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VIII. THE DUCAL PALACE. 367
are both genuine and carefully treated, are even finer in composition than any, except the eighteenth, in the lower arcade.
The traveller in Venice ought to ascend into the corridor,
and examine with great care the series of capitals which
extend on the Piazzetta side from the Fig-tree angle to the
pilaster which carries the party wall of the Sala del Gran
Consiglio. As examples of graceful composition in massy
capitals meant for hard service and distant effect, these are
among the finest things I know in Gothic art; and that above
the fig-tree is remarkable for its sculptures of the four winds;
each on the side turned towards the wind represented. Le-
vante, the east wind; a figure with rays round its head, to
show that it is always clear weather when that wind blows,
raising the sun out of the sea: Hotro, the south wind;
crowned, holding the sun in its right hand: Ponente, the
west wind; plunging the sun into the sea: and Tramontana,
the north wind; looking up at the north star. This capital
should be carefully examined, if for no other reason than to
attach greater distinctness of idea to the magnificent verbiage
of Milton:
" Thwart of these, as fierce,
Forth rush the Levant and the Ponent winds,
Eurus, and Zephyr; with their lateral noise,
Sirocco and Libecchio."
I may also especially point out the bird feeding its three
young ones on the seventh pillar on the Piazzetta side; but
there is no end to the fantasy of these sculptures; and the
traveller ought to observe them all carefully, until he comes
to the great Pilaster or complicated pier which sustains the
party wall of the Sala del Consiglio; that is to say, the forty-
seventh capital of the whole series, counting from the pilaster
of the Vine angle inclusive, as in the series of the lower
arcade. The forty-eighth, forty-ninth, and fiftieth are bad
work, but they are old; the fifty-first is the first Renaissance
capital of the upper arcade: the first new lion's head with
smooth ears, cut in the time of Foscari, is over the fiftieth
capital: and that capital, with its shaft, stands on the apex
| 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 | 00000413 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | VIII. THE DUCAL PALACE. 367 are both genuine and carefully treated, are even finer in composition than any, except the eighteenth, in the lower arcade. The traveller in Venice ought to ascend into the corridor, and examine with great care the series of capitals which extend on the Piazzetta side from the Fig-tree angle to the pilaster which carries the party wall of the Sala del Gran Consiglio. As examples of graceful composition in massy capitals meant for hard service and distant effect, these are among the finest things I know in Gothic art; and that above the fig-tree is remarkable for its sculptures of the four winds; each on the side turned towards the wind represented. Le- vante, the east wind; a figure with rays round its head, to show that it is always clear weather when that wind blows, raising the sun out of the sea: Hotro, the south wind; crowned, holding the sun in its right hand: Ponente, the west wind; plunging the sun into the sea: and Tramontana, the north wind; looking up at the north star. This capital should be carefully examined, if for no other reason than to attach greater distinctness of idea to the magnificent verbiage of Milton: " Thwart of these, as fierce, Forth rush the Levant and the Ponent winds, Eurus, and Zephyr; with their lateral noise, Sirocco and Libecchio." I may also especially point out the bird feeding its three young ones on the seventh pillar on the Piazzetta side; but there is no end to the fantasy of these sculptures; and the traveller ought to observe them all carefully, until he comes to the great Pilaster or complicated pier which sustains the party wall of the Sala del Consiglio; that is to say, the forty- seventh capital of the whole series, counting from the pilaster of the Vine angle inclusive, as in the series of the lower arcade. The forty-eighth, forty-ninth, and fiftieth are bad work, but they are old; the fifty-first is the first Renaissance capital of the upper arcade: the first new lion's head with smooth ears, cut in the time of Foscari, is over the fiftieth capital: and that capital, with its shaft, stands on the apex |
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