PART II

.

THE INTERIOR.

NOTE.--The following Guide conducts the visitor up the Colonnade from the Railway Station, through the South Wing into the building. Passing through the nearest section of the Natural History Illustrations, he proceeds direct to the front of the _Screen of the Kings and Queens of England_, from whence he walks up the Nave to the _Great Central Transept_, and then commences the series of _Fine Arts Courts_ with the _Egyptian Court_, continuing it with the _Greek Court_, the _Roman Court_, and, through the division for the Tropical End, the _Alhambra Court_, and the _Assyrian Court_. Then crossing this end of the building, he continues the series of Courts on the other side with the _Byzantine Court_, the _German Mediæval Court_, the _English Mediæval Court_, the _French and Italian Mediæval Court_, the _Renaissance Court_, the _Elizabethan Court_, the _Italian Court_, and the _Italian Vestibule_. The _Court of Monuments of Art_ is next, from which the visitor crosses the Central Transept to the west, and explores the _Stationery Court_ and the adjacent departments, then the _Birmingham Court_, the _Sheffield Court_, and the _Pompeian House_, from which he crosses the South Transept, and enters the _Natural History Department_, having inspected which, he returns up the building on the other side, through the _Foreign Glass Manufactures Court_, the _British Porcelain Manufactures Court_, the _Ceramic Court_, and the _Court of Fancy Manufactures_. Returning then to the Screen of the Kings and Queens of England, the visitor examines the collections of the _Nave_, the _South Transept_, the _Great Central Transept_, the _North Transept_, and the _Tropical End of the Building_. The _Botany of the Palace_ is then described. The _Main and Upper Galleries_, in which will be found the _Picture Gallery_, the _Naval Museum_, the _Engineering Models_, the _Indian Court_, the _Industrial Museum and Technological Collection_, and the _Industrial Exhibition_ (described in the Exhibitors’ Descriptive Catalogue, page 175), should be next visited; and, after them, the _Agricultural Machinery_, and the _Machinery in Motion_, which are exhibited in the basement story next the Gardens: the basement is reached by descending the stairs from either of the Transepts.

THE CRYSTAL PALACE.

THE ENTRANCE.

The Crystal Palace Railway from London Bridge, and the West End Railway from Pimlico, unite at the Station, in the grounds of the Crystal Palace. The Station is connected with the South Wing of the building by a glass-covered colonnade, along which is planted a brilliant array of flowering plants, whilst luxuriant creeping plants adorn the wall. The Fine Art Courts commence with the Egyptian Court, at the Central Transept, from whence the sequence is continued round the northern portion of the Nave. The Central Transept then will be the proper starting-point. When the weather is fine, the visitor may cross the gardens from the Railway Station direct to the central entrance on the upper terrace. We assume that he proceeds by the more usual way of the Colonnade, through the South Wing, until he attains the floor of the main building. He then passes through the Natural History illustrations which are nearest, and which he will examine hereafter; and, keeping to this, the south end of the Palace, proceeds towards the centre of the Nave, taking his stand opposite the Screen of the Kings and Queens of England, which bounds the long Nave at this end. From this point an unrivalled general view is obtained of the interior of the building. In the foreground is the Crystal Fountain, which adorned the Palace in Hyde Park, but here elevated in its proportions and improved. It is surrounded by a sheet of water, at each end of which float the gigantic leaves of the _Victoria Regia_, the intermediate space being occupied by various aquatic plants,--the _Nymphæa Devoniensis_, the _Nymphæa cærulea_, the _Nymphæa dentata_, and the _Nelumbium speciosum_, or sacred bean of the Pythagoreans, being conspicuous, with many others, beautiful, rare, or curious. The basin is also encircled with rich flowers. On either side of the Nave the plants of almost every clime wave their foliage, forming a mass of cool, pleasant colour, admirably harmonising with the surrounding tints, and also acting as a most effective background to relieve the white statues, which are picturesquely grouped along the Nave; at the back of these are the façades of the various Industrial and Fine Art Courts, whose bright colouring gives additional brilliancy to the interior, whilst the aërial blue tint of the arched roof above considerably increases the effect of the whole composition, having the effect of an opal vault. Towards evening the interior of the Palace appears like a vocal grove, the visitor hearing with delight the beautiful note of the nightingale, together with that of blackbirds, thrushes, wrens, and robin-redbreasts, which build and make a perpetual home of this magnificent covered garden.

[Illustration: VIEW OF PALACE FROM SECOND TERRACE.]

Let the visitor now proceed up the building until he arrives at the Central Transept, at which point he will be enabled to judge of the vastness of the hall in the midst of which he stands, and of the whole structure of which the transept forms so noble and conspicuous a part.

INTRODUCTION TO THE FINE ARTS COURTS.

In order the better to appreciate the arrangement of those restorations through which we now propose to conduct the visitor, a few words explanatory of the object which they are intended to serve may prove of use.

One of the most important objects of the Crystal Palace is to teach a great practical lesson in Art. Specimens of the various phases through which the arts of Architecture and Sculpture have passed, are here collected, commencing from the earliest known period down to modern times, or from the remote ages of Egyptian civilisation to the sixteenth century after Christ--a period of more than three thousand years.

Perhaps no subject, with the exception of the literature of departed nations, affords more interest to the mind of man, than these visible proofs of the different states of society throughout the world’s history; and nothing better aids us in realising the people and customs of the past, than the wonderful monuments happily preserved from the destructive hand of Time, and now restored to something of their original splendour by the patient and laborious researches of modern times; and, we may add (not without some pride), by the enterprising liberality of Englishmen.

Nor is it the least extraordinary fact, in this view of progress, that the building itself, which contains these valuable monuments of past ages, is essentially different from every preceding style, uniting perfect strength with aërial lightness, and as easy of erection as it is capable of endurance. Thus then, beneath one roof, may the visitor trace the course of art from centuries long anterior to Christianity, down to the very moment in which he lives, and obtain by this means an idea of the successive states of civilisation which from time to time have arisen in the world, flourishing for a greater or less period, until overturned by the aggressions of barbarians, or the no less destructive agency of a sensual and degraded luxury. Sculpture, the sister art of architecture, has also been worthily illustrated. Vainly, in any part of the world, will be sought a similar collection, by means of which the progress of that beautiful art can be regularly traced.

The statues will generally be found as much as possible in or near the Architectural Courts of the periods and countries to which they belong, so that the eye may track the intellectual stream as it flows on, now rising to the highest point of beauty, and now sinking to the lowest depths of degradation. The visitor is invited to proceed with us on this world-wide tour of inspection, but he must bear in mind that our present task is to show him how to examine the Building itself, with its contents, and not to describe them, except by briefly pointing out the most remarkable objects that encounter him on his way. For detailed and valuable information the visitor is referred to the excellent Handbooks of the respective Courts, all of which describe with minuteness not only their contents, but every needful circumstance in connection with their history. The point from which we start is the Central Transept. Proceeding northwards, up the Nave, the visitor turns immediately to the left and finds himself in front of

THE EGYPTIAN COURT.[5]

The remains of Egyptian Architecture are the most ancient yet discovered. They possess an absorbing interest, not only on account of the connection of Egypt with Biblical history, but also of the perfect state of the remains, which enables us to judge of the high state of civilisation to which Egypt attained, and which have permitted the decipherers of the hieroglyphics, led by Dr. Young, Champollion, and Sir Gardner Wilkinson, in our own time, to give us clear insight into the manner of life--public and private--of this early and interesting nation. Egyptian architecture is characterised by simplicity of construction, gigantic proportions, and massive solidity. The buildings were almost entirely of stone, and many of them excavations and shapings of rocks. The examples of this architecture now before us are not taken from any one ruin, but are illustrations of various styles, commencing with the earliest, and terminating with the latest, so that we are enabled to follow the gradual development of the art. Little change, however, was effected during its progress. The original solidity so admirably suited to the requirements of the Egyptians continued to the end; and religion forbade a change in the conventional representations of those gods and kings which so extensively cover the temples and tombs. So that we find the same peculiar character continued in a great measure to the very last.

[5] See the “Handbook to the Egyptian Court,” by Owen Jones and Samuel Sharpe; also, “The Egyptians in the Time of the Pharaohs, being a Companion to the Crystal Palace Collection,” by Sir Gardner Wilkinson, to which is added, “An Introduction to the Study of Egyptian Hieroglyphs,” by Samuel Birch. Crown 8vo., with Illustrations.

[Illustration: Plan of the Egyptian Court.]

Advancing up the avenue of lions, cast from a pair brought from Egypt by Lord Prudhoe (the present Duke of Northumberland), we have before us the outer walls and columns of a temple, not taken from any one particular structure, but composed from various sources, to illustrate Egyptian columns and capitals during the Ptolemaic period, somewhere about 300 years B.C. On the walls are coloured sunk-reliefs showing a king making offerings or receiving gifts from the gods. The capitals or heads of the columns are palm and lotus-leaved; some showing the papyrus in its various stages of development, from the simple bud to the full-blown flower. The representation of the palm and the papyrus occurs frequently in Egyptian architecture; the leaves of the latter, it will be remembered, were made into a kind of paper, and its flowers were specially used as offerings in the temples. We shall afterwards inspect some growing specimens of this curious plant in the fountain basin at the north end of the Nave, as well as of the lotus, when these restorations may be remembered with interest. On the frieze above the columns is a hieroglyphic inscription stating that “in the seventeenth year of the reign of Victoria, the ruler of the waves, this Palace was erected and furnished with a thousand statues, a thousand plants, &c., like as a book for the use of the men of all countries.” This inscription is repeated, with some slight additions, on the frieze of the interior of the Court. On the cornice of both the inside and outside of the Court, are the names of her Majesty and the Prince Consort, engraved in hieroglyphic characters, and also winged globes, the symbolic protecting deity of doorways. Entering by the central doorway, on the lintels and sides of which are inserted the different titles of King Ptolemy, in hieroglyphics, we find ourselves in the exterior court of a temple in which the multitude assembled; the decorations of the walls are similar to those we saw outside, and it must be borne in mind that the colouring is taken from actual remains in Egypt. On the wall to the left is a large picture copied from the great Temple of Rameses III. or Rameses Mai Amun, at Medinet Haboo, near Thebes, showing the counting of the hands of the slain--three thousand as we are informed by the hieroglyphics engraved over the heads of the scribes--before the king who is in his chariot; on the right-hand side of the Court is a representation of a battle-scene, with the Egyptians storming a fortress. Turning to the left, after examining the eight gigantic figures of Rameses the Great, forming the façade of another temple, we enter the Court of Amunothph, a colonnade of an early period, its date being about 1300 B.C. The columns represent eight stems and buds of the papyrus bound together, and are cast from a black granite column bearing the name of Amunothph, now in the British Museum.

[Illustration: First order of Egyptian Column.]

Passing on we find ourselves in a dark tomb copied from one at Beni Hassan. It is the earliest piece of architecture in the Crystal Palace, its date being about 1660 B.C. The original tomb is cut in the solid chain of rocks that forms a boundary on the east of the Nile, separating the sandy desert from the fertile valley of the river. Although architectural remains exist in Egypt of a much earlier date than this tomb, it still possesses great value to us, for it may be considered as exhibiting the first _order_ of Egyptian columns, which was employed in constructing buildings at as remote a period as two thousand years before Christ; this fluted column in another respect claims our attention, for there can be but little doubt that it supplied the Greeks with the model of their early Doric. The original tomb has but one instead of four entrances as here represented, and is accordingly more gloomy and impressive. What is lost in sombre effect, however, is made up to the visitor in convenience.

