Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman architectural theorist, engineer, and well-known author of the Roman architecture handbook book De Architectura which was written near the end of his life, or approximately 20-30 BC. Vitruvius was living during a period where constraints of traditionalism and of innovation were evenly balanced. He was a greatly admired Greek architecture. It is said that his type of writing reflects the two different aspects of his own architectural personality: the practitioner and the theoretician. Vitruvius’ tastes were strongly conservative such that he made no attempt to conceal his distaste for the innovations introduced by many of his former contemporaries, and in practice, he was very selective. De Architectura is …show more content…
This book discusses all aspects of Greek architecture, and it is the only book regarding architecture that is said to “survive antiquity.” It is also one of the first books in history to relate architecture to the human body. The book itself is divided into ten subsections which discuss city planning and the basics of architecture, building materials, temple construction, the use of the Greek orders, public buildings such as theatres and baths, private buildings, flooring and decorations, hydraulics, civil and military engines, and clock and astronomy. In book one, the dedication and education of an architect and the makeup of the city in very broad terms. Book two discusses the origins of architecture and the materials used for building such as brick, sand, lime, pozzolan, stone, and timber. Books three and four discuss religious architecture and the classical orders very in a very detailed manner. Book three discusses the symmetry of both temples and the human body then further elaborates about the correct proportions of columns and temples. Book four discusses the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian architectural orders and the many distinct types of temples and …show more content…
Palladio was seen as an innovator. If he and Vitruvius coexisted during the same time period, they could’ve made phenomenal architect partners. Palladio studied diligently in the ruins of ancient Rome. He used Vitruvius’ literary works to provide him insight for the villas of the ancients. After the Cambrai Wars, Palladio’s work began to show classical architectural language which could have better been applied to traditional villa types. Palladio and Vitruvius both focused deeply on the aspects of temples. Palladio however focused more on the making of the outside of the buildings whereas Vitruvius focused much on the greater detail of the interior of the building. After reading Vitruvius’ book On Architecture, Palladio made his own book regarding his beliefs on the fundamentals of architecture; however, Palladio condensed his beliefs into four books instead of ten which he titled I Quattro Libri dell’Architecttura, or The Four Books of Architecture. In book one, he discusses the origins and studies of decorative styles, classical orders, and materials. In book two, classical reconstruction and Palladio’s town and country house designs are discussed. In book three, the designs for basilicas and bridges, rules for urban planning, and classical halls are discussed in a very detailed manner. In the last book, book four, Palladio discusses features of the reconstruction of ancient Roman
Andrea Palladio was born in 1508A.D. in Italy. At a very young age he became a stone mason, however his journey into architecture began when he met Gian Giorgio Trissino who immediately saw ability in him and decided to mentor Palladio. Trissino combined a study of classical architecture with architecture of the time, all the while allowing Palladio room to develop a style of his own. In time Palladio was constructing villas through out the country side of Italy, in all he constructed 30 villas, 18 of which are still standing today. Perhaps Palladio’s most famous work was the Villa Rotondra or La Rotondra which was started around 1565 and took approximately 4 years to build and was greatly inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. It is interesting to note that la Rotondra is different from Palladio’s other villas in a number of ways, and it is evident that these differences help distinguish it from the rest. The main differences between Palladio’s Rotondra and his other work are, The Rotonda is set on a hilltop, it is located near a...
Livius, Titus. The Early History of Rome. Trans. Aubrey De Sélincourt. London: Penguin Group, 2002. N. pag. Print.
Grecian architecture formed its own conventions in the ancient world, buildings in Greece were built with meticulous mathematic design. Great buildings were believed to be symmetrical, and perfectly proportioned [Document 7]. Another prominent aspect of ancient Greek architecture is the extensive use of columns. There were three basic types used, Doric which were plain capitals, ionic in which the capitals were fashioned after ram’s horns, and Corinthian which were made to mirror acanthus leaves.
Platner, Samuel Ball, and Thomas Ashby. A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. London: Oxford University Press, 1929
Wilson, R.J.A. “Roman Art and Architecture.” Oxford Illustrated History. Oxford U. Press, 1988. pp. 361-399
Marcel Le Glay, Jean-Louis Voisin, Yann Le Bohec. A History of Rome. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
Kleiner, Fred S. A History of Roman Art. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.
