The Model Architect

Andrea Palladio (1508–1580) is considered among the most significant and influential architects in the Western world. His clean, elegant interpretation of the architecture of classical antiquity was to spread throughout Europe and North America, and his finished buildings, drawings, and writings have become cultural touchstones.

Now, for the first time in New York, The Morgan Library & Museum presents a collection of thirty-one rarely seen drawings by Palladio from the outstanding collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects Trust. The drawings, together with Palladio's architectural texts and pattern books, highlight the growth of his design sensibility. They range from early studies and sketches to perfectly executed later drawings of villas and other commissioned works. Also on view are a number of detailed architectural models, demonstrating the spread of Palladio's architectural theories to America, most notably in the work of Thomas Jefferson and in designs for monumental buildings in Washington, DC.

The exhibition is organized by the Royal Institute of British Architects Trust, London, in association with the Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio, Vicenza, and The Morgan Library & Museum, New York. Plaster models are by Timothy Richards.

Beginning August 20, the Yale School of Architecture Gallery will showcase its Palladio Virtuel exhibition in downtown New Haven, Connecticut. The exhibition, which focuses on villas designed by Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, is the culmination of ten years of analysis by New York architect Peter Eisenman, the Charles Gwathmey Professor in Practice. Based on this detailed deconstruction of Palladio's work, Palladio Virtuel aims to counteract the traditional views on the architect's ideology to reach a new understanding of his life's work. The exhibition will be accompanied by a free public lecture by Mr. Eisenman on Thursday, August 30, and closes October 27.