t was used
was the more usual choice of the Italian craftsman.

This statement applies, of course, only to general principles of
the art of sculpture; there is some flat bas-relief in the North,
and some rounded sculpture in the South; but as a rule the tendencies
are as they have just been outlined.

Another difference between sculpture in the North and South is
due to the fact that in Italy the work was individual, as a rule,
and in France it was the labour of a Guild or company. In Italy
it is usually known who was the author of any striking piece of
sculpture, while in France it is the exception when a work is signed,
or the names of artisans recorded. In Italy, then, each piece was
made more with a view to its own display, than as a part of a
building, while in France statuary was regarded as an integral part
of the architecture, and rows of figures were used as commonly as
rows of columns in Italy. It is tragic to think of the personal skill
and brilliancy of all these great French craftsmen being absorbed in
one general reputation, while there were undoubtedly among them great
art personalities who would have stood equally with the Pisani if
they had been recognized.

A good deal of flat carving, especially in the interlace and acanthus
of Ravenna, was accomplished by commencing with a series of drilled
holes, which were afterwards channelled into each other and formed
patterns. When the subsequent finish is not particularly delicate,
it is quite easy to detect these symmetrical holes, but the effect,
under the circumstances, is not objectionable.

[Illustration: CARVED CAPITAL FROM RAVENNA]

The process of cutting a bas-relief was generally to outline the
whole with an incision, and then cut away the background, leaving
the simple elevated flat value, the shape of the proposed design.
The modelling was then added by degrees, until the figure looked
like half of a rounded object. While it is often unpractical to refer
one's readers to examples of work in far and various countries, and
advise them instantly to examine them, it is frequently possible
to call attention to well-produced plates in certain modern
art books which are in nearly every public library. To understand
thoroughly the use of the drill in flat sculpture, I wish my
readers would refer to Fig. 121 in Mr. Russell Sturgis's "Artist's
Way of Working," Vol. II.

In a quaint treatise on Belles Lettres in France nearly two centuries
ago, by Car