Books by Christy Anderson
For the ancient writer Vitruvius, building materials defined the nature of architecture as its in... more For the ancient writer Vitruvius, building materials defined the nature of architecture as its indivisible unit, “for there is no kind of material, no body, and no thing that can be produced or conceived of, which is not made up of elementary particles.” (De Architectura, Bk. II, ch. 1) So, too, for the Renaissance architectural theorists for whom Vitruvius was a primary inspiration, a knowledge of brick, stone, lime, and wood was essential not only to the practical aspects of construction but also to a thorough understanding of the origins and significance of architecture. The appropriate materials, well chosen and correctly used, were necessary for architecture to be ‘convenient, durable and beautiful.’ (Andrea Palladio, I quattro libri, 1570, Bk. I, ch. 1) According to Vitruvius and later writers, the forms of architecture derived from their materials and methods of construction. However while great attention has been given to the history of design and problems of architectural patronage in the Renaissance, surprisingly little scholarly work has been done on the nature of building materials during this architecturally important period. Yet, this was precisely the topic with which most architectural books began, and the first concern of patrons and architects when they started to build.
This book focuses new scholarly attention on the relationship of architecture and material technology; and through a study of related literature and documents, it will explore the meanings associated with the physical substance of buildings. Examples include glass in Venice, metalwork at the Danish court, brick in the Hanseatic League cities, tile in Southern Spain, flint in England, wood in Scandinavia, stone in France: in early modern Europe (1400-1750) each of these materials was used with a new level of sophistication by local craftsmen. The significance of the technological and aesthetic developments can be seen through a study of these materials in light of local economies, architectural practices and cultural contexts. The language of materials is the reality of architecture mediated through social and scientific theories, and further determined by local values and economies.
The Renaissance was a diverse phenomenon, marked by innovation and economic expansion, the rise o... more The Renaissance was a diverse phenomenon, marked by innovation and economic expansion, the rise of powerful rulers, religious reforms, and social change. Encompassing the entire continent, Renaissance Architecture examines the rich variety of buildings that emerged during these seminal centuries of European history.
Although marked by the rise of powerful individuals, both patrons and architects, the Renaissance was equally a time of growing group identities and communities - and architecture provided the public face to these new identities . Religious reforms in northern Europe, spurred on by Martin Luther, rejected traditional church function and decoration, and proposed new models. Political ambitions required new buildings to satisfy court rituals. Territory, nature, and art intersected to shape new landscapes and building types. Classicism came to be the international language of an educated architect and an ambitious patron, drawing on the legacy of ancient Rome. Yet the richness of the medieval tradition continued to be used throughout Europe, often alongside classical buildings.
Examining each of these areas by turn, this book offers a broad cultural history of the period as well as a completely new approach to the history of Renaissance architecture. The work of well-known architects such as Michelangelo and Andrea Palladio is examined alongside lesser known though no less innovative designers such as Juan Guas in Portugal and Benedikt Ried in Prague and Eastern Europe. Drawing on the latest research, it also covers more recent areas of interest such as the story of women as patrons and the emotional effect of Renaissance buildings, as well as the impact of architectural publications and travel on the emerging new architectural culture across Europe. As such, it provides a compelling introduction to the subject for all those interested in the history of architecture, society, and culture in the Renaissance, and European culture in general.
"Inigo Jones worked as hard on the creation of his architectural persona as he did to the design ... more "Inigo Jones worked as hard on the creation of his architectural persona as he did to the design of buildings for the early Stuart court. Through a program of study in continental architectural and art theory, humanist education and courtly behavior, Jones redefined the intellectual status of architecture in England and forged a new role for the architect in public life. Since the time of his death he has been variously described as the first educated architect, the first classicist, the first Renaissance architect in Britain, and the savior of British building from the long winter of the Elizabethan style. Yet this reputation has tended to overlook the many ways Jones drew on English customs in order to shape classical architecture for a domestic audience. This book explores the creation of Jones as professional architect and the shaping of classical architecture in England through a study of his reading, writing and architectural practice in the context of English Renaissance culture.
Reviews:
Caroline van Eck. Art Bulletin XCI: 3 (September 2009), 373-75.
