. A short history of art . f the apse. Exte-rior ornament was used sparingly. The prominent lines ofthe construction were emphasised by mouldings, and occa-sionally the fa9ade was decorated with mosaics or find little originality in the designs for capitals and cor-nices. They were usually fragments of pagan buildings,which were looked upon by the Christians as lawful spoil. The knowledge of architecture had greatly declined inRome, and the principles of construction were imperfectlyunderstood. It is partly on this account that so few ex-amples of early basilicas remain. The high wa
. A short history of art . f the apse. Exte-rior ornament was used sparingly. The prominent lines ofthe construction were emphasised by mouldings, and occa-sionally the fa9ade was decorated with mosaics or find little originality in the designs for capitals and cor-nices. They were usually fragments of pagan buildings,which were looked upon by the Christians as lawful spoil. The knowledge of architecture had greatly declined inRome, and the principles of construction were imperfectlyunderstood. It is partly on this account that so few ex-amples of early basilicas remain. The high walls were readily 140 A SHORT HISTORY OP ART overthrown, the wooden roofs were exceedingly combustible,and the passion for restoring and altering swept away whatthe ravages of time would have spared. San Clemente at Rome is the only basilica now in exist-ence with an atrium. The old basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls, at Rome, was burned in 1823. It has been re-stored; but the extreme polish and newness of the interior,. PLAN OF BASILICA OF SAN CLEMENTE AT ROME and the alteration of some of the important features of theplan, prevent it from impressing us as the original buildingwould have done. Basilicas continued to be the favourite style of churchesat Rome long after other forms had been introduced else-where ; but, as we have said before, we have not space to con-cern ourselves with the details of the history of art, and canonly indicate the leading characteristics of the buildings ofdifferent sorts.
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectart, bookyear1913
