Marble column

“ There is no place in which architectural sculpture can be more fittingly displayed than in the capital of a column. It is the most convenient, and at the same time the most conspicuous, position for it. It is, too, the most important feature in every design in which the detached column is used. The gathering together of all the arch mouldings into one above the capital, in order that their forces may be collected before being transmitted to the ground, leads naturally to the laying of a special emphasis on this point above all others ”

“ The mouldings of the arches rest upon four slender marble columns which run up in front of the stone mullions of the windows, and impart to them great elegance and beauty. The great number of these windows, and the small intervening spaces of blank wall between them, give a vast lightness and airiness to the whole structure.
Immediately beneath them is a small cornice or stringing course of Purbeck marble, which runs entirely round the body of the church, and supports the small marble columns which adorn the windows. ”

“ Each piece of stone fits the others so perfectly that there was no need of bolts or anything to hold it in place. It stands upon a pedestal four feet high and is crowned with a low white dome of polished metal. The walls of this wonderful building are pillars of marble inclosing panels of the same material sawed in very thin slabs and perforated in exquisite geometrical patterns. No two panels are alike; there is no duplication of design on the pillars; every column is different; every capital and every base is unique. ”

“ PARTHENON ELEVATION SHOWING PORTION OF PEDIMENT FRIEZE AND COLUMNS.
The cornice, again, is emphasized by mouldings marking the important horizontal lines of the building, re-echoed by the lines of the frieze, and counteracted and braced by the emphatic vertical lines of the triglyphs, and enriched by the little dentils below.
Then we come to the cap of the Doric column. It is simplicity itself. A thin square block of marble forms the abacus. ”

“ Though yet no marble column craves The pilgrim here to pause. ”

“ Above the echinus, which is circular, like the shaft, comes the highest member—the abacus, a square stout slab of marble, which completes the capital of the column. The [95] whole is most skilfully designed to convey the idea of sturdy support, and yet to clothe the support with grace. The strong proportions of the shaft, the slight curve of its outline, the lines traced upon its surface by the channels, and even the vigorous uncompromising planting of it on the square step from which it springs, all contribute to make the column look strong. ”

“ On the site of the Bastile, Louis Philippe laid the foundation of a column which commemorates the revolution of 1830. This column is of bronze, and is one hundred and sixty-three feet high, in addition to the pedestal of white marble, supported by immense granite blocks. The diameter of the column is, I believe, twelve feet, and it cost about twelve hundred thousand francs. There is no masonry in the interior. The staircase is suspended, and the whole concern vibrates with the passing breeze. ”

“ A light portico runs all around, supported by very slender white marble columns grouped in symmetrical disorder, two by two and three by three, almost without pedestals, so that they are like the trunks of trees standing on the ground: they have varied capitals, high and graceful, in the form of little pilasters, above which bend little arches of very graceful form, which do not seem to rest upon the columns, but rather to be suspended over them like curtains upholding the columns themselves and resembling ribbons and twining garlands. ”

“ Below, the ceilings of the arch and corridors are brilliant from concealed lights placed within them.
Court of the Universe
Triumphal Arch, The Rising Sun
The triumphal arches which by night gain in majesty and mysterious power, by day have the added beauty of the color manipulation and decorative treatment, which is exceedingly rich and varied.
The twisted columns of Sienna marble which flank the arch, two on either side, are composite, mingling Corinthian and Ionic elements. Each column is crowned with a sculptured figure, representing the "Angel of Peace" by Leo Lentelli. ”

“ A large square plinth of marble extends from the top of one column to the other, and above it there are constructed a number of arches all round, which support the inner end of the roof or ceiling, the outer end resting on the walls of the building. ”

“ The arches are supported by marble columns, or rather fragments of columns,—all the mutilated antique trunks rummaged out of Italica. For a shaft of insufficient length a piece is found of the dimensions required to make up the deficiency, and placed on its top without mortar or cement. ”

“ They are uniform in their general design, but differ slightly in pose and arrangement of drapery.
Pentelic marble; height, 7 feet 7 inches. Stuart, II., ch. II., pl. 19. Mus. Marbles, IX., pl. 6. Rayet, Monuments, No. 40; Mitchell, Selections, pl. 7; Murray, II., pl. 17; Wolters, No. 810; Stereoscopic, No. 115.
Architecture of the Erechtheion.
408. Ionic column from the north end of the eastern portico of the Erechtheion (B on plan) . This being a column from an angle of the building, the volutes occur on two adjacent sides, so as to present themselves both to the east and north view. ”

“ Entering by a wide gateway, but without gates, into an inner court, surrounded on all sides by great marble pillars supporting galleries above, I saw a large fountain of porphyry in the middle, throwing up a lofty column of water, which fell, with a noise as of the fusion of all sweet sounds, into a basin beneath; overflowing which, it ran into a single channel towards the interior of the building. Although the moon was by this time so low in the west, that not a ray of her light fell into the court, over the height of the surrounding buildings; ”

“ Everything is of marble, white marble, whose immaculate whiteness shines in the azure. On all sides are large solid forms, the cupola, the full wall, the balanced stories, the firmly-planted round or square mass; but over these forms, revived from the antique, like delicate foliage that clothes an old tree-trunk, there is spread an individual invention and a new decoration of the small columns surmounted by arcades, and the originality and grace of this architecture thus renewed cannot be described. ”

