Roman House - Renaissance Palaces
Inventing Antiquity in Fifteenth-Century Italy
Published on 2. October 2003
Book
Hardback
412 pages
978-0-521-77008-8 (ISBN)
Description
During the course of the fifteenth century, many prominent patrons of architecture in Italy sought to identify themselves with ancient Romans. Their exploration of antique models and sources was undertaken in partnership with architects and humanists and had a profound impact on the design, construction and refurbishment of city palaces. In this study, Georgia Clarke examines the fifteenth-century patrons' fascination with ancient texts and how the physical remains of ancient Italy were understood. Theories of variety, magnificence, and imitation, based on classical writings, were essential to this enterprise, which found concrete expression in built architecture. Close analysis of ancient and Renaissance text, architects' drawings, and examples of palace buildings across Italy demonstrate how fundamental these different elements are to our understanding of both Renaissance architecture and its cultural context.
Reviews / Votes
'Dr Clarke has provided a mass of useful material, organised in five chapters, with a vital concluding end-section. The generous number of illustrations fits well with the text. This is a thorough appraisal of antique texts, Renaissance theorists and patrons and their responses to Roman ruins in the building of 15th-century palaces. ... this will be a useful book for advanced students of 15th-century Italian palace architecture and visitors to these buildings, who wish to know more about 15th-century ideas of antiquity.' The Art Newspaper '... will appeal to an audience interested in both Renaissance architecture and culture and in the survival of classical texts and remains ... an impressively researched, well produced and elegantly illustrated book.' The Art Book 'Clarke's careful bibliography is a reliable vademecum to this field ... highly readable and erudite text ...' Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 'Clarke examines a rich collection of texts, both ancient and modern, as well as images which she relates to formal and ideological concerns surrounding the ancient and modern house. Clarke's range of texts and examples is impressive. ... much is new, or is given new expression...' The Burlington MagazineMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Illustrations
9 Plates, color; 162 Halftones, unspecified; 16 Line drawings, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 286 mm
Width: 221 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
1543 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-77008-8 (9780521770088)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Content
1. Antiquity and identity; 2. Variety, magnificence and imitation; 3. The ancient houses - texts; 4. Discovering and recording ancient houses; 5. Creating all'antica palaces; 6. Conclusion: emulation and a new architecture.