Paul Davies, David Hemsoll - Renaissance Balusters and The Antique

SAHGB Publications Limited
Renaissance Balusters and the Antique

Author(s): Paul Davies and David Hemsoll
Source: Architectural History, Vol. 26 (1983), pp. 1-23+117-122
Published by: SAHGB Publications Limited
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1568431
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balusters
Renaissance
and the antique
by PAUL DAVIES and DAVID HEMSOLL
Balusters, in general, are defined as the distinctive supports of balustrades(P1. Ia).

Renaissancebalusters,unlike the extravagantvarietiesdeveloped during the Baroque
period, are simple in form, usually consisting of a double bulb, although single bulb
variants known as 'dropped' balustersbecause of their low centre of gravity are not
uncommon (P1. Ib).
Balustradescan be found as parapets- fronting balconies or flanking staircases-
and also as the decorative crowning features of faqades. While they are physically
sturdy, they are not blind architecturalbarriers,so that they are well suited in cases
where through-vision is necessary but direct access undesirable. The balustrade,
however, was only one of several possibilities for Renaissancearchitects. The tradi-
tional medieval railing, with colonnettesratherthanbalusters,was still in common use
up to the end of the fifteenth century, while metal-work grilles and the open lattice or
solid parapetwall provided furtheralternatives(P1.3j).1
Although thereis no doubt thatthe balustradeis a Renaissanceinvention, succeeding
centuries have characterizedit as a 'classical'architecturalelement, and even modern
scholars are apt to describe early Renaissancebalustradesas such. In recent years,
however, therehas been some researchinto the origins and developmentof the baluster
and the balustrade.Siebenhiinerhas tracedits history through to the present century,
suggesting Donatello as the Renaissancepioneer with the so-called 'socle', or base, of
the Judith, and Giuliano da Sangallo as the first architect to apply the motif to the
balustrade.2Wittkower, in an article primarily concerned with Palladio's use of the
baluster,reiteratesthese conclusionsand creditsMichelangelowith the introductionof
the dropped baluster, noting in particularthe steps of the Capitoline Palazzo del
Senatorio in Rome (P1. Ib).3 Heydenreich'smeticulous survey again begins with the
Donatello, but establishes Quattrocento Florence more firmly as the stage for the
inception and development of the Renaissancebaluster.4He proposes the Maiano
brothers as the earliestusers of the balustradewhile still emphasizingthat Giuliano da
Sangallo was the first to apply it to real rather than fictive architecture.Llewellyn
provides useful insight into the origins of the word 'baluster'in his analysis of the
writings of the early sixteenth century Spanish theoreticianDiego da Sagredo.s He
points out in particular that Sagredo related the word to a similar one meaning
'pomegranateflower', andsuggests a possible relationshipbetween the balusterand the
pomegranatesmentioned in Biblical descriptionsof the Temple of Solomon.
In this investigation, we will develop some of these ideas while questioning others,
and broadenthe enquiryby introducingadditionalmaterialwhich will contributeto an
2 ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY 26: 1983
understandingof Renaissanceideas about the baluster.In particular,actualand

supposedrelationshipsbetweenthebalusterandAntiquitywill beexplored,aswill the
extent to which changesin theoryaboutthe balusterarereflectedby changesin its
form.Althoughdiscussionof theformaldevelopmentof thebalusteris necessary,and
to some extentretreadsold ground,we hopethatby re-writingthe historyof a motif
we will furtherthe moregeneraldebateaboutthe natureof ornamentin the Renais-
sance.
