Vitruvius's de Architectura
Loading...
Loading...

Description: 

Roman architect and engineer, Vitruvius, wrote and published the treatise on architecture entitled de Architectura, now known as The Ten Books on Architecture, circa 30 to 15 BCE and dedicated it to the emperor of Rome of the time, Caesar Augustus. It is the only surviving document on Classical architecture and heavily influenced the Renaissance period as well. 

Throughout the treatise, Vitruvius exemplifies his three ideals of architecture, utility, strength, and beauty. Book I describes architecture and civil engineering as a whole. Book II delves into the specifics of construction materials such as brick, sand, lime, and stone. Book III and IV outlines architectural techniques and aspects of the temple while Book V and VI describe those of city buildings and houses respectively. Book VII recommends approaches to decorative work. Book VIII details architectural designs of water sources, specifically aqueducts. Book IX specifies other fields related to and influencing architecture, such as geometry and astronomy. Finally, Book X describes machinery used in the construction and design of buildings. 

Despite its immense detail and usefulness in Roman times, the treatise was largely forgotten until the 1400s when it was rediscovered by pioneer Renaissance humanists. Later, Leonardo da Vinci was primarily influenced by Book III Chapter 1 Section 2 of de Architectura, in which Vitruvius outlines the geometric proportions of the human figure. This paved way to the famous Vitruvian Man drawing and its influence on Renaissance ideals. 

Image Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/367690

Other Sources: 

Isaacson, Walter. “Chapter 8 Vitruvian Man.” Leonardo Da Vinci: The Biography, Simon & Schuster, 2018.

Vitruvius. The Ten Books on Architecture. Translated by Morris Hicky Morgan, Harvard University Press, 2014.
http://academics.triton.edu/faculty/fheitzman/Vitruvius__the_Ten_Books_on_Architecture.pdf 

Associated Place(s)

Layers

Timeline of Events Associated with Vitruvius's de Architectura

Poggio Bracciolini's Collection of Classical Manuscripts

1414

During the Middle Ages, Vitruvius’s de Architectura was forgotten and only rediscovered in 1414. Leonardo da Vinci’s predecessor and early Renaissance humanist, Poggio Bracciolini had included it in his collection of classical writing when he discovered it the Library at Abbey of Saint Gall in St. Gallens, Switzerland. 

The rest of his collection, which was curated from libraries all over Western Europe, include Astronomica, detailing astronomical phenomena, by Manilius, De Aquaeductu, or On Aqueducts, by Frontinus, and De Rerum Natura, or On the Nature of Things, by Lucretius.

This collection of classical writing largely influenced Renaissance thinking. Apart from de Architectura, the poem, On the Nature of Things, led to Renaissance philosophy and the knowledge-seeking ideal. The poem describes a multitude of phenomena, including that everything in the world is comprised of small particles, which we know of as atoms now.

Source: Isaacson, Walter. “Chapter 8 Vitruvian Man.” Leonardo Da Vinci: The Biography, Simon & Schuster, 2018.

Poggio Bracciolini's Collection of Classical Manuscripts

July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Dec.
Jan.
March
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
Oct. 2
Oct. 3
Oct. 4
Oct. 5
Oct. 6
Oct. 7
Oct. 8
Oct. 9
Oct. 10
Oct. 11
Oct. 12
Oct. 13
Oct. 14
Oct. 15
Oct. 16
Oct. 17
Oct. 18
Oct. 19
Oct. 20
Oct. 21
Oct. 22
Oct. 23
Oct. 24
Oct. 25
Oct. 26
Oct. 27
Oct. 28
Oct. 29
Oct. 30
Oct. 31
Nov. 2
Nov. 3
Nov. 4
Nov. 5
Nov. 6
Nov. 7
Nov. 8
Nov. 9
Nov. 10
Nov. 11
Nov. 12
Nov. 13
Nov. 14
Nov. 15
Nov. 16
Nov. 17
Nov. 18
Nov. 19
Nov. 20
Nov. 21
Nov. 22
Nov. 23
Nov. 24
Nov. 25
Nov. 26
Nov. 27
Nov. 28
Nov. 29
Nov. 30
Dec. 2
Dec. 3
Dec. 4
Dec. 5
Dec. 6
Dec. 7
Dec. 8
Dec. 9
Dec. 10
Dec. 11
Dec. 12
Dec. 13
Dec. 14
Dec. 15
Dec. 16
Dec. 17
Dec. 18
Dec. 19
Dec. 20
Dec. 21
Dec. 22
Dec. 23
Dec. 24
Dec. 25
Dec. 26
Dec. 27
Dec. 28
Dec. 29
Dec. 30
Dec. 31
Jan. 2
Jan. 3
Jan. 4
Jan. 5
Jan. 6
Jan. 7
Jan. 8
Jan. 9
Jan. 10
Jan. 11
Jan. 12
Jan. 13
Jan. 14
Jan. 15
Jan. 16
Jan. 17
Jan. 18
Jan. 19
Jan. 20
Jan. 21
Jan. 22
Jan. 23
Jan. 24
Jan. 25
Jan. 26
Jan. 27
Jan. 28
Jan. 29
Jan. 30
Jan. 31
Feb. 2
Feb. 3
Feb. 4
Feb. 5
Feb. 6
Feb. 7
Feb. 8
Feb. 9
Feb. 10
Feb. 11
Feb. 12
Feb. 13
Feb. 14
Feb. 15
Feb. 16
Feb. 17
Feb. 18
Feb. 19
Feb. 20
Feb. 21
Feb. 22
Feb. 23
Feb. 24
Feb. 25
Feb. 26
Feb. 27
Feb. 28
March 2
March 3
March 4
March 5
March 6
March 7
March 8
March 9
March 10
March 11
March 12
March 13
March 14
March 15
March 16
March 17
March 18
March 19
March 20
March 21
March 22
March 23
March 24
March 25
March 26
March 27
March 28
March 29
March 30
March 31