DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.29898#0652
616
POINTED ITALIAN GOTHIC.
Paet II.
under the choir, is the ancient baptistery, now the church of St. John
the Baptist; its front is in a much purer style of Gothic than the
cathedral.1
The carved architectural omaments of the facade are rich and
elaborate in the extreme, though figured sculpture is used to a much
less extent than in Northern portals of the same age. It is also
observable that the strong horizontal lines do not harmonise with
the aspiring character of pointed architecture.
The cathedral of Orvieto is smaller and simpler, and less rich in its
decorations, than that at Siena, with the exception of its facade, which
is adorned with sculpture and painting. Indeed the three-gabled
front may be considered the typical one for churches of this class.
The fagades intended to have been applied to the churches at Blorence,
Bologna, Milan, and elsewhere, were no doubt very similar to that
represented in Woodcut No. 498. As a frontispiece, if elaborately
sculptured and painted, it is not without considerable appropriateness
and even beauty ; but, as an architectural object, it is infinitely in-
ferior to the double-towered facades of the Northern cathedrals, or
even to those with only one great tower m the centre. It has besides
the defect of not expressing what is behind it; the central gable being
always higher than the roof, and the two others merely ornamental
appendages. Indeed, like the Italian Gothic buildings generally, it
depended on painting, sculpture, and carving for its effect, far more
than on architectural design properly so called.
Among the greatest and most complete examples of Italian Gothic
is the church of Sta. Maria dei Fiori, the cathedral of Florence, one of
the largest and finest churches produced in the Middle Ages—as far as
mere grandeur of conception goes, perhaps the very best, though con-
siderably marred in execution from defects of style, which are too
apparent in every part.
The building of the church was commenced in the year 1294 or
1298 (it is not quite clear which), from the designs and under the
superintendence of Arnolfo di Lapo, for unfortunately in this style
we know the names of all the architects, and all the churches show
traces of the caprice and of the misdirected efiorts of individuals,
instead of the combined national movement which produced such
splendid results in France and England. It is not known how far
Arnolfo had carried the building when he died, in 1310, but probably
up to the springing of the vaults. After this the works proceeded
more leisurely, but the nave and smaller domes of the choir were no
1 The present cathedral is only a
portion, viz. the transept of a much vaster
edifice 'which was never completed; but
tlie beautiful unfinished south front and
portions of the gigantic nave and aides
still exist on the western side of the
present catliedral, and the drawings of
it are preserved in the archives of the
Duomo.
POINTED ITALIAN GOTHIC.
Paet II.
under the choir, is the ancient baptistery, now the church of St. John
the Baptist; its front is in a much purer style of Gothic than the
cathedral.1
The carved architectural omaments of the facade are rich and
elaborate in the extreme, though figured sculpture is used to a much
less extent than in Northern portals of the same age. It is also
observable that the strong horizontal lines do not harmonise with
the aspiring character of pointed architecture.
The cathedral of Orvieto is smaller and simpler, and less rich in its
decorations, than that at Siena, with the exception of its facade, which
is adorned with sculpture and painting. Indeed the three-gabled
front may be considered the typical one for churches of this class.
The fagades intended to have been applied to the churches at Blorence,
Bologna, Milan, and elsewhere, were no doubt very similar to that
represented in Woodcut No. 498. As a frontispiece, if elaborately
sculptured and painted, it is not without considerable appropriateness
and even beauty ; but, as an architectural object, it is infinitely in-
ferior to the double-towered facades of the Northern cathedrals, or
even to those with only one great tower m the centre. It has besides
the defect of not expressing what is behind it; the central gable being
always higher than the roof, and the two others merely ornamental
appendages. Indeed, like the Italian Gothic buildings generally, it
depended on painting, sculpture, and carving for its effect, far more
than on architectural design properly so called.
Among the greatest and most complete examples of Italian Gothic
is the church of Sta. Maria dei Fiori, the cathedral of Florence, one of
the largest and finest churches produced in the Middle Ages—as far as
mere grandeur of conception goes, perhaps the very best, though con-
siderably marred in execution from defects of style, which are too
apparent in every part.
The building of the church was commenced in the year 1294 or
1298 (it is not quite clear which), from the designs and under the
superintendence of Arnolfo di Lapo, for unfortunately in this style
we know the names of all the architects, and all the churches show
traces of the caprice and of the misdirected efiorts of individuals,
instead of the combined national movement which produced such
splendid results in France and England. It is not known how far
Arnolfo had carried the building when he died, in 1310, but probably
up to the springing of the vaults. After this the works proceeded
more leisurely, but the nave and smaller domes of the choir were no
1 The present cathedral is only a
portion, viz. the transept of a much vaster
edifice 'which was never completed; but
tlie beautiful unfinished south front and
portions of the gigantic nave and aides
still exist on the western side of the
present catliedral, and the drawings of
it are preserved in the archives of the
Duomo.