The Ducal Palace. Renaissance Capitals of the Loggia by John Ruskin

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The Ducal Palace. Renaissance Capitals of the Loggia

John Ruskin

Engraved by M^cLagan & Cumming

1853

Chromolithograph of the orginal watercolor

Source: Stones of Venice, volume III

[See Ruskin's text below]

Image scan and formatting by George P. Landow. Text from Internet Archive corrected against the Library Edition.

[You may use any of theis image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your web document to this URL or mention the appropriate URL in your print document.]

Ruskin's text accompanying the plate

The Capitals seen in this Plate will give a general idea of the workmanship of the fifteenth century Gothic of the Ducal Palace: the Capital given in Plate 1 shows that of the previous century. The reader may perhaps at first like those in Plate 15 the best; let him give them both time; remembering that the entire design and proportion of the loggia in Plate 15, is of the earlier period, but executed in continuation of the older part of the palace, with, as it was thought, improved Capitals, after the year 1424.

The two nearest shafts are of red marble, as well as the portion of balustrade between them. They are the ninth and tenth from the judgment angle (I shall usually thus call the angle of the palace on which is the sculpture of the Judgment of Solomon); and the red marble was substituted for the Istrian stone in order to commemorate the showing of the head of Faliero to the people from between those shafts. When the substitution took place I know not, but the capitals are unquestionably of the date I have assigned to them.

The plate is here reduced from 19 1/2 x 12 1/2 to 7 1/2 x 4 7/8 — Library Edition XI, 348.

Bibliography

Ruskin, John. Works, "The Library Edition." eds. E. T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn. 39 vols. London: George Allen, 1903-1912.

Last modified 6 February 2011