[M.213L]                                                              [M.213]	St Marks. Niches	213
                                                                      
                                                                      		to me about the time and workmanship of the two best angels of
                                                                      		 the Doges palace - stones of south east & south west angles.
                                                                      		it has finely chiselled features in repose, and a hairy demon
                                                                      		under its feet, which however is very weak & poor, another
                                                                      		instance of failure in grotesque. This beautiful niches may
                                                                      Venetian Gothic	be given as a central type of Venetian Gothic, equally
                                                                      		removed from Byzantine on the one side, from late florid
                                                                      		work on the other.
                                                                      		This niche is different from all the rest;  but the others
                                                                      		separate from it by different degrees:  the likest to it
                                                                      		are those next it on the north side of the church, as far
                                                                      		as the north west angle;  but they show these following
                                                                      		differences.  The arch dentil is run up at its apex into
                                                                      		one of the retreats of the cornice dentil, instead of merely
                                                                      		touching the side of a block:  the turning of the angle is
                                                                      		only [diagram] instead of [diagram].  the arch is less pointed, and
                                                                      		the cavetto of its section much deeper, All these northern
                                                                      		niches have beautiful figures - quiet severe & grand - the
                                                                      		perfect type of what figures should be in external decoration -
                                                                      		no Byzantine formalism in them - yet no modern luxuriousness.
                                                                      		The capitals of these niches are all, more or less varied of
                                                                      		the Bacon palace  kind.
                                                                      		Next to these niches may be classed those of the opposite or

[Version 0.05: May 2008]