Palladio and His Legacy: A Transatlantic Journey

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Palladio and His Legacy: A Transatlantic Journey

By Irene Murray, Guido Beltramini, Charles Hind and Calder Loth

This catalogue of the Palladio and His Legacy exhibition, centred on original drawings and books by the most significant and influential architect in the western world, Andrea Palladio (1508-80), examines his personal development and architecture, his influence on others achieved through his I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura, the subsequent dissemination of his teachings through translations and pattern books in Britain and America, and the influence of Palladianism on architecture in the New World. The promulgation of Palladian principles resulted in new and original interpretations that took firm hold in America, influencing both grand formal buildings and smaller utilitarian structures. The drawings are supported by numerous architectural models. Three large examples--the Pantheon, Villa Rotunda, and Jefferson's unrealized design for the White House--programmatically illustrate the journey from Rome to America. Smaller models along with rare architectural texts and pattern books, through which Palladio's ideas were primarily transmitted, reinforce the themes of the book.