Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/1142

 1118 COTTAGE, FARM, AND* VILLA ARCHITECTUllE. coved rooms, if square, must be as Iiigh as broad, and, when oblong, their height may be equal to their width ; increasing the height one fifth, one quarter, or even one third of the difference between the length and width, as may be thought desirable ; and galleries should, at the very least, be in height one and one third of their width, and, at the most, one and a half, or one and three fifths." ( Civil Architecture, &c. Gwilt's edition, vol. ii. p. S90. ) These precepts may be taken by the critic as those generally received by most European Architects and amateurs ; and, though it is always a mark of a narrow mind to judge of any work solely by a reference to rules, instead of trusting to first impressions, and afterwards testing those impressions by general principles ; yet it is well to know the limits within which an Architect supposes himself to be confined, in so important a matter as the proportions of rooms. 2213. Magnitude. " The Architect Vanvitelli," Forsyth observes, " sought, in his design of the palace of Caserta, grandeur from every dimension;" and it is certain that a building, like that palace, of great magnitude, regular in its general form, and enabling the spectator from one point of view to conceive an idea of its height, its length, and its breadth, produces an impression on the mind at once simple and grand. " There is always," says Wood, " something to admire in works of great magnitude and expense. One cannot walk along the covered way, about three miles long, from Bologna to the church of Madonna del IMonte, without feeling impressed with admiration at the courage and public spirit which could undertake such a work, and the perseverance neces- sary to complete it." (Letters, Sec, vol. i. p. 285.) 2214. Magnificence is an expression produced by the union of magnitude with general simplicity of form, and with great richness in the details. A large house, simple in its general forms, with large spaces between the external indications of the diflerent floors, and between the windows of the same floor ; but with the walls terminating in a highly enriched cornice, and with richly decorated architraves round the windows and doors, must be felt by every one to convey an idea of large and lofty apartments within, and of great wealth in the builder. " To produce the effect of magnificence in Architecture," Wood observes, " three things seem to be necessary; viz., greatness of dimensions, sim- plicity of design, and richness of decoration. To satisfy the mind after examination, three other things are requisite ; viz., correctness of proportion in the parts; graceful drawing of the details ; and delicate execution of the mouldings and ornaments. Great space left between the ranges of windows gives an air of solidity and magnificence to the front, and suggests the idea of lofty rooms within ; and it is a great point gained, when, in addition to the magnificence which is seen, the artist can excite the idea of the magnificence which is not seen." (Letters, &c. ) In general, magnitude, in connection with any circum- stance which gives evidence of great wealth, is favourable to the idea of magnificence. The stables of the Prince of Conde, at Chantilly, are magnificent, from their magnitude, and their costly finishing ; though, as the traveller Duppa observes, they are in the highest degree unfit for their purpose. They are without accommodation for a bushel of corn, or a single truss of hay ; but they are upwards of forty feet high from the floor to the ceiling, and GOO feet long, with walls of polished freestone, and a magnificent dome in the centre. In the interior of towns and cities, it is an evidence of great wealth to find mansions situated in the midst of trees and gardens, surrounded by lofty walls, and entered by magnificent gates. Such mansions are more common in Moscow and Warsaw, and even in Paris, than in any other cities in Europe. In London, on the contrary, though there are numerous mansions, in all respects superior in accommodation, com- fort, and luxury, to those of any other city in the world; yet, from their being in close contact with each other, and ranged in lines without any thing to distinguish them from common street buildings, but the absence of sliops, and their having a somewhat more extensive frontage, they are totally without that expression of magnificence, to which they are amply entitled from the expense incurred, and the accommodation produced. In the last great square which has been, or perhaps, ever will be, erected in London, IJelgrave Square, where the houses rent from 5001. to 1000/. a year each, there is not one of them that can have the slightest pretensions to inagnificence. They have not even an element of this quality; and if a city tradesman, on his entering the square for the first time, were informed that liouses, which are at present occupied by dukes, and other nobles of the first families in the land, were the residences of city merchants, or wealthy retired tradesmen, there is nothing in their appearance which could lead him to express the slightest degree of surprise. Let such a person go to Paris, and observe the hotels, which here and there occur, enclosed by walls, entered by magnificent gates, and surrounded by thickly-wooded gardens ; and the evidence of gi-eat wealth, which these appearances afford, will prevent a doubt from arising in liis mind of the grandeur and magnificence of their occupants. The impression will be still stronger if the traveller proceeds to Warsaw, to Moscow, or to Florence, Rome, and some of the other great cities of Italy. The truth is, that Englishmen excel in displaying magnificence only in the