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Palace of Fine Arts
The Rotunda and Peristyle |
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| The Palace of Fine Arts is, in reality, not one complete building, but four separate and distinct elements. The rotunda, an octagonal structure, forms the center of the composition. On either side is a detached peristyle which follows the curve of the gallery itself, as it describes an arc about the western shore of the Laguna, yet so successfully are they all bound together by the encircling green wall and by the other landscape elements, that an impression of satisfying unity results. The architecture, as a whole, is early Roman, with traces of the finer Greek influences. In general treatment, there is a suggestion of the Temple of the Sun at Athens, while much of the detail was inspired by the Choragic monument of Lysicrates, also at Athens. The rotunda is Roman in conception, Greek in decorative treatment. By its sheer nobility of form and of proportion, and by its enchantment of color and sculptured ornament, it dominates the entire landscape. The high spiritual quality of the architect's conception culminates in the Shrine of Inspiration, directly in front of the rotunda, as seen from across the laguna, where kneels Ralph Stackpole's lovely figure of "Art Tending the Fires of Inspiration," exquisite in its simplicity and delicate charm. |
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