DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.29898#0662
626
POINTED ITALIAN GOTHIO.
Paet II.
parts seem to have been completed, though the centrai spire was not
finishecl till about the year 1440, by Brunelieschi.
The design is said to have been furnished by a German architect,
Heinrich Arlez von Gemunden, or as the Italians call him, da
Gamondia,”—a statement which is corroborated by the fact that the
details and many of the forms are essentially NTorthern; but it is
equally certain that he was not allowed to control the whole, for all
the great features of the church are as thoroughly Italian as the
details are German : it is therefore by no means improbable that
Marco da Campione, as the Italians assert, or some other native artist,
was joined with him or placed over him.
In size it is, except Seville, the largest of all Medheval cathedrals,
covering 107,782 ft. In material it is the richest, being built wholly
of white marble, which is scarcely the case with any other church,
large or small; and in decoration it is the most gorgeous—the whole of
the exterior is covered with tracery, and the amount of carving ancl
statuary lavished on its pinnacles and spires is unrivalled in any other
building of Europe. It is also built wholly (with the exception of the
fa^ade) according to one design. Yet, with all these advantages, the
appearance of this wonderful building is not satisfactory to any one
who is familiar with the great edifices on this side of the Alps.
Cologne is certainly more beautiful; Bheims, Chartres, Amiens, and
Bourges leave a far more satisfactory impression on the mind; and
even the much smaller church of St. Ouen will convey far more
pleasure to the true artist than this gorgeous temple.
The cause of all this it is easy to understand, since all or nearly all
its defects arise from the introduction of Italian features into a Gothic
building ; or rather, perhap-s, it should be said, from a German architect
being allowed to ornament an Italian cathedral. Taking the contem-
porary catbedral of St. Betronio at Bologna as our standard of
comparison, it will be seen that the sections (Woodcuts Nos. 505, 507)
are almost identical both in dimensions and in form, except that at
Milan the external range is a real aisle instead of a series of side
chapels; but, at the same time, it will be perceived that the German
system prevailed in doubling the number of the piers between the
nave and side-aisles. So far, therefore, the German architect saved
the church. The two small. clerestories, however, still remaizi; and
although the design avoids the mullionless little circles of Bologna,
there is only space for small openings, which more resemble the
windows of an attic than of a clerestory. The greater quantity of
light being thus introduced by the tall windows of the outer aisle, the
appearance is that of a building lighted from below, which is fatal to
architectural effect.
The model still preserved on the spot shows that the German
architect designed great portals at each end of the transepts. This,
POINTED ITALIAN GOTHIO.
Paet II.
parts seem to have been completed, though the centrai spire was not
finishecl till about the year 1440, by Brunelieschi.
The design is said to have been furnished by a German architect,
Heinrich Arlez von Gemunden, or as the Italians call him, da
Gamondia,”—a statement which is corroborated by the fact that the
details and many of the forms are essentially NTorthern; but it is
equally certain that he was not allowed to control the whole, for all
the great features of the church are as thoroughly Italian as the
details are German : it is therefore by no means improbable that
Marco da Campione, as the Italians assert, or some other native artist,
was joined with him or placed over him.
In size it is, except Seville, the largest of all Medheval cathedrals,
covering 107,782 ft. In material it is the richest, being built wholly
of white marble, which is scarcely the case with any other church,
large or small; and in decoration it is the most gorgeous—the whole of
the exterior is covered with tracery, and the amount of carving ancl
statuary lavished on its pinnacles and spires is unrivalled in any other
building of Europe. It is also built wholly (with the exception of the
fa^ade) according to one design. Yet, with all these advantages, the
appearance of this wonderful building is not satisfactory to any one
who is familiar with the great edifices on this side of the Alps.
Cologne is certainly more beautiful; Bheims, Chartres, Amiens, and
Bourges leave a far more satisfactory impression on the mind; and
even the much smaller church of St. Ouen will convey far more
pleasure to the true artist than this gorgeous temple.
The cause of all this it is easy to understand, since all or nearly all
its defects arise from the introduction of Italian features into a Gothic
building ; or rather, perhap-s, it should be said, from a German architect
being allowed to ornament an Italian cathedral. Taking the contem-
porary catbedral of St. Betronio at Bologna as our standard of
comparison, it will be seen that the sections (Woodcuts Nos. 505, 507)
are almost identical both in dimensions and in form, except that at
Milan the external range is a real aisle instead of a series of side
chapels; but, at the same time, it will be perceived that the German
system prevailed in doubling the number of the piers between the
nave and side-aisles. So far, therefore, the German architect saved
the church. The two small. clerestories, however, still remaizi; and
although the design avoids the mullionless little circles of Bologna,
there is only space for small openings, which more resemble the
windows of an attic than of a clerestory. The greater quantity of
light being thus introduced by the tall windows of the outer aisle, the
appearance is that of a building lighted from below, which is fatal to
architectural effect.
The model still preserved on the spot shows that the German
architect designed great portals at each end of the transepts. This,