treatment of the 10th-12th centuries already referred to. A
pattern of Gothic foliage, often of beautiful outline, would be simply
grounded out to a shallow depth. The shadows, curves and twists
only being emphasized by a few well-disposed cuts with a “V”
tool; and of course the whole effect greatly improved by colour.
A Swiss door of the 15th century in the Berlin Museum, and some
German, Swiss and Tirolese work in the Victoria and Albert Museum,
offer patterns that might well be imitated to-day by those who
require simple decoration while avoiding the hackneyed Elizabethan
forms.
It is hard to compare the figure work of England with that on the
Continent owing to the disastrous effect of the Reformation. But
when we examine the roofs of the Eastern counties, the
bench ends of Somerset, or the misereres in many parts of
the country, we can appreciate how largely wood sculpture
Figure work.
was used for purposes of decoration. If as a rule the figure work was
not of a very high order, we have conspicuous exceptions in the stall
elbows of Sherborne, and the pulpit of Trull, Somerset. Perhaps the
oldest instance is the much-mutilated and much-restored effigy of
Robert, duke of Normandy, in Gloucester Cathedral (12th century),
and carved, as was generally the case in England, in oak. At Clifton
Reynes, Buckingham, there are two figures of the 13th century.
They are both hollowed out from the back in order to facilitate
seasoning the wood and to prevent cracking. During the 13th, 14th
and 15th centuries there are numberless instances of figure carving of
the most graphic description afforded in the misereres in many of our
churches and cathedrals. But of figures carved in the round apart
from their surroundings hardly an instance remains. At the little
chapel of Cartmel Fell, in the wilds of Westmorland, there is a figure
of Our Lord from a crucifix, some 2 ft. 6 in. in length. The cross is
gone, the arms are broken away, and the feet have been burned off.
A second figure of Our Lord (originally in the church of Keynes
Inferior) is in the museum of Caerleon, and a third, from a church
in Lincolnshire, is now in a private collection. On the continent
some of the finest figure work is to be found in the retables,
some of which are in the Victoria and Albert Museum. A Tirolese
panel of the 15th century carved in high relief, representing St John
seated with his back to the onlooker, is a masterpiece of perspective
and foreshortening, and the drapery folds are perfect. The same
may be said of a small statue of the Virigin, carved in lime by a Swiss
hand, and some work of the great Tylman Reimenschneider of
Wurzburg (1468–1531) shows that stone sculptors of medieval times
were not ashamed of wood.
Renaissance Period (16th-17th Centuries).—With the beginning of the 16th century the great Renaissance began to elbow its way in to the exclusion of Gothic design. But the process was not sudden, and much transition work has great merit. The rood screen at Hurst, Berkshire, the stall work of Cartmel Priory, Westmorland, and the bench ends of many of the churches in Somerset, give good illustrations. But the new style was unequal to the old in devotional feeling, except in classic buildings like St Paul’s cathedral, where the stalls of Grinling Gibbons better suit their own surroundings. The rest of this article will therefore be devoted in the main to domestic work, and the exact location of examples can only be given when not the property of private owners or where the public have access.
During the 16th century the best work is undoubtedly to be found on the Continent. France, Germany and the Netherlands producing numberless examples not only of house decoration but of furniture as well. The wealth of the newly discovered American continent was only one factor which assisted in the civilizing influence of this time, and hand in hand with the spread of commerce came the desire for refinement. The custom of building houses chiefly in wood wherever timber was plentiful continued. Pilasters took the place of pinnacles, and vases or dolphins assisted the acanthus leaf to oust the older forms of design. House fronts of wood gave ample scope to the carver. That of Sir Paul Pinder (1600), formerly in Bishopsgate, but now preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum, is a good example of decorative treatment without overloading. The brackets carved in the shape of monsters which support the projecting upper storey are typical of hundreds of dwellings, as for instance St Peter’s Hospital, Bristol. The panels, too, of Sir Paul Pinder’s house should be noted as good examples of that Jacobean form of medallion surrounded by scroll work which is at once as decorative as it is simple.
