Chapter 15

Catalogue of the Subjects of the Sculptured Capitals in the Lower Stage of the Doge’s Palace, Venice.

THEcapitals are numbered as in the accompanying key-plan, beginning at the south-east angle on the Molo front, and going from right to left until the last capital, near S. Mark’s, is reached. For those who wish for something more than a catalogue, I need hardly say that in the latter portion of the second volume of the ‘Stones of Venice,’ Mr. Ruskin has given all that can be desired, with his usual felicity and beauty of verbal illustration.

In the ‘Annales Archéologiques,’ vol. xvii. (1857), Mr. Burges has given a very full and careful account of all the capitals, to which M. Didron Ainé has added some supplementary notes.

Zanotto (‘Il Palazzo Ducale di Venezia,’ vol. i. pp. 209-355) has given a still more full description, accompanied by rather rude outlines of all the lower range of capitals. There is small need, therefore, for anything more than a mere catalogue here, which it seems to me may be of service to some of those who are able to look at the Ducal Palace, but unable to carry with them any of the weighty volumes to which I have referred.

South-east Angle.—Above the capital is the Drunkenness of Noah. Above this, on a level with the traceries of the upperarcade, the archangel Raphael, with Tobit, who bears a scroll with these words—

EFICEQSO. FRETV. RAFAEL. REVERENDEQUIETŪ.[103]

Capital I.Partly built up. Has three figures of nude children, one with a comb and shears, another with a bird. The foliage is good; but the nude figures have the appearance of semi-Renaissance work.

II. Partly built up. Large birds—one devouring a serpent, another a fish, and the third pluming its feathers. The foliage here is not very good, and the design of the capital in no way first-rate, the birds being treated in a very naturalesque way.

III. Partly built up. Large heads, male and female. The man has a helmet, partly of plate, but with chain mail round the neck.

IV. Partly built up. Children, nude, holding (1) a bird, and (2 and 3) fruit.

V. Partly built up. Emperors. This is the first capital which has inscriptions. Those visible are (1)TITUS VESPASIAN IPAT; (2)TRAJANUS INPE; and (3)(OCT)AVIANUS IPATO.

VI. Partly built up. Large heads, alternated with tufts of foliage, badly carved.

VII. Virtues and Vices. (1) Liberality; inscribedLargitas. me. onorat. (2) Constancy;Costancia. su. nil. timēs. (3) Discord;Discordia. su. - - - discordans. (4) Patience;Patientia. manet. mecum. (5) Despair;Desperacio. mors. crudelis. (6) Obedience;Obediencia.a.dno.exibeo. (7) Infidelity;Infidelitate.—ili.gero. (8) Modesty;Modestia.robū obtineo. This capital should be compared with No. XXVIII. The foliage here is very beautiful; but the execution of No. XXVIII. is best.

VIII. Monsters, generally with musical instruments. A riding figure here wears chain armour. There are no inscriptions on this capital, and its intention is very obscure.

IX. Virtues. (1) Faith;Fides.optima.in.deo. (2) Fortitude;Fortitudo.‘sum.virilis’(Mr. Ruskin), or ‘INVINCIBILIS.’ (3) Temperance;Temperantia. sum. in. omibu. (4) Humility;Humilitas.abitat.i.me. (5) Charity;Karitas.dei.mecū.est. (6) Justice;Rex.sum.justicie. (7) Prudence;Prudentia.metit.oiā. (8) Hope;Spē.habe.in.dno. The differences between this capital and No. XXIX. are very slight. In the latter, Prudence has a book, which she has not here; and Temperance has a jug here in addition to the chalice which the other carries.

X. Vices. (1) Luxury;Luxuria. sum. imensa. (2) Gluttony;Gula. sine. ordine. sū. (3) Pride;Superbia.preesse.volo. (4) Anger;Ira. crudelis. ē. in. me. (5) Avarice;Avaritia. anplector. (6) Idleness;Accidia. me. strīgit. (7) Vanity;Vanitas.in.me.habundat. (8) Envy;Invidia.me.cōbvrit. This capital is very finely sculptured.

XI. Birds. Some web-footed, some not so; and with no inscriptions.

XII. Virtues and Vices. (1) Misery;Miseria. (2) Cheerfulness;Alacritas. (3) Folly;Stulticia.. e. regnat. (4)Castitas(CE)L(EST)IS.Ē. (5)Honesty;(Ho)nest(atem. diligo). (6) Falsehood. (7) Injustice;Injusticia. seva. sū. (8) Abstinence;Astinēcia.optima.e.. This capital is so much damaged as to be hardly intelligible without comparison with No. XXXIII.

XIII. Lions’ heads, large and coarse, and with very poorly carved tufts of foliage between them.

XIV. Wild animals. The whole of the beast, not the head only, is given. They are poorly carved and designed.

XV. Damsels and Youths. Considered by Selvatico, and after him by Mr. Ruskin, to represent Idleness. There are no inscriptions. More probably they represent the youth of the higher class with marks of their sportive occupations. This is an extremely well-carved capital.

XVI. Eight large heads alternately with tufts of foliage. The whole finely carved and designed. Supposed by Zanotto torepresent the foreigners who traded with Venice. Selvatico describes it as representing Latins, Tartars, etc., and as being in fact a repetition of No. XXIII. (vide infra.)

XVII. Philosophers. This is very much damaged, and the inscriptions are nearly destroyed. (1) Solomon. (2) Triscian. (3) Aristotle. (4) Tully. (5) Pythagoras. On a label carried by this figure Mr. Burges reads the date 1344. Mons. Didron interprets it 1399; this is a date, however, which he will not admit, believing the real date to be 1299. Mr. Ruskin does not appear to have seen these figures, and I have been unable to satisfy myself about them.

XVIII. This is the angle capital. Above it is the Temptation of Adam and Eve; and on the second stage, the four winds on the capital of the arcade, and the Archangel Michael above. The whole is a perfectly beautiful group of sculpture, of an equally beautiful and well-selected story.

