Architectural Classicism

If justice is to be done to the antithetical nature of the variety and also the dialectical development of its forms, neither element must be neglected, and it need to constantly be borne in mind that both are borderline terms and in practice are invariably interwoven with each other, whilst the person representatives on the variety are always far more closely associated with 1 or the other (Hauser, 1965, p. 202).

Hauser's point is usually created with reference to painting; however, it applies both equally to architecture. Additionally, as Clark comments, one reason that "medieval and Renaissance architecture is so much better than our unique is how the architects were artists" (Clark, 1969, p. 171). By the 16th century in Italy, architecture had begun to abstract from classical influences of chiefly Roman origin and to reflect artistic temperament.

This just isn't to say that Roman influence was absent but only that designers had begun to shift from strictly copying Roman motifs. As an architect, Michelangelo, "was one of the most adventurous, the least constrained by either classicism or functional requirements" (Clark, 1969, p. 172). Jacquet, who notes that Michelangelo essentially completed none of his architectural projects, adds that nevertheless Michelangelo "dominated the architecture of his century" (Jacquet, 1970, p. 38) because of his conceptual designs. This signifies a mannerist rather than strictly classicist temperament, and

 

Clark, Kenneth. (1969). Civilization. New York: Harper & Row.

Murray, Peter. (1964). The architecture from the Italian Renaissance. New York: Schocken,Books.

Vitruvius Pollio. (1960). Vitruvius: The ten books on architecture. Translated by Morris Hicky Morgan. New York: Dover Publications.

The third story windows depart from the Roman variety and thing toward a break from absolute classicism. These windows are not arched but square. They are decorated with a cornice and flanked by decorative corbels. These windows alternate with niches comprising a narrow, rounded, and extremely decorated arch frieze that is completely sculptural and not at all functional. The dormers on the dome of St. Peter's reflect classical symmetry but not absolute repetition of classical design. Alternating with unbroken pediment window arches are windows with rounded pediments, which do not have an equivalent in classicism. This represents a break of the past as far as design is concerned. For one thing, it adds design interest to what may perhaps have turn out to be a monotonous feature of design. 1 could argue that another architect may have merely utilized squared pediments to frame these windows, thus doing the type perfectly acceptable from a classical factor of view but also generating it practically too regular. It turns out, however, that the rounded pediments have the effect of integrating the windows beneath the base of the dome in the shape in the dome itself. Thus decoration for its individual sake enters into the Renaissance architectural enterprise, pointing away from Roman attachment to large scale and disdain for architectural decoration as such. The dome as Michelangelo originally planned it would apparently had been more rounded and therefore additional in keeping with classical Roman variety than the final dome. However, in this regard, Clark says how the dome itself was additional the jobs with the architect Della Porta than Michelangelo (Jacquet, 1970, p. 173)

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