Travelling to Italy around 1800

Sep 9

Abstract

This paper examines the German traveler's perception of a foreign country: Italy. It focuses on three travelers: Wilhelmine of Bayreuth, the Margravine and sister of the Prussian King Frederick II, the poet Johann Wilhelm von Goethe, and the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The travelers' judgment and "foreign gaze" shifts from enthusiasm to disappointment, leading to a reflection on what they have seen. In Goethe and Schinkel, one can notice some a critical thinking on architecture and recognize the influences on their work and theory. Goethe's words from the Venetian diary state that "Palladio taught him Vitruvius" (1) are a starting point for further reflections on architectural theory. This work considers the traveler's insights into Italian everyday life, art, and public space, as well as the ideal of antiquity. Accordingly, it is divided into three subchapters: Enthusiasm, Disappointment, and Reflection. The last part, Reflection, discusses the transmission of the ideal of antiquity on an architectural-theoretical level: through Palladio and, indirectly, through Vitruvius.

Introduction

The Travelers

Friederike Sophie Wilhelmine of Prussia, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, travels incognito to Italy with her husband, Frederick III, from October 1754 to August 1755. Their journey took them to San Remo, Genoa, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Portici and Herculaneum. Unlike other travelers to Italy, Wilhelmine did not make it all the way to Sicily. She also visits Venice only briefly on her way back from Rome. Wilhelmine's reporting style is objective: she has a critical eye, and her extensive training in antiquities at the Prussian court allows her to be remarkably quick-witted. Johann Wilhelm von Goethe also traveled incognito to Italy, accompanied by his good friend, the Swiss painter and art connoisseur Johann Heinrich Meyer. His journey lasted over a year and a half, from September 1786 to May 1788, and took him from Venice via Rome to Naples and Sicily. Goethe's travelogue is a "monument of first impressions," (2) preserved in diaries and letters. His manuscripts are often notes taken during the trip and later edited for the edition of the "Italian Journey". (3) An interesting stop on his itinerary is Venice, where Goethe reflects on architecture, Vitruvius, and Palladio. The poet was particularly interested in the facades of the churches of Il Redentore and San Giorgio Maggiore, which he viewed from a distance and frontally, almost like woodcuts in Palladio's Quattro Libri.

Karl Friedrich Schinkel traveled to Italy three times, and his first trip, which he made at the age of 22, was a formative "source experience" for his later career. It lasted almost two years, from 1803 to 1805, of which the architect spent seven months in Rome, accompanied by his friend and architect Johann Gottfried Steinmeyer. During the first trip, Schinkel produced about one hundred drawings, his style of reporting remains brief and factual, and the reader often lacks the ability to make an immediate assessment and critical evaluation of what he has seen on a socio-historical level (unlike Wilhelmine of Bayreuth, for example). In contrast to his contemporaries, the architect dispenses with exact dates, figures, and dimensions of the buildings on site. Schinkel's second business trip, in 1824, as a secret senior building inspector at the age of 42, has an official character and leaves behind precise reports of his daily routine during diplomatic visits to Rome. Schinkel's third family trip was brief and left hardly any writings or drawings. (4)

A brief note on Italy around 1800

Italy in 1800 was one of the most urbanized regions of Europe (5). At the same time, the country was divided between two great powers: Napoleon's France and the Austrian Habsburg Empire. As a result, the southern regions of the country in particular experienced hardship and poverty. In addition, traveling in the country became increasingly dangerous: many Italian cities were occupied by foreign troops at the beginning of the 18th century. Around 1850, wars of independence raged in Italy for more than 20 years. The capital moved from Turin (1861) to Florence (1865) and Rome (1871).

Enthusiasm

The theatricality of Rome and the grandeur of antiquity

Rome was an important destination for Germans in the eighteenth century and a Mecca of German classicism. The capital became the highlight of the journey to Italy, where most of the expectations of the ideal of antiquity were fulfilled. (6) Goethe was enthusiastic about the "great testimonies" (7) of antiquity in Rome: the Colosseum, Castel Sant'Angelo, the Baths of Caracalla, and the museums and collections that, for him, represented the grandeur, sublimity, and nobility of antiquity in the spirit of Winckelmann. (8) For Goethe, the splendor of St. Peter's was comparable to that of the ancient temple. Upon his arrival in Italy, he felt as if he had been reborn, and on his journey to Rome he began to be re-educated. (9) The journey from the south back to his homeland took place via "old [...] harmless Rome," as Schinkel also reported in a letter to his sister. Schinkel described the capital as a "labyrinth of beauties" (10) , "an enthroned ruler on seven hills". (11) Wilhelmine, on the other hand, compared the Roman palazzi to the palaces of kings and the Colonna Gallery (12) to Versailles (although it must be admitted that she valued Italian taste in art much higher than that of the French).
Wilhelmine is "enraptured" by so many "remnants of antiquity" in Italy (13) and throughout her journey she makes purchases (which are "to be had for a pittance" (14) and later sends them to her brother Frederick in Prussia.

