Friezes at Venice

In architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain or—in the Ionic or Corinthian order—decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon the architrave (’main beam’) and is capped by the moldings of the cornice.In interiors, the frieze of a room is the section of wall above the picture rail and under the crown moldings or cornice. By extension, a frieze is a long stretch of painted, sculpted or even calligraphic decoration in such a position, normally above eye-level. Frieze decorations may depict scenes in a sequence of discrete panels. The material of which the frieze is made of may be plasterwork, carved wood or other decorative medium.This image is “intended to convey an idea of the details of decoration which characterized the Renaissance style during its best period, and which display considerable grace and finish. They are based on the antique Roman type, but still display a peculiar independent treatment, as in the deeply under-cut foliage in the arabesques and the lightness and clearness of the stalks and tendrils.”

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