THE HISTORICISM
OF QUANTIFIED PROPORTION

Critical objections
to Wittkower's
"Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism"

Outlining a "theory of relativity" of preÐmodern architectural form

by Nold Egenter

This text was first presented in 1986 at the 'Second International and Interdisciplinary Forum on Built Form and Culture Research', at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, USA. Since then it has been revised considerably. The paper 'reads' medieval and Renaissance book illustrations (illuminations) with the polar concept of space and with the assumption that this 'ontological' scheme was generated by the tradition of built form. By demonstrating the high plausibility of this type of 'reading', the present paper critically and fundamentally questions the art historian's competence as a theory-builder in the architectural domain.

The text is amply illustrated. For each of the 2 parts allow about 3 minutes for file-transfer.
Browse through figures Part 1, part 2

• THE HISTORICISM OF QUANTIFIED PROPORTION - Critical objections to Wittkower's "Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism"

• L'HISTORISME DES PROPORTIONS QUANTIFIEES - Objections critiques aux "Principes Architecturaux dans l'Ere de l'Humanisme" de Wittkower
  Esquisses d'une 'thŽorie de la relativitŽ' du prŽmodernisme de la forme architecturale

• DER HISTORISMUS DER QUANTIFIZIERTEN PROPORTION - Kritische EinwŠnde gegen Wittkowers 'Grundlagen der Architektur im Zeitalter des Humanismus'
  AnsŠtze zu einer 'RelativitŠtstheorie' der vormodernen Architekturform