andrea Palladio By: Rachael Noble
This historic architect was brought into the world on November 30, 1508 in Padua, Republic of Venice. At a young age he was apprenticed to a sculptor in his hometown. Until, at the prime age of 16, he traveled to Vicenda and enrolled in the guild of bricklayers and stonemasons. In the 1530's he was employed to a local villa owned by Trissino, who was so impressed he started teaching Andrea the principles of Roman and high Renaissance architecture. Soon after he was receiving many commissions and projects. Some of his bigger patrons who comisioned was by wealthy leaders and Venetian nobility such as the Cornaro and Barbaro families. He visited Rome in 1541 and 1457 where he learned many things and sparked an inspiration in him for the style. Most of his time was spent in Vicenza and Venice. Somewhere along the line he married and had two sons. He was a hard worker and cared about ancient Rome and Greece. So much, in fact, he wrote a guidebook to Rome, Le antichità di Roma which tells about the ruins of Rome. One other writing he published was I quattro libri dell'architettura which held knowledge of ancient architecture and mathematical groundwork for buildings he had constructed was Villa Pisani, Bagnolo. Though he has some writings, he mainly focused on architecture One of his commissions His works are often associated with Classicism because of his columns and symmetry which matched those of Rome. This idea shows through his buildings and his books when he writes a tour book for the ruins of Rome and his visits. Another idea that Andrea is linked to is Humanism. This is mainly because of his lessons with Trissino, who was a humanist and poet. Overall he is one of the most influential figures in modern architecture.
Villa Barbaro
This villa was designed by Andrea Palladio in 1554. It is located in Northern Italy in Veneto region. This piece is significant because it holds resemblance to the architecture in Rome and Greece. This building has a main entrance way that is much taller then it's symmetrical wings that have arches holding it up. The building has a tan color and is guarded by four statues, two are human and two lions that are paired up, lion in front of figure and are parallel to the entrance. The entrance has a tall window and there are carvings above that are also symmetrical. This building is very proportioned and is similar to a Roman country home. This is strongly associated to classicism because it has columns, is proportional, and has arches. I love the design of the building and all of the statues and designs. I would love to live in a home like this. You can visit the art museum's website here: http://www.villadimaser.it/.