,,the ,,brochure ,,series               
,the ,duomo and the ,campanile3         
,florence4                              
,grotesques from ,notre ,dame1 ,paris4  
,,june1 #aijj      ,illustration3       
,,plate ,,xliii      ,,the ,,duomo ,,and
 ,,the ,,campanile                      
,,the                                   
,,brochure ,,series                     
,,of ,,architectural ,,illustration4    
#aijj4      ,,june      ,no4 #f4        
,,the ,,duomo ,,and ,,the ,,campanile3  
,,florence4      ,it was in the middle  
of the thirteenth century1 writes       
,symonds1  during the long struggle for 
independence carried on by the republics
  of ,lombardy and ,tuscany against the 
,empire and the nobles1 that some of    
the most durable and splendid public    
works were executed4 ,the domes and     
towers of ,florence and of ,pisa were   
rising above the city walls1 while  the 
burghers who subscribed for their       
erection were staining the waves  of    
,meloria and the cane-brakes of the     

,arbia with their blood4 ,sismondi      
remarks with just pride1 that these     
great works were republican4 ,they  were
 set on foot for the public use1 and    
were constructed at the  expense of the 
commonwealths4 ,it is1 however1 right to
 add that what  the communes had begun  
the princes continued4 ,the ,despots    
held their  power at the price of       
magnificence in schemes of public       
utility4 ,so  much at least of the free 
spirit of the communes survived in them1
 that  they were always rivalling each  
other in great works of architecture4   
,italian tyranny implied sthetic taste  
and liberality of expenditure4    ,in   
the year #abid1 wrote ,giovanni         
,villani1 who was a youth in ,florence  
at the time1 the city of ,florence being
 in a state of tranquility1  the        
citizens agreed to rebuild the chief    
church1 which was very rude  in form and
 in small proportion to such a city1 and
 that it should be  enlarged1 and that  
it should be made all of marble and with

 carven  figures4 ,and the foundation   
was laid on the day of ,st4 ,mary1 in   
,september1 by the ,cardinal ,legate of 
the ,pope1 in the presence of all  the  
ranks of the ,signory of ,florence4 ,and
 it was consecrated to the  honor of    
,god and ,st4 ,mary1 under the name of  
,st4 ,mary of the ,flower  7,santa      
,maria del ,fiore74 ,and for the        
building of the church taxes were       
ordered1 and the ,legate and bishops    
bestowed great indulgences and  pardons 
to everyone who should contribute aid   
and alms to the work4    ,the design for
 the new cathedral was entrusted to     
,arnolfo di ,cambio1  who was at that   
time the official architect of the      
,commune of  ,florence1--a remarkable   
man to whom ,florence in a great measure
 owes  her present physiognomy2 for not 
only are the tower of the ,palazzo      
,vecchio1 ,santa ,croce and the bulk of 
the ,duomo his1 but ,giotto's           
,campanile1 ,brunelleschi's cupola and  
the church of ,or ,san ,michele are     

placed where he had planned4            
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xliv           
,,facade ,,of ,,the ,,duomo ,,and ,,the 
,,campanile    ,in the design for ,santa
 ,croce1 ,arnolfo had shown a preference
 for the  ,gothic forms1 then newly     
imported into ,italy1 and he now        
projected  a design for the new         
,cathedral in which the pointed should  
take the  place of the round arch1 the  
stone vaulted roof should be substituted
  for the flat timber ceiling1 and the  
faade should form a splendid  screen1   
adorned with gable and pinnacle1 rich   
with carving1 glowing  with mosaics and 
shining with gold4 ,that the            
,florentines approved his  project is   
evident from a decree passed before the 
work had been long  in progress1 in     
which ,master ,arnolfo is declared to be
 exempt from  any civic tax during his  
life1 because of his design for the     
,cathedral1  since reads the ,chronicle1
 judging from the magnificent and       
visible  beginnings of the new church1  

