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The minor sculptures in this court consist of the Caryatides by John Bateman and A. Stirling Calder; the spandrels, by Albert Weinert; "The Fairy," by Carl Gruppe, which crowns the Italian Towers; and the classic vases at the portals. The mural paintings in this court are disappointing. Two are surprisingly poor, considering the high reputation of the artists, and the third is badly placed.
The barrel vaults of the chapels are beautifully panelled and enriched with egg and tongue; between each, two pilasters rise only to the moulding from which the chapel arches spring, and support smaller pilasters with a niche between. In the spandrels of the arches are rather badly carved angels holding shields, and on the arches themselves, as at São Marcos, are cherubs' heads.
For France herself, as it has well been said, her appearance here means as much as a victory on the battlefield. The French Pavilion is a dignified and impressive structure, as those who recall the Legion of Honor Palace in Paris will understand. The entrance to the court is a triumphal arch flanked by double rows of Ionic columns on either side, with figures of Fame as spandrels.
Tall date-palms spring from the floor with fruit and birds among their branches, and between them stand the pillars and apostles of the Church. In the spandrels and lunettes above the arches and the windows angels fly with white extended wings.
In the spandrels of the vaulting he executed many scenes, in one of which is Mercury with his flute, who, as he flies, has all the appearance of descending from Heaven; and in another is Jove with an air of celestial dignity, kissing Ganymede; and in another, likewise, lower down, is the Car of Venus, and the Graces, with Mercury, drawing Psyche up to Heaven; with many other scenes from the poets in the other spandrels.
The roof is of very perfect shape, and the spaces well adapted for painting. It is divided in the middle by an arch, thus having two complete vaultings, each with four spandrels. The walls are high and spacious, also divided in two parts, in each of which, on either side, is a large fresco.
There are in each bay two pointed arches, each containing three smaller arches with foiled headings surmounted by three open quatrefoils. The spandrels between the arches are diapered in low relief with leaf ornament. Above, far back in the clerestory arches, are octofoil windows with sills of over-lapping courses, which incline forward to the string course above the triforium.
They express the place of poetry in the Universe. For, in this court that celebrates man's achievements in the East and West, and Nature's gifts to all, the poet on his winged horse appears to inspire the one and interpret the other. The spandrels throughout the Exposition are noteworthy.
Jacques, I think, on the whole is the finer church of the two, and remarkable for the florid ornament of its spandrels, and for the elaborate, pendent cusping of the soffits of its arches features that lend it an almost barbaric magnificence that reminds one of Rosslyn Chapel. Liege, built as it is exactly on the edge of the Ardennes, is far the most finely situated of any great city in Belgium.
In the spandrels of the main arches are coats of arms with angels above them. It consists of two arched openings separated by a pier. Above the two arches is an acutely-pointed gable, within which, supported by the arches, is a circle with cinquefoil tracery. Above the gable is a further arch, the ribs of which join the gable at its exterior angles.
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