Architecture And Archæology.

in one case or to the repetition of conventional forms in the other , and he has applied thc designation of the " realistic " school to the last of these , hi contradistinction to tho other , or the idealistic one . He avows his preference for the socalled realistic school , and he earnestly recommends artworkmen to " study the grass of the field" for models of their ornamentationat the same time he ivesivith a degree of

; g , consistency which is remarkable in him , some illustrations of the spirit in which he would desire to see his recommendations carried into effect . Now there a cannot be a shadow of doubt as to the advisability of a study of the forms of natural objects by all those who seek to excite the sensation of beauty in any of its manifestations , and architectural ornamentation designed princiles opposed to those

upon p jirevailing in nature must always be opposed to sound , true taste . The Elizabethan columns , with their small bases and enlarged tops under the neckings ; the Louis XIV . foliage and profiles of consoles ; the rococo buildings of Rome and Vienna of the eighteenth century , with their interrupted pediments and tormented details , are all of them characterised by this neglect of sound prhuoplesand this

, contempt for the study of natural forms , and atrociously ugly they all are . But the Grecian foliage , principally copied from the honeysuckle and lotus , but only very remotely copied from nature , and the ornamentation of the columns and cornice of the Temple of Jupiter Stator , is strictly conventional ; the details of both these illustrations arehoweverbeautiful in themselvesfor the foliage comes

, , , fully up to our idea of an harmonious , consistent decoration , which adds , in fact , to the general effect of the buildings . To my mind there seems to be something inconsistent in the attempts to fix in the stone , marble , and iron we employ fche passing ephemeral grace of the 2 "> lant and the flower . "We must know that " to-day thei' are , and to-morroiv they are

cast into the oven ; ' so that their perpetuation strikes upon the mind as involving a violation of the laws of nature . When sculpture is introduced it should be perfect of its kind , and foliage ornamentation should bear traces of having been carefully studied , and freely , naturally , handled . But it is a mistake thus to force details into such importance , and to bestow upon them so much time and attention , . as to

2 Di'oduce works of art able to distract attention from the general design . Strictly speaking , all architectural ornament must be conventional , for ifc is only by convention that we can reconcile to ourselves the notion of flowers or leaves , growing in the 2 iositions where they are usually introduced . Conventionality need not , however , degenerate into inflexible mannerism , and the architect would certainly do well to

refresh his mind by the observation of natural forms before he designs his details ; and you , as executors of the designs , would do ivell also in endeavouring to form clear notions of the principles nature adepts when she desires to clothe her productions with grace and beauty . Properly understood , conventional ornament ( or it ivould be better to limit the word to foliage ) , is merely a representation of ideal objects able to contribute to the ideal perfection of the design - ,

natural ornament is the production in incongruous j > ositions of imitations of objects which have no relation to an entirely artificialwork . The modes by which the architect is enabled to excite the sensations of beauty and sublimity are , after all , mainly conventional , and his maimer of treating details would seem to require also to be conventional . To me , therefore , it seems almost as reasonable to ask him to l

appy the laws of geological succession in the choice of his building materials , as it ivould be to ask him to rejiroduce in his foliage the beauties of natural 2 ilants , This imitation of nature , it may be observed , is a favourite theory with amateurs and young students ; old 2 > ractifcioners—the men , in fact , who have learnt b y experience that architecture is both an arfc and a science—prefer conventionalisms . Perhaps

after all , truth lies midway between the extreme opinions of both schools , and both would agree that whatever attention be paid to ornamentation , on whatever models it may be designed , the manner in which thc building to ivhich it is ap 2 ilied fulfils onr idea of perfection , is the vital question to be considered . Some of the most beautiful buildings in the world aro absolutely without ornament of any kind ; certainl y the snblimest buildings are so . Beauty is relative , ifc is not absolute ; and its type , therefore , cannot he sought

iu any special class of natural objects when the objects to which it is sought to communicate that quality are only susceptible of a relative degree of perfection . The last rjorfcion of our inquiry , viz ., the one concerning the best manner in which you are able to apply the recognised principles of the science of the beautiful , will resolve itself practicallinto ascertaining the best method of

y carry ing into effect the designs of your employers , because , as I said before , your province is not so much to design as it is to execute . You cannot , however , execute properly , unless you understand the whole scope of the work entrusted to you , and you cannot impart to your inductions the full portion of ideal perfection of which they are susceptible , unless you understand thoroughly whereby they may be made to

produce the sensation of beauty . There ' is nothing so small or insignificant in a work of arfc , or even hi a work of simple commodity , which may not be rendered the means of expressing design , study , and feeling . The contour of a moulding , the mitreiug of a joint , the framing of a piece of panelling , are capable of degrees of excellence which , in our modern haste to " knock off" workwe are far too apt to

, think of small importance , but which may , hi then * measure , add very considerably to the impression of a perfect adaptation of the means adopted to the end desired , or of a harmony between the external forms , and the ideal we may have formed and attached to the work ; and thus these mere mechanical details may contain the real elements afc least of the relative beauty of their class of objectsIn all

. your art workmanship the great aim should be to attain , firstly , consistency and truth : taste and fancy , however desirable , are but additaments to those qualities , and they ivill folloiv inevitably , if you strive earnestly to understand the meaning ofthe work you have in hand , and if you carefully observe the conditions of external expression , you are able

to communicate to it . Do not fancy that you can do anything , even in the way of sticking or running a moulding , Ai'hich may not be made to bear the impress " of your own individual character . They who are accustomed to observecan detect shades of merit in these a 2 " ipai * ently mechanical works ; and on that score , even if not on the higher one of striving to do perfectly , whatever you undertake , ifc is your

duty to study the meaning intended to be conveyed by these details , and to endeavour to gii'e it full expression . In thehigher branches of your calling there is less necessity for dwelling on this obligation , because you must all of you be aware of its existence ; and all that need be said is , that you yourselves will find your OAA ' reward in tho study and in the ajrplieation of the laws of beauty . They are of a singularlwide

y range , even in your department , for they involve the investigation ofthe laws of proportion , of 2 ierspective , of light and shade , to some extent also of those of construction , and of the nature and properties of materials , because the violation of any of these laws must give rise to a conviction of the existence of some discrepancy , of some want of harmony between the means and the end , which must effectually destroy the beauty of the work containing such violation .

I would guard against being understood to say that any absolute rules exist for your guidance , of the kind usually known under the sonorous but vague 23 hrases of " symmetry or of balance of parts . " A design may be very beautiful without presenting either of those characteristics , and the stiff formality of classical architecture is perhaps attributable to tho slavish adherence to such rules ; and

certainly the irregularity of outline and of 2 ilan admitted in romantic architecture is often a source of beauty , in the sense I attach to the word . But there are some laws of proportion that we cannot violate with impunity , and it behoves all of us to seek to understand why it is that certain lengths , breadths , and widths must be observed in the parts of a composition .- why it is that vertical and horizontal lines

require to be treated in peculiar manners ; and why ifc is that the profiles of mouldings require to be modified accordingly as they may receive light directly , or by reflection , from above or from below . Your work cannot be beautiful unless you apply the knowledge obtainedby your study of all these conditions , and as they are best studied by practical men like yourselves , you may often give useful lessons to thc more theoretical architectural student . Do not fancy that these matters are