UNIVERSITY OF NICOSIA Department of Architecture Course Code: ARCH-242 Course Title: Introduction to Architectural Theory Semester: Lecturer: Phidias Paviides Readings for Lecture 2 RenaissanceB. RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE IDEALS Introduction |though the Renaissance was a much broader intellectual upheaval than can be defined by any one region or ‘humanist perspective, there are ample reasons for giving precedent to the developments of central ttaly. ‘The very word “humanist” (umanista) first came to be applied there to someone teaching the clossical anguages and literature, and more specifically to those celebrating the dassical authors with their emphasis on ‘human abilities and intllectucl accomplishments. Second, the frst attempts to revive an architectural language from ‘the imperial Roman past first took place there. Therefore the traditional account of the Holian Renaissance being torn in the year 1416 — when the lian Poggio Braciolini came upon a Vitruvian manuscript in the Swiss monustery of St. Gail — has a certain symbolic necessiy, notwthstonding its anecdotal flavor. The legend oko underscores two vitolly important poins ofthe fifteenth-century Renaissance, First it wos more thon an Italic revival % INTRODUCTION TO PART 18of a style on Italian soi; i! was 0 startling revelation of a near-forgotten past. Second, it was a recapturing of ideas ‘ha was seen os having momentous consequence for the reformation and reconstitution of artistic priniples. ‘The treatise of Vitruvius indeed became the cornerstone of this dassical revival. If some fifteenth-contury humanists, such os Leon Batista Alber, were critical ofthe Roman's lck of philosophical rigor and eloquence — “his speach such thot the Latins might think that he wanted to oppear a Greek, while the Greeks would think that he bobbled Latin” ths viewpoint altogether disappears by the second quarter ofthe sixteenth century, by which time 0 veritable colt of scholars had gathered around the words of this particular classical oracle. One interesting technological innovation furthered this process. Alberti had his manuscript ofthe mid-fteemh cenfury copied by hand with tnited distribution, thats, precisely around the time tht Johann Gutenberg n Strasbourg was perfecting the “tool” of his printing press. The proliferation ofthe printed word allowed the movement fo take shape quickly ‘and reverberate with intellectual developments taking place elsewhere in Europe. The treatises of Vitruvius and ‘Nberti were first printed in 1486. The firs illustrated Latin edition of Vitruvius was published by Fra Giocondo in 1511, and the frst Holin translation of Cesare Cesoriano appeared in 1521. A Viruvian Academy wos founded in Rome in 1542, ond seven years later the Venetian Daniel Barbaro began a new, annotated translation of Vitruvius. ‘The great orchitect Palladio joined with him in preparing the illustrations, and their beautifully crafted edition of 1556 really bespecks the highpoint of Vtruvion adulation. ‘Meanvitile, the classical architectural tradition was greatly expanding, as it were, by on ever-widening circle of humanist architects and scholars. The treatises of Alberti, Antonio Filarete, Francesco di Giorgio, Sebastiono Serlio, Palladio, Giacomo Vignola, and Vincenzo Scamozzi were inspired if not modeled on the treatise of Vitruvius, and all ‘ttempted to interpret classical principles in a modern Hlian way. From it base in Holy, iruvian classicism spread northward where it joined with parallel intelleciual and cultural movements. Several books of Serlio’s treatise frst ‘appeared in France, in fact, and the first major arnotator of Vitruvius was the Frenchman Guillaume Philander, ‘whose work was published in Rome in 1544, in Pars in the following year. The first French translation of Vitruvius by Jean Martin appeared in 1547, and within a few decades dassiism had fully established itself in France through such orchitects os Philibert de L’Orme and Jacques Ancrovet du Corceau. The some is true of the German-speaking slates. Wolther Hermann Ryffs German translation — Vitruvius Teutsch — appeared in 1548, one yeor after he published his own treatise on classical architecture. Antwerp, then part of the Netherlonds, became onother important center of Vitruvian publications ond classical lerning By the mide ofthe seventeenth enfury casi has more or lss insinuated islf into every corner of the Continent ond Great Britain. Louris Louridsen de Thurah’s Den Danske Vauvivs (The Denish Vitruvius, 1749), recording « built array of casscl buildings in Denmark, testifies ‘to its acceptance in the Nordic countries as well. The star of