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

RENAISSANCE

ARCHITECTURE

25

atelymade

thetool of policythan bythis

brilliant

eflfortwhichtransformed the

faceofItaly

;

norhas

the psychological

insight ofthe Jesuitsbeen mani-

festedwithgreate"rsurenessthan

whenitthusenlisted

intheserviceofreligion

themosttheatricalinstincts

ofmankind.

But, once more, the verysuccess of

the movement was occasioned by the fact, so

well

appreciated

by

the

Jesuits,thatthetasteforsuchan

architecture was already there. The readiness of

the seicento Italians to respond to an architectural

appeal,theirdelightinsuch

qualities

as

thesebaroque

churches embodied, are pre-existent facts. The

achievement of the

Jesuits

lay in converting these

preferences

of a still

pagan humanity to Catholic

uses,aggressivelyansweringtheasceticremonstrance

of the Reformation by astill furtherconcession to

mundane senses. The

artistic significance of the

stylewhichtheJesuitsemployed, remainssomething

wholly

independentoftheusestowhichtheyputit.

Toexplainthefirstbythe secondisto

misconstrue

the

wholematter.

Tocondemnthefirstonaccount

ofthesecond,ashas

repeatedlybeendone,isnothing

lessthanchildish.

Somewhatsimilar

objections willapplywhen the

architectural history of

Italy is interpreted as the

outcomeofsocial

changes. The

'

increaseof

wealth,'

the

'

riseofgreat

families,' the

'

luxurioushabits

of

a more

settled society

'—

^those useful

satellites of