On The Art Collections At South Kensington, Considered In Reference To Architecture.*

of beauty , to old and well-known forms ; it is this which we cannot do now-a-days , That there is great impatience of this thraldom of the styles , as I may characterize it , amongst young architects , I am quite aware ; and on all hands we Avitness eudeaA * ours to escape from bondage ; but these efforts , unfortunately too often take the shape of—earnest it may be ,

but—inevitably cold-blooded attempts to achiev-e absolute originality . Now , I believe , there is some occult law in nature —some fatality , Avhich makes itself felt in all such instances ; usually achieves either noA * el ugliness and absurdity , or at best a IIOAV medleysome , glaring and disjointed pasticcio . Whatthenremains for us ? In plain wordshow is

, , , the young architect to form a consistent and truthful stylo for . himself ? Certainly on the basis of learning ancl respect for previous canons , —Ave have already assumed this principle . First and foremost , I hold that he must teach himself how to get professional knowledge—hoAv to observe . NOAV there are IAVO methods of looking at architectural

monuments ; I mean ancient buildings , and also such works of arfc as are on the table before us . The first is the historical or archtnological VICAV . This of course is very important to the architect : he should so critically study such works as to master their principal facts of style , in reference to their date and conditions of productions . Knowledge of this kind should underlie every

other . In many ways , impossible to be specified , such knowledge Avill improve tho practical judgment and power of the architect . Next , all these things should be studied abstractedly or analytical !} -, thafc is , taking up , for instance , any one of these objects ; knowing , at a glance , all that is necessary about its history , origin , use , or intention . The student should ask himself , "And IIOAV what is tho inherent ajsthetic A * alue of the object ?" "What can I gather from it of direct use to mo or my arfc P" " What particular facts of form , colour , materials ,

juxta-position of details , arrangement , contract , balance of parts , & c , can I learn from it ? " " Can I assimilate , as it Avere , certain valuable facts embodied therein ,- —and and in some future act of 1113 * art shoAv that I have practically gained by this analysis . Mind , I do not advocate any tedious turning and turning about , sketching , and note-Avriting , about every interesting specimen

met with : life is scarcely long enough for this ; but it is astonishing how rapidly , —intuitively as ifc were , ' — valuable facts and impressions are apprehended by the mind Avhich has trained itself to habits of active observation and analysis of this nature : a feiv brief glances will then often tell the student more than ho could detail in ten pages of description .

Let ns 'take np this object , the famous Gloucester candlestick , —one of the bronze altar candlesticks of Gloucester Cathedral at about the year 1115 ; perhaps made at Gloucester , but more likely at Cologne . NOAV , on our principle of culling knowledge from every source ; if I had any particular subject uppermost in my mind , it is pretty certain I should be immediately struck

with any fact or peculiarity seeming to have a bearing on that subject . Now , this is a specimen of very remarkable and indeed beautiful arfc in east metal ; and it strikes me thafc it offers valuable suggestions for the treatment of cast metal—cast-iron , I mean , —eraploj * ed on a grander scale ; for observe how completely this utensil is architectural in treatment . Of course it was

designed , and perhaps executed , by an architect , — by an artist , in short , —who in all probability could have built a great minster , as Avell as executed its ritualistic furniture , and all with the same noble uniformity and congrnity of style . Doubtless the maker of this object Avas a cloistered monk , Avorking to the glory of God in this his practical way . But let us consider this Avork . Have AVC not to all intents and purposes a rich and beautiful column , with its base and capital , intervening shaft , ancl central band

or knopp ? Now it strikes me that the rich and intricate interlaced ornamentation is admirably suggestive for tho modern treatment ; of cast-iron work . Of course , considered as a column , AA * e might elongate its proportions to any extent , even to that of the slenderest shaft . Now the proper artistic treatment of cast-iron in architecture is a most interesting and

important problem—one thatarchitects are bound to take serious note of ; for it'is certain that this material , whether we like ib or not , will play a far more important part in architecture than it has hitherto done ; and on the suggestive qualities of the material itself , together Avith a coincident reference to the peculiar treatment , the -esthetic expression , if I may so call it , of monuments in cast

metal of past epochs or styles , alone , I think , can be gradually concreted the leading features of a consistent and genuine style of treatment of this new material . I have not time to dwell in detail in this matter , otherwise I could enlarge on the radical difference of artistic expression which should bo made to prevail betwixt works in cast and wrought metal ; how ornamentation in casfc mefcal should not suggest carving in Avoodor stone ; how ,

in consequence , it should rather be in full high relief , under-cut , or in open work , than in bas-relief ; and taking up one specimen after another of different ages and schools from amongst our collections , I could show how leading principles Avere embodied and illustrated by them . But to shoAv how intimately the different arts are connected with each other in the question of casfc-iron

ornamental architecture , Ave are not concerned with form alone : colour , also , forces itself strongly upon us . We must faint iron . It cannot he left tvitli its irregidar coating of rust and dirt . Iron architecture , moreover , naturally takes the shape of a slender framework or skeletonshafts , girders , slender arch-bands , spandrils , stringcourses , narrow horizontal fascia ; and , generally speaking

a multiplicity of detail necessarily results from the physical qualities of the material ; and the very meagreness , the linear character , and multiplicity of parts , at once suggest the use of colours as tho natural means of giving emphasis , richness , and variety to decorative construction in this material . Here , then , at once a field of the widest aud most interesting nature presents itself ; and surely here , if anywhere , the trammels of bygone styles may ^ e shaken off .

This one subject , colour as applied to interiorarchitecture , would alone furnish ample matter for a lecture : it is a field in Avhich precedent example will be most precious , and where , happily , this museum can boast an unequalled store of illustrative matter . For instance , there is first an admirable series of original drawings of painted Avail decorations , from the principal monuments of Italian

art ; some of them are hung around this room ; but here , again , the student must cull from indirect sources ; and here , under my hand , occurs an original monument , which illustrates this theme in a very interesting manne . I allude to this splendid chasse or reliquary of the same period , and , perhaps , the same school as the Gloucester candlestick ; what , indeed , could be more suggestive than

the striking contrasts of sculptured metal and brilliant colour here exhibited ? HOAV rich , and yet how harmonius and free from gaudiness are the champleve enamels of this fine work . Note the admirable taste with which these miniature columns are picked out in gold and colours ; each of different design , yet harmonising perfectly one Avith another . Here is no Avant of balance ;

nothing fragmentary or disturbing ; no discordant contrasts interfering with the general repose or stability of tbe composition as a Avhole . In short , I cannot but regard this object , and others of similar style in our collections , —for instance , this beautiful enamelled tryptich , as practical examples of the highest value ; and I maintain that their great historical or archtnological importance is at least equalled by their ackial suggestive use to the art studied . ( To be continued ,