Mannerism and Modern Architecture
First published in the Architectural Review, 1950. Though this particularly in discussion ion o f Cubism, has has been been painful pain ful t o its discuss me sin sinc ce before the day day o f its p ublication ublic ation,, i t has here been allowed to stand substantially as published. published. Though Thou gh a present present day rehearsal rehearsal of its argument arguments s ( in which I s t i l l believe) woul would d surel surely y employ a profoun dly diff eren t strategy, because this article has long en joyed joyed a certain cert ain no to ri et y I can see no way o f correcting i t s obscurities and maintaining i t s sense. Today To day the art histor hi storical ical discussion discussion of of Mannerism has achieved of sophistication and and detachment whi ch c . 1950 were simply not available; but, on the other hand, i t is not evident evident tha t the modern architect's architect's cons consci ciou ousn snes ess s o f sixteenth sixteen th centur cen tury y themes themes has been considerably advanced. There are still still tw o bod bodie ies s o f inf orma tion the one one art histor historic ical al,, the other othe r modern archite ctur al and the possibilities of their convergence in a work o f ration r ational al exeg exeges esis is still remain remote. the writing of this article the initiatives of Robert Venturi have, to some extent, illuminated the situation. NevertheNeverthe less, while whi le Ve V e nt ur i has has been qu i t e unabashed in his his parad parade e o f eleme elements nts o f Mannerist o rigin and while, by these means, he has extended the theater theater o f architectur archit ectural al disco discours urse, e, t he them theme e modern architec a rchitecture ture and Mannerism Mannerism still awaits the extended and positive inter pretation which i t deserves.
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Mannerism and Modern Architecture
Le Corbusier Corbusier's 's Vi ll a Schwob at at La Chaux Chaux-de-Fonds of 191 6 (Plates 17, his first considerable work to be realized, in spite of i t s great merits and obvious historical importance, importance, finds no plac place e in i n the collection collec tion o f the Oeu Oeuvr vre e com complete; and its it s ab absence ence is entire enti rely ly understan understandable dable.. This bui b uild ldin ing g is obviously out of key with his later works; and, by its inclusion with them, the didactic emphasis of their collection might have been impaired. But the omission is all the more unfortu nate, in that six years later, the building was s t i l l foun fo und d sufficien suffi ciently tly seri seriou ous s to t o be be published as an exemplar of proportion and monumentality.' The house house i s o f nearly symmetrical symmetri cal fo rm ; and, and, in spite o f a gene genera rall light lightne ness ss deriving fr om its i ts concrete frame frame,, its conventional character character i s fairly emphatic. The principal block is supported by flanking wings; and a central hall, rising through t w o stories and and cros crosse sed d by a subsidiary axis, axis, establis establishes hes f o r the plan a simple, balanced, and basically cruciform scheme. The appearance, externally, of these same characteristics o f restrained movement movemen t and ratio ra tional nal eleg elegan ance ce seems t o invi in vite te appreciation in neo-Class Classica icall terms terms;; and thus, thus, while the lack o f ornament ornamen t w i th the simpl sim plif ified ied cornices cornices sug suggest gests s the influence o f Ton T ony y Garnier Garni er and the expre express ssion ion o f the the concrete frame in the flank fl ankin ing g walls walls indicate indicates s an an obvious debt t o Augus Auguste te Perr Perret et,, the elliptic ellip tical al windows are are part o f the stock furnitu fur niture re o f French aca acade demi mic c architect arch itecture ure and the buil bu ildi ding ng as as a whole whole compact, coherent, and precise is an organization which the later eighteent eighteenth h century centu ry might mi ght have have appreciat appreciated ed and and a work toward towa rd which a Ledoux, i f not no t a Gabrie Gabriel, l, might migh t h ha ave foun f oun d himself himself sympa sympathetic. One may, i t is true, recognize innovation in the simplification of elements, although adequate Austrian and German precedent could no doubt be suggested; one might also perceive in the two bedroom suites of the upper floor some pre moni mo niti ti on o f Le Corbusi Corbusier's er's later spatial spatial complexities; but, having having made made th these ese observa servatio tions ns,, there there is li tt l e t o b be e foun fo und, d, i n plan and in three three elevations elevations at least least,, which detracts from an almost conventional and conservative excellence. Bu t the f o u r t h elevat elevation, ion, the entran entrance ce faca facade de,, prese present nts s quite quit e disti di stinct nct problems of appreciation. Behind i t s wall the pres presen ence ce o f a stai stairc rcas ase e continued contin ued t o the th e thir th ir d fl oor oo r has led led t o an increa increase se i n height which somewhat somewhat detache detaches s this part o f the building from the rest; and this elevation further asserts a severe distinction from the volume in i ts rea rear with wi th which on superficial superficial examination i t se seems scar scarce cely ly t o be related. related. Indeed Indeed,, i f i t s succinct, angu angular lar qualities quali ties are are foreign t o the curvilinear curvili near arrang arrangem emen ents ts o f the rest of o f the building, bui lding, i t s exclusive, rectilinear, self -sufficient fo r m se seems also also t o deny the type typ e of o f organization which revea reveals ls itself itse lf f r om the garden. The flat fla t vertical sur surfa face ce of o f the tw t w o upper upper floors floor s i s divided i n t o three pan panel els. s. The
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Mannerism Mannerism and Modern Arch Archititec ectu ture re
outer ones are narrow and pierced by elliptical lunettes, but the central one i s elaborately framed, comprising an unrelieved, blank, white surface; and it i s toward this surface and accentu accentuated ated by all al l the mea mean ns wi th in the architect's architec t's control that the eye is immediat imme diately ely led. The low lo w walls, walls, screening screening servic service e rooms roo ms and terrace, are curved rising towards it; the two entrance doors prepare a duality t o be be resolved; resolved; the projec pro jecting ting marqui marquise, se, wit w ith h its suppor sup portin ting g columns, completes the pregnant isolation of the upper wall; the emphatic elliptical windows increa creas se the demand demand fo r a dominant domin ant;; and, w it h the mi nd baffled baf fled by so elaborately concei conceived ved an ambigui amb iguity, ty, the eye eye comes comes to rest on the immaculate immacu late rectangle rectangle and the incisive detail of i t s brick frame. Contemplating Contemp lating this faca facade de fo r any any length o f time, time, one i s bo th ravi ravish shed ed and i m mensely irritated. Its moldings are of an extreme finesse. They are lucid and com plex. The sligh sli ghtly tly curved win dow do w reve reveal als s are are of o f considera considerable ble suavity. suavity. They The y rei r eite terrate somethi something ng o f the ro tun d nature o f the bui lding ldi ng behind and help help t o str stress ess somethi something ng o f the flatness flatness of the surfa surface ce i n which they the y are are located. located. The Th e contrast o f wall wall below and above above the canopy excites; excites; the dogmatic change o f colo co lorr and texture ture refr refres eshes hes;; b u t the blank surfac surface e is is bot b ot h disturbance and and delight; and i t i s the activity o f emptine emptiness ss which th e obser observer ver i s ultim atel y call called ed upon t o enjoy. enjoy. Since this motif, which i s so curiously curiou sly reminiscent o f a cinema cinema scre screen, en, wa was presumably intended to shock, its success is complete. For it imbues the facade with all the polemical qualities o f a manifesto; manifesto; and it i s this blank panel panel with wit h i t s intensi fying fyi ng frame which endows endows other elements elements o f the facade facade columns and with a staccato quality seeming to foreshadow Le Corbusier's later development. Distinct and deliberate, it draw draws s attention attent ion to itself; and and yet, w itho it ho ut apparent apparent content, i t at once once distributes atte ntion nti on over over the rest rest o f the hous house e. By i t s conclusiveness, the whole building gains significance; but, by its emptiness, i t is, at the same time, the problem in terms of which the whole building i s stated; and thus, as apparent outcome of i t s systematically opposite values, there issue a whole series o f disturbances disturbances o f which whic h it is bo th origin and and result. Behind the panel lies the staircase, the lighting of which i t can only impair, and one must mus t ass assume ume t h a t an an archi arc hite tect ct as as apt ap t as as Le Corbusier could co uld,, had ha d he wished, have chosen some alternative and functionally more satisfactory organization; while, even if i t were ere to be suppose supposed d (impro (im probab bable le as as it i t appear appears) s) that th at the framed surface was intended to receive some fresco or inscription, i t i s still a mo ti f suffi suffi ciently abnormal abnormal and recondite recondite t o stimulate curiosity and to encour encourage age a hun t f or possib possible le parallels. parallels. And A nd here the most probable field fie ld o f investigation investigatio n woul wo uld d se seem t o be be Italian ; no n o t tha t hatt wit w ith h Le Corbusi Corbusier er any direct derivation derivatio n should be be expect expected, ed,