Passing out, we behold, in front of us, a beautiful colonnade, or portico, from the Island of Philöe, and of the same period as the Egyptian wall which we first saw fronting the Nave. Within this we cannot fail to remark the scattered statues, especially the Egyptian Antinous, executed during the Roman rule, the life-like development of whose limbs, representing, as it no doubt does, the Egyptian type, is sufficient to convince us that when Egyptian art was not tied down by the hierarchical yoke, it was capable of producing works of truth and merit. Another work of art, executed when the country was under the Greek yoke, is the remarkable bas-relief portrait of Alexander the Great, inscribed in hieroglyphics and Greek characters. The Greek name is spelt wrongly--a sufficient proof that the work of art is from the hand of an Egyptian artist. Amidst the statues will be found two circular-headed stones--copies of the celebrated Rosetta stone (so called from having been found at the little town of Rosetta, near Alexandria) from which Dr. Young and Champollion obtained a key to the deciphering of hieroglyphics. The stone is engraved in three characters: Hieroglyphic, Enchorial--the writing of the country--and Greek; the inscription is an address from the priests to the Greek King of Egypt, Ptolemy V., in which the sovereign’s praises are set forth, and orders are given to set up a statue of the king, together with the address, in every temple. The date of this interesting remnant of Egyptian manners and customs is about 200 years before the Christian era.

Further on to the right, as we face the west--in a recess--is the model of the Temple of Aboo Simbel, cut in the side of a rock, in Nubia. The sitting figures which, in the original, are of the size of the gigantic figures which we shall afterwards see in the Northern Transept, represent Rameses the Great, and the smaller ones around, his mother, wife, and daughter. The original tomb is ten times as large as the present model. It should be remembered that nearly all the models here introduced are very much below the size of the architectural remains which they represent. For example: the majority of the columns in the Temple of Karnak are 47 feet high, and some are 62 feet. Turning from this recess, and after looking at the beautiful lotus columns to the left, surmounted by the cow-eared Goddess of Love of the Egyptians, and having examined the two large pictures on the walls of the temple--one of which represents a king slaying his enemies with the aid of the god Ammon Ra, and the other a feat of arms of the same king--we direct our attention to the columns before us, which are reduced models of a portion of the celebrated Temple of Karnak at Thebes. This temple was, perhaps, one of the largest and most interesting in Egypt; the principal portions are said to have been erected by Rameses II. about 1170 B.C. It seems to have been a fashion with the Theban kings to make additions to this temple during their respective reigns; and, as each monarch was anxious to outvie his predecessor, the size of the fabric threatened to become unbounded. Temples and tombs were the grand extravagances of the Egyptian kings. The sums that modern rulers devote to palaces which add to their splendour whilst living, were given by the remote princes of whom we speak, and who regarded life as only a fleet passage towards eternity, for the construction of enduring homes when life should have passed away. Inasmuch as, if the career of an Egyptian king proved irreligious or oppressive, the priests and people could deny him sepulture in his own tomb, it is not unlikely that many Egyptian kings lavished large sums upon temples, in order to conciliate the priestly favour, and to secure for their embalmed bodies the much-prized sanctuary. It is to be observed, however, with respect to the names and inscriptions found on Egyptian monuments, that they are by no means always to be taken as an authentic account of the remains within. Some of the Egyptian kings have been proved guilty of erasing from tombs the names of their predecessors, and of substituting their own; an unwarrantable and startling deception that has proved very awkward and embarrassing to Egyptian antiquaries.

[Illustration: Column from Karnak.]

The portion of Karnak here modelled is taken from the Hall of Columns, commenced by Osirei the First, and completed by his son, Rameses the Great, a most illustrious monarch, whose deeds are frequently recorded, and whose statue is found in many parts of Egypt, and who flourished during the twelfth century before Christ. Before entering the temple, we stay to notice the representations of animals and birds on the frieze above the columns, which is the dedication of the temple to the gods. Entering between the columns, on the lower part of which is the name of Rameses the Great, and, in the middle, a representation of the three principal divinities of Thebes receiving offerings from King Osirei; and, after thoroughly examining this interesting restoration, we return again into the outer court. The visitor who wishes to realise to himself the actual condition of the principal Egyptian temples and wall-sculptures of Karnak and Kalabshee, can do so by inspecting the splendid collection of French photographs of these ancient works of art in the Gallery immediately over this court, or by consulting the works of Champollion and Sir Gardner Wilkinson in the Reading Room of the Library. Regaining the Nave, a few steps, directed to the left, bring us to

[Illustration: TOMB OF BENI HASSAN.]

THE GREEK COURT.[6]

Architecture and sculpture have here made a stride. We have noted even in Egypt the advance from early rude effort to a consistent gigantic system of art, which grew under the shadow of a stern hierarchical religion. We step at once from the gloom into the sunshine of Greek art. The overwhelming grandeur of Egypt, with its austere conventionalities, is exchanged for true simplicity, great beauty, and ideality. Just proportions, truth, grace of form, and appropriate ornament, characterised Greek architecture. The fundamental principles of construction, as will readily be seen, were the same in Greece as in Egypt, but improved, added to, and perfected. The architecture of both countries was columnar; but, compare the Greek columns before us with those which we just now saw in Egypt, taken from the tomb of Beni Hassan: the latter are simple, rude, ill-proportioned, and with slight pretension to beauty, whilst, in the former, the simplicity still prevailing, the rudeness and heaviness have departed, the pillars taper gracefully, and are finely proportioned and elegant, though of great strength. The specimen of Greek architecture before us is from the later period of the first order, namely, the Doric; and the court is taken, in part, from the Temple of Jupiter at Nemea, which was built about 400 years B.C., still within the verge of the highest period of Greek Art. Passing along the front, we notice on the frieze above the columns the names of the principal Greek cities and colonies.

[6] See “Handbook to the Greek Court,” by George Scharf, jun.; also, “An Apology for the Colouring of the Greek Court,” by Owen Jones.

[Illustration: Plan of the Greek Court.]

We enter the court through the central opening. This portion represents part of a Greek _agora_, or forum, which was used as a market, and also for public festivals, for political and other assemblies. Around the frieze in this central division are the names of the poets, artists, and philosophers of Greece, and of their most celebrated patrons, the list commencing immediately above the place of entrance with old blind Homer, and finishing with Anthemius, the architect of Saint Sophia at Constantinople. The names, it will be remarked, are inserted in the Greek characters of the period at which the various persons lived. The monograms within the chaplets on the frieze are formed of the initial letters of the Muses, the Graces, the Good and the Wise. The colouring of this court, with its blue, red, and yellow surfaces, blazoned with gold, produces an excellent effect. It is the object of the decorators to give to the whole of the architectural specimens in the Crystal Palace those colours which there is reason to know, or to believe they originally possessed; to restore them, in fact, as far as possible, to their pristine state, in order that the imagination of the spectator may be safely conducted back in contemplation to the artistic characteristics of distant and distinctive ages. In this court are arranged sculptures and models of temples. Amongst the former will be recognised many of the finest statues and groups of the Greek school, the Laocoon (16); the Farnese Juno (6); the Dione (3); the Genius of Death (24); the well-known Discobolus (4) from the Vatican; the Ariadne, also from the Vatican (27); the Sleeping or Barberini Faun (19); and, in the centre, the unrivalled Venus of Milo, which affords perhaps the most perfect combination of grandeur and beauty in the female form (1). We make our way round this court, beginning at the right hand. After examining the collection, we pass between the columns into the small side court (next to Egypt), answering to a stoa of the Agora. Around the frieze are found the names of the great men of the Greek colonies, arranged in chronological order. The visitor has here an opportunity of contrasting the architecture and sculpture of the Egyptians with those of the Greeks. On one side of him is an Egyptian wall inclining inwards, with its angular pictorial decorations, and the passive colossal figures guarding the entrances. On the other side are the beautiful columns and bold cornice of the Greek Doric, surrounded by statues characterised by beauty of form and refined idealised expression. In this division will also be found the busts of the Greek Poets, arranged in chronological order, commencing on the right-hand side from the Nave: these form a portion and the commencement of the Portrait Gallery of the Crystal Palace.

Making our way through the opening in the back, opposite the Nave, we enter a covered atrium, commonly attached to the portion of the agora here reproduced. The massive _antæ_, or square pillars, and the panelled ceiling--the form of the latter adapted from the Temple of Apollo at Bassæ in Arcadia--give the visitor another specimen of Greek architecture. We proceed, to the right, down this atrium, occasionally stepping out to examine the sculpture arranged in the gallery, and the restored and coloured frieze of the Parthenon of Athens, which extends its length along the wall. The coloured portion has been executed under the direction of Mr. Owen Jones, the golden hair being founded on authentic examples which still exist on analogous remains of ancient Greek art.[7] The tints on the different figures are put forth rather as suggestions than restorations. We really know nothing certain of the manner in which these celebrated relievos were coloured. Acknowledging this fact, Mr. Jones, in thus boldly supplying pigment, has proceeded upon the known principle of the Greeks--using the tints so as to enhance the effect of the sculpture. This frieze represents the Panathenaic procession to the temple of Athene Polias, which formed part of the display at this greatest of the Athenian festivals, and took place every fourth year. Dividing the frieze, is one of the most interesting objects in the Crystal Palace, a model of the western front of the Parthenon itself, about one-fourth the size of the original structure. This is the largest model that has ever been constructed of this beautiful temple, and possesses the great charm of a veritable copy. The scale is sufficiently large to give a complete idea of the original. This admirable model is due to the intelligent and successful researches prosecuted in Athens by Mr. Penrose, whose labours have thrown so much new light upon the refinements practised by the Greeks in architecture. Mr. Penrose has himself directed the construction of the model. In this gallery are ranged statues and groups, including the celebrated Niobe group, from Florence (187 to 187 L, inclusive). This subject of the punishment of Niobe’s family by the gods was frequently treated by Greek artists; and certainly the group before us is one of the most beautiful examples of Greek sculptural art. It is supposed that the portion of the group at Florence occupied the pediment of the temple of Apollo Sosianus at Rome. The Niobe group belongs to one of the brightest periods. Casts from those most beautiful and wonderful remains of ancient art, the colossal figures from the pediment of the Parthenon at Athens, are also here (185 to 186 B). The originals, brought over to England by Lord Elgin in 1801-2, are in the British Museum, and the nation is indebted for the acquisition to the painter Haydon, who was the first British artist to recognise the value, and appreciate the beauty, of these mutilated but inimitable monuments of art at the highest period of its glory. They belong to the Phidian school, and are characterised by simple grandeur, great repose in the attitudes, and a deep study of nature in their forms. The Theseus more particularly displays a marvellous study and appreciation of nature, and the figures of the Fates (185 B), headless though they be, are the most awfully grand impersonations the world has ever seen. In connection with the Parthenon will also be seen a cast from a part of one of the actual columns, also in the British Museum (150). Here also is the wonderful Belvedere Torso, from the Vatican (67); the far-famed Venus de’ Medici (198), from Florence, and the exquisite Psyche (199), from the Museum at Naples. The visitor will not fail to be astonished, no less by the number than by the charming effect of these works which have come down to our time, and which will descend to the latest posterity as models of excellence. Proceeding until we arrive at the junction of the Greek and Roman Courts, we turn into the right-hand division of the outer court; round the frieze of which are the names of the statesmen and warriors of Athens, the Peloponnesus, and Attica. The busts ranged on either side are portraits of the Greek philosophers, orators, generals, and statesmen, arranged in chronological order, commencing at the entrance from the Nave.

