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Sacral Origin Theories of Classical Order

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Sacral Origin Theories of Classical Order Vytautas LEVANDAUSKAS Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania SACRAL ORIGIN THEORIES 8 OF CLASSICAL ORDER Key words: order, Vitruvius, architectural theory, sacrality Classical order is particularly important in Euro- and elsewhere. Therefore, when collecting data, the pean architectural history. It is associated with anci- majority of publications were read abroad or their ent Greek and Roman culture, Renaissance art and translations into Russian, Polish and Czech langu- finally with retrospektyvisms of New Ages. Order ages were used. (Lat. Ordo, fr. Ordre, germ. Order – order) for cen- The oldest known work, containing the outlined turies raimained to be the essential system of tem- rules of architecture is Vitruvius Pollio’s treatise ples, public or residential buildings and it consisted The Ten Books on Architecture, published in the 1st of three parts: 1) the main – column; 2) covering century BC and dedicated to the Emperor Augus- part above the column – entablature and 3) pedestal tus. Vitruvius attempted to summarize the Greek below the column. architecture, although he lived two centuries after The column was the most important form of artis- their classical period (the V-IIIth c. BC). In this tic expression and it was the centre of attention treatise order is often associated with gods. In the DIMENSIJA: MENO TEORIJOS IR ARTEFAKTAI TEORIJOS MENO DIMENSIJA: for architects, artists and customers. For centuries following line he explains the origin of the ancient artists searched for its perfect proportions, calcu- Doric order: lated structural properties, created a wide range of When Doras, the son of Helen and nymph SACRUM decor options, but each time they used to discover Ftija, reigned in Achaia and in the entire Pe- I. that it is not possible and even it is not necessary to loponnese, in the old city of Argo he made a surpass what once was created by Greeks and deve- temple, which accidentally took a Doric shape loped by Romans. Thus, there was contemplation of order and then he built temples of the same about the divine nature of a column, its similarity to order in other Achaia cities, even though the- human beings and its organic origin. re were no rules of proportions then1. The aim of this article is to review the main theo- ries of orders from ancient times until the XIXth Vitruvius also indicates other orders that fit to be century, emphasizing their aesthetic and spiritual used for various temples of gods. The temples for essence and the explanations of sacred column ori- Thunderer, Heaven, Sun and Moon should be open gin. This work is not meant to be a comprehensive as these gods manifest in open, glowing sky. The review as it was not possible to read all architectural temples for Minerva, Mars, and Heracles are Doric works. In 1832, in Vilnius University, Department temples as the bravery of these gods requires build- of Architecture, a rich library in this field was des- ings without any decorations. The Corinthian order troyed during the liquidation of the university; would be most appropriate for the temples of Venus, books were stolen and transported to Kiev, Kharkov Flora, Proserpina and nymphs since these dieties are so tender that architecture also requires slender and well-built man, such as Adam was, because if forms, colourfully decorated with leaves and twirls. God created his body, then consequently, it was cre- What concerns the temples for Juno, Diana, Father ated beautiful and extremely proportious, only later Liberi and similar dieties, having applied Ionic nature divided people into high, short and those of order, an intermediate link between strict Doric and medium height4. soft Corinthian buildings would be filled2. Sacred theories of classical order’s origin were 9 In his treatise Vitruvius presented the following developed in the Christian direction by Sebastiano lyrical legend about the form of Corinthian col- Serlio (1475-1555), the Rennaissance theorist of the I. umn’s capitel: XVIth century. In his books on architecture, he set SACRUM to “correct” Vitruvius and suggested to use various A young girl, Corinth citizen, having attained orders in a different way. We, Christians, have to fol- the marriageable age, fell unwell and died. Her low a different order, he wrote, and recommended wet nurse, gathered her small things, which a to apply the Doric order for churches, sanctified for AND ARTIFACTS ART OF THEORIES DIMENSION: girl cherished very much, put them into a bas- Jesus Christ, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. George and other ket, brought it to the graveyard and put on the saints, who were not professional soldiers but had grave. A tile had been placed over the basket enough strength and power to donate their lives for to protect it from the weather. Accidentally, Christian faith. According