen in various designs left by him,) that it is probable his mind might not be susceptible of the purer, the simpler, and the more chaste productions of the Attic genius. And it must also be recol¬ lected that Piranesi had himself never visited Greece, and all the knowledge “ the delicious magic of Ariosto’s muse? Who so a frigid, as not to acknowledge the untamed splen- “ dour, the lavish compositions of Piranesi?” Essay on the Analogy between Language and Architecture. 28 acquired by him of Grecian architecture, was through the medium of the publica¬ tions of M. Le Roy, whose delineations, though splendid and shewy, have been proved by Mr. Stuart to be remarkably defective in proportional admeasurements, and in some instances unfaithful in their delineations of the buildings they profess to represent. The volumes 1 of Stuart, which were published at slow and distant intervals. * The first volume of Mr. Stuart’s Athens, was published in 1762; the second in 1787; the third in 1794; and the fourth and last volume, did not appear until 1816. Mr. Stuart, in a paper left behind him, but pub¬ lished in the second volume, after his decease, writes thus:— u M. Le Roy during a short stay at Athens, “ made some hasty sketches, from which, and the <( relations of former travellers, particularly Wheeler 6f and Spon, he fabricated a publication, in which “ the antiquities that even at this day render Athens “ illustrious, are grossly misrepresented. This per- l 29 made also less impression on the public taste in this country, than might have been hoped for; and their chaste and ele¬ gant delineations were in like manner attacked somewhat rudely, not long after “ formance was censured in our first volume, and “ some of his errors detected and exposed; he has u highly resented this in a second edition, but “ deeming his attempts at argument, as well as “ his abuse, undeserving an answer, I shall not u detain my readers, or trouble myself with any a further notice of him.” M. Le Roy is not the only traveller in Greece, who has availed himself of the researches of Wheeler and Spon. Indeed so great was the reputation of these writers, that others who have visited the same place, havebeen satisfied in copying their descriptions. Cor¬ nelius Magni, a Parmesan gentleman, who in company with the Marquis de Nointel, was at Athens in 1672, but published his account of it in 1688 ; and Farelli, a Venetian advocate, whose book, entitled Attene Attica, was published in 1708, though they have both of them professionally described the antiquities of Athens, have done little more than repeat what Wheeler and Spon had already said on the same subject. \ 30 their first appearance, by one of our most eminent and distinguished architects u . The pure Grecian style, therefore, has made no great progress among us; and a shewy mixture of the Roman and Palla- dian architecture has more generally pre- vailed. It is not the design of these pages to decry either of these styles of building; but, as before hinted, to recommend the selection of the beauties of each, and to employ them in all cases where they may be introduced with advantage. In a theatre, a palace, a hall of justice, an institution for the encouragement of art, or any public and national edifice, where grandeur and beauty are required to be n See Sir William Chambers’s Essay on Civil Architecture. 31 combined, these are highly appropriate, most of their decorations and enrichments are well adapted to such structures, and have been long employed in adorning them with the happiest effect. There is, however, one very important class of buildings in this country, in which perhaps it may be allowable to prefer the Gothic v to the Grecian or the Roman ar- v The following conjectures on the doubtful origin of the Gothic style, by the learned author of The Historic Muse, are highly curious. “It was not invented by mathematicians, or mecha- “ nics, nor by the Goths, Anglo-Saxons, or Saracens. “,It is plainly not the invention of any artist, and “ still less is it Grecian or Roman. As to the Orien- “ tals, the form reached them, as we see in their “ temples, in the shape of the Phrygian and Median “ bonnet, with something perhaps of a symbolical, “and hieroglyphic allusion; it may be traced in “ their architecture, just as their paganism is the “ mutilated trunk or ruinated remain and tumulus of “ transpired revelation. “ I think further, and have no doubt that its 32 chitecture,—I mean in our churches and chapels; and however heretical the opinion may be accounted among artists of a parti¬ cular school, I must take leave to say that I do not think, for a Christian sanctuary , and in this country , the Grecian or the “ origin is purely Hebraic, of the very highest an- “ tiquity: and from this