Sequences in architecture: Sergei Ejzenštejn and Luigi Moretti, from images to spaces

Carla Molinari

doi:10.1080/13602365.2021.1958897

Abstract

The article ‘Montage and Architecture’ by Sergei Ejzenštejn, written between 1937 and 1940 and published posthumously, is one of the pivotal texts theorising montage as a method of composition, with a special focus on the potential of cinematic sequences in architecture. Despite the deep interest and the great number of studies that the publication of this text inspired in the last decades, Ejzenštejn’s analysis of the Basilica of Saint Peter, which occupies almost half of the article, has been overlooked. This article focuses on Ejzenštejn’s sequential interpretation of the Basilica and compares it with the one offered in 1952 by Luigi Moretti in the article ‘Strutture e Sequenze di Spazi’ [‘Structures and Sequences of Spaces’]. Examining Ejzenštejn’s and Moretti’s texts and related visual products, it develops a different way of considering the sequential qualities of the Basilica. Indeed, while Moretti proposes sequences as a method to design and represent three-dimensional spaces, the concept of montage as theorised by Ejzenštejn focuses on two-dimensional sequences as a tool to arrange images in space. The article proposes a series of possible common points between Ejzenštejn’s and Moretti’s theories, on the basis of a shared vision of sequences as mental constructs, and engages with a wider discussion on the dilemma between visual and spatial properties of architecture.

Highlights

Montage is a key theme of modern architecture and, despite several recent theoretical reinterpretations of the concept, its origins lie in the context of the twentieth-century avant-garde and in its relation with cinema.[1]
Why does Ejzenštejn dedicate almost half of his essay to analysing a sculpture, instead of concentrating on the magnificent architectural qualities of the Basilica? What does this decision tell us about Ejzenštejn’s interpretation of cinematic sequences and, more importantly, about his assessment of space in relation to montage? This article addresses these questions, using Luigi Moretti’s sequential analysis of the Basilica of Saint Peter in his article ‘Strutture e Sequenze di Spazi’ [‘Structures and Sequences of Spaces’] as a point of comparison to further investigate the role of sequences as a method to design and represent space, potentially overcoming the strict relationship with cinema and the visual realm.[7]
Of equal interest is the consideration of the connecting points between the elements making up the sequence, which Moretti identifies in the narrow openings, or doors. These define the lyrical ‘caesuras’ that interrupt the rhythm and act as pivotal points to highlight the passage from one space to another.[36]. We find these ‘caesuras’ between spaces, in the case of the sequence in the Basilica of Saint Peter; they regulate the path of access and create a gradual process of abstraction, which leads to contemplation, to the empyrean empty space par excellence of the dome

Summary

Carla Molinari

The article ‘Montage and Architecture’ by Sergei Ejzenštejn, written between 1937 and 1940 and published posthumously, is one of the pivotal texts theorising montage as a method of composition, with a special focus on the potential of cinematic sequences in architecture. This article focuses on Ejzenštejn’s sequential interpretation of the Basilica and compares it with the one offered in 1952 by Luigi Moretti in the article ‘Strutture e Sequenze di Spazi’ [‘Structures and Sequences of Spaces’]. While Moretti proposes sequences as a method to design and represent three-dimensional spaces, the concept of montage as theorised by Ejzenštejn focuses on two-dimensional sequences as a tool to arrange images in space. The article proposes a series of possible common points between Ejzenštejn’s and Moretti’s theories, on the basis of a shared vision of sequences as mental constructs, and engages with a wider discussion on the dilemma between visual and spatial properties of architecture

Introduction

Findings

Conclusion