Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
Subtitle: Re-Discovering Antiquity Through The Dreams Of Poliphilus
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
Published: November 15, 2006
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 256
ISBN-13: 9781412053242
Subjects: History; General; Art / General; Art & Art Instruction; Renaissance Italy; Architecture History; History & Computers
Description: Five hundred years ago, an operatic tale of unrequited love and female erotica, launched a more available and sustaining passion in Renaissance architecture. What has remained inaccessible, however, is a complete understanding of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, the text and haunting woodcuts that fascinated European civilization upon its publication in Venice in 1499, inspiring artists, architects, and patrons ever since. The importance of the image has always been a fundamental aspect of iconographic, human communication, and it is the vivid imagery described by the dreamer in search of his lost love and the introduction of more than 160 beautifully, haunting illustrations that has made Hypnerotomachia Poliphili as fascinating today as it was in the late fifteenth century when the Press of Aldus Manutius first published this graphically exquisite book. 

The story of Poliphilus, whose lust for the indifferent Polia is rivaled only by the carnal pleasures he encounters in the incredible architecture, gardens, and landscapes of his sleeping imaginations, has inspired centuries of architects to create similar sensuality in the real-life buildings and gardens they designed. The cryptic messages, fantastic architecture, innovative graphic designs and layouts of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili have moved and stirred western culture, prompting translators then and now to seek richer understanding of the author's (or authors') intent. It remains uncertain who wrote the book, but the writer — singular or plural — seemed to want to produce a very spatial and graphic architectural treatise. This text was too visionary for its time, and it was published during a crucial turning point in history. The late 1400s in Rome were not very safe for the intellectually and scientifically curious. Renaissance academies that once flourished under the court of Nicholas V became underground collegiate societies dispersed under the following rule of the Borgia Papacy. The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili was itself discreetly published in Venice, which at that time was an attractive city for its innovative interests and developments, far away from the Papal States. Although I am not attempting to argue as to who wrote the original manuscript, one couldn't help as to suggest that it was a group effort, an innovative way of working together that truly expresses the renaissance and humanist spirit of its time. 

Since the Hypnerotomachia came about within this context, the visions and wonders described in the original Aldine manuscript are presented in an overwhelming play of philological and archeological allegories. In order to have a better understanding of what this visionary incunabulum contains, I am, with my project, proposing to use graphical and architectural forms of critical analysis instead of literary studies traditionally associated with scholarly work in the past (whose works I mention in the first chapter "methods"). For this reason, I am proposing: Formas Imaginisque Poliphili, which means "imaginary models of Poliphilus" revealed. 

MY CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF HYPNEROTOMACHIA POLIPHILI 

By utilizing the technology of today with the history and traditions of the past, I hoped to develop a first series of digital, artist reconstructions of the architecture and landscapes described in this enigmatic book of the early renaissance. Since I was dealing with building and environmental design, the passages were quite familiar to those of a basic design background: research, vignettes, scale-measurement-proportion, practical simulations, etc., while at the same time, employing experience and methods developed during my previous work with re-constructing historic Bologna. In addition to this, literary resources such as the works of Leon Battista Alberti, as well as the works of contemporary experts, were reconsidered in order to arrive at a critical and regional development of architectural vocabulary needed to realize these artist reconstructions. In the end, my artwork of Poliphilus' architecture and insight into its significance within the Antiquarian context are presented here as an attempt to share an added deciphering of this labyrinthine text, bringing to life and giving significance to its fantastic architecture and allegorical visions. With this in mind, I invite you now to witness the visions of a 500 year old dream of sublime beauty, ferocity, liberty, grace, and most important: Love. 

E.A.C. Milan, 2006

CONTENTS 
* List of Illustrations * List of Plates * Acknowledgements

* Introduction: Formas Imaginisque Poliphili - Towards a Graphical Understanding of the Hypnerotomachia

* Chapters:

1. Methods and Challenges in Visual Interpretation

2. The Great Pyramid

3. The Great Hippodromus and Its Monuments: A Horse, an Elephant Bearing an Obelisk, and a Colossus

4. The Grand Arch

5. The Palace and Gardens of Queen Eleutirillide (Liberty)

6. The Temple to Venus Physizoa 7. Polyandrion: Cemetery of Lost Loves

* Notes * Bibliography * About the Author


ILLUSTRATIONS:

1. POLIPHILUS & POLIA ARRIVE AT AN ANCIENT PORT 
2. POLIPHILUS AMONGST ANCIENT RUINS (FRENCH EDITION)
3. PATIENTIA EST ORNAMENTUM CUSTODIA ET PROTECTIO VITAE
4. A GREAT PYRAMID
5. A GREAT PYRAMID (FRENCH EDITION) 
6. MEASUREMENTS OF THE PYRAMID’S SUMMIT WITH THE OBELISK & ITS BASE
7. AN ELEPHANT & OBELISK 
8. THE UNHAPPY HORSE (EQUUS INFOELICIATIS) 
9. THE UNHAPPY HORSE: INSCRIPTIONS ON THE BACK & FRONT SIDES OF THE BASE
10. THE UNHAPPY HORSE: TWO-FACED FIGURES DANCING IN A CIRCLE
11. THE UNHAPPY HORSE: YOUNG PEOPLE GATHERING FLOWERS
12. AN ELEPHANT & OBELISK (FRENCH EDITION)
13. THE ELEPHANT’S HEADRESS 
14. HIEROGLYPHICS INSCRIBED ON THE ELEPHANT’S BASE
15. THE GREAT ARCH
16. PROPORTIONS OF THE ARCH (FRENCH EDITION) 
17. THE GREAT ARCH (FRENCH EDITION)
18. POLIPHILUS FLEES A DRAGON AT THE ARCH’S ENTRANCE
19. CONCEPT SKETCH OF THE MARBLE BRIDGE
20. FESTINA LENTE 
21. CONCEPTUAL SKETCH RELATING TO POLIPHILUS ‘ PASSAGE: FROM OBSCURITY TO THE BATH. 
22. THE BATH : EXTERIOR & INTERIOR VIEWS (FRENCH EDITION)
23. THE BATH: ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTUAL SKETCHES
24. ELEUTIRILLIDE’S FOUNTAIN
25. ELEUTIRILLIDE’S THRONE ROOM
26. THE WATER LABYRINTH (FRENCH EDITION)
27. THE GARDEN OF SILK WITH A RUSTIC HUT (FRENCH EDITION)
28. THE DISPLUVIUM & THE MONUMENT TO THE DIVINE TRINITY (FRENCH EDITION)
29. A MONUMENT TO THE DIVINE TRINITY
30. THE TEMPLE TO VENUS PHYSIZOA 
31. THE TEMPLE OF PHYSIZOA: EXTERIOR (FRENCH EDITION)
32. THE TEMPLE’S LANTERN 
33. THE BELLS OF THE TEMPLE 
34. DOORS FOR THE TEMPLE’S ENTRANCE
35. POLIPHILUS AMONGST ANCIENT RUINS 
36. HIEROGLYPHICS & OBELISK IN HONOUR OF JULIUS CAESAR
37. POLYANDRION: THE FRAGMENT OF THE ZOPHORUS
38. CIBORIUM
39. EPITAPH TO THE LOVESRS LEONZIA & LOLIO
40. THE QUEEN’S THRONE COURTYARD DESCRIBED BY POLIPHILUS

COLOUR PLATES (Artist Reconstructions):

CHAPTER ONE: METHODS & CHALLENGES IN VISUAL INTERPRETATION

I. SKETCHES & SCHEMATICS FOR THE PYRAMID OF FORTUNE 

II. SKETCHES & SCHEMATICS FOR THE PYRAMID OF FORTUNE 

III. SKETCHES & SCHEMATICS FOR THE TEMPLE TO VENUS PHYSIZOA

IV. SKETCHES & SCHEMATICS FOR THE TEMPLE TO VENUS PHYSIZOA 

V. SCHEMATIC PLAN FOR THE PALACE AND GARDENS OF QUEEN ELEUTIRILLIDE 

VI. SKETCHES & SCHEMATICS FOR THE PALACE AND GARDENS OF QUEEN ELEUTIRILLIDE (THE FOUNTAIN) 

VII. SKETCHES & SCHEMATICS FOR THE PALACE AND GARDENS OF QUEEN ELEUTIRILLIDE (COURTYARD ENTRANCE) 

VIII. SKETCHES & SCHEMATICS FOR THE PALACE AND GARDENS OF QUEEN ELEUTIRILLIDE 



CHAPTER TWO: THE GREAT PYRAMID



I. GENERAL PLAN & SECTION DRAWINGS OF THE MAIN PYRAMID COMPLEX 

II. GENERAL FAÇADE OF THE MAIN PYRAMID COMPLEX 

III. SECTION & ELEVATION OF THE SUMMIT: LIGHT CHANNELS, WINDING STAIRWAY, OBELISK, & WIND MACHINE 

IV. DRAWING DETAILS: MAIN PORTAL, INSCRIPTIONS, WIND MACHINE, ARCHITECTURAL ORDERS, TYPICAL LIGHT PORTAL & SECTION OF PYRAMID SUMMIT 