[Illustration]

[7] The remainder of the frieze is erected in the gallery above the Courts.

We walk through this court until we reach the Nave; then turning to the left, find ourselves facing

THE ROMAN COURT[8]

On approaching this Court, the visitor will at once notice a new architectural element--as useful as it is beautiful--namely, the ARCH, a feature that has been found susceptible of the greatest variety of treatment. Until within the last few years the credit of the first use of the arch as an _architectural principle_ has been given to the Greek architect under Roman rule, but discoveries in Egypt, and more recently in Assyria by Mr. Layard and M. Botta, have shown that constructed and ornamented arches were frequently employed in architecture many hundred years before the Christian era. It is to be observed that architecture and sculpture had no original growth at Rome, and were not indigenous to the soil. Roman structures were modifications from the Greek, adapted to suit the requirements and tastes of the people; and thus it happened that the simple severity, purity, and ideality of early Greek art degenerated, under the Roman empire, into the wanton luxuriousness that characterised its latest period. In comparing the Greek and Roman statues, we remark a grandeur of conception, a delicacy of sentiment, a poetical refinement of thought in the former, indicative of the highest artistic development with which we are acquainted. When Greece became merely a Roman province, that high excellence was already on the decline, and the dispersion of her artists, on the final subjugation of the country by Mummius, the Roman general, B.C. 146, hastened the descent. A large number of Grecian artists settled at Rome, where the sentiment of servitude, and the love of their masters for display, produced works which by degrees fell further and further from their glorious models, until richness of material, manual cunning, and a more than feminine weakness characterised their principal productions; and the sculptor’s art became degraded into a trade, in which all feeling for the ancient Greek excellence was for ever lost. Thus, in the transplanted art of Greece, serving its Roman masters, a material and sensual feeling more or less prevails, appealing to the passions rather than to the intellects and high imaginations of men. The cumbrous dresses and armour which mark the properly Roman style, hide the graceful and powerful forms of nature under the symbols of station and office, creating a species of political sculpture. It is very curious and instructive to notice at a glance the high intellectual expression of the great men of Greece whose busts adorn the Greek Court, and to contrast their noble countenances with the material and sensual aspect of their conquerors, the Romans, who range peacefully close by: much of the past can be gleaned from such a comparison.

[8] See “Handbook to the Roman Court,” by George Scharf, jun.

[Illustration: Plan of the Roman Court.]

In the wall now before us we have a model of a portion of the outer wall of the Coliseum at Rome, pierced with arches and ornamented with Tuscan columns. The Coliseum is one of the most wonderful structures in the world, and the Pyramids of Egypt alone can be compared with it in point of size. It is elliptical in form, and consisted outwardly of four stories. In the centre of the interior was the _arena_ or scene of

## action, around which the seats for spectators rose, tier above tier. The

enormous range was capable of seating 87,000 persons. Vespasian and Titus erected this amphitheatre, and the work commenced about A.D. 79. In this vast and splendidly decorated building, the ancient Romans assembled to witness chariot-races, naval engagements, combats of wild animals, and other exciting sports. A very beautiful and highly finished model of the Coliseum restored will be found in the Court, which it will be interesting to compare with the present state of the ruin as seen in the model of the Roman Forum close by. A model also of the Pantheon will be found here. These were all executed at Rome under the superintendence of the late Dr. Emil Braun.

Entering the Roman Court through the central archway, we come into an apartment whose walls are coloured in imitation of the porphyry, malachite, and rare marbles with which the Roman people loved to adorn their houses. This style of decoration appears to have been introduced a little before the Christian era; and so lavish were the Romans in supplying ornament for their homes, that the Emperor Augustus, dreading the result of the extravagance, endeavoured by his personal moderation to put a stop to the reckless expenditure: although it is recorded that the lofty exemplar was set up for imitation in vain.

Following the same plan as in the Greek Court, we proceed round from the right to the left, examining the sculptures and models. Amongst the former will be noticed the statue of Drusus from Naples (222); the beautiful Venus Aphrodite from the Capitol, Rome (226); the Venus Genitrix from the Louvre (228); the fine statue of a musician, or female performer on the lyre, from the Louvre (230); the Genius Suppliant (232); the Marine Venus (233); the Venus Aphrodite from Florence (236); the Venus of Arles (237); the Venus Callipygos from Naples (238); and the Bacchus from the Louvre (241). Around the Court are placed the portrait-busts of the most celebrated kings and emperors of Rome, arranged chronologically, commencing, on the right-hand side of the entrance, with Numa Pompilius (34), and terminating with Constantius Chlorus (73). Having completed our survey, we enter the arched vestibule at the back adjoining the Greek Court. This vestibule, and the three others adjacent, are founded, in respect of their decorations and paintings, on examples still extant in the ancient baths of Rome. The bath, as is well known, was indispensable to the Romans, and in the days of their “decadence,” when they had sunk from glorious conquerors and mighty generals into the mere indolent slaves of luxury, the warm bath was used to excess. It is said that it was resorted to as often as seven or eight times a day, and even used immediately after a meal, to assist the digestive organs, and to enable the bather to enjoy, with as little delay as possible, another luxurious repast.

We proceed through these vestibules, as in the Greek Court, studying the objects of art, and occasionally stepping out to notice the continuation of the Parthenon frieze on the wall at the back, and the sculptures ranged around. In the centre of the first vestibule is the Venus Victorious (243); and in the third, the Diana with the deer (261),--two chefs-d’œuvre of sculpture, that give an idea of the highest state of art under Roman rule. We soon arrive at the sides of the Alhambra, when, turning to the right, we find ourselves in a Roman side court, which is surrounded by the busts of the most renowned Roman Generals, of Empresses and other women.

Passing through this compartment, we once more make our way to the Nave, and bring ourselves face to face with the gorgeous magnificence of

THE ALHAMBRA COURT.[9]

The architectural sequence is now interrupted. We have arrived at one of those offshoots from a parent stem which flourished for a time, and then entirely disappeared: leaving examples of their art which either compel our wonder by the extraordinary novelty of the details, as in the case of Nineveh, or, as in the court now before us, excite our admiration to the highest pitch, by the splendour and richness of the decorations. The Saracenic or Moresque architecture sprang from the Byzantine, the common parent of all subsequent styles, and the legitimate successor to the Roman system. We shall immediately have occasion to speak more

## particularly of the parent root when we cross the Nave and enter the

Byzantine Court. Of the Moorish architecture which branched out from it, it will be sufficient to say here, that the solid external structure was of plain, simple masonry; whilst the inside was literally covered, from end to end, with rich arabesque work in coloured stucco, and adorned with mosaic pavements, marble fountains, and sweet-smelling flowers.

[9] See “Handbook to the Alhambra Court,” by Owen Jones.

[Illustration: Entrance to Alhambra Court.]

[Illustration: Ground Plan of the Alhambra Court.]

The vast fortress-palace of the Alhambra,[10] of a portion of which this court is a reproduction, was built about the middle of the thirteenth century. It rises on a hill above the city of Granada (in the south of Spain), the capital of the Moorish kingdom of that name, which, for two hundred and fifty years, withstood the repeated attacks of the Christians, and was not finally reduced until 1492, by Ferdinand and Isabella. The Alhambra, under Moorish rule, was the scene of the luxurious pleasures of the monarch, and the stage upon which many fearful crimes were enacted. Within its brilliant courts, the king fell by the hand of the aspiring chief, who, in his turn, was cut down by an equally ambitious rival. Few spots can boast a more intimate association with the romantic than the Alhambra, until the Christians ejected the Moors from their splendid home, and the palace of the unbeliever became a Christian fortress.

[10] “The Red,” probably so called either from the colour of the soil, or from the deep red brick of which it is built.

The part here reproduced is the far-famed Court of Lions, the Tribunal of Justice, and the Hall of the Abencerrages and the Divan. The outside of these courts is covered with diaper work, consisting of inscriptions in Arabic character, of conventional representation of flowers and of flowing decoration, over which the eye wanders, delighted with the harmony of the colouring and the variety of the ornament. Entering through the central archway, we see before us the fountain, supported by the lions that give name to the court; and, through the archway opposite, the splendid fringe of the stalactite roof of the Hall of the Abencerrages, composed in the original of five thousand separate pieces, which key into and support each other. The Court of Lions here is 75 feet long, just two-thirds the length of the original; the columns are the same height and size as the columns of which they are restorations, and the arches that spring from them are also of the actual size of the original arches. Over the columns is inscribed in Cufic characters, “_And there is no Conqueror but God._” Round the basin of the fountain is an Arabic poem, from which we take two specimens:--

“Oh thou who beholdest these Lions crouching--fear not! Life is wanting to enable them to show their fury!”

Less, we must think, a needless caution to the intruder, than the poet’s allowed flattery to his brother artist. In the verse of Greece and modern Italy, we find the same heightened expression of admiration for the almost animating art of sculpture. The following passage is oriental in every letter:--

“Seest thou not how the water flows on the surface, notwithstanding the current strives to oppose its progress. Like a lover whose eyelids are pregnant with tears, and who suppresses them for fear of a tale-bearer.”

Through this brilliant court, the visitor will proceed or linger as his spirit directs. There are no statues to examine, for the religion of the Moors forbade the representation of living objects; in truth, the exquisitely wrought tracery on every side, upon which the Moorish mind was thus forced to concentrate all its artistic power and skill, is in itself sufficient exclusively to arrest and to enchain the attention. A curious infringement, however, of the Mahommedan law just now mentioned, which proscribes the representation of natural objects, is observable in the lions supporting the fountain, and in three paintings, which occupy a portion of the original ceilings in the Tribunal of Justice and the two alcoves adjoining. It is also to be remarked that, although the followers of Mahommed scrupulously avoid stepping upon a piece of paper, lest the name of God should be written thereon, yet that name is found repeatedly upon the floor of the same tribunal. However, during the State visit of the Princes of Oude to the Crystal Palace in 1858, while they were inspecting this Court it was noticed that they, and many of their attendants, avoided as much as possible stepping upon the inscribed pavement. From these circumstances it would seem that the Mahommedans of the West were more lax in their observances than their brethren of the East, having in all probability imbibed some of the ideas and feelings of the Spanish Christians with whom they came in contact.

Passing through the archway opposite to that at which we entered, we find ourselves in a vestibule which in the Alhambra itself leads from the Court of Lions to the Tribunal of Justice. This is, however, only a portion of the original passage. The arches opening from the central to the right and left divisions of the vestibule are of the size of the originals, the patterns on the Avails and ceilings being taken from other portions of the Alhambra. It should also be remembered that the different apartments here brought together do not stand in the same relation to each other as in the Moorish Palace, the object of the architect in the Crystal Palace being to give the best examples of this style of architecture in the smallest possible space.

The visitor may now proceed through the left-hand arch into the division next the Roman Court. On the right of this division he will find a small room devoted to models, and specimens of the original casts of ornaments of the Alhambra, brought by Mr. Owen Jones from Spain, from which this Court has been constructed. Returning to the central division, he sees on his left the Hall of the Abencerrages, with its beautiful stalactite roof, already spoken of. All the Courts on this side of the building, up to this point, were erected under the superintendence of Mr. Owen Jones. Proceeding onward, we quit the Alhambra, and emerge into the north transept.

The visitor passing into the Tropical division now crosses the Transept, immediately in front of the colossal sitting figures, which he will be able to examine with more effect when he commences a tour through the nave, which we propose that he shall shortly make. Passing these figures then for a moment, he directs his attention to

[Illustration: Pillar from the arcade of the Court.]

