Читать книгу The Englishman's House: A Practical Guide for Selecting and Building a House онлайн

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It will thus be seen, that to obtain the highest effect of the picturesque in architecture requires an educated eye, a refined taste, great experience, but especially a keen perception of all the conditions, on the fulfilment of which the most successful result can be obtained. In all there is a natural love of unity and effect. Montesquieu, in his dissertation on Taste, observes: “Wherever symmetry is useful to the soul, and may assist her functions, it is agreeable to her; but wherever it is useless, it becomes distasteful, because it takes away variety. Therefore things that are seen in succession ought to have variety, for our soul has no difficulty in seeing them; those on the contrary, that we see at one glance, ought to have symmetry. Thus at one glance we see the front of a building, a parterre, a temple. In such things there is always a symmetry which pleases the soul by the facility it gives her of taking in the whole object at once.”

The numerous dissertations, essays, &c., that have been produced on the subjects that have here been treated on in a discursive manner only, are a sufficient proof of the difficulty which exists in acquiring, applying, and affording an accurate and ample description of all the conditions necessary to picturesque architecture; they also in some measure explain the reason of the grotesque, and even offensive results that obtrude on refined taste in the productions of builders who are utterly deficient of artistic taste and knowledge in carrying out their objects. A general, and in part a historic view of architecture may serve to show how success has been attained in many cases, and the evils that should be avoided as leading to failure in effect of the general and special features of an erection.