She reports on Pompeian paintings and pieces of bronze and marble:

"I take the liberty of sending it to you, my dear brother, and ask you not to say that it is from Naples. I will do my utmost to have it well packaged. " (15)

Wilhelmine also praises the Roman gardens and the "good company" (16) she finds in the city. Rome, with its wealth of cultural offerings, became a source of inspiration for all travelers. As Schinkel, who spent almost half a year in Rome, wrote, it required ten times as much time to really get to know the city.(17) Traveling to Italy required a certain attitude on the part of travelers who came from a different culture, religion, and climate: they had to become "foreign observers. Wilhelmine's comments on the theatricality of public life and the ceremonial rituals of the Vatican are particularly stimulating. She was enthusiastic about the Catholic ceremonies in St. Peter's, to which the Pope had invited her. The Protestant at the center of the Catholic world becomes an outsider to the event: Wilhelmine describes the papal office as a theatrical or operatic performance. The Pope had a section of the wall in St. Peter's torn down for Wilhelmine and a glazed tribune built so that the Margravine could see the papal mass. In a letter to her brother, Wilhelmine declared that she had never seen anything more beautiful in her life and that no previous opera setting could compare. (18) Nevertheless, her visit was politically sensitive: Although Wilhelmine refused to kneel before the Pope, she was warmly welcomed by the Pope to visit all the ceremonies, palaces, and private museums.(19) In his book, Schinkel describes the secular ceremonies in the capital, such as the award ceremony for the young artists of the Academy on the Capitoline Hill. Schinkel reports on the time (4 o'clock in the afternoon) and the hierarchy of the guests (the audience separated from Nobili in the choir, the cardinals and academics in the gallery) and the musical background (Rossini's overture during the opening speech). (20)

In Rome at the time, Carnival was one of the most important city festivals, and both Goethe and Schinkel provide detailed accounts of their participation. The transformation of the Corso (Rome's main street) from a street space to the scene of the parade and horse races was particularly vividly described by Goethe. What had been a pagan event in the ancient amphitheaters became, in the 18th century, a Christian celebration before Lent. The street ceased to be "a street, but rather resembled a great banquet hall, a monstrously decorated gallery”. (21) When the inhabitants of the Corso stepped out of their homes into the street, they found themselves “in a hall among strangers”. (22) This meant that even “serious Romans” (23) became actors in this street scene - with masks, women in men's clothes, and men in women's clothes. Goethe's descriptions reveal his passion for the theater, for it is with this gaze that he perceives the spaces of the foreign city. Although Schinkel's account is much more factual than Goethe's, the architect also refers to the theatricality of the events. “Everybody plays his part, perfectly well" (24), rummaging through the transformed street space of Via del Corso, where "rich carpets hang from every window”. (25) Goethe describes the spatial conditions of this transformation in even greater detail, seeing the scaffolding in front of the houses, the platforms, and the rows of seats not merely as temporary street furniture, but as part of the staging of the city festival. The bells of the Capitol gave a "signal of complete carnival freedom" (26) and thus marked the presence of the magnificent Roman buildings in the festival. The theatrical scenes of public life were also sensually described by Goethe in Venice, where he described the Church of St. Francis as a place of experience of Venetian culture and everyday life. Standing on the threshold of the church entrance, between the sacred and the profane, the poet reported the cries of the merchants and the loud voices of the Capuchin monks above them. (27) "If only I could transmit the breeze of this light existence!" (28) he enthused. The Italian climate obviously appealed to him, although as a poet he would remain unoccupied in Italy. (29) Finally, Goethe mentions the reasons that called him back to his homeland: birth, habit, and his friends.

In the end, the trip to Italy was meant to bring knowledge for the fatherland and for his own artistic work. As with Goethe's visits to the theater and opera, Schinkel was particularly interested in architecture and construction techniques. On his first trip, the Prussian architect marveled at the quality of workmanship and vaulting in Capua. In his diary, he recorded precise details of the mixing and production of the cast-iron flooring he found in a residential building in Naples. (30) His comparison of stone and timber construction techniques revealed that timber construction techniques were less advanced in the Italian climate than in Prussia. At the same time, he praised the detailed execution of joints and corners in stone, as well as the fire safety of Italian houses. (31) Schinkel also looked to the solidity of Italian urban construction as a model. He cited the quality and materiality of 11th-century houses, which he said had been "superseded by fashion and appearance." (32) The architect found interesting frescoes and murals in Pompeii, but his enthusiasm for the site was unusual among travelers to Italy.

Ultimately, the landscape of southern Italy contributed to the enthusiasm of the journey. The complex impressions of nature had inspired Schinkel more to draw than to create architecture. (33) His drawings from Rome also always depict the buildings together with their gardens. (34) Italy fostered Schinkel's interest in the relationship between nature and architecture, as well as the harmony between building materials and building design. (35) Although Sicily was an extreme contrast to the wealth of Rome, Schinkel reported his "experience of the unity of a magnificent landscape and a culture in which the Greek roots were still recognizable." (36) The Greek origins of antiquity - and thus also the mythological origins - stimulated the traveler's imagination. Both Schinkel and Goethe read Homer's "Odyssey" during the voyage. During the voyage, Schinkel juxtaposed Homer's Arcadian depictions of the mythological journey home of Odysseus with his own experiences, mentioning the dangers of sea travel in the eighteenth century. (37) In Goethe's diary, on the other hand, we find a mythical-existential experience of reading Homer at his place of origin, typical of the Sturm und Drang period. (38) In Palermo, Goethe forms a heroic image of antiquity as a "totality at peace with itself". (39) Sitting in the garden of Villa Giulia, Goethe spontaneously decides to translate Homer from the original language into German. (40) In Homer, he finds the description of the paradisiacal landscape of the palace in Alkinoos, where Odysseus has reached his destination. Based on this model, Goethe describes the Sicilian landscape as more exotic than Homer's; for him, the garden is "the most wonderful place in the world," "transported to antiquity," where he can "smell the scent of the steaming sea." (41) In contrast to Schinkel, who depicts a complex Italian cultural landscape in his drawings, Goethe portrays the garden of Villa Giulia as a hortus seclusus, a place of seclusion. In this way, the poet develops his subjective image of the culture and nature of the Mediterranean, which inspires his own work (42).