THE ASSYRIAN COURT,[11]

which faces him. This Court is larger than any other appropriated to the illustration of one phase of art. It is 120 feet long, 50 feet wide, and has an elevation of 40 feet from the floor line. Its chief interest, however, consists in the fact of its illustrating a style of art of which no specimen has hitherto been presented in Europe, and which, indeed, until the last few years, lay unknown even in the country where its remains have been unexpectedly brought to light. It is little more than ten years ago that M. Botta, the French Consul at Mossul, first discovered the existence of sculptural remains of the old Assyrian empire at Khorsabad: and since that time the palace, now known to have been erected about the year 720 B.C. by Sargon, the successor of Shalmaneser, has been mainly explored, as well as the palace of his son Sennacherib at Koyunjik, and that of Esarhaddon and Sardanapalus, at Nimroud, besides other older palaces in the last-named locality. In addition to the explorations that have been made on these sites, extensive excavations and examinations also within the last few years have been made into the ruins of the palaces of Nebuchadnezzar at Babylon, and of Darius and Xerxes at Susa.

[11] See “Handbook to the Nineveh Court,” by Austen Henry Layard.

It is from the immense mass of new materials, so suddenly revealed, that Mr. James Fergusson, assisted by Mr. Layard, has erected the court before which the visitor now stands--an architectural illustration which, without pretending to be a literal copy of any one building, most certainly represents generally the architecture of the extinct but once mighty kingdoms of Mesopotamia, during the two centuries that elapsed between the reign of Sennacherib and that of Xerxes, viz., from about B.C. 700 to B.C. 500.

The oldest form of architecture in these Eastern parts was probably that which existed in Babylon: but the absence of stone in that country reduced the inhabitants to the necessity of using bricks only, and for the most part bricks burnt by the sun, though sometimes fire-burnt brickwork is also found. The face of the walls so constructed was ornamented with paintings, either on plaster or enamelled on the bricks, whilst the constructive portions and roofs were of wood. All this perishable material has of course disappeared, and nothing now remains even of the Babylon built by Nebuchadnezzar but formless mounds of brickwork. In the more northern kingdom of Assyria, the existence of stone and marble secured a wainscoting of sculptured slabs for the palace walls, whilst great winged bulls and giant figures, also in stone, adorned the portals and façades. The pillars, however, which supported the roofs, and the roofs themselves, were all of wood, generally of cedar, and these having been destroyed by fire or by the lapse of ages, nothing remains to tell of their actual size and form. Yet we are not left entirely to conjecture in respect of them. Susa and Persepolis in Persia--the followers and imitators of Nineveh--arose in districts where stone was abundant, and we find that the structures in these cities had not only stone pillars to support the roof, but also stone jambs in the doorways, thus affording an unmistakeable clue to the nature of such portions of building as are wanting to complete our knowledge of the architecture of the Assyrian people.

As now laid bare to us, the Assyrian style of architecture differs essentially from any other with which we have hitherto been made acquainted. Its main characteristics are enormously thick mud-brick walls, covered with painted bas-reliefs, and roofs supported internally by slight but elegant wooden columns, ornamented with volutes (spiral mouldings), and the elegant honeysuckle ornament which was afterwards introduced through Ionia into Greece--this Assyrian style being, according to some, the parent of the Ionic order, as the Egyptian was of the Doric order, of Greece. The very greatest interest attaches to these architectural remains, and to the records cut in enduring stone, which they have handed down to us, inasmuch as they corroborate, in a most remarkable manner, certain statements in the Bible connected with Jewish History. There can be little doubt that the Assyrians and Jews sprang from the same stock; and no one can fail to remark that the physiognomy of the Assyrians, as pourtrayed in these sculptures, bears a strong resemblance to the Israelitish visage. As far as we can judge from descriptions, the architecture of ancient Jerusalem was almost identical with that of Assyria.

[Illustration: Entrance to the Nineveh Court.]

The whole of the lower portion of the exterior front and sides of this Court is taken from the palace at Khorsabad, the great winged bulls, the giants strangling the lions (supposed to represent the Assyrian Hercules), and the other features, being casts from the objects sent from the site of the palace, to the Louvre, and arranged, as far as circumstances admit, in the relative position of the original objects as they were discovered. The dwarf columns on the walls, with the double bull capitals, are modelled from details found at Persepolis and Susa, whilst the cornice and battlements above have been copied from representations found in one of the bas-reliefs at Khorsabad. The painting of the cornice is in strict accordance with the recent discoveries of that place.

[Illustration: Plan of the Assyrian Court.]

Entering through the opening in the side, guarded by colossal bulls, the visitor finds himself in a large hall, in the centre of which stand four great columns copied literally from columns found at Susa and Persepolis. The walls of the hall are covered with sculpture, cast from originals brought to this country by Mr. Layard from his excavations at Nimroud, and deposited in the British Museum. Upon the sculptures are engraved the arrow-headed inscriptions which have been so recently, and in so remarkable a manner, deciphered by Colonel Rawlinson and Dr. Hincks. Above these is a painting of animals and trees, copied from one found at Khorsabad. The roof crowning the hall represents the form of ceiling usual in that part of Asia, but is rather a vehicle for the display of the various coloured patterns of Assyrian art than a direct copy of anything found in the Assyrian palaces. In the centre of the great hall the visitor will notice a decorated archway at the back of the Court. The very recent discovery of this highly ornamented arch at Khorsabad, and also of a pointed example, proves--somewhat unexpectedly--that the Assyrian people were far from ignorant of the value of these beautiful features of architecture. A complete detailed account of this interesting department will be found in Mr. Layard’s valuable Handbook to the Nineveh Court.

Having completed his survey of the interior of this Court, the visitor may at once quit the Court by the central entrance, and turning to the left cross the north end of the Nave, stopping for one moment on his passage to look from end to end of the magnificent structure within which he stands, and to glance at the exterior of the Court he has just quitted, the bright colouring of which, the bold ornaments, the gigantic bulls, and colossal features, present as novel and striking an architectural and decorative display as the mind can imagine.

Having crossed the building, past the avenue of Sphinxes, without stopping at the colossal Egyptian figures to be noticed hereafter, the visitor will continue the architectural illustrations with

THE BYZANTINE AND ROMANESQUE COURT.[12]

Before the visitor is conducted through the architectural Courts on this side of the Nave, which have all been erected by Mr. Digby Wyatt, it is necessary he should understand that they differ considerably in arrangement and treatment from those on the opposite side, which have already been described. In the Egyptian, Greek, and other Courts through which he has passed, the forms or characteristics of some one distinctive structure have, to a greater or less extent, been given; but the Courts into which we are now about to penetrate are not architectural restorations, but rather so many collections of ornamental details stamped with unmistakeable individuality, and enabling us at a glance to recognise and distinguish the several styles that have existed and succeeded each other, from the beginning of the 6th down to the 16th century. In each Court will be found important details, ornament, and even entire portions, taken from the most remarkable or beautiful edifices of the periods they illustrate. Thus the palaces and Christian temples of Italy, the castles and churches of Germany, the hôtels-de-ville and châteaux of Belgium and France, and the cathedrals and mansions in our own country, have all been laid under contribution, so that here, for the first time in the history of architecture, we have the opportunity of acquiring a perceptive and practical knowledge of the beautiful art during the period of its later progress.

[12] See “Handbook to the Byzantine Court,” by M. Digby Wyatt and J. B. Waring.

[Illustration: Byzantine Court (entrance from North Transept).]

The regular architectural sequence on the other side of the Nave finds its termination in the Roman Court, and we now resume the order of history with the “Byzantine” Court. Art, as we have already indicated, declined during the Roman Empire; but the general adoption of Christianity gave the blow that finally overthrew it; for the introduction of this faith was, unfortunately, accompanied with bitter and violent enmity against all Pagan forms of beauty. An edict of Theodosius, in the early part of the 5th century, ordered that pagan art should be utterly annihilated, and the primitive Christians demolished with frantic zeal the temples, bronzes, paintings, and statues that adorned the Romish capital.

To complete the work of destruction, it is related that Gregory (A.D. 590), one of the celebrated “Fathers” of the Roman Church, gave orders that every vestige of Pagan Rome should be consigned to the Tiber; and thus was ancient Art smitten and overthrown, and the attempt made to efface its very foot-prints from the earth; so that, indeed, men had now to proceed as best they might, by painful and laborious efforts, towards the formation of a new and essentially Christian style of architecture, which, however feeble and badly imitated from ancient models at its commencement, was finally productive of the most original and beautiful results.

Constantine the Great, in the early part of the 4th century, embraced Christianity. The new religion required structures capable of holding large assemblages of people at certain periods; and notwithstanding the magnificence of some of the Roman structures, none could be found appropriate to the required use, save the Basilicas, or Halls of Justice, at Rome. The form of these structures was oblong, and the interior consisted of a central avenue and two side aisles, divided from the centre by a double row of columns, the central avenue terminating in a semicircular recess with the roof rounded off. It will be at once apparent that such buildings were admirably adapted to the purposes and observances of the new religion; and, accordingly, in A.D. 323, when Constantine removed the seat of empire from the West to the East, from Rome to Byzantium (Constantinople), the Roman Basilica probably served as a model for the Christian churches which he rapidly raised in his new city.

But on this point we have little authentic information; time, the convulsions of nature, and the destructive hand of man, have long since lost to us the original churches built on Constantine’s settlement at Byzantium, and the oldest monument with which we are acquainted, that of Santa Sophia, built in the early part of the 6th century by Justinian, bears no relation in its plan to the long basilica of the Western Empire.

[Illustration: Greek Cross.]

[Illustration: Latin Cross.]

The great characteristic of Byzantine church architecture was a plan formed on the Greek cross, and surmounted at its points of intersection by a central dome. The direct imitation of the antique capitals was eschewed, and a foliated capital was introduced in its place, varying considerably in pattern even in the same building: the arch was in general semicircular, and the use of mosaic ornament universal, but it was some time before the Byzantine style received its full development; for the earlier Christians generally maintained a profound antipathy to all Art, as ostentatious, and savouring overmuch of worldly delights. It is not, however, in the nature of man to exist for any length of time in this world, wondrously adorned as it is by its Divine Creator, without imbibing a love for the adornment so profusely displayed around him. This natural feeling, which St. Augustine and the stricter Christians vainly sought to decry and repress, was strengthened and aided by the more forcible notion of holding out some attraction to the pagans, who, accustomed to the ceremonies and charms of their old rites, might be repelled by the apparent gloominess of the new creed. As the number of converts increased, a demand for church ornament made itself felt, and Art once more awoke, not in the excelling beauty of its former life, but rude, unpolished, and crippled by religious necessity, which placed, as in Egypt of old, a restriction upon the forms of nature, lest by copying them the people should relapse into the idolatrous worship of graven images. In the Eastern or Greek Church, even the rude and grotesque sculpture first allowed was speedily forbidden and banished for ever. The mosaic painting, however, was continued by Greek artists, and this peculiar style of ornamentation is one of the most distinctive features of Byzantine architecture. Not only were the walls and ceilings covered with extraordinarily rich examples of glass mosaic work, formed into pictures illustrative of Scripture subjects and saintly legends, or arranged in elaborate patterns of geometrical and other ornament, but columns, pulpits, &c., were rendered brilliant with its glowing colours. Mosaic work also is at times found on the façades of the Byzantine buildings; whilst the pavement, if less gorgeous, was at least as richly ornamented with coloured inlay of _marble_ mosaic. As we have, however, just observed, the fear of idolatry led to the comparative neglect of sculpture, and the edict forbidding the sculpture of images for religious purposes became one cause of the separation of the Latin Church in Rome from the Greek Church in Constantinople, and thenceforth the two churches remain distinct. In the former, sculpture continued to exist, not as an independent art, but as a mere architectural accessory.