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bu t that, t hat, i n genera generall terms, terms, he so so frequ fr equent ently ly appe appear ars s to t o be be descend descended ed fr om the architectural traditions of Renaissance humanism. I n early Renais Renaissan sance ce loggia and palace palace facad facades es,, sequen sequences ces o f alte al tern rnat atin ing g windows and pane panels ls do no t appea appearr t o be be uncommon. unc ommon. I n such such more frequent frequ ent se sequences from the sixteenth century, panels and windows acquire almost equal significance. Panels may be expressed as blank surfaces, or become a range of inscribed tablets, or again they may form the frames for painting; but whatever their particular part icular emp loymen loy mentt may may be, the alternation alter nation o f a deve develo lope ped d syst system em of panelin paneling, g, w i t h an equally develo developed ped system of fenestration, fenestra tion, seems always t o produce duce com plexit ple xit y and dual ity o f empha emphasi sis s in a faca facade de.. This is a which must have have given given consider considerabl able e pleasur pleasure e t o the generation o f architects architec ts subseq subsequent uent t o Bramante; and in the pag pages o f Serlio, f o r instanc instance, e, pane panels ls occur i n almost embarrass rassin ing g profusion.* profus ion.* Sometime Sometimes s they ar are to t o be be fou nd in the typi cal alternation, alternat ion, or or on other occasions absorbing entire wall surfaces; in elongated form they are used to intersect interse ct t w o whole rang ranges es o f windows, or they may appear appear as the crown cro wnin ing g m ot if o f a triumpha triu mphall arch arch or Venetian Venetian pa palac lace. I t was probably Serlio Serlio who fi rst emplo emp loyed yed the panel as the th e focu fo cus s of o f a facade. facade. I n some cases he has has groups o f win w indows arra arrange nged d on either side side o f this reduced reduced bu t evocat evocativ ive e fo rm o f central empha emphaalso se seems li ke ly that th at in on ly t w o instance instances s does does the panel panel make a censis; but i t also tral appearanc appearance e wi th in an elevation so restricted restrict ed as as that tha t at La Chaux-de -Fonds; and although comparisons comparisons o f this t his sort are are frequentl fre quently y tendentious and and overdrawn overdrawn,, the so-called Casa di at Vicenza (Plate 19) and Federico Zuccheri's casino in Florence Florence (Plat (Plate e 20) d o show show a quality qual ity sufficie suff iciently ntly remarkable remarkable to pe rmit rm it their interpretation as sixteenth century commentaries upon the same theme. Dating f ro m 1 572 and 15 78 respecti respectively vely,, small small hous houses es o f a per perso sona nall and distin dis tinctl ctly y pre precious quality, i t woul wo uld d be pleasan pleasantt t o as assume that th at they repres represent ented ed a type, a for fo rmula for the later sixteenth century artist's house. building i s apparently gener generat ated ed by the the combinati comb ination on o f a domestic facade and an arcaded loggia which, in i t s ornaments, assumes the role of a tri umphal arch. Unlike the conventional triumphal arches of antiquity, however, a deve develop loped ed Corin thi an superstructure i s included; and although on the ground floor the the tw o functions o f the the logg loggia ia as part par t o f a hou house se and as as part o f a triumph triu mphal al arch arch are are clos closely ely integrated, integrated, i n itself its elf the arch i s even more intimately related to the panel formed by the Corinthian pilasters above. The breaking forward of the Ionic entablature about the arch provides a direct vertical movement through the two orders, emphasizing their interdependence, so that the panel retains the focus develop developed ed by the arch below, bel ow, b u t se seems otherwise otherwis e t o read as an an intr in trus usio ion n
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upward int o the piano upward and its anomalous character i s further in creased by details which wh ich sugg sugges estt a respec respectt for fo r the fun f unct ctio ions ns o f the th e domestic facade. Thus such such a feature as as the balcony bal cony rail rai l o f the windows, which whi ch emer emerge ges s from behind the pilasters pilasters t o appea appearr in i n the panel as as a contin con tinuou uous s str s trin ing g course course,, onl o nly y serv serves es to t o exagge ex aggerate rate,, as as i t was presumably intended inte nded i t should, an already already inhere inh erent nt duality. need ed scarce scarcely ly be be poi p oint nted ed ou o u t that th at we are are here here in i n the th e pres presen ence ce o f a formal I t ne ambiguity ambiguit y o f the sa same order as as that tha t whic w hich h Le Corbusier Corbusier was tto o provid pro vide e iin n 191 6; although in lucid, academic dress, the disturbance i s less perceptible and perhaps more complete. inversion inversion of the normal i s effected within the framework o f the class classic ical al syst system, em, whose whose externals externals i t appea appears rs t o respe respect; ct; bu b u t i n order orde r to mod ify the shock shock t o the ey eyes, Le Corbu Corbusier sier's 's buildi bui ldi ng ca can draw on o n no such such conventional reference. Both state the problem of their complex duality with an ex treme directness and economy of means, which, by comparison, causes Federico Zuccheri's Zuccheri's es essay i n the t he sa same composi comp ositio tion n to app appear ear at once once redu r edunda ndant nt and bi b izarre. con co nZuccheri Zuccheri's 's approach approach is altogether more violent, his bui ldin ld in g a ceiv eived as as part o f a program o f perso personal nal advertise advertisement ment ill ustrat ust rating ing his t ri ple pl e profes profession as painter, sculptor, and architect. Unlike his t w o elemen elements ts of focus, focus, the the void o f the entrance entrance below and the solid o f the pan panel el abo above ve,, are are no t placed placed i n direct relationsh rela tionship; ip; b u t each each,, as the domina dom ina nt interest i n strongly strong ly contrasted stone stone and an d bric br ic k surf surfac aces es,, app appea ears rs set w it hi n an an arrangem arrangement ent o f incident inc ident which bo th accent centuat uates es and diminishes its importance. T w o triangle triangles s o f interest are thereby esta establ blis ishe hed. d. That below is is formed forme d b y the three pa panel nels s wi th their reliefs o f mat mathe hematical instruments, that above i s organize organized d by windows windo ws and nich niches es about abo ut the central central pane panell ( in this ca case intended intend ed t o recei receive ve a painting); paint ing); and th this is diffused dif fused incident, which i s sti ll concentrated wi th in str ictly ict ly triangular sch scheme mes s, est estab ablilish shes es a form of composition diffe rent fr om Palla Palladio dio's, 's, so so that, wi th Zuccheri, Zuccheri, the particular ambiguity of the panel is of less importance when compared with that of the enti e ntire re faca facade de.. The composition of Zuccheri's lower wall is framed by rusticated pilasters which se seem t o restrict re strict i t s details between quite rigid boundaries; but these pilasters receive no downward transmission of weight. Two advanced surfaces in the upper upp er story carry carry a fo rm o f trig tr iglyp lyp h or bracket bracket which se seems t o su suggest fo r them a function of support; but these are then displaced by niches from the position above the pilasters which, reasonably, they might be expected to occupy, while the the insertion wit hin hi n them o f elaborat elaborately ely framed framed windows invali invalidates dates still furt fu rther her
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their apparent function. The niches in themselves, on first examination, seem to expand the interest inter est o f the t he upper wall and t o create create there the appear appearanc ance e of an organization as open as that of the wall below i s comp compre ress ssed ed;; but, but, with wi thin in this organization i t becomes clear that the different elements niches, windows, and panels are, in reality, crushed in the harshest juxtaposition so that, on second anal analys ysis is,, the contrast cont rast compels one t o at tr ib ut e t o the supp suppose osedly dly compre compresse ssed d basement an almost classical directness and ease. The complexities and repercussions which such schemes elicit are endless and almost indefinable; indefi nable; b ut patienc patience, e, conceiva conceivably, bly, exha exhaus usts ts itself i n the explanation. dil emma o f dual signific significanc ance, e, a It would seem to be abundantly clear that i t is a dilemma distin dis tincti ction on between between the t hing hin g as i t is and as i t appears which whi ch see seems to t o haunt hau nt all these three facades; and, i f Zuccheri' Zuccheri's s buildin bu ilding g by compariso comparison n w it h the more lucid expositions expositio ns seems t o be somethi some thing ng o f an exerc exercise ise in genr genre, e, its i ts second-hand qualities, perhaps, enhance i t s value as a document, as almost a textbook illustration of deliberate deliberate archite arch itectu ctural ral derang derangeme ement. nt. The t w o exampl examples es from fr om the sixteenth cen tury are are characteristic characteristic late late Mannerist sch schemes emes,, the most m ost apt ap t registers registers o f that th at alleged alleged univers universal al malaise which, in the arts, whil wh ile e reta re tain inin ing g the externals extern als o f classical classical correctness, correctness, was was obliged obliged,, at the th e sa same time, t o disrupt disr upt the inner in ner core core o f clas classi sica call coher coherenc ence. e. In so-call called ed acade academi mic c or fran fr ankl kl y derivative architecture, architecture, the recurrenc recurrence e i n 191 19 1 6 o f a fo rm o f compos c ompos ition which which,, at first fi rst glan glance ce,, appe appea ars intrinsic intr insically ally Manneris Manneristt might mig ht caus cause e some some,, b u t perhaps perhaps not no t undue, surpri surprise; se; but, b ut, occu oc curr rrin ing g as it i t does does in the main stream of the modern movement, i t is remarkable that this blank panel mo ti f at La Chau Chaux x- de -Fonds should no t hav have e arou arouse sed d more curiosity. I t i s not in any way sugg sugges este ted d tha t hatt Le Corbusier's Corbusier's us use o f the blan b lank k panel panel is dependent dependent on o n the t he previous instances; instances; and i t is no t imagined that tha t a mere mere corresp corresponde ondence nce o f forms necessitates an analogous content. Such a correspondence may be purely fortu itous or i t may be of deeper significance.