Criticism.

"The development of the journey presupposes disappointment"

Northern Italy, where the trip begins, was historically more developed than the south. From the Renaissance onwards, the north developed an overwhelming wealth of competing cities. Consequently, the continuation of the itinerary to the south - after seeing Rome - resulted in disappointment for travelers. Pompeii and Herculaneum, where the most famous excavations of ancient remains were found, became a dissonant experience between the expected grandeur and the found ordinariness of the architecture. Excavations in smaller Italian cities such as Pompeii, Portici, or Herculaneum were among the greatest disappointments for travelers to Italy in the 18th century. Fitzon refers to the irritation with the modified classicism of the smaller Italian cities as "failed grandeur," (43) which for him is characterized by the lack of grandeur as well as the darkness and asymmetry of the excavated small cities. The expectations of the classical ideal could only be fulfilled in the "great, magnificent, maiaesthetic" (44) Rome. Pompeian architecture was also criticized by Goethe, who described Pompeii as a cramped and small "mummified city". (45) Goethe's visit to the Museum of Decorative Arts in Portici partially rehabilitated his initial disappointment, as the poet learned about the history and design of the Pompeian city. He then praised the functionality of the simple Roman objects (such as buckets or candlesticks) and drew comparisons between Pompeian and his contemporary everyday life. (46) The excavations in Herculaneum are also described and sketched by Wilhelmine of Bayreuth in her letters and diaries. In correspondence with his sister, Frederick II expresses his disappointment at the smallness of the excavated city and the mediocrity of the finds. Wilhelmine criticized the excavation policy in Italy as well as the lack of knowledge of the court antiquaries in the field; thanks to her previous education, she understood that careless excavation meant destruction, but at the same time the margravine did not have the ambitions of an aristocrat. (47) Wilhelmine described the Grotto of the Sibyl at Cumae in detail, giving information about the narrow and dark rooms. Her experience of the ancient living space is like the one of Pompeii: the small, dark living cells and long, narrow corridors were contrasted there with the colossal figures, temples, and amphitheaters in the public urban space. (48) In this sense, the marquise also contributes to the revision of the ideal of "sublime antiquity”. Furthermore, the richness of Rome's cultural offerings was contrasted with the mediocrity of the paintings and plays in other Italian cities. (49) Frederick II warned Wilhelmine against the painting forgeries that were widespread in Italy at the time. (50) Another point of criticism was the wealth of the Papal States. Wilhelmine's brother's quick-witted remark pointed out that the papal election would take place in the "Campo Vaccino" pasture and that churches and cardinal palaces would be covered with straw if it were not for the tributes paid to church dignitaries from all over Europe. (51)

The southernmost point of the journey: Sicily, was an architectural disappointment for Goethe and Schinkel. Here they were again confronted with misery and artistic tastelessness. Goethe described Palermo as a dirty and noisy city, "far removed from good taste." (52) After his visit to Prince Pallagonia's palace, he complained about "the nonsense of such a tasteless way of thinking. " (53) The Sicilian decoration of buildings with dragons, choruses of monkeys, or the head of the Roman emperor with a laurel wreath sitting on a dolphin must have struck the poet as aesthetic absurdity. (54) Schinkel also reported on the overcrowded apartments in Sicilian villages, to the extent that the host family had to sleep in the cowshed so that two guests could share a bed. (55) Schinkel's judgmental, foreign view of Italy is also evident in the way he saw architecture. The Prussian architect regarded architecture from Bramante onward with disdain, rejecting the High Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and the buildings of his contemporaries. (56) Reflection on the art and architecture seen in Italy formed a transition to the architect's own work and theory in Prussia. Schinkel's return to Italy at the age of 42 is an interesting case in which the architect was often disappointed by the places of his "source experience": as on his second trip to Naples, when he was irritated by the Italians' noisy piety, as well as by superstition and begging. (57)

Reflection

"Palladio brought me closer to Vitruvius” : a brief look at architectural theory

A moment of reflection on what one has seen is something that all travelers experience, whether it is a reflection on art and architectural theory or a long-term influence on one's own work.

Wilhelmine von Bayreuth is guided by her impressions on the spot. On the Capitoline Hill in Rome, she drew sketches of the ground plan "as it used to be," (58) mentally reconstructing the site and studying the location and geography of Rome from the hill. The Colonna Gallery, which she visited, served Wilhelmine as a model for the design of the picture gallery at Sanssouci. Wilhelmine was particularly perceptive and her reflections on the buildings she visited can be fully understood in her diaries. Wilhelmine's report on the apartment of the Gambia family draws direct social and cultural conclusions from the living conditions (59). Wilhelmine, who had already learned about antiquity in Prussia, makes direct assessments of what she has seen: for example, of the original use of the ruins of the underground passages in Cent Cemerelle (60) or of the quality of painting in the Italian cities she visited. All three travelers had already trained their foreign gaze, for they had all had a thorough education.