Andrea di Pietro dalla Gondola can be considered one of the best architects of his time due to his skillful, brilliant, and masterly villas built in Italy during the fifteen hundreds. In order to achieve this success, Palladio studied and redrew the architecture that the Roman and Greek’s had created. By doing this he would study many of their finest works and redraw them as the architect or creator would want their building to actually look by he’s own understanding. After studying these architectural buildings he would go on to construct 30 villas, one which happens to be very unique design called La Rotunda.
Q: Use St. Peter’s Basilica and Donato Bramante’s Tempietto in Rome, in opposition to John Balthasar Neumann’s Pilgrimage Church of Vier(7) in Bamburg, Germany, to argue that a rational engagement with architecture is a more effective means to comprehend and understand architectural form. During the period of Renaissance, human’s thought and intelligence has reached its highest and its effect on the architectural form, it became clear and its engagement of rational aspect on the building. Mainly geometrical forms are the characteristics which can be identified. Not so long after the Renaissance period of Baroque architecture was introduced, rather than logic and reasoning they wanted to capture the emotional atmosphere by using the architectural elements such as light, height, crafted art, costly materials and so on as mentioned by(Scotti 2007, 5-10).
The creation of Vitruvian Man is mainly an Apollonian approach, due to the critical thinking that has been done by Leonardo Da Vinci and his critical analysis of Vitruvius’ theory that is written on the top and bottom of the male figure. Furthermore, this work of art is also an Apollonian approach because Leonardo responded to Vitruvius’ book by using architecture in his drawing to seek the meaning of the perfect human proportion that was stated in Vitruvius’
The end of the Geometric period resulted in the beginning of the Orientalizing Period, dated between 700-600 BC. Within this time frame, Greek introduced a new innovation, the Peripteral Temple. For many years prior, a row of colonnade was used on the interior primarily to hold up the roof of the building. In contrast, columns are seen being used on the outside, creating a visual wall around the building exposing parts of the interior. With in the temple existed the megaron style, carried forward from Bronze Age homes. It was also in eastern influenced period, the first real stone temples, and terra cotta roof tiles came to exist to hold the weight on these new stone temples. The population grew drastically, introducing new techniques and styles, which blended to form designs with balance and symmetry. It was during this period, two major Greek designs were developed, the Ionic and Doric order. (Pedley, 2012: pg. 180) The Doric order, being the first and most simple, consisted of baseless columns placed closely together as the Greeks did not know how much weight the shortened columns could hold. Reason behind this was the lack of length in the columns were believed to hold less weight and therefore forced into being placed closer together. This closely set arrangement created a very bold statement in the Doric temple. The Capital, which sat on top of the concaved shaped shaft, was left plain but when grouped alongside others, suggested a bold harmony. In contrast, the Ionic order was less bulky and more delicate than the Doric order. The top of the capital is decorated with two scrolls, also known as volutes, which could have resembled a shell or animal horns. Above the capital, held room for a surrounding frieze depictin...
Originally a Gothic town hall, the Palazzo della Ragione or Basilica (commissioned in 1549), was on the verge of crumbling and Palladio won a competition to redesign it. His answer was to encase it on three sides with a two-storey loggia that provided reinforcement and transformed the exterior with classic columned arcades on two levels. Arches were placed between pilasters, Doric on the lower level, Ionic above, supporting entablatures. In each bay, the arch rests on small columns placed away from the larger pilasters with a rectangular gap in between - now known as the ‘Palladian motif’.
Favro, Diane G.. The urban image of Augustan Rome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. (266)
Throughout history, there have been several significant architectural movements. The last, and perhaps most enduring movement is that of Classic Greece. Although for centuries, the architecture of ancient Greece has been admired, mimicked, and replicated, its beginnings are somewhat surprising to one unfamiliar with the history of the region. It is important to understand the history and mechanics of Classic Greek architecture in order to fully appreciate its form, function, and beauty. “Ancient Greek architects strove for the precision and excellence of workmanship that are the hallmarks of Greek art in general. The formulas they invented as early as the sixth century B.C. have influenced the architecture of the past two millennia” (metmuseum.org).
Boëthius, A., Ling, R., & Rasmussen, T. (1978). Etruscan and early Roman architecture. New Haven: Yale University Press.