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The Institute of Classical Architecture and Art offers a free lecture Thursday night on, what a Freemason might call, the essentials of Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty in architecture.
(In Masonic theory, to link architectural integrity to the human form, it may be useful to recollect the Apprentice’s Perfect Points of Entrance and the Master’s—formerly the Fellow’s—Five Points of Fellowship, among other ritual elements in the lodge.)
From the publicity:
The ancient Vitruvian analogy between the human being and architecture was reconsidered in the Early Renaissance, most profoundly by Leon Battista Alberti. His writings emphasize the role of a human being as an ideal type, worthy of representation in the visual arts. According to Alberti, beauty in architecture is innate, which means that a person cannot help but respond in a positive way to a well proportioned building. Alberti even believed that if an army were to enter a city with the intention of destroying it, but the buildings were beautiful, the warriors would lay down their weapons and act in a peaceful manner. This utopian theory provides insight into architecture’s extraordinary role of maintaining civic life. In his theoretical writings, Alberti assisted architects by outlining the steps to be followed when designing a building.
This premier of a video course presented by Peter Kohane, Senior Lecturer of Architecture at UNSW Sydney, will review Alberti’s principles and discuss both their relation to the architecture of the Renaissance and how they can be applied to architectural debates today. The video premiere will be followed by live Q&A with Dr. Kohane.
What You Will Learn
- Alberti’s principles, including the steps involved in making a classical building.
- That an architect in the Renaissance strived to create forms which accord with the constitution of a human being.
- That a building by Alberti was intended to have a positive impact on a beholder, which involved acting in a civilized manner within the city.
- How to invoke Alberti’s ideas to clarify the nature of debates in the present about architecture and the city.
Register here.