Goethe's and Schinkel's first impressions, both the enthusiasm and the disappointment, resonate through the years and have a remarkable influence on their work. Goethe's experience of the southern Italian landscape is further developed in Nausikaa, in which the king's daughter describes her father's Arcadian garden (similar to the Sicilian garden of Villa Giulia) to a stranger. (61) Goethe's interest in the theater, which he explored in many Italian cities, also finds its continuity in Weimar, where he tried to overcome the threshold of mediocrity in small plays. The Duke entrusted the poet with ministerial duties, including the management and administration of the entire theater system. (62) Similarly, Schinkel's visits to Italian theaters and operas had helped him to survive the period from 1805 to 1818 with few architectural commissions. His stage designs around 1817 for Die Zauberflöte, Undine, and the temple decorations for Alceste demonstrate a scenographic sensibility that he had already proclaimed in describing the scenes of public life in Rome. His design for the Altes Museum in Berlin (1822-30) shows inspiration from Italian urban life: Schinkel liquefied the threshold between the interior and exterior of the entrance area by introducing no thermal barrier between them. At the same time, the classical grandeur and sublimity of antiquity can be read in the façade and the magnificent colonnade. The journey to Italy is thus reflected in Schinkel's designs and theories, including his perception of public life and urban presence in architecture.

Not only the enthusiasms but also the disappointments became formative for the traveler. In Goethe's case, his initial experience of dissonance in tiny Pompeii later developed into a characteristic trait. In Weimar's park on the Ilm, near the Anna Amalia Library and Charlotte von Stein's house, he had the "Pompeian bench" built as a quotation from his trip to Italy. In this way, Goethe found the connection between his autobiographical motifs and architectural fragments of "foreign antiquity" and introduced them to his homeland. (63) Goethe's description and drawings of the temple at Segeste are equally remarkable. The poet analyzed the steps and stone noses of the base and drew correct conclusions about the transportation and attachment of ropes during the temple's construction. He made sketches of the Doric plinth profiles and determined from the missing stones that the temple was probably never completed. In contrast to vibrant Rome and Venice, he describes the isolated location of the temple ruins in Segeste: "All built up and almost uninhabited" (64). Segeste corresponds to Goethe's sublime but sad image of architecture as a "muted musical art" with mathematical proportions. (65) Schinkel also visited Segeste, but as an architect he came to a completely different understanding of the built structure. Schinkel's perception of the temple concentrated on the truthfulness of its (undisguised) construction. Schinkel, like Hirt, found in the temple at Segeste an image of lively architecture and the foundation of a “supra-historical tectonic thinking” of ancient architecture. (66) For Schinkel, antiquity is not an architectural style, but a way of thinking that transcends styles, which he remained true to in his own building designs in Prussia.