the ,commune and people of ,florence are
  like to have a more beautiful and     
honorable temple than any other in  the 
region of ,tuscany4    ,but before the  
work had far advanced the building came 
almost to a  standstill1 for the strife 
of parties1 which had been but          
temporarily  smothered1 broke out anew  
in ,florence1 and for some thirty years 
work  on the ,cathedral was suspended4  
,meantime ,arnolfo had died1 but he left
  the building so far advanced that his 
successors would find little  difficulty
 in continuing the main parts of the    
construction according  to his design4  
,in #acca1 however1 a portion of the    
communal tax was set apart for the      
prosecution of the work1 and ,giotto di 
,bondone1 already the most famous       
painter of all ,italy1 was appointed    
architect of the ,cathedral4 ,it is  not
 often1 says ,mrs4 ,jameson1 that a man 
takes up a new trade when he  is        
approaching sixty1 or even goes into a  
new path out of his familiar  routine4  

,but ,giotto seems to have turned       
without a moment's hesitation  from his 
paints and panels to the less easily    
wrought materials of  the builder and   
sculptor1 without either faltering from 
the great  enterprise or doubting his   
own power to do it4    ,to his new      
charge1 writes ,mr4 ,c4 ,e4 ,norton1    
,giotto gave himself with  the effectual
 ardor of genius4 ,no written record of 
his work on the  ,duomo remains1 but the
 walls themselves seem to bear witness  
to it4  ,stretches on the north and     
south1 running eastward from the faade1 
more beautiful in composition and design
 than the later work joined to  it1 may 
be assigned with probability to the     
period of his oversight4    ,but        
,giotto's labor was not limited to the  
,duomo alone4 ,he now designed  and     
speedily began the construction of the  
most exquisite building  of modern      
times1 the one in which the quality of  
classic art is most  completely and     
beautifully harmonized with the spirit  

and fancy of  modern times4 ,the        
unsurpassed bell-tower of the ,duomo1   
known and  admired by all men as the    
,campanile of ,giotto1 is the most      
splendid  memorial of the arts of       
,florence4 ,in #accd1 scarcely three    
months after  his appointment1 the      
foundations of the ,campanile were laid 
with great  pomp and ceremony4 ,the     
tower1 so quickly begun1 was so         
vigorously  lifted that it may have     
reached somewhat more than a third of   
its  proposed height1 when in #accg     
,giotto died4 ,he was buried in the     
unfinished ,cathedral on the side       
nearest the ,campanile4    ,in its first
 appeal to the stranger's eye1 says ,mr4
 ,ruskin in writing  of the ,campanile1 
there is something unpleasing2 a        
mingling1 it seems  to him1 of over     
severity with over minuteness4 ,but let 
him give it  time1 as he should all     
other consummate art4 ,i remember well  
how1 when  a boy1 ,i used to despise    
that ,campanile1 and think it meanly    

smooth and  finished4 ,but ,i have since
 lived beside it many a day1 and looked 
out  upon it from my windows by sunlight
 and moonlight1 and ,i shall not soon   
forget how profound and gloomy appeared 
to me the savageness of the  ,northern  
,gothic when ,i afterwards stood1 for   
the first time1 beneath  the front of   
,salisbury4 ,the contrast is indeed     
strange1 if it could  be quickly felt1  
between the rising of those gray walls  
out of their  quiet swarded space1 like 
dark and barren rocks out of a green    
lake1  and that bright1 smooth1 sunny   
surface of glowing jasper1 those spiral 
shafts and fairy traceries1 so white1 so
 faint1 so crystalline1 that  their     
slight shapes are hardly traced in      
darkness on the pallor of the  eastern  
sky1 that serene height of mountain     
alabaster1 colored like a  morning cloud
 and chased like a sea shell4 ,and this1
 ,i believe to be  the model and mirror 
of perfect architecture4444             
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xlv      ,,rear