Sarah Clough Edwards. Nexus Network Journal 10 (2008), 199-202.
David H. Kennett. Sixteenth Century Journal 39:4 (Winter 2008), 1146-48.
Paul Emmons. Journal of Architecture 13:3 (June 2008), 335-8.
Charles Hind. Architectural Review 223:1335 (May 2008), 95.
Christine Stevenson. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 67:1 (March 2008), 136-39.
Li Shiqiao. CAA Reviews (September 3, 2007).
John E. Moore. Renaissance Quarterly 60:3 (2007), 958-59.
Vaughan Hart. Journal of British Studies 46:3 (July 2007), 693-4.
W. S. Rodner. Choice 44:8 (2007), 1332.
Yves Pauwels. Revue de l’Art 157 (2007), 63-4.
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Since antiquity through to the present, architecture and the pictorial arts (paintings, photograp... more Since antiquity through to the present, architecture and the pictorial arts (paintings, photography, graphic arts) have not been rigidly separated but interrelated - the one informing the other, and establishing patterns of creation and reception. In the Classical tradition the education of the architect and artist has always stressed this relationship between the arts, although modern scholarship has too often treated them as separate disciplines. These volumes explore the history of this exchange between the arts as it emerged from classical theory into artistic and architectural practice. Issues of visual representation, perspective, allegory, site specificity, ornamentation, popular culture, memorials, urban and utopian planning, and the role of treatises, manifestos, and other theoretical writings are addressed, as well as the critical reaction to these products and practices. The Built Surface represents a variety of methods, approaches, and diatectical interpretations - cases where architecture informs the themes and physical space of pictures, or pictorial concerns inform the design and construction of the built environment. The exchanges between architecture and pictures explored by these authors are found to be in all cases ideologically potent, and therefore significantly expressive of their respective social, political, and intellectual histories.
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Contents: Preface, Christy Anderson and Karen Koehler; Introduction, Christy Anderson; Architecture and painting: The biological connection, John Onians; Playing with boundaries: painted architecture in Roman interiors, Bettina Bergmann; Geography, cartography and the architecture of power in the mosaics of Great Mosque of Damascus, Maria Georgopoulou; invisible; picturing interiority in western Himalaya stûpa architecture, Robert Linrothe; The representation of Maya Architecture, Mary Miller; Abbot Suger and the Temple in Jerusalem: A new interpretation of the sacred environment in the royal abbey of Saint-Denis, Jacqueline Frank and William Clark; Falling through the cracks: the fate of painted palace façades in sixteenth century Italy; Monika Schmitter; Verbal and visual abstraction: the role of pictorial techniques of representation in renaissance architectural theory, Caroline Van Eck; Architecture and the narrative dimension of two Alberti frontispieces of the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, Desley Luscombe and Jeffrey Mueller; Pieter de Hooch’s revisions of the Amsterdam Town Hall, Martha Hollander; Andrea Pozzo’s Prospettiva de pittorie architetti: architecture as a system of representations, John Pinto; Romanticism’s Piranesi, Erika Naginski; ‘The baseless fabric of a vision’: Civic architecture and pictorial representation at Sir John Soane’s Museum, Sean Sawyer; History and the image: from the Lyons School to Paul Delaroche, Stephen Bann; Index.
Papers by Christy Anderson
Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes, 2023
Sailing ships required miles of rope for rigging, and its frequent replacement. Most ports of any... more Sailing ships required miles of rope for rigging, and its frequent replacement. Most ports of any size had roperies or rope manufactures that transformed hemp or other materials through combing, twisting, and tarring to produce a strong product that would resist the stresses of strain and water. A ready supply of rope supported expanding navies and merchant companies, and competition for more efficient production spurred competition between port cities. To make long lengths of rope, uninterrupted straight areas were needed close to the waterfront. Sometimes these were covered spaces, sometimes streets or walks set aside for the purpose. Ropewalks shaped ports through the creation of linear demarcations against the irregular edge where water meets land. Rope manufacture was an essential industry for ports but also a frequent site of fires that often did great damage to dense urban areas. The importance of rope as a pre-modern industry is gone yet the traces of it remain in the extended port landscape.
Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians
Annali Di Architettura Rivista Del Centro Internazionale Di Studi Di Architettura Andrea Palladio, 1997
... Autores: Christy Anderson; Localización: Annali di Architettura: rivista del Centro Internazi... more ... Autores: Christy Anderson; Localización: Annali di Architettura: rivista del Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura "Andrea Palladio", ISSN 1124-7169, Nº 9, 1997 , pag. 245. © 2001-2011 Universidad de La Rioja · Todos los derechos reservados. XHTML 1.0; UTF‑8.
As soon as we move, our built environment changes and transforms. Yet despite its place at the he... more As soon as we move, our built environment changes and transforms. Yet despite its place at the heart of architectural practice, we rarely stop to think how and why we walk 'Is it not truly extraordinary to realize that ever since [humans] have walked, no one has ever asked why they walk, how they walk, whether they walk, whether they might walk better, what they achieve by walking, whether they might not have the means to regulate, change, or analyze their walk: questions that bear on all the systems of philosophy, psychology, and politics with which the world is preoccupied?'-Honoré de Balzac 1 We normally think of buildings as permanent, stable and immobile, but in fact movement is at the very heart of architecture and practice. Try, for a minute, to imagine architecture without walking. Almost every building, even those designed in the age of the railway or the automobile, has a passage that is intended to be experienced on foot. We walk to and through, in and around, buildings. We experience architecture at this one-two, left-right rhythm. But what does this extraordinary activity of walking upright, this falling and catching and falling again, this forward propulsion, bring to the study of architecture? As soon as we begin to move, the built environment begins to change and transform. A building's contours immediately shift, adjust and recompose into new forms as we approach from a distance. When the building is at arm's length we may be no longer able to perceive its overall shape, but we can acquire new information in recompense: details of surface texture that were invisible before, a range of architectural stimuli registered not just by the eyes, but by the fingertips, ears and nose, or underfoot. Walking ensures a slowness of pace that allows for contemplation of the details of architecture. We regulate our pace in order to look closely. What does the extraordinary activity of walking upright bring to the study of archi...
In the New York Times Magazine, the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor criticised modern architects (e... more In the New York Times Magazine, the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor criticised modern architects (especially American architects) for having lost contact with what he called 'the real business of building', that is, with the understanding of how things are made. 'It's all talk these days', according to Zumthor. 'We should force universities to train carpenters and woodworkers and leather workers. Architects all want to be philosophers or artists now.' 1 Zumthor's own training as a cabinetmaker justifies such a claim, as does his architecture that celebrates the sensual qualities of material. In the Bruder Klaus Chapel (in Mechernich, Germany, 2007), for example, the concrete structure was poured over a tepee-shaped frame of logs (Plate 9). After the concrete was set, the logs were then burned out, smoke escaping through an oculus at the top of the building. The shape of the logs and the marks of the burning remain in the building as a powerful reminder of the materials used and sacrificed in the construction process. Zumthor's statement on architectural training reveals an anxiety with the current building situation, a distrust of architectural theorising in favour of architectural making that has resonance for those of us interested in an earlier period. This anxiety is also an acknowledgment of the shifting tides, and a fear that a certain kind of knowledge of making is under threat of being lost. For Zumthor, the ability to make things is fundamental to the skill of the architect, and the way for architects to understand how buildings are made is through a training in the crafts that engage and develop the knowledge that can only be gained through the labour of architecture. For him, the craft of building is intimately tied to an understanding of materials on both a technical and spiritual level. Wooden floors like light membranes, heavy stone masses, soft textiles, polished granite, pliable leather, raw steel, polished mahogany, crystalline glass, soft asphalt warmed by the sun … the architect's materials. Our materials. We know them all. And yet we do not know them. In order to design, to invent architecture, we must learn to handle them with awareness. … All design work starts from the premise of the physical, objective sensuousness of architecture, of its materials. 2
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about
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Books by Christy Anderson
This book focuses new scholarly attention on the relationship of architecture and material technology; and through a study of related literature and documents, it will explore the meanings associated with the physical substance of buildings. Examples include glass in Venice, metalwork at the Danish court, brick in the Hanseatic League cities, tile in Southern Spain, flint in England, wood in Scandinavia, stone in France: in early modern Europe (1400-1750) each of these materials was used with a new level of sophistication by local craftsmen. The significance of the technological and aesthetic developments can be seen through a study of these materials in light of local economies, architectural practices and cultural contexts. The language of materials is the reality of architecture mediated through social and scientific theories, and further determined by local values and economies.