Goethe's need for a deeper understanding of architectural theory and the Vitruvian teachings is evident. He calls architecture an "extinct language" (67) and refers to Palladio as the person who brought him closer to Vitruvius. Goethe tried to read Vitruvius in the original Latin, which made it difficult for him to understand the "Ten Books" both linguistically and theoretically (as Vitruvius often contradicted himself).(68) Goethe's description of Il Redentore and San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, seen from the sea and from a distance, proves that the poet had studied Palladio's "Quattro Libri". The two church façades were similar, but Goethe had to note the subtle differences and found the more classical façade of Il Redentore "more praiseworthy." (69) The façade of Il Redentore was one of Palladio's last designs, with multiple layers of facades and a colossal order of pilasters and columns. Goethe concluded from reading Palladio that the architect felt "the narrowness and smallness of his time" (i.e., the Renaissance) and was therefore dissatisfied with "building Christian churches in the form of old basilicas. Instead, Palladio wanted his churches to "approach the ancient temple form". (70) The frontal, distant view of the facades in Venice can be compared to the woodcuts in the Quattro Libri, and Palladio's theory of design can be read from their proportions and column positions. Palladio makes Vitruvius understandable - not only to Goethe - by adapting his theory of columns based on his own experience and measurements of ancient buildings. Palladio's understanding of the position of columns is primarily decorative - he describes wall construction and construction techniques and then writes about columns as building decoration. With this thesis, Palladio stands in complete contrast to Schinkel, who represents a tectonic understanding of antiquity: Schinkel argues against ornamentation and in favor of the truth of construction, thus formulating his own principles of architecture. Schinkel's theory is based on Vitruvius: he takes from the Vitruvian Trio the concept of practicality (function), which stands above appearance. For Schinkel, the beauty of a building results directly from the truthfulness of its construction. In contrast to Goethe, Schinkel's perception of architecture and "silent" antiquity is a vivid one. His research and reflection on the architecture he saw in Italy continued for years, along with the development of his own theory. This means that architectural theory can be understood as a point of view: in each case, a look is taken at the work and theory of his predecessors. Different versions of Schinkel's “Architectural Book” set different theoretical emphases (71) and ultimately Schinkel dispensed with a doctrinaire theory, as he - like Palladio - defined architecture on the basis of his own built work. Schinkel's reception of his trip to Italy is focused on his homeland, as he writes in his letters to his teacher David Gilly. (72) He wanted to learn the building techniques and constructions in order to apply them later in Prussia and at the Berlin Bauakademie. His built work, photographed and published in the form of a Querfolio, influenced similar editions of work monographs in modernism, e.g. by Le Corbusier. There are moments in Schinkel's travels when reception on site and production as an architect take place simultaneously, such as on the Italian island of Capri, where he was working on the design for Köstritz Castle. After the Schinkel family's last trip to Italy, the architect produced the painting “View of Greece in Bloom”, which stands programmatically as a model for Prussian state-building. (73) The foreign view of Italy and the ancient cultural heritage can also be transferred to the abstract level of architectural theory, which can be described as a particular way of seeing. The question arises as to how Goethe or Schinkel viewed Palladio or how Palladio viewed Vitruvius from a time distance. What was Palladio's understanding of the Vitruvian teaching? Palladio illustrated the edition of the "Ten Books" (74) and partially adopted Vitruvius' teachings, while at the same time adding to them according to his own understanding and studies of ancient buildings in Italy. With his "Four Books", Palladio reversed the order of Vitruvius' "Ten Books" by giving priority to private houses and secular buildings over religious buildings. Palladio saw the house as a building of equal value to the temple, (75) which is why the facades of his villas are proportioned after temple facades. (76) As Germann notes, "Palladio's special love [...] was for the temple front," (77) and he incorporated elements of temple construction, such as the disproportionate portico, into his domestic designs. Palladio thus adopted the forms of the sacred building into the secular building. For Palladio, a house design was a small city model: Alberti's teachings served as a model. The ground plans of Palladio's villas (78) are based on proportions and symmetry with square and circular basic forms, similar to the Vitruvian figure of man in circle and square. For Palladio, the circle and the sphere were "Figur del Mondo"; between geometry and representations of the human body, Renaissance theorists again found references to the microcosm and the macrocosm. (79) As Germann points out, Palladio saw forms in a certain order of precedence and used this view to establish his design theory. (80) The design principles that Palladio adopted resulted from his perception of models, whether his predecessors or the surviving buildings of antiquity. For Palladio, as for many other architects and travelers to Italy, there is a tension between his own analytical studies of antiquity, the interpretation of Vitruvius, and his own designs. The "Palladian-inspired classicism" (81) is characterized by his stays and thorough archaeological research in Rome, as well as the reading of Alberti's treatise. Palladio visited the Italian capital several times and published a guide to Roman ruins (Le antichità di Roma, 1554). His stays in Rome had an influence on Palladio's competence in architectural theory and on the quality of his later woodcuts: both for the illustrations of the Vitruvius edition and for Palladio's own treatise. (82) His main work is the edition of the "Quattro Libri", in which "the study of antiquity and modern systematic thinking flow imperceptibly together" and "a purified and systematic picture of ancient architecture" is conveyed. (83) Palladio sought to achieve a balance between the study of antiquity and building practice by placing his "Catalogue of Works" on an equal footing with ancient buildings. (84) The only contemporary building he included in the Quattro Libri was Bramante's Tempietto in Rome. (85) Palladio himself referred to his expertise in antiquity as follows:

"For this reason I have not only read their books in many years of arduous study [...] but I have also traveled several times to Rome and other cities in Italy and abroad, where I have seen with my own eyes the remains of many ancient buildings and measured them with my own hands. What remains today is a showcase of barbaric cruelty in its destruction, but also a clear and sublime testimony of Roman virtue and greatness in its enormous ruins". (86)

Palladio's designs do not represent an imitation of the ideal, but a creative interpretation of antiquity. (87) Neumeyer claims that Palladio's buildings were as important to the development of classicism as the models of antiquity themselves. (88) The Vitruvian trio of pleasantness, durability, and beauty is fundamental to Palladio. He interprets these terms from a temporal distance, and, for example, the definition of beauty is derived from Alberti, i.e., as the connection of parts to a whole, according to number, proportion, order, and natural law.

Palladio's view of the human body draws comparisons to the parts of buildings. This leads to the division and aesthetic evaluation of noble and ugly parts - the former to be exposed, the latter to be hidden. By "ugly parts" Palladio meant, for example, cellars, wooden storerooms, kitchens, and the everyday use of the house. (89) Palladio pays particular attention to the Vitruvian theory of columns, which he expands and adapts according to his own measurements and observations of ancient buildings. (90) He lists the parts and dimensions of each column order (91), but - as he himself notes - not according to Vitruvius, but as he perceived them in ancient buildings. (92) Accordingly, Palladio introduces a modular system between column width and intercolumnar distance, and describes the proportions of column swelling (enthasis), which is mentioned only by Vitruvius. (93) Palladio's modular system differs from that of Vitruvius in that, for example, he increases the total height of the architrave, frieze, and cornice in relation to the height of the columns. (94) What is particularly innovative in his work is that he does not specify any dimensions, but rather relates all the sizes in the proportions of the facade to the basic module, i.e., the column diameter. Palladio provides his readers with simple yet precise design methods: he constructs the volumes in the Ionic chapter in drawings using basic shapes such as the circle and square and the golden section. (95) In his book on temples, he also introduces the solution to the famous corner problem. (96)

"And so it happened [...] that I set out for other parts of Italy and other countries, in order to grasp everything of what had once been a whole and to record it with a pencil." (97)