 ,,of ,,the ,,duomo    ,considerable    
size exhibited by simple terminal lines2
 projection  towards the top2 breadth of
 flat surface2 square compartments of   
that surface2 varied and visible        
masonry2 vigorous depth of shadow1      
exhibited especially by pierced         
traceries2 varied proportion in  ascent2
 lateral symmetry2 sculpture most       
delicate at the base2  enriched quantity
 of ornament at the top2 sculpture      
abstract in  inferior ornaments and     
mouldings1 complete in animal forms1    
both to be  executed in white marble2   
vivid colors introduced in flat         
geometrical  patterns1 and obtained by  
the use of naturally colored            
stone1--these  characteristics occur    
more or less in different buildings1    
some in one1  some in another--but all  
together and all in their highest       
possible  relative degrees1 they exist1 
as far as ,i know1 only in one building 
in  the world1 the ,campanile of        
,giotto4    ,illustration3 ,,window     

,,the ,,campanile    ,after ,giotto's   
death there is a wide gap in the annals 
of the ,duomo1  for in #acdh the great  
plague desolated ,florence1 and the work
 came to a  standstill4 ,after it had   
passed1 however1 there followed1 as a   
natural  consequence1 a sudden outbreak 
of pious superstition4 ,immense sums had
  been bequeathed by dying men to the   
,church to purchase salvation2 and  the 
,duomo1 begun sixty years before1 seemed
 hardly to correspond with  the demands 
of the present age4 ,it was accordingly 
resolved to adopt  a new design for it  
on a grander scale than that planned by 
,arnolfo2  and while the breadth was to 
remain the same1 the height and length  
were to be increased1 and the eastern   
end of the church to be larger4  ,the   
oversight of the work was entrusted to  
,francesco di ,talenti1 and  in #aceg   
the new foundations were begun4 ,the    
main forms of the new  building were1 in
 great part1 determined by such of the  
old structure  of ,giotto's time as was 

left standing1 and by the original      
scheme of  ,arnolfo4 ,but the taste of  
the age had changed1 and in grafting the
  newly arisen classical ideas upon the 
original1 the architects achieved  a    
result which was neither good ,gothic   
nor good ,classic4 ,for some years  the 
work was now carried slowly but steadily
 forward1 and in #adjg the  eastern     
tribune with its five chapels was       
completed1 and the work was  ready to be
 crowned by a dome4    ,but here a great
 difficulty was encountered4 ,the       
increase in the  original dimensions and
 the height of the walls had made it    
necessary  to span an enormous space1   
for the diameter of the octagon to be   
covered was now one hundred and         
thirty-five feet4 ,the records of       
architecture could show no such dome as 
this must be4 ,the overseers of  the    
work were confounded1 and knew not how  
to proceed2 and1 in their  desperation  
made a public proclamation in #adah1    
that whoever wished1  might make a model

 for the dome1 or of anything pertaining
 to its  construction4 ,fifteen models  
were presented1 and over them there were
  months of public deliberation and     
discussion4 ,it was not until ,march1   
#adbj1 that a final conclusion was      
reached1 and the celebrated plan of     
,filippo ,brunelleschi was adopted4     
,no more characteristic or remarkable   
design was produced during  the whole   
period of the ,renaissance than this1   
with which its  great architectural     
achievements began4 ,not only were      
apparently  insurmountable difficulties 
of construction overcome1 but the new   
dome  was also to be a masterpiece of   
beauty4 ,the great domes of former      
times--the dome of the ,pantheon1 the   
dome of ,aya ,sophia--had been  designed
 solely for their interior effect2 they 
were not impressive or  noble structures
 from without4 ,but ,brunelleschi had   
conceived a dome  which1 grand in its   
interior aspect1 should be even more    
superb from  without1 and which1 in its 

