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

24

THE ARCHITECTURE

OF

HUMANISM

and which, but for that

expression,

would never,

perhaps,havebeensupposedtoexist.

Inthe

present

case, no

doubt,thispointcouldnot

bepressed very!

far. YetSt.

Peter'sandtheVatican,and

thegreat

monumentsof

restored Rome,arewitnesses

noless

tothepowerofarchitecture

tocreateanddefinethe

imaginative value of the Renaissance

papacy, than

to

the encouragement and inspiration which the

papacy

contributed to art. Moreover, the char-

acterofthepapacy

inthisperiodwasla,rgely

formed

by the character of its popes

;

and such men as

Pius

II.,

Leo X., and

Julius

ii., were fit patrons

of

Renaissance architecture,partlyforthe reason that

,

theywerecultivatedenthusiasts,a\yaketotheideals;

ofanart which, quite independentlyofthemselves,

had given evidence of its nature, and which was

already,intheeyesofallmen,an

energysovigorous

andsplendid,thatthepopescouldconceivenosecurer

meansofaddingtotheir fame than by inviting

its

support.

So, too, with the more particular

religious and

socialmovementsbywhichthephases

ofRenaissance

architecturehave

sometimesbeenexplained. When

the

Counter-Reformation

madeitsbidforpopularity,

it

erected on every hand

churches in the

baroque

manner frankly

calculated

todelightthesensesand!

kindle comnion

enthusiasms.

Never,

perhaps, has

architecturebeenmore
successfullyor
moredeliber-