Alberti, Leone Battista, Architecture, 1755

Table of figures

< >
< >
page |< < of 320 > >|
    <archimedes>
      <text>
        <body>
          <chap>
            <p type="main">
              <s>
                <pb xlink:href="003/01/154.jpg" pagenum="130"/>
              they broke one that was only half wrought.
                <lb/>
              </s>
              <s>Beſides that by this means they had the Ad­
                <lb/>
              vantage of doing their Work at different Times,
                <lb/>
              according to the different Seaſons which are re­
                <lb/>
              quiſite for building the Wall, and for cloathing
                <lb/>
                <arrow.to.target n="marg16"/>
                <lb/>
              and poliſhing it. </s>
              <s>There are two Sorts of falſe
                <lb/>
              Apertures: One is that where the Columns or
                <lb/>
              Pilaſters are ſo joined to the Wall, that one Part
                <lb/>
              of them is hid within it, and only Part of them
                <lb/>
              appears; the other is that wherein the whole
                <lb/>
              Columns ſtand out of the Wall, ſomewhat
                <lb/>
              imitating a Portico. </s>
              <s>The former therefore we
                <lb/>
              may call the low Relieve, and the latter the
                <lb/>
              whole Relieve. </s>
              <s>In the low Relieve we may uſe
                <lb/>
              either half Columns or Pilaſters. </s>
              <s>The half
                <lb/>
              Columns muſt never ſtand more nor leſs out of
                <lb/>
              the Wall than one half of their Diameter. </s>
              <s>Pi­
                <lb/>
              laſter, never more than one fourth Part of its
                <lb/>
              Breadth, nor leſs than a ſixth. </s>
              <s>In the whole
                <lb/>
              Relieve the Columns muſt never ſtand out
                <lb/>
              from the Naked of the Wall more than with
                <lb/>
              their whole Baſe and one fourth Part of the
                <lb/>
              Breadth of their Baſe; and never leſs than with
                <lb/>
              their whole Baſe and Shaſt ſtanding out clear
                <lb/>
              from the Wall. </s>
              <s>But thoſe which ſtand out
                <lb/>
              from the Wall with their whole Baſe and one
                <lb/>
              fourth Part more muſt have their Pilaſters of
                <lb/>
              the low Relieve, fixed againſt the Wall to an­
                <lb/>
              ſwer to them. </s>
              <s>In the whole Relieve the En­
                <lb/>
              tablature muſt not run all along the Wall but
                <lb/>
              be broke and project over the Head of each
                <lb/>
              Column, as you may ſee in Plate 19. No. </s>
              <s>4.
                <lb/>
              But in the half Relieve you may do as you
                <lb/>
              think fit, either carrying on your Entablature
                <lb/>
              entire all the Length of the Wall, or breaking
                <lb/>
              it over each Pilaſter with a Sweep, after the
                <lb/>
              Manner of the whole Relieve. </s>
              <s>We have now
                <lb/>
              treated of thoſe Ornaments wherein all Build­
                <lb/>
              ings agree: But of thoſe wherein they differ,
                <lb/>
              we ſhall ſpeak in the following Book, this be­
                <lb/>
              ing already long enough. </s>
              <s>But as in this we
                <lb/>
              undertook to treat of every Thing relating to
                <lb/>
              Ornaments in general, we ſhall not paſs by any
                <lb/>
              Thing that may be ſerviceable under this Head.</s>
            </p>
            <p type="margin">
              <s>
                <margin.target id="marg16"/>
              *</s>
            </p>
            <p type="main">
              <s>A.
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Plan of the Inter-ſpace of the two half
                <lb/>
              Columns, called
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              Baſſo Relievo.</s>
            </p>
            <p type="head">
              <s>CHAP. XIII.</s>
            </p>
            <p type="head">
              <s>
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Of Columns and their Ornaments, their Plans, Axes, Out-lines, Sweeps, Di­
                <lb/>
              minutions, Swells, Aſtragals and Fillets.