stately dimensions and proportions1 in  
its  magnificent lift above all the     
other edifices of the city of which it  
formed the centre1 in its absolute unity
 and symmetry1 in the beautiful  shape  
and proportions of its broad divisions1 
the strong1 simple energy  of its       
upwardly converging lines1 should be    
such that1 more than a  century later1  
when ,michelangelo was told that he had 
an opportunity to  surpass it in his    
cupola of ,st4 ,peter's at ,rome1 he    
replied sadly1 with  a shake of his     
head1--        ,io far la sorella       
,pi grande gi2 ma non pi bella6         
,i will make her sister dome            
,larger1 indeed1 but not more beautiful6
    ,brunelleschi's plan was to build   
two octagonal domes1 separated by a     
space wide enough for a passage and     
stairways1 and united by eight  strong  
ribs of masonry at the angles4 ,the     
inner and smaller dome was  for         
constructive purposes1 to bridge the    
vault and to furnish a support  for the 

outer1 which was to be merely a light   
shell to secure the  magnificent        
swelling lines4 ,the whole was to be    
crowned by a lantern4  ,we have not     
space to quote ,vasari's animated       
account of ,brunelleschi's  difficulties
 in persuading the authorities of the   
practicability of his  plan1 of his     
jealous bickerings with his troublesome 
and incompetent  confrre1 ,ghiberti1 of 
the obstacles1 difficulties and         
persecutions  that he                   
underwent1--suffice it to say that1 in  
#adcd1 under his untiring  supervision1 
just fourteen years from its beginning1 
the splendid dome  closed over the      
central space of the ,duomo1 and        
,brunelleschi's fame was  forever       
established4    ,illustration3 ,,plate  
,,xlvi      ,,interior ,,of ,,the       
,,duomo    ,without waiting for the     
completion of the cupola and lantern1   
the  ,florentines took advantage of the 
presence in their city of ,pope         
,eugenius ,,iv41 to have him consecrate 

the ,cathedral in person1 with most     
impressive ceremony1 on the ,florentine 
,new ,year's day1 the feast of the      
,annunciation1 ,march #be1 #adcf4       
,not long after the consecration of the 
,duomo1 the work on the cupola  was     
completed 7,august1 #adcf71 and to the  
fulfilment of ,brunelleschi's  plan     
remained only the construction of a     
surmounting lantern4 ,but for  some     
undiscovered reason there was delay for 
year after year1 and it  was fated that 
,brunelleschi should not see the        
completion of his work1  for finally1   
says ,vasari1 ,filippo ,brunelleschi    
being now very old1  that is sixty-nine 
years old in the year #addf1 on the     
#afth of ,april1  went to a better life1
 after having toiled greatly in the     
performance  of works which made him    
deserve on earth an honored name1 and   
obtain  in heaven an abode of peace4    
,more than twenty years passed after    
,brunelleschi's death before the lantern
 was at last completed4 ,on the  #bc;d  

of ,april1 #adfg1 the last and highest  
stone was set4    ,meantime1 not until  
some twenty years after the death of    
,giotto had  work on the unfinished     
faade been recommenced4 ,the design for 
it1  which was ,gothic1 with columns and
 niches containing statues of the       
,madonna and ,child1 of saints and      
prophets1 and even of distinguished     
,florentine citizens1 was the joint     
composition of several architects1      
among them ,orcagna1 ,gaddi and         
,tommasi4 ,but this faade had only      
reached  one-third of the height of the 
edifice1 when1 for some unexplained     
reason it was abandoned1 and remained in
 an unfinished state until  the reign of
 the ,grand ,duke ,francis ,i4          
7#aege-aehg71 when it was  demolished to
 make way for the accomplishment of a   
new design1 one  which was1 however1    
never executed2 and the whole face of   
the ,cathedral  remained a bare expanse 
of rubble and cement until1 in #afhi1 it
 was  painted and frescoed to represent 

columns and other architectural         
decorations4 ,shortly after ,tuscany was
 incorporated with the kingdom  of      
,italy1 the ,florentine municipality    
again took up the matter1 and  invited  
architects to submit designs for a new  
faade4 ,the design  of ,commendatore de 
,fabris1 a ,florentine1 was selected4   
,in #ahge the  scaffolding was erected1 
and white marble from ,seravezza1 red   
marble  from ,montiere and green marble 
from ,prato were brought to ,florence to
  begin the faade which now exists1 and 
which was completed and unveiled  in    
#ahhg4    ,illustration3 ,,plan ,,of    
,,duomo ,,and ,,campanile    ,writing of
 the ,duomo as a whole1 ,mr4 ,c4 ,e4    
,norton says3 ,its size  gives it       
dignity1 and its effect is powerful from
 the simplicity and  largeness of its   
design4 ,a nave of four enormous bays is
 stopped upon  a vast octagonal space1  
from which1 at the east1 the north1 and 
the  south1 are built out three         
pentagonal tribunes or apses1 which1 as 

