History of mediæval art . pturewas founded upon the sameByzantine basis, — fosteredby the commercial relationswith Venice, which in noother part of France weremore active than in the dis-trict of Limoges. An at-tempt was here made to im-prove the Byzantine style,but without the carefulnessin detail and the dramatictendency of the school ofToulouse. A higher stand-ard of beauty was thus at-tained, as, for example, inthe tympanon of the Cath-edral of Cahors, dating tothe beginning of the twelfthcentury, though with lesssuccess in the natural vivacity of the action. The substantial character of t
History of mediæval art . pturewas founded upon the sameByzantine basis, — fosteredby the commercial relationswith Venice, which in noother part of France weremore active than in the dis-trict of Limoges. An at-tempt was here made to im-prove the Byzantine style,but without the carefulnessin detail and the dramatictendency of the school ofToulouse. A higher stand-ard of beauty was thus at-tained, as, for example, inthe tympanon of the Cath-edral of Cahors, dating tothe beginning of the twelfthcentury, though with lesssuccess in the natural vivacity of the action. The substantial character of the work in the country of the Ga-ronne was not equalled in the neighboring provinces of Angoumoisand Poitou. On the other hand, the sculptured decorations weregreatly increased in extent. In the Cathedral of Angouleme {), and in Notre-Dame-la-Grande of Poitiers, the overloaded com-position of Byzantine missal-covers was transferred to the entirefront of the building, — breaking altogether loose from the classic. Fig. 290.—The Daughter of Herodias demands theHead of John the Baptist. Relief upon a Capitalof St. Sernin, now in the Museum of Toulouse. FRANCE. 475 limitations observed in the sculptured fagades of the Provence. Theadvantages assured by the antique principles of design were thus al-most entirely lost. The architectural framework was overgrown by aluxuriant ornamentation, determined by a capricious fancy which en-deavored to attain a general richness of effect rather than any higherartistic qualities. The same decorative character, regardless of mi-nor features, is noticeable in the churches of Ruffec and Civray. North of the Loire the antique influence was no longer felt. Inthe Celtic provinces of Brittany the few examples preserved fromthis period exhibit an unrestrained caprice, in which may be tracedreminiscences of the relationship to the Irish race. In view of thegreat political and architectural activity which had been devel-oped in Normandy durin
Size: 1369px × 1824px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublishernewyorkharperbros
