Classical architecture  

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-[[Image:Western face of the Greek Parthenon.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[1872]] [[photograph]] of the western face of the [[Greek]] [[Parthenon]]]]+{| class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5"
 +| style="text-align: left;" |
 +"In the 1980s , when [[postmodernism]] was borrowing wholesale such [[Classical architecture|classical architectural]] elements as [[column]]s and [[pediment]]s, [[Fornasetti]] seemed prescient once again."--''[[Art & Antiques]]'' (1995)
 +|}[[Image:Western face of the Greek Parthenon.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[1872]] [[photograph]] of the western face of the [[Greek]] [[Parthenon]]]]
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-'''Classical architecture''' is the set of building styles and techniques of Classical Greece, as used in ancient Greece, the Hellenistic period, and the Roman empire. In [[architectural history]], Classical architecture also includes later and modern styles derived from Greek sources, while [[archaeology|archaeological]] usage is more strictly limited to the Classical period. 
-==Archaeological use==+'''Classical architecture''' usually denotes [[architecture]] which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of [[Ancient Greek architecture|Greek]] and [[Ancient Roman architecture|Roman architecture]] of [[classical antiquity]], or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect [[Vitruvius]]. Different [[Architectural style|styles]] of classical architecture have arguably existed since the [[Carolingian Renaissance]], and prominently since the [[Italian Renaissance]]. Although classical styles of architecture can vary greatly, they can in general all be said to draw on a common "vocabulary" of decorative and constructive elements. In much of the Western world, different classical [[architectural style]]s have dominated the history of architecture from the [[Renaissance]] until the second world war, though it continues to inform many architects to this day.
-Classical architecture can be divided into:+
-*'''[[Architecture of Ancient Greece|Greek architecture]]''' before [[Alexander the Great]]+
-*'''Hellenistic architecture'''+
-*'''[[Roman architecture]]'''+
-Only Greek architecture in the time before Alexander (who died in 324 BC) carries an authentic, '''ethnic''' designation. The ancient Greeks were notoriously dismissive of ''barbaroi'' – those who spoke Greek non-natively or not at all. The incredible conquests of Alexander and the subsequent application of a veneer of Greek city states to a base of Egyptian, Semitic, and Iranian populations produced an important change. Though speaking Greek remained the touchstone of whether one was a member of civilized culture or not, the ethnic diversification of the Hellenistic world is clear. The '''formal elements''' of classical Greek architecture were applied to temples for gods never worshipped in [[Greece]].+The term ''classical architecture'' also applies to any mode of architecture that has evolved to a highly refined state, such as classical Chinese architecture, or classical Mayan architecture. It can also refer to any architecture that employs classical aesthetic philosophy. The term might be used differently from "traditional" or "[[vernacular architecture]]", although it can share underlying axioms with it.
-The Romans can be seen as the latest Hellenistic empire. Pre-imperial architecture is more or less [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] with some Greek elements. By the time the Romans conquered mainland Greece in the 2nd century BC they were importing Greek craftsmen to build major public buildings. The term ''[[Roman Art]]'' and ''[[Roman Architecture]]'' has no ethnic meaning relating to ''[[Italic Romans]]''. Most [[art history|art historians]] assume that it has the ethnic meaning of "Greek-speaking slave" or "Greek-speaking free laborer," in fact.+For contemporary buildings following authentic classical principles, the term [[New Classical architecture]] is sometimes used.
-==Architectural use==+==See also==
 +* [[New Classical architecture]]
 +* [[Outline of classical architecture]]
 +* [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]]
-Most of the styles originating in post-[[renaissance]] [[Europe]] can be described as classical architecture. This broad use of the term is employed by Sir [[John Summerson]] in ''The Classical Language of Architecture''.  
- 
-The "elements" of classical architecture have been applied in radically different architectural contexts than those for which they were developed. The [[classical orders]] – [[Doric order|Doric]], [[Ionic order|Ionic]], and [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]] – have meaning in the stylistic history of 5th century BC Greece, shifting to the developments in 1st century AD [[Gaul]], with the styles revived over and over again since then. 
- 
-==See also== 
-* [[The Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America]] 
-* [[List of classical architecture terms]] 
-* [[Classical orders]] 
-* [[Neoclassicism]] 
-* [[Architectural style]] 
-* [[Herodian architecture]] 
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"In the 1980s , when postmodernism was borrowing wholesale such classical architectural elements as columns and pediments, Fornasetti seemed prescient once again."--Art & Antiques (1995)

1872 photograph of the western face of the Greek Parthenon
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1872 photograph of the western face of the Greek Parthenon

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Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect Vitruvius. Different styles of classical architecture have arguably existed since the Carolingian Renaissance, and prominently since the Italian Renaissance. Although classical styles of architecture can vary greatly, they can in general all be said to draw on a common "vocabulary" of decorative and constructive elements. In much of the Western world, different classical architectural styles have dominated the history of architecture from the Renaissance until the second world war, though it continues to inform many architects to this day.

The term classical architecture also applies to any mode of architecture that has evolved to a highly refined state, such as classical Chinese architecture, or classical Mayan architecture. It can also refer to any architecture that employs classical aesthetic philosophy. The term might be used differently from "traditional" or "vernacular architecture", although it can share underlying axioms with it.

For contemporary buildings following authentic classical principles, the term New Classical architecture is sometimes used.

See also




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