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Palladian architecture

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Architecture

   Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from
   the designs of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). The
   term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by
   Palladio's own work; what is recognised as Palladian architecture today
   is an evolution of Palladio's original concepts. This evolution of
   Palladianism as a style began in the 17th century and continued to
   develop until the end of the 18th century.
   A villa with a superimposed portico, from Book IV of Palladio's I
   Quattro Libri dell'Architettura, in a modestly priced English
   translation published in London, 1736.
   Enlarge
   A villa with a superimposed portico, from Book IV of Palladio's I
   Quattro Libri dell'Architettura, in a modestly priced English
   translation published in London, 1736.

   Palladianism became popular briefly in Britain during the mid-17th
   century. In the early 18th century it returned to fashion, in not only
   England but many nothern European countries. Later when the style was
   falling from favour in Europe, it had a surge in popularity in North
   America, most notably in the buildings designed by Thomas Jefferson. To
   understand Palladian architecture as it later evolved, one must first
   understand the architecture of Palladio himself.

Palladio's architecture

   "True Palladianism" in Villa Godi by Palladio from the Quattro Libri
   dell'Architettura. The extending wings are agricultural buildings and
   are not part of the villa, in the 18th century they became an important
   part of Palladianism see photograph of Woburn Abbey below,
   Enlarge
   "True Palladianism" in Villa Godi by Palladio from the Quattro Libri
   dell'Architettura. The extending wings are agricultural buildings and
   are not part of the villa, in the 18th century they became an important
   part of Palladianism see photograph of Woburn Abbey below,

   Buildings entirely designed by Palladio are all in Venice and the
   Veneto. They include Villa Capra and Villa Badoer, as well as the
   Redentore in Venice. In Palladio's architectural treatises, as well as
   the buildings he designed and built, he followed the principles defined
   by the Roman architect Vitruvius and his 15th-century disciple Leon
   Battista Alberti, who adhered to principles of classical Roman
   architecture based on mathematical proportions rather than the rich
   ornamental style also characteristic of the Renaissance.

   Palladio always designed his villas with reference to their setting. If
   on a hill, such as Villa Capra, all facades were often designed to be
   of equal value so that occupants could have fine views in all
   directions. Also, in such cases, porticos were built on all sides so
   that occupants could fully appreciate the countryside while being
   protected from the sun, similar to many American-style porches of
   today. Palladio sometimes used a loggia as an alternative to the
   portico. This can most simply be described as a recessed portico, or an
   internal single storey room, with pierced walls that are open to the
   elements. Occasionally a loggia would be placed at second floor level
   over the top of a loggia below, creating what was known as a double
   loggia. Loggias were sometimes given significance in a facade by being
   surmounted by a pediment. Villa Godi has as its focal point a loggia
   rather than a portico, plus loggias terminating each end of the main
   building.

   Palladio would often model his villa elevations on Roman temple
   facades. The temple influence, often in a cruciform design, later
   became a trademark of his work. Palladian villas are usually built with
   three floors: a rusticated basement or ground floor, containing the
   service and minor rooms; above this, the piano nobile accessed through
   a portico reached by a flight of external steps, containing the
   principal reception and bedrooms; and above this is a low mezzanine
   floor with secondary bedrooms and accommodation. The proportions of
   each room within the villa were calculated on simple mathematical
   ratios like 3:4 and 4:5, and the different rooms within the house were
   interrelated by these ratios. Earlier architects had used these
   formulas for balancing a single symmetrical facade, however Palladio's
   designs related to the whole, usually square, villa.

   Palladio deeply considered the dual purpose of his villas as both
   farmhouses and palatial weekend retreats for wealthy merchant owners.
   These symmetrical temple-like houses often have equally symmetrical,
   but low, wings sweeping away from them to accommodate horses, farm
   animals, and agricultural stores. The wings, sometimes detached and
   connected to the villa by colonnades, were designed not only to be
   functional but also to complement and accentuate the villa. They were,
   however, in no way intended to be part of the main house, and it is in
   the design and use of these wings that Palladio's followers in the 18th
   century adapted to become am integral part of the building.

