Architectural Diplomacy

Book excerpt: In 1676-77 a single event revitalized the traditions of Roman design. That event, the union of the French Royal Academy and the Academy of Saint Luke in Rome, is given new significance in the present study. It has long been thought that the academies' fusion signaled the passing of artistic preeminence from Rome to France. Here, however, the author proposes a more complex interpretation. By demonstrating that Rome continued, in fact, to be the more innovative and influential of the two academies, Gil Smith is able to discern patterns of influence that cross geographical and temporal boundaries, and to portray late-Baroque architecture in international terms. For this Compelling portrait of a transitional period of European architectural trends, Professor Smith draws on the student competitions inaugurated at the Saint Luke Academy to commemorate its ties with the French academies. Far more important than mere "academic" work, these competition drawings reveal the nature of instruction in Rome, the influences of the academy's officers and patrons, and the nature of contemporary projects similar in program to the competitions. The design synthesis pursued in Rome until the end of the seventeenth century, particularly by Carlo Fontana, would become an important source of inspiration for prominent architects of the next century. Among others, the academy's design methodology influenced Fischer von Erlach, Filippo Juvarra, and Giles Oppenord in their search for a progressive Baroque language.