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Apart fr om Nikolaus Nikola us Pev Pevsner ner's article arti cle The Architecture of Manner Mannerism ism and Anth ony Blunt's Blunt's 1 949 lecture lecture at the Royal Ins titu te o f British Archite Architects cts,, Mannerism, in i t s accepted se sense as as a style, styl e, has been been the th e subject subje ct o f n o popu po pular lar discus discussion. Such discussion must obviously lie beyond the scope of the present essay which, which, f o r a frame o f refer referen ence ce,, relies relies to a grea greatt exte e xtent nt on o n the article and lecture just I n the t he most gener general al terms works produced between between the year years s 1520 152 0 and 1600 16 00 are are t o be considered considered Mannerist; and an d i t i s hoped that the particular analychemes mes has provided som some e illust ration ratio n o f types types o f sis of t w o sixteenth century sche ambiguity that are characteristic. "
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An unavoidable state of mind, and not a mere desire to break rules, sixteenth centur century y Man Manner nerism ism appear appears s to t o consist in i n the de deliberate liberate inversion inve rsion o f the classica classicall High Renaissance norm as established by Bramante, to include the very human desire to t o impair perfec per fectio tion n whe when n once i t has has be been en achi achieve eved, d, and and t o repres represent ent t o o a coll collap apse se o f confidence confi dence i n the theoretical the oretical programs o f the earlier earlier Re Rena nais issa sanc nce. e. As a stat tate o f inh i nh ibit ib itio io n, i t is esse essent ntia ialllly y depe dependen ndentt on the awar awaren enes ess s o f a preexisting preexistin g order order:: as as an atti at ti tude tu de o f dissen dissent, t, i t dem deman ands ds an ort o rtho ho do doxy xy wi with th in wh whos ose e frame framework wo rk i t might migh t be heretical. Clearly, Clearly, if, as the analysis of the villa at La Fonds suggests, modern architecture may possibly contain elements analogous to Mann Ma nner eris ism, m, i t becom becomes es critical critic al t o f in d for f or i t so some me corresponding frame o f reference, so some me ped pedigr igree, ee, wi th in which i t mig m ight ht occupy an anal analogo ogous us positi pos ition. on. Among sour source ces s fo r the modern movement, the characteristic nineteenth ninetee nth century demand for structural integrity has rightly received greatest emphasis. Dependent to so some extent exte nt on the technic technical al innovations innov ations o f industrialism, this thi s demand was unexpectedly reinforced by the Revivalists, both Gothic and Greek; and it was they who transformed its original rational -empirical basis and imbued this struc tura turall impulse impulse w ith it h a dynamic dynam ic emotional emot ional an and d moral content, conte nt, s so o th at in i n this possi possibly fallacious vers versio ion, n, the structural structura l trad tr ad itio it io n ha has remain remained ed one one o f the m most ost crude, crude, indiscriminate, and magnificently effective forces which we have inherited from the nineteenth century. But i t remains remains appare apparent nt that a syst system em o f architecture architectu re cannot eve ever enjoy e njoy a purely material basis, that some conception of form must play an equal and opposite role role;; and and,, although althou gh formal for mal derivations fo r the modern mode rn movement of ten te n se seem t o impo impose se to o grea greatt a strain on the imagination, a t a time no n o more remote rem ote than tha n the later nineteenth century it is noticeable that advanced architecture from the 1870 18 70s s onward be belo long ngs s t o one o f t w o discernibl discernible e patt patterns erns.. program of the first i s certainly clos closes estt t o ou ourr sympathy and its outlines clea cleare rest st in our ou r minds. This was the heroic proce process ss o f simp si mplilifi fica cati tion on,, the th e direct dire ct assault upon nineteenth century pastiche of a Philip Webb, a Richardson, or a Berl erlag age e; and and i t wou would ld se seem that t hat the central tr ad itio it io n o f mod modern ern architecture archite cture doe does proc procee eed d from fr om the pers person onal al con c on flic fl ic t which such such individuals individ uals experi experience enced d between the the authorities author ities o f trainin tr aining g and and reas reason on.. Obedien Obedience ce to t o the nature o f materi materials, als, t o the law aws s o f structure, consecrate consecrated d by the theorists o f the Got hi c Re Revi viva vall an and d everywher wh ere e recogni recognizabl zable e in the products produc ts o f contempora cont emporary ry en engi gine neer erin ing, g, seem eme ed t o off o ffer er an alternative alternative t o purely pure ly casu casual al picturesque effe effects; cts; and, and, f r o m wi with th in such such a framework, i t was felt that an architecture of objective significance might be generated. Thus for architects of this school an inevitable tension was clearly experienced
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betwee between n a pict pi ctor orial ial education and the more purely intellectual demand demandss which a structur stru ctural al ideal idealism ism imposes; imposes; and and,, being trained i n picto pic toria ria l method metho d but b ut insisting on an architecture regulated by other than visual laws, their forms frequently bear all the marks of the battleground from which they had emerged. The alternative tendency, apparently, owes nothing to this dialectic; but, equal ly co conc ncer erne ned d wi th a rational rational solution o f the mid -nineteen nine teenth th centu c entury ry impas mpasse se,, it fou nd i n physical physical attrac attracti tiven veness ess i t s architectural ideal. Without either the former school's consistent vigor or narrow prejudice, the architects of this second school look lo ok do down wn the persp perspect ectiv ives es o f history hist ory wi th a liberal ey eye and and ar are anxious to t o coordi nate the ensuing suggestions. Thus, from an analysis function, there emerged a discipline o f the plan; and, f ro m the impres impressio sions ns o f a visua visuall survey, survey, that th at re rese sear arch ch in to architectural composition compositio n which eng engrossed so many. Adhering t o no distinct di stinct formula of revival, there i s a willi willingn ngness ess in this secon second d school t o combine mot m ot ifs if s f ro m di ffe re rent nt styles; and and,, i n the resultant resultant amalga amalgam, m, they app appear ear as 'tel lin g' fea ture turess in a composition, compositio n, rather than fo r any fu rther rth er signifi significan cance ce which they might possess. Thus we find that Norman Shaw i s ab able le to support late late Gothi c effec effects ts o f mass with details from the school of Wren; and, when architecture i s chiefly valued ue d as as a source source o f visual visual stimuli, stim uli, then obviously obviou sly concern w il l chie ch iefly fly be w i th broad bro ad effects o f movement, movement, volume, volume, silhouette, and relationship. Neither of these two schools can be considered as completely independent, nor as completely unaffected by the other's activities; but, while for the one an archi tecture objectively rooted in structure and craftsmanship i s an emotion emot ional al nec ece essity, the other othe r neither nei ther finds fi nds such such ob obje ject ctiv ivity ity possib possible, le, nor perhaps perhaps desira desirable ble.. For F or the first school, architecture s t i l l po possses esssed a certain cert ain moral mor al qua qualit lityy among its purpos pur poses es wa was that th at o f impa im parti rti ng a tr ut h; f o r the sec secon ond, d, the significa significance nce of archi tecture was more exclusively aesthetic its purpose was to convey a sensation. The architects of o f this seco second nd school school sa saw the possibilitie possibilitiess o f a rational manner manner t o l i e in the expression of the sensuous content common to all phases of art; and, in this emphasis, they are perhaps the more typical of the later nineteenth century. The gr grea eatt distin dis tinctio ctio n o f this period, i t s insistenc insistence e on purel pu relyy physical and visual just ju stifific icat atio ion n f o r f o r m , appears t o separa separate te i t s artistic artistic production production fro m that o f a l l previous epochs from the th e Re Rena nais issa sanc nce e by its failu fa ilure re t o represent represent publi pu blicc ide deas as,, fr om the later eighteenth and and early early nineteenth century Romanti Rom anticc pha phase by i t s elimination eliminatio n o f private private literary flavor. For, although in intention, the architecture architecture of the early nineteenth century was pictorial, in practice, particularly through i t s neo-Classical exponents, who have with justice been interpreted as the legatees of the Re Rena nais issa sanc nce e tradi tra diti tion on,, i t inherite inhe rited d a good good deal deal o f earlier earlier acade academi micc thought. thou ght.