The Palladian window

   The Palladian, or Serlian, arch or window, as interpreted by Palladio.
   Detail of drawing from Quattro Libri dell'Architettura.
   Enlarge
   The Palladian, or Serlian, arch or window, as interpreted by Palladio.
   Detail of drawing from Quattro Libri dell'Architettura.
   Late 18th century Palladian window in a neoclassical interpretation by
   Robert Adam
   Enlarge
   Late 18th century Palladian window in a neoclassical interpretation by
   Robert Adam

   The Palladian, Serlian, or Venetian window features largely in
   Palladio's work, almost a trademark in his early career. It consists of
   a central light with semicircular arch over, carried on an impost
   consisting of a small entablature, under which, and enclosing two other
   lights, one on each side, are pilasters. In the library at Venice,
   Sansovino varied the design by substituting columns for the two inner
   pilasters. To describe its origin as being either Palladian or Venetian
   is not accurate; the motif was first used by Donato Bramante (Ackerman)
   and later mentioned by Sebastiano Serlio (1475–1554) in his
   seven-volume architectural book Tutte l'opere d'architettura et
   prospetiva expounding the ideals of Vitruvius and Roman architecture,
   this arched window is flanked by two lower rectangular openings, a
   motif that first appeared in the triumphal arches of ancient Rome.
   Palladio used the motif extensively, most notably in the arcades of the
   Palazzo della Ragione in Vicenza. It is also a feature of his entrances
   to both Villa Godi and Villa Forni-Cerato. It is perhaps this extensive
   use of the motif in the Veneto that has given the window its
   alternative name of the Venetian window; it is also known as a Serlian
   window. Whatever the name or the origin, this form of window has
   probably become one of the most enduring features of Palladio's work
   seen in the later architectural styles, evolved from Palladianism.

Early Palladianism

   Inigo Jones was the designer of the Queen's House, Greenwich, begun in
   1616, the first English Palladian house.
   Enlarge
   Inigo Jones was the designer of the Queen's House, Greenwich, begun in
   1616, the first English Palladian house.

   In 1570 Palladio published his book I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura,
   inspiring architects across Europe. During the 17th century, many
   architects studying in Italy learned of Palladio's work. Foreign
   architects then returned home and adapted Palladio's style to suit
   various climates, topographies and personal tastes of their clients.
   Isolated forms of Palladianism throughout the world were brought about
   in this way. However, the Palladian style did not reach the zenith of
   its popularity until the 18th century, primarily in England, Ireland
   and later North America.

   One of these students was the English architect Inigo Jones, who is
   directly responsible for importing the Palladian influence to England.
   The "Palladianism" of Jones and his contemporaries and later followers
   was a style very much of facades only, and the mathematical formulae
   dictating layout were not strictly applied. A handful of great country
   houses in England built between 1640 and circa 1680, such as Wilton
   House, are in this Palladian style, following the great success of
   Jones' Palladian designs for the Queen's House at Greenwich and the
   Banqueting House at Whitehall, the uncompleted royal palace in London
   of King Charles I.

   However, the Palladian designs advocated by Inigo Jones were too
   closely associated with the court of Charles I to survive the turmoil
   of the civil war. Following the Stuart restoration Jones's Palladianism
   was eclipsed by the baroque designs of such architects as William
   Talman and Sir John Vanbrugh, Nicholas Hawksmoor, and even Jones' pupil
   John Webb.

English Palladian revival (neo-Palladian)

   The baroque style, popular in continental Europe, was never truly to
   the English taste. It was quickly superseded when, in the first quarter
   of the 18th century, four books were published in Britain which
   highlighted the simplicity and purity of classical architecture. These
   were:
    1. Vitruvius Britannicus published by Colen Campbell, 1715 (of which
       supplemental volumes appeared through the century)
    2. Palladio's Four Books of Architecture published by Giacomo Leoni,
       1715
    3. Leone Battista Alberti's De Re Aedificatoria, published by Giacomo
       Leoni, 1726
    4. The Designs of Inigo Jones... with Some Additional Designs,
       published by William Kent, 2 vols., 1727 (A further volume, Some
       Designs of Mr. Inigo Jones and Mr. William Kent was published in
       1744 by the architect John Vardy, an associate of Kent.)

   Palladian revival: Stourhead House, South facade, was designed by Colen
   Campbell and completed in 1720. The design is based on Palladio's Villa
   Emo.
   Enlarge
   Palladian revival: Stourhead House, South facade, was designed by Colen
   Campbell and completed in 1720. The design is based on Palladio's Villa
   Emo.

