Site drawings of Federico del Carlo and David Mayernik

Federico and David in Piazza S. Michele; photo by Brette A. Jackson

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by Brette A. Jackson
What is a great thing to do in Lucca on a beautiful, sunny summer day? Make surveys of several Renaissance palazzi in the historical city center. In June, David and Federico set out together and created measured drawings of two principle Renaissance edifices: the Palazzo Pretorio, which is the city’s former seat of the Podesta(the chief magistrate in a medieval Italian municipality), and the Santissimo Sacramento, a small chapel that is part of Lucca’s cathedral, San Martino.
 
Architectural surveying is an empirical method of drawing that offers the designer the opportunity to analyze a building’s proportion and structure by eye; this can be accomplished by either using one-point perspective or elevation. Working in tandem, David and Federico discussed the essential elements of each building (e.g. the length of the columns, the arches, etc.) and then standing at a distance that allowed them a full view of both the palazzo and chapel, they each drew areas of each structure using their preferred method of executing their renditions: for instance, Federico drew an elevation to use a more analytical approach by figuring out the perspective by drawing directly from sight, while David uses a more precise and mathematical approach of applying one-point perspective. There is really no better exercise in comprehending the general principles of perspective and architectural design than standing in from of a well-designed building, breaking down its parts, and then drawing it directly from sight. Think of it as drawing a live model; capturing all of their contours and distinct features, while also understanding the constant that the human body is symmetrical—thus, two eyes, arms, legs, feet, etc.
 
Lucca is a small city with a large personality; it is both easy and pleasant to apprehend its streets, edifices, and civic art. The summer offers long, sunshine-filled days that will offer you the opportunity to copy and emulate architecture and art in a lovely Tuscan Renaissance city with two professors whose passion, talent, and love of Lucca promise to offer a challenging, engaging, and artistic summer. Come and experience the art and culture of a viable city whose inhabitants harmoniously coexist with its past: The Tuscan Renaissance Academy would like to open the door to a portal that will teach you about the significance of the art and architecture of the Renaissance: its significance to the past, and it relevance to the present.

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Perspective of Palazzo Pretorio