ipso facto:

by that very fact or act, as an inevitable result; actually

 

Ornament: * see Endnote <A>

Spengler makes 3 comparisons between Spring & Summer ornament across 3 Cultures:

• Egypt Old Kingdom (2686–2181 BC) contrasted with Middle Kingdom (2030-1650)

• Greek Geometric  (900-700 BC ) contrasted with Hellenistic  (323-31 BC)

• Faustian 12th century contrasted with Louis XIV (1643-1715)

 

Ionic to Corinthian: * See Endnote <B>

Spengler dates the Ionic column from 650 to 350, the Corinthian from the middle of the 4th century.  Both Summee: Ionic early Summer, Corinthian late Summer.  His point is possibly that Corinthian has a more naturalistic pattern than the stylized abstract Ionic scrolls.

see image of Ionic and Corinthian

 

Vignola to Bernini: * see Endnote<C>

Spengler considers Michelangelo a transitional figure, straddling the Renaissance & Baroque.  Vignola was his contemporary.  This is very late in the Early or Spring period.  Spengler lists the Baroque as early Summer.  Bernini is clearly Baroque.

 

Classicism:

a style based on the study of Greek and Roman models, characterized by emotional restraint and regularity of form, associated especially with the 18th century in Europe.  In a broader sense, the term Classical may be applied to all art and music that is perceived as being especially significant as an aesthetic achievement to be emulated.  It can is applied to anything accepted either as a model of excellence or as a work of enduring cultural relevance and value.

 

Spengler characterizes this as a sentimental regard for Ornamentation, rules, laws & types which have long been soulless.

​

Romanticism:

artistic, literary, musical & intellectual movement, Europe late 18th century; peaked 1800-50; rooted in the German Sturm und Drang movement; emphasised intense emotion as aesthetic experience- apprehension, horror, terror & awe- when experienced in the new aesthetic categories of sublimity  nature; it emphasized individualism & glorified the past & nature, a Medieval revival, preferring it to Classical; reaction to the Industrial Revolution, the aristocratic social & political norms of the Age of Enlightenment & scientific rationalization of nature; elevated folk art and ancient custom to something noble, but also spontaneity as a desirable characteristic (as in the musical impromptu).

 

Spengler characterizes this as sentimental imitation not of life but of older imitation.

 

Mannerism:

aka Late Renaissance, 1520-95 in Italy, style in the late Italian High Renaissance; replaced by Barque in 17th century.  Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century.  It encompasses a variety of Stylistic approaches influenced by & reacting to, the harmonious ideals of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael & early Michelangelo.  They emphasized proportion, balance & ideal beauty. Mannerism exaggerates such qualities, often resulting in compositions that are asymmetrical or unnaturally elegant; it was also notable for its intellectual sophistication as well as its artificial (as opposed to naturalistic) qualities.  It favoured compositional tension & instability rather than balance or clarity of earlier Renaissance painting. Mannerism in literature and music is notable for its highly florid style & intellectual sophistication.

 

oriental carpets:

Spengler refers to the Winter of the Magian culture; an example of such work are the pile woven carpets found in Konya & Beyşehir in Turkey, & Fostat (Cairo) in Egypt, dated 13th century, corresponding to the Anatolian Seljuq Period (1243–1302). Based on their original size (up to 6 metres in length) the Konya carpets were produced in town manufactories, the looms too large for nomadic or village home. Patterns on these carpets are mostly geometric & small in relative to the carpet size; similar patterns are arranged in diagonal rows (hexagons with plain, or hooked outlines; squares filled with stars, with interposed kufic-like ornaments; hexagons in diamonds composed of rhomboids, rhomboids filed with stylized flowers and leaves); borders often contain kufic ornaments. Corners are not “resolved”, but design is cut off, & does not continue around the corners. The colours (blue, red, green, also white, brown, yellow) are subdued, frequently 2 shades of the same. All fragments show different patterns & ornaments.

 

Persian and Indian metal work: * see Endnote <D>

Indian & Magian cultures, Winter; in 12th century AD metalwork in Persia underwent a transformation; bronze & brass objects, were inlaid with silver & copper or gold; hammered brass began to replace cast brass in the manufacture of luxury metal-ware. Khorasan was the center for this; their inlaid wares are notable for the wide variety & virtuosity of their shapes: faceted or fluted ewers, candlesticks whose bulging sides are defined by rows of hexagons worked in relief, and circular inkwells surmounted by melon-shaped dome-like covers. Their largely figural decoration is likewise wide-ranging, including scenes of pleasure and pastime, astrological symbols, zoomorphic inscriptions, and plastically rendered figures of animals, especially lions and birds. This florescence of Persian metalwork was a period of creativity in the decorative arts but ended dramatically with the Mongol invasion & conquest (1258) which marked the end of the Islamic Golden Age.

see illustration the Bucket