Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Nature Of Design And Decoration In Architecture.
But , though genius cannot be learned , it may be improved ; and tho' the o-ift of designing is bom with a man > it may be methodised -by study and observation . The principal points , therefore , that a designer . should have in view , are , first , conveniency , as has been hinted already , and then beauty and magnificence . With regard to conveniencyfew directions can
, be g iven , ' since it means no more than contriving all the requisites belonging to a plan , in the most clear and elegant manner , and then laying out the space they are to be ranged in with the most perfect order and oeconomy . As to beauty and magnificence , they are themes never to be exhausted ; and , though many volumes have , been written on them already , as many more mig ht still be added . .
Simplicity is generally allowed to be . the'ground-work of beauty , and Decoration of magnificence . It is certain , that the fewer parts a building is composed of , if they are harmonised with elegance and proportion , the more beautiful it appears : The eye is best satisfied with seeing the whole at once , not in travelling from object to object ; for then the whole is comprehended with pain and difficulty , the attention is broken , and we forget one moment what we had observed another . '
But a contrast of figures must be observed in the midst of this simplicity : It is in building as in music ; the parts are various and disagreeing in themselves , till reconciled by the skill and judgment of ¦ the master . A sameness of form betrays a poverty of imagination ; and the eye is instantly g lutted with it , and turns away dissatisfied . It is therefore a principal thing to be regarded by the student , to
design simply and variously at the same time , and beauty will infallibly be the result of the whole . ; Perspective is another grand part of designing ; which demands the . master ' s most critical regard , inasmuch as nothing contributes more to grandeur and beauty , if well understood ; but this is not to be understood without difficulty and study . For in all buildings , as in p ictures ,
there must be one principal figure , to which all the others must be subordinate ; and from which you must set out to examine the parts , and to which you must return to determine of the whole . Decoration , or choice and disposition of ornaments , is the last grand requisite to make a complete designer . And this depends partly on ¦ genius , and partly on fancy ; but both must be under the conduct of
" the severest judgment and exactesf taste . In short , all ornaments are ill-placed , that may be spared without being missed ; aud all empty places are absurd , where nakedness hurts the eye , and propriety would admit of decoration . We cannot sufficiently recommend to all persons who build sumptuouslyto calculate their buildingsaccording to the point of view
, , from which they are to be seen ; if they may or should be viewed from ' far , their parts should be simple , great , and noble ; if the prospect is near , the workmanship should be just and little , that it may be seen and understood , according to the nature of its situation . VOL . II , E
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On The Nature Of Design And Decoration In Architecture.
But , though genius cannot be learned , it may be improved ; and tho' the o-ift of designing is bom with a man > it may be methodised -by study and observation . The principal points , therefore , that a designer . should have in view , are , first , conveniency , as has been hinted already , and then beauty and magnificence . With regard to conveniencyfew directions can
, be g iven , ' since it means no more than contriving all the requisites belonging to a plan , in the most clear and elegant manner , and then laying out the space they are to be ranged in with the most perfect order and oeconomy . As to beauty and magnificence , they are themes never to be exhausted ; and , though many volumes have , been written on them already , as many more mig ht still be added . .
Simplicity is generally allowed to be . the'ground-work of beauty , and Decoration of magnificence . It is certain , that the fewer parts a building is composed of , if they are harmonised with elegance and proportion , the more beautiful it appears : The eye is best satisfied with seeing the whole at once , not in travelling from object to object ; for then the whole is comprehended with pain and difficulty , the attention is broken , and we forget one moment what we had observed another . '
But a contrast of figures must be observed in the midst of this simplicity : It is in building as in music ; the parts are various and disagreeing in themselves , till reconciled by the skill and judgment of ¦ the master . A sameness of form betrays a poverty of imagination ; and the eye is instantly g lutted with it , and turns away dissatisfied . It is therefore a principal thing to be regarded by the student , to
design simply and variously at the same time , and beauty will infallibly be the result of the whole . ; Perspective is another grand part of designing ; which demands the . master ' s most critical regard , inasmuch as nothing contributes more to grandeur and beauty , if well understood ; but this is not to be understood without difficulty and study . For in all buildings , as in p ictures ,
there must be one principal figure , to which all the others must be subordinate ; and from which you must set out to examine the parts , and to which you must return to determine of the whole . Decoration , or choice and disposition of ornaments , is the last grand requisite to make a complete designer . And this depends partly on ¦ genius , and partly on fancy ; but both must be under the conduct of
" the severest judgment and exactesf taste . In short , all ornaments are ill-placed , that may be spared without being missed ; aud all empty places are absurd , where nakedness hurts the eye , and propriety would admit of decoration . We cannot sufficiently recommend to all persons who build sumptuouslyto calculate their buildingsaccording to the point of view
, , from which they are to be seen ; if they may or should be viewed from ' far , their parts should be simple , great , and noble ; if the prospect is near , the workmanship should be just and little , that it may be seen and understood , according to the nature of its situation . VOL . II , E