Week 2 Responses

Week 2 Response

In Ancient Greece, the only differentiation of style in buildings were mainly the columns, and more specifically, capitals of columns. The capitals of columns indicated different meanings of buildings, such as strength or knowledge. As these capitals were copied in other societies, like Ancient Rome, they began to evolve and be worked into buildings themselves in forms like pilasters or trompe l’oeil. As buildings became more intricate, capitals lost meaning and therefore, changed form and style. By the Romanesque Period, capitals varied in many different ways and strayed from the traditional Greek Meanings. Large, strong columns could have tiny volutes, capitals could be merged together when columns were put together in pairs known as clustered columns, and the structural idea of columns were even replaced with square-like buttresses.

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