Planets. (1) Creation of Man;de.limo.Ds.Ada.de.costa.formavit.et.eva. (2) Saturn;et.Saturne.domus.egloceruntis.et.urne. (3) Jupiter;Inde.jovi.doma.pisces.simul.atq.cirona. (4) Mars;E—ARIES.MARTIS.ET.ACU—E.SCORPIO.PARTIS. (5) The Sun;EST. DOMU. SOLIS. TU. QUOQ.SIGNE.LEONI. (6) Venus;Libra. cū. tauro. Venus.—t. purior. auro. (7) Mercury;Occupat.erigone.stilbons.gemiuq.lacone. (8) The Moon;Lune cancer.domut.pbet.ī.orbe signorio. The whole of the sculpture of this capital deserves careful study. Mars is a figure in chain mail. Venus, seated on a bull, and the Moon—a female figure in a boat, with a crescent in one hand and a crab in the other—are both of them exquisitely treated.

XIX. Artificers. Figures alternately crowned and uncrowned working at parts of a building. The foliage is admirable. The pieces of stone on which the artificers are at work are inlaid with porphyry. Mr. Ruskin points out that all the architectural details represented are such as would be found in the early part of the fourteenth century. It is certainly very curious that among the workers one has ‘Discipulus optimus;’ another—‘Disipūls incredūl,’ over the head: a reference to S. John and S. Thomas, which is not intelligible to me.

XX. Beasts. Eight large heads, well carved and set asknops below masses of rather heavily treated leaves. The beasts have their names inscribed:Leo.Lupus.Ursus.Musipul.Chanis.[104]Aper.Grifo.Vulpus.

XXI. Trades. Finely carved. Inscriptions over the heads of the workmen: (1)Lapicida sum.(2)Aurifices.(3)Cerdo sum.(4)Carpentarius sum.(5)Mensurator.(6)Agrichola.(7)Notarius sum.(8)Faber sum.

XXII. The Ages of Man. A very interesting capital. (1) ╋Luna. dnat. ifancie. p. ano. iiii.(2)Mecureū. dnt. puericie. p. ano. x.(3)Adolosencie. (Ven)us. p. an. vii.(4)Inventuti.dnt.sol.p.an.xix.(5)Senectuti.dnt.mars.p. an. xv.(6)Senicie.dnt.jupiter.p.ann.xii.(7)Decrepite.dnt.satn.uq.ad.mōte.(8)Ultima.e.mors.pena pecati.

XXIII. Nations. This is treated in the same way exactly as No. XX. The heads are inscribed,Latini.Tartari.Turchi.Ongari.Greci.Goti.Egicy.Persii.It will be found that, counting from the south-west angle, the second and fifth capitals on each front are of the same description, i.e. Nos. XIII. and XVI. on the west side, and XIX. and XXIII. on the Piazzetta front. I think this militates against Mr. Ruskin’s view that this capital is not old, as it shews how very regularly they are placed; and I do not see much to choose between in these four capitals. It is worth notice here that this capital is, to a considerable extent, a replica of No. XVI.; but the latter has no inscriptions.

XXIV. Love and Marriage. This is a much larger column than the others. It carries a cross wall above, so placed as to allow of rooms on the sea-front, about sixty-three feet in width. It is one of the most exquisite of all the series. The subjects are: (1) A young man with his hand on his heart, admiring a damsel. (2) They meet and converse. (3) She puts a crown on his head, and presents him with an apple. (4) They embrace. (5) The marriage bed. (6) They hold their bambino wrapped in swaddling clothes between them. (7) The child grows, and enjoys life. (8) The child is dead, and his parents mourn over his body. The change in character from the extreme smartnessof dress in the earliest subject to the carelessness about it in the last, should be observed.

Above this capital is a figure of Venice personified, in one of the divisions of the tracery. She is seated on lions’ backs, with her feet above the sea.

XXV. Labours of the Months. This is not a replica. (1) March;Marcius. Cornator. (2) April and May;Aprilis ╋ Magius. (3) June;Junius.cū.cerisis. (4) July and August;Julius ╋ Augustu. (5) September;Septebe. Supeditat. (6) October and November;Octobē ╋ Novembe. (7) December;Decem - - - cat suum. (8) January and February;Janvarivs ╋ Februaru.

XXVI. Sports and Employments of damsels and young men. This is a replica of No. XV. The foliage here is exquisitely carved. There are no inscriptions. The figures, as in the other, hold: (1) A horse. (2) A bird, and the leg of a larger bird (hawking?). (3) A distaff. (4) A dog. (5) A flower. &c. &c.

XXVII. Fruit in baskets. This is not a replica. It is the finest of the “knop” series of capitals. The fruit is admirably carved, and here the exact imitation of nature in the fruit, combined with foliage in the knops between the baskets, which is quite conventional and architectural in its character, is extremely interesting and instructive, as shewing how distinctly the sculptor knew the proper limits of conventional and realistic representation. The fruit are described: (1) Cherries;Serexis. (2) Pears;Piri. (3) Cucumbers;Chocumeris. (4) Peaches;Persici. (5) Gourds;Cuche. (6) Melons;Moloni. (7) Figs;Figi. (8) Grapes;Huva.

XXVIII. Virtues and Vices. This is a replica of No. VII. The differences are very small. Here II[H? unclear?] is prefixed to the “ONO[G?]RAT” of the other capital.

XXIX. Virtues. A replica of No. IX.

XXX. Vices. A replica of No. X., but well deserving study.

XXXI. Monsters. A replica of No. VIII., but very rudely carved, and very inferior to the next.

XXXII. Students. This isnota replica of No. XVII. The figures are admirably treated, all looking thoughtful, and some holding foliage. It seems to represent the more thoughtful side of youth as compared with the idle side, represented in thecapitals XV. and XXVI. Zanotto supposes the figures to be the Seven Wise Men of Greece; but the eighth figure—a woman speaking—does not lend itself to this. Mr. Burges most ingeniously suggests that it refers to Nouvella d’Andrea, who, in her father’s last illness, lectured from behind a curtain to his pupils; her father died in 1348.