[Illustration: Byzantine Court--Arches from the Nave.]

Byzantine architecture flourished from A.D. 328 to 1453; but the Byzantine proper can be said to extend only from the 6th to the 11th centuries. Romanesque architecture in its various developments was more or less impressed with the Byzantine character, and in its general features resembles the source from which it was in a great measure derived; although the dome is generally absent in the churches of northern Europe, which retained the plan of the old Roman basilica in preference to that of the Greek cross, for a long time peculiar to the Eastern Church.

It would not be hazarding too much to assert that Byzantine architecture was generally adopted throughout most European countries from the 6th to the 11th century, with such modifications as the necessities of climate, the differences of creed, and the means of building necessitated.

[Illustration: Ground Plan of Byzantine Court.]

Before entering this court the visitor will do well to examine its external decoration, affording, as it does, not only an excellent notion of the splendid mosaic ornament, we have already alluded to as peculiarly Byzantine, but for its paintings of illustrious characters of the Byzantine period, taken from valuable illuminations and mosaics still in existence; such as the fine portraits of Justinian and his consort Theodora, from Ravenna (by the entrance from the Nave), and those of Charles the Bald of France, and the Emperor Nicephorus Botoniates of Constantinople, copied from valuable existing authorities; whilst an allegorical representation of Night, on the return side, is a proof that the poetry of Art was not altogether dead in the 10th century, to which date it belongs.

In front of all the courts facing the Nave, are placed many very interesting examples of Mediæval and Renaissance Art, a brief notice of which will be found later in this volume.

The entrance to the gallery at the back of the Byzantine Court is formed by the Chancel Arch of Tuam Cathedral in Ireland, built about the beginning or middle of the 13th century, a most interesting relic of art in the Sister Isle.

[Illustration: Arch and Column from Cloister.]

Entering through the arches from the North Transept, we turn to the right into a cool cloister of the Romanesque school, a restored copy of a cloister at the church of Santa Maria in Capitolo, at Cologne, an ancient edifice said to have been commenced about the year 700. The cloister is, however, of the close of the 10th century. The restoration gives us an excellent notion of the arches, columns, and capitals of this period, and shows the difference that exists between Byzantine and ancient Greek or Roman art. Proceeding through the cloister, the roof of which is beautifully decorated with Byzantine ornament, in imitation of the glass mosaic work, we remark various pieces of sculpture, chiefly from Venice: at the extreme end, to the left, having our back to the Nave, is a recumbent effigy of Richard Cœur de Lion, from Rouen; at the farthest end, to the right, is placed the Prior’s doorway from Ely, in a late Norman style; and next to this, to the right, a representation of the Baptism of Christ, from St. Mark’s, at Venice. We enter the court itself. The marble fountain in the centre is an exact copy of one at Heisterbach on the Rhine. We may now obtain some notion of the different features which mark the Byzantine, the German Romanesque, and Norman styles; all agreeing in general character, but all varying in treatment. The cloister we have just quitted, with the cubical capitals of its external columns and its profuse mosaics, presents a strongly marked impress of the Byzantine style, the same influence being also remarked in the external mosaic work of the small but beautiful portion of the cloisters of St. John Lateran at Rome; on each side of which are fine examples of German Romanesque, which is frequently also called the Lombard style, as indicative of its origin; and beyond these again, in the extreme angles, are interesting specimens of the Norman style as practised in England during the 12th century. These examples will enable the visitor to judge in some measure of the differences that characterise the three. To the left is a very curious Norman doorway, from Kilpeck Church, in Herefordshire; the zigzag moulding around it is peculiar to the Norman; and in the sculptured reliefs which surround the doorway a symbolism is hidden, for the meaning of which we must refer our readers to the Handbook of this Court. Next to this is a doorway from Mayence Cathedral, the bronze doors within it, which are from Augsburg Cathedral, in Germany, being interesting examples of the art of bronze-casting in the latter half of the 11th century. The rudely-executed subjects in the panels are mostly taken from the Old Testament, but no attempt at chronological arrangement has been made. Above the St. John Lateran cloister is an arcade from Gelnhausen in Germany, a good specimen of grotesque and symbolic sculpture quite in the style of the early Lombard work in Northern Italy. The doorway on the opposite side of the St. John Lateran cloister is a composition showing the general characteristics of the Romanesque style; the doors are from Hildesheim Cathedral, and were executed in 1015, by order of Bishop Bernwardus. They contain sixteen panels, arranged in proper order, eight representing scenes in the Old Testament, commencing with the creation of man, and eight representing subjects from the New Testament, beginning with the Annunciation. Next to this, and corresponding to the Kilpeck doorway, is a second side door from Shobdon Church, Herefordshire. The circles ornamented with foliage over the Shobdon Chancel Arch, are from Moissac. On the side wall next to the Arch, is the monument, from Salisbury Cathedral, of Bishop Roger, who died A.D. 1139; it is transitional in style, from the Norman to the Early English.

On either side of the fountain in this court are placed the celebrated effigies of Fontevrault Abbey (the burying-place of the Plantagenets), consisting of Henry II. and his Queen Eleonora; Richard I.; and Isabella, wife of King John. These date from the 13th century, and they are not only interesting as works of art, but valuable as portraits, and as evidences of costumes of that period. The effigy of Henry II. is the earliest-known statue of any English king. An effigy of King John from Worcester, and another of Berengaria, wife of Richard I., from the Abbey of L’Espan, near Mans, in France, are also to be found here.

The inlaid marble pavement of the Court is copied from churches in Florence, and is of the beginning of the 13th century.

Having thoroughly examined the various contents of this Court, we pass through the opening in the arcade of St. John Lateran, before mentioned, and enter a vestibule, the vaulting of which is from the convent of the Franciscans, at Assisi, in Central Italy, with the paintings in the four compartments of the vault, from their originals by Cimabue.

[Illustration: Door from Birkin Church.]

In the centre of this compartment is a large black marble Norman font from Winchester Cathedral: the date of which has given rise to much controversy; those assigned, ranging from 630 to 1150. Next to this font is another from Eardsley Church, Herefordshire, of the 12th century.

Passing now to the left, we see on the back wall, looking towards the Garden, three openings, the central one of which is a doorway from the church of Freshford, in Kilkenny, of about the latter end of the 11th or beginning of the 12th century, and on either side of it are windows from the church of Tuam, in Ireland. Above the Freshford doorway is a large circular window from Rathain Church, remarkable for its great antiquity, and said to have been erected as early as the middle of the 8th century. In this compartment are also placed Irish crosses, affording examples of the sculptural antiquities of the Sister Isle; and some interesting crosses from the Isle of Man. On the shaft of the Kilcrispeen Cross, which stands in the centre of the gallery, amongst other ornamental pieces of enlacement, will be seen four human figures platted together. The influence of Byzantine Art in these Irish antiquities is clearly marked. Having examined this compartment, we proceed for a short distance southwards, down the corridor or gallery, and pass, on the back wall of the Byzantine Court, first, a doorway composed principally from an existing example at Romsey Abbey, the bas-relief in the door-head being from Shobdon: and on the other side of the St. John Lateran arcade, a beautiful Norman doorway from Birkin Church, Yorkshire: after which we reach the smaller division of the Mediæval Court, dedicated to works of German Mediæval Art, the entrance to which is beneath the Pointed arcade on our right. Before passing from this Court, the visitor should step into the large chamber on the left of the vestibule which contains the Irish antiquities of Byzantine art, where he will find an unique collection of modern ecclesiastical sculpture, consisting of the original models from the study of the late Charles Geerts, the famous sculptor of Louvain, the originals of which are mostly existing in the churches of Belgium, but some are in England. These beautiful and masterly productions will repay the careful student of art, as well as all lovers of the beautiful, for a special inspection.

THE GERMAN MEDIÆVAL COURT.[13]

This small Court is devoted exclusively to examples of Gothic art and architecture in Germany, and, taken with the English and French Mediæval Courts,--which we shall presently reach,--gives an excellent idea of the style and character of architecture in these three countries during the Middle Ages. Such remarks as are required to explain the transition from the Romanesque and Byzantine to the Pointed style of architecture, we shall defer until we find ourselves in the Mediæval Court of our own country. We, therefore, without preface, conduct the visitor from the gallery of the Byzantine Court, through the side arches, directly into the German Mediæval Court. The large doorway in the centre at once attracts attention. This is cast from a celebrated church doorway at Nuremberg, and is especially worthy of notice. On the wall to the right is a doorway leading into the Byzantine Court. This is not copied from any one particular example, but is a composition displaying the elements of the German style. The equestrian statue of St. George is from the Cathedral square at Prague, a work of the 14th century. The seven round bas-reliefs at the top of the doorway, representing scenes from the life of Christ, are fac-simile copies of the originals by Veit Stoss, at the Church of St. Lawrence, in Nuremberg. On either side of this doorway are two monuments, of Bishops Siegfrid von Epstein and Peter Von Aspelt, opposite to which are the fine monuments of Albert of Saxony, and of Bishop Von Gemmingen; all of these are cast from the originals, in Mayence Cathedral. Above the arches, and all round the Court, is a small arcade, the capitals, brackets, and other monuments of which are taken from various German churches, but more especially from the Cathedral of Cologne. Immediately over the arches through which we have entered, and between the columns of the arcade, are four bosses with the symbols of the Evangelists, also from Cologne Cathedral.

[13] See “Handbook to the Mediæval Court,” by M. Digby Wyatt and J. B. Waring.

[Illustration: Plan of the German Mediæval Vestibule.]

Passing through the Nuremberg doorway, in the centre, we see immediately before us, and over the arches leading to the nave, eight dancing mummers, from the Town-hall at Munich; they are represented as exhibiting before an audience, probably at some civic festival, and are full of grotesque drollery. Beneath the mummers are placed consoles or brackets, from the hall of Gurzenich, at Cologne, remarkable for the humour displayed in their conception. On the wall to the right are three large reliefs, from the church of St. Sebald, at Nuremberg. They are the work of Adam Krafft, and represent:--1. The Betrayal of our Saviour; 2. The Mount of Olives; 3. The Last Supper;--and in their execution show great power and much less stiffness than is generally found in Mediæval works. Adam Krafft was an excellent sculptor, who flourished at the close of the 15th century. His works, which are chiefly to be found at Nuremberg, possess great merit both in their search after truth and the unusual manual ability they display. Immediately beneath these reliefs is another by the same artist, taken from the Frauen-Kirche, or Church of our Lady, at Nuremberg. It represents an Adoration of the Virgin, and shows even more vigorous handling than the other three. On the other side of the adjoining doorway, from the Monastery of Denkendorf, in Wurtemburgh, is another piece, representing the “Coronation of the Virgin,” also by Krafft. The monument beneath is from Munich, and is of the 16th century. On the left-hand wall, next to the Nuremberg door, is a bas-relief of “Justice with the Rich and Poor,” by Veit Stoss, from the Town-hall at Nuremberg. Above and below this are others by Krafft. The upper, the “Meeting of Christ and St. Veronica,” from the Via Crucis, Nuremberg; the lower, another “Coronation of the Virgin,” from the Frauen-Kirche, Nuremberg. Under this last are two ascribed to Albert Durer--a “Circumcision,” and “Christ teaching in the Temple;” and on the other side of the doorway, leading into the English Mediæval Court, is the celebrated garland representing the triumph of the Church, by Veit Stoss, from the church of St. Lawrence, at Nuremberg, which deserves especial examination as one of the master-pieces of that sculptor, and on account of its very peculiar arrangement. Other subjects in this Court present excellent examples of German Mediæval Art down to the time of Peter Vischer, whose works evince an evident influence derived from the Renaissance School of Italy, at the close of the 15th and at the commencement of the 16th centuries.