Vitruvius only began to dim fist with the Mannersm of Michelangelo and then with the gothering carrents of the Borogue. However one wishes fo characterize this lst period — os the late phase of the Renaissance or an era distinct — the foct remoins that beyond such new concerns wih geometry, movement, ond plstic ‘expressiveness lie sil the vocabulary of classical motifs and many of its ideals. The spirit of antiquity, in fact, would form an important part of architectural thinking for several centuries to come. INTRODUCTION TO PART IB. 27> Battista degli-Alberti-has-done-in-our-peried, they-were-net-much morethan- generalities, — fever, the invenzioni — those things peculiar to the master ~ were in large part the product of empirical investigation or of his own [theoretical] efforts. Returning to~the excavations of Filippo and Donato: they were generally called “the ‘treasure hunters” as it-was believed that they spent and looked for treasure. They said: The treasure hunters search here today and there tomorrow. Actually they sometimes, although rarely, found some silver or gold miedals, carved stones, chalcedony, carnelians, cameos, and like objects. From that in large measure~arose the belief that they were searching for treasure. Filippo spent many years at this work. He found a number of differences among the beautiful and rich elements of the buildings ~ in the masonry, as well as in the types of columns, bases, capitals, architraves, friezes, cornices, and pediment and differences be- tween the masses of the temples and the diameters of the columns; by means of close ‘observation he clearly recognized the characteristics of each type: Ionic, Dorig~Tuscan, Corinthian, and Attic. As may still be seen in his buildings today, he used most of them. ae eee $ 11 LEON BATTISTA ALBERTI from On the Art of Building, Prologue and Book 1 (1443-52) Iberti was not only the first great theorist of the Renaissance but he, more than anyone else in this century, personified what come to be known as humanism. He was 0 man of graat dassical erudition, Born to a Florentine father-in-exile and to @ Genoese mother, he studied Greek and Lotin in Padua and earned a doctor of law at the University of Bologna. He seems to have dabbled in the ars in the 1420s, and even considered ‘literary career before becoming a ceric or secretary, first to Cardinal Carthusion Niccolo Albergafi. In 1428 the Florentine ban ogcinst the Albert family was fed ond Leon got to see firsthand early Rendissonce works, especially ‘those of Mosaci, Donatello, and Brunelechi. He responded in 1435 with a treatise on painting, De picura, dedicated to Brunelleschi. By this dote Alberti hod already traveled fo Rome as « secretary to Pope Eugenus IV, ‘where he became the fist humanist fo prepare a survey ofthe classical monuments ofthe city. These archaeological studies formed but a prelude fo further dossical studies in Rome after 1443, and it was around this time that he began bis architectural treatise, in which he now sought to interpret the principles of dassiol Roman architecture. ‘Around mid-entury he also turned his atlention to the practice of architecture with a number of important designs, ‘among them the church of Son Francesco in Rimini (1450-60), the focades of the Palazzo Rucellai (1450s) and ‘Santa Maria Novela (1458-71) in Florence, ond the church of Sant’ Andrea in Mantua (begun 1470). Alberti possessed literary skills in addition to classical learning, and he was rather critical of the talents of Vitruvius. He disliked in particular the architects conceptucl ambiguity and, moreover, he felt that classical theory ‘tn Batiste Abert, rom Prologue and Book 1 of De reece (On the at of bing] (1443-52) n On th of Biting io Ten Boos, ros ‘esp yet, Nl Lech, ond Robert Tver Cambie, MA MIT Pes, 1988, 3, 5-6, 7.© 1988 by The MIT res. Rapid wih prison of the MT Pres. 30 ALBERTI, ON THE ART OF BUILDING, PROLOGUEhad achieved much greater heights of refinement in such writers as Cero, whose rhetorical concepts he gladly redirocled toward architectural theory. Nevertheless, he borrowed the 10-book structure of Vitruvius and even organized his study around the three Vitruvian concepts of durability, convenience, ond beauty. As the first Renaissance treatise on architecture, Albert’s effort stands alongside that of Vitruvius as one of the twin pillars of closiolthoory. The first selecion from the opening pages of Book 1 presents © few ofthe basic defnons of ‘rchitecture ond its general elements of practice. His definition of building os “a form of body” consisting of both ‘mati and lineaments (lines, or more generally design) maps outa philosophical dsincion on