Page:History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 1.djvu/333

 Bk. rV. Ch. III. ORDERS. 301 painted), or ornamented with scrolls or figures in bronze, which may probably have been gilt. The cornice is perhaps open to the same criticism as the archi- trave, of being over-rich, though this evidently arose from the same cause, viz., re})roducing in carving what was originally only painted ; ■which, to our Northern eyes at least, appears more appropriate for internal than for external decoration, though, under the purer skies where it was introduced and used, this remark may be hardly applicable. The order of the portico of the Pantheon is, according to our notions, a nobler specimen of what an external pillar should be than that of the Temple of Jupiter Stator. The shafts are of one block, unfluted ; the ca])ital plainer ; and the whole entablature, thoi;gh as correctly proportional, is far less ornamented, and more suited to the greater simplicity of the whole. The order of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina is another exainple intermediate between these two. The columns are in this instance very similar to those of the Pantheon, and the architrave is plain. The frieze, however, is ornamented with more taste than any other in Rome, and is a very pleasing example of those conventional representations of plants and animals which are so well suited to architectural purposes — more like Nature than those of the Greeks, but still avoiding direct imitation sufficiently to escape the affectation of pretending to appear what it is not and cannot be. The Maison Carree at Nimes presents an example of a frieze orna- mented with exquisite taste, while at Baalbec, and in some other examples, we have them so over-ornamented that the effect is far more offensive, from utter want of repose, than the frieze in the Temple of Jupiter Stator ever could be from its baldness. Besides these there are at least fifty varieties of Corinthian capitals to be found, either in Rome or in various parts of the Roman Empire, all executed within the three centuries during which Rome continued to be the imperial city. Some of them are remarkable for that elegant simplicity which so evidently betrays the hand of a Grecian artist, while others again show a lavish exuberance of ornament which is but too characteristic of Roman art in general. Many, however, contain the germs of something better than was accomplished in that age; and a collection of them would aft'ord more useful suggestions for designing cajjitals than have yet been available to modern artists. Composite Order. Among their various attempts to improve the order which has just been described, the Romans hit upon one which is extremely characteristic of their whole style of art. This is known by the