Byzantine art was essentially Christian in its spirit and motives.  It used religious symbols extensively, but incorporated in its ornament a few pagan elements, such as the acanthus and the scroll.  Natural forms were always conventionally treated.  Its coloring was rich and gorgeous.  The principal features of its architecture were the dome and round arch.  The plan of the churches was often in the form of a Greek or Latin cross, with the dome placed over the intersection of the two arms.  The church of St. Sophia, in Constantinople, is the most magnificent example of Byzantine architecture and ornament.  Although now a Mohammedan mosque, it is, probably, in the motive and spirit that actuated its construction, the most Christian building in the world.

2. Saracenic Art.—­Developed from the Byzantine by the Moors and the Saracens.  It differs from it, however, in one important respect.  While the Byzantine makes use of numerous conventionalized plant and animal forms, the Saracens and Moors were forbidden by their religion, the Mohammedan, to copy in any manner the form of any living thing, animal or vegetable.  They were thus limited entirely to geometric forms, which, however, often fall insensibly into flower and leaf forms.  Interlacing bands and curves of intricate pattern, and exhibiting the peculiar Moorish curve, are very characteristic of Saracenic ornament.  Inscriptions were frequently interwoven in this tracery.

The coloring was gorgeous, consisting principally of blue, red, and gold.

The principal arches used were the pointed and the horseshoe arch.  The Alhambra Palace in Spain is the most famous example of Saracenic ornament and architecture.

3. Gothic Art.—­Gothic art grew out of the Byzantine, all the symbolic elements being retained.  It is divided into many different varieties.

In the earliest the round arch was used, but the later and more perfect styles having employed the pointed arch almost exclusively, the latter became characteristic of Gothic art generally.  It is a style of architecture and ornament usually applied to churches, and well adapted to moist and cold climates on account of the sloping roof.  Clustered columns, the spire or belfry, the arched roof, and the division of the interior into nave, transept, and choir, are leading features.  Natural as well as conventional treatment of plants is another important characteristic.

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The Gothic style flourished principally in England, France, and parts of Germany.  Nearly all the principal cathedrals and churches in these countries, and many in our own, are built after this style.  The most beautiful example in this country is St. Patrick’s Cathedral, in New York.  The finest specimen in the world is probably the Cathedral of Cologne, which was commenced in the 14th century, but was not completed until many years later.

III.  MODERN ART.