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

CHAPTER VIII

HUMANISTVALUES

I

/Architecture, simply

and immediately perceived,

is acombination,revealed

through lightandshade,

ofspaces,ofmasses,andoflines.

These

few

elements

make

the

coreofarchitecturalexperiencex; anexperi-

encewhichtheliterary

fancy,thehistoricalimagina-

tion,thecasuistryofconscienceandthecalculations

of science, cannot constitute or determine, though

i

they may encircle andenrich. Howgreat a chaos

must

ensuewhenourjudgments

of

architectureare

baseduponthese secondaryand encirclinginterests

thepreviouschaptershavesuggested,andthepresent

state of architecturemight confirm. Itremains to

beseenhowfarthesecentralelements—thesespaces,

masses and lines—can provide a ground for our

criticismthatisadequate

orsecure.

The spaces, masses

and lines of architecture, as

perceived,areappearances. Wemayinfer

fromthem

further facts about a

building which are not per-

ceived;factsabout

construction,factsabouthistory

iia