Architecture as Representation of Nature

Abstract

Classical architecture included ornaments that were representations of natural forms. However, it also included ornaments whose derivation from nature was, to say the least, disputable. Furthermore, this difference did not play a significant role in the articulation of the doctrine of classical architecture, as it might if it had been taken, for example, as a criterion for a distinction between the orders. Leaving aside a few isolated examples, like Vitruvius’s mythical account of the origin of the Corinthian capital, the mimetic quality of architectural ornament was, as a rule, not discussed systematically in classical treatises.