A couple months ago I traced the
development of perspective to the end of the 19th century (Perspective
- A History of Perspective Layout). I ended the survey at the beginning of the
last century because linear perspective had reached its apex. I will now look
at the years when perspective was the established art technique, but the drive
toward realism, with linear perspective as the prime tool, was being
questioned.
I will not dwell on the reasons for
this turning away from reality; they are well known. The First World War
destroyed the illusion of European superiority among young Europeans. The Great
Depression and World War Two destroyed Europe’s military power, and led to
economic stagnation. The heart of western civilization was still alive, but had
ceased to believe in itself. Culturally, Europe believed in everything, but
could not synthesize the confusion; and therefore it increasingly believed in
nothing. There was peace under the aegis of the United States, but it was a new
world sown with cultural doubt. Tradition was worth nothing, but anything new
was feted. “Subversive,” “revolutionary,” and “transgressive” replaced
“beautiful” and “skilled” as words of praise. This was not a new phenomena in
human history, but the speed and scale of the change was that of another world
war; and, it has not resolved itself yet.
Let’s look at the turn of the century
in architectural illustration…
Looking back we see that perspective layout had become
“normal” by the early 19th century. Perspective (both one and two
point) was well known in all the graphic arts. Not only highly trained
architects and artists, but technicians knew how to produce excellent work. In
addition, the public expected and demanded illustration that closely modeled
reality. Cram Wentworth & Goodhue’s 1893 proposal for the N.Y.C. City Hall
(above) was presented using a simple line perspective. I don’t know if Goodhue
himself drew it, but it has the feel of his later work. The Goodhue post is
here.
In addition to the use of perspective,
artists and architects used a range of visualizing tools to make their two
dimensional painting or drawing look like three dimensional reality. Shade and
shadow, reflections, texture, and many other “tricks” were normally learned by
the turn of the century. The Beaux-Arts handling of perspective came to
California in a big way with the competition for the University of California
master plan in 1896. This rendering of the proposed Stadium by Emile Benard
shows the softening effect of ink wash over the precise layout.
By this time in history the use of perspective to imitate
reality had arrived at its widest dissemination. It was the structural
underpinning of many different rendering styles, illustrating all the new
designs that began to be proposed. The modern design movement was built on the
rational visualization process developed during the Renaissance. Above is Cite
Industrielle by Tony Garnier, from 1904.
Frank Lloyd Wright developed innovative designs throughout
his long career. The perspective renderings of those designs were also
innovative in their use of unusual viewpoints. The Hardy House (1905) takes a
view from the lake far below the house itself. The lake occupies the lower half of the paper, and the house is tucked just below the top edge.
Eliel Saarinen was another architect/artist who worked from
exacting perspective layout to create evocative atmospheric illustrations. The
proposal for the Parliament House of Finland, completed 1908, is a good example
of his approach. The design is simplifying the classical style in a careful
way, while taking the art of architectural rendering into the realm of drama.
At the same time as Saarinen was working his magic. Peter
Behrens was pressing architecture toward the machine. The AEG factory above is an
example of “industrial classicism”, a precursor to the Bauhaus and the modern
era of design. The rendering of the project however, was in no way experimental
or ground breaking, but is a nice clean, if pedestrian perspective.
The end of World War One came in 1918. It is as good a date
as any to mark the beginning of the modern era. The seemingly mindless killing
on an industrial scale brought the whole humanistic enterprise into question.
Although the old ways continued, new styles, ideas and attitudes began to gain
a following.
Accurate perspective layouts were still the basis for all
sorts of illustrations and designs. This
drawing of a Victorian club room by Erwin Pauli is from1918.
Some perspective drawings matched the simplified
“architectonic” style coming into fashion at the end of the world war. This
rendering of the Amsterdam Royal Academy by Bijvoet & Duiker, from 1918, is
a good example of the curious tension between the 2 dimensional graphic and the
3 dimensional perspective.
You might note from this survey that abstraction in architectural
illustration was found more often in the work of architects from continental
Europe. Britain and America continued to prefer 3 dimensional realism.
Drama and sentiment were also increasingly valued in
illustrating traditional designs. This dramatic view of Madison Square Garden
by Hugh Ferriss is also from 1918. Ferriss did not use a separate layout when
doing his charcoal renderings, but instead roughed out the perspective as he
went along. You’ll find the Hugh Ferriss post here.
This rendering of a villa from 1919 is much like the Amsterdam
Royal Academy in its strict perspective and flat coloring. The architecture
features large blank walls with interspersed geometric ornament, a style
surprisingly congenial to the rendering.
The residential sketches above by Arthur L. Guptill show
that accurate perspective was still a design tool. These sketches from 1920, show
that good perspectives were trickling down to the middle class domestic life in
the U.S.
At the same time, perspective was being used to describe
very avant gard living spaces. Above is a rough pencil sketch for a residence
by W.A. Hablik. It is no coincidence that the traditional was still largely accepted
in America, while it was being replaced in Mitteleuropa. The U.S. had been
hardly touched by the war, but Europe had been devastated.
