3082 - Ornament I


It would be pretty impossible to over-estimate the influence of imperial Roman architecture on occidental art and architecture. Take baroque catholic altars for instance.

They directly imitate Roman palace architecture. Look at the niches for the two saints at both sides of the central picture, look at the columns, this could all have been taken from the imperial palace in Rome or from Constantine’s basilica right opposite the Colosseum.

There was a short intermezzo (well, a few hundred years actually) of gothic architecture, a style that deviated from the Greek / Roman ideals, but everything before and everything after was largely in the same tradition. Isn’t that amazing how styles and ideas outlive their creators?

The Song of the Day is “Ornament” by Moss. Hear it on YouTube.