| Published in 1780, Nicolas Le Camus de Mezieres' The Genius of Architecture; or, The Analogy of Tkat Art with Our Sensations is firmly ensconced in the traditions of western architectural theories, dating back to Vitruvius' The Ten Books on Architecture . Continuing the traditional relationship to the theatre as well as to the harmonic proportions of the orders although recast in terms of the century in which he wrote, Le Camus uses the paradigm of the theatre as the space of reception for his architecture.;Definitively establishing the conventions and taste of the theatre in eighteenth century France, Denis Diderot's The Paradox of Acting established the role of the poetic genius in relation to his or her audience. The relationship to the audience as enabled by the conventions of good taste allows for an understanding of Le Camus' unique analogy of architecture and the sensations, giving to his architecture the ability to provide a cathartic morality as put forth by Diderot. |
