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ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY 1

Question 4: How common were architectural drawings

before the Renaissance, for what purposes were they
used, and how necessary were they?

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In order to discuss and analyse the commonality, necessity and

purpose of architectural drawings before Renaissance, primarily a sense and

scope of time must be established. Defining the beginning of Renaissance

would clarify the Pre-Renaissance time period. Renaissance “… began in Italy

in C14 and continued during the following two centuries, spreading to virtually

all parts of Europe.”1 This sets the parameters of the analysis to Europe in

terms of geographical area and to the time period before the fourteenth

century. It is evident that architecture has always been a notion familiar to

mankind since the beginning of time. In the most fundamental sense, it could

be said that the need for shelter in order to survive in prehistoric times marked

the beginning of architecture. Perhaps It is not in a sense we’re now familiar

with, as architecture is associated with conscious design and thought

processes, however in ancient times the act of building existed in an intuitive

level. Architecture from being a concept of basic human need then evolved to

become a way of creating, representing and expressing cultural, religious

values for emerging societies across the world, throughout time. It is important

to note that as architecture evolves parallel to changes in human nature, so

does the way of thinking about architecture, which eventually introduces

architectural drawings to history of architecture as tools for exploration,

communication and expression.

Beyond the geographical and time scope, it is essential to briefly

outline the very origins of architectural drawing. Some of the earliest

examples of architectural drawings are ground plans. The word ‘plan’ in

1
J.S. Curl, Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
(2006), p.631
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German is ‘Grundriss’ which correlates to ‘ground cut’ in English2 and they are

an abstract way of thinking about buildings. Interestingly, the least realistic

type of drawing happens to be the earliest. “The labyrinth, that primordial

ground plan and image of architectural endeavour, is a projection linking time

and place.”3 Although uncommon in ancient times, the history of architectural

drawings are known to be dating back to the ancient Egyptian and

Mesopotamian eras.4

Some examples of the earliest architectural drawings: Statue of

Gudea, ruler of Lagash in Mesopotamia (c.2200 BC). The plan is

absolutely recognizable. It is sitting on his lap and probably

represents a building he has commissioned or had built. The

measured plan of a temple, New Sumerian c.2300-2000 BC.

Note the stair at top left. House Plan, Babylonian (c.1500-1100

BC) lines indicate walls, cross-strokes indicate openings. The

plan of a Ziggurat at Ur, Iraq (New Babylonian, c.1200-600 BC).

Town plan of Nippur (c. 1500 BC). The plan of a Farm Building

(Egyptian Middle Kingdom, 2125-1782 BC on papyrus). Lastly,

the plan of a Temple (Egyptian, Pharoah Akhenaten, 1352-36

BC) a) =Actual plan on stone b) =Interpretation.5

2 I. Campbell, "Drawing Architectural History.” University of Edinburgh.

Appleton Tower. 30 Sept. 2013. Lecture. Presentation Slide: 49
3
‘Questions of Representation, The Poetic Origin of Architecture’ in The
Engineering of Medieval Cathedrals (1997) Volume 1 (ed.) L. T. Courtenay,
p.13
4
Campbell, "Drawing Architectural History.” Presentation Slide:27
5
Campbell, "Drawing Architectural History, Presentation Slides: 28-36
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These intuitive architectural drawings are created by some of the earliest

civilisations. They weren’t created out of the urge to solve complicated design

problems but of the need for orientation.