The balustradeis unknown in the architectureof Antiquity as a substitute for the
parapetwall. However, the form of the Renaissancebalusteris no strangerto Roman
sculpture, and applicationsof the motif are wide-ranging. Although the lathed legs of
Roman chairs, tables or couches can be very complex in shape, some are similar in
appearanceto the double baluster, while others, for example pedestals of Roman
tables, can resemble the dropped baluster.6Moreover, like many Renaissancebalus-
ters, these supports are often ornamentedwith leafy foliage, as are also the bulb-like
wheel struts of chariots.7Renaissanceknowledge of Roman furniturewould probably
have been most readily gained from Roman reliefs (Pls Ic and d),s although another
type of chair-leg, flat faced ratherthan turned but in profile like the double baluster,
would certainly have been known from small statuettes, such as that drawn in the
CodexEscurialensis (P1.Ie).9
The antiquecandelabrum, too, is normallya verycomplexensembleof piledbulbs,
discs and other elements, but sometimesit incorporatesthe typical bulb of the
Renaissancebaluster,like, for instance,the splendidexampleonce in S. Agneseand
now in theVaticancollection(P1.Ig).10Simplercandelabra areperhapslesscommon,
althoughexamples with single-bulb shafts,such as thatformerlyin S. Costanzawould
have beenknown in the Renaissance (P1.Ih);11likewise a double-bulbvarietycould
have been seen in Roman reliefs.12 The bulbs of candelabraare almost always
ornamentedwithpetalsor leaves,asarethebulbsofgrotteschi in Romanpainting- the
inspirationfor the devices known as 'candelabra' so
employed liberallyby Renaissance
artists.13A more specificRenaissance associationbetweenthe Romancandelabrum
and the balustermight be illustratedby the double-baluster-like candlestickin
SS. Nereo ed Achilleowhich may well be antiquebut was probablyadaptedin the
sixteenthcenturyfroma larger,morecomplexcandelabrum (P1.Ii).14
Apartfromfurnitureandcandelabra, thebaluster-form is alsofoundin Antiquityas
a sculpturalornamenton thelidsof cineraryurns(P1.If), sarcophagi,andevenlarger
funerarymonuments.15Frequently in pairs,thesemotifsaresimilarto thedouble-bulb
side-scrollsof the Ioniccapital,althoughtheydifferin certaindetails,theirendsbeing
usuallycarvedas flowersratherthanscrolls,and theirsides more usuallydecorated
with petalsor leaves.
Althoughthe balustradehas no directequivalentin Antiquity,other motifs may
havepromptedsimilarusagesof thebalusterandthebalustrade in theRenaissance.The
lateantiquedoorsof S. Sabina,Rome,incorporate two panelswhichdepictextremely
unusual columns - prophetic of the later baluster (P1.Ij); for although the column
shafts do not in any way bulge, they aredividedinto two equalparts, usuallyby a single
torus, and the resulting halves are ornamented with schematic leaves. Not only do
these columns resemble balusters,but they also perform a similar function - that of
RENAISSANCEBALUSTERSAND THE ANTIQUE 3
support.Urns or vases,themselvesresemblingthe shapeof the baluster,were often

displayedon top of isolatedcolumns,or evenporticoes,likesimilarlyplacedbalusters
or balustrades in theRenaissance.16 Abstracted flowers,too, areto befoundnot onlyin
friezedecorations,but alsoas free-standing elementson top of cornices(antefixae),17
and, moreover,in crudedepictionson coins, suchmotifscanresemblerows of tiny
pillarswhichtheRenaissance eye mighthaveinterpreted asbalustrades.18
In the MiddleAges the balusterformwas almostcompletelyunknown.The balus-
ter-likebulbof Romanfurniturewaslargelyabandoned; eventhepopularlathedstruts
of thefourteenthcentury,which,forexample,formpartsof Isaac'sbedin theblessing
scenefrom the upperchurchof S. Francesco,Assisi,seemunrelatedeitherto antique
furniture,or to theRenaissance baluster.
19Themedievalcandlestick, similarly,departs
the
from typology of the Roman candelabrum, beingmorerigorouslycylindrical,and
baluster-like ornamentsarenot foundin medievalsarcophagior tombmonuments.
