VITRUV IN DER NEUZEITLICHEN DEUTSCHSPRACHIGEN WELT

Here, too, Vitruvius' comprehensive knowledge was very quickly reduced to the doctrine of the architectural orders, in which Vitruvius was then carried along primarily as an authority. There are two focal points of an in-depth study of Vitruvius in the German world that stand out within fundamental, 'theoretical' architectural endeavours. The second conspicuous consolidation of Vitruvian studies starts from Erdmannsdorf and his Roman studies and is transplanted from Dessau to Berlin around 1800, where Rode publishes a Latin edition and a new German translation, triggers a broad discussion and enlivens antiquities research (Aloys Hirt) as well as penetrating philological studies (Genelli). From here - now at a certain distance from the contemporary architects - the 'scientific' treatments of Vitruvius' text develop, which never really come together again - outside the invocation of Vitruvius' authority.