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

48

THE

ARCHITECTURE

OFHUMANISM

symbolically, asstanding forcertain

ideas. And in

particular the habit arose of

regarding Greek and

Gothic art as contrasted, parallel

and alternative

modesoffeeling. Butthe

good

tasteoftheperiod,

althoughalreadypermeatedwith

Romanticism,recog-

nised this distinction between them: the Gothic

must remainan externalobjectofadmiration

;

the

Greekfeelingcouldbefusedwiththeexistingart,the

Greekforms graftedon to, or extricated from, the

living tradition.

Just

as

ithad required noimpos-

sible change to impart a Chinese turn to the gay

RenaissancestyleofLouisxv.,so,with

equalfacility,

theromanticidealisationofGreececouldbeexpressed

byemphasisingtheelementsofseverity

intheessenti-

ally Renaissance styleofLouis xvi.

Butaspecies

hofliterary symbolism becomes increasingly
evident

in the attempt.

(

Tlm^

interest

._is.^^tgd^_mQix_jmd

• 
  

V^o^.?

from

the

q

rt__itseJ^f_to theideals_Qf_civilisaiian«

The Greek modes of the period are

deliberately

meantto

'

suggest

'

itspolitical

orotherdoctrines

;

andthe intrusionofEgyptiandetail which

followed

Napoleon's Africanexpedition is

aninstanceofthe

sameallusivetendency. Thus,

thoughanapparent

continuityis still maintained,

aradical changehas

taken place. A romantic

classicism of

sentiment

and reflection hasoverlaid and stifled

the creative

classicism which sprang

up in the

quattrocento

and till now

had run its course.

In imparting