Rudolf Wittkower (1901 – 11 October 1971) was a German art historian.
He was born in Berlin and moved to London in 1934. He taught at the Warburg Institute, University of London from 1934 to 1956 and then at Columbia University from 1956 to 1969 where he was chairman of the Department of Art History and Archaeology.
Wittkower's Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism introduced an in depth analysis of Venetian architect Andrea Palladio and his relation to sixteenth century music theory. Part Four specifically deals with how and why Palladio adapted harmonic musical ratios and incorporated them into the physical proportions of his buildings. Although this theory of Palladian proportions was universally accepted after the book's release, recent works in art history have made it the subject of much controversy.
Wittkower died at New York City in 1971. He was awarded the Alice Davis Hitchcock Award posthumously in 1975.
Publications
- Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism (1949)
- Art and Architecture in Italy, 1600-1750 (1958, and revised editions)
- Bernini: the sculptor of the Roman Baroque (1955)
- Born under Saturn: The character and conduct of artists (1963, with Margot Wittkower)
- Sculpture: Processes and Principles (1977, with Margot Wittkower)
References
- David Rosand. Making Art History at Columbia: Meyer Schapiro and Rudolf Wittkower. Columbia Magazine.
- Lee Sorensen. Wittkower, Rudolf. Dictionary of Art Historians. 27 November 2000.
- Deborah Howard. "Four Centuries of Literature on Palladio", The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 39, No. 3 (Oct., 1980),224-241.
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