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Manne Ma nneris rism m and and Modern Archi tect ure
But, for But, fo r the later ninet ni neteen eenth th centur cen tury, y, the Renai Renaiss ssan ance ce is no longer a positi pos itive ve force but a historical fact; and i t is by the absence of the Renaissance theoretical tradition, with i t s em emph phas asis is upo upon n other valu values es than the visu visual al,, tha thatt parti pa rticul cul arly arl y the acade dem mic produc pro ductio tions ns o f this ti me are are most clearly distinguished. distinguished. Just as the Rena Renais issa sanc nce, e, i n oppo o pposit sition ion t o the t he eighteenth eighteen th and ninete nin eteent enth h centu cen turies, conceive conceives s Natur Nat ure e as as the ideal f o r m o f any species, species, as a mat mathe hemat matica icall and Platonic tonic ab abso solu lute te whose whose tr iu mp mph h over over matter matte r i t i s the purpose purpose o f art ar t t o as assi sist st;; so, i n pain pa inti ting ng,, i t see seeks an in f al li bi li ty o f form. fo rm. Scientific Scient ific perspective perspective redu reduce ces s external reality to a mathematical order; and, in so far as they can be brought into this scheme, the 'accidental' 'accid ental' properties properti es o f the physical p hysical worl wo rld d acquire signific significanc ance. e. Therefore the artistic process i s no t the impressionistic impressionistic record o f the th in g seen; but is rather rather the info in form rm ing in g o f observation by a philosophical idea idea;; and, and, i n Renai Renais ssance architecture, architecture, imagin ima ginati ation on and the se senses func fu nc ti on w i t h i n a corresponding corresp onding scheme. Propo Pr opo rtion rti on become becomes s the result result o f scientific scient ific deduction; deduc tion; and f or m ( b y thes these e means appearing appearing as a visual visual aspect aspect o f knowledge knowled ge and t y p i f y i n g a moral mora l state) state) acquir qu ires es the independent righ ri ghtt t o existe existence nce,, apart f r o m the th e sens sensuo uous us pleasu pleasure re which whi ch it might elicit. was not u nt il the later later eighteenth eighteenth century that, wit h the empirical philosophy of the Enlightenment, there emerged its corollary: the direct pictorial approach to architec architecture ture and and it s evaluation according t o its imp act on the eye. eye. Whe hen n Hume was able to declare that all probable knowledge i s no thin th in g but b ut a spec speciies o f sensation, the possibilities possibili ties of o f an intellec intel lectua tuall order orde r see seem to have have bee been n demolished; and when he could add that Beauty i s no quality in the things themselves but exis exists ts merely i n the m min in d which contemplates and eac each h mi n d perce perceiv ives es a diff di ff erent then empiricism, by emancipating the senses, appears to have provide vided d the stimulus and and the apologetic o f the grea greatt nineteenth ninete enth century centur y free-for -all. Eclecticism and individual sensibility emerged as necessary by-products; and personal liberty was as effectively proclaimed for the world of forms as, in 1789, i t was asserted for the political sphere. But, just as politically the uncien lingered on, so with earlier attitudes persisting, the Romantics saw indirectly according ing to th the e assoc associa iati tion onal al valu value e o f their forms; and i t was no t u nt il the furore of the the moveme movement nt had spent spent itself itsel f that tha t late nineteenth centur cen tury y 'realism' came came t o regularize the situation. After the mid-nineteenth century, perhaps because Liberalism and Romanticism were no long longer er i n active active and and revolutiona ry coalit coa lit ion, ion , th at moral mora l zea eall which w hich had onc on ce infused their join jo in t program program i s less frequently found; and, in all activities, the attempt now seems to have been made to systematize the Romantic experience, "
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Mannerism and Modern Architectu Arch itectu re 38 Mannerism
t o extract 'scientific' formulae formulae fr om i t s subjecti subjective ve enthusias enthusiasms. ms. Thus, i n architec arch itec ture, the Romantic forms and their sensational implications become progressively codif co difie ied; d; and, while whil e the earlier earlier phas phase e had had bee been n sensi sensibl ble e o f liter li ter ary and archaeo archaeologi logi cal cal overtones, overtones, f o r the later these these sugge suggesti stions ons tend t o be be discounted. A n eclectic research into elements and principles of architecture now arises which i s distin guished from the analyses of the Renaissance theorists by i t s exclusiveiy func tional and visual frames of reference. The development o f the idea idea o f architectural compos com position ition m ight ig ht be cite d as as typical typi cal o f these these genera generaliz lizati ations ons.. The conception o f architectural compos com position ition was never, during the Renaissance, successfully isolated; and, while a Reynolds and a Soan Soane e were were alive alive t o the sceni scenicc possibilities o f architecture, architecture, architectu archi tectural ral composi ti on as as such such does does n o t play a lar large ge part in their theory. A develop developed ed lite ratu re upon the subject is of comparatively recent growth; and, as representing the coordina ti on o f a subjective subjective poi p oi nt o f view, the idea idea se seems to be character characteristic istic o f the later nineteenth nineteenth century . Ap art ar t f r om an expr expres esse sed d anta antagon gonism ism t o the exponents exponents o f late nineteen th cen tury theory, modern architects have still not clarified their relationship to its idea ideas; s; and, alt a ltho houg ugh h these ideas ideas n o w usually usuall y called academic have have never never been been ef fectively fecti vely replaced, replaced, m odern od ern architect arch itectss generally generally have have expres expressed sed a decisi decisive ve bu t unde fined host ili ty towards them. them. Moi je dis oui, di t non, non, Le Corbusier inscribes a drawing; and, in the same spirit, functional, mechanical, mathematical, sociological arguments have all, as extra -visual architectural sanctions, been intro duce duced d t o provide counter -irritants. B ut a mer mere e reaction f ro m a syst system em o f ideas i s scarce scarcely ly suff icien ic ien t t o eradicat eradicate e tha t system; system; and, and, more than lik ely, el y, i n the se sense o f providing a matrix, the dominant attitudes of the late late nineteenth nineteenth c entury were were historicall y effective in the the evolu tion o f the modern moveme movement. nt. to rial al approa approach, ch, whi ch takes account ch iefly o f mas masses It is a defect o f th e pic tori and and relationships relationships in their e ffect u pon the ey eye, tha t frequen tly the object itself and devaluation.. Subjected Subjected exclusive exclusively ly t o the laws o f human sen sensai t s detail suffer a devaluation tion, the object object i s seen in impressionist manner and i t s inner substance, whether material or formal, remains undeveloped. I t i s a defect o f universaliz universalized ed eclecticism eclecticism that i t must inevita bly involve a failure to comprehend bo th historical historical and individ ual personality. I t s theorists perceive a visu visual al common denominator of f or m b ut are unable to allow the non -visual distinctions of content; and thus, indisposed to permit the internal individuality of particular styles, but affirming the ideal of stylistic reminiscence, the late nineteenth century academy destroys the logic of the historical histo rical proc proces esss whil w hil e i t insists on the value of historical precept. "
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Manne Manneris rism m and Modern Arch Archititec ectu ture re
By all-inclusive tolerance history i s neutralized and the reduced effects of the ecle eclect ctic ic method method are are rationalized rationalize d i n order t o support a more abstract abstract investigation investiga tion of se sensuous properties i n ma mass and prop pr opor orti ti on. on . Thus, almost b y negative action, acti on, a most powerful solvent of revivalism i s provided; and in advanced circles, by the early twentieth century, with the identity of the past destroyed and revivalist motifs reduced to a mere suggestion, there i s in gene genera rall ci rcul rc ulat atio ion n a deve develop loped ed and system systemati atic c theory theor y o f the effects o f architecture archit ecture upon the eye. eye. With this conception the Art Nouveau and the more expressionist schools of contem contempor porary ary architecture architectur e could cert ainl y be ass assoc ocia iate ted; d; and, and, i n thei r direct dir ect sensory appeal, those Mendelsohn sketches representing film studios, sacred build ings, observatories and auto au tomo mobi bile le cha chass ssis is factories,' m ight ig ht be considered considered a logi log ical conclusio conclusion n o f the idea o f architectu archit ecture re as pict pi ctor oria iall composit comp osition. ion. With Wi thin in the term terms s of this trad tr adit itio ion n i t se seems probable probable that th at advanc advanced ed architects o f the struct str uctura urall tradition ca came t o interpre inter prett the formal form al sugg sugges esti tion ons s o f 'the styles styles'; '; and, and, f o r in i nstance, in Philip Johnson's monograph, there i s clearly demonstrated the partial depe depend nden ence ce o f Mies Mies van van der Rohe's early design designs s on the works wor ks of o f Schinkel. Schinkel . But, Bu t, i f schemes o f Grop Gr opiu ius s have have sugg suggeste ested d a descent fr f r o m the same sources sources,, i t sho s houl uld d be notic