We now emerge into the Nave, and turning to the left, find ourselves in front of

THE ENGLISH MEDIÆVAL COURT.[14]

It will have been remarked in the German Mediæval Court, that architecture has undergone another change. No sooner had the Lombard or Romanesque style become systematised, than features arose which contained the germs of yet more important changes.

[14] See “Handbook to the Mediæval Court,” by M. Digby Wyatt and J. B. Waring.

The Horizontal line principle of antique Art was gradually given up, and a marked inclination towards the Vertical line principle took its place. The full change was not yet by any means complete, and it remained for the introduction of the Pointed arch, under Norman influence in England and France, in the 12th century, to effect a gradual revolution in the whole system of construction and ornamentation, until nearly every trace of the preceding style was lost, and another essentially distinct in all its characteristics arose in its stead.

[Illustration: Entrance to English Mediæval Court.]

As we are now standing before the ecclesiastical architecture of our own country, it may be interesting to notice briefly, and in chronological order, the progress of Pointed architecture in England, and to specify a few of those leading features which serve to distinguish the style of one period from that of another.

Prior to our doing this, it will be well briefly to notice the Norman style which preceded the Pointed, and which was extensively practised by the Normans and English in this country, after the successful invasion by William in 1066. Its leading features are extreme solidity, absence of ornament (at its earliest period), semicircular or horse-shoe arches, and the peculiar zigzag mouldings before noted. The buttresses or supports placed against walls to give them strength are broad, but project very little. The pillars are short, massive, and frequently circular, whilst the capitals are usually cubical and channeled in a peculiar manner, sometimes being quite plain, and at others carved with grotesque and symbolic figures and foliage.

[Illustration: Side niche of Tintern door.]

The Norman lasted until the 13th century, when it made way for the first pointed style, which is known as _Early English_. The arches in this style are lancet-shaped; the pillars consist frequently of small shafts clustering round a circular pier, and are much slighter and taller than the Norman: the capitals are frequently without ornament, being simply plain mouldings. When the capital is carved with foliage, the work is boldly executed. Spires, too, although originating in the later Norman, rose in the Early English high into the air, like landmarks to the people, to point out where they might congregate to worship their Divine Creator. The buttresses are bold, generally rising in diminishing stages, and either terminating in a triangular head or sloping off into the wall. Windows, two or three in number, were often grouped together under a moulded arch, between the point of which and the tops of the windows an intervening space was formed. This space, pierced with one or more openings, gave rise to that most distinctive and beautiful element of the Gothic style--TRACERY.

The _Decorated_ style, which succeeded to the Early English, flourished during the 14th century, and the Court we are now about to enter possesses numerous examples of this, the best and brightest period of English Gothic; for in the Early English the style had not yet reached its highest point of beauty, and in the later _Perpendicular_ it already suffered decline. Tracery, as we have stated, was the chief characteristic of the Decorated style; and it consists either of geometrical forms or of flowing lines. As an example of the former, the visitor may examine the arches of the cloister, containing the two figures now before us, on the side niche of the Tintern door. The foliated details and carvings, which also give character to this style, may, in like manner, be studied with advantage in this Court. The pillars are either clustered or single, and generally of octangular or circular form; the capitals are sometimes carved with foliage, at other times they are plain. The buttress is in stages and terminated occasionally with Decorated pinnacles. The execution of the details of this style was admirable, and the variety and beauty of the ornaments, founded chiefly on natural subjects, gives to the _Decorated_ style an effect which has seldom, if ever, been surpassed.

From the latter part of the 14th to the beginning of the 16th century the _Perpendicular_ style was in vogue. It derives its name from the tracery, which, instead of taking flowing forms, consists chiefly of vertical lines. The arches became depressed in form, the Tudor arch being distinctive of its later phase, whilst the ornaments were crowded, and departed more from natural models. The more important buildings were covered throughout with shallow panelled work and profuse ornament, over which the eye wanders in vain for much-needed repose, and the effect of breadth and grandeur of parts is lost and frittered away.

These few observations, imperfect as they are, may perhaps assist the visitor’s appreciation of the Court we are about to examine. Without further preface, then, we proceed through the archway, as usual, from the Nave.

[Illustration: Arcade from Guisborough.]

We are in a cloister of the _Decorated_ period, founded in its arches and columns on the Abbey of Guisborough, Yorkshire. Looking through the cloister to the left, we see before us a doorway from the Chapel of Prince Arthur, son of Henry VII., in Worcester Cathedral, which will enable us to test in a measure the truth of our summary of the Perpendicular style. On the extreme right we see the door of Bishop West’s Chapel, from Ely, a capital example of the Later Perpendicular style as it began to feel the influence of the coming Renaissance period. Crossing the cloister we enter the Mediæval Court, which contains architectural specimens taken from our ancient churches and magnificent cathedrals.

The upper portion of the Court is formed of arches, containing, in the spandrels, figures of angels illustrative of the gradual unfolding of Divine revelation, taken from the “Angels’ Choir,” in Lincoln Cathedral. The sculptures in the tympanum are mostly from Tewkesbury, and the figures under the canopies are from Wells Cathedral.

[Illustration: Ground Plan of English Mediæval Court.]

Entering the Court from the Nave, we find, immediately facing us, the magnificent doorway from Rochester Cathedral, coloured so as to give an idea of its appearance when first erected. The different faces, “making mouths,” introduced amongst the tracery of this door, afford a good example of the grotesque spirit which forms so strong an element of Gothic architecture. We may remark here that the practice of colouring and gilding was carried to an almost extravagant extent in the Gothic style, although the effacing hand of Time has left comparatively few examples in a perfect state.

[Illustration: Doorway from Rochester Cathedral.]

On the left of the door is a portion of the arcading from the Chapter House of Wells Cathedral, and next is the richly-decorated Easter sepulchre, from Hawton Church, Nottinghamshire, representing the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ,--a very remarkable monument of the 14th century. At the foot are the soldiers on guard at the Sepulchre, sleeping, and in the centre (the altar-table) the Resurrection of our Lord, bearing his cross; the three Marys in adoration at his feet. Above is the Ascension, the Apostles standing around. This last subject is treated in an original and ingenious manner, to come within the lines of the architecture. This monument was used as an altar; various rites being performed before it, between Good-Friday and Easter-day. A seated figure, from the front of Lincoln Cathedral, is the next subject; and further on, in the angle, is a Virgin and Child, in a niche,--a beautiful piece of early 14th century work from York Minster; and next is a portion of Bishop Alcock’s chantry chapel, from Ely Cathedral; on the other side of the adjoining doorway, which is a composition chiefly from the triforium of Lincoln Cathedral, we remark the very beautiful oriel window of John o’Gaunt, at Lincoln, and next to it a portion of the elaborate altar-screen of Winchester Cathedral.

On the right of the Rochester door is the finely designed monument of Humphrey de Bohun, from Hereford Cathedral, with the effigy of the knight in complete armour. Next to this, in the angle, we see the recumbent figure of the “Boy Bishop” from Salisbury Cathedral. It used to be the custom in the Catholic Church, annually to elect a bishop from the children of the choir, who, throughout the year, kept all the state of a regular bishop; and, in the event of his dying within the period of his office, had his effigy erected as here we see. For further

## particulars of this singular custom, see the “Handbook of the Mediæval

Court.” The door beyond corresponds to the one opposite; and further on, near the cloister, is one of the doors of Lichfield Cathedral, with its beautiful ironwork, the painting of which, to represent oak, is remarkably clever; and a portion of Bishop Bubwith’s monument from Wells. The exquisite niches and canopies round the walls of the court are from Southwell Minster, Ely Cathedral, Beverley Minster, &c. The statues on a line with, and corresponding to those on the monument of Bishop Bubwith, are excellent examples of late Gothic work, from Armagh Cathedral. The upper tier, consisting principally of sculpture, presents valuable examples of that art. The large statues beneath the canopies are from the façade of Wells; they are all of the highest interest with reference to the history of sculpture in England. The floor presents a remarkable and interesting series of the best sepulchral monuments of the Gothic period which England possesses, viz., those of Queen Eleanor, from Westminster; Edward II., from Gloucester; the celebrated monument of William of Wykeham, from Winchester; and that of Edward the Black Prince, in gilt armour and emblazoned surcoat, from Canterbury Cathedral. The individuality observable in most of the faces indicates that they are portraits. The very lovely face of the good Queen Eleanor should not escape the notice of the visitor.

[Illustration: Elevation of English Mediæval Court towards the cloister.]

Indeed all the subjects in this Court are full of value and interest, and the numerous examples of Gothic art here collected, which we have not space to describe in detail, form a museum in which the visitor may obtain no inadequate idea of the rich treasures in this wise of our country. Passing beneath the Rochester doorway, we enter a vaulted and groined vestibule, the window of which is a beautiful example of the Decorated style, from Holbeach, in Lincolnshire, filled in with rich stained glass. Beneath the window is the painted monument of John of Eltham, son of Edward II., from Westminster Abbey, on either side statues from Wells Cathedral. In the centre is the very richly-decorated font, from Walsingham, in Norfolk, an excellent example of the Perpendicular style. The walls of the gallery are lined with statues and monuments; those on the Garden side are all English, principally from the façade of Wells Cathedral; those on the side of the Court are chiefly from Germany and France. Amongst the latter, we draw particular attention to the bas-reliefs on the walls, from Notre-Dame, Paris, as excellent examples of early French Gothic. Amongst the central monuments should be particularly remarked, behind the German Mediæval Court, the Arderne tomb, from Elford church, Staffordshire; the monument of Henry IV., and Joan of Navarre (his queen), from Canterbury Cathedral; the tombs of Sir Giles Daubeny, Richard II., and Anne of Bohemia (his queen), from Westminster Abbey, of about the year 1507; and behind the French and Italian Mediæval Court, the splendid monument of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, from Warwick, one of the finest Gothic sepulchral monuments remaining in England. Passing beneath the arcade, near the Beauchamp monument, we enter the next architectural illustration of the series.

THE FRENCH AND ITALIAN MEDIÆVAL COURT,[15]

On the walls of which, on the ground row, are ranged a series of arches from the choir of Notre-Dame, at Paris, the greater number of the canopies which surmount them being taken from the Cathedral of Chartres, both fine examples of early French Gothic art. The very excellent statues, bosses, &c., are from various French churches. The statue on the floor is by the great Italian sculptor, Giovanni Pisano (13th century), and serves as a lectern, or reading-stand. The subject towards the nave is composed of portions of the celebrated altar-piece of Or San Michele, at Florence, by Andrea Orgagna (14th century). One of the two statues nearest the gallery is by Nino Pisano, son of Giovanni. The very elaborate example of iron-work near the nave entrance is from one of the great west doors of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris, and evinces such consummate skill in workmanship as to have obtained for its artist, when first made public, the unenviable credit of being in close league with the Evil One. The exact date of this iron-work is not ascertained, but it is of the best period of the French Pointed style.

