Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/701

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ARCHITECTURE 665 forms given to the pediments ; the substitution of columns for piers supporting arcades; the decoration of blank walls with medallions, fo- liage, and scrolls of various sorts, together with Decorated Arch (Gothic), Dorchester, Oxfordshire. designs of animals arranged in imitation of an- cient arabesques. These and many other so- called liberties originated a style peculiarly well adapted to the wants of modern civiliza- tion. Michel Angelo made several innovations in architecture, as well as in the other arts. He abolished many capricious ornaments ; and instead of superimposing several orders, distin- guishing as many stories, he employed one, comprising the whole height of the edifice. To him we are indebted for certain bold ele- ments of design, although generally wanting in grace and purity. To his followers, Bernini, oromini, Fontana, and others, is to be attrib- uted in a great measure the decadence which followed the architecture of the 16th century. From Italy the renaissance was introduced into France. Among those who distinguished themselves in this kingdom were Pierre Lescot, Philibert de Lorme, and Jean Bullant. Later appeared De Brosse, Androuet du Cerceau, and finally Perrault, under Louis XIV. Eng- land boasts Inigo Jones, her Palladio, followed by Christopher Wren, Sir Robert Taylor, Sir William Chambers, and many others of merit and distinction. VII. MODERN ARCHITECTURE. The admirable architectural forms brought in by these men continue in use in all civilized countries to this day, and have been carried wherever European civilization has extended. Their reign has not, however, been undisputed. The spirit of scientific inquiry which has char- acterized the last hundred years has not only enlarged our knowledge of architectural forms, but has promoted a more exhaustive study of the principles of the art. New movements have accordingly arisen, avowedly actuated by these researches, directed either to improv- ing the so-called classical style, or to supplant- ing it altogether. These two movements are known as the Greek and "the Gothic revival. Both took their origin in England. The Greek revival dates from 1762, when Messrs. Stuart and Revett published the results of their re- searches among the antiquities of Attica. The Gothic revival may be said to date from Hor- ace Walpole's works at Strawberry Hill about 100 years ago, but its modern development did not begin till about 1820. In England and the United States the Greek revival was merely a reproduction of the Greek buildings or parts of buildings, which, however beautiful in their original position, proved in the more gloomy climate of the north, and when executed in coarser materials, uninteresting and unattrac- tive. The Greek originals, moreover, were almost exclusively te'mples, Avithout windows, and surrounded by columns, a model utterly unsuited to modern uses. The attempted adoption of Greek details proved equally un- satisfactory. The movement made consider- able mark in England, the British museum be- ing perhaps its chief example. In this country the Greek style was adopted for the public buildings at Washington and for post offices, custom houses, hotels, and banks, in marble or granite, in all our principal cities. This fashion, for government buildings at least, has not yet passed away. Imitations of these works in wood were very common in the first half of this century, as may everywhere be witnessed in country towns ; and a certain style of church with Greek details and a tower imitated from the choragic monument or the temple of the Winds is still common. In joinery, the Greek forms of mouldings both here and in England have become almost universal. In other countries the excitement caused by the discovery of Greek art was less superficial, and proved a more efficient inspiration. In Scotland, where the architecture has always exhibited much independence and local charac- ter, the "Greek" style, in the hands of Mr. Hamilton and the Adams brothers, shows great freedom of treatment and refinement of taste. More recently, in the hands of Mr. Thomson, at Glasgow, it has developed, with great ele- gance and beauty, forms perfectly adapted to modern uses. A similar effort was made in Germany, chiefly in Berlin and Munich, to rec- oncile the methods of the Greeks with mod- ern needs ; and in spite of a general effect of bareness and hardness, it is impossible to deny