noticed ed that this ear early ly twe nti eth century admir ation fo r neo neo-Classicism was not excl exclus usiv ive e t o the t he modern moder n movement, f o r so so many commerci comm ercial al palac palaces es and domestic monume monuments nts betray the sa same af f i n i t y. I n thes these e buildings, buildings, althou alt hough gh attempts attemp ts are made to enforce classical detail, the necessarily increased scale or elaborated func tion le leads either either t o infl in flat atio ion n or towards a t oo discreet sug sugge gest stiv iven enes ess s; and i t is in reproducing the blocking, the outline, the compositional elements that the greatest succ succes ess s seem seems s to t o have been exp exper erie ienc nced ed.. The Edwardian baroque, in fact, offers admirable examples of the impressionist eye brought to bear upon the remnants of the classical tradition; but, outside these str ictly ict ly acad academ emic ic limits, limit s, we fi nd architects fun ctioni cti oni ng with wi th in the structur al tradit tra dition ion whos whose e po in t of o f view also also remain remains s decis decisive ively ly impressionist. impressionist. A n d thus, thus, for inst instan ance ce,, w i t h the earl early y Gropiu Gropius, s, a compositional compositio nal norm no rm rather broadl bro adly y derived derived from neo-Classicism is actively balanced by the promptings of a mechanized tu re. As arising arising fr om such such an an antithesis antithesis between between newly new ly clarif cla rified ied conceptions conceptions o f vision and structure those early twentieth century buildings which are rightly considered to belong belong to t o the modern movement movement can be be understood, for, by oth o ther er mean means, s, i t seems difficult to account for the stylistic differences which separate the works of these year years s fr om those those which w hich appeared appeared in the 1920s. The buildi bui ldings ngs o f Perret, rens, A do l f Loos, to name architects illu il lust stra rate ted d by Nikolaus Niko laus Pevs Pevsne nerr i n his
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Mannerism Mannerism and and Modern Architect Archi tecture ure
neers o f Modern Design, are not naive, nor primitive; and they are evidently precurso cursors rs of o f the later developm development. ent. But, comparing comparing,, for fo r instan instance ce,, the Ad o l f Loos Steiner House of 191 0 in Vienna Vienna (Pla (Plate te 21) wit h any typi cal production o f the twenties, it beco become mes s clear clear that here here there are are differences of o f forma fo rmall ideal which w hich neither nationality, nor the temperament of the architect, nor technical innovation, nor the maturing of an idea, can fully explain. Loos Loos,, wi th his his fanatical fanatical attacks attacks upon ornament ornament,, might migh t poss possibl ibly, y, fr om one one poi nt of view, be considered as already showing Mannerist tendencies; but, allowing for an elimination of extraneous detail and for a certain mechanistic excellence, this house with i t s extreme extr eme severity and i t s unmitigated contrast of receding centre and proj ecting ecti ng wing wings, s, the unbroken unbrok en line o f the roof, ro of, the smal smalll openi opening ngs s i n the even in the horizontal windows, i s no t entirely entirely remote remote fro m the more more naked types of neo-Classical villa as projected by Ledoux. Without injustice i t can be evaluated by the pictorial criteria which we have discussed; and, although a later nineteenth century academician might not have been overjoyed by the contempl te mplat atio ion n o f this facad facade, e, there is nothi not hing ng here here to which he could hav have rais raised ed final fina l theoretical objection. But, such i s certainly no t the ca case with wi th the villa vil la at La Chaux Chaux-de-Fonds. "
A work o f art live lives s accord according ing t o the laws laws o f the t he mind, and som some for fo r m o f abst abstra rac ct i o n clearly clearly must f or m a ba basis fo r all artistic artisti c achieve achievemen ment; t; b u t i t i s apparent that, over and above this minimum, a work may possess those specifically cerebral qualities to which the term 'abstract' is more conveniently applied, and it has, in this sense, bee been n commonl comm only y employed in the defi de fi ni ti on o f the Cubist and sub subse sequ quent ent school schools s of o f painting. painting. The Cubist Cubist experiment which can now be seen not as an arbitr arb itrary ary break break wi th tradit tra dition, ion, bu t as as the ne necessary development development of an existing situation is the the sin singl gle e most striking strik ing artistic event event o f the early early twenti tw enti eth century. I t s influence and th at o f abstract abstract paintin pain ting g in gen gener eral al upon the modern movement in architecture have been consistently emphasized, and their effects are obvious: simplification and intersection, plane as opposed to mass, the realization of like geometrical forms; in fact the developed manner of the modern movement in the twenties. But it i s clea clearr t o o that, although working work ing wit w it h a visu visual al medium, medium, the abstract art of today i s working work ing w it h a no t wholly whol ly visu visual al pur purpo pose se.. For abstraction abstraction presu presupp ppos oses es a mental ment al order o f which whic h it i s the representative. Here i t i s impor im por tant ta nt t o distinguish distinguish betwe between en the pro proces cess of abstraction i n the Rena Renais issa sanc nce e and at the th e present present day. Abstr Abs tract action ion occurr occ urring ing in i n Rena Renais issa sanc nce e ar t makes reference to a world of ideal forms, asserts what the artist believes to be
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Mannerism and Modern Architecture
objectiv objective e tru th, th , an and d typifies ty pifies what he he con consi side ders rs to to b be e the scientific workings of o f the univ un iver erse se.. Abstra Abs tracti ction on in i n contemporary cont emporary a r t mak makes es refere reference nce t o a world wor ld o f person personal al sens sensat atio ion n an and, d, i n the end end,, typifies typif ies o nly nl y the t he private workings workings o f the artist's mind. mi nd. There i s thus, in both cases, a reluctance merely to report the outward forms of the external world; but, in the one, it is relate related d t o a world o f public, i n the other, of priva private te symbolism. symbolism. A nd t hat priva private te symbolism symbolism might fo rm a ba basis fo r art i s clea clearly rly a po poin in t o f view view inherite inh erited d fr om the the subje subject ctiv ive e attitudes attit udes of de deve velo lope ped d Ro manticism. Thus while, on the one hand, contemporary painting, in abandoning the impressionist program, pr ogram, denies denies the value of o f sensationa sensationall sche scheme mes s wh whic ich h had deve de velo lope ped d sinc since e the the eightee eighteenth nth century, on the other, i t aff affir irms ms an an att it ud ude e derived from closely related sources. This reaction re action t o sensati sensation, on, at the sa same t ime im e positive posi tive and neg negati ative, ve, i s as character istic istic o f the outpu t o f our own day day as as i t i s o f certain certain works works o f the sixteenth sixteenth cen century; tur y; and the an anal alog ogy y o f the d deve evelopm lopment ent in painting pai nting might mi ght convenientl conv eniently y be ap plied t o architecture. architectu re. Here one might mig ht not notice ice how characteristic characteristic are Le Le Corbusier' Corbusier's s reactions towards the intellectual atmosphere of 1900. His Oeuvre complete is a prod pr oduct uctio ion n as as develop developed ed and and as theor the oret etic ical ally ly inf i nfor orme med d as as any o f the th e great great archi tectural treat treatis ises es of o f the sixteenth his published writings form perhaps the most most fertil fer tile, e, sugg sugge estiv stive e and and exact exact statement statement o f a po in t o f view view which has emer em erge ged d sin since ce tha thatt time. tim e. Cont C ontrad radict iction ions s in a wor w ork k o f this thi s sc scale are are inevitable; and they are public property. It i s no t the these which whic h require exposition; exposition; bu t rather i t i s those more specific contradictions which emerge vis -a-vis vis the pictorial, rationalistic, univer universal salize ized d prem premis ises es o f the opening century. centur y. I n affirming, through the medium o f abstraction, a mental order, order, Le Corbusie Corbusierr immediately immediatel y diss dissen ents ts fr om the theo th eory ry o f rationalized rationaliz ed sense perception which whi ch was current in 1900; but, disgusted by the inflated insipidity of Beaux Arts practice, he yet inherits its whole rationalized position in connection with the 'styles.' The notes of travel from his student sketch book represent an eclectic principle which that institution would have fully endorsed. There is here a fine lack of distinction which only the liberalism of the late nineteenth century could have permitted; and,, although and alt hough ea each ch example is experienced wi w i t h a pa passi ssion on of o f personal discovery, this is st il l the charac characteri teristic stic theoretical program program of the time. The Venetian a la Monuments Monuments Loui Louiss X V , the zetta, the foru m o f Pompei Pompeiii and the temples of the Acropolis, offer the material for a deduction of the bases o f civic space space;; while impres impressio sions ns o f Paris, Rome, Pisa, and the temples of Angkor Wat are jostled alongside notes from the plates of Androuet du ceau ap apar artt fr om the the later nineteenth century, centur y, n o other pha phase in hist h ist ory could,
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42 Mannerism and Modern Architecture