Although marked by the rise of powerful individuals, both patrons and architects, the Renaissance was equally a time of growing group identities and communities - and architecture provided the public face to these new identities . Religious reforms in northern Europe, spurred on by Martin Luther, rejected traditional church function and decoration, and proposed new models. Political ambitions required new buildings to satisfy court rituals. Territory, nature, and art intersected to shape new landscapes and building types. Classicism came to be the international language of an educated architect and an ambitious patron, drawing on the legacy of ancient Rome. Yet the richness of the medieval tradition continued to be used throughout Europe, often alongside classical buildings.
Examining each of these areas by turn, this book offers a broad cultural history of the period as well as a completely new approach to the history of Renaissance architecture. The work of well-known architects such as Michelangelo and Andrea Palladio is examined alongside lesser known though no less innovative designers such as Juan Guas in Portugal and Benedikt Ried in Prague and Eastern Europe. Drawing on the latest research, it also covers more recent areas of interest such as the story of women as patrons and the emotional effect of Renaissance buildings, as well as the impact of architectural publications and travel on the emerging new architectural culture across Europe. As such, it provides a compelling introduction to the subject for all those interested in the history of architecture, society, and culture in the Renaissance, and European culture in general.
Reviews:
Caroline van Eck. Art Bulletin XCI: 3 (September 2009), 373-75.
Sarah Clough Edwards. Nexus Network Journal 10 (2008), 199-202.
David H. Kennett. Sixteenth Century Journal 39:4 (Winter 2008), 1146-48.
Paul Emmons. Journal of Architecture 13:3 (June 2008), 335-8.
Charles Hind. Architectural Review 223:1335 (May 2008), 95.
Christine Stevenson. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 67:1 (March 2008), 136-39.
Li Shiqiao. CAA Reviews (September 3, 2007).
John E. Moore. Renaissance Quarterly 60:3 (2007), 958-59.
Vaughan Hart. Journal of British Studies 46:3 (July 2007), 693-4.
W. S. Rodner. Choice 44:8 (2007), 1332.
Yves Pauwels. Revue de l’Art 157 (2007), 63-4.
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Contents: Preface, Christy Anderson and Karen Koehler; Introduction, Christy Anderson; Architecture and painting: The biological connection, John Onians; Playing with boundaries: painted architecture in Roman interiors, Bettina Bergmann; Geography, cartography and the architecture of power in the mosaics of Great Mosque of Damascus, Maria Georgopoulou; invisible; picturing interiority in western Himalaya stûpa architecture, Robert Linrothe; The representation of Maya Architecture, Mary Miller; Abbot Suger and the Temple in Jerusalem: A new interpretation of the sacred environment in the royal abbey of Saint-Denis, Jacqueline Frank and William Clark; Falling through the cracks: the fate of painted palace façades in sixteenth century Italy; Monika Schmitter; Verbal and visual abstraction: the role of pictorial techniques of representation in renaissance architectural theory, Caroline Van Eck; Architecture and the narrative dimension of two Alberti frontispieces of the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, Desley Luscombe and Jeffrey Mueller; Pieter de Hooch’s revisions of the Amsterdam Town Hall, Martha Hollander; Andrea Pozzo’s Prospettiva de pittorie architetti: architecture as a system of representations, John Pinto; Romanticism’s Piranesi, Erika Naginski; ‘The baseless fabric of a vision’: Civic architecture and pictorial representation at Sir John Soane’s Museum, Sean Sawyer; History and the image: from the Lyons School to Paul Delaroche, Stephen Bann; Index.
