On The Use Of Colour In Diagrams Illustrating The History Of Architecture.

representation iu stone . He did not counsel the imitation of such forms in modern work . They were only suited to the worker in iron and brass . Foliage _ in stonework must necessarily be more or less conventionalised . He did not deprecate the study of Nature , but tho work resulting from such study should be suited to the material in which it was executed . At

the close of the Geometrical period the art of sculpture ( as applied to tbe human form ) was practised with great success , -and at the beginning of the Curvilinear period this art was still progressing . In Lincolnshire , the churches at Heckington and Vavenby , together with Lincoln Cathedral , afforded noble examples of this . Mr . Sharpe did not think that models even of Classical times

could excel the sculptures of the Easter sepulchres in those churches , On the whole , however , the churches of the Curvilinear period showed a marked falling- off from those of the Geometrical epoch . The generality of 'Curvilinear churches were very plain . The carved bosses of tho period were , however , good . The decadence of Gothic art was carried still further in the

Rectilineal * period . In the Curvilinear period the prevailing feature was the sinuous character of the tracery . In the Rectilinear period much greater harshness , coarseness , and squareness was found than hitherto . One redeeming feature was that the architects of this period took the liberty of finishing the upper parts of the buildings of their predecessorsand improved the

, sky outline by ornamental parapets aud pinnacles , and therefore they deserved our thanks . One or two features characteristic of the Rectilinear period were as follows , The four-centred arch came in during that time also , the Tudor flower ; vaultings also became move elaborate Having thus directed attention to the distinctions he wished to draw between tbe various periods of English

national architecture , Mr . Sharpe proceeded to refer to the manner in which he represented these various epochs by means of colour . Professor Willis , he said , was the first parson to employ colour in his ground plans for the purpose of distinguishing the parts of buildings which belonged to different styles and periods , The Professor , however , applied his colours indiscriminately , and simply for the purpose of distinguishing the work of one date from that of another . It had some time ago occurred to

Mr . Sharpe , however , that the use of colour iu this manner might be carried a point further , and in fact made much more useful , by attaching a fixed significacation to the employment of different colours , and by causing a specific colour always to represent a specific period of architecture ,- and it appeared to him that no better basis could be taken for such au application of

colour than the prismatic spectrum itself , which , in 12 two-fold sense , was peculiarly adapted to represent the gradual progress of art in the buildings of the middle ages ; first , because , as in church architecture , the progress was so regular and so gradual as to be almost imperceptible , rendering difficult the drawing of any exact line of demarcation between the buildings of one style

and those of another , or to say , for example , where Norman art ended , and where English art began ; so in the prismatic spectrum , it was difficult to say where one colour ended and whore another began . Yet inasmuch as it was necessary , for descriptive purposes , to call certain portions of the spectrum blue , green , yellow , and red , for the same reason , was it necessary to select and

characterise in the same manner portions of the history of the continuous art of Gothic architecture , and to designate those parts by some such specific terms as those before proposed . And . in the second place the adaptation of the prismatic spectrum for this purpose appeared to be a peculiarly happy one , inasmuch as English national architecture , rising out of the deep gloom of debased

Pagan art in the dark age of barbarous invasion , was thus fitly represented as brightening gradually into the ry and refulgence of Christian art in the Geometrical

period ofthe thirteenth century , and as deepening again in its descent through the three following centuries into the dark age of Pagan revival in the seventeenth century . He had therefore for some time , for purposes of his own , made use of the following selection of colour , to indicate on the ground plans of churches the part cular dates of the construction of their lififerent parts and he thought he could safely recommend it as a sufficient one for general use : —

A . D . A . D . Norman from 1066 to 11-15 ... Black Transitional „ 11-15 „ 1190 ... Blue Lancet „ 1190 „ 1215 ... Green Geometrical „ 1245 „ 1315 ... Yellow Curvilinear „ 1315 „ I 860 ... Orange Rectilinear „ 1360 „ 1500 ... Crimson

Mr . Sharpe exhibited a ground-plan of Lincoln Cathedral coloured in this manner , and an illustration of the use of colour in defining the states of work in elevation , a large coloured drawing of the west front of that noble building . A plan of Horbling Church , Lincolnshire , was also exhibited . In that building every period of Gothic art was represented , owing to the frequent rebuilding of

portions of the structure necessitated by the badness or rather total want of foundations . Mr . Shape said he must lay a good deal of blame upon the old masters in this respect . They seemed to have literally built upon faith . He believed that tbe reason why the Mediseval buildings still remained , despite their inefficient foundations , was to be found in the tenacity of their

mortara subject to which we in the present day ( though we provided good foundations ) paid too little attention . In reference to the west doors of Lincoln Cathedral , Mr . Sharpe said that , as far as he could tell by comparing them as they now were with drawings made by him many years ago , they had suffered so much injury as bad been alleged by the scraping and " tooling " which they

underwent a few years ago . He , hswever , maintained , that for cleaning old carved stonework , the use of anything harder than the cotton carding-brush or bristles was a great error . Mr . Sharpe then walked round and commented on the large number of full-sized sections of the mouldings of chancel arches and doorways in the most prominent buildings of each period of Gothic art

in this country , those belonging to each period being coloured in accordance with the foregoing chromatic scale . These sections of mouldings ( which completely covered the walls of tho large gallery at Conduit Street ) were brought upon paper , Mr . Sharps said , by means of tne valuable little instrument called the cymagraph , invented by Professor Willis , thirty years ago , but never

used since its invention , except by the inventor , Mr . Sharpe , and one or two others . Mr . Sharpe said he had altered and improved it , as he thought , thus rendering it still move useful . In tho course of his comments 011

the sections of mouldings exhibited , Mr . Sharpe strongly urged , upon young architects especially , the diligent study of mouldings , for most undoubtedly , he said , the history of architecture was written in its mouldings . It was iu the varied forms and deep under-cutting of its mouldings that English architecture firs tmanifested itself . In conclusion . Mr . Sharpe expressed a wish that the Association , which possessed so much energy and vitality in

its management , should put itself at tlie head of a movement ivhich should havo for its object the extension of a knowledge of the history of church architecture , nob only amongst its own members , but amongst those numerous amateurs who had a strong desire to make themselves acquainted ivith the subject , and who had now the annual meeting of some local society only to rely upon . He should like to sec the Association engaged in such a work .