   The most popular of these among the wealthy patrons of the day was the
   four-volume Vitruvius Britannicus by Colen Campbell. Campbell was both
   an architect and a publisher. The book was basically a book of design
   containing architectural prints of British buildings, which had been
   inspired by the great architects from Vitruvius to Palladio; at first
   mainly those of Inigo Jones, but the later tomes contained drawings and
   plans by Campbell and other 18th-century architects. These four books
   greatly contributed to Palladian revival architecture becoming
   established in 18th-century Britain. Their three authors became the
   most fashionable and sought after architects of the era. Due to his
   book Vitruvius Britannicus, Colen Campbell was chosen as the architect
   for banker Henry Hoare I's Stourhead house (illustration below), a
   masterpiece that became the inspiration for dozens of similar houses
   across England.
   Palladian revival: Stourhead House, East facade, based on Palladio's
   Villa Emo. Both images are from Colen Campbell's Vitruvius Britannicus.
   Enlarge
   Palladian revival: Stourhead House, East facade, based on Palladio's
   Villa Emo. Both images are from Colen Campbell's Vitruvius Britannicus.

   At the forefront of the new school of design was the aristocratic
   "architect earl", Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, who saw
   baroque as a symbol of foreign absolutism. In 1729, Burlington, with
   William Kent, designed Chiswick House. This House was a
   reinterpretation of Palladio's Villa Capra, but purified of 16th
   century elements and ornament. This severe lack of ornamentation was to
   be a feature of the Palladian revival. In 1734 William Kent and Lord
   Burlington designed one of England's finest examples of palladian
   revival houses with Holkham Hall in Norfolk. The main block of this
   house followed Palladio's dictates quite closely, but Palladio's low,
   often detached, wings of farm buildings were elevated in significance.
   Kent attached them to the design, banished the farm animals, and
   elevated the wings to almost the same importance as the house itself.
   Often these wings were adorned with porticos and pediments, often
   resembling, as at the much later Kedleston Hall, small country houses
   in their own right. It was the development of the flanking wings that
   was to cause English Palladianism to evolve from being a pastiche of
   Palladio's original work.
   English Palladianism Woburn Abbey, designed by Burlington's student
   Henry Flitcroft in 1746. Palladio's central temple is no longer free
   standing, the wings are now elevated to near equal importance, and the
   cattle sheds terminating Palladio's design are now clearly part of the
   facade.
   Enlarge
   English Palladianism Woburn Abbey, designed by Burlington's student
   Henry Flitcroft in 1746. Palladio's central temple is no longer free
   standing, the wings are now elevated to near equal importance, and the
   cattle sheds terminating Palladio's design are now clearly part of the
   facade.

   Architectural styles evolve and change to suit the requirements of each
   individual client. When in 1746 the Duke of Bedford decided to rebuild
   Woburn Abbey, he chose the Palladian style for the design, as this was
   now the most fashionable of the era. He selected architect Henry
   Flitcroft, a protege of Burlington. Flitcroft's designs, while
   Palladian in nature, would not be recognised by Palladio himself. The
   central block is small, only three bays, the temple-like portico is
   merely suggested, and it is in fact closed. Two great flanking wings
   containing a vast suite of state rooms replace the walls or colonnades
   which should have connected to the farm buildings; the farm buildings
   terminating the structure are elevated in height to match the central
   block, and given Palladian windows, to ensure they are seen as of
   Palladian design. This development of the style was to be repeated in
   countless houses, and town halls in Britain over one hundred years.
   Falling from favour during the Victorian era, it was revived by Edward
   Blore for his refacing of Buckingham Palace in 1913. Often the
   terminating blocks would have blind porticos and pilasters themselves,
   competing for attention with, or complementing the central block. This
   was all very far removed from the designs of Palladio two hundred years
   earlier.

   English Palladian houses were now no longer the small but exquisite
   weekend retreats from which their Italian counterparts were conceived.
   They were no longer villas but "power houses" in Sir John Summerson's
   term, the symbolic centres of power of the Whig "squirearchy" that
   ruled Britain. As the Palladian style swept Britain, all thoughts of
   mathematical proportion were swept away. Rather than square houses with
   supporting wings, these buildings had the length of the facade as their
   major consideration; long houses often only one room deep were
   deliberately deceitful in giving a false impression of size.

