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

RENAISSANCE

ARCHITECTURE

23

orimposed continuitysuch
as thatwhich, later, in

the France of Louis xiv., gave to

architecture a

formalandrestrictedaim.
Itneededthepatronage

ofalargeidea,butitrequiredalsospaceandscope,

thatitmightattempteverymode

ofself-realisation

yetstand

committed

tonone. Thisspace,andthis

patronage, the papacy was fitted

toprovide. The

rivalry

of

successivepopes,theirdiverseoriginsand

sympathies, their common passion to leave

behind

them

an

enduringmonumentof

theirpower; above

all, their detached office, controlling the different

statesofItalyandforcingeachofthem tobringits

ownartistictemperamentwithinthespellofRome,

gavearchitecture, inperfectcombination, thefocus

^ndtheliberty,thevariedimpulseandthe renewed

vitality necessary for making

a

great

imaginative

experimentwilder

theinfluenceoftheantique.

The papacy, then,

may

be considered to have

predetermined in some degree the formation of

Renaissancestyle. Yetwemustnotexaggerate its

contribution.

Byitsimperialqualityitwillappear

tohave furnished the

large

ideato which the

new

classic architecture

mightstand inservice. Butwe

mustnot overlook

theextent towhich the papacy

wasitselfindebted,forthatquality,

totheartistsof

theRenaissance.

Itisacommonfallacytoaccount

forartistic

expressionby

externalconditionsforwhose

verybeing

thatexpressionisinsome

casesresponsible,