Classical architecture usually denotes
architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of
Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more
specifically, from the works of Vitruvius. Different styles of classical
architecture have arguably existed since the Carolingian Renaissance, and
prominently since the Italian Renaissance. Although classical styles of
architecture can vary greatly, they can in general all be said to draw on a
common "vocabulary" of decorative and constructive elements. In much
of the Western world, different classical architectural styles have dominated
the history of architecture from the Renaissance until the second world war,
though it continues to inform many architects to this day.
The term "classical architecture"
also applies to any mode of architecture that has evolved to a highly refined
state, such as classical Chinese architecture, or classical Mayan architecture.
It can also refer to any architecture that employs classical aesthetic
philosophy. The term might be used differently from "traditional" or
"vernacular architecture", although it can share underlying axioms
with it.
For contemporary buildings following
authentic classical principles, the term New Classical Architecture may be
used.
History
Origins
Classical architecture is derived from the
architecture of ancient Greece
and ancient Rome Roman empire ceased to be
practised in large parts of western Europe. In the Byzantine Empire, the
ancient ways of building lived on but relatively soon developed into a distinct
Byzantine style. The first conscious efforts to bring back the disused language
of form of classical antiquity into Western architecture can be traced to the
Carolingian Renaissance of the late 8th and 9th centuries. The gatehouse of
Lorsch Abbey (c. 800), in present-day Germany thus displays a system of
alternating attached columns and arches which could be an almost direct
paraphrase of e.g., that of the Colosseum in Rome. Byzantine architecture, just
as Romanesque and even to some extent Gothic architecture (with which classical
architecture is often posed), can also incorporate classical elements and
details but do not to the same degree reflect a conscious effort to draw upon
the architectural traditions of antiquity; for example, they do not observe the
idea of a systematic order of proportions for pillars. In general, therefore,
they are not considered classical archerchitectural styles in a strict sense.
Development
During the Italian renaissance and with the
demise of Gothic style, major efforts were made by architects such as Leon
Battista Alberti, Sebastiano Serlio and Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola to revive
the language of architecture of first and foremost ancient Rome
Most of the styles originating in
post-renaissance Europe can be described as
classical architecture. This broad use of the term is employed by Sir John
Summerson in The Classical Language of Architecture. The elements of classical
architecture have been applied in radically different architectural contexts
than those for which they were developed, however. For example, Baroque or
Rococo architecture are styles which, although classical at root, display an
architectural language very much in their own right. During these periods,
architectural theory still referred to classical ideas but rather less
sincerely than during the Renaissance.
As a reaction to late baroque and rococo
forms, architectural theorists from circa 1750 through what became known as Neoclassicism
again consciously and earnestly attempted to emulate antiquity, supported by
recent developments in Classical archaeology and a desire for an architecture
based on clear rules and rationality. Claude Perrault, Marc-Antoine Laugier and
Carlo Lodoli were among the first theorists of neoclassicism, while
Étienne-Louis Boullée, Claude Nicolas Ledoux, Friedrich Gilly and John Soane
were among the more radical and influential. Neoclassical architecture held a
particularly strong position on the architectural scene c. 1750–1850. The
competing neo-Gothic style however rose to popularity during the early 1800s,
and the later part the 19th century was characterised by a variety of styles,
some of them only slightly or not at all related to classicism (such as Art
Nouveau), and eclecticism. Although classical architecture continued to play an
important role and for periods of time at least locally dominated the
architectural scene, as exemplified by the "Nordic Classicism" during
the 1920s, classical architecture in its stricter form never regained its
former dominance. With the advent of Modernism during the early 20th century,
classical architecture arguably almost completely ceased to be practised.
Scope
As noted above, classical styles of architecture
dominated Western architecture for a very long time, roughly from the
Renaissance until the advent of Modernism. That is to say, that classical
antiquity at least in theory was considered the prime source of inspiration for
architectural endeavours in the West for much of Modern history. Even so,
because of liberal, personal or theoretically diverse interpretations of the
antique heritage, classicism covers a broad range of styles, some even so to
speak cross-referencing, like Neo-Palladian architecture, which draws its
inspiration from the works of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio —
who himself drew inspiration from ancient Roman architecture. Furthermore, it
can even be argued (as noted above) that styles of architecture not typically
considered classical, like Gothic, can be said to contain classical elements.
Therefore, a simple delineation of the scope of classical architecture is
difficult to make. The more or less defining characteristic can still be said
to be a reference to ancient Greek or Roman architecture, and the architectural
rules or theories that derived from that architecture.
Petrification
In the grammar of architecture, the word
petrification is often used when discussing the development of sacred
structures, such as temples, mainly with reference to developments in the Greek
world. During the Archaic and early Classical periods (about the 6th and early
5th centuries BC), the architectural forms of the earliest temples had
solidified and the Doric emerged as the predominant element. A widely accepted
theory in classical studies is that the earliest temple structures were of wood
and the great forms, or elements of architectural style, were codified and
rather permanent by the time we see the Archaic emergent and established. It
was during this period, at different times and places in the Greek world, that
the use of dressed and polished stone replaced the wood in these early temples,
but the forms and shapes of the old wooden styles were retained, just as if the
wooden structures had turned to stone, thus the designation petrification or
sometimes "petrified carpentry" for this process.
This careful preservation of the primitive
wooden appearance in the stone fabric of the newer buildings was scrupulously observed
and this suggests that it may have been dictated by religion rather than
aesthetics, although the exact reasons are now lost in the mists of antiquity.
And not everyone within the great reach of Mediterranean civilization made this
transition. The Etruscans in Italy were, from their earliest period, greatly
influenced by their contact with Greek culture and religion, but they retained
their wooden temples (with some exceptions) until their culture was completely
absorbed into the Roman world, with the great wooden Temple of Jupiter on the
Capitol in Rome itself being a good example. Nor was it the lack of knowledge
of stone working on their part that prevented them from making the transition
from timber to dressed stone.
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