Rudolf Wittkower versus Le Corbusier: A Matter of Proportion

Francesco Benelli

doi:10.5334/ah.ck

Abstract

This article focuses on the origins of Rudolf Wittkower’s theory of proportion and the ways in which Wittkower uses this theory in analyzing Leon Battista Alberti’s and Palladio’s architecture in his essays of the 1940s, which eventually formed the body of <em>Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism</em>. The article examines a number of Wittkower’s sketches of plans, sections and elevations. It explores these themes in relation to a previously unopened box of documents in the Wittkower Archive of Avery Library, Columbia University, pertaining to the preparation for the 1951 Milan conference on proportion.

Highlights

With just weeks to go before the 1951 IX Triennale of Milan, titled ‘Divina Proporzione’, the programme of the event had not yet been set.1 Carla Marzoli, the promoter of the event, sent a letter asking Rudolf Wittkower to use his authority to contact Piero Sanpaolesi and Le Corbusier to send their papers for the Triennale in advance
This article focuses on the origins of Rudolf Wittkower’s theory of proportion and the ways in which Wittkower uses this theory in analyzing Leon Battista Alberti’s and Palladio’s architecture in his essays of the 1940s, which eventually formed the body of Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism
On August 12, 1951, Marzoli wrote: Mr Le Corbusier is extremely glad to come; [...] but you know as he is and surely he shall not send his report [...] I beg to do it but I am sure he shall not send

Summary

Francesco Benelli*

This article focuses on the origins of Rudolf Wittkower’s theory of proportion and the ways in which Wittkower uses this theory in analyzing Leon Battista Alberti’s and Palladio’s architecture in his essays of the 1940s, which eventually formed the body of Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism. The article examines a number of Wittkower’s sketches of plans, sections and elevations. It explores these themes in relation to a previously unopened box of documents in the Wittkower Archive of Avery Library, Columbia University, pertaining to the preparation for the 1951 Milan conference on proportion

Introduction

Conclusion