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

THE ACADEMIC

TRADITION

203

design
;

itgivesreliefand

accenttothenewintention,

;

justasthe

commonformofa

poetical

metreenables

thepoettogivefullvalue
tohismodulations. So,in

i

Renaissance

architecture, a thickening of the dia-

'

meterofacolumn,asudden

increaseintheprojection

ofa cornice,each

subtlestchange ofratioand pro-

portion,wassureofitseffect.

Anewaesthetic

pur-

posewhenitisready

forexpressionfirstshowsitself

andgathersforcein athousand suchdeviations, all

tendinginasoledirection.

Wemaymarkthem,

for

instance, in

the early years of the baroque, and

realisehowlarge afactorin theireffect lies inthe

academiccanonwhichtheycontradicted.

And if the inherited conventions of architecture

assistthe articulationofnew style,theyserve also

tokeepkeentheedgeofcriticism. InFlorencethe

adventofanew moulding could be the subjectof

epigrams andsonnets

;

the architect whoventured

it risked a persecution.^ The academic tradition

ensured that the standard

of taste was jealously

guardedandcriticallymaintained.

IV

An academic tradition, allied, as it was

in the

Renaissance,

to

alivingsenseofart,isfruitful

;

but

theacademictheoryisatall

timesbarren.

*

Cf.theexcitement

which,accordingtoMilizia,wasrousedby

Bacciod'Agnolo'streatment

ofthewindowsoftheEartoliniPalace.

ThewrathoftheFlorentines

might,inthiscase,havebeenappeased