Irish Palladianism

   Irish Palladianism: Russborough, Ireland in 1826. Designed by the
   German Richard Cassels circa 1750, it is closer in design to Palladio's
   concepts than similar Palladian style houses in England, such as Woburn
   Abbey.
   Enlarge
   Irish Palladianism: Russborough, Ireland in 1826. Designed by the
   German Richard Cassels circa 1750, it is closer in design to Palladio's
   concepts than similar Palladian style houses in England, such as Woburn
   Abbey.

   During the Palladian revival period in Ireland, even quite modest
   mansions were cast in a neo-Palladian mould. Palladian architecture in
   Ireland subtly differs from that in England. While adhering as in other
   countries to the basic ideals of Palladio, it is often truer to them -
   perhaps because it was often designed by architects who had come
   directly from mainland Europe, and therefore were not influenced by the
   evolution that Palladianism was undergoing in Britain, or perhaps
   because Ireland was more provincial and its fashions changed at a
   slower pace than elsewhere. Whatever the reason, Palladianism still had
   to be adapted for the wetter, colder weather.

   One of the most pioneering Irish architects was Sir Edward Lovett
   Pearce (1699–1733), who became one of the leading advocates of
   Palladianism in Ireland. A cousin of Sir John Vanbrugh, he was
   originally one of his pupils, but rejecting the baroque, he spent three
   years studying architecture in France and Italy, before returning home
   to Ireland. His most important Palladian work is the former Irish
   Houses of Parliament in Dublin. He was a prolific architect who also
   designed the south facade of Drumcondra House in 1727 and Cashel Palace
   in 1728.

   One of the most notable examples of Palladianism in Ireland is the
   magnificent Castletown House, near Dublin. Designed by the Italian
   architect Alessandro Galilei (1691–1737), it is perhaps the only
   Palladian house in Ireland to have been built with Palladio's
   mathematical ratios, and one of the two Irish mansions which claim to
   have inspired the design of the White House in Washington.

   Other fine examples include Russborough, designed by Richard Cassels,
   an architect of German origin, who also designed the Palladian Rotunda
   Hospital in Dublin, and Florence Court, County Fermanagh. Irish
   Palladian Country houses often have robust Rococo plasterwork,
   frequently executed by the Lafranchini brothers, an Irish speciality,
   which is far more flamboyant than the interiors of their contemporaries
   in England. So much of Dublin was built in the 18th century that it set
   a Georgian stamp on the city, to the disgust of Irish nationalists;
   until recently Dublin was one of the few cities where fine late
   18th-century housing could be seen in ruinous condition. Elsewhere in
   Ireland after 1922, the lead was removed from the roofs of unoccupied
   Palladian houses for its value as scrap. Many roofless Palladian houses
   can still be found in the depopulated Irish countryside.

North American Palladianism

   American Palladianism: The Rotunda at the University of Virginia,
   designed in the Palladian manner by Thomas Jefferson.
   Enlarge
   American Palladianism: The Rotunda at the University of Virginia,
   designed in the Palladian manner by Thomas Jefferson.

   Palladio's influence in North America is evident almost from the
   beginning of architect designed building there. In 1749 Peter Harrison
   adopted the design of his Redwood Library in Newport, Rhode Island from
   Palladio's Architecture in Four Books, while his Brick Market, also in
   Newport, of a decade later is also Palldaian in conception.

   The amateur architect Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) once referred to
   Palladio's "I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura" as his bible. Jefferson
   acquired an intense appreciation of Palladio's architectural concepts,
   and his designs for the Jefferson Monticello estate and the University
   of Virginia were based on drawings from Palladio's book. Realising the
   powerful political significance pertaining to ancient Roman buildings,
   Jefferson designed many of his civic buildings in the Palladian style.
   Monticello (remodelled between 1796 and 1808) is quite clearly based on
   Palladio's Villa Capra, however, with modifications, in a style which
   is described in America today as Colonial Georgian. Jefferson's
   Pantheon, or Rotunda, at the University of Virginia is undeniably
   Palladian in concept and style.

