The Brochure Series of Architectural Illustration, Volume 01, No. 05, May 1895

The Brochure Series of
Architectural
by Various

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Brochure Series of Architectural
Illustration, Volume 01, No. 05, May 1895, by Various This eBook is
for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: The Brochure Series of Architectural Illustration, Volume 01, No.
05, May 1895 Two Florentine Pavements
Author: Various
Release Date: September 24, 2006 [EBook #19364]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE
BROCHURE SERIES OF ***

Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Sigal Alon and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

THE BROCHURE SERIES
OF ARCHITECTURAL ILLUSTRATION.
VOL. I. MAY, 1895. No. 5.
TWO FLORENTINE PAVEMENTS.
The church of San Miniato al Monte, just outside the walls southeast of
Florence, and the Baptistery, or church of San Giovanni Battista, in
Florence, are among the finest examples of the Tuscan Romanesque
style, and both probably date from about the same time--the early part
of the twelfth century--although the date of San Miniato has until
recently been referred several centuries further back.
These two churches have many points of similarity, although entirely
different in plan. San Miniato was referred to in the article upon the
Byzantine-Romanesque doorways of Southern Italy in our February
number, and Fergusson's classification of Byzantine-Romanesque was,
for the time being, adopted for lack of better authority. Later writers
have, however, generally agreed that there is little or no Byzantine
influence in these two churches; that the delicate and refined treatment
of classic forms here found is not the result of Byzantine or Greek
influence, but is due entirely to the natural refinement of the Tuscan
race. The same characteristic was again shown later in the treatment of
Gothic detail, and is evident in the Renaissance work of this locality.
The dimensions of San Miniato were given in the February number
referred to above. The interior of this church is generally considered
one of the most beautiful interiors of Italy on account of its effective
basilican plan with a crypt opening from the nave, its beautiful and rich
detail, and its fine mosaics and decorations. The pavement is not the
least of its attractions.
The Baptistery will be remembered for its famous bronze doors, the
work of Ghiberti, which have given occasion for so much discussion,
favorable and unfavorable. It is octagonal in plan, and 108 feet in
diameter externally. It was erected originally for the cathedral of the

city, but in the eleventh and twelfth centuries was so thoroughly
remodeled that no recognizable features of the old building remain.
The pavements, in point of design, appear quite independent of the
other ornamental work in the two buildings we are considering.
The motives of ornament are those commonly found in the stuffs,
especially silks, of Sicily and the East, and their use here could easily
be accounted for through connection with Sicily. It is known that the
Hotel de Tiraz at Palermo, the great royal manufactory of stuffs, artistic
metal work, mosaics, etc., established in the sixth century, and which
continued until the sixteenth, supplied not only much of the finest
textile products for all of Europe in that time, but also furnished
workmen who carried with them the designs and methods of Sicilian
textile manufacture to other countries. Such manufactories were
established in several Italian cities, among them Lucca.
The relationship seems clear, as the forms are perfectly similar. The
beasts and birds set in balancing pairs facing each other and repeated in
an all-over pattern, as in a woven fabric, strongly suggest the Sicilian
silks. Eug. Muentz in his work, "La Tapisserie," speaks of this evident
relationship. The internal evidence of the design itself would be quite
sufficient if we had no other means of tracing it.
These two pavements are practically unique, as far as we are able to
learn. They are marble inlay, the pattern having been cut out in a slab
of white marble and pieces of black marble carefully fitted in to form
the figure. This is not true mosaic, and differs essentially in design
from the mosaic work of the same period which was derived from the
Roman mosaics made up of small pieces of marble or other material.
Most of the floor mosaics in Italy have suffered from wear and tear,
and have in many cases been very poorly restored; but these two
pavements appear to be in nearly their original condition.
The design does not have the merit of belonging distinctively to the
material in all cases, and might just as well be applied to wood
parquetry as stone. In fact, it might be even