Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/170

Rh 152 VENICE [ART. Mosaics. added by Jac. Sansovino in the 16th century. The round-headed windows in the drums were once rilled in with pierced screen-work of marble, some examples of which still exist in the western atrium, an interesting relic of the method of filling windows employed at a time when glass was but little used. The mosaics in the interior are among the finest and, from their variety of date, the most interesting series in the world ; those dating from the 12th and 13th centuries are of special beauty. The earliest appear to be those on the five great domes, probably executed before 1150. On the nave dome the subject is the Descent of the Holy Spirit : tongues of fire radiate upon colossal figures of the apostles, and below them, on the drum of the dome, is a second series of figures representing the various nations of the world who were converted through the inspired teaching of the apostles. On the dome over the crossing is the Ascension of Christ, with bands of large figures of the Apostles, and below them the Virtues. On the choir dome are a half figure of Christ and a series of the Prophets. In the main apse is Christ in Majesty. The transept domes have series of Saints and Doctors of the Church. All have explanatory inscriptions. The whole of the rest of the vaults and the upper portion of the walls are covered with mosaic pictures, of which a mere catalogue would occupy many pages. In the atrium the sub jects are taken from the Old Testament ; these date from c. 1 200- 1300. In the baptistery 1 are the life of St John the Baptist and scenes from the life of Christ ; on the first dome (westwards) is Christ in Majesty over a series of baptismal scenes and the Greek Doctors ; on the second dome, Christ surrounded by Angels. On the barrel vault of the chapel of St Isidore is a very beautiful series of mosaics, with scenes from the saint s life and other subjects, exe cuted in 1355, soon after the completion of the chapel. In the sacristy is a fine series of 15th-century mosaics, and in other parts of the church there are mosaics of still later date, some of them from cartoons by Tintoretto and other Venetian painters of the decadence. These later mosaics are not designed with any real sense of the special necessities of mosaic work, and are all very in ferior in decorative effect to the simple Byzantine style from the 12th to the 14th century. Most of the existing mosaics of the earlier periods have suffered very seriously from &quot;restoration,&quot; a process which is still going on, with most fatal results to the interest and real value of the mosaics. The exterior marble facing and much of the sculpture have within recent years been completely renewed in the most tasteless way, the fine slabs of rich Oriental marbles having been largely replaced by cheap greyish Carrara marble of the worst quality, quite devoid of the fine colours and rich veinings of the original slabs. The same fate now threatens the magnificent mosaic pavement of St Mark s, the surface of which has sunk into a succession of wavy hollows, owing to the settlement of the vaulting of the crypt below on which the nave paving rests. 2 The original part of the mosaic floor probably dates from about the middle of the 12th century. The nave pavement of the cathedral at Murano, which is exactly similar in style, materials, and workmanship, has an inscription dated 1140. The pavement of St Mark s consists partly of opus Alexandrinum of red and green porphyry mixed with some marble, and partly of tesselated work, made both of glass and of marble tesser.T. The two methods are obviously of the same date, as in some cases both processes are used in the same design. The opus Alexandrinum is very similar in style to that in some of the basilicas of Thessalonica, and also those in Rome, most of which are of about the same date, the 12th century. The designs executed in mosaic tessera are of several different styles, some being taken from the mosaics of Roman classical times, while others, with large panels of peacocks on each side of a vase, eagles or lions devouring their prey, and the like, are copied from Byzantine reliefs of much earlier date than the 12th century. 3 The originals of many of these are to be seen in the sculptured roundels which stud the fa9adesof Byzantine palaces in Venice. A great part of the pavement of St Mark s has been repaired and renewed at various times, from the 14th century down to the present time ; consequently a great variety of styles and materials occurs mixed with the original parts. The pave ment in the north aisle was renewed in the most clumsy and spiritless fashion about twenty years ago, and it is much to be feared that a similar fate awaits the rest of these priceless mosaics. One of the great glories of St Mark s is the most magnificent gold or Pala retable in the world, most sumptuously decorated with jewels and d Oro. enamels, usually known as the Pala cl Oro. It was originally (according to the Venetian chronicles) ordered in Constantinople by Doge Pietro Orseolo I. in 976 ; and an inscription in enamelled letters added in 1345 records that it was brought to Venice and partly renewed by Doge OrdelafoJMieri in 1105 ; in 1209 it was 1 A complete list of the subjects ortluTmosaics in the baptistery is {riven by Mr Ruskin in his St Mark s Rest, 1884, p. 120 si/. - There is no ground whatever for the notion that the wavy surface of the pavement was produced intentionally. Its lines of depression simply follow the &quot;cells&quot; in the crypt vaulting, the loose tilling-in of which allows more settlement than the rigid crowns of the vaults. 