XXXIII. Virtues and Vices. This is a replica of No. XII.

XXXIV. Eight birds. A replica of No. XI.

XXXV. Nude children. A replica of No. IV. They have birds, fruit, etc., in their hands.

XXXVI. Justice and Lawgivers. This is the north-west angle column. The capital has the following subjects: (1) Justice;Justitia. (2) Aristotle;Aristotel. che. die. legge. (3) Moses;- - - L.PUOLO.D.L.SUO.ISEL.RITA.[105](4) Solon;Sal.uno.dei.sete.savi.di.grecia.che.die.legge. (5) Scipio;Isipione.achastita.che—e.la.fia.are.[106](6) Numa Pompilius;Numa Pompilio.iperador.edifichador.di.Tepi.e.chiese. (7) Moses receiving the tables of the law;Quado.moise.riceve.la.lege.i. sul.monte. (8) Trajan;Traino.īperadore.che.die.justitia.a.la.vedova.

The carving of foliage in this capital is, I think, simpler, and on the whole better than that on the other great angle, capital No. XVIII., with which it invites comparison; but the carving of the figures is quite inferior, and later in character. The foliage above this capital, which supports the Judgment of Solomon, is inferior to that on the capital itself, and is, I believe, considerably later in date, being no doubt of the same age as the figures in the Judgment, i.e. not earlier than 1430-1450. Above this angle is the figure of the Archangel Gabriel.

THE END

LONDON :PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS.STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS

FOOTNOTES:[1]In a view of Zurich, publishedA.D.1654, these steeples are shown with octagonal spires rising above the gabled sides of the towers; the belfry stages and cupolas now existing must therefore be of a date subsequent to the publication of this view.[2]This division is seen clearly in one of the curious prints by Merian, which illustrate a most valuable and interesting book, entitled ‘Topographia Helvetiæ,’ published at Frankfort-am-Main,A.D.1654, and full of most picturesque and exact views of Swiss towns; they are valuable, as proving beyond all question their state in the beginning of the seventeenth century, and as being executed with very much artistic feeling. That of Chur gives the whole town in the most complete manner; the castle, the churches, the walls, and the many watch-towers, with the magnificent mountains behind them, making one of the most picturesqueensemblesconceivable. Many of these views of Swiss towns are remarkable, as proving how very regularly the mediæval towns were planned whenever there was the opportunity, the streets all at right angles, and the great church and marketplace in the centre of the whole.[3]I grieve to say it does so no longer. When I last crossed the Splügen, in 1869, this bridge had disappeared, and one of iron had been erected in its place. It was a capital example of the skilful carpentry of the old Swiss bridge-builders.[4]Probably most travellers who pass by Chiavenna are now on their way to or from the Engadin by the beautiful Maloja pass. They will do well before they reach the top of the pass to notice on their left the ruined remains of a Gothic chapel of the fifteenth century, which may, I suppose, aspire to the honour of being at a greater height above the sea than any other Gothic church in Europe. Its architectural merit is not great, but still it has a certain value, as showing how well a simple little Gothic church looks among the wildest mountain scenery.[5]See illustration oppositepage 104.[6]The church was built inA.D.1134 by Maestro Fedro.[7]For a view of this porch, see the frontispiece of this volume.[8]“✠ MCCCLX · MAGISTER · JOHANES · FILIUS · C · DNI · VGI · DE · CAMPILIO · FECIT · HOC · OPUS.” This Giovanni da Campione was one of a family of architects of much celebrity. See their genealogical tree in ‘Italian Sculptors’ p. 106.[9]The round church of San Tommaso in Limine, described by Mr. Gally Knight as similar in plan to San Vitale, at Ravenna, is only eight miles to the north of Bergamo, and ought, equally with Malpaga Castle, to be seen. I regret that I have never yet visited it.[10]S. Gereon, at Köln, is a magnificent example of a church upon the same kind of plan; a grand choir projected from a decagonal nave, the effect of which is capital. No doubt such a nave does much more than merely suggest the possibility of adapting the dome to Gothic buildings.[11]I say this advisedly, though knowing very well that some German antiquaries assert this cathedral to have been built in the time of Bishop Ulrich II.,A.D.1022-1055. Those who say so must, I think, be entirely blind to all architectural detail.[12]Anno DominiMCCXII.ultima die Februarii presidente venerabile Tridentino Episcopo Frederico de Vanga, et disponente hujus Ecclesie opus incepit et construxit magister Adam de Arognio Cumane Dioc. et circuitum ipse, sui filii, inde sui Aplatici cum appendiciis intrinsece et extrinsece istius ecclesie magisterio fabricarunt. Cujus et sue prolis hic subtus sepulcrum manet. Orate pro eis.[13]The church of the Capuchins, at Lugo, is a Spanish example of the same arrangement.[14]Admirable drawings of it have been published by Mr. Grüner.[15]An extremely careful chroma-lithograph of this wall and monument has been issued by the Arundel Society, accompanied with a notice of both, written by Mr. Ruskin.[16]I leave this passage as it originally stood. It is pleasant to feel how completely unnecessary it is now to use such language on the subject.[17]It is not a little remarkable that this should be the monument a copy of which the late Duke of Brunswick desired in his will to have erected over his grave![18]The wings of these angels are of metal, though the figures themselves are marble.[19]This grille is worthy of especial notice. Instead of being hard and stiff, it is all linked together, so that it is more like a piece of chain mail than of iron railing. Its intricacy adds manifold to the effect of the group of tombs which it half conceals.[20]I need hardly say that all this is changed, and I hope changed for the better. The city looks more thriving than it did, and more of the old mansions are properly occupied than was the case in the time of the Austrians.[21]This cloister is said to have been built in 1123. This is, I think, at least fifty years earlier than its real date.[22]The sculptor of this work left his name—Adaminus—on the capital.[23]The most important of these is the interesting church of San Stefano in the suburb on the opposite side of the Adige. It has been much modernized, but has still, I believe, an early crypt and an octagonal steeple over the crossing of the same age as San Zenone.[24]See also ‘Pietro Brandolese, Scultura, Pittura, &c., di Padova.’ Padova, 1795.[25]Since this was written the whole of these subjects have been published by the Arundel Society, and Mr. Ruskin’s notice of them has also been given to us: they are very valuable as exemplifying, as well perhaps as colourless engravings can do, the exceeding value and originality of this series of paintings. It is to be wished that they may produce some effect upon the minds of our modern artists, who much require to take home to themselves the lesson of sincerity and earnestness of purpose, combined with the highest kind of subject, which Giotto so eminently exhibits in all his works. An extremely good series of photographs of the whole of these paintings may now also be obtained in Venice.[26]The order of the planets attached to the seven ages is as follows:—I. The Moon. II. Mercury. III. Venus. IV. The Sun. V. Mars. VI. Jupiter. VII. Saturn.[27]This is the tradition, but it is one which is not, I think, supported either by documentary evidence or by the style of the building. Nicola left Padua four years before the church was commenced; and Fra. Carello is mentioned in the archives of the convent as one of the architects, of whom no doubt there were several before the work was finished.[28]The eastern chapel and dome are comparatively modern, and the coverings of the other domes appear to be also modern; but I suppose they follow the old outline.[29]The dimensions are worth giving to show how little this church owes to mere size. It is 245 feet long, 201 feet across the transept, and 170 feet across the west front. The height of the central cupola is 90 feet, and that of the west front 72 feet.[30]The inscription on the screen, which gives the date and the name of the Doge Antonio Venerio, gives also the names of the sculptors.[31]The tomb of Vitale Faliero and another.[32]The tomb of the Doge Marino Morosini.[33]‘Sagornino Chronicon,’ p. 119.[34]‘Il Palazzo Ducale di Venezia,’ per Francesco Zanotto, i. p. 9.[35]‘Continental Ecclesiology,’ p. 306.[36]The mosaics here, as in Venice, are wholly of glass. The gold is covered with a thin film of glass, and the other colours used are dead white, black, dark and light blue, green and red. The very smallness of the palette was here, just as it was with the old painters on glass, a distinct advantage, saving them from the bizarre and confused effect produced in such works by the use of too many colours or shades of colours.[37]The red bricks are 2¼ thick × 9½ in. long, whilst the yellow bricks are 3¼ thick × 12 in. long.[38]The twelfth-century bricks here measure seven inches by two inches, and are built with a half inch mortar joint; they are of red and yellow colour, used indiscriminately, and, though good and lasting, extremely rough in their make.[39]The crockets on the monument ofA.D.1437 are exactly similar to those on the western gables of S. Mark’s, and prove that these are of about the same date.[40]I refer here to San Giacomo del Rialto. Its neighbour, San Giacomo del Olio, has also a brick campanile, but of inferior merit.[41]A view in the ‘Nuremberg Chronicle’ shews these three gables just as they now are.[42]I leave this description as it stood in 1855. Since then the whole of this interesting building has been so elaborately restored, that I doubt whether an old stone remains. It has lost all its charm, and this was once intense.[43]This house is in the Sestiere di Cannaregio, Parrochia San Canciano.[44]Zanotto, ‘Il Palazzo Ducale di Venezia,’ i. 39.[45]Ibid., i. 52-60.[46]“1362, die iv. Dec. Quia est magnus honor civitatis providere quod sala magna majoris consilii nova non vadat in tantam desolationem in quantam vadit cum notabili damno nostri communis: et sicut clare comprehendi potest, leviter potest compleri, et reduci ad terminum, quod satis bene stabit cum non magna quantitate pecuniæ; vadit pars quod dicta sala nova compleri debeat,” &c. &c.—Decree in Zanotto, i. 72.[47]Mr. Burges, in his account of the capitals, ‘Annales Archéologiques,’ vol. xvii. pp. 74-88.[48]The capitals which are replicas of each other are the 4th and 35th, the 7th and 28th, the 8th and 31st, the 9th and 29th, the 10th and 30th, the 11th and 34th, the 12th and 33rd, the 15th and 26th. The 25th, 27th, 32nd, and 36th (north-east angle) are original, though they are in the northern portion of the Piazzetta-front. SeeAppendix, with key-plan.