form that of the mitre, the “ tiara, and the imperial crown, was taken. It is “ more graceful and majestic than any regular “ mathematical form. It is certainly more elegant “ and aspirant in its contour, having all the sprightly t( fugitiveness of a lambent flame. It is not appro- “ priated only to the windows and doors, but per- “ vades, with a simplicity and universality at once “ grand and enchanting, ever} 7 part of the order, and, “ independent of associations, it possesses (whatever “ philosophers may say) some secret, invincible, and “ magical charm to our imagination/ 7 u The decorations, harmony, and proportions of “ the several parts of this magnificent fabric, (King’s “ College Chapel, Cambridge,) its fine painted win- “ dow, and richly ornamented spreading roof, its “ gloom and perspective, all concur in aflecting the “ imagination with pleasure and delight, at the same “ time they inspire awe and devotion.” Bentkam's Ely. 33 Roman style are, in the general , so well adapted, as the now slighted Gothic w . t / ' ' ' f " ' .5 w “ No other mode of building,” says Mr. Murphy, « is so well calculated to excite sublime and awful u sensations.” And again, speaking of the effect of Gothic win¬ dows, he adds,— u The various colours of these win- and clustered columns. Many of our modern and newly erected churches 11 . a On the front of the church, recently erected in the New Street facing Carlton Palace, are repre¬ sented, in relief, the bull's heads and flower wreaths, the common ornaments of a Greek or Roman frieze; but which, however, appropriate as embellishments to a Pagan temple, are wholly out of place in a Christian sanctuary. This is one of those striking instances of incongruity, and misapplication, which the refined taste of an Athenian artist would scarcely have fallen into. Sir Christopher Wren, in the exterior decorations of his great work, (St. Paul's Cathedral,) displayed a more correct taste; he has there studded the pediments of the windows, with cherub heads, ornamented by occasional wreaths of palm and olive tranches. Many years ago, in one of his discourses to the students of the Royal Academy, the late President warned them against the false taste above alluded to. “ Have you never beheld,” says he “ in the “ porticoes of palaces, public halls, or places of u amusement, the skins of animals devoted to the (t rites of the Pagan religion, or vases consecrated / 41 resemble much more a theatre, than a place designed for Christian worship; the ornaments are often wholly of a Pagan character; the colouring and decorations of the interior, are shewy and glaring; l< to the ashes of the dead, or the tears of the “ living? Violations of sense and character, in this “ respect, are daily committed. We might with “ as much propriety, adorn the friezes of our “ palaces and theatres, with the skulls and cross “ thigh bones of the human figure, which are the “ emblems of death, in every country throughout “ modern Europe.” The idea of fitness should above all things be attended to; for this reason, the antients carefully attended to the suitableness of a column to its edifice, and of the ornament to their columns. “ The Ionic column had not been found in the u temple of Diana, but that the Doric was less u adapted to that edifice; and, in the temple of “ Venus, even the Ionic had been improperly placed. tc Cariatic columns, in any temple, would have 44 been ridiculous; as it would have been intro- “ ducing monuments of vengeance into an asylum of “ mercy.” See Dr. Aldrich’s Elements of Civil Architecture. 42 and the light, instead of being subdued and kept down to a composed and quiet tone, is frequently dazzling and over¬ powering, so that almost any other feelings than those of Christian awe and reverence are excited, on entering such a structure. But whatever be the style adopted in our sacred buildings, whether Grecian, Roman, or Gothic, no plea can be ad¬ mitted for the unsightly and mis-shapen structures, which have of late years arisen to disfigure our country. Whether we look on the external form, or examine the interior decorations, most of them will be found lamentably deficient in taste, and the common proprieties; and, of the numerous chapels of various kinds, which have been erected in different parts of the kingdom, it has been very truly re¬ marked, “ that there is not one, which “ has the slightest pretensions to archi- 43 “ tectural merit, even among those, in “ the construction of which, economy “ has not been the first consideration/' Much diversity of opinion prevails in the present day, as to the form and character of the residences of our no¬ bility and opulent gentry b , and much con¬ fusion has arisen from a prevalence of the b “ In some of our extensive domains “ says