The architecture of humanism; a study in the history of taste

THE ROMANTIC

FALLACY

83

new analyticinterest,taking

noteforthe firsttime

ofapermanent

characterintheart. Norwerethese

romanticelementslimited

to

landscape

andcostume.

They took

the

form, often

enough, ofinventions of

fantastic architecture."-Andthis

isthemoresignifi-

cant since in

the Renaissance painters and archi-

tectsarealmostonefraternity,andthetwoarts

were

frequentlyconjoined.

I

Buttheirsenseofthe freedomappropriatetothe

painted architecture is in strong

contrast to the

strictnesstheyimposeduponthemselvesinthecon-

creteart. /Thenearerartapproachedtothe monu-

mental,themore

thisself-denying

ordinancebecame

severe. Whatever surrounds us and contains our

life

;

whateverisinsistentanddominating

; whatever

permitsusnoescape—that,theyfelt,mustbeformal,

coherent, and, in some sense, serene. Real

archi-

tecture,byitsvery

scaleandfunction,

issuchanart.

It is insistent, dominating, and not tobe escaped.

The wild,

the fantastic, the unexpected in such

an

art could not therefore

be allowed

to capture the

design. That,ifwe

mayjudgefrom

theirwork,was

the

principle in which Renaissance architects put

faith.

I

This

principle,likealltheprinciplesofRenaissance

architecture,

rested on a psychological fact. The

different

effectswhichartisabletoproduce,however

variousand

incommensurabletheymayradically

be,