The Essence of Humanism Seen Through the Villa Rotunda - Essay Example

Running Head: The essence of humanism seen through the Villa Rotunda The essence of humanism seen through Andrea Palladio's famous Villa Rotunda building The Essence of Humanism Seen Through the Villa Rotunda Introduction Humanism is a broad term associated with the ethical philosophies that accredits the dignity and worth of all the human beings on the rationale they pursue truth and dignity through investigations and efforts (Petrosyan, 1972, p98). The concept was basically evolved during the great intellectual movement of Renaissance in Italy. The humanism theorists believe that Greek and Latin classics have completed lessons and guidelines to assist a person throughout his lifetime. This belief led the theorists to deeply explore the works to understand the models of spending the lives. The Renaissance period also gave birth to the phenomenon of learning from the nature that became the base for the revival of classical letter and teachings. This ideology was backed by the belief that these learning can guide the humans towards the right path of the life. The humanism theorists believe that the human being can seek for assistance from nature in each and every facet of their lives. When it comes to arts, the humanists believe that an artist should reflect the perfection and balance that he found in different creatures of the nature. In this way, an artist can also emulate the perfection and balanced beauty of the natural creations (Petrosyan, 1972, p98). The main objective of the following discussion is to explore the humanism through the analysis of an architectural work done during the Renaissance period. In this regard, the essay strives to explore the essence of humanism in one of the most finest buildings of Renaissance period; Villa Rotunda that was built by an eminent humanist architect of that time Andrea Palladio who was the chief architect of Venetian Republic. This building is chosen because Palladio is among the prominent humanists of his age and the focus upon one of his major accomplishment could be a significant way to apprehend the values of humanism reflected through the art pieces. Palladio was among the most influential architects of the Renaissance era whose work is great source of inspiration even for the architects of modern time (Hopkins, 2002, p43). He has designed twenty villas in Venetian Minland during his lifetime and almost all of them are regarded as beautiful example of renaissance arts; however, the villa rotunda possesses a distinguished position among all of his works and it has been regarded as the finest and subtle art work of Palladio that is alive even after centuries (Howard and Deborah, 1980, p224). The essay aims to present an insightful analysis of the villa from the perspective of exploring the speculation of the humanist values in the designing of the villa. Theory of Humanism and Architecture The humanism theory proposes that God has created the universe and then the human beings have developed and industrialized the world by creating certain things on the same lines as nature did. The beauty within the creation is regarded as the essential element that can lead a person towards the path of God because it reflects the inner virtue and value. The artists supporting the theory of humanism commonly believe that the artist is supposed to follow the divine style of creation. The artists should use his hands and minds to reach the peak of creativity in the same manner as the nature has created astonishing and wonderful objects in the world. The work of the human beings could not be perfect like that of God; however, it is important that the artists must attempt to create objects that imitate the creator (Barry, 2002, p36). The humanism theorists view that the artists can learn about achieving perfect blend of balance and beauty in their creations only when they consult the nature and look around different natural objects to see the balancing techniques use in their creations. The human body itself is regarded as an important source to learn about balancing while creating an object. During the renaissance era, many of the architects attempted to accomplish the creation of a building that can perfectly represent the numerical and proportion significance in connection with the harmony of nature. The Renaissance arts is regarded as major representative of the humanistic themes and techniques that proposes humanistic discourse as the main theme of arts. Most of the architects of the renaissance age also had firm belief upon the theory of humanism and their belief is clearly visible through their accomplishment (Barry, 2002, p36). The artists following the theory of humanism believe that the architect of a building is representation of the thinking of its creator about the nature. The style of constructing different parts of a building and their relationship shows how the architect views the relationship between different natural objects. The beauty and balance of a building also compliments the perfection of the nature (Petrosyan, 1972, p98). Essence of Humanism in Villa Rotunda The icon of world classical architect – Villa Rotunda is among the fundamental principles of the Renaissance arts. The classical portico then became great source of inspiration for the designing of some notable buildings including the White House in Washington and the villa of Lord Burlington in Chiswick. The villa tells about the great level of intellectual awareness of its creator regarding the nature and humanity and it is considered as a great symbolic work that guides the architects and imparts several ideas to them about connecting the natural phenomenon with the designing of the buildings. The most utopian villa of Palladio perfectly defines the humanist approach through its designing, features and material used. The Rotunda villa is not only a comprehensive and memorable work of Palladio but it is provides a plot to the debates around the topic of theories of humanism in connection with visual arts that were generated main during the renaissance era. The designing of the villa consists of different geometrical shapes that can be commonly seen in different natural objects like circle, square etc. (Howard and Deborah, 1980, p224) Figure 1 is the complete view of the villa that shows its exterior designing and landscape. Andrea Palladio have accomplished such architectural pieces that later become great source of inspiration for other architects. His work not only reflects the architectural expertise but it was a reflection of the ideas and philosophies he held. The strong connection of his work with nature and humanism made his work even more admiring and worth appraising. Almost all of the buildings of Palladio very well speak about the humanist ideology held by their creature. However, the villa Rotunda is the finest, superior and widely praised work of Palladio that truly represents his thinking and beliefs. The essence of humanism is visible in the sight of villa through its imposing effects of the work as well as the effects of the building upon the landscape. The Rotunda Villa is the third and the finest Villa architected by Palladio. He began the work on this Villa in 1567 in Vicenza. In the designing of this villa, Palladio attempted to reflect his humanist philosophy with all its strength and fineness. This perfectly symmetrical villa is centrally planned with a dome over the central main hall to refer to different geometrical shapes found in natural objects (Hopkins, 2002, p43) The representative of the humanist values of the Renaissance age, the name of the Villa Rotunda itself refers to the design