Mr. Dallaway, “ dedicated to picturesque beauty, “ where nature has been most indulgent, I have “ been disappointed by observing numerous struc- u tures of high pretension as to expense, so ill “ suited to the genius of the place. We abound “ in ecclesiastical and military ruins, which are truly u inimitable, and lose all effect when attempted upon “ a scale of inferior dimensions. Why are we so “ ambitious of multiplying copies, in which all “ character is sunk in such specimens ?” Observations on English Architecture } by the Rev. James Dallaway. Dr. Aldrich, the well known author of Elements of Civil Architecture, speaks in terms of uniform » eulogium of the Roman architecture, as revised by Palladio:—“ We are much indebted to Palladio \ C 44 i false taste above hinted at, in our public edifices. I i - ' * 1 * Many attempts have been made, within the last thirty or forty years, to construct dwellings in the Gothic style ; but these have not often succeeded; indeed, our earliest impressions are opposed to the attempt; for however this style of building may and does associate itself, with our ideas of sacred, and solemn, and reverent feeling, it does not appear to harmonize t with home-like comfort and hilarity. The form of its structure is that of a church, the shape of the windows, and the painted or stained glass, so essential to the Gothic ✓ character, and which casts so sweet a repose over the interior of a Gothic church, “ for his beautiful selections from the remains of “ antient artists, which he has made with so much taste, and for the rules formed in them, which <( he has laid down with equal knowledge and ‘‘ judgment.” / 45 all concur to remind us of a religious sanctuary, rather than a habitation for domestic enjoyment. There is no antient mansion of our nobility remaining, which exhibits any example of such a house c . The oldest houses, on a scale of any extent, are of the age of Queen Elizabeth, and these display a totally different form. From hence it may be fairly inferred, that our ancestors confined this style of build¬ ing wholly to religious uses. c “ The architect who desires to erect a mansion “ in the style of the thirteenth or fourteenth century, “ is obliged to have recourse to the sacred buildings “ of those ages, to select such parts as appear “ most suitable to his purpose; to arrange them “ so as to form a tolerable whole: and, if no great “ solecism is discernible, he may be allowed to have “ succeeded as far as it was possible to succeed, “ when, with his imagination warmed with the “ splendid and lavish decoration of some antient “ pile, he was under the necessity of applying and “ misapplying its various details, to the embellish- “ ment of boudoirs and drawing rooms.” Essay on the Analogy between Language and Architecture . 46 Perhaps, however, one of the greatest impediments to the introduction of this style for a house, has arisen from there being no example of its details being carried throughout in such a building; and thus the odious mixture of the Grecian and Gothic, which is so disgusting. I do not recollect an instance where the Gothic character has been preserved, both in the interior and exterior, of any modern re¬ sidence, with the single exception of Straw¬ berry Hill; and indeed it would require much taste and judgment, to select and apply all the appropriate decorations; but from the vast number of ornamental spe¬ cimens, collected of late years from Gothic buildings, this would be by no means so difficult as perhaps at first supposed, and the effect of the whole- might be 4 4 rendered exceedingly striking. A good deal of whimsicality has been 47 shewn of late, in the country houses of many of our opulent gentry, in building what is called cottage residences; and some pains have been taken to torture the term cottage out of its legitimate meaning, in order that it may fit the purpose of the admirers of this style. Dr. Johnson, no despicable authority, calls a cottage, “ a hut, or mean habita¬ tion;” and, accordingly, our builders in this style come as near to this appearance as possible, by making the roof of thatch, supporting the entrance on rough posts, to resemble the trunks of trees, with other similar hut-like appendages. We no sooner enter this hut, however, than we find ourselves perhaps, in a handsome hall, leading to elegant apartments, de¬ corated with silk hangings, and filled with costly furniture* This is in bad taste, and may be looked on as a trick, or deception. 