| This study investigates the forces which provided the impetus for the rapid evolution of the architectural drawing during the years 1480 to 1525 in Italy and how that drawing was used. A selected group of chronologically well-defined drawings produced within the time-frame under consideration is found in the Taccuino senese, attributed to Giuliano da Sangallo. Examples from the Taccuino senese function within this study as points of departure for discussions of other architectural drawings.;In essence, the design methodology of the architect followed closely that of the painter and sculptor. Each used an intermediate form of representation in the steps toward the creation of an original work. The evolution of the architectural drawing from the documentary study attempting to record all details to the orthographic, analytical study capturing the essence of the structure parallels the evolution of the precise model book drawing to the generalized pattern drawing or mannikin used in the painter's and sculptor's workshop. Each was dependent upon a generalized intermediate representation to evolve a new one. For the architect, this meant making generalizations about form and structure in a model or drawing or combinations of the two, from which he then developed an original design.;The drawing became an analytical tool capable of defining and describing proposed structures of a volumetric and spatial complexity not seen since Roman antiquity. And at the same time it served as a tool to evolve and manipulate design concepts.;In Italy from 1480 to 1525 architectural representation techniques were used primarily to document and analyze the remains of Roman buildings. These techniques came to employ plan, elevational, and sectional studies which complemented and clarified information found in others. Although these techniques were developed for the documentation and analysis of an extant or partially extant structure, the draftsman next applied these approaches within designs for proposed structures. For a brief period, the model, unfinished and lacking in detail, also functioned as an aid in the development, analysis, and manipulation of plans, sections, and elevations. |
