Note 44

G. Vasari, Le Vite dei più eccellenti pittori, scultori e architetti, II Part, Proemio: “Perchè nelle colonne non osservarono (scil., the Gothic masters) quella misura e proporzione che richiedeva l’arte, ma a la mescolata con una loro regola senza regola faccendole grosse grosse o sottili sottili, come tornava lor meglio.” In thus observing that the scale of the members in a Gothic edifice is not determined by anthropomorphic considerations, and that their proportions can change within one and the same building, Vasari—his acumen sharpened by hostility—has hit upon a fundamental principle distinguishing Gothic from Classical as well as from Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Cf. C. Neumann, “Die Wahl des Platzes für Michelangelos David in Florenz im Jahr 1504; zur Geschichte des Massstabproblems,” Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft, XXXVIII, 1916, pp. 1 ff. Also E. Panofsky, “Das erste Blatt aus dem ‘Libro’ Giorgio Vasaris; eine Studie über die Beurteilung der Gotik in der italienischen Renaissance,” Städeljahrbuch, VI, 1929, pp. 4. ff., especially pp. 42 ff.