The Ideals of Two Men
Disciplines
Architectural History and Criticism
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Architecture has represented the ideas, morals, and biases of society since humanity started to use their hands to create, due to this, architecture has divided people and their interpretation of how architecture should serve civilization. Donato Bramante (1444-1514), an Italian architect, was known for introducing High Renaissance architecture during his time in Milan; he was influenced by classical Roman architecture and developed a style consisting of precise ratios of width and height. John Ruskin (1819-1900), a British writer, believed Gothic architecture represented an ethical way to live, which led him to heavily criticize Classical and Renaissance architecture on the principles of The Seven Lamps of Architecture. They are from different periods and speak to the movement of architecture that they helped create. With this in mind, the project aims to compare the prominent architectural figures Donato Bramante and John Ruskin based on their stances on ornamentation, ethics, and character. To explore each of these men’s ideologies, reading each of their important works and diagramming specific architecture that represents them will be crucial to understanding how they impacted their time through ornamentation, ethics, and character. I expect that with my findings there will be a distinction in how Gothic architecture and High Renaissance architecture express themselves visually to embody the time period that they were in; additionally, these figures would have contradicting ideas as to how architecture should shape society.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
CACM - Architecture
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Ehsan Sheikholharam Mashhadi
The Ideals of Two Men
Architecture has represented the ideas, morals, and biases of society since humanity started to use their hands to create, due to this, architecture has divided people and their interpretation of how architecture should serve civilization. Donato Bramante (1444-1514), an Italian architect, was known for introducing High Renaissance architecture during his time in Milan; he was influenced by classical Roman architecture and developed a style consisting of precise ratios of width and height. John Ruskin (1819-1900), a British writer, believed Gothic architecture represented an ethical way to live, which led him to heavily criticize Classical and Renaissance architecture on the principles of The Seven Lamps of Architecture. They are from different periods and speak to the movement of architecture that they helped create. With this in mind, the project aims to compare the prominent architectural figures Donato Bramante and John Ruskin based on their stances on ornamentation, ethics, and character. To explore each of these men’s ideologies, reading each of their important works and diagramming specific architecture that represents them will be crucial to understanding how they impacted their time through ornamentation, ethics, and character. I expect that with my findings there will be a distinction in how Gothic architecture and High Renaissance architecture express themselves visually to embody the time period that they were in; additionally, these figures would have contradicting ideas as to how architecture should shape society.