Andrea Palladio
Andrea di Pietro della Gondola, known to history as "Palladio", was born in 1508 in Padua, a city in northern Italy then ruled by the Venetian Republic. Palladio’s innovative theories revolutionized Western architecture in the 17th and 18th centuries. His status as one of the most influential architects in the history of architecture was ensured by his revolutionary treatise I Quattro Libri dell' Architettura (1570).
When Andrea was thirteen years old he was apprenticed to a stonecutter in Padua but broke his contract after only eighteen months and fled to Vicenza, where he became an assistant in the leading workshops of masons and stonecutters. In 1537 he was engaged by Gian Giorgio Trissino, Italian Renaissance humanist and one of the period’s leading scholars, to assist in the rebuilding of Trissino’s villa in Cricoli. This acquaintance had a lasting effect on Andrea. Trissino assumed the role as mentor and introduced him to various disciplines of Renaissance education. He encouraged Andrea’s study of classical arts, literature and architecture and gave him the opportunity to enrich his knowledge of antique buildings during several stays in Rome. Andrea gradually became acquainted with the principles of the Renaissance commentator Leon Battista Alberti and the theories of Vitruvius, the classical Roman architect whose treatise had been rediscovered in the prior century. Moreover was Trissino’s protégé introduced to an influential circle of patrons and through personal contact he became acquainted with the ideas and works of Giulio Romano and Sebastiano Serlio. Trissino bestowed upon Andrea his new name by which he was to become famous: Palladio. The name may be regarded as allusion to the Greek goddess of wisdom: Pallas Athene.
Although Palladio designed and built various civic and religious buildings in Vicenza and Venice, his greatest contribution to the history of architecture were the country houses – called “villas” - built for wealthy landowners of the Veneto. One of the most famous examples is the Villa Capra which is also known as La Rotonda (1566).
In the villas Palladio reworked what he perceived to be timeless and universal principles newly rediscovered from the past. He opposed the rather rich ornamental style of the Renaissance with ideas based on mathematical proportion. Palladio was inspired by Roman temple facades, which he used as model. This influence later became a trademark of “Palladianism”.
Most of the temple-like villas, which are characterized by a distinct reference between building and setting, were built with three floors. The combination of a rusticated basement, a piano nobile and a mezzanine are characteristic for Palladio’s architecture, which is based on clarity and symmetry. Another feature of the Palladian style is the use of the portico with a noble flight step leading up to it. The Serlian window may be also regarded as trademark of his architecture.
In 1570 Palladio published the masterwork that established and ensured his place in architectural history, I Quattro Libri dell' Architettura, an architectural treatise which summarized Palladio’s outstanding theories and teachings. The treatise set out his architectural principles as well as practical advice for builders and was completed with a set of precise woodcuts drawn from his own works to illustrate his theory. I Quattro Libri dell' Architettura was subsequently translated into every European language and was praised among the international audience. With this landmark in book design – it was the first time an architect published his own works – Palladio gained wide recognition.
Palladio died in 1580.
References
http://www.boglewood.com/palladio/
http://www.architecture.com/LibraryDrawingsAndPhotographs/Palladio/PalladioAndBritain.aspx
http://www.andrea-palladio.de/
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123603460173214171.html?mod=article-outset-box