The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Theory Of Decoration
Sometimes the smaller houses were built in what is known as the half-timbered style. Large oak timbers formed the framework of the house, the spaces between them being filled with brick, tiles or plaster. On the interior, these spaces were usually plastered, the oak beams and uprights remaining exposed and forming the wall decoration. The timbers were often curved or arranged at different angles, so that they formed a sort of pattern or design. At other times, the wood was carved or richly moulded. Both France and England contain many examples of this style, built between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries. During the latter part of this period, woodwork assumed a more important position in building, and a combination of carved stone, painted walls and oak paneling characterized the interiors. The panelling generally covered only a portion of the height of the wall, and sometimes on only one or two sides of the room. The panels were narrow, each being only the width of a single plank, and were either plain or carved with linenfold or other ornament.
The monumental interiors of the Italian Renaissance were rich to an extreme. The labors of the stone carver, who provided decorations cut in high relief, were added to those of the bronze-founder, wood-carver, and, wood-inlayer. The Robbias prepared their delicately toned pottery reliefs for the panels above doorways and other portions of the walls. Mosaics were sometimes employed, made up of colored marbles and other stones pieced together. Armorial emblems were largely used. Tapestry was woven from the designs of the best masters. Great painters contributed arabesques in fresco, or in stucco enriched with gilding and color. Mural decoration was developed to a degree never before known and never since surpassed. One of Michael Angelo's chief works was the ceiling of the Sistine chapel in the Vatican, as well as the famous loggias known by his name, in the same building. These pictorial wall decorations became characteristic. In the Vatican library, every inch of the walls is covered with elaborate mural paintings of historical subjects, religious scenes, or intricate arabesques. The amount of work is stupendous, and the color effect is so rich as to be bewildering.
One of the favorite mediums of the period was fresco, a type of mural painting executed on fresh plaster. The color is applied with a long-haired brush, using paint already mixed to the proper tone. As the color is largely absorbed by the chalk in the plaster, the final tone is much lighter, so that it is necessary to apply the color two or three times to obtain the desired effect without spotting.
Stone and marble were more abundant than wood in Italy, and it is for this reason that woodwork was not developed there to the same extent as it was in England and France.