with wi th so a lack of discrimination, have comprised so wide a field. But, if Towards a New Architecture i s read ead f ro m time t o ti me and the read reader er can avoid being absor absorbed bed by the persu persuas asiv iven enes esss o f its rheto r heto ric, a fundamental di lemma lemma becomes becomes evident evident.. This is the incapacity incapacity t o define an att itud it ud e t o sensa sensati tion on.. A n absolute value value i s consistently imputed to mathematics, which i s 'sure and cer tain,' and order i s establ establish ished ed as as an intelle in telle ctua l concept co ncept a ffi rmati rm ati ve o f univers universal al and and co mf or tin g truths; but, perh perhap aps, s, ev even w it h the wo rd 'co mf or tin g' the se senses are involved, and i t becomes apparent that cubes, spheres, cylinders, cones, and their products are demanded as objects governed by and intensifying sensuous apprecia appreciatio tion. n. A t one one moment, architecture i s the ar t abov above e all others w hich achi achiev eves es a state state o f Platonic but, at the next, i t becomes becomes clear clear tha t hatt this t his state, far from being changeless and eternal, is an excitement subsidiary to the personal perception of the masterly, correct corr ect and ma gnificen gnif icen t play o f ma masses brought together in So the reader can never be clear as to what concep ti on o f righ rightne tness ss the w ord 'co rrect' refe refers rs.. Is i t an idea idea,, apart from , bu t infus ing the object, which is 'cor rec t' (t h e theory o f the Rena Renais issa sanc nce) e);; or i s i t a visual attri bute o f the object object itself itself (the theory o f A definition remains elusive. Mathematics and geometry are, of course, not the only standards which Le Cor busier erects against the theory of the Beaux Arts and 1900. Towards a New proposes es programs programs o f soci social al realism, realism, by mean meanss of which whi ch architecture, a rchitecture, Architecture propos generated by function, structure, or technique, i s t o acqui acquire re an objective signifi canc cance e as as sym boliz bo liz ing in g the in trins ic proc proces esse sess o f society. society. B u t it also becomes clear that, f o r reas reason onss o f a lu rk in g indecision, indecision, the essenti essential al 'realism' o f thes these e prog program ramss cannot cannot be conver converted ted in to any syst system em o f public symbolism symbolism and that the attem pt t o asse asserrt an objective orde r appea appears rs fated fate d largely t o result i n an inversion inversion o f the t he ae aes theticism which was, in the first case, so much deplored. That is: the mathemati cal or mechanical symbols of an external reality are no sooner paraded than they are absorbed by the more developed sensuous reaction which they provoke; and abstraction, abstraction, f ar f r o m abett ing public understa understandin nding, g, seemi seeming ngly ly con firm s the inten sification o f private signi signific ficance ance.. This Th is spect spectac acle le o f self -division i s no t peculi peculiar ar t o Le Le Corbusi Corbusier. er. F or, i n varying degrees, i t i s a dilemm dile mma a which whi ch the whole w hole mo dern movement movem ent appears appears t o sha sharre; and, and, i n it, the menta l climate o f the sixtee nth centu ry recei eceive vess i t s clearest parallel at the present day. Internal stylistic causes for sixteenth century Mannerism seem chiefly t o lie i n the impo ssibilit y o f ma intaini ng the majest majestic ic bala balanc nce e betwee between n clarity and drama drama whic h had marked the mature style of Bramant Bramante; e; b ut external factors of schism are also represented and Mannerism's architectural progress is, t o "
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a great extent, exten t, determined by thos those e religious and polit pol itic ical al confl co nflic icts ts which devastated contemporary Europe. The Reformation and Counter -Reformation empha values es opposed opposed to t o thos those e o f the humanists; the threat t o the Papa Papacy cy sis of religious valu and the European schism which the Reformation itself elicited; the resultant in crease of Spani Spanish sh influence influenc e in Ita It a ly ; all both bo th represent represent and contribu contr ibute te t o the emo tional tional and intellectual disturbance. disturbance. An d i f i n the sixteenth century Mannerism Mannerism wa was the visual index of an acute spiritual and political crisis, the recurrence of similar propensities at the present day should not be unexpected nor should correspond ing conflicts require indication. In an an architectu arch itectural ral context cont ext,, the theory theor y o f 1900 might mig ht be interpret inte rpreted ed as a reflec refle c tion tion of the tolerant liberalis liberalism m o f that tha t period; and, and, in our own ow n inabi in abilit lity y t o define define our position toward it, we might observe that contempt which we often feel for the nineteenth century liberal's too facile simplifications. Eclecticism is essentially the liberal style; and and i t was eclecticism which created that tha t characteristic produc pro duct, t, the detac detached hed and sophisticated sophisti cated observer. observer. A personality person ality o f enormous enormo us and almost mythical benevo benevolen lence ce and goodwill good will,, this i s an individu indi vidual al who se seems t o be be in i n fair fa irly ly constant demand by the modern movement the radi radieu euse se exists exists fo r h im t o enjoy; but this city also embodies a society in which i t seems likely that his detached observation could have scarcely any place.
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I t is, conceivably, f rom ro m the pre prese senc nce e of o f con c onfli flicts cts such such as as thes these e that tha t the drama of Le Corbusier's architecture derives; and, while the villa at La Chaux -de-Fonds might be be presented as as a firs fi rstt step in such such a proces process s of o f inve i nversi rsion, on, i t would perhaps be more more opportune oppor tune t o return retu rn to t o the distinc dist inctio tion n between the modern movement before 191 4 and the modern movement in the 1920s. In his his Sp Space, Time a n d Archit Arc hitect ecture ure,, Siegfried Giedion Gied ion make makes s a comparison betw betwee een n Gropius's Bauh Bauhau aus s buil bu ildi ding ng o f 1926 1 926 and a Cubist head, Picas Picasso so's 's sien sienne ne o f 191 1-1 2 (see Plat Plates es 66 and 67); and, and, from fr om it, it , he draws draws an inference of of whic which h the th e attractiveness attracti veness cannot be denied. I n the Bauhau Bauhaus s the extensive trans transparent parent areas, by demateria de materializing lizing the corners, corners, perm pe rmit it the hovering hoveri ng relations o f planes and the kin ki n d of o f overlapping which whic h appe appear ars s in contempora conte mporary ry But if, as already suggested, the program of Cubism i s no t whol wh olly ly a visual visual one, one, are are we to to ass assume ume that that these these works, apar ap artt fr f r o m a similarity o f form, are animat animated ed by a deeper similarity of content? I f so, we shall be obliged t o admi ad mitt that th at Gropius's aims are partly independent of visual justification; if not, we shall be obliged to deduce that, either the comparison i s superficial, or that Gropius himself had not fully ful ly understood the significance o f Cubism; Cubism; and, o f the these conclusions, it i s surely the the firs fi rstt whic wh ich h demands o u r assen assent. t. "
44 Mannerism and Modern Architecture
A profes professed sed lack o f interest i n formal form al experiment and and a belief in the possibility of extracting an architectural lyricism from the application of rational techniques t o the demand demands s of society, appea appearr t o for f or m the ba bases of o f Gropius's system. system. Yet Y et Giedion's comparison between the Bauhaus and the shows shows tha t in in us's work of 1926 abstraction i s not wholly denied; and i t i s indisputably this 'abstract' element which most clearly separates the Bauhaus from the productions previous to the First World War. Apart from fr om Gropius's Gropius's Ahlfeld Ahlf eld factory, the the building buil ding for the Deu Deuts tsch che e Werkbu Werkbund nd exhibition of 191 4 represe represents nts one o f the most self-conscious pre -World War I at tempts to t o extract extrac t architectural feeling from fr om a building's structura stru cturall skeleto skeleton. n. Sp Spe cific ci fic architectural effects of the pas pastt make make the the sligh slightes testt cont co ntri ribu buti tion on and and detail i s reduced to the simplest geometrical form; but, although in this building, mass i s contracted t o an an ultimate ult imate limi li mit, t, there there appe appea ars t o be be no decis decisive ive brea break k with wi th the pictorial ideals of c. 1900. The The m o t i f o f the famous sta stair irca case ses, s, corner corner cylindr cy lindrical ical elements elements whic wh ich ha appe ppear ar as wrapp w rapping ing round rou nd or burs bu rsti ting ng through throug h f l at faca facade des, s, can can be be paralleled i n academi academic c architecture architect ure before this th is date; date; and, and, although alt hough the transparent volum volumes es o f this buil b uildin ding g rep repre resen sentt a supre supreme me affir aff irmat mation ion o f a mechanist mechanistic ic idea ideall ism, ism, they t hey contai con tain n i n them themse selv lves es no single single element which appe appear ars s to t o contrad cont radict ict the dominant academic theory. The famous element of space -time does not enter into this building; and, unlike the Bauhaus, i t s complex can be summed up from two single positions. Even as late as 1923, the experiment at Am Horn at Weimar (Plate a simple composition of geometrical masses, can still be interpreted in these same terms; terms; and a parallel with wi th a neo neo-Classical monument, Goethe's garden house, coul co uld d stil st illl be be maintained.'' But, But , i n the same year, year, certai cer tain n Bauha Bauhaus us scheme schemes s most notabl not ably y those of Farka Farkas s Molnar Molna r (Plate (Plate 23) do suggest the approach which has come to to b be e considered considered as characteristic characteri stic o f mode mo dern rn architecture. architect ure. I n these these we notice noti ce an abandoning o f the idea idea o f mas mass, a substitution of plane, an emphasis upon the prismatic quality of the cube; and at the same time an attack on the cube, which by disrupting the coherence of i t s internal volume, volume, intensifie intensifies s our appreciation of both i t s planar and i t s geometrical qualities. These are projects which appear as complete of the Giedionesque concept of space -time for which the Bauhaus i s so justly famous. They are compositions which the eye cannot sum up . . . at one view ; which i t i s neces necessar sary y t o go around aro und on all al l side sides, s, t o se see . . . f r o m above above as well as as fr o m below. belo w. Now, Now, in the idea idea o f physical movement in the observati observation on o f a buildin buil ding g is is not new; and, if it form fo rmed ed a typica typ icall Baroqu Baroque e mean means s fo r observing the rise rise and and fall fa ll