[49]The similar marble facing at Vicenza was executed between 1400 and 1444. Seep. 130.[50]Published by Mr. Parker, of Oxford, to whose courtesy I owe the use of this illustration.[51]SeeAppendix at the end of the volume.[52]I say “usual,” because it is really quite curious to see how repeatedly either the dog-tooth or the nail-head is used in this position. The commonest eaves-cornice consists of a simple chamfered stone—the chamfer covered with dog-tooth—supported on moulded corbels at short interval.[53]There is another traceried balcony in the canal near the Bridge of Sighs. It is the only other example I know in Venice.[54]They may be compared with the chevroned and spiral columns in the archway, leading from the north aisle into the baptistery of the Frari, erected between 1361 and 1396, which is probably about the date of the Ca’ d’Oro.[55]The Europa and Danieli’s.[56]This arrangement is not by any means unknown in Northern Europe, though certainly uncommon as compared with Italy, where it was almost universal. There is an example of the thirteenth century at Easby Abbey, Yorkshire, and another at Oakham Castle; whilst in France the ancient houses at Cluny all have it; and at Ratisbon, one of the most interesting cities in Germany, a great number of houses of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, of prodigious architectural interest, have it.[57]It was only so used in the Ducal Palace.[58]Ihaveheard a polka played by the organist in S. Mark’s![59]I take these notes of Grado from ‘Mittelalterliche Kunstdenkmale des Oesterreichischen Kaiserstaates.’ Stuttgart. 1858.[60]It is to be seen, however, in the church of San Petronio, Bologna.[61]See for an engraving of this archivolt, Chapter XIV.p. 393.[62]The two transepts are so very similar, that it seemed unnecessary to engrave my sketches of both.[63]The chimneys so common in Venice are ancient, but yet hardly redeemed from ugliness. They are cylindrical, with heads sloping out in a strange fashion, and in the form of inverted truncated cones. Seep. 224.[64]This building has recently (1872) been restored, and with not much gain, though the barber’s shop which used to occupy the ground-floor has been removed.[65]Mr. Grüner has published some very careful drawings of these details, in which he has restored the painted decorations with which the coloured construction of the walls was enriched. The style of decoration was much like that of Sta. Anastasia, Verona.[66]This was written in 1855[67]Said to have been carved by Nicolò, who is supposed to be the same man who wrought on the west door of San Zenone, Verona. This does not appear to me to be likely; the work at Verona being, I think, earlier than that at Ferrara.[68]The complete church was to have been 800 feet long, and 525 feet across the transepts, with a central dome 130 feet in diameter.—Fergusson’s ‘History of Architecture,’ ii. 210.[69]Mr. Perkins, ‘Italian Sculptors,’ p. 251, says that the nationality of Wiligelmus has been much disputed. Kreuser says that he came from Nürnberg; and the representation of King Arthur’s victories over the Visigoths is adduced as a proof that he was not an Italian.[70]The inscription on the north door is as follows:—“Bis binis demptis. Annis de mille ducentisIncepit dictus, opus hoc sculptor Benedictus.”[71]It is commonly said to have been designed by Heinrich von Gmünden in 1387; but in a most interesting note at p. 116 of ‘Italian Sculptors,’ Mr. Perkins gives the evidence for and against the claim of a German to be the architect of this cathedral. He believes that there is no longer any reasonable doubt that the first architect was Marco Frisone da Campione. Heinrich Adler von Gmünden, who has commonly been stated to be the architect, did not come to Milan until five years after the foundation of the church. Marco da Campione died in 1390; and the church was ready for divine service in 1395. The criticisms I have made in the text appear to me to be equally applicable to an Italian architect trained in Germany, or to a German working in Italy; and if Marco da Campione was the architect, one is compelled, by the logic of the building itself, to say that either he had studied north of the Alps with a view to perfecting his design, or that he depended very largely on the help given him by such men as Henry of Gmünden, whom he had called in to his assistance.[72]When I first saw this I thought it was an entirely modern device. In 1871, however, in passing through France, I found at La Fère a church of flamboyant character, with all the cells of its groining covered with sunk traceries; and at Chambéry the painting on the roof of the Sainte Chapelle is said to be old.[73]I leave this passage as it was written in 1855. Such troubles are now all passed and gone; but we run some risk of forgetting how much we have gained in this way by the political changes that have occurred since then.[74]Seeplate 18, p. 122, for an illustration of the cornice of this atrium.[75]The atrium was added, it is said, in the ninth century.[76]See, for description of it, Hemans’ ‘Mediæval Christianity,’ &c., p. 305.[77]It is worth notice that the regular-looking bays of the nave are of very various widths. The two eastern are 21 feet; the next two, four feet less; and the fifth still narrower. The bricks here measure 1 ft. ½ in. × 5 in., and are 3¼ in. high, and have all been chiselled on the face.[78]I think no apology is necessary for the omission of this modern stage in my view of the Broletto.[79]This old inn is a thing of the past. A large, bustling, and much smarter hotel has taken its place; and a magnificent carriage-road has put a stop to all need for walking by pleasant field-paths to the Furca.[80]The famous steeple of Antwerp is arranged in the same way. The spires of S. Elizabeth at Marburg, and the metal spires of the churches at Lübeck and Luneburg, are also somewhat similarly treated.[81]The usual plan is sometimes deviated from and improved by having two bays of aisle opening with two arches into each bay of the nave, so that every bay of groining throughout the church is very nearly square. This is a common plan in early German churches, and is one of the many indications of similarity between German and Italian work, which might be adduced were we to enter on this interesting question.[82]Heightof Shaft.Ft. in.Diameterat Base.In.Diameterat Neck.In.Cloister, San Zenone, Verona311½5⅛4¼Cloister, Genoa Cathedral4565¼Cloister, San Stefano, Bologna28½4⅜4⅛[83]The shafts used in the shrine of S. Edward at Westminster are of the same description, and shew that in one of the most exquisite works in England our early architects saw no incongruity between their beautiful but foreign character and the otherwise, at that time, purely national architecture.[84]Jerpoint and Cong Abbeys are Irish examples.[85]English examples may be seen in the western porch of Fountains Abbey, and among the extensive fragments of Egglestone Abbey, near Barnard Castle.[86]Numerous examples of masonry arranged in the same way occur in old English examples. The openings of fireplaces in particular are often so constructed.[87]There is a very curious example of Italian tracery in the church of San Giacomo, in Bologna. This is a two-light window, composed of a series of slabs of stones, pierced with geometrical figures and supported by shafts. It has, beginning at the sill and reckoning upwards—1, two lights divided by a shaft monial; 2, a slab pierced with two trefoiled heads to the lights; 3, a large transome panel of stone pierced with a quatrefoil and two trefoils; 4, same as 1st; 5, same as 2nd; 6, the arch, whose tympanum is filled in with another pierced slab of stone. It will be seen that the construction of such a window as this is altogether unlike that of any English window.[88]Seeplate 40, p. 256.[89]The windows in the Castle of S. Angelo, between Lodi and Pavia, are the only examples I met with of the use of brick for monials. In Northern Germany, on the contrary, where the shaft was almost unknown, brick monials are universal, and generally unsatisfactory in their effect.[90]Seepreceding page.[91]Seepp. 64, 65.[92]Seep. 335.[93]Seeplate 18, p. 122.[94]Seeplate 15, p. 111.[95]Seeplate 9, p. 72.[96]Seeplate 17, p. 121.[97]SeePlate 24, p. 180.[98]SeePlate 18, p. 122.[99]It would be difficult to give stronger evidence of the intrinsic effect of a good coloured material than is afforded by the fact that designs so really ignorant in their architectural detail as, e.g., most of the buildings of the time of William III. and Queen Anne should nevertheless have a certain charm for us, solely derived from the beautiful colour of the bricks with which they are built.[100]Seeplate 63, p. 340.[101]Seeplate 1, frontispiece.[102]Some of the mediæval buildings in Greece have small patterns carved in low relief all round the walls in occasional courses, which are evidently intended to produce the kind of effect referred to above.[103]“Oh, venerable Raphael, make thou the gulf calm, we beseech thee!” This figure looks towards the sea and the port.[104]Mr. Ruskin founds an argument on the introduction of anHin this way in what he calls one of the Renaissance capitals of the Piazetta (the 33rd). He omits to notice its use in this undoubtedly early capital.[105]Unintelligible; but explained by Zanotto to be: “Mosè che die’ legge al suo popolo Israelita.”[106]Zanotto reads this: “Scipione a castita che rende la figlia al padre.”

