Classical architecture: The poetics of order

by Alexander Tzonis, Liane Lefaivre

This fascinating introduction to classical art and architecture is the first book to investigate the way classical buildings are put together as formal structures.

Genres: Architecture

306 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[V Skokan · Rating 5 out of 5]

“in the writings of the Renaissance, this anthropomorphic aspect of classical architecture frequently becomes, one might say, eroticized, the object of carnal desire. Poliphilo, the hero of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili by Francesco Colonna, is infatuated with the proportions of the portal of a temple because they remind him of his beloved, Polia. Consumed with passion, he is irresistibly drawn to penetrate, as he says, the orifice (p. ciiii). More recently, Paul Valery (1921) places into the architect Eupalinos's mouth the following declaration:
Unbeknownst to all, this delicate temple is the mathematical image of a young maiden of Corinth whom I once sweetly loved. It faithfully re- produces her particular proportions. It feels alive to me.
A certain degree of erotic content can be read into the very names, clearly of anthropomorphic origin, of some of the members of the genera. The concrete forms of the genera themselves might appear no less suggestive: the thickening and the thinning of the fleshlike little waves of matter on a Lesbian cymation; the shallowly grooved cylin- ders of the coluinns; the gently curved ovolo and apophyge, swollen as if by smooth caressing. Indeed, if one leans against a column on a summer afternoon, it really can make the heart quiver, the skin tighten, the cheeks flush, breathing quicken.”

[Paige Bowers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A serviceable introduction to classical architecture that is, sadly, dry as toast.