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              </s>
            </p>
            <p type="main">
              <s>The principal Ornament in all Archi­
                <lb/>
              tecture certainly lies in Columns; for
                <lb/>
              many of them ſet together embelliſh Porticoes,
                <lb/>
              Walls and all Manner of Apertures, and even
                <lb/>
              a ſingle one is handſome, and adorns the Meet­
                <lb/>
              ing of ſeveral Streets, a Theatre, an open
                <lb/>
              Square, ſerves for ſetting up Trophies, and pre­
                <lb/>
              ſerving the Memory of great Events, and is ſo
                <lb/>
              Beautiful and Noble that it is almoſt incredible
                <lb/>
              what Expence the Ancients uſed to beſtow in
                <lb/>
              ſingle Pillars, which they looked upon as a very
                <lb/>
              ſtately Ornament: For oſtentimes, not being
                <lb/>
              content with making them of
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Parian, Nu­
                <lb/>
              midian
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              or other fine Marbles, they would alſo
                <lb/>
              have them carved with Figures and Hiſtories
                <lb/>
              by the moſt excellent Sculptors; and of ſuch
                <lb/>
              Columns as theſe we are told there were above
                <lb/>
              an Hundred and Twenty in the Temple of
                <lb/>
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Diana at Epheſus.
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              </s>
              <s> Others made their Capi­
                <lb/>
              tals and Baſes of gilt Braſs, as we may ſee in
                <lb/>
              the double Portico at
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Rome,
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              which was built
                <lb/>
              in the Conſulſhip of that
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Octavius
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              who tri­
                <lb/>
              umphed over
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Perſeus.
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              </s>
              <s> Some made their whole
                <lb/>
              Columns of Braſs, and others plated them all
                <lb/>
              over with Silver; but we ſhall not dwell upon
                <lb/>
              ſuch Things as thoſe. </s>
              <s>Columns muſt be ex­
                <lb/>
              actly round and perfectly ſmooth. </s>
              <s>We read
                <lb/>
              that one
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Theodorus
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              and one
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Tholus,
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              Architects
                <lb/>
              of
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Lemnos,
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              contrived certain Wheels in their
                <lb/>
              Workhouſes, wherein they hung their Columns
                <lb/>
              with ſo nice a Poiſe, that they could be turned
                <lb/>
              about by a little Boy, and ſo poliſhed ſmooth.
                <lb/>
              </s>
              <s>But this is a
                <emph type="italics"/>
              Greek
                <emph.end type="italics"/>
              Story. </s>
              <s>We ſhall proceed
                <lb/>
              to ſomething more material. </s>
              <s>In all Columns
                <lb/>
              we may conſider two long Lines in the Shaft;
                <lb/>
              one we may call the Axis of the Shaft, and the
                <lb/>
              other the Out-lines; the ſhort Lines that we
                <lb/>
              are to conſider are the ſeveral Diameters of
                <lb/>
              thoſe Circles which in different Places gird the
                <lb/>
              Column about; and of thoſe Circles, the prin­
                <lb/>
              cipal are the two Superficies; one at the Top
                <lb/>
              and the other at the Bottom of the Shaft. </s>
              <s>The
                <lb/>
              Axis of the Shaft is a Line drawn through the
                <lb/>
              very Center of the Column from the Center of
                <lb/>
              the Circle which forms the flat Superficies at
                <lb/>
              the Top, to the Center of the Circle which is
                <lb/>
              the flat Superficies at the Bottom, and this
                <lb/>
              Line may be alſo called the Perpendicular in
                <lb/>
              the Middle of the Column. </s>
              <s>In this Line meet
                <lb/>
              the Centers of all the Circles. </s>
              <s>But the out Line
                <lb/>
              is one drawn from the Sweep of the Fillet at
                <lb/>
              the Top along the Surface of the Column to
                <lb/>
              </s>
            </p>
          </chap>
        </body>
      </text>
    </archimedes>
Impressum