FOOTNOTES:

[1]In a view of Zurich, publishedA.D.1654, these steeples are shown with octagonal spires rising above the gabled sides of the towers; the belfry stages and cupolas now existing must therefore be of a date subsequent to the publication of this view.

[2]This division is seen clearly in one of the curious prints by Merian, which illustrate a most valuable and interesting book, entitled ‘Topographia Helvetiæ,’ published at Frankfort-am-Main,A.D.1654, and full of most picturesque and exact views of Swiss towns; they are valuable, as proving beyond all question their state in the beginning of the seventeenth century, and as being executed with very much artistic feeling. That of Chur gives the whole town in the most complete manner; the castle, the churches, the walls, and the many watch-towers, with the magnificent mountains behind them, making one of the most picturesqueensemblesconceivable. Many of these views of Swiss towns are remarkable, as proving how very regularly the mediæval towns were planned whenever there was the opportunity, the streets all at right angles, and the great church and marketplace in the centre of the whole.

[3]I grieve to say it does so no longer. When I last crossed the Splügen, in 1869, this bridge had disappeared, and one of iron had been erected in its place. It was a capital example of the skilful carpentry of the old Swiss bridge-builders.

[4]Probably most travellers who pass by Chiavenna are now on their way to or from the Engadin by the beautiful Maloja pass. They will do well before they reach the top of the pass to notice on their left the ruined remains of a Gothic chapel of the fifteenth century, which may, I suppose, aspire to the honour of being at a greater height above the sea than any other Gothic church in Europe. Its architectural merit is not great, but still it has a certain value, as showing how well a simple little Gothic church looks among the wildest mountain scenery.

[5]See illustration oppositepage 104.

[6]The church was built inA.D.1134 by Maestro Fedro.

[7]For a view of this porch, see the frontispiece of this volume.

[8]“✠ MCCCLX · MAGISTER · JOHANES · FILIUS · C · DNI · VGI · DE · CAMPILIO · FECIT · HOC · OPUS.” This Giovanni da Campione was one of a family of architects of much celebrity. See their genealogical tree in ‘Italian Sculptors’ p. 106.

[9]The round church of San Tommaso in Limine, described by Mr. Gally Knight as similar in plan to San Vitale, at Ravenna, is only eight miles to the north of Bergamo, and ought, equally with Malpaga Castle, to be seen. I regret that I have never yet visited it.

[10]S. Gereon, at Köln, is a magnificent example of a church upon the same kind of plan; a grand choir projected from a decagonal nave, the effect of which is capital. No doubt such a nave does much more than merely suggest the possibility of adapting the dome to Gothic buildings.

[11]I say this advisedly, though knowing very well that some German antiquaries assert this cathedral to have been built in the time of Bishop Ulrich II.,A.D.1022-1055. Those who say so must, I think, be entirely blind to all architectural detail.

[12]Anno DominiMCCXII.ultima die Februarii presidente venerabile Tridentino Episcopo Frederico de Vanga, et disponente hujus Ecclesie opus incepit et construxit magister Adam de Arognio Cumane Dioc. et circuitum ipse, sui filii, inde sui Aplatici cum appendiciis intrinsece et extrinsece istius ecclesie magisterio fabricarunt. Cujus et sue prolis hic subtus sepulcrum manet. Orate pro eis.

[13]The church of the Capuchins, at Lugo, is a Spanish example of the same arrangement.

[14]Admirable drawings of it have been published by Mr. Grüner.

[15]An extremely careful chroma-lithograph of this wall and monument has been issued by the Arundel Society, accompanied with a notice of both, written by Mr. Ruskin.

[16]I leave this passage as it originally stood. It is pleasant to feel how completely unnecessary it is now to use such language on the subject.

[17]It is not a little remarkable that this should be the monument a copy of which the late Duke of Brunswick desired in his will to have erected over his grave!

[18]The wings of these angels are of metal, though the figures themselves are marble.

[19]This grille is worthy of especial notice. Instead of being hard and stiff, it is all linked together, so that it is more like a piece of chain mail than of iron railing. Its intricacy adds manifold to the effect of the group of tombs which it half conceals.

[20]I need hardly say that all this is changed, and I hope changed for the better. The city looks more thriving than it did, and more of the old mansions are properly occupied than was the case in the time of the Austrians.

[21]This cloister is said to have been built in 1123. This is, I think, at least fifty years earlier than its real date.

[22]The sculptor of this work left his name—Adaminus—on the capital.

[23]The most important of these is the interesting church of San Stefano in the suburb on the opposite side of the Adige. It has been much modernized, but has still, I believe, an early crypt and an octagonal steeple over the crossing of the same age as San Zenone.

[24]See also ‘Pietro Brandolese, Scultura, Pittura, &c., di Padova.’ Padova, 1795.

[25]Since this was written the whole of these subjects have been published by the Arundel Society, and Mr. Ruskin’s notice of them has also been given to us: they are very valuable as exemplifying, as well perhaps as colourless engravings can do, the exceeding value and originality of this series of paintings. It is to be wished that they may produce some effect upon the minds of our modern artists, who much require to take home to themselves the lesson of sincerity and earnestness of purpose, combined with the highest kind of subject, which Giotto so eminently exhibits in all his works. An extremely good series of photographs of the whole of these paintings may now also be obtained in Venice.

[26]The order of the planets attached to the seven ages is as follows:—I. The Moon. II. Mercury. III. Venus. IV. The Sun. V. Mars. VI. Jupiter. VII. Saturn.

[27]This is the tradition, but it is one which is not, I think, supported either by documentary evidence or by the style of the building. Nicola left Padua four years before the church was commenced; and Fra. Carello is mentioned in the archives of the convent as one of the architects, of whom no doubt there were several before the work was finished.