In Greek historical or literary sources, architectural drawings (whether

working drawings or sketches) are not mentioned because Greek architects

"drew" with words and communicated ideas using architectural models, which

dates back to as early as 725 B.C. at Perachora. By the fifth century B.C.,

"architects" like Ictinusand Kalli- crates used several means of giving builders

accurate information to guide them in the construction of temples, which were

by that time had highly standardised plans, masons needed very little

information to build. The essence of Greek architectural drawing and practice

lied within the details in those ages. The most important of these, called

Syngra- phai, were detailed descriptive specifications, which even included

dimensions. Details such as cornice molding and pieces of ornamental

sculpture were described through the use of the Paradeigma, a full- scale

mock-up or model, and the Anagra- pheus, or template. 6 “Since the inception

of Western architecture in classical Greece, the architect has not ‘made’

buildings; rather, he or she has made the mediating artefacts that make

significant buildings possible. These artefacts – from words, to many kinds of

inscriptions and drawings to full-scale mock-ups – have changed throughout

history. Changing has also been their relation to buildings. As late as the

6 M. Hewitt, Representational Forms and Modes of Conception: An Approach

to the History of Architectural Drawing, Journal of Architectural Education
(1984-), Vol. 39, No. 2 (Winter, 1985), p.2
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Renaissance, for example, the only drawings truly ‘indispensable’ for building

(from a technological standpoint) were modani or template drawings…”7

The approach towards architectural drawings differed in the Roman

Antiquity relative to Greek Antiquity. There are surviving Roman plans,

although they were not used for design purposes, are reflecting architectural

practice.

An example is the plan of Tomb Complex on a marble relief in

the National Museum in Perugia (1st century AD): the top plan

appears to be the upper floor of the plan on the left. Note the

thinner walls. Also a few fragments of the early 2nd century AD

Marble Plan of Rome (Forma Urbis Severiana) survives,

resembling a jigsaw puzzle.8

In a chronological sense, it is essential to point that section drawings follow

the plan drawings. The word ‘section’ in German is ‘Aufriss’ which correlates

to ‘up/vertical cut’ in English. Some of the earliest section drawings are:

Temple of Athena, Priene (c.340 BC), Temple of Isis at Philae, Egypt (c.100

BC)9.

“Medieval master masons, who also relied on full-scale templates and models

during construction, designed extraordinarily complex cathedrals and

churches primarily through the use of a myriad of different kinds of plan

7 The Engineering of Medieval Cathedrals (ed.) Courtenay, p.13

8
Campbell, "Drawing Architectural History.” Presentation Slides: 37-39
9 Campbell, "Drawing Architectural History.” Presentation Slides: 49-51

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drawings. (Fig.1) These were laid out not arithmetically but geometrically,

using simple tools such as compasses and squares. The intricate geometric

formulae, which formed the canon of Gothic architectural design were passed

down through the guilds or masonic lodges, falling under the rubric of the "Art

of Geometry." Accurately measured and proportioned elevation drawings

(using orthogonal projection) are rare among collections of fourteenth and

fifteenth-century Gothic drawings. Evidence suggests that they played a much

less significant role in design and construction than they do today.”10 “…on

the issue of historical changes in the way architects approached problems of

building design and representation. If as evidence suggests, Greek architects

and Gothic master masons conceived buildings in fundamentally different

ways, and manifested their mental habits in the kinds of drawings they

made…”11 “Prior to Renaissance, architectural drawings were rare, certainly

in the sense that is familiar to us. In the Middle Ages, architects did not

conceive a whole building and the very notion of scale was unknown.”12 “…

the habit of drawing was becoming more widespread in the second quarter of

the thirteenth century.”13

Towards Middle Ages, in Gothic period there were significant developments in

architectural drawing. Although not methodical, conceptual, working and

record drawings were becoming very accurate.14 Working drawings are

architectural drawings that are not intended for presentation purposes. They

10 M. Hewitt, Representational Forms and Modes of Conception, p.2

11 M. Hewitt, Representational Forms and Modes of Conception, p.8
12 The Engineering of Medieval Cathedrals (ed.) Courtenay, p.14
13 (ed.) B. Starkey and J. Hale, M. Frascari, From Models to Drawings, (2008),

p.74
14 Campbell, "Drawing Architectural History.” Presentation Slide: 42

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aid masons in construction of buildings. Record drawings are, drawings kept

by the architects comprising of various types of sketches. Furthermore,

orthogonal drawing mode was developed in this period. “The High Gothic

Style in northern Europe replaced the massiveness of the Romanesque…

The use of perspectival representation and modelling with light and shadow

would have been poorly suited to conveying the character of Gothic buildings.

