Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism

by Rudolph Wittkower Ph.D.

Overview

Sir Kenneth Clark wrote in the Architectural Review, that the first result of this book was “to dispose, once and for all, of the hedonist, or purely aesthetic, theory of Renaissance architecture,’ and this defines Wittkower’s intention in a nutshell.

A brief examination of the theory and practice of Renaissance architecture that draws attention to the values underlying this style

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393005998
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	09/17/1971
Series:	Academy Editions Series
Pages:	242
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Rudolf Wittkower (1901-1971), a leading authority on the art and architecture of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, was born in Berlin and received his Ph.D. from the University of Berlin in 1923.

Table of Contents

THE CENTRALLY PLANNED CHURCH AND THE RENAISSANCE.

Alberti's Programme of the Ideal Church.

Centralized Churches in Later Architectural Theory.

Building Practice: S Maria delle Carceri.

Bramante and Palladio.

The Religious Symbolism of Centrally Planned Churches.

ALBERTI'S APPROACH TO ANTIQUITY IN ARCHITECTURE.

The Column in Alberti's Theory and Practice.

S. Francesco at Rimini.

S. Maria Novella.

S. Sebastiano and S. Andrea at Mantua.

The Change in Alberti's Interpretation of Classical Architecture.

PRINCIPLES OF PALLADIO'S ARCHITECTURE.

The Architect as 'uomo universale': Palladio, Trissino and Barbaro.

Palladio's Geometry: The Villas.

Palladio and Classical Architecture: Palaces and Public Buildings.

The Genesis of an Idea: Palladio's Church Façades.

Palladio's Optical and Psychological Concepts: II Redentore.

THE PROBLEM OF HARMONIC PROPORTION IN ARCHITECTURE.

Francesco Giorgi's Platonic Programme for S. Francesco della Vigna.

The Mean Proportionals and Architecture.

Alberti's Generation of Ratios.

Musical Consonances and the Visual Arts.

Palladio's 'fugal' System of Proportion.

Palladio's Ratios and the Development of Sixteenth-Century Musical Theory.

The Break-away from the Laws of Harmonic Porportion Architecture.

Appendices.

Index.

Editorial Reviews

The latest revision in ten years of what has become a classic elucidation of the connections between the architecture and the culture of the Renaissance. First published in 1949 as volume 19 of the . The 50-year commemorative edition integrates the illustrations with the text and includes an edited selection of lectures by Wittkower (b. 1901), who removed from Germany to London ahead of the Nazis and became active in the Warburn Institute. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)

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