Among the buildings that Palladio measures and from which he formulates his theory of proportion are the Theatre in Vicenza, the Amphitheater in Capua, and the Marcellus Theatre in Rome. (98) In Palladio's work, as in Wilhelmine's, there is a mental reconstruction of the remains of antiquity. There is a moment of reflection on what he has seen and measured in the form of an architectural treatise, "Quattro Libri," in which Palladio expresses his view of the models (of antiquity as well as of Vitruvius and Alberti). The design frameworks created by Palladio make the Vitruvian doctrine comprehensible by creating an "order" - both aesthetic and intellectual - within the "Four Books." (99) Palladio also became a model for his successors, such as Vicenzo Scamozzi, whose architectural treatise Idea dell'architetura universale (1615) spread the Palladian doctrine, especially in northern Europe. Goethe described Scamozzi's edition as "the most complete, solid and excellent that architecture has to offer". (100)

Palladio's temple facades were intended to overlook Italian cities "so that religion would appear as the guardian and protector of the citizens." (101) From this prominent position, Goethe viewed the Venetian church facades and reflected on Palladio's architectural teachings: The reception of the written word, here: architectural theory, as well as the architecture seen on the spot, leads to a deeper understanding of antiquity, which for both Goethe and Schinkel remains formative for their entire artistic work.

The reports from the Italian journey not only form an interesting literary genre, but also had a considerable influence on the works and views of the traveling artist and scholar. The theatrical and the foreign, the enthusiasms and disappointments, became a driving factor in his own writing and design at home. The juxtaposition of the ideal of antiquity with the ruins found on the ground and everyday life in Italy often resulted in an experience of dissonance that was no less formative for later art and architectural theory. All three travelers, the poet, the architect, and an emancipated noblewoman, had different backgrounds, ages, expectations, and social statuses at the time of their travels, yet they all remember their trip to Italy with nostalgia (102).

This paper was written as part of Julianne Aleithe’s seminar about the source texts of architectural theory. (“Quellentexte der Architekturtheorie”, Summer 2021, University of Arts Berlin)

CONTENTS

Introduction

The travelers

Briefly about Italy around 1800

Enthusiasm

The theatricality of Rome and the grandeur of antiquity

Criticism

“The development of the journey presupposes disappointment”

Reflection

“Palladio brought me closer to Vitruvius”:
a brief look at architectural theory

Bibliography

1 „Palladio hat mir durch seine Worte und Werke, durch seine Art und Weise des Denkens und Schaffens den Vitruv schon nähergebracht und verdolmetscht, besser als die italienische Übersetzung tun kann. Vitruv liest sich nicht so leicht, das Buch ist an sich schon düster geschrieben“, (Goethe, J. W., Italienische Reise, Venedig, 12.10.1786, s.104)

2 „Schon jetzt finde ich mache in diesem Blätter, das ich […] verbessern könnte; es mag als Denkmal des ersten Eindrucks, der, wenn er auch nicht immer wahr wäre, uns doch köstlich und wert bleibt.“ (Goethe, J. W., Italienische Reise, Venedig, 12.10.1786, s.103)

3 The manuscript is preserved in the Goethe and Schiller Archive in Weimar; the diary from Carlsbad to Rome is a complete, self-contained document; the original notes from Rome and southern Italy survive only as notes and fragments on loose sheets; analyzed by Goethe for the "Italian Journey" and then largely destroyed, as did the letters.; (Michel, Ch., Goethes Tagebuch der italienischen Reise 1786, s.241)

4 Riemann, G., Nachwort zum „Schinkel, Reisen nach Italien, Tagebüchher, Briefe…“, s.280-85

5 https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschichte_Italiens#Napoleon,_Wiener_Kongress_(1796%E2%80%931815); last access: 28.09.21, 18:56 CET)

6 „Rom spielte vor und nach 1800 eine entscheidende Rolle für die deutsche Kunst.“ Wagener, Andrea, Goethe und sein römischer Freundeskreis, s.40 (in: Görn, J., Goethe in Italien)

7 Richter, D., Goethe in Neapel, s.77

8 „Der Dichter hat seine Vorstellungen der Antike im Geiste Winkelmanns gebildet“ (in: Richter, D.,Goethe in Neapel, s. 77)

9 The educational nature of the trip to Italy is also emphasized by Aloys Hirt: „Da ich als ein wahre Laye nach Rom kam“ schreibt er an Johann Kaspar Lavater am 27.Mai 1789 aus Rom. Er verbleibt in Rom über 5 Jahre um Kunst des Altertums zu studieren.

10 Schinkels Briefe und Tagebuch, Römische Briefe - 1. Reise, s.57

11 Schinkels Briefe und Tagebuch, Römische Briefe - 1. Reise, s.52

12 The picture gallery in Sanssouci Palace was modeled after the Galeria Colonna:
„Die „Galleria Colonna“ ist wegen ihrer [architektonischen] Ordnung die prächtigste der Welt. Man sagt, dass es in Versailles keine von solcher Schönheit gibt.“, (#164)

13 „Wie viele Male habe ich Ihnen, mein teurer Bruder, doch so viele schöne, Ihrer würdige Stücke gewünscht. Ich war in Verzückung beim Anblick so vieler schöner Überbleibsel der Antike.“ (#155)

14 Wilhelmine on the ancient paintings of Pompeii: “Ich nehme [mir] die Freiheit, sie Ihnen zu schicken, mein liebster Bruder, wobei ich sie bitte, nicht zu sagen, dass sie aus Neapel ist. Ich werde mein Mögliches tun, um sie gut verpacken zu lassen.“ (#169)