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45 Manner Mannerism ism and Modern Archi Archite tect ctur ure e
of masses, i t is even more apparent in the irregular schemes of Romanticism. However, even they, let alone such symmetrical compositions as Blenheim, are usually usually provided wi th a single single domina dom inant nt element; and, and, se seen through the media media o f distance distance and atmospher atmosphere, e, the interrel inte rrelatio ationshi nship p o f freely disposed disposed ma masses is is com co mbined as a picturesque whole. I t i s clea clearr that, t hough intellectual limi tati ons do not enter enter i nt o the mega megalo loma mani nia a o f a Fonth ill, the limit atio ns of the eye, eye, of human vision, vision, are scrupulo scru pulously usly observed. observed. But at the Bauhaus, while one registers mental appreciation of both plan and structure, the eye i s face faced d w it h the disturbi ng problem o f simultan simultaneou eous s im pact from widely dispersed elements. A dominating central element i s eliminated; subsidiar sidiary y elemen elements ts ar are thus unabl unable e t o play a support sup port ing role; and, and, i n a state state of o f visual visual autonomy, they are disposed around the void of the central bridge which neither provides visual explanation for them as a consistent scheme nor allows them to assume independ independence ence as as separ separate ate unit un its s (Plate (Plat e 24 ). I n oth o ther er words, words, wi t h focus f ocus disallowed, the eye becomes stretched; and, noticing this, i t might be suggested that the role role o f this thi s brid bridge ge as the fundamen fund amental tal core o f the t he conce con cept ptio ion n and as the nega negation o f t he vis visual ual func tion o f a central central elem elemen entt is clos closely ely related related t o th at o f the blank panel at La Chaux-de-Fonds. For, in a similar way, this bridge i s both a sourc source e and a result resu lt o f peripheral disturbance disturbances; s; and i t i s significant that only from a non-visual angle, the 'abstract' view from the air, can the Bauhaus become intelligible to the eye (Plate 25). In this idea of disturbing, rather than providing immediate pleasure for the eye, the the element element of delight i n modern architecture architecture appe appear ars s chiefly t o lie. A n inten intense se precision precision or an an exagg exaggera erated ted rust icity ici ty o f detail i s pres presen ente ted d with wi th in the bounds bounds o f a strictly strict ly conc concei eive ved d complex o f planned planned obscurit y; and a labyr int hin e sc schem heme i s offered which frustrates the eye by intensifying the visual pleasure of individual epis episod odes es,, in i n themsel themselves ves only on ly t o become become coherent as as the result resu lt o f a mental act ac t o f reconstruction. Sixteenth century Mannerism i s characterized by similar ambiguities; and, to proceed to comparison, a deliberate and insoluble spatial complexity might be thought to be offered equally by Michelangelo's Sforza (Figure 3 ) and Mies Mies va van der der Rohe Rohe's 's project o f 1923 f or the Brick Bric k Countr Cou ntr y Hous House e (Figure 4). In the the Sfor Sforza za,, Michel Michelan ange gelo, lo, working in i n the tradi tr adi tion ti on o f the centralized building, establishes an apparently centralized space; but, within i t s limits, every effort i s then made to destroy that focus which such a space demands. Invaded by columns s e t on the dia diago gona nal, l, supported by ap apses of o f a fo rm bot h def inite ini te and incomplete, the central space is completed not by a dome but by a balloon vault;
-
-
46 Mannerism Mannerism and and Modern Architec Arch itecture ture
Figure 3 Sforza, Santa Maria giore, Rome. Plan. Michelangelo Buonarotti, completed 1573. Figure 4 Project, Brick Country House. Ludw Lu dwig ig Mies van van der Rohe, 1923.
47 Mannerism and Modern Architecture
Figure 5 Project, House, Magdeburg. Mies van der Rohe, 1935.
Figure 6 Villa Giulia, Rome. Plan. Jacopo Barozzi Barozzi da da Vign Vi gnol ola a and and Barto B artolome lomeo o nati, 1552- .
49 Mannerism and Modern Architecture
and, w i t h this thi s sp space furrowe fur rowed d by conf co nflilict ctin ing g thrusts t hrusts and en engaged in i n active competi comp etitio tion n w i t h the are area o f the sanc sanctua tuary, ry, there en ensues n o t so so much ideal ideal harmony as planned distraction. And, And, i n the Brick Bri ck Coun Co untr try y House, House, there are are analog analogous ous developments developments t o be be ob o bserved. This house i s with wi th out ou t either conclusion or focus; focus; and, and, if here Mies i s operatin ating g not wit hin the the tradit ion o f the cen centra traliz lized ed building but, ultimatel y, in t hat o f the irregular and freely disposed Romantic plan, the disintegration of proto type is as comp co mple lete te as as wi w i t h Michelangelo. Michelangel o. I n bo b o t h cases, form fo rms s are precise, precise , vol vo lumes competiti compet itive ve and undefined; but, while an effec t o f studied incoherence incoherence is is apparently apparently an ideal i n bo t h ca cases, wi th Michelangelo Michelangelo the use use o f a Composite order ord er and its accessories offers a statement of conventional legibility; whereas Mies can intrude no such directly recognizable material. Mies's means are both less and less publi public; c; and, and, wi th him , the involuted clar ity o f his his inte ntio n is, prim aril y, reg registered in the private abstraction of his plan. Similar correspondences are to be found in two such widely differing schemes as House at Magdeburg (Figure 5) tho those o f the the Mies Mies project o f 1935 fo r the and the Villa Giulia of Vignola and Ammannati (Figure 6); and, and, although alt hough i n neither ther of o f these these is there the exagge exaggerat rated ed comp co mple lexi xity ty o f the last tw t w o examp examples les,, b ot h are dev devel elop oped ed w it hin hi n the the bounds bounds o f a tig htl y defined c our tyard tya rd and, and, in neither case, are element elements s clearly clearl y separated o r an unimpede uni mpeded d f l o w o f spa space permi per mitt tted ed.. The general la yout o f the the Villa Vill a Giulia i s axial, axial, emphas emphasizin izing g the hemicycle o f its corps de bu t the the un if yi ng quality quality of this this axi axis s i s scarcely allowed to appear. As an agent o f organization i t i s constantly interrupted by light screens and small changes o f level level which arc arc sufficient suffici ent t o crea create te ambiguity ambigui ty wi th ou t making its sour source ces s i n any way to t o o obvious obvious.. A t the House, Mies imposes a T-shaped building upon his courtyard; but, like the axis at the Villa Giulia, again, its role is pass passiv ive. e. I t i s bo th subordina subordinate te and and contr adict ory t o the rigid organizatio organization n o f the the bounding wall; wall; and, and, while the idea idea o f the T-shape suggests a geometrical form, then then by an unaccountable unaccountable advan advance ce and inte rcepti rce ption on o f plane planes, s, the purely pure ly logical cons conseq eque uenc nces es o f this th is f o r m are are studiousl studi ously y avoided. avoided. Thus, Thus, i n b ot h sch sche emes mes, precis precise e compos compositio itions ns o f apparently undeniabl undeniable e cl arity ari ty off er an overall overall intellect int ellectual ual satis satisfa fac ction wi thi n which which i t seems neither neithe r t o be be desired desired nor no r expected expect ed that th at any single element should be visually complete. I t is particularly the space arrangements of the present day which will bear com pariso parison n wi th those o f the sixteenth cen tury; tur y; and, in i n the arran arrangem gement ent o f faca facade des s, Mannerist Mannerist parallel parallels s must be be bo th harder to t o fi f i n d and and less valuab valuable le t o prove. The Mannerist architect, working within the classical system, inverts the natural logic o f i t s impl ied structural fun cti on; b ut modern modern architecture architecture make makes s no overt overt
50
Mannerism and Modern Architecture
