Understanding Architecture Through Drawing

public open spaces that contained market halls, shopping
streets, stadia and theatres. The point and counterpoint of
a typical Roman settlement are a pleasure to contemplate
and draw, especially in the tranquil decay of many
classical sites in the Mediterranean or Aegean regions.
A grasp of perspective helps in fashioning the
sketches on the page. Few Roman sites are without a
grand vista, monumental gateway or viaduct striding
across the countryside. Single point perspective allows
the heroic ambition of the Roman architect to be analysed
in the context of the wider landscape. However, parallel
geometries and right-angled crossings are only part of the
typical scene; there are also usually fragments of
sculpture, friezes and intricately carved capitals. These
provide an attractive richness of detail to the orthogonal

discipline of Roman town planning whilst also alluding to

the cultural significance of art in classical times. Sketching

on site demands the kind of attention to large gestures

and small details that is the essence of classical

architecture.

Where a large amount of sculpture and carved detail

has failed to survive (it is often to be found in nearby

museums rather than in situ, as at Palmyra in Syria and

Perge in Turkey), there is still much to investigate via the

sketchbook. One can learn about Roman construction

techniques, not just the use of arch and lintel but the way

stone blocks were cemented together and mixed with

brick in areas away from public gaze. The sketchbook can

be used to explore the ingenuity of Roman engineering as

well as architecture, not just in the walls but beneath the

166 Understanding architecture through drawing