Character of renaissance architecture

Front matter

CHARACTER OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE

CHARACTER OF

Renaissance Architecture

Preface

In the following attempt to set forth the true character of the architecture of the Renaissance I have endeavoured to reduce mere descriptions of buildings to a minimum, and to give graphic illustrations enough to make the discussions clear. The illustrations in the text are mainly from my own drawings, for the most part from photographs : but in a few cases I have reproduced woodcuts from the works of old writers, indicating, in each case, the source from which the cut is derived. The photogravure plates are from photographs by Alinari, Moscioni, Naya, Wilson, and Valentine. The right to reproduce and publish them has been obtained by purchase.

With the best intentions and the greatest care, it is almost inevitable that a writer on such a subject should make some mistakes, and I cannot affirm that no inexact statements will be found in these pages, but I believe that no fundamental errors occur.

I am again indebted to my almost life-long friend, Professor Charles Eliot Norton, for valuable criticism, and painstaking revision ; but Professor Norton is not responsible for anything that I have said. I am indebted, also, to my publishers for their courteous compliance with my wishes as to the style and manufacture of the book, and to Mrs. Grace Walden for the care and thoroughness with which she has prepared the index.

Cambridge, Mass.,

October, 1905.

Chapter I

Character of the Fine Arts of the Renaissance not hitherto correctly set forth — The Fine Arts always an expression of the conditions and beliefs of a people — Mediaeval Christianity as a source of artistic inspiration — Conditions that gave character to the Fine Arts of the Middle Ages — Artistic productions of the Renaissance qualified by the immoral tendencies of the time — Luxury and extravagance of Florence at the close of the fifteenth century — The Fine Arts made to minister to sensuous pleasure — Best classic art unknown in the Renaissance time — Mixed influences actuating the artist of the Renaissance — The Renaissance and the Middle Ages compared as to development of the individual — Lack of aptitude for construction among the architects of the Renaissance — The Italian genius for painting — The painter’s habits of design shown in the Renaissance use of the orders — Classification of architectural styles — Painting the best art of the Renaissance — Yet Italian painting of the sixteenth century is not all of exemplary character — Best art of the Renaissance founded on the earlier Christian art — A retrospective movement not a vital force in artistic development ..........

Chapter II

Exhibits a wide departure from older dome constructions — Sources of the architect’s inspiration — General character of earlier domes — Remarkable construction of the dome of the Florentine Baptistery — It probably supplied the chief inspiration to both Arnolfo and Brunelleschi — Brunelleschi’s departures from the Baptistery scheme — His structural system and his own account of it — No Gothic character possible in a dome — The dome of Florence a daring innovation — Its general dimensions — Brunelleschi’s great ability as a constructor — His achievement of the work without the usual centring — Consideration of the dome as a work of art — The inherent weakness of its form — This not appreciated by the early Italian writers — Precautions taken for its stability — Signs of disintegration — Uncertainty as to its duration — Opinions of the early Italian writers as to its security — Structural integrity essential to good architecture — No classic character in Brunelleschi’s dome — Inferior character of the classic details of the lantern

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CHAPTER III Church Architecture of the Florentine Renaissance

The Pazzi chapel — -Gothic character of its central vault — Architectural treatment of the interior — Impropriety of a classic order in such a building — Awkward result of an entablature passing through an arch impost — Incongruities of design and construction in the portico — Use of stucco — Sources from which the facade may have been derived — Other church architecture by Brunelleschi — San Lorenzo and Santo Spirito — Use of the entablature block in these churches — Survival of mediaeval features and adjustments — Church architecture of Leon Batista Alberti — The facade of Santa Maria Novella — The fagade of San Francesco of Rimini — The church of Sant’ Andrea of Mantua — Return to Roman models in the structural forms of this building — Sant’ Andrea foreshadows St. Peter’s at Rome — Its west front an adaptation of the Roman triumphal arch scheme — Such fronts peculiar to Alberti — The designers of the Renaissance worked unconsciously on a foundation of mediaeval ideas

