ARTH 281/681: EARLY MODERN ARCHITECTURE
M-W-F 10:00-10:50 a.m.
Dr. Robert Wojtowicz
Office: 210 Jaffe Building
Office Hours: M-W 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. or by appointment
Office Telephone: (215) 898-3250
Office Fax:
E-mail:

Website: http://www.arthistory.upenn.edu/fall01/281/index.html

Texts: Barry Bergdoll, European Architecture: 1750-1890; Leland M. Roth, A Concise History of American Architecture (both available for purchase at the Penn Book Center).

Supplemental Texts on Reserve in the Fisher Fine Arts Library: Arthur Drexler, ed., The Architecture of the I cole des Beaux-Arts; Nikolas Pevsner, Pioneers of Modern Design; A.W.N. Pugin True Principles of Pointed or Christian Architecture; Helen Rosenau, ed., Boullée and Visionary Architecture; John Ruskin, The Seven Lamps of Architecture; John Summerson, Architecture in Britain: 1530-1830; George Thomas et al, Frank Furness: The Complete Works; Mariana Griswold Van Rensselaer, Henry Hobson Richardson and His Works; John Wilton-Ely, Piranesi as Architect and Designer.

Objective: To foster an ability to think and write critically about the aesthetic, technological, and social forces that have transformed European and American architecture from the middle of the eighteenth century to the end of the nineteenth century. Themes to be examined include: the introduction of new building materials and technologies; the increasing diversification of building types as it relates to societal change; the growth of cities and their suburbs; the relationship of architecture to the visual arts and design; and the shifting role of style in architectural thought and practice.

Requirements for undergraduate students: three examinations (approximately 75% of grade) and a fifteen-page research paper on a relevant topic (approximately 25% of grade).

Requirements for graduate students: three examinations (approximately 75% of grade); a twenty-page research paper on a relevant topic (approximately 25% of grade) and a short, ungraded paper assignment.

Expectations: Regular and prompt attendance is key to your success in this course. Excepting the first class session, assigned readings should be completed prior to the session for which they are assigned to facilitate discussion. Lastly, you are expected to adhere to the University of Pennsylvania Code of Academic Integrity. Students who violate the Code will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct, and appropriate action will be taken.

Course Schedule (subject to change)

September 7 - Introduction: Form and Structure in Architecture

September 10 - The Renaissance and the Reassertion of Classical Authority

September 12 - The Origins of the Baroque

September 14 - Section: Looking at Architectural Drawings (meet at Architectural

September 17 - The Louvre Competition and Versailles

September 19 - The Palladian Movement in Britain and the American Colonies (selection of

September 21 - Section: Tour of Christ Church (meet at northwest corner of 2^nd and

September 24 - Romantic Architecture: The Neoclassical Phase (Bergdoll, pp. 1-135)

September 26 - Revolutionary Architecture in France (Bergdoll, pp. 86-88, 97-117;

September 28 - Section: Giovanni Battista Piranesi (meet in Rare Book Room of Fisher

October 1 - English Neoclassicism (Bergdoll, pp. 72-85, 91-96,117-135)

October 3 - Architecture of the Early American Republic (Roth, pp. 53-84)

October 5 - Examination 1

October 8 - Romantic Architecture: The Eclectic Phase (Bergdoll, pp. 138-142)

October 10 - The Greek Revival (Bergdoll, pp. 149-156; 189-195; Roth, pp. 85-100)

October 12 - Fall Break

October 15 - The Early Gothic Revival – I (Bergdoll, pp. 142-149, 156-170, 184-189;

October 17 - The Early Gothic Revival – II (Roth, pp. 100-119)

October 19 - Section: The Greek Revival and the Early Gothic Revival in Downtown

October 22 - Engineering and Technology in the Nineteenth Century (Bergdoll, pp.179-

October 24 - The École des Beaux-Arts in France (Drexler, ed., pp. 110-323)

October 26 - Section: Beaux-Arts Renderings (meet at Architectural Archives)

October 29 - The Second Empire and Néo-Grec Architecture (Bergdoll, pp. 224-

October 31 - Urban Redevelopment in Paris and Vienna (Bergdoll, pp. 240-267)

November 2 - Section: Philadelphia City Hall (meet at center of City Hall courtyard)

November 5 - The High Victorian Movement - I (Bergdoll, pp. 196-205; Ruskin,

November 7 - The High Victorian Movement - II (Roth, pp. 131-134)

November 9 - Examination 2

November 12 - Frank Furness in Philadelphia (Roth, pp. 135-137; Thomas et al, pp. 91-

November 14 - H.H. Richardson and the Romanesque Revival (Roth, pp. 164-171; Van

November 16 - Section: The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (meet at southwest

November 19 - The Early Arts and Crafts Movement - I (research paper due; Bergdoll, pp.