This imaginary power plant by Antonio Sant’Elia (1920)
exemplifies the love affair that avant garde architecture had with the machine.
The drawing, on the other hand, is a perspective sketch embued with a human emotion.
Le Corbusier took Sant’Elia’s prophetic revolutionary ideas, and froze them in
aphorisms and concrete.
Early modernism flirted with the reinterpretation of
classical forms. Auguste & Gustave
Perret were at the forefront of this movement. Their radical 1922 proposal for neoclassical
towers near Paris is now forgotten. The rendering is pure Beaux-Arts, in the
style of Jules Guerin.
For some architects, ornamentation, especially that derived
from the old and therefore discredited ancient world, was verboten. Riviera Villas by Adolf Loos is an
example of a very “stripped-down” design presented with the old established
technique. It is an interesting example in that the design is relentlessly
rectilinear, and therefore the drawing itself is little more than the basic
layout of an earlier rendering. Loos would lose influence, but come back into
vogue in the 1980’s.
Wright’s Mayan period is represented in a correct, if crude
way in this rendering of a fraternity house from 1924. His long career involved
many shifts in style; the prairie school being the one he began with in Chicago
working for Louis Sullivan. In every shift of style however, perspective was
always his preferred presentation technique.
The Soviet Union was a curious place to practice
architecture. Much of the new construction was banal and soul-less, but the
approved “heroic” style could be interesting. Above is a project called Suspended Office Block, by El Lissitzky
& M. Stam, “suprematists” from the Soviet Union. The Wolkenbügel design
is radical, grandiose and utopian, but the perspective is plain vanilla.
Large scale urban projects also used the old Renaissance
tools. Above is the French Hospital, in N.Y.C., by Crow, Lewis & Wick (1925).
While the Soviets at this time seemed to bounce from extreme to extreme, the
Americans looked for middle class respectability in their architecture.
Public works were equally tied to the old lens of
perspective. Here is Hell Gate Bridge, in N.Y.C. by Henry Hornbostel (1925).
This rendering happens to be a long time favorite of mine. Interestingly, it is
the inspiration for the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which was rendered by CyrilFarey.
“Paper architecture” was as prevalent in the 1920’s as it is
now. Alvo Auat was a designer/illustrator who specialized in fantasy
architecture at this time. He is largely forgotten now, but I have a copy of
his book Architectural Visions. His
work is like Piranesi’s sketches; fantastic, romantic and yet believable
because of his use of perspective.
Although most offices had a draftsman who specialized in
drawing perspectives, the profession of perspectivist/renderer came into being
at this time. This Residence Prototype
by Johnson Kaufman & Coate, was illustrated by Chester Price in 1925. The
design is traditionally domestic, and the perspective is a warm reflection of
homeliness.
The avant-garde of European architecture created new designs
and images within the old perspective system. This small hotel in Brussels by Charles
Colassin seems dull and pretentious architecturally. It also presents a fresh
interpretation of a standard perspective view. Colassin, along with many other
“cutting edge” designers, used gouache (or opaque watercolor) to illustrate
their designs. Professional renderers in the 50s and 60s brought gouache
painting to a new high of style and flexibility, but also made it synonymous
with mass produced modernity, and in time mediocrity.
As time went on there seems to have been an increasing
divide between realistic illustration in architecture, and abstract
illustration. Both sides used linear perspective, but one emphasized the
realism, while the other undermined the realism. This interior view of an “Apartment
Hotel” for the 1930 Werkbund Exhibition
by Herbert Bayer & Walter Gropius is an example of the latter ‘abstracted’
perspective.
This watercolor of the Holzworth House by George Fred Keck (1930),
shows a modern design rendered in a fairly realistic perspective. It is
appropriate that it emphasizes strong sunlight, since Keck was an early
proponent of passive solar design. Incidentally, Keck mentored Ralph Rapson,
one of my professors at school.
Hall des Torpilleurs by Auguste Perret (1932) is a practical assemblage of glass
and concrete. The rendering of the building is firmly in the realist camp, but
is a curious mix of static and dynamic. The
symmetrical corner view gives it a solid, even boring look, but the highly
developed sunlit side and blank right elevation are a fascinating contrast.
End of examples…
I’m going to end this post here, since the
Great Depression and World War II created a huge break with the past. The
trouble in Europe spewed the new ideas over the Atlantic Ocean, where they took
root in the newly powerful universities in the United States. The bubbling brew
of modern vs traditional, and realistic vs abstract would end up traveling on
American coat tails, and has now infected the whole world.
What does this mean for the future of
art, architecture and architectural illustration? Well, it has been 70 years
since the end of World War II, so there are more posts in which to answer that
question; besides which, the human race moves forward by reinventing our
culture, tools and traditions. It is not a straight line of progress, but
rather a forward, backward, sidestep, turnaround dance. Sometimes the most
important developments are put in the closet, only to be brought out by some
later generation
Perspective - Three Point Perspective- Hand & CAD
Other posts on Perspective:
Perspective - Two Point Perspective -
Distortions & ComplicationsPerspective - Three Point Perspective- Hand & CAD
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