Architectural Representations in the "Hypnerotomachia Poliphili" (Aldus Manutius, 1499)

2000 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roswitha Stewering
Keyword(s):  
History Of Technology ◽  
Direct Connection ◽  
Love Story ◽  
Architectural Representation ◽  
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili ◽  
History Of ◽  
Francesco Di Giorgio Martini ◽  
The Temple ◽  
Representations Of Space

In December 1499 the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili appeared in Venice under the imprint of Aldus Manutius, in an edition whose woodcuts and typography make it one of the masterpieces of Italian printing. The enigmatic dream recounted in the book describes Poliphilo's struggle to win his love and his final happy union with his beloved Polia. The study focuses on the group of architectural representations in the book. Free from a slavish attempt to illustrate, they follow the course of the love story within the framework of an inner visual logic. A second part analyzes the section of the Temple of Venus Physizoa, an architectural representation that was omitted in Lotz's famous study of 1956. Issues of the history of technology, such as the modern cartographic method introduced by Alberti in the 1450s, are addressed in relation to this section. From a comparison with representations of space from the 1490s, however, one may conclude that, contrary to the thesis proposed by L. Lefaivre, there can have been no direct connection between the author or the artist of the Hypnerotomachia and the architectural theorist. At the same time, the Master of Polifilo appears to belong to the group of painter-architects, along with Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Leonardo, and Raphael.

Lifting in early Greek Architecture

1974 ◽  
Vol 94 ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Coulton
Keyword(s):  
Ninth Century ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
History Of Technology ◽  
Sixth Century ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Theoretical Discussion ◽  
Mechanical Advantage ◽  
Greek Architecture ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Temple

In the standard handbooks on the techniques of Greek architecture, the problem of lifting heavy architectural members is considered mainly in terms of the various cranes and hoists based on compound pulley systems which are described by Vitruvius and Hero of Alexandria. It is assumed that the same basic method was employed also in the Archaic period, and that the use of an earth ramp by Chersiphron to raise the architraves of the temple of Artemis at Ephesos in the mid-sixth century was exceptional. If this is true, it is a matter of some interest in the history of technology. The simple pulley, used not to gain mechanical advantage but just to change the direction of pull, is first known from an Assyrian relief of the ninth century B.C., and may well have been known to the Greeks before they began to build in megalithic masonry in the late seventh century B.C.; but the earliest indisputable evidence for a knowledge of compound pulley systems is in the Mechanical Problems attributed to Aristotle, but more probably written by a member of his school in the early third century B.C. This is a theoretical discussion of a system which was already used by builders, but it is not so certain that practice preceded theory by three centuries or more. It is therefore worth looking again at the evidence for the use of cranes, hoists and pulleys in early Greek building.

The Efficient Organisation of Public Intellect: Lyon Playfair and Scottish Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 266-290
Author(s):  
Robert Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Education ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Technical Education ◽  
Direct Connection ◽  
National System ◽  
Modern Idea ◽  
History Of ◽  
Parish Schools ◽  
Education Act ◽  
Scottish Politics

Lyon Playfair was a champion of scientific and technical education who was professor of chemistry at Edinburgh University before serving as a Liberal M.P., initially for a Scottish university seat, from 1868 to 1892. This article looks mainly at his role in debates on the Education Act of 1872 and the bills which preceded it. Playfair sought to define the democratic traditions of Scottish education, especially emphasising the legacy of John Knox, and to adapt them to the new national system. He idealised the direct connection between parish schools and universities, and the opportunities available to talented boys, using newly available statistics to support his case. He also contributed to the shaping of Scottish secondary education, and to establishing the modern idea of social mobility through educational merit. When the Scottish Office was established in 1885, Playfair opposed the devolution of education and this dissent led him to move to an English seat. His career has a wider interest for the history of Scottish politics in the age of Gladstone.

Man the Maker: A History of Technology and Engineering. R. J. Forbes

1952 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-351
Author(s):  
Stephen C. Cappannari
Keyword(s):  
History Of Technology ◽  
History Of
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