.

embroidery. Covered with cusped arches, niches, pinnacles, and tracery, the building of the time would be easily recognised even if they were not marked by the wavy o broken lines of the arches; the moulures prismatiques or pear-shaped boltels, projecting arrises, and deep hollows, which form the mouldings; and the boldly designed cor Delling, pendentives, and vaulting so flat that it resembles a ceiling resting upon ex tremely thin pillars. In fig. 241 we illustrate one of

the compartments of the sacristy of the church at Caudebec, which conveys a fair notion of the peculiarity of the style. During this period the sculptors lost much of the simplicity noticed in the preceding century; they evidently copied the living model for at least the head and hands, with great truth and sometimes with happiness in expressing sentiment, but they clothed it in heavy drapery cast with pretension. The grotesque and monstrous figures almost excel the statues, and seem to have some analogy with those which appear in the bassi-rilievi of the 11th century. Such were the last efforts of the pointed style, which owed its principal character to its tendency towards verticality, and finished by seeking horizontality.

547. Amongst the most remarkable works of the 15th century may be mentioned the transepts 1400-39, and the nave 1464-91, obviously modelled upon the previous choir, of St. Ouen at Rouen; the upper part and spire of the north-west tower at Chartres; the central tower, transepts, and chapels at Evreux; Limoges; the northern entrance at Sens; the churches at Notre-Dame de-l'Épine, St. Quentin, St. Riquier, Than, St. Wulfran at Abbeville; the Celestinians, and St. Pierre at Avignon; St. Jean at Caen; St. Antoine at Compiègne; Ste. Catherine at Honfleur; St. Germain l'Auxerrois at Paris; St. Vincent at Rouen; and St. Pierre at Senlis; the choir and apse of St. Trophime at Arles; the greater part of St. Martin at Avignon; some pure portions (others, fig. 242, showing the dying struggles of the style) of St. Jacques at Dieppe; the choir and transepts of St. Remi, at Reims; the pretty Bourbon chapel in the cathedral at Lyon; the salle des chevaliers at Mont St. Michel; and the tower of St. Jean at Elbeuf.

548. Among the examples of the style, between the years 1420 and 1531, are the Hôtel des Ambassadeurs at Dijon, about 1420; and the Fontaine de la Croix at Rouen, between 1422 and 1461, lately restored with the greatest success in all its delicate details of ornament and tracery; as well as that which, erected about 1512 opposite the cathedral at Clermont, in Auvergne, was much injured by its renewal in 1799. The palace at Dijon dates about 1467; and in that city are the monuments of the Dukes of Burgundy, Philippe-le-Hardi and Jean-sans-Peur, which Fig. 241. were in the church of the Chartreuse. That of the Last-named was executed by Juan de Huerta assisted by other are both of the period and are perfect keys to the style that Nancy, the capital of Lorraine, still remains a portion of the ancient palace of its powerful dukes. A representation of its portail is given in fig. 243. What remains within serves as barracks for the garrison. The date of it is about 1476. The Porte du Cailhau at Bordeaux, 1494, in memory of the battle of Fornovo, shares the fate of the Hôtel de Ville at St. Quentin, with its known date of 1495-1509, in not attracting so much notice as a very peculiar instance of a castle in miniature built by Gerard de Nollent about the end of the 15th century at Caen with four fronts, which from the statues of Neptune and Hercules placed on the battlements, is commonly called the château de la gendarmerie. At Orleans, the Hôtel de Ville, finished in 1498, is now used as a museum. The Château de Blois, with four facades of different design, the eastern work dating about 1498-1515, is too well known to need here any further remark. Ten miles from Caen is situate the Château de Fontaine le Henri; the greater portion is of this period. A part of the wes front is given, fig. 244, as a characteristic specimen of the residences of the noblesse during

the latter part of the 15th century, at which period it evidently was erected. The well known Hotel de Cluny at Paris, possessing portions of an earher date, had the works resumed in 1490 by Jacques d'Amboise, Abbé of Cluny, and afterwards bishop of Clermont. This building now contains the works of art formerly belonging to M. de Soinmerard, Near St. Amand is the Chatean de Meillant, much resembling the last named cdifice, but more ornamented.