[28]The eastern chapel and dome are comparatively modern, and the coverings of the other domes appear to be also modern; but I suppose they follow the old outline.

[29]The dimensions are worth giving to show how little this church owes to mere size. It is 245 feet long, 201 feet across the transept, and 170 feet across the west front. The height of the central cupola is 90 feet, and that of the west front 72 feet.

[30]The inscription on the screen, which gives the date and the name of the Doge Antonio Venerio, gives also the names of the sculptors.

[31]The tomb of Vitale Faliero and another.

[32]The tomb of the Doge Marino Morosini.

[33]‘Sagornino Chronicon,’ p. 119.

[34]‘Il Palazzo Ducale di Venezia,’ per Francesco Zanotto, i. p. 9.

[35]‘Continental Ecclesiology,’ p. 306.

[36]The mosaics here, as in Venice, are wholly of glass. The gold is covered with a thin film of glass, and the other colours used are dead white, black, dark and light blue, green and red. The very smallness of the palette was here, just as it was with the old painters on glass, a distinct advantage, saving them from the bizarre and confused effect produced in such works by the use of too many colours or shades of colours.

[37]The red bricks are 2¼ thick × 9½ in. long, whilst the yellow bricks are 3¼ thick × 12 in. long.

[38]The twelfth-century bricks here measure seven inches by two inches, and are built with a half inch mortar joint; they are of red and yellow colour, used indiscriminately, and, though good and lasting, extremely rough in their make.

[39]The crockets on the monument ofA.D.1437 are exactly similar to those on the western gables of S. Mark’s, and prove that these are of about the same date.

[40]I refer here to San Giacomo del Rialto. Its neighbour, San Giacomo del Olio, has also a brick campanile, but of inferior merit.

[41]A view in the ‘Nuremberg Chronicle’ shews these three gables just as they now are.

[42]I leave this description as it stood in 1855. Since then the whole of this interesting building has been so elaborately restored, that I doubt whether an old stone remains. It has lost all its charm, and this was once intense.

[43]This house is in the Sestiere di Cannaregio, Parrochia San Canciano.

[44]Zanotto, ‘Il Palazzo Ducale di Venezia,’ i. 39.

[45]Ibid., i. 52-60.

[46]“1362, die iv. Dec. Quia est magnus honor civitatis providere quod sala magna majoris consilii nova non vadat in tantam desolationem in quantam vadit cum notabili damno nostri communis: et sicut clare comprehendi potest, leviter potest compleri, et reduci ad terminum, quod satis bene stabit cum non magna quantitate pecuniæ; vadit pars quod dicta sala nova compleri debeat,” &c. &c.—Decree in Zanotto, i. 72.

[47]Mr. Burges, in his account of the capitals, ‘Annales Archéologiques,’ vol. xvii. pp. 74-88.

[48]The capitals which are replicas of each other are the 4th and 35th, the 7th and 28th, the 8th and 31st, the 9th and 29th, the 10th and 30th, the 11th and 34th, the 12th and 33rd, the 15th and 26th. The 25th, 27th, 32nd, and 36th (north-east angle) are original, though they are in the northern portion of the Piazzetta-front. SeeAppendix, with key-plan.

[49]The similar marble facing at Vicenza was executed between 1400 and 1444. Seep. 130.

[50]Published by Mr. Parker, of Oxford, to whose courtesy I owe the use of this illustration.

[51]SeeAppendix at the end of the volume.

[52]I say “usual,” because it is really quite curious to see how repeatedly either the dog-tooth or the nail-head is used in this position. The commonest eaves-cornice consists of a simple chamfered stone—the chamfer covered with dog-tooth—supported on moulded corbels at short interval.

[53]There is another traceried balcony in the canal near the Bridge of Sighs. It is the only other example I know in Venice.

[54]They may be compared with the chevroned and spiral columns in the archway, leading from the north aisle into the baptistery of the Frari, erected between 1361 and 1396, which is probably about the date of the Ca’ d’Oro.

[55]The Europa and Danieli’s.

[56]This arrangement is not by any means unknown in Northern Europe, though certainly uncommon as compared with Italy, where it was almost universal. There is an example of the thirteenth century at Easby Abbey, Yorkshire, and another at Oakham Castle; whilst in France the ancient houses at Cluny all have it; and at Ratisbon, one of the most interesting cities in Germany, a great number of houses of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, of prodigious architectural interest, have it.

[57]It was only so used in the Ducal Palace.

[58]Ihaveheard a polka played by the organist in S. Mark’s!

[59]I take these notes of Grado from ‘Mittelalterliche Kunstdenkmale des Oesterreichischen Kaiserstaates.’ Stuttgart. 1858.

[60]It is to be seen, however, in the church of San Petronio, Bologna.

[61]See for an engraving of this archivolt, Chapter XIV.p. 393.

[62]The two transepts are so very similar, that it seemed unnecessary to engrave my sketches of both.

[63]The chimneys so common in Venice are ancient, but yet hardly redeemed from ugliness. They are cylindrical, with heads sloping out in a strange fashion, and in the form of inverted truncated cones. Seep. 224.

[64]This building has recently (1872) been restored, and with not much gain, though the barber’s shop which used to occupy the ground-floor has been removed.

[65]Mr. Grüner has published some very careful drawings of these details, in which he has restored the painted decorations with which the coloured construction of the walls was enriched. The style of decoration was much like that of Sta. Anastasia, Verona.

[66]This was written in 1855

[67]Said to have been carved by Nicolò, who is supposed to be the same man who wrought on the west door of San Zenone, Verona. This does not appear to me to be likely; the work at Verona being, I think, earlier than that at Ferrara.

[68]The complete church was to have been 800 feet long, and 525 feet across the transepts, with a central dome 130 feet in diameter.—Fergusson’s ‘History of Architecture,’ ii. 210.

[69]Mr. Perkins, ‘Italian Sculptors,’ p. 251, says that the nationality of Wiligelmus has been much disputed. Kreuser says that he came from Nürnberg; and the representation of King Arthur’s victories over the Visigoths is adduced as a proof that he was not an Italian.

