DURING THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.
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shadowed subdivisions into paltry patches, but suitable to any aspect. In the churches of St. Ouenand St. Maclou, at Rouen , are some very singular examples, which we will advert to from theirbeing remarkable exceptions to foreign construction in general. In these churches the dispositionto render the pictorial interest of the windows subservient to the more important object of effect isespecially evinced. Many windows in succession are seen lofty in the extreme; at the foot of eachopening only a small portion, namely, a little more than its width in height, is devoted to the figuresor pictorial part, which rest on the cill, and without the semblance of a pedestal. The part above,which constitutes nearly the whole space of the light, is filled with entire and lofty canopies, literallycrowded with figures, which is accomplished by introducing translucent tracery, and so forminginnumerable little niches, in which are representations of many saintly personages, angels, &c., placedas finials to the tabernacle work.* Nor are the metal parts of these canopies alike; some beingentirely gold colour, others white, and in many instances gold and white. The grounds and aper-tures being different in each successive window, produce in the whole a most charming variety ofeffect; but it is as a whole that they are so admirable; taken singly, there is not perhaps one thatwould produce any striking effect. And thus it is in the present day; we erect perhaps one win-dow, which may be excellent in itself, and we wonder that it has not the charm that such as thesepossess, that it has not all the beauties of all the works that are still in our memory, and concludethat the art is lost; and for these reasons there are few works of the present day that are not spoiledby attempting too much in each. Hence, perhaps, the remains of our ancient works have been somuch neglected ; for, being mostly in small patches, and possessing neither completeness nor the ad-vantage of effect in masses, they have been thought unimportant, until the taste and judgment of theartist or connoisseur has rescued them from oblivion, by pointing out their real merit and value.
The manner of drawing the figures of this period, which are larger than in the medallions of the lastcentury, bears a great resemblance to the style and details of the great and other seals of the time,and is equally like the monumental brasses of this date, that is, quite upon conventional principles.In the early periods of this style the flesh parts were painted on glass of light maddei colour, butafterwards white was continuously used. In the latter case the hair and beard were commonlystained yellow. It is not clear that the art of producing yellow on white was known before thisperiod, and even in this time it was seldom done when the colour could be com eniently introducedby leading. The nimbus of this period was added in various colours, ruby, blue, yellow, green, purpure, &c., regulated by the grounds with which they came in contact, and without any attempt tocopy a reality, but aiming at the primary object, effect. Many curious evidences of this may beseen in the clerestory windows of St. Ouen, at Rouen , where the hair, beard, and even the eyebrows of the figures are variously coloured in ruby, blue, green, &c., clearly shewing that a balanceand harmony of colour was deemed of the first importance, without reference to the natural appear-ance. Nor were the principles of Christian symbolism and heraldry departed from, for the skillwhich was exercised in the colouring universally provided that colour should not clash with colour;nor did this occur, even in the draperies of the figures, but was avoided by fimbriating them withrich orfreys and edgings of gold or silver, or vice vers! Christian and heraldic symbolism was,indeed, unsparingly introduced at this period, both on glass and m architecture, for all religiousestablishments, sees, monasteries, nunneries, and orders, kings, princes, prelates, no es, g its,castles, and corporations, had their several heraldic distinctions and insignia, as siewn y tieirescutcheons, seals, &c. Universally, therefore, was this taste adopted in this great epoch of architec-ture, and thus was prod uced that grand uniformity of ideas which pervaded the whole body of archi-
tects, sculptors, painters, engravers, and carvers, as one man, uei ,
remains of some of which are still left for us to contemplate. Many single works will exemplifythis • but for example, we will instance one. It is a monumental brass which still exists, thoughin a'mutilated state, in Elsing church, Norfolk , and we will compare its details with the splendid
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of the Perpendicular, will give a tolerable idea.
M