On theotherhand,whiletheubiquitousmedievalcolonnetteis unrelatedin shapeto
the Renaissancebaluster,its manyandvariedfunctionsarenotablyvery similar.20It
was commonlyusedas analtartable supportandas a windowmullion;the colonnette
railingwas particularly satisfactoryas a churchscreen,and was frequentlyused for
parapets,even at roof level as in the baptistryat Parma.Althoughnearlyalwaysthe
colonnetteis simply a straight-sidedcolumn in miniature,there are examplesin
English Romanesquearchitectureof more complex colonnettetypes commonly
describedas 'balusters'becauseof theirshape.Suchtypes arefound at gallerylevel
insidethe transeptsof St AlbansAbbey,buthereonly one colonnetteamongmanyis
composedof a genuinelybaluster-likearrangement of bulbs and discs, so that the
resemblancewould seemto be purelyfortuitous.21These'balusters'shouldtherefore
be consideredasprovincialoddities,ratherthanasthrowinglighton a genuinebaluster
traditionduringthe MiddleAges. Thereare,however,otherinstancesin the Middle
Ages, when motifsarenot only suggestiveof thelaterbalusterbut seeminglyimpor-
tantfor its emergence.In the stoneinlaypanelspeculiarto late Romanesquechurch
furnitureand architecturearoundFlorence,thereis a proliferationof presumably
symboliccandlesticks,chalices,urnsand,significantly,bud-likeflowerswhicharenot
unlikethe foliatebulbsof the Renaissance baluster(P1.3b).22Furthermore, in certain
fourteenth-century Tuscan paintings,bulbs, often with leafy surrounds,ornament
thronesand occasionallydot the skylinesof buildings,as for examplein Taddeo
Gaddi'sBetrothalof the Virgin (P1.2f).23 The Tuscan,and particularlyFlorentine
natureof theseexamplesis mostimportant,asit mayhelpto explainwhy Florencewas
the artisticcentrewherethebalusteremerged.
The baluster-form, therefore,wasnot aninnovationof theRenaissance, althoughit
does seem that the motif was consciouslyrevivedat that time. It is perhapsnot
surprisingthat,earlyin the fifteenthcentury,motifsresemblingbalusterswere often
usedfor candlesticksanditemsof furniture,sincethesewereits predominantusesin
Antiquity.Whatis moresurprisingis the preferenceshown for the singleor double
bulb over the often more complex types of Roman candelabraor chairlegs. Certainly,
early Quattrocento examples of the baluster-formare small in scale, and their simple
shapemay have been consideredmore manageable;ultimately, theseprovided the basis
for the later emergence of the balusteras a more universallyapplicableelement.
4 ARCHITECTURAL
HISTORY26: 1983
Whether one should describeearly applicationsof the baluster-likemotif as 'balus-

ters', in the modern sense of the word, is questionable, as they are not parts of
balustrades.24The smooth elongated baluster-likemotifs on the 'socle' of Donatello's
Judith and Holofernes (c. 1460) are in fact the all'anticalegs of a cushioned stool upon
which Holofernes is seated (Pls 2a and id);25likewise, the single and double-bulbsedile
supportsin the PalazzoDucale, Urbino, some perhapsof the 1450s, may also have been
consideredevocative of Roman chairlegs(P1.2b).26The double-baluster-likemotifs on
the base of Donatello's Marzocco, possibly also of about 1460 (P1.2c), can be seen as
resembling pairs of handleless all'anticaurns arranged like the bulbs of a Roman
candelabrum;27and although the 'balusters'on the base of Castagno's Niccol6 da
Tolentino monument (1458) frame a sculpturalpedestal like that of the Marzocco,
those who were aware of the similar motifs on Roman sarcophagi might have
consideredthem iconographicallyappropriatefor a funerarymonument (P1.2d).28
The baluster-form, however, had alreadyappearedin the Renaissancewell before
the 145os. The single-bulb variety decorates the Virgin's throne in Masaccio's
Madonna and Child with St Anne (c. 1425), a motif derived ultimately from Trecento
painting. There are more elaborate variants in Filippo Lippi's BarbadoriAltarpiece
(1444), while in his S. Lorenzo Annunciationof about the same date a similar motif
supports a lectern (P1.21).29 In addition, an entire row of bulb-like candleholders
crowns the iron altarscreenof the chapelinside the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, which is
signed and dated 1437;30these beara strong resemblanceto some of the foliate images
representedin the stone revetment of FlorentineRomanesquechurches(Pls 3b and c).
