Design and Tradition: A short account of the principles and historic development of architecture and the applied arts — John Shaqi
Design and Tradition: A short account of the principles and historic development of architecture and the applied artsFenn, Amor
History
Design and Tradition: A short account of the principles and historic development of architecture and the applied arts
Fenn, Amor
Architecture; Art; Decoration and ornament; Decoration and ornament -- History
[Illustration: No. 98. Jacobean Doors.]
Ceilings, and occasionally the frieze, were in plaster, decorated with
intersecting ribs, or bands dividing the surface into compartments
geometric in shape, and further enriched with stamped or modelled
ornament.
Windows were relatively small as to individual openings, large lighting
areas being obtained by grouping a number of these side by side, and
also in tiers, the dividing bars or mullions being either in wood or
stone.
Glazing took the form of small pieces of glass united by lead frames,
commonly arranged in trellis form, resulting in diamond-shaped pieces.
Occasionally painted or coloured glass was used, generally in heraldic
devices in the upper portions of the windows.
The windows themselves were frequently deeply embayed.
_Development in Dwellings_
The growing appreciation of domestic comfort, evident in the general
arrangement of the buildings of this period, is also apparent in the
furniture, which from this time approximates somewhat to the modern
forms, though still crude, and leaving much to be desired in the way of
personal comfort.
[Illustration: No. 99. Oak Table, English. 17th century.]
Tables, which had hitherto been mere portable boards laid on trestles,
or, if fixed, were on heavy legs with rails below, developed into more
useful forms. These were the draw-inge table which could be extended by
drawing out two flaps worked on runners from beneath the normal top,
and the gate-leg table, which in principle resembled the modern folding
type. Large tables were formed by putting a number of gate-leg tables
together, and when not so in use they could be placed in different parts
of the room.
[Illustration: No. 100. English Chairs, early 17th century.]
Legs and the under rails of chairs and tables were turned in the lathe,
and the carved details were invariably simple and direct in execution,
similar in character to much of the work in the early French
Renaissance, in contrast to the Italian carving, which was in high
relief and plastic in character.
The majority of examples in our national collection of this period are
of Court furniture, and cannot be taken as typical of what was in common
use. The over-ornamented Italian work compares unfavourably with the
English Jacobean furniture, in which utility is obvious and the
decoration subordinate and to the purpose.
Oak was chiefly employed in England, but in Italy, and later in France,
walnut was much used.
[Illustration: No. 101. English Chair, middle of 17th century,
influenced by Italian design.]
Panelling was prevalent for interiors in the Italian and French
Renaissance. In Italy, where the art of weaving had been preserved at
Lucca, and other places, tapestry was also frequently employed as wall
hangings, also as coverings for upholstered work.
[Illustration: No. 102. Oak Chair, English, 17th century.]
Compared with the earlier period, this was a time of luxury and display,
favourable to the arts generally.
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