The large elevation drawings for Strasbourg Cathedral document the

refinement of the orthogonal elevation. For such late Gothic designs, with their

exquisitely thin surface elements, this technique would have been

mandatory.”15 Also, “The 1190’s and early 1200’s saw profound changes in

Gothic style, not only in general design and structure, such as can be seen at

Chartres and Reims, but also in a series of rapid technical advances that were

made in these very cathedrals.”16

Some examples of Middle Age plan drawings are: Ninth-century

plan from the Carolingian period – walls indicated by lines:

conceptual rather than working drawing of The Abbey of St Gall in

Switzerland. It is one of the earliest surviving architectural plans in

Europe on parchment. Plan dating from 1150s of the water

circulation system at Canterbuy Cathedral . It is possible to observe

the distorted perspective and it could be noted that there was a

utilitarian purpose behind it. Villard de Honnecourt, Paris, Bib. Nat.

MS 19093, p. 28 bottom left of the image: conceptual plan using

‘Cistercian squares’ system, bottom right of the image: record plan

15 J. S. Ackerman, Origins, Imitations, Conventions: Representation in the

Visual Arts, (2002) p. 45
16 Starkey, Hale and Frascari, From Models to Drawings, p.66

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of choir of Cambrai Cathedral (fig. 1.1). Villard de Honnecourt was a

master mason that compiled a sketchbook or pattern book of

conceptual and record drawings; known as the best surviving, most

complete medieval sketchbook.17 An examples of Middle Age

section drawing is from Villard de Honnecourt’s, ‘sketchbook’,

(c.1230) Paris,Bib.Nat.,19093, p.(64) which is the section of Reims

Cathedral, looking through the flying buttresses (fig. 1.2). There’s

also a slight elevation drawing there. 18

In a sense sections must have been more common than what we imagine. We

very rarely see sections in reality unless the building is being demolished. But

the way that people build cathedrals and churches at the time was to usually

build them bay-by-bay not day by day. So actually as you move east you see

the whole development. So this is a half built church.19

17 Campbell, "Drawing Architectural History.” Presentation Slides: 43-45

18 Campbell, "Drawing Architectural History.” Presentation Slide: 52
19 Campbell, "Drawing Architectural History.” Presentation Slide: 52

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Figure 2.1 Figure 1.2

Screenshot of taken from Drawing Architectural Screenshot of taken from Drawing Architectural History, Lecture
History, Lecture 1, p. 45, Ian Campbell, University of 1, p. 52, Ian Campbell, University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh

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“Villard’s depiction of the Reims apse (fig. 24) seems to be the only surviving

Pre-Renaissance instance of the rendering of elevations of curved or

polygonal exteriors or interiors, nor was there any thirteenth-century

equivalent of his section (fig. 2.5), through a fourteenth century drawing for

Peter Parler’s cathedral, in Prague (fig. 2.6) shows as complete a control of

the convention as do modern equivalents.”20 “With the exception of Villard’s

views of the chapel at Reims and consequently perhaps also the original

working drawings of the chapels at Cambrai, all the project drawings

preserved from the thirteenth century are flat orthogonal projections…”21

“…the question of the purpose of the original drawings. Since they would not

have been done to scale, and would probably also have been done on

parchment, and hence have been small, it is unlikely that they were destined

for use by builders. It is also unlikely that the architects would have wanted to

display to others a preliminary project that was to be replaced by later

solutions. Yet it must have conformed to a well-developed tradition: a mode of

representation so highly refined and effective – one that Renaissance

architects struggled to perfect over the course of a century.”22 “Pre-

Renaissance drawing had no intentions of fulfilling expectations and respond

to the reading ability of the viewer. That’s why they weren’t conservative and

resistant to significant change.”23 There are discussions about whether the

20 Ackerman, Origins, Imitations, Conventions: Representation in the Visual

Arts, p.44
21 Starkey and Hale, From Models to Drawings, p.74
22 Ackerman, Origins, Imitations, Conventions: Representation in the Visual

