File:History of art (1921) (14596881207).jpg

Identifier: historyofar02faur (find matches)
Title: History of art
Year: 1921 (1920s)
Authors: Faure, Elie, 1873-1937 Pach, Walter, 1883-1958
Subjects: Art
Publisher: New York and London : Harper & brothers
Contributing Library: PIMS - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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h topaz eyes which flew and beat their wings aboutthe throne of the Byzantine autocrat. Magical palacesopen their gates of light and their porticos of lace;their enameled or damascened walls are embroideredwith gems; their ceilings are of crystal; silent carpetslead to thrones of gold where golden peacocks spreadtails of emerald; there are gardens with vases of por-phyry and jets of water where the sun lights up opals,graded white terraces, and cupolas, pink, azure, ormilky. Even in the depths of the night they gleamlike the snow at dawn. When evening came, onelistened to musicians on the blue waters, one breathedthe odor of the fruits that gleam in the black heart ofthe trees. The djinns descended among men withbaskets of rubies and baskets of topazes, and the ISLAM ^55 rising moon was like a pearl fallen from the necklaceof stars that encircles the sky. . . . All this is paintedwith subtle strokes, with brilliant tones that die outin their harmonies, with the tremulous purity of the
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Persia (xvi Century). The Hunt, miniature.(Bibliothèque Nationale.) shadows, and with the unchanging light of the day.Here are all the Thousand and One Nights dreamed ofby the old story-tellers who, from evening to morning,talked inexhaustibly to the gay travelers seated in acircle under the tent. Here are strange races, veritable masses of contrasts;and the deeper they plunge into the desert, the fartherthey live from the cities, the heavier the sun that beats 256 MEDIAEVAL ART upon them, the more marked and surprising these con-trasts become. Here are men who wear robes of greenand red silk under burnooses of white wool, and whocover the harness of their horses with gold. Theyforge weapons and incrust them with gems; theykeep their water pure in damascened copper. Theyknow only silence and melancholy contemplation, orelse frenzied laughter and uproar. They forget theirnatural sobriety to enter suddenly on a round ofincredible feasting. They despise death, they despiselife. Among th

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