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308 'SECOND PERIOD.
former in the architect's mind. It is impossible to say which
was first executed, but that of the Fig-tree angle is somewhat
rougher in execution, and more stiff in the design of the
figures, so that I rather suppose it to have been the earliest
completed.
§ xxxvii. In both the subjects, of the Fall and the Drunkenness, the tree, which forms the chiefly decorative portion
of the sculpture,—fig in the one case, vine in the other,—was
a necessary adjunct. Its trunk, in both sculptures, forms the
true outer angle of the palace; boldly cut separate from the
stonework behind, and branching out above the figures so as
to enwrap each side of the angle, for several feet, with its
deep foliage. Nothing can be more masterly or superb than
the sweep of this foliage on the Fig-tree angle ; the broad
leaves lapping round the budding fruit, and sheltering from
sight, beneath their shadows, birds of the most graceful form
and delicate plumage. The branches are, however, so strong,
and the masses of stone hewn into leafage so large, that, notwithstanding the depth of the undercutting, the work remains
nearly uninjured; not so at the Vine angle, where the natural
delicacy of the vine-leaf and tendril having tempted the
sculptor to greater effort, he has passed the proper hmits of
his art, and cut the upper stems so delicately that half of them
have been broken away by the casualties to which the situation of the sculpture necessarily exposes it. What remains
is, however, so interesting in its extreme refinement, that I
have chosen it for the subject of the opposite illustration rather
than the nobler masses of the fig-tree, which ought to be rendered on a larger scale. Although half of the beauty of the
composition is destroyed by the breaking away of its central
masses, there is still enough in the distribution of the variously
bending leaves, and in the placing of the birds on the lighter
branches, to prove to us the power of the designer. I have
already referred to this Plate as a remarkable instance of the
Gothic Naturalism; and, indeed, it is almost impossible for the
copying of nature to be carried farther than in the fibres of
the marble branches, and the careful finishing of the tendrils:
| Title | The stones of Venice - 2 |
| Creator | Ruskin, John |
| Publisher | J. Wiley |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Date | 1889 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000352 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 308 'SECOND PERIOD. former in the architect's mind. It is impossible to say which was first executed, but that of the Fig-tree angle is somewhat rougher in execution, and more stiff in the design of the figures, so that I rather suppose it to have been the earliest completed. § xxxvii. In both the subjects, of the Fall and the Drunkenness, the tree, which forms the chiefly decorative portion of the sculpture,—fig in the one case, vine in the other,—was a necessary adjunct. Its trunk, in both sculptures, forms the true outer angle of the palace; boldly cut separate from the stonework behind, and branching out above the figures so as to enwrap each side of the angle, for several feet, with its deep foliage. Nothing can be more masterly or superb than the sweep of this foliage on the Fig-tree angle ; the broad leaves lapping round the budding fruit, and sheltering from sight, beneath their shadows, birds of the most graceful form and delicate plumage. The branches are, however, so strong, and the masses of stone hewn into leafage so large, that, notwithstanding the depth of the undercutting, the work remains nearly uninjured; not so at the Vine angle, where the natural delicacy of the vine-leaf and tendril having tempted the sculptor to greater effort, he has passed the proper hmits of his art, and cut the upper stems so delicately that half of them have been broken away by the casualties to which the situation of the sculpture necessarily exposes it. What remains is, however, so interesting in its extreme refinement, that I have chosen it for the subject of the opposite illustration rather than the nobler masses of the fig-tree, which ought to be rendered on a larger scale. Although half of the beauty of the composition is destroyed by the breaking away of its central masses, there is still enough in the distribution of the variously bending leaves, and in the placing of the birds on the lighter branches, to prove to us the power of the designer. I have already referred to this Plate as a remarkable instance of the Gothic Naturalism; and, indeed, it is almost impossible for the copying of nature to be carried farther than in the fibres of the marble branches, and the careful finishing of the tendrils: |
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