48 and a deception of the poorest kind. Many are the tasteful designs, which might be given for a gentleman’s dwelling in the country, not involving much of either exterior shew or expense, but possessing all the beauty of a rural retreat, without exhibiting the odious anomaly above described. The residence of an . * \ English gentleman should proclaim itself, by the style of its elevation, to be, what it really is, and the extent, and general aspect of the building ought, of course, to be proportioned to the rank, or the opulence of the inhabitant. There is one leading idea, which ought ever to be kept in view, namely, that a private house being built, not for others, but for the use and comfort of the immediate occupant and proprietor, the first and primary con¬ sideration ought, on every occasion, to be his particular pleasure and conveni- i 49 ence, in preference to every other object d ; This rule, however, has been too frequently made to bend to the external appearance, as if the principal design were to render the house, more attractive to the passing traveller, than to the actual possessor. To the producing some desired symmetry in the front, to connect the offices with the centre, to put forth a shivering d Several years ago, a late architect, of some note, who happened to be employed in Gothicizing the neighbouring parish church, was consulted by a friend of mine, upon the propriety of lowering the windows in his dining room, so as to afford a view of his lawn, and of some beautiful forest scenery, beyond his own grounds. The architect said, he could by no means advise the step—it would so dis¬ turb the proportions of the room, a common dining room, and he would, therefore, not hazard his repu^ tation on such an alteration! Being myself on a visit at the house not long afterwards, 1 ventured to risk my whole credit on the proposed improvement; which was accordingly adopted, upon the plan then furnished, to the great pleasure and satisfaction of all concerned. E 50 colonnade, or to promote some other pur¬ pose of architectural display,—the com¬ fort of many of the best houses in the country has sometimes been injudiciously sacrificed. ♦ •. V'Jc ri 4i , > •' • > '• ' f ; ' The architect who is required to furnish designs for a house, should constantly bear in mind that he is planning a building for human habitation; his design ought, therefore, to preserve throughout this cha¬ racter ; and although in houses of the highest class, he may avail of some of the grandest members of the antient orders, yet these should appear only as accessary, not as principals in the structure; other¬ wise, although he may succeed in raising beautiful temples, he will totally fail in all the features of a private dwelling. It may be alleged, perhaps, that such a plan, if adopted, would lower the dig- I 51 nified character of our larger houses; to which I reply, that an able architect would entertain no apprehensions of this nature; his taste would be able to select materials for his purpose of the most exquisite kind, without resorting, unless for purposes of the highest order, to so expensive and so solemn an appendage, as the grand and magnificent portico of the antient temples. Some of our more stately mansions have a near resemblance to the form of Grecian temples; and hence, though highly beautiful as specimens of architectural taste, there is frequently an unfitness, an ill adaption in the character of their structure, to the purposes of habitation 6 . * “ The noble simplicity of the temples of the u Greeks and Romans, beautiful as they are in 52 Next to the external elevation of the houses of the opulent, may be noticed all the interior arrangements and decora¬ tions, in which is the fairest and most * ample scope for taste to display itself. In the interior of many of the houses of our nobility, the forms of the Roman or Italian orders have been introduced, not only into the halls and galleries, but have been carried into the apartments of minor importance, where the doors and the chimney-pieces, &c., are crowned with pediments and mouldings, in a style altogether too heavy and encumbered. This mode of ornament was frequently used by Kent and the architects of that “ themselves, and characteristic of their intent, can- “ not be transferred to private buildings, without “ losing their proper effect, and producing, when so “ applied, a sombre and gloomy appearance.” See Mr. Soane’s Lectures on Architecture . 