Jump to content

The Classical Language of Architecture

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Classical Language of Architecture
AuthorJohn Summerson
SubjectArchitecture
Publication date1965
ISBN0500201773

The Classical Language of Architecture is a 1965 compilation of six BBC radio lectures given in 1963 by John Summerson.[1] It is a 60-some page discussion of the origins of classical architecture and its movement through Antiquity, Renaissance, Mannerist, Baroque, Neoclassical, and Georgian periods. A discussion of the rules and elements in classical terms of the Orders, architectural harmony of design, are included. For the original radio broadcasts the BBC published a booklet with 60 photographs of the buildings discussed, which were expanded in the book editions.[1]

The metaphor of using "language" to refer to particular design patterns follows a trend in aesthetics.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 Summerson, John, The Classical Language of Architecture, 1980 edition, Thames and Hudson World of Art series, ISBN 0500201773, p. 6
  2. Donougho, Martin (1987). "The Language of Architecture". Journal of Aesthetic Education. 21 (3): 53. doi:10.2307/3332870.

Further reading

[edit]
  • McParland, Edward (2024). The Language of Architectural Classicism: From Looking to Seeing. London: Lund Humphries. ISBN 978-1-84822-659-3.
[edit]