Comparing and Contrasting Architectural Style: Ruskin, Viollet le Duc, and Semper

Ruskin, Viollet le Duc, and Semper demonstrated very different views of architectural style and what was important in “good architecture.”  While Viollet le Duc and Ruskin were both loyal to the Gothic style, their views of why it was important and how it should be thought of differed tremendously; Semper really was not concerned with style in the way the other two were at all.

A work by Ruskin, showing his love
of the beauty in nature

Ruskin saw unmatched beauty in the natural world, and he saw that pristine splendor being threatened by the coming of industrialization.  Modern materials and technologies of the 19^th century were artless to him, and they lacked the emotion and human connection that he believed turned a building into architecture.  His Seven Lamps of Architecture—Sacrifice, Truth, Power, Beauty, Life, Obedience, and Memory—clearly demonstrated his view that architecture is not something that is simply developed out of necessity; it is an expression of human values and feelings.  Ruskin believed that structure and necessity were to architecture what the blank canvas is to an artist—nothing, until the craftsman adds his personal touch of beauty and meaning.  He saw good architecture as a form of art that should be respected and celebrated.  The Gothic style portrayed all the values he looked for in good architecture, and therefor was the style to which he gave his loyalty.  Out of respect for this style, Ruskin thought it should be regenerated in new architecture and preserved in old architecture.  “The greatest glory of a building is not in its stones, nor in its gold.  It is in its age.”  As Ruskin stated here, he believed that a building of old age had a patina that could only be obtained through time, and that the work of art that it was should be honored and left to age as it will.

One of Viollet le Duc's projects,
showing his eagerness to combine
Gothic architecture with iron structure

Viollet le Duc saw the world and architecture in a much less personal and emotional manner than Ruskin.  He placed value, instead, on the rationality and functionality of architecture, and the mathematical reasoning which was used to arrive at a solution.  He, like Ruskin, favored the Gothic style, but not for its beauty and human connection.  Viollet le Duc in his dictionary explained that Gothic architecture was incredibly scientific and rational.  For this reason, he believed that this was the style that should be analyzed, understood, and reproduced for the modern world.  Unlike Ruskin, Viollet le Duc believed strongly in the promise of industrialization and the power of new building materials.  His designs incorporated the rational style of Gothic architecture with the innovation of new materials, updating the style for a changing world as he saw it.  He believed it was the duty of the modern architect to give shape and form to the technologies of the 19^th century, much like the Greeks gave shape and form to their mythologies.  Just as he saw it fitting to update the style for the modern world, Viollet le Duc also saw it appropriate to update old architecture, to restore rather than to preserve.  He thought a decaying work of art should be revitalized to a “complete state such as it may never have been in at any given moment,” a view opposing that of Ruskin.

Semper and Viollet le Duc shared the conviction that architecture was a rational and functional science.  Where they differed, and where Semper also differed from Ruskin, was in style.  Semper believed that “practical aesthetics” were more important than a predetermined style.  In his mindset, style was defined by function; therefor, imitating styles of the past was irrational.  He believed architecture arose from the needs of a society, and that architecture should answer those needs before assuming a style and form of its own.  While Semper’s views were vastly different from those of Ruskin and Viollet le Duc, one similarity can be seen between Semper and Ruskin; both were concerned with the connection between building and user.

 

Bibliography:

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