549. During the last years of the 15th century, the campaigns in Italy by the French made

Fig. 242.

them acquainted with the new style, the
imitation of the antique. At first, some
mouldings and some decorations only
were copied. Thus several portions of
the cathedral at Orleans exhibit the es-
sential features of decaded pointed archi-
tecture; and while Bullant designed in
the Italian style the château at Ecouen,
he maintained in the appendent chapel
the Gothic taste, as being eminently ec-
clesiastical, as he did in the parish church
at the same place. In the 16th century
new churches were rare: sumptuous
palaces and pleasure-houses were the chief
works, in which great saloons became the
chief objects; and the middle class also
introduced luxury into their dwellings.
As the main object was the expression
wealthy ease, not a character of grave
magnificence, the functions of the archi-
tert were assumed by the sculptor; and
at the same moment sculpture, no longer
architectural, alike commenced its deca-
lence in France. The chief ecclesiastical
works of the period were the additions of
fronts, or restorations; those done at the
commencement of the epoch form a sort
of transition between the style fleuri and
the Italian renaissance employed towards
the end of the reign of Francis I. In
this category may be ranged the churches
of St. Patrice, St. Godard, St. André-
de la-Cité, St. Nicolas, St. Sever, and the
great portal of the cathedral at Rouen;
the church at Brou; and the churches
of St. Etienne-du-Mont and of St. Eus-
tache at Paris. The latter bas the

ST. JACQUES, DIEPPE.

general forms of a Gothic building with renaissance details, and as its side entrance constructed at the same time as the fine flamboyant side entrance to the cathedral at B

vais, it is clear that the ar tectural revolution was no multaneously effective in parts of the country.

550. As specimens of architecture of the period, 1 be named the town halls at Quentin. Compiègne, and N on; with two of the finest amples of the art of this peri the Palais de Justice and Hotel de Bourgtheroulde, Rouen. The first was beg in 1499 and finished in 15 The plot on which this beat ful work stands, includin court-yard, is about thr fifths of an English acre, a the arrangement of its plan given, that is, of the anci part of the building, in fig. 2. It is thus described by Daws Turner:-"The palace for three sides of a quadrangl (two of them only are ancien

The fourth is occupied by embattled wall and an elabora gateway. The building erected about the beginning the sixteenth century; and wi all its faults "(we are not awa what they are) "it is a fi adaptation of Gothic archit ture to civil purposes." "T windows in the body of th building take flattened ellipt

heads, and they are divided by one mullion and one transom. The mouldings are high

wrought, and enriched with foliage. The lucarne" (dormer)" windows are of a different design and form the most characteristic feature of the front; they are pointed, and enriched with

mullions and tracery, and are placed within triple canopies of nearly the same form, flanked by square pillars, terminating in tall crocketed pinnacles, some of them fronted with open arches crowned with statues. The roof, as is usual in French and Flemish buildings of this date, is of a very high pitch, and harmonises well with the proportions of the building. An oriel or rather tower, of enriched workmanship projects into the court, and varies the elevations" (an object the designer never once thought about, inasmuch as in all mediaval buildings the first consideration was convenience, and then the skill to make convenience greeable to the eye-an invaluable rule to the architect). "On the left hand side of the euurt, a wide flight of steps leads to the Salle des Procureurs" (marked A on the plan), "a place originally designed as an exchange for the merchants of the city" (sed quare), "who had previously been in the habit of assembling for that purpose in the Cathedral." Its dimensions are 135 ft. long, by 57 ft. 3 in. wide. The room B is now the Cour d'Assises; the ceiling is of oak, and is arranged in compartments with a profusion of carving and gilt ornaments. The original bosses of the ceiling are gone, as are also the doors which were enriched with sculpture, and the original chimney-piece. Round the room are gnomic sentences, admonishing the judges, jurors, witnesses, and suiters of their duties." The basement story of the salle is, or used to be, occupied as a prison. The southern and eastern farades of this elegant edifice have lately (1856) been restored under the direction of M. Grégoire, who probably superintended the internal decorations.

