Pliny the Elder and the Emergence of Renaissance Architecture

526 Pages·2016·28.45 MB·English

by  Peter Fane-Saunders

Winner of the SAH/Mellon Author Awards of the F
a
n
Society of Architectural Historians
e
-
S
a
The Naturalis historia by Pliny the Elder provided Renaissance scholars, artists and u
n
architects with details of ancient architectural practice and long-lost architectural d
e Pliny the Elder
wonders – material that was often unavailable elsewhere in classical literature. r
s
Pliny’s descriptions frequently included the dimensions of these buildings, as
well as details of their unusual construction materials and ornament. This book and the Emergence
o P
describes, for the first time, how the passages were interpreted from around 1430 f l
i
R n
to 1580, that is, from Alberti to Palladio. Chapters are arranged chronologically of Renaissance
e y
within three interrelated sections – antiquarianism; architectural writings; n
t
drawings and built monuments – thereby making it possible for the reader a h
i Architecture
to follow the changing attitudes to Pliny over the period. The resulting study s e
s
E
a
establishes the Naturalis historia as the single most important literary source after l
n
d
Vitruvius’s De architectura. c e Peter Fane-Saunders
e r

A a
PETER FANE-SAUNDERS currently holds a Leverhulme Trust Early
r n
Career Fellowship in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at Durham c d
h
University. He is a specialist in Renaissance art and architecture. His research
i t
t h
analyses how buildings, known only from descriptions in ancient texts, were
e
e
c
interpreted by Renaissance scholars, artists and architects. He has delivered papers
t E
on Renaissance art, architecture and literature at universities in France, Germany, u m
r e
Italy and the UK. His articles have been published in academic journals in various
e r
European countries. He was Rome Fellow at the British School at Rome. g
e
n
c
e

Printed in the United States of America Cover image: Bastiano da Sangallo(?),
Perspectival elevation of the Mausoleum at
Halicarnassus, U 240Ar, GDSU. Credit: Firenze,
GDSU / Su concessione del Ministero dei beni e
delle attività culturali e del turismo.

PLINY THE ELDER AND THE EMERGENCE OF RENAISSANCE
ARCHITECTURE
The Naturalis historia by Pliny the Elder provided Renaissance scholars,
artists, and architects with details of ancient architectural practice and
long-lost architectural wonders – material that was often unavailable else-
where in classical literature. Pliny’s descriptions frequently included the
dimensionsofthesebuildings,aswellasdetailsoftheirconstructionfabric
and ornament. This book describes, for the first time, how these passages
wereinterpretedinItalyduringthefifteenthandsixteenthcenturies.Chapters
arearrangedchronologicallywithinthreeinterrelatedparts–antiquarianism,
architecturalwritings,anddrawingsandbuiltmonuments–therebymakingit
possible for the reader to follow the changing attitudes to Pliny over the
period. The resulting study establishes that Pliny’s account of architecture
was used extensively during the Renaissance. Indeed, the Naturalis historia
representedthesinglemostimportantancientliterarysourceonarchitecture
afterVitruvius’sDearchitectura.
PeterFane-Saundersisaspecialistinthehistoryofartandarchitecture.His
mainresearchinterestistheclassicaltradition–particularlythoseaspectsof
the visual arts that derive their inspiration from the ancient world. He
received his doctorate from the Warburg Institute, London. His articles
havebeenpublishedinvariousacademicjournals.HewasRomeFellowat
theBritishSchoolatRomeandcurrentlyholdsaLeverhulmeTrustEarly
CareerFellowshipattheUniversityofDurham.

PLINY THE ELDER
AND THE EMERGENCE OF
RENAISSANCE
ARCHITECTURE
PETER FANE-SAUNDERS
UniversityofDurham
32AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,ny10013-2473,usa
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
education,learning,andresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107079861
©PeterFane-Saunders2016
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2016
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Fane-Saunders,Peter,author.
PlinytheElderandtheemergenceofRenaissancearchitecture/PeterFane-Saunders.
NewYork:CambridgeUniversityPress,2016.|Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
LCCN2015040728|ISBN9781107079861(hardback)
LCSH:Architecture,Renaissance–Italy–Sources.|Pliny,theElder.Naturalishistoria.|Pliny,
theElder–Influence.
LCCNA1115.F35201|DDC724/.12–dc23
LCrecordavailableathttp://lccn.loc.gov/2015040728
isbn978-1-107-07986-1Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
URLsforexternalorthird-partyInternetWebsitesreferredtointhispublication
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchWebsitesis,orwillremain,
accurateorappropriate.
IllustrationsinthispublicationwerefundedbyagrantfromtheSAH/MellonAuthorAwardsofthe
SocietyofArchitecturalHistorians.
ThecostofcolourseparationinthispublicationwasfundedbytheFacultyofArtsandHumanities,
UniversityofDurham.
For my parents

CONTENTS
Illustrations page ix
EditorialNote xv
Acknowledgements xvii
Abbreviations xxi
1
INTRODUCTION
1 PLINY THE ELDER AND HIS PLACE IN ANTIQUE AND
11
MEDIAEVAL WRITINGS ON ARCHITECTURE
25
PartI PlinytheElderandAntiquarianStudiesoftheRomanRuins
2 INITIAL EXPLORATIONS: PETRARCH, THE MIRABILIA
URBIS ROMAE, AND FLAVIO BIONDO 27
3 THE MANUSCRIPT HUNTER AND THE LIBRARIAN:
46
POGGIO BRACCIOLINI AND GIOVANNI TORTELLI
55
4 A NEW SYSTEM: POMPONIO LETO AND HIS SCHOOL
76
5 EMERGING DOUBTS
91
PartII PlinytheElderandArchitecturalWritings
6 PLINY AND LEON BATTISTA ALBERTI: TWO
“ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIES” 93
7 PLINY, FILARETE, AND THE IDEAL PATRON OF
110
ARCHITECTURE
8 “ALDUS AND HIS DREAM BOOK”: THE
HYPNEROTOMACHIA POLIPHILI 128
145
9 A MORE DOWN-TO-EARTH PLINY
vii
viii CONTENTS
10 MIXING THE TRADITIONS: THE CURIOUS CASE OF
170
CESARE CESARIANO
11 DEVELOPMENTS IN THE VENETO: THE VITRUVIAN
COMMENTARIES OF DANIELE BARBARO AND I
QUATTRO LIBRI BY ANDREA PALLADIO 195
227
PartIII PlinytheElder,ArchitecturalDrawings,andBuiltMonuments
12 STANDING BEFORE THE MARVELS: CIRIACO
D’ANCONA AND PLINY’S OPERA MIRABILIA IN TERRIS 229
13 IN THE MIND’S EYE: DRAWINGS OF PLINIAN
WONDERS, FROM LEONARDO TO ANTONIO DA
245
SANGALLO THE YOUNGER
14 FROM PAPER TO STONE: REBUILDING PLINY’S
281
ARCHITECTURAL MARVELS
FINAL THOUGHTS: PLINY’S INFLUENCE ON THE
RENAISSANCE UNDERSTANDING OF ANCIENT
312
ARCHITECTURE
Appendices 323
Notes 325
Bibliography 409
Credits 463
Index 465