3 It is interesting to note that a tJth or 7th century marble relief with the vase and peacocks, which forms part of the external facing of the treasury of St Mark, has been copied exactly in one of the mosaics of the south aisle. Pave ment. Retable again repaired and enlarged by Doge Pietro Ziani ; and finally in 1345 Andrea Dandolo reset the enamels in new framework, and added some minute gold canopies and other decoration of Gothic style. In the 19th century it was thoroughly repaired and the stolen gems replaced by new ones, easily distinguishable from the original jewels by being cut in facets, not &quot; en cabochon &quot; after the old fashion. This marvellous retable is made up of an immense number of microscopically minute gold cloisonne enamel pictures, of the utmost splendour in colour and detail. The enamels are partly translucent, allowing the brilliant gold backing to shine through the coloured enamel. The subjects are Christ in Majesty, figures of Archangels and Angels, and a very large number of single figures of Prophets and Saints, as well as many scenes from the life of Christ and of St Mark. No description can do justice to the splendour of effect produced by this gleaming mass of gold, jewels, and enamels ; the delicacy of workmanship of the latter is only equalled by two Textus covers, also in gold cloisonne, now pre served in the treasury of St Mark, which also possesses a magni ficent collection of church plate of all sorts, such as large chalices and patens in crystal and agate, reliquaries, candlesticks, altar frontals, and other kinds of church furniture, all of the most precious materials and workmanship. 4 Two silver frontals of the 14th century, now used for the high altar of St Mark, originally belonged to the cathedral of Venice, S. Pietro di Castello.

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. J.H.H. FIG. 3. Square of St Mark and surrounding buildings. The original campo was bounded on the west by the canal B, with the (JLh-century church of S. Geminiano, C, on its west bank. The first enlargement of the square was effected by Doge Sebastiano Ziani in 1176, when he filled up the canal and rebuilt the church on a new site at D, thus nearly doubling the size of the square. Lastly, the square was extended southwards in the 16th century, when the new palace of the procurators, K, was built by Scamozzi. Gentile Bellini s picture shows a line of houses along FF, reaching up to the great campanile, A. Napoleon I. in 1805-10 pulled down the church of S. Gemi niano and built a new block at the west end of the square, L. The dates of the various parts of the existing ducal palace are indicated on the plan ; the rebuilding was carried on in the following order, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V. At The Ducal Palace. The original doge s palace, probably a small Ducal strongly fortified castle, was built early in the 9th century, soon palace, after the transference of the seat of government from the island of Malamocco to that of Rialto. In the early troublous period of Early Venetian history the ducal palace was frequently destroyed and re- history, built. It was burnt in 976, and again in 1106 ; by 1116 it had been rebuilt. At the end of the 12th century Sebastiano Ziani (1173-79) restored and enlarged it. Of his work the only fragments now in existence are some richly sculptured bands in relief, built in at intervals along the 14th-century Rio facade, by the south east angle of the palace (see P on fig. 3). The present magnificent palace was a slow growth extending over nearly three centuries, the older building of Ziani being gradually pulled down as room was required for the new work. The existing palace was begun in 1300-1 by Doge Pietro Gradenigo, Present who built the facade (P on tig. 3) along the l!io, in which are in- palace, sorted the 12th-century friezes of Ziani. About 1309 the arcaded facade along the sea front was begun at the south-east angle by the Ponte della Paglia (N on fig. 3), and the design which was then adopted was accurately followed along the whole external fa$ade, the building of which occupied about a century and a half. Towards the end of the 14th century the fai;ade had been carried along the Piazzetta side as far as the tenth capital (counting from the south- 4 At the end of the ISth century the rich treasures of St Mark s were sacked by the French, and much was then dispersed and lost, including many antique engraved gems and cameos from the Pala d Oro.