seen on the outside1 give to the church 
the common cruciform shape4  ,the       
proportions of the interior are on an   
enormous scale1 by which the  apparent  
size of the building is diminished      
rather than increased4  ,there is       
nothing either in the general conception
 or in the working-out  of the details  
which corresponds with that principle1  
characteristic of  the best ,northern   
,gothic1 of complex organization1 in    
which each minor  part contributes to   
the vital unity of the whole edifice4   
,the ,duomo  presents1 on the contrary1 
an assemblage of separate vast features 
arbitrarily associated1 rather than     
united by any law of mutual  relation   
into a completely harmonious whole4 ,it 
does not display that  lavish wealth of 
fancy in ever-changing variety and      
abundance of detail  which gives        
inexhaustible charm to a true ,gothic   
edifice4 ,but it is  impressive within  
from its vast open spaces1 and from the 
stately and  simple1 though barren1     

grandeur of its piers and vaults and    
walls4    ,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xlvii
      ,,north ,,door ,,of ,,the ,,duomo 
,the effect of the building from without
 is imposing from its mass1  but1 in a  
near view1 it is only on the east that  
the lines compose  into forms of beauty4
 ,the side walls are incrusted1 after   
the old  ,tuscan style1 with simple     
rectangular patterns of white and red   
marble1  interrupted by the rich        
decoration of gable and pinnacle over   
the doors  and windows4                 
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xlviii         
,,facade ,,of ,,the ,,duomo    ,it is   
when seen from a distance that the full 
worth and power of the  great ,cathedral
 force themselves upon the beholder4    
,looking down upon  ,florence from one  
of the neighboring heights1 the         
beautiful city seems  to lie gathered   
under the shelter of its mighty ,duomo4 
,the stretch of  its wall is ample for  
the house in which the whole people     
shall gather1  and1 lifting itself above

 the clustering towers and belfries of  
palaces  and churches1 the unrivalled   
dome crowns the edifice1 and with its   
noble elliptic lines not merely         
concentrates the scattered forms of the 
buildings beneath and around it far and 
near1 but to the inward eye  seems      
equally to concentrate all the divergent
 energies of the historic  life of      
,florence1 and lift them along its      
curves to the foot of the  cross upon   
its heaven-reaching summit4 ,it seems of
 equal date with the  mountains that    
close the background to the landscape of
 which it forms  the central interest2  
and they seem to look down upon this    
work of man  as one not unworthy of     
their guardianship4    ,illustration3   
,,plate ,,xlix      ,,central ,,portal1 
,,facade ,,of ,,the ,,duomo             
,grotesques                             
from ,notre ,dame1 ,paris4      ,the    
representation of physical beauty being 
with the ,gothic carver  subordinated to
 the purpose of enforcing the idea that 

the soul is  superior to the body1 and  
of illustrating the doctrine of the     
salvation  of the soul by goodness of   
life1 and the loss of the soul by evil  
life1 it was necessary that beings and  
objects not beautiful should  enter into
 his sculptured ornamental schemes4 ,the
 evils that beset the  lives and tempt  
the souls of men had to be in some way  
set forth1 no  less than the human      
virtues and the heavenly ideals4 ,the   
unhappy lot  of the wicked had to be    
figured as well as the felicities of the
 good4  ,hence figures which embody the 
medival notions of the monstrous and    
the grotesque are conspicuous elements  
in ,gothic sculpture1 especially  after 
the beginning of the thirteenth century4
 ,the grotesque1 in the  finest ,gothic 
art1 while often apparently introduced  
in a playful  spirit1 had thus primarily
 a serious purpose4    ,illustration3   
,,grotesque      ,,notre ,,dame1 ,,paris
    ,illustration3 ,,grotesques         
,,notre ,,dame1 ,,paris    ,the         