V. MAIN PERSPECTIVE VIEW

VI. PERSPECTIVE VIEWS OF ENTRANCE

VII. DETAILS 

VIII. EXTERIOR PERSPECTIVE VIEWS: BASE & SUMMIT 



CHAPTER THREE: THE GREAT HIPPODROMUS



I. PARTIAL BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF THE HIPPODROMUS “PIAZZA” AS SEEN FROM THE SUMMIT OF THE PYRAMID & MAIN PERSPECTIVE VIEW SEEN TOWARDS THE PYRAMID

II. THE UNHAPPY HORSE: FAÇADE VIEWS OF THE BASE 

III. THE UNHAPPY HORSE: FAÇADE VIEWS OF THE BASE & CLOSE PERSPECTIVE VIEW 

IV. THE ELEPHANT & OBELISK: PERSPECTIVE VIEW 



CHAPTER FOUR: THE GRAND ARCH



I. MAIN PERSPECTIVE VIEW 

II. TOP PERSPECTIVE VIEW 

III. PROPORTIONS 



CHAPTER FIVE: THE PALACE & GARDENS OF QUEEN ELEUTIRILLIDE



I. FAÇADE & PLAN DRAWINGS OF THE MAIN VILLA COMPLEX

II. PLAN RECONSTRUCTION OF THE VILLA & SURROUNDING GARDENS

III. MAIN PERSPECTIVE VIEW & DETAIL OF THE PODIUM

IV. PRONAO ENTRANCE & PODIUM

V. PERSPECTIVE VIEW FROM MAIN COURTYARD ENTRANCE 

VI. PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE PROPYLAEUM

VII. PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF MAIN FAÇADE & COURTYARD

VIII. MATERIALS: MARBLE POLYCROME & MOSAIC FLOOR AT MAIN COURTYARD

IX. MATERIALS: COLUMNS

X. MATERIALS: COLUMNS

XI. ELEVATION OF THE PROPYLAEUM

XII. MAIN PERSPECTIVE VIEW (ENLARGED)

XIII. MAIN ELEVATION & PLAN OF THE MONUMENT TO THE DIVINE TRINITY

XIV. ELEVATIONS OF THE MONUMENT TO THE DIVINE TRINITY

XV. AXONOMETRIC VIEW OF THE MONUMENT TO THE DIVINE TRINITY 

XVI. PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE MONUMENT TO THE DIVINE TRINITY 

XVII. PERSPECTIVE DETAIL OF THE MONUMENT TO THE DIVINE TRINITY

XVIII. PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE BASE & THE PRISM

XIX. PERSPECTIVE VIEWS OF THE MONUMENT TO THE DIVINE TRINITY

XX. PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE QUEEN’S THRONE COURTYARD

XXI. ANGLE VIEW OF THE QUEEN’S THRONE COURTYARD

XXII. WIDE PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE QUEEN’S THRONE COURTYARD

XXIII. BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF THE AQUATIC LABYRINTH

XXIV. VIEW OF THE MAIN TOWER & ENTRANCE GATE

XXV. VIEW OF THE AQUATIC LABYRINTH TOWARDS THE MAIN TEMPLE COMPLEX 

XXVI. THE AQUATIC LABYRINTH: INTERIOR PERSPECTIVES

XXVII. THE AQUATIC LABYRINTH: EXTERIOR PERSPECTIVES

XXVIII. THE AQUATIC LABYRINTH: FAÇADE OF THE MAIN TOWER



CHAPTER SIX: THE TEMPLE TO VENUS PHYSIZOA



I. PERSPECTIVE SECTION VIEW OF THE TEMPLE 

II. FAÇADE, SECTION, & PLAN VIEW

III. EXTERIOR ARCHITECTURAL VIEWS WITH SURROUNDING GARDENS

IV. EXTERIOR ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS 

V. INTERIOR ARCHITECTURAL VIEWS

VI. INTERIOR ARCHITECTURAL VIEWS

VII. INTERIOR ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS



CHAPTER SEVEN: POLYANDRION: THE CEMETERY OF LOST LOVES



I. P LAN & ELEVATION OF THE POLYANDRION

II. ELEVATION STUDIES OF THE TRIBUNA & THE HYPOGEUM

III. POLYANDRION: SECTIONS

IV. PERSPECTIVE & BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF THE MAIN TEMPLE COMPLEX 

V. PERSPECTIVE VIEWS OF THE CIRCULAR TEMPIETTO & PROPYLAEUM

VI. PERPECTIVE SIDE VIEWS OF THE PROPYLAEUM & TRIBUNA

VII. DETAILS: OBELISK, TEMPIETTO, & CIBORIUM

VIII. SECTION: THE MAIN TEMPLE COMPLEX

IX. MATERIALS: COLUMNS

X. MATERIALS: COLUMNS 

XI. MATERIALS: CIBORIUM

XII. MATERIALS: OBELISK / RED THEBAN GRANITE
Notes: Artist reconstructions of the Architecture and Landscapes described by Poliphilus during his amorous quest through Antiquity.
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