The article Roman Art (Vol. 23, p. 474) is probably the first brief and authoritative treatment of a topic long overshadowed in popular interest by the earlier art of Greece and the later art of Italy. It begins with a history of recent research. Architecture, pre-eminently the most Roman of the arts as combining utility with beauty, is outlined (pp. 476–477 especially) and the main point in regard to Roman architecture is brought out as follows: “the specific achievement of the Roman architect was the artistic application of a new set of principles—those which are expressed in the arch, the vault and the dome,” as contrasted with the rectilinear buildings of the Greeks. The arch, particularly the triumphal arch, is specifically a Roman product and is specifically Roman besides in being an expression of reverence for governmental authority,—which, it should, however, be remembered, cannot be separated from religion. Among the most important of Roman sculptures and particularly reliefs are those of the arches, described in the articles Arch (Vol. 2, p. 342) and Triumphal Arch (Vol. 27, p. 297), the latter with eight figures. The part of the article Aqueduct which deals with Roman aqueducts (Vol. 2, pp. 241–243, with 2 plates, 6 illustrations) will interest the architect as well as the contractor or engineer. And he should read the article on the Roman architect and writer on architecture, Vitruvius (Vol. 28, p. 150), whose book so strongly affected the Renaissance.
Before taking up modern architecture as distinguished from ancient, the student will do well to examine the architecture of some more remote peoples—for instance,
- Aztec (Vol. 5, p. 441 and p. 677)
- Abyssinian (Vol. 12, p. 232)
- Hittite (Vol. 13, p. 537)
- Indian (Vol. 14, p. 428, with 4 plates)
- Japanese (Vol. 15, pp. 181–182)
- Chinese (Vol. 6, p. 214)
- Byzantine (Vol. 4, p. 906, with 2 plates), and the article Constantinople (Vol. 7, p. 3)
Modern Architecture
The last topic will serve as a transition to the modern architecture of Europe, especially because the influence of the Byzantine was so strong in the early church.
The study of the Italian Romanesque and Gothic in an elaborate section of Architecture (Vol. 2, p. 391) may well be supplemented by reading the articles on the Italian cities in which this art is preserved. The following list is roughly chronological, the cities named first being those in which there are the oldest churches.
| Ravenna, Pisa and Venice, for Byzantine Romanesque. | |
|---|---|
| Milan | for Lombard Romanesque |
| Pavia | |
| Brescia | |
| Bergamo | |
| Piacenza | |
| Parma | |
| Modena | |
| Bari | for Southern Romanesque |
| Molfetta | |
| Palermo | for Sicilian Romanesque |
| Messina | |
| Monreale | |
| Cefalu | |
| Würzburg, for Romanesque in Germany | |
| Genoa | for Italian Gothic |
| Assisi | |
| Orvieto | |
| Verona | |
| Perugia | |
| Siena | |
In the same way, for Gothic in other countries, the student should read:
| Aix-la-Chapelle | for French Gothic |
| Le Puy | |
| Angoulême | |
| Arles | |
| Nimes | |
| St. Denis | |
| Noyon | |
| Senlis | |
| Sens | |
| Reims | |
| Le Mans | |
| Oviedo | for Spanish Gothic |
| Leon | |
| Avila | |
| Segovia | |
| Lerida | |
| Toledo | |
| Burgos | |
| Seville | |
| Salamanca | |
| _ | |
| Durham | for English Gothic |
| Lincoln | |
| Salisbury | |
| Gloucester, etc. | |
| Aix | for German Gothic |
| Mainz | |
| Worms | |
| Spires | |
| Cologne | |
| Tournai, Louvain, etc., for Belgian, | |
and in general, the articles Cathedral, Nave, Aisle, Choir, Apse, Chevet, Lady-Chapel, Vault, Flying Buttress, Pinnacle, Clerestory and Triforium. The article Cathedral has plans of Canterbury, Salisbury, Durham, Ely, Chartres, Sens and Angoulême and a perspective of Amiens cathedral.