Chapter IV

Bramante in Rome — His early training — Character of the Tempietto of San Pietro in Montorio — Its likeness to a Roman temple of Vesta — Bramante’s project for St. Peter’s — Uncertainty as to his scheme for the whole building— His design for the great dome — Sources of his inspiration — Comparison of his dome with that of the Pantheon — Structural merits and defects — The architect’s probable intention to use a great order for the interior of the church — Michael Angelo’s appointment as architect — His scheme for the great dome — Its statical defects — Its supposed Gothic character — Comparison with the dome of Salamanca — Its illogical buttress system — Its ruptures and the alarm which they occasioned — Commission appointed to examine the fabric and report on its condition — Poleni’s opinion and his binding chains — The grandiose character of the dome — In following Brunelleschi, Michael Angelo went farther in a wrong direction— Such a scheme cannot be safely carried out without resort to extraneous means of support — The proper mode of constructing a dome settled by the ancient Roman and the Byzantine builders — Condition of the dome ignored by recent writers — The ruptures attributed by the early Italian writers to carelessness on the part of Bramante — The beauty of the dome exaggerated — Its violation of structural propriety incompatible with the highest architectural beauty ........

CHAPTER V Church Architecture of the Roman Renaissance

Other parts of the church of St. Peter — Beauty of its plan — This plan could not be carried out with a good result in classic Roman details — Awkward makeshifts to which Michael Angelo was led — The colossal order of the

CONTEXTS xi interior — The magnitude of the structural parts of the church unavoidable — The real character of the building contradicted by the external order —

M akeshifts which this order necessitated — The real character of St. Peter’s has been rarely analyzed — Its grandeur due to its magnitude and to what it derives from the design of Bramante — Its incongruity and extravagance — Use of stucco in the ornamentation of the interior — Extravagant laudation of the building by the earlier Italian writers — Antonio San Gallo’s project for St. Peter’s — Earlier examples of Roman Renaissance church architecture — Sant’ Agostino a mediaeval building with Renaissance details— Its facade— Santa Maria della Consolazione at Todi — Its attribution to Bramante — Irrational treatment of its interior — Merit of the exterior in its larger features — San Biagio at Montepulciano — The order of the interior — The Renaissance use of a pilaster coupled with a column on the corner of a building — Roman treatment of the corner — Instance of the use of a corner pilaster described by Serlio — The exterior of San Biagio — Its campanile and lantern — The evolution of this form of tower — System of Santissima Annunziatta at Arezzo — Vignola, and Milizia’s remarks on him — His book of architecture — His advocacy of ancient Roman art and his disregard in practice of its principles — His design for Sant’ Andrea di Ponte Molle — Its derivation from the Pantheon — - Vignola’s design for the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli at Assisi — His design for the Gesu at Rome — Aberrations of design in this work — The facade by Della Porta — Palladio, and his great influence on modern art — His book of architecture — His design for the church of San Giorgio Maggiore at Venice — The Redentore and San Francesco della Vigna . 66

CHAPTER VI Palace Architecture of the Florentine Renaissance

The neo-classic ideas most extensively carried out in palatial houses — Domestic architecture of the Middle Ages in Italy — The Palazzo Riccardi — Its mediaeval features — Its general form — Its court arcades — General character of the interior — vasari’s remarks on the Riccardi- — The Palazzo Pitti — The Strozzino — The Strozzi — The Pazzi — The Quaratesi — The Guardagni and its reasonable character — The Rucellai — Introduction of orders in the facade of the Rucellai — The architect Alberti — His archaeological and literary tastes — Alberti’s initiative in the use of the orders not immediately followed — Further neo-classic innovations introduced by Baccio d’ Agnolo — Milizia’s remarks on these innovations — Increase in the spirit of display in domestic architecture — Decline of Florentine ascendency by the beginning of the sixteenth century — Artistic activities transferred to Rome — Erection of sumptuous palatial houses in Rome . 102

CHAPTER VII Palace Architecture of the Roman Renaissance

The Cancellaria — Its attribution to Bramante — Exhibits features in further conformity with the Roman antique — Its pilasters in pairs — Its projecting bavs — Its portals — Arcades of its court — The Palazzo Massimi — The xii functional order of its portico — Treatment of the upper fagade — The Palazzo Farnese — Application of orders and pediments to the windows —