Papers by Christy Anderson
This book focuses new scholarly attention on the relationship of architecture and material technology; and through a study of related literature and documents, it will explore the meanings associated with the physical substance of buildings. Examples include glass in Venice, metalwork at the Danish court, brick in the Hanseatic League cities, tile in Southern Spain, flint in England, wood in Scandinavia, stone in France: in early modern Europe (1400-1750) each of these materials was used with a new level of sophistication by local craftsmen. The significance of the technological and aesthetic developments can be seen through a study of these materials in light of local economies, architectural practices and cultural contexts. The language of materials is the reality of architecture mediated through social and scientific theories, and further determined by local values and economies.
Although marked by the rise of powerful individuals, both patrons and architects, the Renaissance was equally a time of growing group identities and communities - and architecture provided the public face to these new identities . Religious reforms in northern Europe, spurred on by Martin Luther, rejected traditional church function and decoration, and proposed new models. Political ambitions required new buildings to satisfy court rituals. Territory, nature, and art intersected to shape new landscapes and building types. Classicism came to be the international language of an educated architect and an ambitious patron, drawing on the legacy of ancient Rome. Yet the richness of the medieval tradition continued to be used throughout Europe, often alongside classical buildings.
Examining each of these areas by turn, this book offers a broad cultural history of the period as well as a completely new approach to the history of Renaissance architecture. The work of well-known architects such as Michelangelo and Andrea Palladio is examined alongside lesser known though no less innovative designers such as Juan Guas in Portugal and Benedikt Ried in Prague and Eastern Europe. Drawing on the latest research, it also covers more recent areas of interest such as the story of women as patrons and the emotional effect of Renaissance buildings, as well as the impact of architectural publications and travel on the emerging new architectural culture across Europe. As such, it provides a compelling introduction to the subject for all those interested in the history of architecture, society, and culture in the Renaissance, and European culture in general.
Reviews:
Caroline van Eck. Art Bulletin XCI: 3 (September 2009), 373-75.
Sarah Clough Edwards. Nexus Network Journal 10 (2008), 199-202.
David H. Kennett. Sixteenth Century Journal 39:4 (Winter 2008), 1146-48.
Paul Emmons. Journal of Architecture 13:3 (June 2008), 335-8.
Charles Hind. Architectural Review 223:1335 (May 2008), 95.
Christine Stevenson. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 67:1 (March 2008), 136-39.
Li Shiqiao. CAA Reviews (September 3, 2007).
John E. Moore. Renaissance Quarterly 60:3 (2007), 958-59.
Vaughan Hart. Journal of British Studies 46:3 (July 2007), 693-4.
W. S. Rodner. Choice 44:8 (2007), 1332.
Yves Pauwels. Revue de l’Art 157 (2007), 63-4.
"
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Contents: Preface, Christy Anderson and Karen Koehler; Introduction, Christy Anderson; Architecture and painting: The biological connection, John Onians; Playing with boundaries: painted architecture in Roman interiors, Bettina Bergmann; Geography, cartography and the architecture of power in the mosaics of Great Mosque of Damascus, Maria Georgopoulou; invisible; picturing interiority in western Himalaya stûpa architecture, Robert Linrothe; The representation of Maya Architecture, Mary Miller; Abbot Suger and the Temple in Jerusalem: A new interpretation of the sacred environment in the royal abbey of Saint-Denis, Jacqueline Frank and William Clark; Falling through the cracks: the fate of painted palace façades in sixteenth century Italy; Monika Schmitter; Verbal and visual abstraction: the role of pictorial techniques of representation in renaissance architectural theory, Caroline Van Eck; Architecture and the narrative dimension of two Alberti frontispieces of the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, Desley Luscombe and Jeffrey Mueller; Pieter de Hooch’s revisions of the Amsterdam Town Hall, Martha Hollander; Andrea Pozzo’s Prospettiva de pittorie architetti: architecture as a system of representations, John Pinto; Romanticism’s Piranesi, Erika Naginski; ‘The baseless fabric of a vision’: Civic architecture and pictorial representation at Sir John Soane’s Museum, Sean Sawyer; History and the image: from the Lyons School to Paul Delaroche, Stephen Bann; Index.