D'Jara on Andrea Palladio

Andrea Palladio (D’Jara Culpepper)

Regarded as the greatest architect of 16^th-century northern Italy, Andrea Palladio was born in Padua, Republic of Venice on 30 November, 1508, and later died in Vicenza in August 1580. Between 1530 and 1538, Count Gian Giorgio Trissino took Palladio under his wing to help him rebuild his (Trissino’s) villa in ancient Roman style with High Renaissance influence.

Villa Trissino represented Trissino’s interpretation of ancient Roman architect Vitruvius and his work, Vitruvius later described by Palladio as “master” and “guide.” 

Portrait of Andrea Palladio, c. 1790, Vicenza, Private Collection

Trissano penned the humanist surname Palladio as a reference to the wisdom of Pallas Athene (Athena). The architectural influences of ancient Rome and High Renaissance combined with his monument and decorative sculpture training in the Mannerist style and altogether became the stylistic foundation for much of his designs. Despite leaving several buildings unfinished and to be finished by his followers as according to the change in stylistic taste after his death, the influence of Palladio’s buildings and publications—I quattro libri dell’architettura (The Four Books of Architecture), 1570—spread on through the centuries, the imitation of his style resulting in the common and widespread style of Palladianism in the 18^th century.

"Andrea Palladio." Encyclopedia of World Biography. . Encyclopedia.com. 12 Feb. 2018 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Richardson, Margaret Ann. “Andrea Palladio.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 15 Nov. 2017, www.britannica.com/biography/Andrea-Palladio.