Page:History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 1.djvu/530

 498 FRENCH ARCHITECTUllE, Pakt ir. 10th century. The church progressed westward at the rate of two bays in a century till the hist two were completed, with the won- derful cavernous porch under them, about the year 1180. The whole length of the church is 215 ft., and its width across the nave is a little over 80. Externally its most remarkable feature is the fa9ade of the south transept, which is perhaps the richest and most elaborate speci- men of the Ainay style of decoration existing. On the north side is the cloister, which is a sin- gularly elegant specimen of the style, but very classical in detail. The pillars are almost Corin- thian in outline (Wood- cut No. 365), but the blunder the Romans made when using pillars with arches has in this case been avoided. If refer- ence is made to Woodcuts "210 and 212, or to any others representing the classical form, the differ- ence will be at once per- ceived. In both instances the pillars were used merely as ornaments, but w itli the Komans they were nothing but useless additions, without even the pretence of utility. In this cloister they support the arches, and are veritable parts of the construction. It would be difficult to find any apter illustration of Pugin's famous antithesis than these examples of Ronian and Bui-gundian architecture — the one is constructed ornament, the other ornamented and ornamental con- struction — and notwithstanding its rudeness, the Burgundian exam- ])le is far mere pleasing than the Roman, and, if used with classical details, this arrangement might now be introduced into any Italian design with the most satisfactory effect. The church of St. Benigne at Dijon, mentioned above, was one of the oldest in Burgundy, and was probably an excellent type of the style of that counti-y. But its total destruction, and the insufficiency of the plates published by Dom Plancheri pveclude anything like a 365. Cloister of Cathedrrtl of Puy en ^'elay. u Vhotograph.) (From 1 " Histoire Generale de Bourgogne," 4 vols, fol., Dijon, 17?>0; p. 81.