which his theory of beauty will reside. Motter relates to nature, but the power to wield lineaments (or make designs) resides in the architect's mind. Before 1 go any farther, however, I should explain exactly whom I mean by an architect; for it is no carpenter that I would have you compare to the greatest exponents of other disciplines: the carpenter is but an instrument in the hands of the architect. Him I consider the architect, ‘who by sure and wonderful reason and method, knows both how to devise through his own mind and energy, and to realize by construction, whatever can be most beautifully fitted out for the noble needs of man, by the movement of weights and the joining and massing of bodies. To do this he must have an understanding and knowledge of all the highest and most noble disciplines, This then is the architect. [...] First we observed that the building is a form of body, which like any other consists of lineaments and matter, the one the product of thought, the other of Nature; the one requiring the mind and the power of reason, the other dependent on preparation and selection; but we realized that neither on its own would suffice without the hand of the skilled workman to fashion the material according to lineaments. Since buildings are set to different uses, it proved necessary to inquire whether the same type of lineaments could be used for several; we therefore distinguished the various types of buildings and noted the importance of the connection of their lines and their relationship to each other, as the principal sources of beauty; we began therefore to inquire further into the nature of beauty — of what kind it should be, and what is appropriate in each case. As in all these matters faults are occasionally found, we investigated how to amend and correct them. [...] Let us therefore begin thus: the whole matter of building is composed of lineaments and structure. All the intent and purpose of lineaments lies in finding the correct, infallible way of joining and fitting together those lines and angles which define and enclose the surfaces of the building. It is the function and duty of lineaments, then, to prescribe an appropriate place, exact numbers, a proper scale, and a graceful order for whole buildings and for each of their constituent parts, so that the whole form and appearance of the building may depend on the lineaments alone. Nor do lineaments have anything to do with material, but they are of such a nature that we may recognize the same lineaments in several different buildings that share one and the same form, that is, when the parts, as well as the siting and order, correspond with one another in their every line and angle. It is quite possible to project whole forms in the mind without any recourse to the material, by designating and determining a fixed orientation and conjunction for the various lines and angles. Since that is the case, let lineaments be the precise and correct outline, conceived in the mind, made up of lines and angles, and perfected in the learned intellect and imagination. ALBERTI, ON THE ART OF BUILDING, PROLOGUE 3112 LEON BATTISTA ALBERTI from On the Art of Building, Book 6 lhert’s theory of absolute beauty is of paramount importance to Renoissance theory in thot it lays on intellectual foundation that will remain largely intact for almost three centuries. The isue of beauty had been problematic for Vitruvius. On the one hand he made allusions fo the harmonic ratios of Pythagorean ‘musical theory, suggesting there was a higher cosmic order underlying the judgment of beauty. On the other hand he gov architect he right to vary proportions fhe “eye” calls for corecton, or asthe arts make progress. Such {freedom assumes that judgments of beauty ore relative and even subjective — a logical inconsistency unacceptable to Alberti and Rencissance aesthetics. From his classical perspective, Alberti prefers the Platonic belie that there is a higher reality to the physiol or phenomenal word, namely ideas; he acepts os well the Neoplatonic argument that art and architecture can symbolize these higher Ideos through their adherence to universal mathematical laws or harmonic proportions. Beauty is thus the correct mirroring of transcendent Ideas, and — as his reference to a passuge of Cicero shows — it is rorely found, even in nature. The mediating element between raw nature (materials) ‘nd the ordering lines ofthe architect is ornament. This term possesses a meaning for Alberti quite different than its general meaning today. ti indeed something “attached or aditiona "but it isnot inesenil or something ‘hat canbe dispensed wth. Ornament isthe correc orchestrtion