l teach you the exact size to
make your figures according to the height they are to be placed, and
also the boldness with which they should be treated to give them their
full effect.' He at once acknowledged that I was right, proved himself
an efficient pupil, and took much interest in his work.

I cannot help thinking that the reason our public monuments so often
fail to impress us with any sense of grandeur is in a great measure
owing to the neglect of the scientific study of perspective. As an
illustration of what I mean, let the student look at a good engraving or
photograph of the Arch of Constantine at Rome, or the Tombs of the
Medici, by Michelangelo, in the sacristy of San Lorenzo at Florence. And
then, for an example of a mistake in the placing of a colossal figure,
let him turn to the Tomb of Julius II in San Pietro in Vinculis, Rome,
and he will see that the figure of Moses, so grand in itself, not only
loses much of its dignity by being placed on the ground instead of in
the niche above it, but throws all the other figures out of proportion
or harmony, and was quite contrary to Michelangelo's intention. Indeed,
this tomb, which was to have been the finest thing of its kind ever
done, was really the tragedy of the great sculptor's life.

The same remarks apply in a great measure to the architect as to the
sculptor. The old builders knew the value of a knowledge of perspective,
and, as in the case of Serlio, Vignola, and others, prefaced their
treatises on architecture with chapters on geometry and perspective. For
it showed them how to give proper proportions to their buildings and the
details thereof; how to give height and importance both to the interior
and exterior; also to give the right sizes of windows, doorways,
columns, vaults, and other parts, and the various heights they should
make their towers, walls, arches, roofs, and so forth. One of the most
beautiful examples of the application of this knowledge to architecture
is the Campanile of the Cathedral, at Florence, built by Giotto and
Taddeo Gaddi, who were painters as well as architects. Here it will be
seen that the height of the windows is increased as they are placed
higher up in the building, and the top windows or openings into the
belfry are about six times the size of those in the lower story.

WHAT IS PERSPECTIVE?

[Illustration: Fig. 1.]

Perspective is a subtle form of geometry; it represents figures and
objects not as the