Vitruvius

Date of Birth: c. 80-70 BCE

Zodiac Sign: Unknown

Date of Death: After c. 15 BCE

Biography

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, commonly known as Vitruvius, was an ancient Roman author, architect, civil engineer, and military engineer. He is best known for his multi-volume work entitled “De Architectura” (On Architecture), a treatise on architecture that has been revered since the Renaissance. Little is known about his life, but his writings suggest that he served in the Roman army under Julius Caesar and later worked on various construction projects for the Emperor Augustus. His treatise covers a wide range of topics including building materials, construction techniques, public buildings, and city planning, and it remains a crucial source of knowledge on ancient Roman architecture and engineering.

5 Interesting Facts about Vitruvius

1. Vitruvius is the author of “De Architectura,” which is the only surviving major work on architecture from classical antiquity.

2. He proposed the famous Vitruvian Triad: firmitas (strength), utilitas (functionality), and venustas (beauty), as the three essential qualities of architecture.

3. Vitruvius influenced Renaissance architects such as Leon Battista Alberti, Leonardo da Vinci, and Andrea Palladio.

4. The Vitruvian Man, a famous drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, was inspired by Vitruvius’s description of ideal human proportions.

5. Vitruvius’s work provides one of the earliest known references to the use of concrete as a building material.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Vitruvius

1. “Architecture depends on Order, Arrangement, Eurythmy, Symmetry, Propriety, and Economy.”

2. “The architect should be equipped with knowledge of many branches of study and varied kinds of learning, for it is by his judgement that all work done by the other arts is put to test.”

3. “In architecture, as in all other arts, a foundation in scientific method is a prerequisite for creativity.”

4. “Practice and theory are its parents. Practice is the frequent and continued contemplation of the mode of executing any given work, or of the mere operation of the hands.”

5. “There are two points of view from which the merits of a building may be considered: that of its utility, and that of its beauty.”