Harmony to the Eyes: Charting Palladio's Architecture from Rome to Baltimore, March 14-June 17, 2008

Abstract

Andrea Palladio is widely considered the most influential architect in Western history. Born in 1508 in Padua, Italy, Palladio worked in an age that witnessed a revived interest in antiquity. Stimulated by the discovery of the ancient Roman architectural treatise De architectura (The Ten Books of Architecture) by Pollio Vitruvius, Palladio and fellow Renaissance architectural theorists studied the classical ruins and wrote architectural treatises of their own. Palladioâ s I Quattro Libri dellâ Architettura (The Four Books of Architecture) is the preeminent among these treatises. During his lifetime, Palladio gained great fame both for his impressive building designs and for his numerous publications. His ideas and style spread throughout the Italian Renaissance, and extended to England and ultimately to America. In Baltimore, Palladioâ s influence can be seen in the design of the Baltimore Basilica, Americaâ s first Cathedral, and in the residences of Mount Clare and Homewood. This exhibition traces Palladioâ s architectural development and illustrates his lasting legacy on building design, particularly in Baltimore. The books on display come primarily from the Fowler Architectural Collection in the John Work Garrett Library at Johns Hopkinsâ Evergreen Museum.