“ Every habit of the eye is reversed; and, with surprise and delight, we here see oriental fancy grafting the full on the empty instead of the empty on the full. A colonnade of robust shafts bears a second and lighter one decorated with ogives and trefoils, while upon this frail support expands a massive wall of red and white marble, whose courses interlace in designs and reflect the light. Above, a cornice of open pyramids, pinnacles, spiracles and festoons intersects the sky with its border,—a marble vegetation bristling and blooming above the vermilion and pearly tones of the façade. ”

“ The columns, which now number less than a thousand, were then fourteen hundred in number; the ceiling was of cedar-wood and larch, carved and enamelled with exquisite workmanship; the walls were lined with marble; the light of eight hundred lamps filled with fragrant oil made the crystals in the mosaic-work flash like pearls, and produced on the pavement, the arches, and the walls a marvellous play of color and reflection. ”

“ Owen Jones admits that there is no authority for the gilding of the columns: wherever the columns are of marble, the shafts are always free from traces of colour of any kind. Gold, blue, and red are still seen on most of the capitals, and, in some cases, the plaster half-columns against the walls are covered by mosaic of a small pattern in glazed earthenware. Nevertheless, the eminent authority on decoration is strongly of opinion that the marble shafts could never have been, originally, left entirely white ”

“ Thus, no matter on what side of the Mosque you look, the eye sees nothing but columns. It is a limitless forest of marble. Your glance wanders down the long rows of columns, one by one, which every now and then are intersected by other interminable rows, until it reaches a twilight background where you seem to see the white gleam of still other columns. Nineteen naves extend before the visitor; they are intersected by thirty-three other naves, and the whole building is supported by more than nine hundred columns of porphyry, jasper, breccia, and marbles of every colour. ”

“ The Archangel Raphael, who is standing upon the top of a column, with a sword in his hand, his wings outstretched and glittering with gilding, seems like a sentinel eternally watching over the city confided to his care. The column is formed of grey granite, with a Corinthian capital of gilt bronze, and rests upon a small tower or lantern of rose-coloured granite, the sub-basement of which is formed of rockwork, on which are grouped a horse, a palm-tree, a lion, and a most fantastic sea-monster; the whole decoration is completed by four allegorical statues. ”

“ The proportion of voussoirs to arches naturally depended upon the size of the arch,—large voussoirs to large arches, small voussoirs to small arches. Columns were only grouped around piers and on either side of openings; and lastly, the natural development of the column in Romanesque work was toward attenuation,—the later and the better the work, the more slender became the columns, until at last they were merged into the Gothic multiple-columned piers. The carving upon the arch-mouldings is, to a great extent, geometric, consisting of numerous facets cut in the stone, lozenges, etc. ”

“ The lines of the small columns traced by Stuart, are sufficiently evident, but they were probably parts of the church, not of the temple; for besides that their diminutive size renders them unsuitable for the internal structure of such a building, and that their remaining fragments are of very indifferent workmanship, their situation does not correspond with the division of the marble slabs, which in an edifice so regularly and systematically constructed, is alone a sufficient reason for rejecting them. ”

“ It is small, and formed of a few immense masses: the roof is one entire block; the temple or monument itself is circular, and is formed of six slabs of pure white marble, the joints of which are concealed by an equal number of beautiful Corinthian columns, partly imbedded into, and partly projecting from them. ”

“ The rich marble facings and magnificent columns of the interior, still remain. The beautiful columns are of polished granite and porphyry. The niches, originally filled by the statues of the pagan gods, have not been disturbed; but they are now occupied by saints, and virgins, and other symbols of Catholic worship. The interior is one vast room, one hundred and forty-three feet in diameter, exclusive of the walls, which are twenty feet thick, and it is of the same hight, one hundred and forty-three feet: the dome occupies one-half of the hight. ”

“ Each of them presents a different series of proportions, mouldings, features, and ornaments, though the main forms of the buildings are the same in all. The column and its entablature (the technical name for the frieze, architrave, and cornice, forming the usual superstructure) being the most prominent features in every [84] such building, have come to be regarded as the index or characteristic from an inspection of which the order and the degree of its development can be recognised, just as a botanist recognises plants by their flowers. ”

“ The columns grow larger and grander and more beautiful every time you look at them, and those who have had the privilege of visiting the Acropolis by moonlight will retain an impression that cannot be effaced from their memory by anything else that may remain for their enjoyment. Age and the salt air from the sea have given the marble a rusty color, which detracts from its purity, but gives it a tone of richness and ripeness entirely appropriate to a ruin. ”

“ Doric order, frusta of columns without fluting of any description, soffits decorated with geometric forms, small entablatures, evidently belonging to the interior of the ruined part of the building, and fragments of the superior cornice. No doubt, the square pillars supported columns crowned with a pediment of some sort, and leaving between them an open vista to expose to view and protect some notable object, such as a statue or a sarcophagus.
The whole building is formed of beautifully cut stone, joined with great perfection. No trace of mortar can be perceived. ”

“ A pair of Corinthian monolithic disengaged columns flank each arch, behind which are pilasters. Each column stands upon its own pedestal, and not, as is usually the case in African monuments, upon one common to each pair of columns.
The soffits supported by these, and also the central ceiling, were richly decorated. The entablature is composed of a highly ornate architrave, with rounded leaves at the angles, above which is a cornice. There is also a lofty frieze, as though for the reception of an inscription, and this also is surmounted by a cornice. ”

“ When there are decorated wall-faces either external or internal, the compositions must follow the rules of the Orders in the matter of the columns, so that the shafts of the columns be not too long nor slender, not over thick nor short, but that the dignity of the several Orders be always observed. Nor should a heavy capital or base be connected with a slender column, but in proportion to the body must be the members, that they may have an elegant and beautiful appearance and design. ”