Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/205

DOMENECH DOMENICHINO 197 the springing 51 ft. The dome of the Pan- theon (or St. Genevieve's) at Paris is entirely of stone, and is supported by four triangular piers rising from the centre of a Greek cross. It is triple, having besides the inner and outer vaults an intermediate structure built to carry the lantern. The internal dome is 66 ft. 8 in. in diameter at the springing ; the external 77 ft. 8- in. The height of the edifice above the ground line is 190 ft. The reading room of the British museum, opened in May, 1857, is covered by a magnificent dome 140 ft. in diameter and 106 ft. high from the ground. It is built principally of iron, with brick arch- es between the main ribs supported by 20 iron piers. Between the vaulting and the exterior covering of copper a space is left for the equal- ization of the temperature, and between ^the vaulting and the inner decorated ceiling is a similar air chamber for ventilation. There are 20 large windows around the base of the dome, and an eye in the top 40 ft. in diameter. The cast-iron dome of the capitol at Washington has a height of about 55 ft., and an internal diameter of 94 ft. 9 in. The height of its ceiling from the floor of the building is 220 ft. The exterior of the structure presents a peri- style 124 ft. 9 in. in diameter, with columns 27 ft. high, from which springs an attic 44 ft. high, supporting the great dome of a semi- ellipsoidal form, the top of which is 230 ft. above the pavement. Above this rises a lan- tern, 52 ft. high and 17 ft. in diameter, crowned with a bronze statue of Liberty 18 ft. high. In the interior there is a vertical wall raised upon the cornice of the rotunda, with a panel 9 ft. high richly sculptured; above this is a series of attached columns and large windows, and above these springs a dome which, con- tracting to a diameter of 65 ft., permits a sec- ond dome, 73 ft. in diameter, resting also on a colonnade, to be seen through the opening. Domes are sometimes made convex below and concave above, in which form they take the name of Moresque, Turkish, or Hindoo. In Kussia they are very frequently built of a bul- bous shape, and many of the churches are sur- mounted by five, representing Christ and the four evangelists. The Isaac's church at St. Petersburg, founded in 1819 and consecrated in 1858, has a central dome of iron covered with gilded copper, with a small rotunda rising from the centre ; it is in the Byzantine form, having a diameter of 87 ft. 4 in. and a height of 275 ft. above the floor, or, including the lantern, of 327 ft. Four smaller domes rest on each corner of* the edifice. The dome of the temple of the Saviour at Moscow, built to com- memorate Russia's triumph over Napoleon, is 84 ft. in diameter ; its interior height above the floor is 225 ft. 9 in., and its exterior height, including the cross on its summit, is 343 ft. This dome is supported by four pillars, each 21 ft. in diameter. DOMENECH, Emmanuel, a French traveller and author, born about 1815. He early became a priest, and went as missionary to Texas and Mexico, and on his return to France was ap- pointed honorary canon of Montpellier. In 1862 he was chaplain of the French army in Mexico, and subsequently attached to Maxi- milian's cabinet. He has published Journal d'un missionnaire au Texas et au Mexique (1857) ; Voyage dans les solitudes americaines (1858) ; Voyage pittoresque dans les grands deserts du nouveau monde (1861) ; Les Gorges du Liable (1864); Legendes irlandaises (1865); Le Mexique tel qu'il est (1867) ; and Histoire du Hexique, Juarez et Maximilien : correspon- dances inedites (3 vols., 1868). Prim and others contested the historical veracity of the last named work. His Manuscrit pictograpMque americain, precede d'une notice sur Videogra- phie des Peaux Rouges (1860), was published at the expense of the -government, with a fac- simile of a manuscript in the library of the Paris arsenal, relating as he fancied to the American Indians, but which the German orientalist Julius Petzholdt declares to consist of scribbling and incoherent illustrations of a local German dialect. Domenech asserted the authenticity of the manuscript in a pamphlet entitled La verite sur le lit/re des sauvages (1861), which drew forth a reply from Petz- holdt, translated into French under the title of Le livre des sauvages au point de vue de la civilisation fran$aise (Brussels, 1861). DOMENICHINO, or Domenico Zampieri, an Ital- ian painter, born in Bologna in 1581, died in Naples, April 15, 1641. His first master was Dionysius Calvart, from whose tyranny he took refuge in the school of the Carracci, of which, in spite of a natural timidity and a slowness which his fellow pupils attributed to stupidity, he was eventually considered the most dis- tinguished pupil. He lived apart from men, and rarely went abroad save to make studies for future use. After studying the works of Correggio at Parma, he joined Annibale Car- racci at Rome, and assisted him in decorating the Farnese palace. He soon after received commissions from Cardinals Borghese, Farnese, Aldobrandini, and others, for whom he paint- ed works which increased his reputation, but raised a host of enemies. His picture of the " Communion of St. Jerome," now in the Vat- ican, which has been called second only to Raphael's "Transfiguration," was discovered to bear a slight resemblance to a composition on the same subject by Agostino Carracci, and Lanfranco, a former fellow pupil, took advan- tage of the fact to decry the picture and the artist. Domenichino was finally compelled by the jealousy of his rivals to retire to Bologna, whence he was recalled by Gregory XV. in a few years to become principal painter and architect in the pontifical palace. Here he renewed his triumphs, and was invited to Na- ples to paint the chapel of St. Januarius, but died before the completion of his work, not without suspicion of poison. Among his chief works are the " Four Evangelists," in S. An-