International studio (33.1907/1908(1908))

Reviews and Notices

early life of vigorous expansion follows the prime
in all the splendour of its riches, and that glorious
new birth of the human intellect in philosophy, in
letters and in the arts, which was in part begun in
the previous age, reaches its culmination.” “The
cult of the Renaissance,” he adds, “ touching its
apogee, intensifies the cult of beauty, harmony and
pleasure, but at the same time diverts the Italians
from the serious aspects of life.” The concluding
words of this pregnant sentence strike a note of
warning of the imminent approach of the decline
that, in the history of nations as of individuals,
inevitably succeeds the full realisation of ambitions;
and it is a noticeable peculiarity of the whole of
the Italian historian’s record that he never loses
sight of the future in his enthusiasm over the
present that he is able to realise so vividly. Even
in her brilliant middle-age Venice was surrounded
by sister states in which decay was already in-
augurated, and although she long continued to
maintain her proud position of independence the
seeds of corruption were really already coming to
life beneath the surface. With the practised skill
of an expert who has mastered every detail of his
subject, Signor Molmenti sums up in his intro-
ductory chapter the political situation of Europe at
the time under review, with special reference to the
effect of that situation on the lagoon city, passing
thence to give a masterly description of the politi-
cal, ecclesiastical, judicial, military and economic
constitution of the great Republic, dwelling on the
significant fact that the various offices were so
linked together and interdependent that they acted
simultaneously like the wheels of a watch, so that
the striking energy of the whole community could
at any moment be concentrated on a single focus.
The gradual transformation of Venice in the hands
of the great architect, and the work of the skilled
craftsmen and painters as well as of the leaders in
art and literature, are considered in detail, the
second volume closing with a somewhat melan-
choly chapter on the corruption of manners that
at the beginning of the end cast a sinister shadow
over the peace, prosperity, security, freedom, bril-
liant art and joyous life of the city. Both volumes
contain a number of interesting illustrations, re-
productions of pictures, photographs of buildings,
etc.
Italian Gardens. After Drawings by George
S. Elgood, R.I. With notes by the Artist. (London:
Longmans & Co.) 42s. net.—The present sump- •
tuous volume forms a fitting companion to the
delightful book on English gardens which Mr.
Elgood brought out some four years ago. His
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rare skill in rendering the varied hues of flowers
and foliage in masses, combined with sound judg-
ment in the selection of appropriate points of view,
..has ensured for him a unique position among
contemporary garden painters. In the series of
beautiful drawings of Italian gardens reproduced in
the volume before us we meet with a style of garden
different from that which has found greatest favour
in this country, where the so-called landscape type
has predominated. Italy, on the other hand, has
for centuries been the home of the formal style of
garden. There the tradition goes back to the days
of Ancient Rome, the Villa Hadriana being a
famous example of it, and in spite of the era of
decadence which followed the incursions of the
barbarians of the North, who plundered and
destroyed the estates and dwellings of the nobles,
leaving scarcely a trace of their former grandeur,
it seems never to have been utterly extinguished.
With the renaissance in the fine arts there would
appear to have come a revival in the art of laying
out gardens, for by the fifteenth century many of
the villas of the nobility in Florence, Rome, and
elsewhere became famous for their gardens, and
that fame has with not a few of them descended
to the present day. It is of such time-honoured
gardens that Mr. Elgood gives us delightful glimpses
in the pictures included in his new volume. He
tells us that he commenced the series as long ago
as 1881 and has continued them practically without
break every year since. There is so much to be
praised in all these drawings that it is difficult to
single out any one as being better than the rest.
The Florence series, however, impress us most on
the whole, the drawings of Florence from the Villa
PalmienVilla Reale di Castello, Villa Amari:
the Fountain and Villa Amari-. the Belvedere being
especially noteworthy. The artist’s notes, partly
historical and partly descriptive, disclosing as they do
an intimate knowledge of the places depicted, lend
additional interest to the pictures, which, of course,
are thepitces de resistance of this most attractive book.
Napoleon and the Invasion of England. By
H. F. B. Wheeler and A. M. Broadley. 2 vols.
(London : John Lane.) 32.L net.—At the present
time, when the idea of a possible invasion of Eng-
land is openly scoffed at, it is somewhat difficult to
realise the state of things a century ago, when the
whole country was roused as one man to defend
its shores from an enemy whose appearance was
hourly expected. The Great Terror converted
England, Scotland and Ireland into a vast camp,
where all differences were forgotten for a whole
decade in an eager desire to maintain the integrity