Page:A history of architecture on the comparative method for the student, craftsman, and amateur.djvu/629

 ENGLISH RENAISSANCE. 571 school of art, and, in consequence, Wren's work shows more French influence than that of Inigo Jones, which is pure ItaHan. Palladio continued to be the inspirer of English work, as com- pared with Vignola, whom the French followed, but Wren, who never visited Italy, often gave a semi-French turn to his designs, more especially in the decorative detail, as may be seen on comparing his v^ork with that of Inigo Jones. Many of his designs, in which he was obliged to study economy, indicate, however, much thought, all his designs, as Opie said, being mixed " with brains," and indicating a careful study in the proportion of part to part. Many of these, as S. Paul and the City churches, were executed in Portland stone, which by its good weathering properties adds to their dignity and importance ; while in domestic work, he used red brick with stone dressings, as at Hampton Court, Marl- borough House, and elsewhere. His great opportunity was the destruction of London by the Great Fire in 1666, after which he devised a grand plan for the reconstruction, which was, however, abandoned for pecuniary and other reasons, but he was employed in a large number of churches, including S. Paul's Cathedral, and other buildings. His principal Ecclesiastical works were as follows : — S. Paul, London (1675-1710), which ranks amongst the finest Renaissance Cathedrals in Europe, was Wren's masterpiece. The first design, of which there is a fine model in the northern triforium of the Cathedral, was in plan a Greek cross (No. 253), with a projecting western vestibule ; but the influence of the clergy, who desired a long nave and choir suitable for ritualistic purposes, finally caused the selection of the mediaeval type of plan. This, as executed, consists of a great central space at the cross- ing, arranged somewhat similarly to Ely Cathedral, crowned by a dome, and having east and west a nave and choir in three bays with aisles, north and south transepts, and a projecting western vestibule with lateral chapels. The building has an internal length of 460 feet, a breadth including aisles of 100 feet, and an area of 60,000 square feet. An illustration showing its comparative size and disposition with S. Peter, Rome, the Pantheon, Paris, and Cologne Cathedral, is given (No. 213). The internal piers (No. 253 b) are ornamented with pilasters of the Corinthian order, supporting an entablature and attic, above which are formed the flat saucer-like domes, 86 feet high. Light is admitted by means of windows in the clerestory, which are not visible from the exterior. The wall surfaces have recently been decorated with glass mosaic, under Sir William Richmond, which has given the color it was originally intended to have. The dome, as shown in No. 253 b, is of triple con- struction. It is carried on eight piers {cf. Dome of the Invalides,