[15] See “Handbook to the Mediæval Court,” by M. Digby Wyatt and J. B. Waring.

[Illustration: Plan of the French and Italian Mediæval Vestibule.]

Once more regaining the Nave, we proceed on our journey southward, until a few steps bring us to

THE RENAISSANCE COURT.[16]

Man had wrought for centuries patiently and laboriously at Gothic architecture, and had advanced, by regular stages, to the perfection of that style, which, after reaching its zenith in the 14th century, as regularly and decidedly declined in excellence, until the indispensable principles of true art--simplicity and good taste--were, towards the close of the 15th century, overwhelmed by excess of ornament. Whilst this downward road was followed by most European artists, various causes led to the revival of the Antique in Italy, and at the commencement of the 15th century, the celebrated Brunelleschi produced a work founded on the Antique Roman style, of the highest merit, viz., the Dome of Florence Cathedral. In the year 1420, Ghiberti executed his wonderful bronze doors; and from thenceforward the new style of the revived art, or the Renaissance, as it is now usually called, advanced rapidly, first throughout Italy, and, in the succeeding century, throughout Europe. Amongst the causes which led to this revival may be included the decline of the feudal system, the growing freedom of thought, the recent discoveries of the New World, and of the art of Printing. With the rise of the spirit of personal independence was created a thirst for ancient literature and art; and a search for the hidden fountains of antiquity was enthusiastically persevered in, until in the end it proved eminently successful.

[16] See “Handbook to the Renaissance Court,” by M. Digby Wyatt and J. B. Waring.

Monastic libraries, in obedience to the demands of the public voice, yielded up their treasures of ancient literature, whilst the soil of Italy was made to disgorge its mutilated fragments of antique art. The effects of these sudden, unexpected, and precious acquisitions may readily be imagined; they created a complete revolution in literature and art throughout Italy, which spread thence into other countries. The two beautiful arts of Painting and Sculpture saw with emulative shame their present inferiority in the ranks of Art; and in their noble aspirations towards the perfection newly placed before them, they assumed their position as distinct and legitimate creations. But if the Gothic system was now dying out, it had left at least one valuable legacy to the future, in its appreciation and adoption of natural models. The Italian artists of the 15th century received the gift joyfully, and, combining it with what treasures antiquity afforded them, produced a style which, in sculpture especially, has all the freshness of nature and the refinement of the antique, as both were capable of being united by the gifted men whose names have come down in glory to our own day, and will command the admiration of the latest posterity.

[Illustration: Entrance to Renaissance Court.]

On no branch of art did the revival of the antique more strongly act than on the art of architecture; the Gothic style, which had never taken deep root in the soil of classic Italy, speedily fell altogether in that country before the recent discovery and imitation of the Roman antiquities. No powerful body of Freemasons was there, as in England, France, and Germany, to oppose the progress of the new style; and the individual energy of such men as Brunelleschi, Bramante, and the great architects of the northern states, soon established it on an indestructible basis. And, however much a partisan spirit may decry this or that particular style, the productions influenced by the revival of the antique, throughout the 15th century, especially in architecture and sculpture, will never fail to excite our astonishment and emulation.

[Illustration: Arcade of Hôtel Bourgtheroulde at Rouen.]

The façade before us is a restored copy of a portion of the Hôtel Bourgtheroulde, at Rouen. It was built at the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th centuries. The bas-relief before us represents the Field of the Cloth of Gold, and the memorable meeting (in 1520) of Francis I. of France and our own Henry VIII. The frieze above, by members of the “della Robbia” family, is from the Hospital of the Poor, at Pistoia, in Tuscany, and shows monks or priests relieving the poor; the original is in coloured porcelain. Entering the court, we find in the lunettes under the ceiling of the small loggia, or gallery, portraits of twelve of the most celebrated patrons of art in the Renaissance period of Italy, Spain, France, and Germany, containing in the central compartment Francis I. of France and Catherine de’ Medici, in the compartment to the right, Lorenzo de’ Medici and Lucrezia Borgia, and in that to the left, Mary of Burgundy and Maximilian of Germany. In the centre of the court we find a fountain of the Renaissance period, from the Château de Gaillon, in France; and on either side of the fountain are two bronze wells, from the Ducal Palace at Venice, the one to the right surmounted by a statue from the goose-market, Nuremberg, that to the left by the figure of a Cupid, with a dolphin, from Florence. Both these wells have been arranged as fountain basins. Directing our steps to the right, we may first examine the decorations on the lower part of the interior of the façade, the bas-relief of which is taken from the high altar at Granada Cathedral, in Spain. The statue in the centre is that of the wife of Louis de Poncher, the original of which is now in the Louvre; its date may be assigned to the early portion of the 16th century. The altar on which the statue is placed is from the Certosa, near Pavia, in Northern Italy. The first object on the side wall is a door, by Jean Goujon (a French sculptor who executed many works at the Louvre), from the Church of Saint Maclou, at Rouen; then a doorway from the Doria Palace at Genoa, a fine specimen of the cinque-cento; above this are five bas-reliefs from the museum at Florence, representing Faith, Prayer, Wisdom, Justice, and Charity; and beyond it, one of the most beautiful objects in the Palace, a copy of the far-famed gates from the Baptistery at Florence, executed by Lorenzo Ghiberti, who was occupied upon his work for the space of twenty-one years. One glance is sufficient to assure the spectator that sculpture had indeed advanced to an extraordinary degree of excellence at the period which we have now reached. The visitor having sufficiently admired these “Gates of Paradise,” as Michael Angelo termed them, will proceed on his way, passing another doorway, which, like that on the other side, already seen, is from Genoa. Close to it is a door by Goujon, corresponding to the door in the opposite corner.

[Illustration: Plan of the Renaissance Court.]

On the back wall we first notice a composition made up from various examples of cinque-cento work from the Certosa at Pavia. Adjoining it is a portion of an altar also from the same Certosa--a beautiful specimen of sculptural art of the time. Next to this is another piece of cinque-cento composition, from specimens obtained from this prolific source, Milan, &c. The sculptured figures of angels, and other figures in high and low relief in this composition, are worthy of a careful study. In the centre, two colossal figures (Caryatides), from the Louvre, by Jean Goujon, support a large cast of the Nymph of Fontainebleau, executed for Francis I., by the celebrated Benvenuto Cellini. Next to the Caryatides we see an exquisite specimen of a portion of the interior of the principal entrance to the Certosa most elaborately carved, and the panels filled in with bas-reliefs; the doorway by its side is from the Hôtel de Ville, of Oudenarde, in Belgium. Above is a composition of French Renaissance art. It stands out from the wall, and looks very like an antique cabinet or screen. Another architectural example from the Certosa follows, being a sort of military monument erected to the memory of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan; the date of its execution is the end of the 15th century. Within it are bas-reliefs by Luca della Robbia and Donatello. On the side next the French Mediæval Court is first another oak door from Saint Maclou, by Jean Goujon, and then a doorway from Genoa; and, above it, the frieze of “The Singers,” by Luca della Robbia, the original of which is at Florence, a most charming work, fall of life and animation. In the centre of this--the northern--side of the court, is a cast from one of the windows of the façade of the Certosa, a remarkably fine example of cinque-cento; next to it, another doorway, from the Doria Palace at Genoa; and in the corner a fourth door from Saint Maclou, by Goujon, the central bas-relief of which represents the Baptism of Christ. The lower part of the interior of the façade is devoted to examples of Italian sculpture of the 15th century, including a head of St. John by Donatello.

[Illustration: Ground Plan of Elizabethan Court.]

The monument placed against the wall is that of Ilaria di Caretto, from Lucca Cathedral, executed by Jacopo della Quercia, of Sienna, early in the 15th century: it is a very fine example of the cinque-cento style.

Two statues by Donatello cannot fail to be noticed--his Saint John in marble, and David in bronze, both of which display great power and study of nature.

We now pass out through the doorway under the Nymph of Fontainebleau, and enter a vestibule in the Renaissance style. Here, on the ceiling, is a copy of a painting from the Sala del Cambio (Exchange) at Perugia, in Italy, by Perugino, the master of Raffaelle, who assisted Perugino in the work. The painting represents the Seven Planets, with Apollo in the centre, as the personification of the Sun. The wall of the Renaissance Court to the left of the entrance is decorated with arches, and a frieze from the terra-cotta originals in the Certosa; the singing boys in the frieze are of great merit. The bronze monument in the centre of this wall is that of Lewis of Bavaria, a very interesting example of late German Gothic, remarkable for the finish of its details. In the centre of the gallery are placed Germain Pilon’s “Graces,” a charming example of the French school of sculpture. The four angles under the Perugia ceiling are occupied by four statues, also by Pilon; these statues are all now in the Louvre, and the very remarkable bronze monumental effigy in the centre, against the garden, is from the Museum at Florence; it is ascribed to Vecchietta of Sienna. On either side of the doorway are parts of Goujon’s doors from St. Maclou, at Rouen.

On the back wall, to the right of the doorway, are richly ornamented arches, from the large cloisters in terra-cotta of the Certosa, and also bas-reliefs and specimens of the Renaissance style from various parts of Italy. The central monument of Bernard von Gablenz is an exceedingly fine example of the style as practised in Germany, at the close of the 16th century. After examining these objects, we turn into the narrow court adjoining the Renaissance Court, and find ourselves in

THE ELIZABETHAN COURT.

The architectural details in this Court are taken from Holland House, at Kensington, a fine old mansion made interesting to us by many associations. Elizabethan architecture, which was in its flower during the latter half of the 16th century--more than a hundred years after the revival of classical architecture in Italy--shows the first symptoms of the adoption of the new style in England. The Elizabethan style--the name reaches back over the century--is characterised by much-pierced stonework, rectangular ornamentation, and a rough imitation of antique detail applied to masses of building, in which many Gothic features were still retained as regards general form, but altered as to ornament. The style being in its very nature transitory, it gradually gave way, although characterised by a certain palatial grandeur and striking picturesqueness, before the increasing knowledge which England obtained of Italian architecture, until we find it entirely displaced in the first half of the 17th century by the excellent style of building introduced by Inigo Jones. We must add, that, although it has no pretensions to the character of a regular or complete system, yet few who have visited the great Elizabethan mansions scattered over England can have failed to admire their picturesque and solid appearance, their stately halls, corridors, staircases, and chimney-pieces, and the beautiful garden terraces, which form so important a feature in their general design.

[Illustration: Façade from Elizabethan Court.]

The kneeling effigies in the gallery at the back of this court are from the Hertford monument in Salisbury Cathedral, and represent the sons of the Countess of Norfolk, who lay on either side of her. The Court contains several tombs of the period. The first is that of Sir John Cheney, from Salisbury Cathedral: a soldier who distinguished himself in the wars of the Roses, and was attached to the party of Henry VII. The original effigy is in alabaster, a material much used during the early part of the 16th century. The next monument is that of Mary Queen of Scots from Westminster Abbey, executed in the beginning of the 17th century, and displaying in its treatment all the characteristics of the Elizabethan style. Under the arch in the centre is the bust of Shakspeare, from his monument in Stratford-on-Avon Church. The succeeding monument is that of Queen Elizabeth, also from Westminster, constructed at about the same period as that of Queen Mary; the original effigy is of white marble. The last monument is that of Margaret, Countess of Richmond and Derby (the mother of Henry VII.), at Westminster. It is the work of the Florentine sculptor Torrigiano; the original is in copper, and its date the early part of the 16th century; it is of unusual merit. Advancing a few paces, the visitor again reaches the Nave, and turning still southward, finds himself before

THE ITALIAN COURT,[17]

Which, as will be at once remarked, closely resembles the style of antique Roman art, on which, indeed, the modern is professedly founded. Although Brunelleschi, as we have before observed, revived the practice of antique architecture as early as the year 1420, yet various causes combined to delay a thorough investigation of the antique remains until the close of the century; and it even is not until the commencement of the 16th century that we find the Italian style, or modernised Roman, regularly systematised and generally received throughout Italy; from whence it gradually extended, first to Spain and to France, and at a somewhat later period into England and Germany. The power and excellence of the style are nobly exhibited in a large number of buildings, amongst which may be noted the ancient Library at Venice; St. Peter’s, at Rome; the Pitti Palace, Florence; the Basilica of Vicenza, the great Colonnade of the Louvre, Paris; St. Paul’s Cathedral, London; and the Escurial Palace, near Madrid.

