Page:A history of architecture on the comparative method for the student, craftsman, and amateur.djvu/302

 244 COMPARATIVE ARCHITECTURE. in the churches at Palmero. Flank walls are occasionally decorated by flat pilaster strips, connected horizontally by small arches, springing from corbels (No. 98 c). c. Openings. — In consequence of the bright climate the openings are small (No. 98 a), and opaque decoration was preferred to translucent. Window tracery was not developed. The wheel windows (No. 96) just described are only rudimentary in pattern, attention being chiefly bestowed upon their decoration, as in the rich carving of the Palermo examples. D. Roofs. — Where round-arched cross vaulting, or simple barrel vaults, were not employed, the timber roofs of the basilican style often effectively decorated with color were used. In the southern examples, domes rather than vaults were attempted, but timber roofs are the rule in Palermo and Monreale (No. 97), and, owing to Mahometan influence, great richness in timber ceilings was attained. The nave roofs of Italian churches continued to be constructed of wood with flat ceilings till the thirteenth century. Plain groined vaults of small span were common and divided into compartments by flat bands, a practice which was continued in the Gothic period. E. Columns. — Piers with half shafts were employed rather than columns, especially in the North, where vaulting was more in use, but coupled and grouped shafts were seldom properly developed in relation to the vaulting ribs. Buttressing was obtained by means of the division walls between an outer range of chapels, more often than not unmarked on the exterior. In Central Italy, as at Toscanella, rude Corinthian columns carry a round-arched arcade, above which the plain walls are pierced, by the small arched openings of the clerestory, while the roof is of the simple basilican type. No. 98 j — M, show typical capitals. F. Mouldings. — Flat bands are characteristic of the Northern style. Strings were formed by small arches, connecting one pilaster strip to another. Rude imitations of old Classical detail are met with. Southern work is far superior in detail, often possessing good outline, grace, and elegance. Richness and elaboration were attempted in the doorways (No. 94 h, j). G. Ornament (No. 98). — Roughly carved grotesques of men and animals (No. 98 e, f), vigorous hunting scenes, and incidents of daily life are found in Northern sculpture. In Central Italy greater elegance is displayed, and Classic models were copied. The rows of apostles on the lintels of the doorways, as at Pistoia, are similar in treatment to Byzantine ivories. In Southern examples, bronze doors are a feature, as at Monreale Cathedral. Elaborate decoration in mosaic exists as in the Palermo churches and elsewhere (No. 98 h), and the use of color was the main object in the design of interiors.