551. Fig. 246 is a portion of the south front of the building. The ellipse seems almost to have superseded the pointed arch in the leading forms, over which the crocketed labels or drips, in curves of contrary flexure, flow with surprising elegance. It is only in the lucarnes we find the pointed arch; and there it is almost subdued by the surrounding accessories. The connection of the lucarnes with the turrets of the façade by means of flying buttresses is most beautiful, and no less ingenious in the contrivance: their height from

the ground

to the top of the finials, is 78 ft. 6 in. The octangular turrets at the end of the salle next the Rue St. Lo, con

tain a very pretty example of pene tration over the heads of the pointed arch. In the story above the basement, as also in the lucarnes, the soffites of the windows are rounded at the angles,or, as the French

call it, have coussinets ar

rondis, as usual in the style. those in the principal story being, besides, slightly segmental. In the tracery of the parapet it is singular to find the quatrefoils centered throughout with what is called the Tudor rose. The arches rising above the parapet, which are crocketed and of contrary flexure, have statues substituted for finials. The richness of the ornamentation of the whole is such that we know no other example, except that of the Hôtel de Bourgtheroulde in the same city that can vie with it. The woodcut, fig. 247, is a section of the sulle. The roof presents little for remark. It is bold and simple, and seems scarcely in harmony with the rest of the place. It is impossible to form an adequate notion of this splendid monument from the figures here given, owing to the necessary smallness of the scale. Those who are desirous of thoroughly understanding its details will be gratified by referring to the plates of it in Britton's Normandy.

55%. There is no city where the style of the period whereof we are treating can be better studied than Rouen. It possesses, both in secular as well as ecclesiastical architecture,

all that the student can desire. The Hôtel de Bourgtheroulde, in the Place de la Puce is about the same age as the Palais de Justice we have just described, or perh

three or four years later in the fin ing. In some respects it is n elaborate in the ornaments and abundance of sculpture. The en front is divided into bays by slen buttresses or pilasters, the spa between them being filled with ba rilievi; every inch of space, ind in the building has been ornamen This building still remains in an degraded condition.

Belgium.

558. The table of styles giver the commencement of the preced section applies to the progress art in this portion of the histo The first appearance of the poin arch is fixed in the first quarter of 12th century, by Schayes, L'Archi ture en Belgique, 1850-53, who not that the semicircular arch did disappear until the middle of 13th, and that only ecclesiastical fices can be adduced as examples the style de transition. The ch aisles were continued round chevet, in the churches of Ste. ( dule at Bruxelles, St. Quentin Tournai, and Pamele at Audenaer while Notre Dame de la Chapt The division of the doorway by a p and the introduction, in Flanders

at Bruxelles exhibits annulated ribs to the vaulting. is due to this period; as are gargoyles in decoration; brickwork. 554. The chief structures are the tower of St. Pierre at Ypres; St. Sauveur at Brug 1116-27, the earliest piece of medieval brickwork in Belgium; St. Nicolas, and St. Jacqi at Gand or Ghent; the abbey church at Afflighem, 1122-44; and the Chapelle du Sai

Fig. 248.

Sang at Bruges, 1150, despite the corations added since the 15th c tury, and the facade reconstruc 1824, being one chapel over anot (fig. 248.), with a peculiarly shap tower which is also double, portion being circular in plan up a corbel, the other being squ in plan at base and attached to Probably St. Quentin at Tourn and St. Martin at Saint Trond, later. It is remarkable that blank arcade formed by cros semicircular arches does not oc in Belgium.

555. Amongst the chief str tures in the style de transition wh were erected during the 13th c tury, are Nôtre Dame at Ru monde, 1218-24, which resembles the church of the Apostles at Cologne, and is first instance of a true cupola in Belgium; the church at Lisseweghe, about 1250; a the Abbey at Villers, which, although in ruins, is a perfect type of the style in the ch and transepts, and moreover retains more of the dependent original buildings than other establishment in the country; the brewery dates 1197, and the church ab 1225; the triforium range of windows to the choir are superposed circles, an i repeated in the end walls of the transepts; the three-aisled nave has a third trifori and is the most perfect type of the early part of the style ogiral primaire existing Belgium, except that of Ste. Pamele; the flying buttresses are remarkable works; cloister belongs to the 14th and 15th centuries. The chevet, 1220, of Ste. Gudule,