— The broken entablatures of these windows — An ancient example of similar treatment — Orders of the court — Awkward result in the angles — Rhythmical scheme of the cloister of Santa Maria della Pace — Lack of reason for this scheme — The architect Sansovino — Flis design for the Library of St. Mark at Venice — Treatment of the angles of the Doric order — Free-standing column in the order of the upper story — Sansovino’s design for the Loggetta of the Campanile — His design for the Palazzo Cornaro — Sanmichele — His design for the Porta del Palio at Verona — His design for the Palazzo Canossa — The Palazzo Pompei alia Vittoria — -The Palazzo Bevilacqua — Its singular aberrations of design — Vignola’s design for the Palazzo Caprarola — Influence of its circular court on De l’Orme and Inigo Jones — The civic and domestic architecture of Palladio — The Portico of Vicenza — Its derivation from the town hall of Padua and from the Library of St. Mark — Syrian instance of the free-standing column in connection with the arch — Palladio’s own estimate of the merits of this design — Use of poor materials by Palladio — His versatility in meaningless composition — His palace fronts — Palladio a grammatical formalist — The art of Scamozzi — - His use of an entablature broken by an arch . . .112

CHAPTER VIII Church Architecture of the Renaissance in North Italy

Various other phases of the architecture of the Renaissance — The facade of San Bernardino of Perugia — The fagade of the Certosa of Pavia — Its combination of local mediaeval and distorted neo-classic features — The church and sacristy of San Satiro — Evidence that both were designed by Bramante — Santa Maria delle Grazie — Its dome — Architectural treatment of its exterior — Its attribution to Bramante — The chapel of St. Peter Martyr attributed to Michelozzi — The Monastero Maggiore — The cathedral of Como — Evidence of Bramante’s hand in the east end — Its details of mediaeval Lombard character mixed with neo-classic elements — The south portal — The windows of the nave — Architecture of the Venetian Renaissance — The church of San Zaccaria — Peculiar column of its interior — The church of San Salvatore — Its piers — Attic of the interior — The church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli — Architectural treatment of its exterior — Excellence of its mechanical execution — The facade of Santa Maria Formosa . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 35

CHAPTER IX Palace Architecture of the Renaissance in North Italy

Marked local character of the palace architecture of Venice — Fagade of east side of court of the Ducal Palace — -Irregularities of its composition — North side of the same court — The Giant’s stair — Facade of the Scuola di San Marco — Composition of the main portal — Notable refinements of execution in this portal — Facade of the Scuola di San Rocco — Unique architectural character of the palaces of the Grand Canal — Those of the mediaeval period alone have the distinctive Venetian character — Neo-classic details used sparingly in the early Renaissance palaces of Venice — The Palazzo Corner-Spinelli — Disposition and character of its windows — Questionable propriety of the panelling of its pilasters — The beauty of the fagade independent of its neo-classic details — The Palazzo Contarini — The varied proportions of its pilasters — The Palazzo Vendramini — The distinctive Venetian character altered by the application of complete orders — This character largely lost in the palaces of the Roman Renaissance— The Palazzo del Consiglio of Verona — Its mediaeval scheme — The Palazzo Comunale of Brescia — The Ospedale Maggiore of Milan — Its lack of distinctive character — The later palace architecture of north Italy

CHAPTER X Architectural Carving of the Renaissance

Little architectural character in the sculpture of the Renaissance — Close imitation of Roman models — Great delicacy of design and execution in much carving of the Renaissance — Lack of vital beauty in this carving — Comparison with Greek conventional ornamentation — Exceptional beauty of foliation in the reliefs of the Lombardi — Lifeless character of the scroll leafage of Filarete — Artificial convolutions of Renaissance ornamental designs — Artificial and inorganic composition in the works of Benedetto da Maiano — Representation of artificial objects in Renaissance ornamentation— Disordered composition in the borders of the Ghiberti gates — Comparison of Greek leafage with that of the Renaissance — The grotesque in Renaissance ornamentation

CHAPTER XI Architecture of the Early Renaissance in France

The Renaissance had not the same meaning north of the Alps that it had in Italy — A fundamental change in French architecture effected by the Renaissance influence- — -Survival of the Gothic style — Conditions which favoured the change from Mediaeval to Renaissance forms — The transformation of the feudal castle into the Renaissance chateau — Factitious character of the French Renaissance ch&teau — Peculiar mixture of pseudo-Gothic and neo-classic details in early French Renaissance architecture—The chateau of Azay le Rideau — -Survival in this building of the larger mediaeval forms — Its ornamental portal based on that of Chateaudun — Analysis of this portal — A different manifestation of Flamboyant ideas in the portal of Chenonceaux — The chateau of La Rochefoucauld — The eastern wing of Blois — The staircase tower of the court — The garden side of the eastern wing — The chateau of Chambord — Its florid upper part — Fontainebleau — Ecouen — Bullant’s portico — Exceptional char-

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acter of the chateau of St. Germain en Laye — Further transformation of French architecture in the later sixteenth century 179

Chapter XII

French architecture further changed by Lescot and De l’Orme, yet still without elimination of native characteristics — Lescot’s design for the Fountain of the Nymphs — The sculptures by Goujon — Possible derivation of the design from a drawing by Serlio — Lescot’s design for the Louvre — Capricious treatment of neo-classic details in this design — The traditional logic of French design ignored by Lescot — Excessive ornamentation of the Louvre- — The architectural work of De l’Orme — Paucity of extant examples— His design for the palace of the Tuileries — De l’Orme’s column —

His claim that this column was his own invention — Earlier instances of the same — A conscious effort to be original gave rise to most of the artistic aberrations of the Renaissance — Noble architecture not a personal, but a communal and national, product — Analysis of the facade of the Tuileries — De l’Orme’s other architectural aberrations — The ch&teau of Charleval — The freakish character of this design — Discussion of Viollet le Due’s comments on it — The church architecture of the French Renaissance — The church of St. Eustache — Its unmodified Gothic structural system — Its neo-classic details - — St. Etienne du Mont — SS. Gervais and Protais at Gisors — The apse of St. Pierre of Caen — The Portal of St. Maclou at Pontoise . . . . . . . . . . .194

CHAPTER XIII Architecture of the Renaissance in England

I. Elizabethan Art

Derivation of the Elizabethan domestic architecture from the native mediaeval art — The reasonable character of the early Elizabethan house in its integrity — The ostentatious character and pseudo-classicism of the great English houses of the sixteenth century — Use of flimsy materials in ornamental details — General excellence of construction in the main body of the building — Employment of foreign craftsmen in ornamentation — Kirby Hall — Its lack of native English character — Peculiar aberrations in the use of structural forms without structural functions — Fantastic ornamentation of the gables — Longford Castle — Its resemblance to Chambord — Manifold forms of capricious design in Lower Walterstone Hall, Cranborne Manor-House, Tixall, Stanway, and other buildings — Fantastic composition of the gate at Caius College, Cambridge — Aberrations of design in Wollaton Hall — Ungrammatical and tasteless misuse of distorted classic elements in Elizabethan architecture largely due to Flemish and Dutch workmen — -No professional architects in Elizabethan times — The classic orders foreign to the genius and the needs of the English people . . 216 xv

Chapter XIV

Architecture of the Renaissance in England II. Jones and Wren

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The architecture of England in the seventeenth century properly called Renaissance only by extension of the term — Jones and Wren the only architects of importance at this time — Walpole’s extravagant estimate of Inigo Jones — The early career of Jones— His design for the Banqueting Hall of the palace of Whitehall — Its lack of English character — Analysis of the design — Kent’s exaggerated estimate of Jones’s genius — The scheme for the whole palace — Jones’s design for the facade of old St. Paul’s — Thoughtless laudation of the art of Inigo Jones — Sir Christopher Wren — Artistic notions of the English dilettanti in the seventeenth century — Wren’s architectural training — His visit to France — The Sheldonian Theatre — Wren’s project for repairs of old St. Paul’s — His commission to rebuild — His first scheme for the new edifice — Sources of inspiration for the great dome — Rejection of the first scheme — The so-called warrant design — The existing edifice — The structural system of the dome — Character of the interior of the church — The masking of the buttress system — Wren’s city churches 226

Conclusion

The architecture of the Renaissance not based on consistent principles — Incorrectness of the notion that the Renaissance aberrations in the use of the orders was but a free adaptation of the old elements to new conditions — The ancient architectural forms do not lend themselves to new conditions — Adaptation involves creative changes which wholly transform original elements — Influence of the writings of Vignola and Palladio in recent times — Modern recognition of the arbitrary character of the rules of the formalists — Genuine works of art not produced from rules — A juster sense of the real character of the architecture of the Renaissance shown by a few recent writers 247

ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT

PAGE

1. Hagia Theotokos. From Dehio and Bezold n

2. Aachen. From Dehio and Bezold . . . . . , . . 1 1

4. Dome of Arnolfo 1 3

5. Section of the Baptistery of Florence 14

6. Dissection of the vault of the Baptistery . . . . . . .15

7. System of the dome of Florence . 17

8. Section of the dome of Florence. From Sgrilli . . . . .18

9. Part plan of the dome of Florence. From Sgrilli . . . . .18

10. Plan of the chapel of the Pazzi ......... 26

11. Section of the vault of the Pazzi chapel 27

12. Interior of the Pazzi chapel 28

13. Facade of the Pazzi chapel 30

15. Impost of San Lorenzo 33

16. Crossing pier of San Lorenzo 34

17. Fagade of Santa Maria Novella ......... 36

18. Plan of Sant’ Andrea, Mantua 39

19. Fa?ade of Sant’ Andrea, Mantua 40

20. Arch of Septimius Severus ......... 41

21. Temple of Vesta, Tivoli. From Serlio 45

22. San Pietro in Montorio. From Serlio 46

23. Bramante’s dome for St. Peter’s. From Serlio 48

24. Section of the Pantheon. From Fontana ....... 50

25. Plan of Bramante’s dome. From Serlio . . . . . . .51

26. Michael Angelo’s model for the dome of St. Peter’s ..... 54

27. Diagrams of vault construction 56

28. Interior of dome of Salamanca 57

29. Diagrams of vault construction ......... 58

30. Dome of St. Peter’s. From the Report of the Mathematicians ... 61

31. Plan of St. Peter’s. From Fontana 67

32. Section of aisle of St. Peter’s. From Fontana and Letarouilly ... 69

33. Pier of Sant’ Agostino 72

34. Facade of Sant’ Agostino 73

36. Interior of Todi 76

37. Plan of San Biagio 77

38. Interior of San Biagio 78

39. Arcade. From Serlio .......... 79

40. Exterior of San Biagio 80

41. Tower of Santo Spirito .......... 82

xvii xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT

FIG. P.iGE

42. Santissima Annunziatta, Arezzo . .83

43. Vignola’s entablature. From Vignola 85

44. Half plan of Sant’ Andrea. From Vignola ...... 86

45. Section of Sant’ Andrea. From Vignola ....... 87

47. Order of Santa Maria degli Angeli ........ 90

48. Plan of the Gesu. From Vignola 91

49. Fagade of the Gesu. From Vignola 93

50. Fagade of the Gesu, Della Porta. From \ ignola . . , . .94

51. Pediment of Baalbek ........... 95

52. Tablet from Vignola ........... 9^

53. Orders of San Giorgio .......... 98

54. Fagade of San Giorgio 99

56. Window-head of the Mozzi, Florence ....... 103

57. Window-head of Perugia .......... 103

58. Court of the Riccardi .......... 105

59. Fagade of the Rucellai .......... 108

60. Window of the Bartolini . . . . . . . . . .110

61. Fagade of the Cancelleria . . . . . . . . . 1 1 3

62. Portico of the Massini . . . . . . . . . .115

63. Window of the Farnese . . . . . . . . . .117

65. Part of fagade of the Library of St. Mark . . . . . . .120

66. Corner of the Parthenon . . .121

67. Roman corner. From Serlio . . . . . . . . .122

68. Corner of Library of St. Mark . . . . . . . . .123

69. Window of Palazzo Cornaro . . . . . . . . .124

70. Part of fagade of the Porta del Palio . . . . . . . .125

71. Detail of Palazzo Bevilacqua . . . . . . . . .127

72. Part of the Portico of Vicenza. From Palladio . . . . .129

73. Plan of supports, Portico of Vicenza. From Palladio .... 130

74. Arch of St. Simeon Stylites . . . 13 1

75. Loggia Bernarda, Vicenza . . . . . . . . . .132

76. Window of Palazzo Branzo ......... 133

77. Niche of the Basilica of Shakka . 134

78. Window of the Certosa of Pavia . 1 37

79. Sacristy of San Satiro . 139

80. Santa Maria delle Grazie . .141

81. East end of Como 143

82. Portal of Como . 145

83. Porch of San Zeno 146

84. Portal of San Pietro in Cielo d’ Oro 147

85. Window of nave of Como . 148

86. Column of San Zaccaria . 150

87. Plan of pier of San Salvatore 1 5 1

88. Plan of pier of St. Mark’s . •I5I

89. Fagade of Santa Maria dei Miracoli . . . . . . . ■ l52

90. Part of window of court of the Ducal Palace . . . . . 155

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT

XIX

FIG. PAGE

91. Portal of the Scuola di San Marco ........ 157

92. Part of the facade of the Scuola di San Rocco . . . . . .158

93. Window of the Palazzo Contarini . . . . . . . .162

94. One bay of basement of the Ospedale Maggiore 164

95. Window of the Palazzo Martinengo 165

96. Roman Arabesque relief . . . . . . . . . .168

97. Renaissance Arabesque relief . . . . . . . . .169

98. Greek coin, magnified . . . , . . . . . .170

99. Arabesque by Pilarete . . . . . . , . . -171

100. Console of pulpit in Santa Croce „ . .172

