LOG Question

Look up and define the following architecture vocabulary and read the attached information page. Who designed the Art Museum (PMA). What was the art historian, ’s vision for the museum.

Vocabulary – Neo-classical, Parthenon, tympanum, pediment, polychromy, 3 Columns – Doric, Ionic, Corinthian

Like Philadelphia’s own Parthenon, the Philadelphia Museum of Art sits majestically on a rise at the end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The vast collections of this temple of art make it the third-largest art museum in the country, and an absolute must-see on the city’s cultural circuit.

The Museum began as a legacy of the great Centennial Exhibition of 1876, held in Fairmount Park. At the conclusion of the celebrations, Memorial Hall--which had been constructed as the Exhibition's art gallery-- remained open as the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art "for the improvement and enjoyment of the people of the Commonwealth". http://www.philamuseum.org/information/45-19.html

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Opened in 1928 and resembling a Greek temple, the Julian Abele-designed Philadelphia Museum of Art is made of pure Minnesota dolomite and covers 10 acres. Of particular note are the polychrome terracotta sculptures in the tympanum of the pediment on the North Wing, which were designed by sculptor C. Paul Jennewein. At the time, the building was the first in 2,000 years to adapt polychromy in this manner. The Neo-classical building is considered one of the showpieces of the early 20th-century “city beautiful” movement in architecture. A renovation is currently in progress, which includes the addition of a new wing designed by award-winning architect Frank O. Gehry. http://withart.visitphilly.com/tours/the-architecture-of-art/

It was in October of 1925 that the distinguished art and architectural historian Fiske Kimball was appointed Director of the Museum, In dedicating himself to the future architectural development of the building’s interior as well as to the acquisition of objects worthy of the new Museum and the city, Kimball set the tone for a new era. He believed that a museum should "express the world's artistic culture in all mediums, merging architecture, painting, sculpture and the decorative arts." In this capacity, he envisioned a "walk through time" for the new building, wherein works of art would be installed together in dramatic galleries enhanced with period architectural elements and historic interiors. While "period rooms" existed before, both at the Museum and elsewhere, Kimball’s overarching vision and meticulous attention to authenticity were in many ways legendary. His integrated and contextual approach spurred the installation plan, and continues to be a distinctive feature of the institution today.

Fri, 1881-04-29

*Julian Abele was born on this date in 1881. He was an African American architect.

From South Philadelphia, Julian Francis Abele was the son of Charles R. and Mary A. Abele. He was educated at the Institute for Colored Youth before entering the University of Pennsylvania in 1898. He was the first African-American to graduate from the Pennsylvania School of Fine Arts and Architecture in 1902. That year he was asked by to join his firm, which had been exclusively white up to that point. Trumbauer sent Abele to Paris to study at L'Ecole des Beaux Arts.

By 1908, Abele was the chief designer in the firm of Horace Trumbauer & Associates and owns a list of buildings that is impressive. In addition to , he designed Philadelphia’s Free Library and Museum of Art, the chapel and many other buildings of Trinity College in Durham, N.C. (which was later renamed ) and the James B. Duke mansion on Fifth Avenue and 78th Street in New York City (now NYU’s Graduate Institute of Fine Arts). Abele's role in the firm of Horace Trumbauer was neither a well-kept secret nor a well-publicized fact.

His talent was such that it made him chief designer at age 27, and paid him a salary of $12,000 per year in 1912 (which is over $250,000 in current dollars). Abele did not join the American Institute of Architects, however, until 1942; four years after the death of Trumbauer, at which time Abele became head of the firm. Abele never personally visited Duke University during any phase of construction or afterwards due to segregation. Yet, the archivist of Duke University in a letter to the editor of the Raleigh, NC News and Observer states it was well known by university personnel that the chief designer of the firm was African-American. http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/julian-abele-architectural-pioneer