[17] See “Handbook to the Italian Court,” by M. Digby Wyatt and J. B. Waring.

In this style, architecture rests chiefly on its own intrinsic excellence, or on proportion, symmetry, and good taste. The arts of sculpture and painting, in a great measure, become independent of architecture; and their absence in buildings of a later period (the 17th and 18th centuries, for instance) led to a coldness of character, which happily promises at the present day to find its remedy.

The Court before which we stand is founded on a portion of the finest palatial edifice in Rome,--the Farnese Palace, commenced by the architect Antonio Sangallo, for Cardinal Farnese, and finished under the direction of Michael Angelo. A curious fact in connexion with the original building is, that the stones which compose it were taken from the ancient Coliseum, within whose mighty walls the early Christians suffered martyrdom; so that, in truth, the same stones which bore witness to the faith and courage of the early devotees, served afterwards to build for the faith triumphant a palace in which luxury, worldliness, and pride found a genial home.

[Illustration: Ground Plan of Italian Court.]

Prior to entering the Court, we may remark, in the niches, the bronze statues by Sansovino, from the Campanile Loggia at Venice, amongst which Apollo is conceived quite in the old Roman spirit. Passing beneath, the columns in the centre of the court, we see the fountain of the Tartarughe, or “of the Tortoises,” at Rome, designed by Giacomo della Porta: the copies of the bronze statues by Taddeo Landini belonging to it are, for the present, placed in front of the Vestibule of the Italian Court. Turning to the right, the first object that attracts our attention is a statue of the Virgin and Child, by Michael Angelo, the original of which is in the Church of Lorenzo, Florence. Advancing to the south side, we enter a loggia or arcade, the interior of which is richly ornamented with copies of Raffaelle’s celebrated frescoes in the Loggie of the Vatican palace at Rome. They consist of a most fanciful, yet tasteful, combination of landscape figures, architecture and foliage, founded on antique models, and bearing a close resemblance to the ornamental work discovered in various Roman ruins, having been imitated by Raffaelle from the baths of Titus, discovered about this time. The towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, which have so much enlarged our knowledge of ancient arabesque ornament, were at that time unknown. In the centre of the arcade, towards the Court, is the monument of Giuliano de’ Medici, from San Lorenzo, Florence. On each side of his statue are the reclining figures Night and Day (part of the same monument). The face of the right-hand figure is left rough-hewn by the poet-sculptor to indicate the indistinct aspect of Night. The face of Twilight, on the opposite monument, though still in the rough, is more clearly expressed, as it should be. This is one of Michael Angelo’s masterpieces, and is remarkably characteristic of the sculptor’s style. At the back of it, in the Loggia, is a fine specimen of bronze casting, from the gates of the enclosure at the foot of the Campanile, Venice. On each side of the entrance to the gallery are two groups of a Virgin with the dead Christ, that to the right being by Bernini, the other to the left by Michael Angelo, both especially interesting as serving to indicate the state of art in the 16th and 17th centuries respectively. The remaining statues, viz.,--the Slave, now in the Louvre, the Christ in the Church of S. Maria Minerva, Rome, and the Pietà in St. Peter’s, Rome, are by Michael Angelo. The visitor may now enter the loggia, which, like its companion on the other side of the Court, is ornamented with copies of Raffaelle’s frescoes from the Vatican; in the centre of this side of the Court is placed Michael Angelo’s celebrated monument of Lorenzo de’ Medici, from the church of San Lorenzo at Florence; the reclining figures on each side of the statue of Lorenzo represent Dawn and Twilight. At the back of this monument within the arcade is the fine bronze door by Sansovino from St. Mark’s, Venice, on which he is said to have laboured from twenty to thirty years. The projecting heads are supposed to be portraits; amongst them are those of Titian, Aretino, and of the sculptor himself. Proceeding onwards, the beautiful composition of Jonah and the Whale, by Raffaelle, is from the Chigi Chapel at Rome. Passing into the gallery on the Garden side, we remark in the four angles portions of the pedestals of the Venetian standards, from the Piazza of St. Mark, Venice. The painted ceilings of this gallery deserve special attention. The first on entering the gallery is from an existing example at the “Old Library,” Venice; the last is from the “Camera della Segnatura,” by Raffaelle, at the Vatican; beneath which is the wonderful statue of Moses, by Michael Angelo,--a production the grandeur of which amounts to sublimity, expressing in every line, with, the noblest conception, the inspired lawgiver and appointed leader of a nation.

VESTIBULE TO THE ITALIAN COURT.[18]

The decoration of the vestibule is founded on the very elegant Casa Taverna at Milan, by Bernardino Luini, a pupil of Leonardo da Vinci, and affords an excellent idea of the peculiar painted mural ornament prevailing in Italy at the commencement of the 16th century. The doors are from the Palace of the Cancellaria at Rome, by Bramante, the famous designer of St. Peter’s in that city, and the immediate predecessor of the great architects of the 16th century. The vestibule itself is rich in very beautiful water-colour drawings after the old masters, by Mr. West. These drawings are well worthy of study, since they afford admirable specimens of the manner of many old masters, who are but poorly represented in the National Gallery.

[18] See “Handbook to the Italian Court,” by M. Digby Wyatt and J. B. Waring.

[Illustration: Monument of Lancino Curzio.

Madonna della Scarpa.

Sacrarium of the Maddelena from Certosa.

Ground Plan of Italian Vestibule.]

We now pass out of the gallery into the Vestibule, by turning through the pillars to the right. The monuments on the external wall of the vestibule afford excellent examples of the later Renaissance style. Amongst them may be particularly noted the monument of Lancino Curzio (nearest the gallery), from Milan, by Agostino Busti, evincing that delicate execution for which the sculptor was famous; underneath is the tomb of St. Pelagius Martyr, from Genoa; and, in the centre of the wall, the central altar of La Madonna della Scarpa, from the Leno Chapel in the Cathedral of St. Mark, Venice--an elaborate specimen of bronze casting, completed early in the 16th century by Pietro Lombardo and others. The upper part of the monument nearest the Nave is an excellent example of the Renaissance style, being the Sacrarium of the Chapel of the Maddelena at the Certosa, Pavia; the bas-relief in the centre is by Donatello, and the remaining portions of the composition are from Sansovino.

[Illustration: Façade of Italian Vestibule.]

We have now completed our survey of one of the most interesting features of the Crystal Palace. We have performed our promise to guide the visitor through the various Fine Art Courts, bringing before his notice some of the principal objects that have adorned his road, and endeavouring, by our brief remarks, to heighten the pleasure he must necessarily have experienced from the sight of so noble an assemblage of architectural and sculptural examples. Much however requires patient examination and study--examination that will yield fresh beauty, and study that will be rewarded by permanent and useful knowledge. For guidance and help we refer the visitor to the handbooks of the several Courts. The mission of this little work, as far as the Fine Art Courts are concerned, is accomplished: and “THE GUIDE BOOK” now only waits until the visitor has sufficiently recovered from his fatigue, in order to resume, in other parts of the building, the part of cicerone.

COURT OF MONUMENTS OF ART.

We enter this Court (which is formed in one angle of the Great Transept with the Nave), as with the other Courts, from the Nave. The first objects that attract our notice are some beautiful statues of the Italian school, amongst which will be found many of Canova’s, several beautiful works by Richard Wyatt, and some from the chisel of Gibson. The statues at the garden end of the Court are mostly French. Some of the most conspicuous objects however in the Court are the very interesting crosses of the early Irish Church, and the richly sculptured bronze column from Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany, a fine example of the Byzantine period. Also a very interesting cross, from Pocklington, in Yorkshire,--a fine example of the monumental art of the latter part of the 15th century. This specimen has been liberally presented by Samuel Leigh Sotheby, Esq.

Beyond these are monuments of the Gothic period, amongst which are conspicuous the Cantilupe shrine from Hereford Cathedral, and the effigy of Edward III., from Westminster; the central tombs, of Bishop Wakeman, from Tewkesbury, and of Bishop Bridport, from Salisbury (the last-named being that to the left).

The tomb of Henry VII., an interesting example of the Italian Renaissance style in England, at an early period of its introduction, and the fine bronze monument of Cardinal Zeno from Venice, occupy the further end; and the equestrian statue of Gattamelata, by Donatello, forms a conspicuous feature in this portion of the Court, where also is a fine bust of Cosmo de’ Medici, by Benvenuto Cellini. Under the gallery at the further end are two fine equestrian groups in bronze of Castor and Pollux, by San Giorgio of Milan. The originals stand in that beautiful city. Here also, in a corresponding position to the statue of Gattamelata, but nearer towards the nave, is the superb statue of Colleone. In the glass cases on the side next the Transept may be seen a most interesting collection of casts from ivory carvings, from the 2nd to the 15th century. These have been published by the Arundel Society.[19]

[19] The Arundel Society has been formed by a number of gentlemen, lovers of the Fine Arts, for the laudable purpose of publishing such works as, however valuable in themselves, are not likely by an extensive sale to repay a publisher; its means for this purpose being provided by such annual subscriptions as it may secure.

For minute and interesting information respecting the monuments, and all the statues on this side of the Palace, the visitor is referred to the Handbooks of the Mediæval and Italian Courts (by Messrs. M. D. Wyatt and J. B. Waring), where they are fully described.

Crossing the great transept to the west, we proceed towards the south end of the building, and, keeping to the right-hand, commence our pilgrimage through the Industrial Courts. The first that we arrive at is

THE STATIONERY COURT.[20]

In the formation of this and of the other Industrial Courts, the several architects have been solicitous to express, both in the construction and the decoration, as far as possible, the specific destination; with the view of maintaining some harmony between the objects exhibited and the building in which they are contained. The Stationery Court was designed and erected by Mr. J. G. Crace. The style of this Court is composite, and may be regarded as the application of cinque-cento ornamental decoration to a wooden structure. Externally the aim has been to furnish certain coloured surfaces, which shall harmonise with the plants around and with the general aspect of the Palace. In the interior of the Court, the colour on the lower level will be seen to serve as an admirable background to the objects exhibited; whilst the panels covered with cinque-cento decoration, combined with the elegant imitation of marquetrie work, produce an effect which deserves the highest praise. Over the opening through which we enter this Court, and between the stained glass windows let into the wall, have been introduced allegorical figures of the arts and sciences applied in the manufacture of the articles exhibited in the Court, and over the opening at the back the artist has depicted the _Genii_ of Manufacture, Commerce, &c. In the centre of the panels throughout the Court representations are painted of the processes which the objects exhibited undergo during their manufacture.

[20] See “Exhibitors’ Descriptive Catalogue,”