Our systems are now restored following recent technical disruption, and we’re working hard to catch up on publishing. We apologise for the inconvenience caused. Find out more

Recommended product

Popular links

Popular links


Bearers of Meaning

Bearers of Meaning

Bearers of Meaning

The Classical Orders in Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance
John Onians
December 1990
Unavailable - out of print January 2000
Paperback
9780521398480

Looking for an examination copy?

This title is not currently available for examination. However, if you are interested in the title for your course we can consider offering an examination copy. To register your interest please contact collegesales@cambridge.org providing details of the course you are teaching.

Out of Print
Paperback

    For all those interested in the relationship between ideas and the built environment, John Onians provides a lively illustrated account of the range of meanings that western culture has assigned to the Classical orders. Onians shows that during the two thousand years from their first appearance in ancient Greece through their codification in Renaissance Italy, the orders - the columns and capitals known as Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan, and Composite - were made to serve expressive purposes, engaging the viewer in a continuing visual dialogue. Bearers of Meaning offers a much-needed overview of the history of architectural theory as an inseparable twin of architectural practice and a vital element in the European intellectual tradition.

    Product details

    December 1990
    Paperback
    9780521398480
    367 pages
    250 × 214 × 22 mm
    1.04kg
    204 b/w illus.
    Unavailable - out of print January 2000

    Table of Contents

    • List of illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Classical Greece 2. The Hellenistic world and the Roman Republic 3. Vitruvius 4. The Roman Empire 5. Early Christianity 6. The column in the Christian Middle Ages 7. The orders in the Christian Middle Ages 8. The crisis of architecture: Medieval and Renaissance 9. The Tuscan Renaissance 10. Alberti 11. Filarete 12. Francesco de Giorgio Martini 13. Architects and theories in the later fifteenth century 14. A new Christian architecture 15. Francesco Colonna 16. Luca Pacioli 17. Bramante 18. Raphael 19. Serlio 20. Serlio's Venice: Sansovino, Aretino, Titian, and Vasari 21. Sixteenth-century choices Notes Bibliography Index
      Author
    • John Onians