Classical Order - Historical Development of The Orders

Historical Development of The Orders

The Renaissance period saw renewed interest in the ruins left by the ancient cultures of Greece and Rome, and the fertile development of a new architecture based on classical principles. The handbook De architectura by Roman writer, architect and engineer Vitruvius, is the only architectural writing that survived from Antiquity. Rediscovered in the 15th century, Vitruvius was instantly hailed as the authority on classical orders and on architecture in general.

Architects of the Renaissance and the Baroque periods in Europe based their rules on Vitruvius' writings. What was added were rules for the use of the classical orders, and the exact proportions of the orders down to the most minute detail. Commentary on the appropriateness of the orders for temples devoted to particular deities (Vitruvius I.2.5) were elaborated by Renaissance theorists, with Doric characterized as bold and manly, Ionic as matronly, and Corinthian as maidenly.