53 day, copied probably from Inigo Jones, and which came further recommended to public attention, by the work of Piranesi, entitled, “ Diversi Maniere d’adornarer i “ camieri ed altre parti d’egli Edifizi,” wherein he has, in a variety of specimens, endeavoured to adapt and apply many of the antient architectural members, to objects in which the afttients themselves, rarely, if ever applied them; for, in the interior of their dwellings, they appear to have used a lighter and more fantastic style of decoration, as may be seen by the engravings from the apartments of the houses which have been excavated at Herculaneum and Pompeia. * £ * 11 * v "* * ■ • ■ ■ But not in the fittings up and enrichments only—or in the style and disposal of the apartments—may taste be advantageously employed; but in every article of orna- 54 mental furniture, from the most costly vase, down to the footstool, or the fire screen. \ If these were selected with taste, and disposed with judgment, by some one competent thereto, every apartment in the houses of our nobility, might be made a receptacle of Grecian beauty and art, and the elegant owner might enjoy the luxury, of stepping from room to room, surrounded by none but finished models of the productions of the best periods of Grecian and Roman art. In many instances we already perceive a considerable advance towards a better taste than formerly, in the style and decorations of our large houses; but in the far greater number of those, which I have hitherto visited, I must take leave to remark, there is much that might yet be greatly 55 improved. To cite particular instances would be highly indecorous and un¬ becoming; but perhaps it may be allow¬ able to specify some of the more prominent incongruities often met with. Sometimes, for example, the entrance hall, instead of being kept down in its tone of colour and decoration, is so heightened with artificial verd antique columns, gilt capitals, and gilt cornices* &c., that no other part of the house can vie with it f . In other cases, the furniture f " Ce qui est excellent dans un lieu, ne convient “ pas a un autre: le tout depend de mettre chaque “ chose a sa place, et de varier de stile et de maniere “ selon les sujets et les lieux.” CoypeVs Discourses. Being once called to a place of this description, where the entrance hall was the most enriched and shewy part of the mansion,—where verd antique pilasters strove with columns of yellow marble (both nicely painted to resemble these costly materials) to 56 is ill adapted to the character of the apartment, or it is crowded so full by the upholsterer, that it resembles nothing so much as his own warehouse. It some¬ times occurs that the painter has so daubed the ceiling, or the walls, with strong and glaring colours, that the soft and half- faded touches of the old masters, which hang round them, are utterly put out of countenance, and their beauty destroyed altogether. , - • . v , strike the eye of the visitant, the first thing that I recommended, as an improvement, was to tone down these pillars and pilasters to a modest stone colour, in order that the other parts of the house, which were in excellent taste, might stand a chance ol some consideration, being, as the case then stood, altogether eclipsed hy the brilliant and imposing effect of the entrance hall. The respected owner of the mansion was a man of good sense and good taste, and instantly acknow¬ ledged the propriety of the proposed alteration, and would have adopted it without hesitation, but for some private reasons, which prevailed against his better judgment. 57 In many houses, the principal apart¬ ments are converted into magazines of antique sculpture: instances might be cited, where not only the larger rooms, but even the halls and the staircases, have ^ X been thus filled, thereby lowering the character of a nobleman’s mansion, to that of a statuary’s repository. A gallery allotted to the express purpose of con¬ taining these specimens of antient art, would not only be more appropriate, but would exhibit them to much greater advan¬ tage, and would allow the connoisseur an opportunity to examine them more distinctly. The bad taste shewn in the higher branches of furniture, induced a gentle¬ man 5 of very distinguished taste, some B Thomas Hope, Esq., Author of 66 Costume of “ the Antients,” 2 vols. 8vo.; and, M Designs for u Household Furniture,” &c., 1 vol. folio. 58 years ago, to give designs for various articles, after the purest antique forms, which were executed for his own residence from these designs; but this attempt at improvement was not followed by the suceess that might have been expected. It is surprising, in the present advanced state of the arts in this country, that, in many of our manufactories, where a correct taste h is more especially required, so little attention has been paid to the forms of their manufactures. “ The influence of h “ The Greek costume is the perfection of ele- “ gance in dress; no nation ever equalled, much u less excelled it; and it is observable, that as other u people advance in refinement and taste, they adopt u the Grecian modes in those circles where elegance “ and beautiful display can be admitted. In their u vases, candelabri, and utensils of every kind, with (( their decorative embellishments, are beheld the ex- 66 cursions of an elevated fancy, subjected, at the same