ofthe fneoments of design, the juious choice of ‘the material, and the polishing ond refinement of appearance — in short, the corporal manifestation of those higher Ideos. Of the three conditions that apply to every form of construction ~ that what we construct should be appropriate to its use, lasting in structure, and graceful and pleasing in appearance ~ the first two have been dealt with, and there remains the third, the noblest and most necessary of all, New graceful and pleasant appearance, so it is thought, derives from beauty and ornament alone, since there can be no one, however surly or slow, rough or boorish, who would not be attracted to what is most beautiful, seek the finest omament at the expense of all else, be offended by what is unsightly, shun all that is inelegant or shabby, and feel that any short- comings an object may have in its ornament will detract equally from its grace and from its dignity Most noble is beauty, therefore, and it must be sought most eagerly by anyone who does not wish what he owns to seem distasteful. What remarkable importance our ancestors, ‘men of great prudence, attached to itis shown by the care they took that their legal, military, and religious institutions - indeed, the whole commonwealth ~ should be much embel- lished; and by their letting it be known that if all these institutions, without which man could scarce exist, were to be stripped of their pomp and finery, their business would appear insipid and shabby. When we gaze at the wondrous works of the heavenly gods, we admire the beauty we see, rather than the utility that we recognize. Need I go further? Nature herself, {on Boise Abe fram Bok 6 of Der afar the ct of bling] (1443-52) in Othe At of Bing in Te Boks, ros. sph Ryvet, Lech, ond Roker Tavera. Cambie, MA: WI rs, 1988, p. 155-7. ©) 1988 by The MIT Pes, Reprised wih pemisin ofthe MIT Press. ‘32 ALBERTI, OW THE ART OF BUILDING, BOOK 6as is everywhere plain to see, does not desist from basking in a daily orgy of beauty — let the hues of her flowers serve as my one example. But if this quality is desirable anywhere, surely it cannot be absent from buildings, without offending experienced and inexperienced alike. What would be our reaction to a deformed and ill considered pile of stones, other than the more to criticize it the greater the expense, and to condemn the wanton greed for piling up stones? To have satisfied necessity is trite and insignificant, to have catered to convenience unrewarding when the inelegance in a work causes offense. In addition, there is one particular quality that may greatly increase the convenience and even the life of a building. Who would not claim to dwell more comfortably between walls that are ornate, rather than neglected? What other human art might sufficiently protect a building to save it from human attack? Beauty may even influence an enemy, by restraining his anger and so preventing the work from being violated. Thus I might be so bold as to state: No other means is as effective in protecting a work from damage and human injury as is dignity and grace of form. All care, all diligence, all financial consideration must be directed to ensuring that what is built is useful, commodious, yes — but also embellished and wholly graceful, so that anyone seeing it would not feel that the expense might have been invested better elsewhere. ‘The precise nature of beauty and ornament, and the difference between them, the mind could pethaps visualize more clearly than my words could explain. For the sake of brevity, however, let us define them as follows: Beauty is that reasoned harmony of all the Parts within a body, so that nothing may be added, taken away, or altered, but for the worse. It is a great and holy matter; all our resources of skill and ingenuity will be taxed in achieving it; and rarely is it granted, even to Nature herself, to produce anything that is entirely complete and perfect in every respect. “How rare,” remarks a character in Cicero, “is a beautiful youth in Athens!” That connoisseur found their forms wanting because they either had too much or too litle of something by which they failed to conform to the laws of beauty. In this case, unless 1 am mistaken, had ornament been applied by painting and masking anything ugly, or by grooming and polishing the attractive, it would have had the effect of making the displeasing less offensive and the pleasing more delightful. If this is conceded, ‘ornament may be defined as a form of auxiliary light and complement to beauty. From this it follows, I believe, that beauty is some inherent property, to be found suffused all through the body of that which may be