Tracy Cooper on Palladio

By James T. Preston Jr. | Sunday, May 4, 2008

With his influence on style ranging from the University of Virginia to the old Irish Parliament Building and countless others around the globe, Andrea Palladio has justifiably been called the most influential architect in the Western world. But despite his great influence both during and after his lifetime, he never achieved the success he desired. This year, the Hood Museum at Dartmouth is celebrating the 500th anniversary of his birth and his impact on design. As part of the quincentennial celebration, Dartmouth invited Tracy Cooper, professor of Italian architecture at Temple University and author of Palladio’s Venice, to speak about the political environment in which Palladio operated.

Andrea Palladio was born in Padua in the Veneto region of modern day Italy, and spent most of his life in and around Venice. The sixteenth century was a time of change for the Venetians: Constantinople had recently fallen, and the growing Ottoman Mediterranean fleet threatened the age-old mercantile way of life. Venice began to look inland; richer Venetian families began to build estates in the country. Many in the city regarded this trend as a threat to the old republican way of life that was traditional to the city, as only the wealthiest families could afford country villas. They saw that rural estates were typical of the many autocratic kingdoms and principalities throughout Europe. In addition to this, Venice was struggling to define its role in the world—some thought it should be considered the new Byzantium. Others saw it as a new Rome—unique in that it was the only major city in the Renaissance to lack Roman foundations.

— Andrea Palladio —

With the struggle for identity as well as the fight between the republicans trying to maintain the urban way of life and the emerging capitalists looking inland, architecture held a great significance. The republicans clung to the traditional building styles of old Venice, while the capitalists supported the revival of classical Greek and Roman themes that prevailed in other Italian cities. It was in this charged environment that Andrea Palladio worked and rose to prominence. Though he trained locally as a stonecutter early on, Palladio later travelled to Rome and received an excellent humanist education. He learned from Daniele Barbaro, an intellectual Venetian official, to think of architecture as a science, a paradigm that profoundly influenced his work. The idea was that building does not consist of merely copying other structures; rather, each building should be approached as a problem which must be solved. The influence can be seen in his villas: they have perfect symmetry and proportionality, yet they also have porticos to admire the countryside and flanking wings to accommodate the livestock and other elements of farms. Back in Venice, Palladio had a somewhat irregular position, as he was did not rise through the ranks like typical architects. On top of this, unlike several contemporary architects who enjoyed success, he was unwilling to dilute the classical style through compromise with the traditional. It was because of this that Palladio was never able to build the lavish palaces on the Grand Canal that he dreamed of—he was too controversial. But following 1540, he enjoyed success building great country estates for the wealthy.

The later years of Palladio’s life were especially important. They saw him publish his monumental I Quattro Libri dell’Architettura, or Four Books of Architecture, which Thomas Jefferson later called “the Bible of architecture.” He was able to build in Venice, working on churches. Palladio was able to design monumental façades with Roman design that could blend with Christian churches, as can be seen in Venice’s Church of San Giorgio Maggiore. In 1577, Palladio was commissioned to design an entire church, and he built the magnificent domed Il Redentore. He was working on a number of Venetian buildings when he died in 1580.

Palladio’s influence on Venice was great, and his style lived on elsewhere. Palladian architecture was popular in Continental Europe for some years after his death, but the style saw a renaissance in the British Isles. Palladio’s Four Books were translated into English, and British architects studying in Italy brought back enthusiasm for his ideas. Thus, the early eighteenth century saw a great revival of Palladian architecture in England and Ireland, and this in turn was transported across the Atlantic to the colonies. Jefferson was the most famous adherent to the style, which he built into his beloved Monticello and University of Virginia. James Hoban was influenced by Palladian architecture in Ireland when he designed the White House. Thus it is worth remembering Andrea Palladio 500 years on, as his contribution to architecture was indeed monumental.

Tracy Cooper on Palladio

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