In England that familiar style known as Elizabethan and Jacobean prevailed throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. At the present time hardly a home in the land has not its old oak chest carved with the familiar half circle or scroll border along the top rail, or the arch pattern on the panels. The court cupboards, with their solid or open under parts and upper cornice supported by turned balusters of extravagant thickness, are to be seen wherever one goes. And chairs, real as well as spurious, with solid backs carved in the usual flat relief, are bought up with an avidity inseparable from fashion. Four-post bedsteads are harder to come by. The back is usually broken up into small panels and carved, the best effect being seen in those examples where the panelling or the framework only is decorated. The dining-hall tables often had six legs of great substance, which were turned somewhat after the shape of a covered cup, and were carved with foliage bearing a distant resemblance to the acanthus. Rooms were generally panelled with oak, sometimes divided at intervals by flat pilasters and the upper frieze carved with scroll work or dolphins. But the feature which distinguished the period was the fire mantel. It always must be the principal object in a room, and the Elizabethan carver fully appreciated this fact. By carving the chimney breast as a rule to the ceiling and covering the surrounding walls with more or less plain panelling, the designer, by thus concentrating the attention on one point, often produced results of a high order. Caryatid figures, pilasters and friezes were among the customary details employed to produce good effects. No finer example exists than that lately removed from the old palace at Bromley-by-Bow to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The mantelshelf is 6 ft. from the ground and consists of a deep quadrant mould decorated with flat scroll work of good design. The supporting pilasters on either side are shaped and moulded in the customary Jacobean manner and are crowned by busts with Ionic capitals on the heads. Above the shelf the large centre panel is deeply carved with the royal coat of arms with supporters and mantling, and on either side a semicircular arched niche contains a figure in classic dress. The Elizabethan carver often produced splendid staircases, sometimes carving the newel posts with heraldic figures bearing coats of arms, &c. The newels of a staircase at Highgate support different types of Cromwellian soldiers, carved with great vivacity and life. But in spite of excellent work, as for example the beautiful gallery at Hatfield, the carving of this period did not, so far as England was concerned, compare with other epochs, or with contemporary work in other parts of Europe. Much of the work is badly drawn and badly executed. It is true that good decorative effects were constantly obtained at the very minimum of cost, but it is difficult to discover much merit in work which really looks best when badly cut.
In France this flat and simple treatment was to a certain extent used. Doors were most suitably adorned in this way, and the split baluster so characteristic of Jacobean work is often to be met with. There are some very good cabinets in the museum at Lyngby, Denmark, illustrating these two methods of treatment in combination. But the Swiss and Austrians elaborated this style, greatly improving the effect by the addition of colour. However, the best Continental designs adopted the typical acanthus foliage of Italy, while still retaining a certain amount of Gothic feeling in the strength of the lines and the “cut” of the detail (Plate IV. fig. 9). Panelling—often long and narrow—was commonly used for all sorts of domestic purposes, a feature being a medallion in the centre with a simple arrangement of vase, dolphins, dragons, or birds and foliage filling in the spaces above and below.
The cabinets of Holland and Belgium are excellent models of design. These pieces of furniture were usually arranged in two storeys with a fine moulded and carved cornice, mid division and plinth. The pilasters at the sides, and small raised panels carved only on the projecting part, would compose a very harmonious whole. A proportion of the French cabinets are decorated with caryatids not carved in the best taste, and, like other French woodwork of this period, are sometimes overloaded with sculpture. The doors of St Maclou, Rouen, fine as they are, would hardly to-day be held up as models for imitation. A noteworthy set of doors belong to the Hôtel de Ville, Oudenarde. The central door contains twelve and that on either side eight panels, each of which is carved with Renaissance foliage surrounding an unobtrusive figure. In the Palais de Justice we see that great scheme of decoration which takes up the whole of the fireplace end of the hall. Five large figures carved in the round are surrounded by small ones and with foliage and coats of arms.
In Italy, the birthplace of the Renaissance, there is much fine work of the 16th century. A very important school of design was promoted by Raphael, whose patterns were used or adapted by a large number of craftsmen. The shutters of “Raphael’s Stanze” in the Vatican, and the choir stalls in the church of St Pietro de' Cassinesi at Perugia, are among the most beautiful examples of this style of carving. The work is in slight relief, and carved in walnut with those graceful patterns which Raphael developed out of the newly discovered remains of ancient Roman wall painting from the palace of Nero and other places. In the Victoria and Albert Museum are many examples of Italian work (Plate IV. fig. 11): the door from a convent near Parma, with its three prominent masks and heavy gadroon moulds; a picture frame with a charming acanthus border and egg and tongue moulds on either side; and various marriage chests in walnut covered with very elaborate schemes of carving. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish Spanish, or for that matter South of France work, from Italian, so much alike is the character. The Spaniards yield to none in good workmanship. Some Spanish panels of typical Italian design are in the Victoria and Albert Museum as well as cabinets of the purest Renaissance order. There is a wonderful Portuguese coffer (17th century) in this section. The top is deeply carved in little compartments with scenes from the life of Our Lord.
17th–18th Centuries.—In England the great school of Grinling Gibbons arose. Although he carved many beautiful mouldings of conventional form (Hampton Court Palace, Chatsworth, &c.), his name is usually associated with a very heavy form of decoration which was copied direct from nature. Great swags of drapery and foliage with fruit and dead birds, &c., would be carved in lime a foot thick. For technical skill these examples are unsurpassed; each grape would be undercut, the finer stalks and birds legs stand out quite