called beautiful; whereas ornament, rathei than being inherent, has the character of something attached or additional. ‘This granted, I continue: Anyone who builds so as to be praised for it - as anyone with good sense would ~ must adhere to a consistent theory; for to follow a consistent theory is the mark of true art. Who would deny that only through art can correct and worthy building be achieved? And after all this particular part concerning beauty and ornament, being the ‘most important of all, must depend on some sure and consistent method and art, which it would be most foolish to ignore. Yet some would disagree who maintain that beauty, and indeed every aspect of building, is judged by relative and variable criteria, and that the forms of buildings should vary according to individual taste and must not be bound by any rules of art, A common fault, this, among the ignorant - to deny the existence of anything they do not understand. I have decided to correct this error; not that I shall attempt (since | would need detailed and extended argument for it) to explain the arts from their origins, by what ALBERTI, OW THE ART OF BUILDING, BOOK 6 = 33reasoning they developed, and by what experience they were nourished; let me simply repeat what has been said, that the arts were born of Chance and Observation, fostered by Use and Experiment, and matured by Knowledge and Reason. 13° LEON BATTISTA ALBERTI from On the Art of Building, Book 9 he fullest elaboration of Alberts theory of beauty, and indeed of his whole architectural conception, comes in Book 9, when he introduces the Cceronian notion of concinnitas or concinity. In his Orator (xxi), Cicero ‘notes that “words when connected together embelish a style if they produce a certain symmetry (concinnites) which disappears when the words are changed, though the thought remains the some’ (Loe trans). Concinty is ‘hat perfect harmony or grace that appears when the actfet has perfec composed his design in sucha way that it demonstrates the three qualities of correct number, outing, and poston. Number relates fo the addition or foking ‘away of parts; outline contro their size and configuration; position adds the criteria of correct placement. Alberti ‘was convinced that in concinnity he had found the “absolute ond fundamental rule of Nature” os well as the design secret known fo classical ontquity. And like a good Platonist, Alberti next draws upon the numerical ratio of Plato's Timaeus to gather the harmonic ratios that should also underlay architecture. Albert's belief in an absolute ‘numerical scheme for beauty ond proportion was his most important contibution to Renaissance theory. Through ‘these passages, architectural beauly now comes to reside principally in proportions. Now I come to a matter with which we have promised to deal all along: every kind of beauty and ornament consists of it; or, to put it more clearly, it springs from every rule of beauty. ‘This is an extremely difficult inquiry; for whatever that one entity is, which is either extracted or drawn from the number and nature of all the parts, or imparted to each by sure and constant method, or handled in such a manner as to tie and bond several elements into a single bundle or body, according to a true and consistent agreement and sympathy — and something of this kind is exactly what we seck - then surely that entity must share some part of the force and juice, as it were, of all the elements of which it is composed or blended; for otherwise their discord and differences would cause conflict and disunity. This work of research and selection is neither obvious nor straightforward in any other matter, but it is at its most ambiguous and involved in the subject about to be discussed; for the art of building is composed of very many parts, each one, as you have seen, demanding to be ennobled by much varied ornament. Yet we shall tackle the problem to the best of our ability, as we have undertaken. We shall not inquire as to how a sound understanding of the whole might be gained from the numerous parts, but, restricting ourselves to what is relevant, we shall begin by observing what produces beauty by its very nature. : ‘The great experts of antiquity, as we mentioned earlier, have instructed us that a building is very like an animal, and that Nature must be imitated when we delineate it, Let us Lon Batis Albert fam Bok 9 of Der adrian the rtf buding] (1443-52) in Othe At of Biting in Ten Boks, won. Jseph ykvet, Ne Lech, and Rohr Teer. Cambridge, MA: WIT res, 198, pp. 301-3. © 1988 by The MT Pes. Reprinted wh erison f the MT Pes. ‘M_—ALBERTI, OW THE ART OF BUILDING, BOOK 9investigate, then, why some