Apart from the appearance,as early as 1424, of something like a double balusterat
the very top of the staff held by Donatello's St Louis, the earliestoccurrencesof the
double-bulb baluster-formarein works from the circleof Brunelleschi.In architecture,
Brunelleschifollows traditionby using colonnetteswhere small supportsarerequired,
such as for the balcony inside the cupola of Florence Cathedral. The elaborate
decorativepinnaclesof the cathedrallantern,designed before 1436 (P1.2e), are, on the
other hand, without precedent, but are perhaps analogous to the bulb-like finials
crowning the Temple ofJerusalemin Taddeo Gaddi'sBetrothalof the Virgin (P1.2f).
The precise shape of the lantern pinnacles, however, may well be derived from
something very like the candelabrum-likestands depicted on a Roman triumphal
plaque, now in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome (P1.2g).31 These stands are
composed of a number of simplified double-baluster-likeunits, incidentally a source
for the top of the staffof Donatello's St Louis (P1.2h), which arethen furtherabstracted
in the design for the lanternpinnacles.32
The double bulb of the Roman candelabrummay well have been the model for the
candlesticksonce crowning the cathedral'soctagonal choir-screen. Brunelleschi was
involved with the designs for the screen between 1435 and 1439; the final scheme,
executed after some modification, was unfortunately destroyed in the sixteenth
century. The bulbous candlestickswhich stood above the eight columns of the screen,
however, can be seen in the medal commemorating the assassination of Giuliano de
Medici in the Cathedral in 1478 (P1. 2i). Although their precise shape is not discernible,
that they were in fact double-bulbed is suggested by the double-bulbed candlesticks on
top of the similar circular altarscreen illustrated in Filarete's treatise (P1. 2j).33 This is
RENAISSANCEBALUSTERSAND THEANTIQUE 5
furthercorroboratedby the very early appearanceof the double-bulbmotif as a
lectern-stand,in the Annunciationreliefby Brunelleschi'sson, Buggiano, on the
S. MariaNovellapulpit,completedin 1452fromoutlinedesignsmadeby Brunelleschi
in 1443 (P1.2k).34Inaddition,althoughthebronzescreeninsidetheCappelladel Sacro
Cingolo in PratoCathedralwas not completeduntilthe 146os,thereis no reasonto
supposethatthedouble-baluster-like standingon thetop werenot already
candlesticks
in
projected designs of the 1440s for which both Brunelleschiand Ghibertiwere
consulted (P1.3g).35
Two observationsmightbe madeaboutearlyusesof the baluster-form. Firstly,in
the lecternsof Buggiano and Filippo Lippi, and even in the early baluster-like
candlesticks,it is alreadyused as a supportingelement,an idealatertakenup in the
socles of Castagnoand Donatello, the sediliat Urbino, and, eventually,by the
Renaissancebalustrade. Secondly,theideathata railingmightbe composedof a row of
balustersis partly presaged by rows made of candlesticks(P1.3g), which are in turn
analogousto suchrows of urnsas the urn-likecandleholderson top of Michelozzo's
tabernaclescreenin SS.Annunziataor the alternatingurnsandacanthusleavesin the
friezeof Donatello'sCantoria.36
The Renaissancebalustrade,however,canbe seen as a derivativeof the medieval
colonnetterailing.Quite earlyit may have been realizedthatthe colonnettehad no
direct equivalentin Antiquity,and a more appropriatealternativewas therefore
sought. The altartablein Buggiano'sCappellaCardini,Pescia,consecratedin 1451,
well illustratesthisdevelopment(P1.3a).37Fourdropped-baluster-like supportsat the
cornersreplacethe traditionalcolonnettesof medievalaltartables. The shapeof these
supportsis relatedto the Romanurn, which is moreliterallyreproducedby a fifth
supportunderthe centreof the table.This arrangement was probablypromptedby
suchmedievalaltartables asthatin S. MariaNovella,whichhasanextracentralsupport
composedof a groupof fourcolonnettes. 38Bearingin mindthatthecentralsupportsof
somemedievalaltartables housedrelics,it is probablethatthearrangement of thealtar
in the Cappella had
Cardini a funeraryiconographicsignificance,and it is noteworthy
thatimagesof tableswith urnsbeneaththemoccuron Romancoins.39
The declineof the colonnetteis alsoimplicitin theintroductionof alternatesingle-
bulbmotifsinto the voluteroundelsof Alberti'sfacadefor S. MariaNovella(c.1458),
sincethesecanbe readas updatedversionsof the fictivecolonnettesin the medieval
roundelin thefloorof S. MiniatoalMonte,Florence(Pls3e andf).40Albertiseemsalso
to have preferredthe dropped-baluster form to the colonnettefor the altartableof
CappellaRucellai,c. 1460,as canbe seenin aneighteenth-century view of the chapel,
engravedbeforeits radicalalteration;41 thesesupportsmighthavebeensuggestedby
the pair of inlaidflower motifs, which appearto have architectonicimplicationas
supports,on thefrontof thehighaltarof S. Miniato(Pls3bandd).
