CLASSICISM (It experienced its initial resurrection during the Carolingian Renaissance

(8th-9th century), and then again during the Italian Renaissance (15th-16th centuries)-has its
roots in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, specifically temple building in Greece and
religious, military, and civic architecture in the Roman Empire. The style includes a variety
of traditional forms, most notably columns (known as orders), each with defined proportions
and ornamentation (particularly Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian).
Proportion, symmetry, and the relationship of distinct components to the whole are all
characteristics of Classicism. However, a structure can be described as Classical only based
on its proportions, with none of the other characteristics associated with Classical
architecture.

DEVELOPMENT

Renaissance and Classical Architecture

• Architects such as Leon Battista Alberti, Sebastiano Serlio, and Giacomo Barozzi da
Vignola revived ancient Roman architecture throughout the Italian Renaissance.
• The study of the ancient Roman architectural book De architectura, as well as the ruins of
old Roman buildings in Italy, helped to shape the development of classical architecture.
• Classical architecture, which is a special interpretation of classical principles, has given rise
to architectural theory.
• Post-Renaissance Europe's styles can be classified as classical architecture, but parts of
classical architecture have been used in a variety of architectural situations.
• Palladian architecture, created by Venetian architect Andrea Palladio, had a profound
impact on Britain, especially in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
• Neoclassicism, a reaction to late Baroque and Rococo forms, attempted to replicate
antiquity with clear

Architects and their works

Architects such as Filippo Brunelleschi and his works Florence cathedral, Leon Battista
Alberti, and Andrea Palladio rediscovered traditional architectural concepts and incorporated
them into their own creations. This period is distinguished by a renewed interest in classical
forms and motifs, as well as a preference for symmetry, proportion, and perspective.

Jean-Jacques Soufflot, a French architect, popularized neoclassicism worldwide,

with his most famous work being the Panthéon in Paris. He was born in Irancy,
studied at the French Academy in Rome, and later practiced in Lyon. He erected
the Hôtel-Dieu and the Temple du Change and was admitted to the Lyon
Academy. Soufflot returned to Italy in 1750 to study drama. In 1755, he was
appointed architect of all of Paris' royal buildings and admitted to the Royal
Academy of Architecture. He died in Paris in 1780 and is buried at the Panthéon,
near to Voltaire.
Soufflot, like all architects of his day, believed that the classical style was necessary. He
distinguished himself by his "strictness of line, firmness of form, simplicity of contour, and
rigorously architectonic conception of detail", which contrasted dramatically with his
contemporaries' late Baroque and Rococo architecture.
 Pantheon in Paris, by Jacques Germain
Soufflot

I. History
NEOCLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE is frequently viewed as a reaction to Baroque
architecture and the Rococo style. These structures, which were popular throughout
Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, were very dramatic and featured theatrical
embellishment. Neoclassicism arose from the desire to approach architectural design in a
more simplified and pared-down manner. The movement is thought to have started in
England and France before spreading around the world, pioneered by architects such as
Robert Adam and John Soane.

Most historians regard 1750 to be the beginning of the neoclassical movement, while
several structures that embody neoclassical ideas were erected before then. In addition to
the transition from embellished buildings in the Baroque period, archeologist Sir William
Hamilton's excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum led

Neoclassical architecture is divided into three major subcategories: Palladian, temple, and
classical block.

Neoclassical Architecture Outline

• Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns.
• Architecture at a grand scale.
• Floor plans might be rectangular or square.
• Little decoration.
• Greek and Roman design motifs.
• Roof types include domed, flat, and gable.
 Famous neoclassical architecture and their architects

The White House, a Palladian neoclassical architectural masterpiece, was designed by Irish-
American architect James Hoban, who was inspired by Roman and Palladian forms. It took
eight years to build and was originally occupied by John Adams and his wife.

JAMES HOBAN (1755-1831)

Hoban, a Roman Catholic raised in County Kilkenny, Ireland, excelled at drawing and was
awarded the Duke of Leinster's medal by the Dublin Society. He apprenticed with Thomas
Ivory before moving to America in 1785. Hoban arrived in South Carolina in 1787 and
constructed several buildings, notably the Charleston County Courthouse. Hoban was
influenced by the classical architecture of Roman Vitruvius and Renaissance-era Andrea
Palladio.

. ROBERT ADAM (1728-1792)

Robert Adam, a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer, and furniture maker, was
the son of William Adam, Scotland's most prominent architect. Following his father's death,
he took over the family business and studied design in Rome.
Many believe him to be the best architect of the late eighteenth century, and he led the
neoclassical renaissance in England and Scotland from roughly 1760 until his death. Sir
William Chambers was the premier British official architect at the time, but Adam got
numerous important projects from private clients and had a far-reaching stylistic effect,
known as the Adam style.
 Sir Nathaniel Curzon
commissioned
Kedleston Hall, an
English country home,
in 1759. Robert Adam
based his design on
Rome's Arch of
Constantine. The home
is built on a pedestal,
with a dome above it.

Kedleston Hall, Kedleston, Derbyshire, England, based on the Arch of Constantine in Rome,
1760s, by Robert Adam.