DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42129#0022
X
ABABESQUES OP THE ANCIENTS,
only to inferior buildings, there cannot be any doubt, that the Ara-
besques of Raphael and of his ingenious pupils, considered with regard
to their peculiar invention, their extent, and partly their execution, stand
upon a higher level than the former, and may, in some instances, claim
greater merit.
On looking for the most probable causes which may have favoured
the origin of the ancient Arabesques, while we study the surfaces of the
rooms in the excavations of Pompe'i, and endeavour to enter into the
spirit of those productions, thrown, as it were, upon the walls by a
playful fancy and an easy hand, we find, in the diverting and pleasing
impression which they make upon us, that their first effect is to awaken
corresponding sensations, and next, from the apparent extent of the
smallest spaces, to widen the vista to the utmost stretch. Hence the
necessity to make use of the amplest forms, and the most beautiful colours
for men, animals, flowers, and fruits, and their combinations. Thus,
the application of the inexhaustible productions of nature, together
with those of art, called forth the most fanciful associations, producing
an agreeable impression on the spectator’s mind. Again, by keeping all
the upper portions of each apartment in white, or some other light local
tint, a perfect optical illusion of transparency was brought about, an
effect greatly promoted by the many architectural forms painted upon
these surfaces, and consisting of twisted and variously-shaped diminutive
columns, trellices, &c., so multiplied, as to produce the illusion of per-
spective, by removing from before the eye the immediate boundaries of
the space. Our eyes, in fact, lose themselves in these fascinating
labyrinths in following the elegant colonnades, and wandering from one
structure to another.
With regard to those walls, of which the Arabesques serve merely as
a border to larger pictures, we find scenes from the domain of the gods
and heroes executed in a careful style ; and the gaiety which is here to
be found blended with sublimity in the main subject, is in harmony
with the characteristic variety of every-day life.
ABABESQUES OP THE ANCIENTS,
only to inferior buildings, there cannot be any doubt, that the Ara-
besques of Raphael and of his ingenious pupils, considered with regard
to their peculiar invention, their extent, and partly their execution, stand
upon a higher level than the former, and may, in some instances, claim
greater merit.
On looking for the most probable causes which may have favoured
the origin of the ancient Arabesques, while we study the surfaces of the
rooms in the excavations of Pompe'i, and endeavour to enter into the
spirit of those productions, thrown, as it were, upon the walls by a
playful fancy and an easy hand, we find, in the diverting and pleasing
impression which they make upon us, that their first effect is to awaken
corresponding sensations, and next, from the apparent extent of the
smallest spaces, to widen the vista to the utmost stretch. Hence the
necessity to make use of the amplest forms, and the most beautiful colours
for men, animals, flowers, and fruits, and their combinations. Thus,
the application of the inexhaustible productions of nature, together
with those of art, called forth the most fanciful associations, producing
an agreeable impression on the spectator’s mind. Again, by keeping all
the upper portions of each apartment in white, or some other light local
tint, a perfect optical illusion of transparency was brought about, an
effect greatly promoted by the many architectural forms painted upon
these surfaces, and consisting of twisted and variously-shaped diminutive
columns, trellices, &c., so multiplied, as to produce the illusion of per-
spective, by removing from before the eye the immediate boundaries of
the space. Our eyes, in fact, lose themselves in these fascinating
labyrinths in following the elegant colonnades, and wandering from one
structure to another.
With regard to those walls, of which the Arabesques serve merely as
a border to larger pictures, we find scenes from the domain of the gods
and heroes executed in a careful style ; and the gaiety which is here to
be found blended with sublimity in the main subject, is in harmony
with the characteristic variety of every-day life.