The emergenceof the balustradeis manifestedin a seriesof works by Florentine
artistsduringthe third quarterof the fifteenthcentury,for examplethe roof-top
balustrade in Filippo Lippi's Annunciation of the I460s in Spoleto Cathedral
(P1.3h).42It occurs in the background of the intarsiaof the same subject executed,
although not designed, by Giuliano da Maiano in 1465, and as a balcony relief by his
brotherBenedetto on the S. Croce pulpit of around I474.43 This traditionis obviously
of GiulianodaSangallo'spredilectionfor the balustrade

essentialto the understanding
in sucharchitecturalprojects theMedicivillaat Poggioa Caianoof thelate I480s.44
as
But, despite an early appearancein architectureof the balusterform as a newel post for
the staircase inside Bernardo Rossellino's Palazzo Vescovile in Pienza (c. 1465), the
identities of those responsiblefor the invention of the balustradeitself remainobscure,
althoughtheassertionthatthisdevelopmentis a purelyFlorentine
phenomenonshould
at least be questioned.
Thereis a very earlybalustradeon the mainfacadeof the PalazzoDucale,Urbino
(P1.3j), which, as partof the palacebuilt underthe directionof LucianoLaurana,would
seem to be earlier than the balustradesat Poggio a Caiano.45sMoreover, sixteenth-
century drawings of the Benediction Loggia in front of St Peter's, Rome, made before
its destruction (P1. 3i), show quite clearlythat it too had balustradesas parapetson the
two upper storeys; being such a necessary part of the building the lower of these is
highlylikelyto havebeeninstalledduringthe constructionof thesecondstoreyin the
1470sratherthan in a later alteration.46 The balustradewould thereforebe a very avant
gardefeature,in keepingwiththeradicalclassicismof theLoggiaitself.Itis knownthat
a 'modello'fortheLoggiawasin Florencein theearly146os, whichmightwellexplain
the appearanceof the balustradein the works of Florentinepaintersand sculptorsafter
1465, and furthermore, the balustradesof the Benediction Loggia and the Palazzo
Ducale might indicateFlorentineinvolvementin their designs.47These buildings,
however, would certainly suggest that the idea of the balustradehad already been
atPoggioa Caiano.
well beforeits appearance
disseminated
The later popularity of the balusteris no better demonstratedthan by the Cappella
Colleoniin Bergamo,constructedduringtheearly1470s.48The facadeof thechapelis
remarkable forits encyclopedicusageof thecolumn,pilasterandpiertypes.It presents
thedoublebalusterbothas analternative to thesmallcolumn,in a row of interlocking
bifore(P1.6e), and alsoas a buildingblockfor evenmoreexotictypes:the doublebulb
occursas partof the radialcolonnettesof the lower circularwindow, andthe single
bulbin thecandelabrum-like supportsof rectangular windowsbelow.49Theseusesare
symptomaticof theeverbroadeningapplication of thebalusterin thelaterRenaissance,
fromchairlegsto columns,andfromfireplacesupportsto carriagewheels.50
Apart from the broad categorizationof balustersinto single and double-bulb
variants,it is alsopossibleto groupthemaccordingto theirdecoration,for example,
distinguishingthosewith foliateornamentation fromthosewithout.A thirdtype,like
thoseon thesocleofDonatello'sMarzocco(P1.2c),withsucharchitectonic decorations
as spiralflutingandegg anddart,is remarkable in thatthe convexbowl of the bulbis
very clearlydifferentiated fromthe concavestem, but it is muchless common;51the
balustersusedfor thestair-railof GiulianodaSangallo'sPalazzoGondi(P1.Ia), which
havebothfoliateandspiraldecoration,mightbe considereda hybrid,althoughantique
modelsfor themexist.52 WhereastheMarzoccotypehadcompletelydisappeared well
beforethe end of the Quattrocento,the foliatetype remainedin fashionalongsidethe plain
variety, until, earlyin the sixteenthcentury,its popularityquicklywaned in the wake of
the preferencegiven to the unadornedbalusterby Bramante,Raphaelandtheirfollowers.