15 Letter #169

„Ich nehme [mir] die Freiheit, sie Ihnen zu schicken, mein liebster Bruder, wobei ich sie bitte, nicht zu sagen, dass sie aus Neapel ist. Ich werde mein Mögliches tun, um sie gut verpacken zu lassen.“

16 Wilhelmine also describes the strict manners and ceremonial rules in Rome. (Letter #177)

17 Schinkels Briefe und Tagebuch, Römische Briefe - 1. Reise, s.56

18 Letter #177

19 Letter #169, „die römischen Damen [haben] Schrecken bekommen“ als sie sich wehrt, beim Treffen im Garten von dem Papst zu knien; „man hält allerschimpfsten reden auf meine Kosten“

20 Schinkels Briefe und Tagebuch, Alte und neue Kunst in Rom, s.208

21 Goethe, Italienische Reise, s.530

22 Goethe, Italienische Reise, s.530

23 „In diesem Augenblick legt der ernsthafte Römer … seine Bedächtigkeit auf einmal ab“ (in: Goethe, Italienische Reise, s.530)

24 Schinkels Briefe und Tagebuch, Römische Briefe - 1. Reise, s.58

25 Schinkels Briefe und Tagebuch, Römische Briefe - 1. Reise, s.58

26 Goethe, Italienische Reise, s.530

27 Goethe visits the church (St. Francis) on the feast of St. Francis (4.Oct 1786),
(In: Goethe, Italienische Reise, s.83)

28 Goethe, Italienische Reise, s.103

29 Goethe, Italienische Reise, s.103

30 Schinkels Briefe und Tagebuch, s.76-77

31 Schinkels Briefe und Tagebuch, s.117

32 Schinkels Briefe und Tagebuch, s.117

33 Schinkels Italienreise, Vorwort, s.19

34 Schinkels Italienreise, Vorwort, s.19

35 Schinkels Italienreise, Vorwort, s.23

36 Schinkels Italienreise, s.22

37 Schinkel, Reisen nach Italien, Briefe, Aquarelle, s.280

38 Witte, P., Goethes Rückblick auf die Antike, s.122

39 Witte, P., Goethes Rückblick auf die Antike, s.21

40 Witte, P., Goethes Rückblick auf die Antike, s.31-33

41 Witte, P., Goethes Rückblick auf die Antike, s.32 (Tagebuch vom 07.04.1787)

42 f.ex. scenes in “Nausikaa”, here desribed in the chapter „Reflexion“

43 Fitzon, T. Pompeji Kritik an der Architektur, „Versagte Erhabenheit. Kritik an der Architektur“, s.224

44 Fitzon, T. Pompeji Kritik an der Architektur, s.230

45 Richter, D., Goethe in Neapel, s.77

46 Richter, D., Goethe in Neapel, s.77

47 „hatte klare archäologische Ambitionen und eine konkrete Vorstellung von der Bedeutsam ihres eigenen Tuns“ but „keine mäzenatenhafte Ambitionen“

48 Kammerer-Grothaus, Voyage d’Italie, Wilhelmines Tagebuch, 23.05 - 7.06.1755, (s. 32)

49 z.B. in Pisa, #156

50 Letter #175

51 Letter #175

52 Goethe, Italienische Reise, 5. Apr 1787, s.253

53 Goethe, Italienische Reise, s.265

54 Goethe, Italienische Reise, s.265

55 Description of the apartments, with "patriarchal character": „man lebt, wie in der frühen Zeit […] als eine große Familie beisammen“, Messina, 14.05.1804, (p.90);

56 in the letter to J.F. Unger, during Schinkel's first journey, he wrote: “Man bemühte sich bisher, entweder die Monumente griechischer oder römischer Zeit oder die Gebäude aus den Zeiten […] zu Tausenden zu bearbeiten. Letzteres war für den ästhetischen Wert der Architektur von wenig Nutzen, da unstreitig mit Bramante der beste Stil der Architektur aufhörte, und gerade die Periode nach ihm vorzüglich bringt Unheil.“ [in. Schinkel, Reisen nach Italien, s. 115]; gleichzeitig, wie Gottfried Riemann bemerkt: „1824 […], die Kunst nach der Renaissance wird nicht mehr in dem Maße abgelehnt wie 1804, als Schinkel das üblich Unverständnis geteilt hatte.“ [im Nachwort zum „Schinkel, Reisen nach Italien, Tagebüchher, Briefe, Zeichnungen, Aquarelle“, .284]

57 Schinkels Italienreise, s.31

58 Letter #171, #203

59 In Torre Campagna, Wilhelmine describes the façade of the Casa di Gambia. It was architecturally organized, so the house must have belonged to a noble family. The paintings and Roman clothing were well preserved. She found gold braids and silver plates, as well as many paintings "in Chinese style," and concluded that Chinese culture must have been known in Rome and Herculaneum. (In: Kammerer-Grothaus, „Voyage d’Italie“, Wilhelmines Tagebuch 23.Mai bis 7.Juni 1755, s. 31)

60 Italian antiquarians believed they were Nero's prisons, Wilhelmine disagreed (and she is right) because there were "no traces of habitation", [in: Kammerer-Grothaus, Voyage d’Italie] Witte, P., s.33