bodies that Nature produces may be called beautiful, others less beautiful, and even ugly. Obviously, among those which we count as beautiful all are not such that there is no difference between them; in fact itis precisely where they most differ that we observe them to be infused or imprinted with a quality through which, however dissimilar they are, we consider them equally graceful. Let me give you an example: one ‘man might prefer the tenderness of a slender girl; yet a character in a comedy preferred one girl over all others because she was plumper and more buxom; you, perhaps, might prefer a wife neither so slender of figure as to appear sickly nor so stout of limb as to resemble a village bully, but such that you might add as much to the one as you could take away from the other without impairing dignity. Yet, whichever of the two you prefer, you will not then consider the rest unattractive and worthless. But what it is that causes us to prefer one above all the others, I shall not inquire. ‘When you make judgments on beauty, you do not follow mere fancy, but the workings of @ reasoning faculty that is inborn in the mind. It is clearly so, since no one can look at anything shameful, deformed, or disgusting without immediate displeasure and aversion. ‘What arouses and provokes such a sensation in the mind we shall not inquire in detail, but shall limit our consideration to whatever ‘evidence presents itself that is relevant to our argument. For within the form and figure of a building there resides some natural excellence and perfection that excites the mind and is immediately recognized by it. I myself believe that form, dignity, grace, and other such qualities depend on it, and as soon as anything is removed or altered, these qualities are themselves weakened and perish. Once we are convinced of this, it will not take long to discuss what may be remaved, enlarged, or altered, in the form and figure. For every body consists entirely of parts that are fixed and individual; if these are removed, enlarged, reduced, or transferred somewhere inappropriate, the very composition will be spoiled that gives the body its seemly appearance. From this we may conclude, without my pursuing such questions any longer, that the three principal components of that whole theory into which we inquire are number, what ‘we might call outline, and position. But arising from the composition and connection of these three is a further quality in which beauty shines full face: our term for this is concinnitas; which we say is nourished with every grace and splendor. It is the task and aim of concinnitas to compose parts that are quite separate from each other by their nature, according to some precise rule, so that they correspond to one another in appearance. ‘That is why when the mind is reached by way of sight or sound, or any other means, concinnitas is instantly recognized. It is our nature to desire the best, and to cling to it with pleasure. Neither in the whole body nor in its parts does concinnitas flourish as much as it does in Nature herself; thus I might call it the spouse of the soul and of reason. It has a vast range in which to exercise itself and bloom — it runs through man’s entire life and government, it molds the whole of Nature. Everything that Nature produces is regulated by the law of concinnitas, and her chief concern is that whatever she produces should be absolutely perfect. Without concinnitas this could hardly be achieved, for the critical sym- pathy of the parts would be lost. So much for this, If this is accepted, let us conclude as follows. Beauty is a form of sympathy and consonance of the parts within a body, according to definite number, outline, and position, as dictated by concinnitas, the absolute and fundamental rule in Nature. This is the main object of the art of building, and the source of her dignity, charm, authority, and worth. ALBERTI, OW THE ART OF BUILDING, BOOK9 3518 PALLADIO from The Four Books of Architecture (1570) greatest aan architect ofthe Renaissance, he is ao quite possibly the most influential architect who ever lived — if one dares to count the many allusions to aspects of his styl. His numerous buildings across the ‘northeastern Italian landscape compose a virtual Mecca to which every architect yearns or promises to make a pilgrimage. His literary corpus comprises a body of writings both educated and clossicol in their bearing. Andre de Pietro della Gondola was born in Podua in 1508 ond ot the oge of 13 was apprenticed to a stone carver. At 16, however, he broke his contract and moved to nearby Vicenza, where he continued his training in stone-cutting. By the early 