to Serlio, the churches of the basket was put on on the root of Acanthus. Corinthian order should have been related to St. Vir- In spring, the pressed Acanthus’ root let the gin Mary, who was and remained virgin even after leaves and sprouts out. The sprouts had grown giving birth and in general for all the saints whose through the basket’s edges, reached the heavy lives were virginity. The churches of Ionic order tile and curled up in rolled tips. At that time, should have been assigned to all the saints, whose Callimachus (Kallimachos. - V. L.), who was way of life was to be among the soft and tender, in honoured by the Athenians for his elegant, other words, for holy wifes, the former honorable delicate marble works, was going through mothers5. Serlio’s order sacralization was a new way that tombstone and noticed a basket and it to express the spirituality of a building. It was a tran- covering leaves’ tenderness; he was impressed sition to the symbolic semantics, which transferred by that spectacle, original form and in accor- physical appearance into the second place. dance with that view he created the columns in Corynth, established their proportions and Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola (1507-1573) ir Andrea the rules of Corithian order3. Palladio (1508-1580) were the most famous archi- tects of Italian Renaissance whose theoretical works For several centuries Vitruvius’ treatise has been introduced classical forms into European architec- forgotten. Only in the XVth century it was discov- ture. Their treatises summarized Vitruvius’ theories, ered again and commented by theorists of Renes- provided order’s canons, methods of their composi- saince. It also gave birth to new interpretations of tion and construction rules. Vignola6 and Palladio’s7 order’s origin. After Vitruvius, the first work, exam- treatises were mostly widespread among the archi- ining the issues of order was an architectural trea- tects of northen European countries (including tise by Italian theorist Antonio di Pietro Averlino, Lithuania) and they were often quated in works of who was also called Filarete (1400-1465). Filarete local theorists. The books of these two Renaissance was a representative of the firmly rooted Christi- giants were designed to be applied in practice as anity and he created theories of order’s origin that they were perfectly illustrated instructions for pro- corresponded to the spirit of that period. Filarete fessional architects. However, due to such an appli- wrote a lot about Biblical character Adam, search- cable nature, in Vignola and Palladio’s works less ing for a relationship between God and a human space was left for aesthetic contemplation and issues being. It could be assumed, he claimed, that those of order’s origin. who invented orders, should have discovered a high Palladio’s follower Vincenzo Scamozzi (1552-1616) book V. Columnae or description and application of completed theoretical explorations of the XVIth cen- five orders. Blum suggested an original derivation tury Renaissance architects when in 1615, in Venice of a Toscanian column: some architects claim that it he published a huge treatise The Idea of a Universal has gain its name from the giant Tuscan which was Architecture8. There he developed Filarete’s disclo- supposedly a German ancestor, as this column was 10 sed idea of the divine order’s origin. Scamozzi in a the thi ckest and the largest of all. Blum’s attempt to new way gave a meaning to order’s, i.e. order’s (pro- associate a Toscanian column with the myth of his cedure) Latin lexeme ordo as the antipode of chaos: nation was new and perhaps the only one pheno- mena of this kind in the XVIth century. However, Order (i.e. order – V.L.) has to be found in all the author is original not only because of that. He the things, otherwise confusion would prevail compared the proportions of Toscanian column and everything would turn into that Chaos, with a fat peasant and even called it a peasant contemplated and sung by sages ans poets; we column. It was an obvious order’s desacralization will indicate that architecture, as the creator by drawing attention to people from lower social of the finest science, must contain order in stratum. However, Blum highlightes order’s sacra- itself (…). Thus we can claim, that the creat- lity elsewhere. He claims: ed things are composed of order (i.e. order – V. L.), created by God; that order, as well as (…) This art is not invented from scratch, as it decorations, dominate in all the things and occurred thousands of years ago, reigning for it is also clearly visible in sciences and noble Solomon who ordered the building of Jerusa- arts (…)9. lem temple and royal palace of the Corinthian style, as it is said by Joseph11. Thus, Scamozzi gave a huge spiritual meaning to a classic form, claiming, that in architecture order is In the XVIIth century the centre of architectural a part of the same universal order created by God.
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