61 Selbmann, R., Goethe und das Theater: eine Einführung, s.4

62 Richter, D., Goethe in Neapel, s.77

63 Richter, D., Goethe in Neapel, s.77

64 Goethes Tagebuch der italienischen Reise, s.189

66 Richter, D., Goethe in Neapel, s.81, „Ausdruck eines überhistorischen tektonischen Denkens, der in seiner Ruhe und Klarheit vorbildlich ist“ [in: Neumeyer, Einleitung zum Schinkels „Architektonischem Buch“, s.212]

67 „die Baukunst steigt wie ein alter Geist aus dem Grabe hervor, sie heißt mich ihre Lehren wie die Regeln einer ausgestorbenen Sprache studieren“, Venedig 12.10.1786, [in: Goethe, Italienische Reise, s.103]

68 “written grimly” (Ger.: „düster geschrieben“), Goethe on Vitruvius, Venice 12.10.1786, last days of his stay in Venice, [In: Goethe, Italienische Reise, s.105]

69 Goethe, Italienische Reise, s.67

70 Goethe, Italienische Reise, s.77

71 Different versions of Schinkel's curriculum over time: Romantic (1803-05), National Romantic (1810-15), Classicist (1825), Technicist (1830 after the trip to England), Legitimist (1835); (in: Kruft, H.-W., Deutschland in 19.Jh, Schinkel, s. 339-345, s.340)

72 Schinkel to his teacher D. Gilly: „meine Bemerkungen mitteilen zu dürfen, die Ihnen vielleicht eine Idee geben können, welchen Nutzen die Architektur aus diesem Lande fürs Vaterland ziehen kann“ [in: Schinkel, Reisen nach Italien, Tagebüchher, Briefe…, s.117]

73 Riemann, G., Nachwort zum „Schinkel, Reisen nach Italien, Tagebüchher, Briefe…“, s.284

74 The translation of the "Ten Books" by Daniele Barbaro was the first edition of Vitruvius illustrated by experts (including Palladio); [in: J. S. Ackermann, „Palladio“, s.28]

75 „Weil für Palladio das private Wohnhaus die grundlegende Bauaufgabe ist, verleiht er ihm Attribute, die in der Antike den Tempeln vorbehalten waren.“; [in: Neumeyer, Palladio, s.120]

76 as above

77 Germann, G., s.140

78 Germann, G., s.137, bei Villa Rotonda: Kuppelrotunde, Podium, vier Freitreppen, vier Tempelfronten

79 Germann, G., s.137

80 „Um Palladio zu verstehen, müssen wir untersuchen, in welcher Rangfolge er die Formen gesehen und wie er diese Rangfolge begründet hat“ [in: Germann, G., s.137]

81 Architekturtheorie, Taschen, s.64

82 Architekturtheorie, Taschen, s.66

83 Germann, Georg, s.140

84 Architekturtheorie, Taschen, s.66

85 Palladio, Vier Bücher, Buch IV, 17. Holzschnitt

86 „Deshalb habe ich nicht nur in langjährigem, anstrengendem Studium der Bücher derer gelesen [… ]sondern mich auch einige Male nach Rom sowie anderen Städten Italiens und des Auslandes begeben, wo ich die Überreste vieler antiker Bauten mit eigenen Augen gesehen und eigenhändig ausgemessen habe. Was davon bis in unsere Zeit aufrechtsteht, bietet durch die Zerstörungen ein Schaustück barbarischer Roheit, in den gewaltigen Ruinen aber auch ein deutliches und erhabenes Zeugnis der römischen Tugend und Größe.“

Palladio, Widmung der beiden ersten Büchern an den Grafen Giacomo Angarano, Buch I, s.3

87 Erik Forsmann on Palladio classicism: “not imitative, but creative”, [in: Germann, G., s.141]

88 Neumeyer, F., Palladio, s.120

89 Neumeyer, F., Palladio, s.123

90 Germann, Georg, s.144

91 Palladio recognized five orders of columns: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Composite and Tuscan, Vier Bücher, Buch I, Kap. 12 „Von fünf Ordnungen, die die Alten gebrauchten“, s.39

92 Palladio, Vier Bücher, Buch I, Kap. 12 „Von fünf Ordnungen, die die Alten gebrauchten“, s.39

93 Palladio, Vier Bücher, Buch I, Kap.13, „Über die Schwellung und die Verjüngung der Säulen, Interkolumnien und Pilaster“, s.40-41

94 Palladio, Vier Bücher, Buch I, Kap.15, Von der dorischen Ordnung, s.55

95 Palladio, Vier Bücher, Buch I, Kap.16, Über die ionische Ordnung, s.64

96 Palladio, Vier Bücher, Buch IV, Kap.26, Über den Tempel von Assisi, s.394-96

97 „Und so geschah es […] dass ich mich in andere Teile Italiens und in andere Länder aufmachte, und von dem was einmal ein Ganzes gewesen war, alles zu begreifen und mit dem Zeichenstift aufzunehmen“, Palladio, Vier Bücher, Vorwort an die Leser, s.17

98 Palladio, Vier Bücher, Buch I, Kap.13, „Über die Schwellung und die Verjüngung der Säulen, Interkolumnien und Pilaster“, s.42

99 Nachwort zur Ausgabe von „Vier Bücher“ s.438

100 Nachwort zur Ausgabe von „Vier Bücher“ s.437

101 Palladio, Vier Bücher, Buch IV, s.5

102 Germans' longing for Italy as a topos since Goethe's “Italian Journey”; e.g. the painting “Goethe in the Campagna” by Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, 1787

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Natalia Wyrwa