The art of the Vatican; a brief history of the palace, and an account of the principal works of art within its walls . t be studied as it was built, — piecemeal. Thusconsidered in detachments, it shows much of beautyand interest. Unfortunately, the very worst of itis that part seen first and last by the visitor in ugly divisions that rise at the right of , over Berninis colonnade, do not hint of theloggie about the Court of St. Damasus or the longlines of galleries leading to the graceful fiercely windowed, jaundiced walls suggestthe many real beauties of the
The art of the Vatican; a brief history of the palace, and an account of the principal works of art within its walls . t be studied as it was built, — piecemeal. Thusconsidered in detachments, it shows much of beautyand interest. Unfortunately, the very worst of itis that part seen first and last by the visitor in ugly divisions that rise at the right of , over Berninis colonnade, do not hint of theloggie about the Court of St. Damasus or the longlines of galleries leading to the graceful fiercely windowed, jaundiced walls suggestthe many real beauties of the Vatican as little asthey proclaim the marvellous treasures of art col-lected within them. To get a true appreciation ofthese architectural triumphs, it is necessary to viewthem not only with the eye of present sight, but withthe eye of retrospection as well. Even a short andnecessarily incomplete account of the why and whenthey were built will tend to give a truer basis foropinion as to their worth and success. The Vatican as it is to-day, with its outbuildings,gardens, and grounds, covers a space equal in area. Zbc IDattcan palace 5 to a city with a population of a hundred and thirtythousand. Compared in size with the palace alone,even the Colosseum sinks into insignificance. Forthe Oolosseum would not quite fill up the groundplan of St. Peters. And it would take all of and more than half as much again to equalthe extent of the Vatican. Roughly speaking, the shape of the Vatican is thatof two separate and wholly dissimilar groups ofbuildings on the slope of the hill at the foot of whichis St. Peters. These groups are connected by twonarrow parallel galleries about a thousand feet longand two hundred and forty feet apart. These in turnare joined near the middle by two cross-galleries,dividing the enclosed space into two rectangularcourts. The huge edifice at the southern end ofthese galleries is connected with St. Peters, and isreally the palace proper. Here, within
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectart, bookyear1903
