. A history of architecture in Italy from the time of Constantine to the dawn of the renaissance. hted candles, or twosheep, — birds or stagsdrinking at a fountain,which springs up below themonogram enclosed in awreath, or a lamb carryingthe cross and standtng ona mount of Paradise. — arethe most frequent but very rarelythe beardless figure of OurSaviour appears, seated ona throne. Of historical sub-jects, properly so ealled,none are to be met with inthe whole series. (Lind-say, Christian Art, vol. i. p. 102.) Whereas in the early Christian work of Rome the sym-bolism is
. A history of architecture in Italy from the time of Constantine to the dawn of the renaissance. hted candles, or twosheep, — birds or stagsdrinking at a fountain,which springs up below themonogram enclosed in awreath, or a lamb carryingthe cross and standtng ona mount of Paradise. — arethe most frequent but very rarelythe beardless figure of OurSaviour appears, seated ona throne. Of historical sub-jects, properly so ealled,none are to be met with inthe whole series. (Lind-say, Christian Art, vol. i. p. 102.) Whereas in the early Christian work of Rome the sym-bolism is almost entirely absent, and the sculpture consists for the most part of figuresubjects. The centre of the face of the sarcophagus is generally occupied by a roundpanel containing the effigy of the person there entombed, — often of two persons, theman and his wife, or two brothers. — flanked by close set ranges of standing there are two lines of subjects, representing scenes from the Old aud NewTestaments ; sometimes a rude arcade with standing figures in the Fig. loo. Column of Mareian, Constantinople. 214 ARCHITECTURE IN ITALY sciil})tor, cut loose from the classic traditions, had created a new and])erfectly characteristic school of decorative sculpture. Perhaps theearliest example which remains to us is the capital of the colunniof Marcian, which stands now in the garden of a private housenear the centre of Constantinople, and which dates between 450 and45G. (Fig. 153.) It is a column of white marble about thirty-fivefeet high, including the pedestal. The capital in its outline andgeneral proportions follows the Corinthian j)retty closely, but with afreer treatment of the abacus and volutes and a vastly freer and moreartistic treatment of the leafage. The capital is surmounted by astilt-block of unusual size, with great eagles at the four angles withoutspread wings, which nearly meet in the centre of the face. Thestilt-block is, however, no
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