1530s he had advanced to the status of master and then set his sights on practicing ‘architecture. This ambition was realized in a dromatic way in 1537, when, as a worker, he became enguged in ‘remodeling the villa of Count Giangiorgio Trissino — a distinguished scholor, dramatist, poet, ond humanist. He was invited to join the count's household (which functioned as an academy) and thus began his classical education, which he christened by assuming the name Polladio. Through Trissino, Palladio became familiar with the work of Serlio (whom Trissino knew wel), and in addition he met Jacopo Sansovino, Michele Sanmichel, and Alvise Cornaro. In 1541 Palla joined Trio on his frst rip (the frst of three inthe 1540s) to Rome, where he was able to study ‘the ruins of antiquity, in addition to the fruits ofthe high Renaissance. All ofthese experiences combined fo create ‘one of the best educated and talented architects of the Rendissance, The theoretical side of Palladio’s development was olso enhanced with his meeting of Doniele Barbaro around 1550, Barbaro wes another prominent humonist who hod just returned from a two-year ambassadorship in England. In the countryside of Maser nthe 1550s, Pall designed for Borbaroperhop the most fanous of his grand vila. Since 1547, Barbaro had been involved in preparing a new critical translation of Vitruvius, for which Polladio wos encouraged to make ‘he ilustatins. The resa, which wos sued in 156, was a teats unsurpassed in he svteenth century forts beauty nd scholarship This sucess no doubt encouraged Polaio to compose his own tome on arciiecture, of which four books appeared in 1570. This heavy dustrted work (consing largely of dasical monuments and his own designs) immediately became one of the great documents ofthe Renaissance and represents the apogee of fascination withthe ‘Vitruvian tradition. The two passages presented here testify to his quintessential lssicol reasoning. In the firs, taken from ‘the opening chapter of Book 1, Palacio re-presents the Vtruvon triad of convenience, duration, and beauty — the last of ‘which is now defined as Vitruvian symmetry. Inthe second, the Preface to Book 4, Paladio states his belie in absolute beauty or cosmic proportions, which should underlay all good design, p clldio holds 0 most exalted place in the history of Renasonce architecture. Generally regorded os the Chapter I: Of the Several Particulars that ought to be Consider’d and Prepar’d before we Begin to Build Great care ought to be taken, before a building is begun, of the several parts of the plan and elevation of the whole edifice intended to be raised: For three things, according to Virruvwus, ‘nies Pall (1508-80, from qu hi del orctetwa Th four books of rece] (157. kao Ware (1738), in Ania Palade The Fear Books of Arte, od. At K lack, Wow Yrk Dover Publis, 1965 (sue, pI, 79-0 46 PALLADIO, THE FOUR BOOKSought to be considered in every fabrick, without which no edifice will deserve to be commended; and these are utility or convenience, duration and beauty. That work therefore cannot be called perfect, which should be useful and not durable, or durable and not useful, or having both these should be without beauty. ‘An edifice may be esteemed commodious, when every part or member stands in its due place and fit situation, neither above or below its dignity and use; or when the loggia’s, halls, chambers, cellars and granaries are conveniently disposed, and in their proper places. ‘The strength, or duration, depends upon the walls being carried directly upright, thicker below than above, and their foundations strong and solid: observing to place the upper columns directly perpendicular over those that are underneath, and the openings of the doors and windows exactly over one another; so that the solid be upon the solid, and the void over the void. Beauty will result from the form and correspondence of the whole, with respect to the several parts, of the parts with regard to each other, and of these again to the whole; that the structure may appear an entire and compleat body, wherein each member agrees with the other, and all necessary to compose what you intend to form, The Preface to the Reader If upon any fabrick labour and industry may be bestowed, that it may be comparted with beautiful measure and proportion; this, without any doubt, ought to be done in temples; in which the maker and giver of all things, the almighty and supream God, ought to be adored bby us, and be praised, and thanked for his continual benefactions to us, in the best manner that our strength will permit. If, therefore, men in building their own habitations, take very great care to find out excellent and