The architecture of humanism; a study in the history of taste

1

88 THE

ARCHITECTUREOF

HUMANISM

belongs
to

thenaturalproductsofatime

and

place.

Itistooclassical.

Ontheotherhandthereisaschool

ofcritics

who

arrive ata

diametricallycontrary result. Theydo

not complain that the Renaissance substitutes the

idealof

'

correctness

'

forthatoffitnessandbeauty,

but that it is insufficiently

'

correct.' They donot

criticisethereturntotheantique: theyapplaudit

;

butthey

saythatintheearlyRenaissancethe

classic

manner was imperfectly mastered, and thatin the

laterRenaissanceitwasdeliberatelymisused. They

approve Bramante and Palladio and the
academic

school; but

for

the rest—and above all for the

baroque

—

^theyhaveoneconstantgroundofcensure

:

Renaissance architecture perverts the forms, and

violates the

*

rules

'

of classical design. It is not

classicalenough.

Amongtheprejudiceswhichnowaffectourvision

of architecture this point of

'

imitation

'

must cer-

tainly be reckoned. Whether forpraise or blame,

wesee,and wecannothelpseeing,

the

Renaissance

style is in somesense
a transcript of classic style.

Thequestionis,inwhatsense? Howarewetoview

this

'

imitation

'

whichforsomecriticsis

too

servile,

andforotherstooindifferent
?

Theanswerisnoteasy,foratfirst

sightthe

classic

influence in Renaissance
architecture takes wholly"

differentforms. Theclassicismof

Brunelleschiisin