,romanesque imagery1 consisting of      
fantastic creations of animal  life     
which embodied distorted traditions of  
the ,roman mythology1  combined with    
forms originating in the rude           
imagination of the ,northern  races1 was
 largely rejected by the early ,gothic  
artists4 ,the imaginary  creatures which
 they sometimes introduced were1 for the
 most part1  confined to the symbolic   
animals of the ,bible--such as those    
seen by  ,st4 ,john in the ,apocalypse4 
,but by degrees other imaginary         
creations  were introduced1 until       
finally1 during the thirteenth century1 
the  grotesque animal life of the       
,gothic edifice became even more        
extended  in range than that of the     
richest ,romanesque monuments had been1 
and  an imaginary fauna was created1    
which1 while it derived much from the   
older conceptions1 embodied so much that
 was new as to constitute a  distinctly 
,gothic class4 ,this development grew   
primarily out of the  old popular belief

 in the symbolic character of animals   
and imaginary  creatures4 ,as symbols of
 human qualities1 both good and evil1   
these  animals1 real and imaginary1 were
 now wrought1 for encouragement and  for
 warning1 upon the stones of the sacred 
edifice4 ,a further purpose  of this    
fauna1 as of the sculpture of the human 
figure and the flora  with which it was 
associated1 apparently was that the     
,gothic monument  might present a       
compendious illustration of the known   
world of  creation1 imagination and     
faith4    ,illustration3 ,,grotesque    
,,notre ,,dame1 ,,paris                 
,illustration3 ,,grotesque      ,,notre 
,,dame1 ,,paris    ,a remarkable quality
 of the grotesque creations of ,gothic  
art is the  close and accurate          
observation of nature which they1 no    
less than the  images of real things1   
display4 ,however fabulous the imagined 
creature  may be1 the materials out of  
which he is made are derived from       
nature1  and manifest a keen            

appreciation of animal structure4       
,vertebra or  claw1 wing or beak1 eye or
 nostril1 throat or paw1--every         
anatomical  member displays an intimate 
familiarity with real organic form and  
function1 and an imaginative sense of   
its possible combinations in  creative  
design4 ,take1 for instance1 those      
strange beasts1 or  terrible demons of  
the parapet of the ,cathedral of ,paris4
 ,each of  them seems animated with a   
living spirit1 and has an almost        
startling  appearance of reality4 ,and  
besides this lifelikeness and functional
  truth1 a highly ornamental play of    
lines1 and a subtle elaboration of      
finely modelled surfaces1 are shown in  
these grotesque forms4 ,in the  early   
and early mature periods they exhibit a 
noticeable restraint  of posture and    
movement2 extravagantly contorted forms 
and violent  movements occur1 for the   
most part1 only in the decline of       
,gothic1 when  jaded sensibilities had  
ceased to appreciate the value of       

moderation in  design4--,,charles ,h4   
,,moore3 ,gothic ,architecture4         
99       99       99       99       99  
,in addition to ,notre ,dame at ,paris1 
the churches of ,rheims1 ,amiens1       
,rouen1 ,laon1 ,vzelay1 ,auxerre and the
 religious edifices throughout  ,poitou1
 ,saintonge1 ,guyenne and ,burgundy1 and
 the borders of the ,loire1  in ,france 
are rich in examples of grotesque animal
 sculpture4    ,illustration3           
,,grotesques ,,notre ,,dame1            
,,paris    ,illustration3 ,,grotesques  
,,notre ,,dame1 ,,paris                 
,illustration3 ,,plate ,l      ,,the    
,,campanile                             
,transcriber's ,note3    ,italics are   
indicated by underscores4    ,small     
capitals have been rendered in full     
capitals4    ,a number of minor spelling
 errors have been corrected without     
note4