   In Virginia and Carolina, the Palladian manner is epitomised in
   numerous Tidewater plantation houses, such as Stratford Hall or
   Westover Plantation, or Drayton Hall near Charleston. These examples
   are all classic American colonial examples of a Palladian taste that
   was transmitted through engravings, for the benefit of masons—and
   patrons, too—who had no first-hand experience of European building
   practice. A feature of American Palladianism was the re-emergence of
   the great portico, which again, as in Italy, fulfilled the need of
   protection from the sun; the portico in various forms and size became a
   dominant feature of American colonial architecture. In the north
   European countries the Portico had become a mere symbol, often closed,
   or merely hinted at in the design by pilasters, and sometimes in very
   late examples of English Palladianism adapted to become a
   porte-cochere; in America, the Palladian portico regained its full
   glory.
   The White House, designed by James Hoban, who had studied Palladianism
   in Ireland.
   Enlarge
   The White House, designed by James Hoban, who had studied Palladianism
   in Ireland.

   Thomas Jefferson must have gained particular pleasure as the second
   occupant of the White House in Washington, which was doubtless inspired
   by Irish Palladianism. Both Castletown and Richard Cassel's Leinster
   House in Dublin claim to have inspired the architect James Hoban, who
   designed the executive mansion, built between 1792 and 1800. Hoban,
   born in Callan, County Kilkenny, in 1762, studied architecture in
   Dublin, where Leinster House (built circa 1747) was one of the finest
   buildings at the time. The Palladianism of the White House is
   interesting as it is almost an early form of neoclassicism, especially
   the South facade, which closely resembles James Wyatt's design for
   Castle Coole of 1790, also in Ireland. Ironically, the North facade
   lacks one of the floors from Leinster House, while the Southern facade
   gains a floor extra than Castle Coole, and has an external staircase
   more in the Palladian manner. Castle Coole is, in the words of the
   architectural commentator Gervase Jackson-Stops, "A culmination of the
   Palladian traditions, yet strictly neoclassical in its chaste ornament
   and noble austerity". The same can be said of many houses in the
   American Palladian style.

   One of the adaptations made to Palladianism in America was that the
   piano nobile now tended to be placed on the ground floor, rather than
   above a service floor, as was the tradition in Europe. This service
   floor, if it existed at all, was now a discreet semi-basement. This
   negated the need for an ornate external staircase leading to the main
   entrance as in the more original Palladian designs. This would also be
   a feature of the neoclassical style that followed Palladianism.
   The architect Giacomo Quarenghi, active between 1780s and 1810s,
   transformed the city of Saint Petersburg, Russia into the outdoor
   museum of Palladian revival.
   Enlarge
   The architect Giacomo Quarenghi, active between 1780s and 1810s,
   transformed the city of Saint Petersburg, Russia into the outdoor
   museum of Palladian revival.

   The only two houses in the United States - from the English colonial
   period (1607-1776) - that can be definitively attributed to designs
   from the Four Books of Architecture are architect William Buckland's
   The Hammond-Harwood House (1774) in Annapolis, Maryland and Thomas
   Jefferson's first Monticello. The design source for the Hammond-Harwood
   House is the Villa Pisani at Montagnana (Book II, Chapter XIV) and for
   the first Monticello (1770) the design source is the Villa Cornaro at
   Piombino Dese (Book II, Chapter XIV). Thomas Jefferson later covered
   this facade with later additions so that the Hammond-Harwood House
   remains the only pure and pristine example of direct modeling in
   America today.

Decline of Palladianism

   By the 1770s, in England, such architects as Robert Adam and Sir
   William Chambers were in huge popular demand, but they were now drawing
   on a great variety of classical sources, including ancient Greece, so
   much so that their forms of architecture were eventually defined as
   neoclassical rather than Palladian. In Europe, the Palladian revival
   ended by the end of the 18th century. In North America, Palladianism
   lingered a little longer; Thomas Jefferson's floor plans and elevations
   owe a great deal to Palladio's Quattro Libri. The term "Palladian"
   today is often misused, and tends to describe a building with any
   classical pretensions.

Post-Modern revival

   Palladian motifs, particularly the window, made a comeback during the
   Post-Modern era. The architect Philip Johnson frequently used it as a
   doorway, as in his designs for the University of Houston School of
   Architecture building ( 1985), 500 Boylston Street ( 1989), Boston,
   Massachusetts and the Museum of Television and Radio building ( 1991),
   New York City. When asked about it, Johnson replied, "I think Palladian
   windows have a rather prettier shape. I wasn't trying to make any more
   important point than that." (Lewis, O'Connor, 1994, p.170) I.M. Pei was
   to use the design for the main entrence of his 1985 Bank of China
   building in Hong Kong.

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