u time, to the regulations of propriety. Nothing is 59 “ taste,” it has been justly observed by the late President, Mr. West, “ extending it- “ self to all branches of manufactory, will “ meet the higher and more wealthy orders, “ whose accomplished minds will feel and “ relish the increase of elegance diffused “ over their domestic retirements. For “ never have the arts taken, and never “ will they take root in any country, until “ the people of that country generally feel “ and understand their constitutional ele- w gance, and the refinement of domestic “ comforts which they spread around them. “ That there has long prevailed a lamen- “ table deficiency of taste in these branches “ in England, no one will dispute.” Who u introduced that can offend by improper association, u nothing for mere shew; but every ingenious device %i conduces to the beauty of the composition, and u every figure in pictorial representations seems u necessary to their perfection.” Stanley's Essay on Grecian Architecture. 60 ever observed, in the Derbyshire spar, for instance, a single specimen that approached at all near to the form of a Greek or Roman vase, and, until lately, our finer china, although exquisite in beauty of colour, and costly decoration and finish, yet has not in the remotest degree attempted to rival the beauty of the antique shape; but a cup, and a saucer, and a plate, and a vase, have generally preserved the tasteless figure of the country, China, from whence they were originally copied and imported. Hence many of the houses of our nobility and gentry exhibit specimens of French art, which might be executed in a more perfect style by the artists of our own country. He, therefore, that contributes to the im¬ provement and extension of the fine arts at home, may have the satisfaction to reflect that, whilst he is enlarging his own sphere of personal gratification, he is 61 also most essentially contributing to the substantial benefit and welfare of the com¬ munity of which he is a member In our ' This opinion has received the fullest confirmation from the Committee on the Elgin Marbles, whose judgment on this subject is so important, that the w’ords which close their report can never be too frequently repeated:—“ Your Committee cannot dis« “ miss this interesting subject without submitting “ to the attentive consideration of the House, how 11 highly the cultivation of the fine arts has contri- “ buted to the reputation, character and dignity of “ every government by which they have been en- 11 couraged; and how intimately they are connected “ with the advancement of every thing valuable in “ science, literature, and philosophy. In contem- “ plating the importance and splendour to which so “ small a republic as Athens rose, by its genius and “ energy of her citizens, exerted in the path of such “ studies, it is impossible to overlook how transient “ the memory and fame of extended empires, and of i( mighty conquerors are, in comparison of those who “ have rendered inconsiderable states eminent, and “ immortalised their own names by these pursuits. “ But if it be true, as we learn from history and “ experience, that free governments afford a soil most “ suitable to the production of native talent, to the ; 62 present state of refinement we are no longer to be told that the, arts which embellish life are a superfluity, which may without injury,be either countenanced or depressed; for these now enter vitally into our national character, and constitute a portion of our glory; and I trust the day is not far distant, when, instead of going to France, or to Italy, or even to Greece, for what is perfect in art, foreigners of different coun¬ tries will repair to England to \ “ maturity of the powers of the human mind, and to “ the growth of every species of excellence, by “ opening to merit the prospect of reward and dis- “ tinction, no country can be better adapted than “ our own to afford an honourable asylum to these a ornaments of the school of Phidias, and of the “ administration of Pericles; where, secure from “ further injury and degradation, they may receive “ that admiration and homage to which they are “ entitled, and serve in return as models and examples u to those, who, by knowing how to revere and u appreciate them, may learn first to imitate, and “ ultimately to rival them .”—March 25, 1816. 63 painting, and architecture, and sculpture, and to procure all that is tasteful and elegant in decorative forms. * '• • V f • t . 1 * ■ } r i»4,i Nearly connected with the style and character of the dwellings of opulence, may be considered the scenery, by which these are surrounded, and the appropriate mode of decorating such scenery. f Since the stiff and formal plans of Le Notre j, and the improvers of his time, two j