ence to the classical system. In more general terms, the Mannerist architect works towards the t he crushing emph emphasi asis s or the t he visua visuall elim el imin inat atio ion n o f ma mass, towards the exploitati ploi tati on or the denia deniall o f ide ideas o f load or o f appa apparen rentt stability. He exploits con contrad tr adic icto tory ry elemen elements ts in i n a fac facad ade, e, employs empl oys harshly harshly rectilinear rectili near forms, and emph emphas asiz izes es a type o f arre arreste sted d movement; movement; but, but , if many o f thes these e tendencies tendencies are are characteristic occurr occurrenc ences es i n the vertical surfac surfaces es o f contemporary contempor ary architecture, architec ture, comparison comparison here here is perhap perhaps s of o f a more superficial super ficial than clearly demonstrable demonstrable order. order . However, in the present-day choice o f texture, text ure, surfa surface, ce, and detail, aims genera generall t o Manneri Mannerism sm might mig ht possibly be detected. The surfac surface e of o f the t he Mannerist Mannerist wall i s either primitive or overrefined; and a brutally direct rustication frequently occurs in combin com binati ation on wi th an an ex excess of attenuated attenua ted deli delicac cacy. y. I n this context, contex t, i t i s frivo lous to t o compa compare re the preciosity preci osity o f Serlio's restles restlessly sly modele modeled, d, quoined desig designs ns wi th our own random rubble; but the frigid architecture which appears as the back ground ground t o many many o f Bronzino Bronzino's 's portraits i s surely surely balan balance ced d by the chill ch ill o f many interiors inter iors o f our own ow n day. day. And the linear linear delicac delicacy y o f much contemporary detail certainly finds a sixteenth century correspondence. A further Mannerist device, the discord between elements of different scale placed placed in immediate imm ediate juxtap jux taposi ositio tion, n, offers o ffers a more valuabl valuable e parall parallel. el. I t is familiar as the overscaled entrance door; and it i s employed, alike, by Michelangelo in the apses o f St. Peter's Peter's (Plate (Plate 26) and, and, w i t h diff di ffer eren entt elemen elements, ts, by Le Corbusier in the de Refuge (Plate 2 7) . The ap apses o f St. Peter's alternate alterna te large and small bays, bays, and they extrac ext ractt the t he utmo u tmost st poignancy poignancy and eleg elegan ance ce fr om the movement o f ma mass and and the dramatic dramatic de fini fi niti tion on o f plan plane. e. They ar are o f a perfection beyond beyond the the ordi or dinary; and, side side by side side wi th the gaping gaping over oversc scal aled ed voids o f window win dow and niche niche i n the large bays, there appears the violent discord of the smaller and dissimilar niches niches which se seem t o be be crush crushed, ed, but bu t no n o t extinguished, extinguished, by b y the mino mi norr niations. I n comparing the ap apses of o f St. Pete Peter' r's s wi th the buildi bui ldi ng for fo r the Salva Salvation tion Army, perh perhap aps s we really really measur sure the prod p roduct uction ion o f our own ow n day. day. I n the Salvatio Salvation n Ar my building, i n a composi com positio tion n o f ag aggressive and pro foun fo und d sophistication, sophistic ation, plastic ele elements ments o f a major scal scale e are foiled foil ed again against st the comparatively comparati vely m inor in or regulations regulations of the glazed wall. Here again the complete identity of discordant objects i s af firmed; and, as at St. Peter's, in this intricate and monumental conceit, there i s n o release and no unambiguous satisfaction for the eye. Disturbance i s complete; and if, in this mechanized conception, there is nothing which replaces the purely huma human n poetry o f sixteenth sixteenth centur y organizat organization, ion, there there i s still a savage delicacy which makes explicable Le Corbusier's upon Michelangelo and St. Peter's
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Mannerism and Modern Architecture
"
which grouped together the square shapes, the drum, the dome, and whose mouldings are of an intensely passionate character, harsh and The quality qu ality o f this appreciation appreciation penetrat penetrates es beyond the mere mere externals externals o f appearance pearance.. Eve Even n i n his choice o f adjectiv adjectives, es, L e Corbusier Corbusier involves the observ observer er o n a plan plane e ot other her than that o f visua visuall discrimination; and, although suc such h discrimina discr imina tion may assist the evaluation of Mannerist and modern architecture, through the standa standards rds o f the eye eye neither ne ither can be fu l l y understood. understo od. St. Peter Peter's 's,, as conceived by Michelangelo, Le Corbusier finds the embodiment of passion, an intelligence beyond normal, it was the everlasting Yea, an eternal scheme which is beyond the limi tatio ns o f any any time. B ut i t is is sure surely ly n ot acciden accidental tal that th at it i s by the Mannerand co nf li ct o f this build ing th at he i s most deeply moved. Nor, presumi s t excess and ably, i s i t by accident accident th that at this capaci capacity ty o f a modern architect t o perc percei eive ve stridently incompatible details should so closely coincide with the beginning of their in vestigat vestigation ion by historians o f art. For Burckhardt in the nineteenth century, the R icett o o f Miche Michelan langel gelo's o's "
"
"
renzia renziana, na, embo em body dyin ing g some some o f his earliest Mannerist experiments, experim ents, was evidently a joke o f the th e great master. But, for subsequent generations, the joke has become less clear; and, although for a time i t was only a proto - baroque sixteenth century which was visi visibl ble, e, fo r the 1920s an an epoch epoch curiously reproducing repro ducing contemporary contem porary patterns patterns o f distur disturba bance nce be beca cam me appare apparent. nt. A t this time, i t i s as though the eye a dec decis isiv ive e t wi st by which, sinc since e i t demanded visual ambiguity, it could produce it in contempo co ntemporary rary works and dis disco cove verr it in a previous previous age even in works o f apparently apparen tly unimpeachable unimpeachable correc correctne tness. ss. Thus, i f at one time the classicism of the whole Re Rena nais issa sanc nce e movement move ment seeme seemed d t o be be compl com plet etel ely y clear and, i f at another, othe r, the impressionist eye eye o f the Edwardians Edward ians was everywhere enabled t o see the voluptuous qualities of their own baroque; so the present day seems to be particu larly suscepti susceptible ble t o the uneas uneasy y violence violence o f Manner Mannerism ism which marks marks b bot oth h iits ts own o wn productions produc tions and its historical histor ical admirations. Thus Thus,, it i s pe perh rhap aps s inevitable th at Mannerism nerism should come t o be be isolated and and defin de fined ed by historians historia ns duri du ring ng those those sam same year years s o f the 1920s 1920s when modern architecture fe lt most strongly the demand fo r inverted spatial effects. "
"
-
52 Mannerism an and d Modern Archit Arc hitect ecture ure
12 Le Corbusier, Corbusier, Towards Towards a Ne New w Archite Arc hitec cture, p. 158.
Notes
1 I n Le Corbusier's Vers une une architectur archi tecture, e, according to the English English translation, translation, Lon London don 1927, p. 76, this villa vil la o f small dimensi dimension ons, s, seen in i n the midst o f other othe r buildings buil dings erected erected wi thou th outt a rule, give gives s the effect o f being more monumental and of o f another another order. order. "
"
2 Se See Serlio, Tutte Tut te I'opere In the edi tion ti on o f 161 9, paneling paneling alternating with wit h windows windows occu occurs rs i n Book I, pp. 23, 29, 33, 53, 151, 159, 187,221,229. The exampl example e i n Book p. 187, sugg sugges ests ts itse it selflf as a possible source for f or sche scheme me.. I t was perhaps perhaps through thro ugh the influence influence of o f Serlio Serlio that this this mo ti f pen pene etrated France, where, for instance, alternat ing wit w it h a rang range e o f windows, windows, it i s t o be seen seen i n such a sche scheme me as Lesc L escot's ot's Louvre. Louv re. 3 Nikola Nik olaus us Pe Pevs vsne ner, r, The Architecture of Mannerism, Mint, 1946. Anthony Blunt, Mannerism in Architecture, R.I.B.A. Journal, March, "
"
"
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4 David Hume, " Of the Standard of Taste, Essays Moral, Moral, Pol itic it ical al an and d Literary, Liter ary, Lon don, 1898, p. 268.
"
5 Se See Arn A rnol old d Whitt W hittick, ick, Eric Er ic Mendelso Mendelsohn, hn, London, 1940. 6 Nikolaus Pe Pevs vsne ner, r, Pionee Pioneers rs o f the Modern Movement, London, 1937, p. 192. 7 Le Corbusier, Corbusier, Towards Towards a New Archi A rchitec tec ture, London, 1927, p. 102. 8 Ibid., p. 31 9 Siegfried Giedion, Spa Space, ce, Time an and d A rchi rc hi tecture, tect ure, 5 t h ed. ed.,, Cambridge, Mass. ass.,, 1967 1967,, p. 495. 10 Herbert Bayer, Walter Gropius, Bauhaus, 1919-28, New York, 1938, p. 85. 11 Giedion, p. 497.
Plate 17 Villa Schwob, Le Corbusier, 191 6. Plate
.
La Chaux-de-Fonds.
18 Villa Schwob. Plan
.
.
.
.. .
.
54 Mannerism Mannerism and
Architecture
Plate 20 Casino Zuccheri, Florence. Federigo Zuccheri, 1578.
Plate 19 Casa d i Vicenza. Attributed
to
(Casa Andrea
Plate 21 Steiner Steiner House, House, Vienna. Ad ol f Loos, Loos, 1910.
55
Mannerism and Modern Architecture
am Horn, Weimar. Plate 22 Weimar. Georg Muche and Adolf Meyer, 1923.
Plate 23 Project, The Molnar, 1923.
Red
Cube. Farkas
56
Mannerism and Modern Architecture
Plate 24 Bauhaus, Bauhaus, Dess Dessau au.. Walter Gropius Grop ius,, 1925 -26.
Plate 25 Bauhau Bauhaus. s. Aerial Aeri al view.
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Mannerism and Modern Architecture
Plate 26 St. Peter's, Peter's, Rome. Detail Det ail o f aps apses es.. Michelangelo Buonarotti, 1546-
.
Plate 27 Cite' de Refuge (Salvation Army Building), Paris. Facade. Le Corbusier,