The Palace and Park: Its Natural History, and Its Portrait Gallery, Together with a Description of the Pompeian CourtLatham, R. G. (Robert Gordon)
History
The Palace and Park: Its Natural History, and Its Portrait Gallery, Together with a Description of the Pompeian Court
Latham, R. G. (Robert Gordon)
Crystal Palace (Sydenham, London, England)
On the back wall we first notice a composition made up from various
examples of cinque-cento work from the Certosa at Pavia. Adjoining it is
a portion of an altar also from the same Certosa--a beautiful specimen
of sculptural art of the time. Next to this is another piece of
cinque-cento composition, from specimens obtained from this prolific
source, Milan, &c. The sculptured figures of angels, and other figures
in high and low relief in this composition, are worthy of a careful
study. In the centre, two colossal figures (Caryatides), from the
Louvre, by Jean Goujon, support a large cast of the Nymph of
Fontainebleau, executed for Francis I., by the celebrated Benvenuto
Cellini. Next to the Caryatides we see an exquisite specimen of a
portion of the interior of the principal entrance to the Certosa most
elaborately carved, and the panels filled in with bas-reliefs; the
doorway by its side is from the Hôtel de Ville, of Oudenarde, in
Belgium. Above is a composition of French Renaissance art. It stands out
from the wall, and looks very like an antique cabinet or screen. Another
architectural example from the Certosa follows, being a sort of military
monument erected to the memory of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan;
the date of its execution is the end of the 15th century. Within it are
bas-reliefs by Luca della Robbia and Donatello. On the side next the
French Mediæval Court is first another oak door from Saint Maclou, by
Jean Goujon, and then a doorway from Genoa; and, above it, the frieze of
“The Singers,” by Luca della Robbia, the original of which is at
Florence, a most charming work, fall of life and animation. In the
centre of this--the northern--side of the court, is a cast from one of
the windows of the façade of the Certosa, a remarkably fine example of
cinque-cento; next to it, another doorway, from the Doria Palace at
Genoa; and in the corner a fourth door from Saint Maclou, by Goujon, the
central bas-relief of which represents the Baptism of Christ. The lower
part of the interior of the façade is devoted to examples of Italian
sculpture of the 15th century, including a head of St. John by
Donatello.
[Illustration: Ground Plan of Elizabethan Court.]
The monument placed against the wall is that of Ilaria di Caretto, from
Lucca Cathedral, executed by Jacopo della Quercia, of Sienna, early in
the 15th century: it is a very fine example of the cinque-cento style.
Two statues by Donatello cannot fail to be noticed--his Saint John in
marble, and David in bronze, both of which display great power and study
of nature.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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