Besprechungen Gottfried Gruben, Klassische Bauforschung. Edited By
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310 Besprechungen in the theoretical studies of ancient architecture. From the pre-war studies by hans Riemann and Armin von gerkan to the recent bulky article (in the Jahrb.DAi , ) on the corner contraction in Doric buildings by ernst-WIlhelm osthues, their studies on proportions, metrologyorarchitectural planning procedures have always been in the forefront of international research on these issues; no one can do serious workinthese fields without knowing them. oneofthe reasons why this particular branch of german archaeological research has been so successful, is probably that as ageneral rule it has been in the hands of trained architects rather than archaeologists. This background in professional craftsmanshipcontributes to explainthe precision in their publications, their excel- lent, professional and highly informativedrawings, and the painstaking documentation of everysingle piece of building material which may in some way or other be considered informative. Butthis also explains what may be seen as aweakness in some of these publications: they may not always in ameaningful way succeed in con- necting the buildings with their historical and cultural background, with the people who wanted them, paid for them and had them built. Archaeologists and art historians, the sortofscholars who deal with ancient architectureelsewhere, probably haveaneasier approach to this kind of problems. Butthe german environment includes scholars with afull and masterly command also of these aspects of ancient architecture, in addition gottfried gruben, Klassische Bauforschung. edited by to their command of the architect’s trade, and the best Wolf Koenigs and irene Ring. Publisher hIrmer,Munich ones havealso occasionally demonstrated an admirable . pages, illustrations. level of conscious reflection on why they do what they aredoing, and why they do it the way they do. All the time since the nineteenth century, german re- onesuch person, outstanding also within his own search on ancient architecturehas held aunique standard environment, was gottfried gruben, who for many years andset amodel of excellence for contributions in this held achair of historyofarchitectureatthe technical field from other nations. As an important branch of field university of Munich. hIsstudents were to become research in classical archaeology this activity has always practising architects and he had himself graduated as one, been intimately linked with the large excavation projects thus standing safely in the mainstream of the german undertaken by the german Archaeological institute in tradition, but he had also behind him university studies italy,greece and elsewhereinthe Mediterranean, at sites in classicalarchaeology and other humanistic disciplines. wherearchitectural remains arediscovered; at such places onebook from his hand, »Die Tempel der griechen«, as olympia or Pergamon this connection is evident. But has since it first appeared in been reissued in no german scholars havemade splendid contributions also less than fiveeditions, the last one (of ) heavily on buildings not directly touched by german excavation updated with the title »griechische Tempel und heilig- activity; greek temples at Paestum, Metaponto and tümer«, and it has become something of abible both to Segesta haveseen such undertakings in recent years, in archaeologists and to students of architectural history acountrywherethe german experts RobertKoldewey in germany,thanks to its profile which clearly reflects and otto Puchstein morethan one hundred years ago both his background and competence. it is not, as most collected the material for their monumental publication general treatises of greek architectural history, achrono- of greek temples in Southern italy and Sicily.Tothis logical surveyofdevelopments and trends exemplified day,for several of those temples no better publication by the various buildings; originally intended for tourists than theirs from has appeared, and such recent and travellers, it is arranged with topographically organ- monographs by german scholars as those on the temples ized presentations in individual sections discussing the of Aphaia on Aigina and on the buildings on Samos important temples and temple sites in greece, italy and stand asimilar good chance of remaining unsurpassed Asia Minor not only as architecture, but including their for generations to come. in addition to the concrete topographical, cultural andhistorical contexts. The book task of studying and publishing specific buildings or is deeply rooted in germanmentality and traditions (and remains of such, german scholars havealso been leading has perhaps for that reason never been translated into Klassische Archäologie 311 otherlanguages), but is probably the best introduction to together with full attention to its topographical context greek temple architecturetobefound in any language; and general significance. At Aigina, his concern in this it is written by aman with afull understanding not only direction ends up in nothing less than afull analysis of of the buildings he describes and analyses, but also of the development of the sanctuarythrough its archaic their deeper cultural background and the reasons why building phases. This partofthe article is nowoutdated, the people who built them wanted them to look as they after ernst-Ludwig Schwandners’s workonthe early did –once he has explained howthey did look, from the archaic temple, so that today the repetition of figure often meagreremains available to us today. with aperipteral reconstruction of that temple can Apartfromthis book, most of gruben’s scholarly be felt as slightly problematical. Thereisnofault with production was expressed in shortand long articles, gruben’s reasoning, based on the information available the long ones published in the renowned and well to him at the time, but the results from the full docu- distributed Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen mentation and study of the preservedmaterial done later instituts and other series from the same institution, the demonstrate once morehow indispensable such work rest often in minor,marginal periodicals with limited is for the correct understanding of an ancient building, circulation. in , afew years after his death, aselec- preservedonly in fragments. tion of his articles was edited and published by one of in gruben wrote and published ageneral article his pupils and collaborators, Wolf Koenigs, under the on early Cycladic architecture, for the Münchener Jahr- title »Klassische Bauforschung«. The title sets avery buch der bildenden Kunst. he had then quite recently wide frame, and the editor has taken pains to include embarked on his owndiscoveries on naxos, and the awide spectrum of gruben’s writings. it could not be article provides an excellent and thoughtful surveyof avoided, however, that the selection concentrates on what was then known about this architecture, to alarge early ionic architecture, with fiveofthe eleven articles; extent based on the marble treasuries at Delphi which he four of them concern early temples in the Cyclades, convincingly links up with Paros. Palm-leaves capitals, which gruben discoveredasafairly virginal topic when volutes, caryatides, frieze instead of dentils above the he took it up in the late nineteen sixties, and where architraveand monumental porches, all executed in he concentrated his field research afterwards. Butthe marble, areessential elements in his definition of this book includes also six articles with wider scopes: a branch of early ionic architecture, distinguishing it from general surveyofthe individual architect and his role in the eastern Aegean variant as documented on Samos society through the millennia, another one on the early and on the coast of Asia Minor.itisworth noticing, beginnings of greek temple architecture, then studies however, that in this early surveyofthe field the early of irregular column shapes and of technical aspects naxian buildings on Delos havenot yetbeen included; of marble architecture, and of methodical and ethical the importance of the »naxian oikos« for the creation problems involved in the way we study and treat an- of the frieze evidently was one of his later discoveries. cient architecture. The width of gruben’s commitment This lacuna was abundantly filled by his monumental to the study of the greek and other early architecture, article, in the Jahrbuch of , devoted to those build- including its practical as well as theoretical aspects, is ings on Delos. WIth morethan one hundred and fifty well expressed by this selection. pages this text was definitely too heavy for abook of this WIth gruben’s workonthe Cyclades, particularly character,but the buildings in Delos areconsidered in a naxos, looming so heavily in the book, one may perhaps shortarticle on roof constructions of marble, included feel acertain regret that his excellent workonearly ionic here, wherethe preservedexamples from the archaic architectureatother sites, such as Samos and Didyma, and classical periods arediscussed from atechnical is so little represented. The long article on the archaic point of view. here,the importance of an architectural Didymaion, in the Jahrbuch of , is in the opinion training for scholars studying ancient buildings is well of this reviewerperhaps gruben’s very best work, but it demonstrated: the calculations of the carrying capacity was certainly not suitable for inclusion in this anthology of marblebeams of different dimensions and material re- of fairly shorttexts. The brief resume of his doctoral quiresuch