Background
Wittkower, Rudolf was born on June 22, 1901 in Berlin, Germany. Son of Henry and Gertrude (Ansbach) Wittkower.
educationist art historian university professor
Wittkower, Rudolf was born on June 22, 1901 in Berlin, Germany. Son of Henry and Gertrude (Ansbach) Wittkower.
Doctor of Philosophy, University Berlin, 1923. Student of University Munich. Doctor Fine Arts (honorary) Duke University, 1969.
Honorary degrees Columbia, 1969, Leeds U. (England), 1971.
He taught at the Warburg Institute, University of London from 1934 to 1956, was appointed Durning Lawrence professor at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College, London in 1949 and then moved to the United States to work at Columbia University from 1956 to 1969 where he was chairman of the Department of Art History and Archaeology. Participant Four specifically deals with how and why Palladio adapted harmonic musical ratios and incorporated them into the physical proportions of his buildings. Although this theory of Palladian proportions was universally accepted after the book"s release, recent works in art history have made it the subject of much controversy.
Wittkower had encountered this notion that musical harmony may act in a manner analogous to visual harmony in Pythagoras, where it was also noted by Alberti.
Fellow British Academy, Warburg Institute, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical Society, Royal Institute of British Architects (honorary). Member Archaeological Institute Great Britain and Ireland, Renaissance Society American, Society Architectural Historians, College Art Association, Accademia Olimpica, Vicenza, Accademia dei Lincei, Rome, Accademia di Belle Arti, Venice, Accademia delle Scienze, Turin, Phi Beta Kappa. corresponding.
Married Margot Holzmann, December 31, 1923.