Science and the Artist's Book
An exhibition by the Smithsonian Institution Libraries and
the Washington Project for the Arts
Architecture
Herald of Science
Download full-size JPEG (424K) or GIF (259K) image.
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio
De Architectura Libri Dece [Ten books on architecture]
Como, Italy, 1521
Vitruvius, a Roman engineer of the first century B.C., wrote
De Architectura to express his admiration for Greek
architecture. Covering a variety of topics ranging from urban
planning to the design of temples and government buildings,
Vitruvius' treatise inspired the architects and scholars of the
Italian Renaissance as they attempted to re-create the
magnificence of classical civilization.
Artist's Book
Download full-size JPEG (190K) or GIF (122K) image.
Laura Davidson
Ten Books of Vitruvius
Boston, Massachusetts, 1994
[museum board, lantern slide, book cloth, ink, transfer prints]
Laura Davidson relates the form of books to the architecture
of buildings. Vitruvius' influential work has given her a fresh
appreciation for the balance and proportion of classical models
that have shaped modern architecture.
Funding for this work provided by St. Botolph Club Foundation
of Boston.