Arts, p. 40-41
23 Ackerman, Origins, Imitations, Conventions: Representation in the Visual

Arts, p.53
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master mason Villard de Honnecourt was the inventor of orthogonal drawing

or whether he copied the technique from another architect. However, certainly

he did promote it in the early thirteenth century. The necessity of these

drawing is another topic of debate since there were many errors, omissions

and exaggerations in these earlier drawings. They were mostly inapt to

portray buildings as they were built.24 . It was common that the building

completed in the architect’s head often could not manifest as it is originally

designed in reality due to lack of communication between the architect and

the mason. It was a common practice that the builders copying a wrong

section of the reference building. Moreover, hypothetical drawings and

inferences employed in drawings further create a weakness and cause

questioning of the necessity. From another perspective these drawing might

be considered as necessary.25 The difficulties to draftsman, caused by

curvilinear or polygonal elevations that are conforming less well to visual

experience cannot be done effectively without a measured plan.26 From that

view, it could be concluded that architectural drawing, as a mean to

communicate building designs was necessary. The evaluation of the

necessity of architectural drawings should be based on time and context. In

this case Pre-Renaissance drawings are generally lacking sophistication. This

era for drawings should be considered as experimental and explorative. Later

on during the renaissance period architectural drawing enhances and

increasingly becomes essential for building constructions.

24 Starkey, Hale and Frascari From Models to Drawings, p.71

25 Starkey, Hale and Frascari From Models to Drawings, p.72
26 Ackerman, Origins, Imitations, Conventions: Representation in the Visual

Arts, p.35
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“Evidence in the form of drawings is scant for many periods, especially prior to

the late-Middle Ages, but scholars are beginning to uncover enough clues to

design processes through various kinds of archival research that an outline of

the changes in intellectual patterns of problem solving and conception might

be sketched in the near future, and filled in as more evidence becomes

available.”27 “the final resolution of the problems in thirteenth-century northern

Europe failed to leave a legacy that would permit early Renaissance

architects to proceed on a far more sophisticated level than they did.”28

The commonality, necessity and purpose of architectural drawings change

over time. With the commonality and necessity increases and the purpose

expands parallel to architecture becoming more sophisticated, complex and

based on elements of advancing engineering of the time rather than

traditional, conventional masonry work.

27M. Hewitt, Representational Forms and Modes of Conception, p.8

28Ackerman, Origins, Imitations, Conventions: Representation in the Visual
Arts, p.44
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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ackerman, James S. "The Origins of Architectural Drawing in the Middle Ages

and Renaissance." Origins, Imitations, Conventions: Representation in

the Visual Arts. N.p.: MIT P, 2001. 27-65. Print.

Branner, Robert. "Villard de Honnecourt, Reims, and the Origin of Gothic

Architectural Drawing." From Models to Drawings. Ed. Johnathan Hale,

Bradley Starkey, and Marco Frascari. N.p.: Routledge, 2008. 63-80.

Print.

Campbell, Ian. "Drawing Architectural History." University of Edinburgh.

Appleton Tower. 30 Sept. 2013. Lecture.

- - -. "Drawing Architectural History L2." University of Edinburgh. Appleton

Tower. 1 Oct. 2013. Lecture.

Curl, James Stevens. "Renaissance." Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and

Landscape Architecture. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.

Gomez, Alberto Perez. "Questions of Representation, the Poetic Origin of

Architecture." The Engineering of Medieval Cathedrals. Ed. Lynn T.

Courtenay. N.p.: n.p., 1997. 11-14. Print. Vol. 1 of Studies in the

History of Civil Engineering.

Hewitt, Mark. "Representational Forms and Modes of Conception: An

Approach to the History of Architectural Drawing." Journal of

Architectural Education 39 (1985): 2-9. JSTOR. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.

<http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1424961?uid=3738032&uid=2&

uid=4&sid=21102807043847>.

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