Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/283

Rh Bk. VII. Ch. XL CHURCHES AT BARCELONA. 26? existing in Barcelona. That city seems during the 14th century to have had a season of great prosperity, when the cathedral and other churclies were rebuilt on a scale of great magnificence, and with especial reference to the convenience of the laity as contradistinguished from the liturgical wants of the clergy. The cathedral seems to have been commenced about 1298 and been tolerably far advanced in 1329. Its internal length is about 300 ft., its width, exclusive of the side chapels, about 85 ft., so that it is not a large church, but is remarkable for the lightness and wide spacing of its piers, and generally for the elegance of its details. Looked at from a purely aesthetic point of view, it has neither the grandeur nor solemnity of the older and more solid style ; but gloom and grandeur are not necessary accompaniments of a city church, and where cheerfulness combined with eleoance are considered appropriate, few examples more fully meet these conditions than this church. Considerable effect is obtained by the buttresses of the nave being originally de- fc;ioned, as was so frequently the case in the South of France, as internal features, and the win- dows being small are not seen in the general perspective. This su]»plies the requisite appearance of strength, in which the central piers are rather deficient, while tiie repetition of the side chapels, two in each bay, gives that per- spective which the wide spacing of the central supports fails to supply. Altogether the design seems very carefully studied, and the result is more satisfactory tlian in most Spanish churches. The system which was introduced in this cathedral was carried a step further in Sta. Maria del Mar (1328-1383). There the central vault was made square and quadripartite, as was frequently the case in Italy ; the vault of the aisles oblong, on exactly the contrary prin- ciple to that adopted in the North of Europe. Again, however, the equilibrium is to some extent restored by each bay containing three side chapels, though the effect would have been better if these had been deeper and more important. Such a design is inappropriate when a choir is necessarily introduced to separate the clergy from the laity, 711. Plan of Cathedral at Barcelona. (Re- duced from Street's.) Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.