[70]The inscription on the north door is as follows:—“Bis binis demptis. Annis de mille ducentisIncepit dictus, opus hoc sculptor Benedictus.”

[70]The inscription on the north door is as follows:—

“Bis binis demptis. Annis de mille ducentisIncepit dictus, opus hoc sculptor Benedictus.”

[71]It is commonly said to have been designed by Heinrich von Gmünden in 1387; but in a most interesting note at p. 116 of ‘Italian Sculptors,’ Mr. Perkins gives the evidence for and against the claim of a German to be the architect of this cathedral. He believes that there is no longer any reasonable doubt that the first architect was Marco Frisone da Campione. Heinrich Adler von Gmünden, who has commonly been stated to be the architect, did not come to Milan until five years after the foundation of the church. Marco da Campione died in 1390; and the church was ready for divine service in 1395. The criticisms I have made in the text appear to me to be equally applicable to an Italian architect trained in Germany, or to a German working in Italy; and if Marco da Campione was the architect, one is compelled, by the logic of the building itself, to say that either he had studied north of the Alps with a view to perfecting his design, or that he depended very largely on the help given him by such men as Henry of Gmünden, whom he had called in to his assistance.

[72]When I first saw this I thought it was an entirely modern device. In 1871, however, in passing through France, I found at La Fère a church of flamboyant character, with all the cells of its groining covered with sunk traceries; and at Chambéry the painting on the roof of the Sainte Chapelle is said to be old.

[73]I leave this passage as it was written in 1855. Such troubles are now all passed and gone; but we run some risk of forgetting how much we have gained in this way by the political changes that have occurred since then.

[74]Seeplate 18, p. 122, for an illustration of the cornice of this atrium.

[75]The atrium was added, it is said, in the ninth century.

[76]See, for description of it, Hemans’ ‘Mediæval Christianity,’ &c., p. 305.

[77]It is worth notice that the regular-looking bays of the nave are of very various widths. The two eastern are 21 feet; the next two, four feet less; and the fifth still narrower. The bricks here measure 1 ft. ½ in. × 5 in., and are 3¼ in. high, and have all been chiselled on the face.

[78]I think no apology is necessary for the omission of this modern stage in my view of the Broletto.

[79]This old inn is a thing of the past. A large, bustling, and much smarter hotel has taken its place; and a magnificent carriage-road has put a stop to all need for walking by pleasant field-paths to the Furca.

[80]The famous steeple of Antwerp is arranged in the same way. The spires of S. Elizabeth at Marburg, and the metal spires of the churches at Lübeck and Luneburg, are also somewhat similarly treated.

[81]The usual plan is sometimes deviated from and improved by having two bays of aisle opening with two arches into each bay of the nave, so that every bay of groining throughout the church is very nearly square. This is a common plan in early German churches, and is one of the many indications of similarity between German and Italian work, which might be adduced were we to enter on this interesting question.

[82]Heightof Shaft.Ft. in.Diameterat Base.In.Diameterat Neck.In.Cloister, San Zenone, Verona311½5⅛4¼Cloister, Genoa Cathedral4565¼Cloister, San Stefano, Bologna28½4⅜4⅛

[82]

[83]The shafts used in the shrine of S. Edward at Westminster are of the same description, and shew that in one of the most exquisite works in England our early architects saw no incongruity between their beautiful but foreign character and the otherwise, at that time, purely national architecture.

[84]Jerpoint and Cong Abbeys are Irish examples.

[85]English examples may be seen in the western porch of Fountains Abbey, and among the extensive fragments of Egglestone Abbey, near Barnard Castle.

[86]Numerous examples of masonry arranged in the same way occur in old English examples. The openings of fireplaces in particular are often so constructed.

[87]There is a very curious example of Italian tracery in the church of San Giacomo, in Bologna. This is a two-light window, composed of a series of slabs of stones, pierced with geometrical figures and supported by shafts. It has, beginning at the sill and reckoning upwards—1, two lights divided by a shaft monial; 2, a slab pierced with two trefoiled heads to the lights; 3, a large transome panel of stone pierced with a quatrefoil and two trefoils; 4, same as 1st; 5, same as 2nd; 6, the arch, whose tympanum is filled in with another pierced slab of stone. It will be seen that the construction of such a window as this is altogether unlike that of any English window.

[88]Seeplate 40, p. 256.

[89]The windows in the Castle of S. Angelo, between Lodi and Pavia, are the only examples I met with of the use of brick for monials. In Northern Germany, on the contrary, where the shaft was almost unknown, brick monials are universal, and generally unsatisfactory in their effect.

[90]Seepreceding page.

[91]Seepp. 64, 65.

[92]Seep. 335.

[93]Seeplate 18, p. 122.

[94]Seeplate 15, p. 111.

[95]Seeplate 9, p. 72.

[96]Seeplate 17, p. 121.

[97]SeePlate 24, p. 180.

[98]SeePlate 18, p. 122.

[99]It would be difficult to give stronger evidence of the intrinsic effect of a good coloured material than is afforded by the fact that designs so really ignorant in their architectural detail as, e.g., most of the buildings of the time of William III. and Queen Anne should nevertheless have a certain charm for us, solely derived from the beautiful colour of the bricks with which they are built.

[100]Seeplate 63, p. 340.

[101]Seeplate 1, frontispiece.

[102]Some of the mediæval buildings in Greece have small patterns carved in low relief all round the walls in occasional courses, which are evidently intended to produce the kind of effect referred to above.

[103]“Oh, venerable Raphael, make thou the gulf calm, we beseech thee!” This figure looks towards the sea and the port.

[104]Mr. Ruskin founds an argument on the introduction of anHin this way in what he calls one of the Renaissance capitals of the Piazetta (the 33rd). He omits to notice its use in this undoubtedly early capital.

[105]Unintelligible; but explained by Zanotto to be: “Mosè che die’ legge al suo popolo Israelita.”

[106]Zanotto reads this: “Scipione a castita che rende la figlia al padre.”

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