November 21 - The Early Arts and Crafts Movement – II (Pevsner, pp. 40-67)

November 23 - Thanksgiving Break

November 26 - The Stick Style and the Shingle Style in the United States (Roth, pp. 150-

November 28 - The Early Career of Frank Lloyd Wright (Roth, pp. 198-203)

November 30 - Section to be announced

December 3 - The Skyscraper in the United States – I (Roth, pp. 172-185)

December 5 - The Skyscraper in the United States - II

December 7 - Section: Early Philadelphia Skyscrapers (meet at center of City Hall

December 10 - The Return to Classicism (Bergdoll, pp. 268-279; Roth, pp. 189-197, 213-

December 18 - Examination 3 (8:30-10:30 a.m.)

Many of the most significant experiments in early modern architecture were conducted in the area of public design. In this assignment, you will research one of the public buildings listed below:

* * * (list to be inserted) * * *

Undergraduate students are required to submit a fifteen-page final paper and graduate students a twenty-page final paper (excluding notes, bibliography, and illustrations) on the chosen topic. Your paper should address the following: form (materials used in construction, exterior design, plan, interior design, ornament, original furniture or decorative arts); function (program or purpose); content (symbolism or meaning); context (architect, date, location, history, patronage, influence); and style. In other words, your paper should present a cogent analysis of the building’s original importance and its continued relevance.

When conducting research for your paper, keep in mind that the first and most important rule in researching any topic is to start early. You should gather at least ten sources other than Bergdoll’s European Architecture: 1750-1890 or Roth’s A Concise History of American Architecture. These should include monographs, journal articles, catalogs, and architects’ biographies. Only certain scholarly websites may be considered appropriate sources. Please check with me about these websites in advance of submitting your paper. You should begin your search in the Franklin electronic database of the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, which includes the Fisher Fine Arts Library and the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center. To find books not owned by the University of Pennsylvania, check the First Search database. They may be ordered through inter-library-loan; a request may be completed electronically at any computer terminal, allowing 2-4 weeks for delivery. Articles in journals not owned by the University of Pennsylvania may also be ordered through inter-library loan. These may be accessed electronically through Art Abstracts (prior to 1984, check the hardbound editions of the Art Index or the Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals). Other libraries in the area have extensive art and architecture holdings, including the Logan Circle Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Museum of Art Library. Once you have located your sources, be sure to read them thoroughly and to investigate potential leads in their endnotes and/or bibliographies. Use your sources wisely, attributing them when necessary, but above all, LOOK! Investigate images of the building with your own eyes. If you are having difficulty finding information about your topic, please see me as soon as possible.

Please make an appointment with me the week of 23 September 2001 so that we can discuss the state of your research. Bring to the meeting a typed one-paragraph abstract and a bibliography of sources that you have gathered so far. An abstract is a succinct statement of what you are about to say in the paper, and in scholarly journals, they often precede published articles, allowing the reader to peruse the content of multiple articles in an efficient manner. Your bibliography should be formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style, 14^th edition (see guidelines below). The form and content of your precis and bibliography will be factored into your grade.

The following questions may assist you in developing your paper. Was the design of your building spatially or technologically innovative? Out of what materials was this building built? How is the exterior organized? Plan? Interior? How was decoration incorporated, if at all? Does the design of the building conform to a well-known style? What historical events led up to the commission for the building? What was the building’s subsequent influence on the history of architecture? Is the architect of the building well-known? Where and how was the architect trained?

Your paper should have a strong introductory paragraph with topic sentence. Your paragraphs should contain related information, and they should flow smoothly. A concluding paragraph should summarize your major points.

The following are some useful guidelines for formatting your paper adapted from the Chicago Manual and other sources.

When quoting from a source, attribute the quote, set it off by quotation marks, and indicate your source by a superscripted number. Sample format:

When using information from a source, without quoting directly from it, you should use only a superscripted number. Sample format:

For endnotes, bibliographic entries, and illustrations, please follow the guidelines found in the Chicago Manual of Style, 14^th edition. Endnotes are marked in the text with a superscripted number. The endnotes themselves appear at the end of the text and before the bibliography and illustrations. Sample format:

Citations from the same book appear in the following manner:

Or, if citations from the same book appear together:

5. Ibid., 13.

A bibliography should follow your endnotes. Sample format for books:

Sample format for articles:

Illustrations should be identified in the text as follows:

A list of illustrations should appear after the bibliography but before the illustrations. Sample format:

Finally, carefully cropped, photocopied or scanned illustrations should appear at the end of your paper, marked with the appropriate figure numbers. If you have any further questions, please see me after class or in my office. The paper is due on 19 November 2001.