Bearers of Meaning [Paperback]

John Onians (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 1990

For all those interested in the relationship between ideas and the built environment, John Onians provides a lively illustrated account of the range of meanings that Western culture has assigned to the Classical orders. Onians shows that during the 2,000 years from their first appearance in ancient Greece through their codification in Renaissance Italy, the orders--the columns and capitals known as Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan, and Composite--were made to serve expressive purposes, engaging the viewer in a continuing visual dialogue.

Editorial Reviews

Review

There is a great deal of original thought in this book. It covers a vast period of time with an enviable command of scholarship and unfaltering self-possession. It . . . sees the light when the Classical orders are once again . . . spoken of with curiosity and respect and when Classical fundamentals are being sought as a refuge from the disordered philosophies of the recent past. -- John Summerson, The Times Literary Supplement

Book Description

John Onians provides a lively illustrated account on relationship between ideas and the built environment and on the range of meanings that western culture has assigned to the Classical orders. Bearers of Meaning offers a much-needed overview of the history of architectural theory and a vital element in the European intellectual tradition. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (January 15, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691002193
• ISBN-13: 978-0691002194
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,197,858 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Original but often questionable, March 18, 2003

By 

Nom de Guerre "miraxterrick" (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bearers of Meaning: The Classical Orders in Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance (Hardcover)

Note: This book spans the 5th century BC to the 16th century AD. I read the portion from the 5th to the 15th centuries as that was all that was applicable to my research.

Onians takes on an impressive task in this book: tracing the use and meaning of the Classical orders from their still poorly understood and greatly mythologized origins, through a period in which tradition would claim that they disappeared, and into the age of their supposed revival. The topic alone is innovative, and many of Onians' interpretations are correspondingly iconoclastic. Unfortunately, these interpretations, though intriguing, often lack substantiating evidence and/or are very broad generalizations based on archetypal pairs of opposites such as male/female or structure/ornament. In his chapters regarding the ancient world, Onians tends to take a rather Vitruvian view of architecture, classifying columns as male or female despite Vitruvius post-dating much of the architecture Onians discusses. It is notable that in his discussion of the Gothic Onians addresses the continued used of ancient orders; however, he remains disappointingly blind to the possibility that this implies a continued interest in the ancient world. As for the Renaissance, I was pleased to see Onians arguing that the early stages of this movement involved not a revival of the antique but a remodeling of the medieval in ancient terms in order to rival the ancient world. Unfortunately, Onians does not present convincing evidence for this point of view--in particular, he cannot overcome the traditional argument that many of the medieval Tuscan forms found in quattrocento architecture are present as a result of the misdating of such monuments as the Baptistery of Florence to ancient Roman times. Perhaps the fatal flaw of the book, however, is Onians' relentless need to find a single theme for each period he examines. Thus, architecture in the ancient world revolved around the principles of masculine and feminine; the medieval focus was on spiritual and symbolic use of architecture in order to reconcile pagan forms with Christianity; and the quattrocento was about "cleaning up" after the middle ages. It is sometimes painful to watch Onians as he tries his best to fit exceptions to his rules, often falling back on single words in theoretical texts in order to do so. I would have preferred a bit more practicality and give in the interpretive framework of this book.

Ultimately, this book is ambitious and thought-provoking at best, but problematic and sometimes misleading at worst. I would recommend it to those who are curious about the subject and want to hear some unusual theories. I would not recommend it as the cornerstone for anyone's research or as a "good introduction."