101. Leafage from the Ghiberti gates ........ 173

102. Pilaster in the National Museum, Florence 174

105. Leafage of Brunelleschi . . . . . . . . . .176

107. Leafage of San Gallo . . . . . . . . . .177

108. Relief of the Scala d’Oro . . . . . . . . .177

109. Grotesque mask . 177

no. Cornice of Blois 181

111. Azay le Rideau 1S2

1 1 2. Portal of Azay le Rideau . . . . . . . . . .183

1 13. Portal of Chateaudun . 185

1 14. Part of the portal of Chenonceaux ........ 187

1 15. Part of the court facade of Blois 189

1 16. Du Cerceau’s print of the Fountain of the Nymphs ..... 195

117. Roman arch. From Serlio 197

1 18. Part of Du Cerceau’s print of Lescot’s Louvre ...... 198

119. Plan of the Tuileries. From Du Cerceau ...... 201

120. Elevation of the Tuileries. From Du Cerceau 202

1 21. De l’Orme’s column. From De 1’Orme ....... 203

122. De l’Orme’s doorway. From De l’Orme ....... 204

124. Doorway of De l’Orme. From De l’Orme ...... 208

125. F'a<;ade of Charleval. From Du Cerceau 210

126. Interior facade of Charleval. From Du Cerceau ..... 212

127. Chimney of Burghley House ......... 217

128. North side of court, Kirby Hall. From Gotch ..... 219

129. Gable of Kirby Hall. From Gotch ........ 220

130. Window of Walterstone Hall. From Gotch 222

1 3 1 . Impost of Cranborne Manor-House. From Gotch ..... 222

132. Portal of Wollaton Hall. From Gotch ....... 224

133. Basement of Whitehall. From Kent ....... 230

134. Front of old St. Paul’s. From Kent .231

135. Section of Wren’s rejected scheme for St. Paul’s. From Bloomfield . 236

136. Section of the dome of St. Paul’s. From Longman .... 240

137. Vaulting of St. Paul’s 242

138. Crossing pier and impost of St. Paul’s 244

139. Half section of the nave of St. Paul’s. From Longman .... 245

Chapter I

The great change in ideas and ideals which, after the remarkable intellectual and artistic life of the Middle Ages, was manifested in the so-called Renaissance, is not always correctly conceived or fairly stated ; and the character and merits of the Fine Arts of the Renaissance, as compared with those of mediaeval times, have not, I think, been often set forth in an entirely true light. Of the merits of the best Italian art of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries there can be no question, but the belief that this art is altogether superior to that of the Middle Ages will not bear examination in the light of impartial comparison.

The Fine Arts are always an expression of the historical antecedents, the intellectual, moral, and material conditions, and the religious beliefs of the peoples and epochs to which they belong. They derive their whole character from these antecedents and conditions, and cannot be rightly understood or appreciated without reference to them. Thus a brief consideration of these conditions in the Middle Ages on the one hand, and in the period of the Renaissance on the other, may help us to understand the nature of the above-mentioned change, and to gain a more discriminating appreciation of the real character of the artistic productions of the latter epoch.

During the Middle Ages ideas and imagination were governed by a religious faith which, though in many ways mistaken and misguided, was for the most part firm and unquestioning. Mediaeval Christianity was a living power with the masses, and an inspiration to men of genius. The mediaeval Christian mythology was well fitted to stimulate artistic invention, and the ideals which it maintained were full of beauty. It is true, indeed, that human conduct was not wholly governed by this faith ; but the precepts of the Christian religion, as defined and interpreted by

B I

CHAP.

the Roman church, were generally held as of supreme authority, and to them most people acknowledged that they ought to conform. This Christianity gave the chief motive power for the best activities of the time, and the social relations of men were, in theory at least, based upon its teachings. The history of the Middle Ages abounds in evidence that popular habits of life were in many ways exemplary. Villani tells us that the citizens of Florence lived in sobriety and frugality, that they had loyal hearts, were faithful to one another, and that they required the same fidelity in the administration of public affairs.1 Florence in the fourteenth century was alive with industry, and the open country around the city was prosperous with agriculture. Of such conditions her Fine Arts were an outgrowth and expression.