Architectural Literature

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how Palladio was informed by the Western, classical tradition of thought which is demonstrated in his style as well as in his subject material. Sinan's biographer, however, relied on a more fluid and poetic Eastern tradition in both description and focus. The paper examines how, influenced by the burgeoning Italian Renaissance of the time, Palladio's treatise is a critical examination of classical architecture. "Memoirs of Sinan," however, represents a holistic examination of the architect's life. The paper reveals that due to the fact that Palladio's text is written in a very familiar style, researchers and students might well have the tendency to focus on it while ignoring the more complex and holistic text about an architect from Turkey.

From the Paper:

"To begin with, consider Andrea Palladio and his Four Books of Architecture. Palladio is one of the most famous Western architects. He constructed buildings of many types in Venice and other parts of Italy during his lifetime, 1508-1580. His Four Books on Architecture was printed in Venice in 1570 and describes a variety of aspects of classical architecture, as it was known at the time. Book I examines the preparations necessary for architectural construction as well as materials employed. Book II discusses ancient Greek and Roman private houses. Book III describes public works and civic architecture, while Books IV is specifically devoted to a discussion of ancient Roman temples and places of religious worship."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Celebi, Sai Mustafa. Tezkiretu'l-Bunyan and Tezkiretu'l-Ebniye (Memoirs of Sinan the Architect). In Book of Buildings. Trans. Hayati Deyeli and Priscilla Mary Isin. Istanbul, 2002. 29-39, 58-77, 91-99.
• Matthews, Kevin. "Sinan." Great Buildings Online. 2006. 2 Mar. 2006 <http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Sinan.html>.
• Palladio, Andrea. Four Books on Architecture. Trans. Robert Tavernor and Richard Schofield. Cambridge, 1997.
• Tavernor, Robert. "Palladio's Four Books on Architecture." Architecture Week 2 Aug. 2000. 4 Mar. 2006 <http://www.architectureweek.com/2000/0802/culture_3-1.html>.

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