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

Borromini, Francesco (1599–1667)
Rome, Collegio di Propaganda Fide, studies for front windows, 1662, Albertina, Az Rom 913,
18.3 26.1cm, Graphite on paper ( grafite tenera su carta da scrivere di discreta resistenza;
filigrana: variante di quella al n. 6088 in Briquet II )
Numerous of Francesco Borromini’s design sketches carry the expression and passion for architecture
that can be found in his built work. Displaying fluid lines and definitive vertical emphasis, his
admirers continually stress his knowledge of Vitruvius and his foundation in classical architecture.
He implemented classical elements, but in new combinations, employing dramatic lighting effects and
integrating painting, sculpture, and architecture as a unified whole (Blunt, 1979).
The son of architect Giovanni Domenico Castelli, he was born at Bissone near Lake Lugano in
1599, acquiring the name Borromini later in life. Being related to Carlo Maderno, he found work
carving coats of arms, festoons, decorative putti, and balustrades at St. Peter’s (Wittkower, 1980).
Subsequently, Maderno employed him as a draughtsman and, achieving some freedom of design during
Bernini’s directorship at St. Peter’s, he started his architectural career. He brought with him skills
as a builder and craftsman to design the monastery of S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. The façade consists
of three concave bays separated from the rest of the corner site. The church displays an oval plan
with four indented corners creating an interior undulating pattern of columns (Millon, 1961). The
historian George Hersey suggests that it evokes a mannerist/baroque use of geometry, elongating and
distorting circles to become ovals and ellipses (Hersey, 2000). Several of his other projects include
Palazzo della Sapienza (1642–1662), Propaganda Fide (1647–1662), St. Agnese in Piazza Navona
(1652–1657), St. John Lateran, and Church of S. Ivo alla Sapienza.
The many sketches from the collection of Borromini in the Albertina are primarily rendered in
graphite. Most show the heavy usage that could be expected from drawings that are pondered.
Demonstrating their use for contemplation over long periods of time, the graphite has been smeared
and often partially erased. The compass seems to have been his constant companion, as the sketches
are riddled with holes.
This early conceptual sketch (Figure 2.2) for the Collegio della Progaganda Fide exemplifies many
of these traits. The page suggests that he was lost in thought, moving easily across the sheet between
plans, elevations, and calculations. He tried several variations of a columned entrance, in a process of
constant refinement. The smeared graphite designates the trial quality of this sketch page; it expresses
how he participated with the sketches, just as he did with his architecture. He was not afraid to keep
working on the same page even if it became dirty and smeared.
Borromini likely chose graphite because it was fast, expressive, and changeable. In contrast, pen and
ink may have been too permanent, belabored, and slow (dipping the pen); it was a medium less erasable.
These sketches are not careless, but rather deliberate in concentration. The palimpset, of his thinking
shows how he was constantly reacting to an existing line with a new one. Reconsidered solutions
can be seen in the darker alternatives for an entrance. Each time he decided on a better solution,
Borromini tried definitively to emphasize it with a heavier lineweight. The reworking of the sketch
and the rough texture of the paper stemming from erasure also shows in the darker marks around the
altered areas.
From the liveliness of his sketches, one can imagine the passion he gave to his art. For him, the
sketches were personal conversations and he did not care how they looked. He was absorbed in the
dialogue of the image.
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