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

RENAISSANCE

ARCHITECTURE 27

InTuscany,

ontheotherhand,

thoughCosimohad

to

rebukethetoolordly

schemesof

Brunelleschi,and

though the

Strozzi Palace frowns

in unfinished

grjndeur,thenoblest

occasions areoftenmetbyan

"exquisite humility of architecture.
Yet, chastened

asitwastoitsextreme

refinement,thismodeststyle

of

Tuscany

mustsometimeshaveformedthe frame

toverymediaevalmanners. Agreat

critic,Profesgor

]

Wolfflin, reviewing

the numerous changes in style

whichmarkedtheentranceoftheBaroque,iscontent

toreferthemto

a

change

in theSpirit

of

thetime.'

Nineteenth century

mythology

is

favourableto the

phrase

;

and

'

theSpiritofthetime

*

isoftenspoken

ofas asocialpower. But

*

the Spiritofthetime

'

doesnot existindependentlyof theactivitieswhich

manifestit. Itistheatmospherewhichresultsfrom

theircombinedoperation

;

oritistheinfluenceofthe

earlierand more spontaneous ofthese activities as

felt

by

those

whichcomemoretardilyormorereluct-

antly into play.

Now, among those activities, art

andarchitecturewerein Italyevertothe

forefront,

asspontaneousand

vital apreoccupationasexisted

in the national life. It is hardly

philosophical,

amonga

numberofparallelmanifesti^tions

ofenergy,

toexplain thestronger

by the weaker

;

yetthat

is

whatanappealto

*

theSpiritofthetime,'

ifitmeans

anything, here implies.

When, therefore, we have

interpreted a

changeinarchitecture

byachangein