expert architects, and able artificers, they are certainly ‘obliged to make use of still much greater care in the building of churches. And if in those they attend chiefly to conveniency, in these they ought to have a regard to the dignity and grandeur of the Being there to be invoked and adored; who being the supream good, and highest perfection, itis very proper, that all things consecrated to him, should be brought to ‘the greatest perfection we are capable of. And indeed, if we consider this beautiful machine ofthe world, with how many wonderful ornaments it is filled, and how the heavens, by their continual revolutions, change the seasons according as nature requires, and their motion reserves itself by the sweetest harmony of temperature; we cannot doubt, but that the little temples we make, ought to resemble this very great one, which, by his immense goodness, ‘was perfectly compleated with one word of his; or imagine that we are not obliged to make in them all the oraments we possibly can, and build them in such a manner, and with such proportions, that all the parts together may convey a sweet harmony to the eyes of the beholders, and that each of them separately may serve agreeably to the use for which it shall be appointed. For which reason, although they are worthy to be much commended, who being guided by an exceeding good spirit, have already built temples to the supream God, and stil build them; it does not seem, nevertheless, that they ought to remain without some PALLADIO, THE FOUR BOOKS «= 47little reprehension, if they have not also endeavoured to make them in the best and most noble form our condition will permit. Hence, because the antient Greeks and Romans employed the utmost care in building the temples to their Gods, and composed them of the most beautiful architecture, that they might be made with so much greater ornaments, and in greater proportion, as that they ‘might be suitable for the God to whom they were consecrated; I shall shew in this book the form and the ornaments of many antient temples, of which the ruins are still to be seen, and by me have been reduced into designs, that every one may know in what form, and with ‘what ornaments churches ought to be built. And although there is but a small part of some of them to be seen standing above-ground, I nevertheless from that small part, (the foundations that could be seen being also considered) have endeavoured, by conjecture, to shew what they must have been when they were entire. And in this Vrrnuvius has been a very great help to me; because, what I saw, agreeing with what he teacheth us, it was not difficult for me to come at the knowledge of their aspect, and of their form. But to the ornaments, that is, the bases, columns, capitals, cornices, and such like things, Thave added nothing of my own; but they have been measured by me with the utmost attention, from different fragments, found in the places where these temples stood. And I make no doubt, but that they, who shall read this book, and shall consider the designs in it carefully, may be able to understand many places, which in Virmuvws are reputed very difficult, and to direct their mind to the knowledge of the beautiful and proportionable forms of temples, and to draw from them various very noble inventions; making use of which ina proper time and place, they may shew, in their works, how one may, and ought to vary, without departing from the precepts of the art, and how laudable and agreeable such variations are. But before we come to the designs, I shall, as I usually do, briefly mention those advertences, that in building of temples ought to be observed; having also taken them from Virus, and from other very excellent men, who have written of so noble an art. —"19—JuAN BAUTISTA VILLALPANDO— from Ezekiel Commentaries (1604) re enaissance theory up to this point has been viewed largely os seculor-phenomenon, but its biggest supporter in Italy hod indeed been the Papacy, which quickly adopted the style as a mark of is universal exclesistcal authority. What remained for sixteenth century theory, then, was to forgo a more compelling synthesis of dassical theory with the biblical elements of the- Chrison religion. This was the task attempted by Juan Boutista Villalpando. This Spanish Jesuit was @ native of Cordoba, ond he hod been troined in architecture under Juan de Herera, who was in charge of biting the Escorial. After enfeing the Jesuit order, however, Villalpando ae we ‘envi Vspi 152-408 ub kien Epcos kil oes 140), ho DP, te pth hin {rede rer pce en tina vn dl prof Ezqie Madi: clei Old Arqutaes,Pavineni Nc, 1990, p12. _-~ %%—VILLALPANDO, EZEKIEL COMMENTARIES