Architect Drawings : A Selection of Sketches by World Famous Architects Through History

Simultaneously, these architects relied on their reputation and/or publication to enhance the success
of their careers. They were compensated for their ingenuity and design abilities, unlike the medieval
craftsman whose manual skills were valued above their intellect.
Thus in the late Renaissance, a standard was set for sketches and drawings, as vehicles of exploration
and discovery. The sketchbook was a medium for thinking and visualizing. Although drawings
reflected the study and tracing of elements suggested by Vitruvius (constituting a medium to study
accepted principles) the sketch emerged as an impetus for creativity. Most architects were trained in
painting workshops where they became highly skilled in quick conceptual sketching. They were able
to achieve aesthetically beautiful and proportionally accurate imitations of nature. A master’s drawings
were both revered and copied by apprentices, as they became valuable in their own right (Kris
and Kurz, 1979). Vasari was the first to collect (and thereby raise the status of ) these works as artifacts
to be held for prosperity, giving many Renaissance architects mythical reputations. The legends of
these architects, such as Michelangelo and Leonardo, increased the value of their sketches.
Sketching/drawing styles and methods of representation varied, but they did have some similarities.
Leonardo had an explorative and analytical style. His sketches contained the quality of observation;
as he was attempting to understand through viewing. He was able to document empirical study,
recording his curiosity by combining observed facts with aspects of his imagination (Cassirer, 1963).
Peruzzi, da Sangallo and Vignola employed their sketches to work out details and visualize a future
building. Each had tremendous skill in manipulating drawing media, especially in controlling pen
and ink with very fine parallel lines for shading. Da Sangallo’s drawings, from the sketches held in
the Uffizi collection, exhibit many alternatives for fortification plans. Likewise, Michelangelo diagrammed
the projectile angles of munitions in his plans for military fortifications, as evidenced by his
many sketches in the collections of the Casa Buonarroti. He understood the volatility of his mannerist
style, and many of his sketches were fluid expressions often rendered simultaneously with studies
of human figures.
The Renaissance architects explored three-dimensional space through sketches, making quick
perspectives to visualize form. Palladio often crowded drawings on the page, unconcerned if they
overlapped or merged. Many of the sketches by Inigo Jones demonstrate a crude abstraction, with
scratchy lines overworked and distorted. Each architect presented in this chapter utilized sketched
images because, for them, they held an answer to a question. They believed in the power of the
sketch to convey the technical details, dimensionality, spatial qualities, or conceptual beginnings
necessary to their architecture. Using a trusted medium, they accomplished the skills allowing them
to celebrate a personal dialogue. The tools at their disposal were important to this development.
MEDIA
Bambach, Ames-Lewis and Wright, all writing about the culture of the Renaissance workshop, elucidate
the media employed for drawing and sketching. Until the middle of the 1400s, vellum was
the most prevalent drawing medium. Vellum consisted of animal hide, soaked in lime, and subsequently
scraped clean. To further prepare the drawing surface it was wetted, scoured with a gritty
substance such as pumice, and stretched to dry in flat sheets. It was extremely sturdy, although
expensive and not always available. As discussed in the general Introduction, paper later became the
medium of choice. Although vellum was still available throughout the century, paper was less
expensive and became continually more available to the Renaissance artist/architect. It was made in
various thicknesses and in numerous tones of white, some even having pastel tints. As paper’s quality
and availability improved, artists and architects found that it performed well for conceptual
exploration.
Following the use of the reed pen in ancient Egypt and Rome, the quill pen became predominant,
since it was deemed more controllable. The quill could be cut in multiple ways for specific effects, and
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