of the villa that is a circle within a square. The villa is constructed 45 degree rotated from each cardinal point of the compass. This is done to assure that each and every room of the villa will get the sunlight. The beautiful site of the villa is built away from the main city. It was not intentionally meant to be a farm state but a second home away from the city that has three storeys. The villa was constructed for a priest Paolo Almerico who commissioned Palladio to construct his villa. The construction of the villa was much inspired from the Pantheon in Rome. The villa is built on a hilltop that was some miles away from the city of Vicenza. The owner of the villa selected this site as he want a peaceful and simple lifestyle and thus, he asked Palladio to designed a simple but beautiful and elegant villa for him and Palladio didn’t disappointed him at all (Hopkins, 2002, p43). Figure 2 shows the interior decoration of the villa Palladio designed the rooms of the villa is a manner that comply with the harmony of the parts of the human body. As he explained his thinking “the large rooms ought to be so related to the middle ones, and these to the small, that… one part of the building may correspond with the other, so that the whole body of the edifice may have in itself a certain harmony of members which may make it entirely beautiful and graceful” (Wittkower, 1971, p130). The woodcut engraving of the floor plan is also a reflection of certain natural objects. The villa is built using bricks and stucco. There are less decorative materials used in the construction of the villa and only the curved stones are used to add beauty and elegance to the villa. This simple yet elegant villa of central Italy possesses great position in the art work commenced during the sixteenth century. It was also sold for high amount of 18,500 ducats in 1591. Palladio believed that it is essential for an architect to highlight the divine connection between the organic metaphors of the world with that of the nature and harmony. The philosophy of Palladio behind the reflection of humanism through the architecture could be understood very well in his own words. Palladio said “indeed, if we consider this beautiful machine of the world, with how many wonderful ornaments it is filled, and how the heavens, by their continual revolutions, change the seasons according as nature requires, and their motion preserves itself by the sweetest harmony of temperature; we cannot doubt, but that the little temples we make, ought to resemble this very great one.” (Hopkins, 2002, p43) These words of Palladio clearly tell about the motivation behind his work to show the essence of humanity through the structures of the buildings. he belief that an architect should necessarily understand the divine order so that he can be able to reproduce the same structure and motion in his work that can symbolize the work of the nature. The site of the villa itself is a beautiful expression of perfect blend of art, nature and humanity. The cultural phenomenon presented through the architect of this villa reminds the strong link between man, science and nature. The facades of the villa are endowed with classical portico that is reachable through a flight of steps. All the rooms built at the main floor of the villa are carefully proportioned so that they can add to the balanced structure of the building. The central room is built in circle shape that is capped by a doom. This central room is surrounded by the other small rooms present on the first floor and the designing of these rooms to link them with each other is an excellent work of Palladio that shows his perfect capability of mathematical dimensioning. The rooms surround the central room and at the same time they are also connected with each other to refer to the human body as well as the human system. It shows how different parts and groups of the humans have their separate identity but they remain connected with each other and somehow they all are connected to a single central unit that possess major position for them. It shows that the designing of the room is not just an excellent example of perfectly balanced and mathematically supported architecture but it also complements the theory of humanism that depicts the connection between the nature and arts (Wittkower, 1971, p130). Figure 3 shows the interior portal of the villa The modular system of the proportion related with the dimension of the columns that are another source of reflection of the scales of the human form. This balance refers to the harmony of the nature beautifully reflected in the work of Palladio. The motive behind the provision of sunlight to each room of the villa is also fuelled by the humanist values possessed by Palladio. The site of the villa also complies with the landscape to provide complete harmony. The facade has certain variation because each side is designed differently to match with the surroundings. The width of the steps and the retaining walls are is different for every side (Hopkins, 2002, p43). Thus, it is found that each and every feature of the building is designed keeping in view the natural objects that refers to the desire of Palladio to completely comply with the natural phenomenon. Conclusion The above analysis of the Villa Rotunda from the viewpoint of the speculation of the humanist values in its designing reveals that Palladio has very well use his expertise and intellectual intelligence to create a masterpiece that drawn long lasting impression upon the world of architecture. The villa does not only stands as a building but it depicts entire philosophy and an age of creative art that is based on the notion of the expression of human dignity and worth achieved through exploring knowledge from the treasures of nature. It is found from the above discussion that the Villa Rotunda is an excellent example to cite as a building that is built upon the foundations of an ideology. The building is constructed not only using the mathematical or geometrical techniques but different natural phenomenon was kept in consideration while making the decisions about each and every feature of the villa. The analysis of the Villa Rotunda shows that Palladio being a notable humanist had carefully designed the building. Though he was not in the world to see the finished form of the building but still it is the reflection of his beliefs and his great dream that come true in form of the creation of this villa. Different features of the villa echoes the humanist values like its site and landscape, the design of the building using different shapes like circle and square; the rotation of the building at 45 degree at assure the reach of sunlight to every room; the designing of the central circular room in such a way that all the other rooms connect with the main room and give the impression of the human body. All of these features affirm that the Villa Rotunda is a beautiful, simple and elegant piece of Renaissance architect that shows how the humanist values can be portrayed within a building. References Barry, P. (2002). Beginning Theory: an introduction to literary and cultural theory, 2nd Ed, Manchester University Press, Manchester, U.K., p. 36 Howard and Deborah (1980). “Four Centuries of Literature on Palladio,” The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. Vol. 39, No. 3 (Oct. 1980) pp. 224-241 Hopkins, Andrew (2002). Italian Architecture from Michelangelo to Borromini. Thames &Hudson Ltd., London; 2002. Petrosyan, M. (1972). Humanism: Its Philosophical, Ethical, and Sociological Aspects, Progress Publishers, Moscow. Wittkower, Rudolf (1971). Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York; 1971. Read More