There can also be much varietyin the preciseshapesof the bulb and other constituent
parts of the baluster. One noteworthy developmentis the replacementof the central
RENAISSANCE AND THEANTIQUE
BALUSTERS 7
connectingtorusof the doublebalusterby a cubic,or cuboid,block,an earlyexample

being the strangefour-faceted balustersof Falconetto's Villadei Vescovi(P1.4a);it is
possible that these, and the more conventional balusterswith similarblocksof Palladio,
andespeciallySansovino,arerelatedto four-faceted Romanchairlegs.53 Thusalthoughit
might be true that there were fashions for certain typesof baluster, various typescanbe
relatedto antiquemodels.
It is certainlytruethatwellintothesixteenthcenturythedoublebalusterwasfarmore
popularthanthedroppedbaluster,exceptwhereusedasa free-standing pinnacle.54 Butit
is alsotruethatduringthefifteenthcenturythesingle-bulb variantwasa viable,although
lesscommon,alternative. InRome,thedroppedbalusterwasparticularly popularforthe
of
supports sedili, such as thoseinsidePalazzo SS. Apostoli,installed in the 1480spossibly
underthe directionof Giulianoda Sangallo,or thosein the BorgiaApartmentsof the
Vatican.ssA wholerow of droppedbalusters appearssupporting illusionistic benchesin
the CappellaBasso dellaRovereof S. Mariadel Popolo, frescoedby the school of
Pinturicchio between1488and1492(P1.4b).56Thedroppedbaluster is firstappliedto the
balustrade around1490;in Pinturicchio's Funeral of S. Bernardino in S. Mariad'Aracoeli,
Rome (c.1486),sucha balustrade surrounds thedomeof a church(P1.4c), anda similar
exampleis depictedabovea churchporticoin a choirstallintarsia madefor S. Mariain
Organo,Verona,in the 1490s.57
In realarchitecture, balustradescomposedof droppedbalustersoccurwith increasing
frequencyfrom about1500.Apartfromthe very earlydroppedbalustersin a pseudo-
balustradearoundthe drumof S. Mariadelle Grazie,Milan,of C.1482 (P1.6b), they
supporta parapetrailingin thebasilicaat Aquileiaof about1495(P1.4d), and,perhapsa
littlelater,stairrailingsinsideParmaCathedral (P1.4e).58The balustrade of the secular
pulpit, dated 1507, attachedto the Palazzo del Comune, Cremona, mixes the double
balusterwith a typeof droppedbaluster,lucidlyillustrating theinterchangeability of the
differenttypes (P1.4f).s9A ratherbetter-known project with balustrades composedof
dropped balusters is the facadeof the Cortile di S. Damaso in the Vatican. Althoughthe
doublebalusteris usedfor thethirdstorey,droppedbalusters arepreferred forthefloors
aboveandbelow(Pls4g, h, andi).60 Thoseof theuppermoststoreymaywellhavebeen
designedby AntoniodaSangallotheYounger;in theirgeneralshapetheyarelikethoseof
thebalustrade crowningtheSantaCasain thebasilicaat Loreto(Pl.4j),particularly with
respect to theirextendedpedestals. TheSantaCasabalusters werefinallyinstalledin 1535,
and a preparatorydrawingfor them by Antonio survives.61 Both the SantaCasaand the
Cortile were prestigiouscommissions,and theirwide reputationsmay have contributed
much to the increasingpreferencefor the droppedbalusterin the latersixteenthcentury.
In one furthermajorproject,his ambitiousdesignfor new St Peter's,Antonio used the
dropped baluster liberally for numerous balustrades.New St Peter's was the most
important architecturalcommission of the sixteenth century, and Sangallo'sexciting
projectwould have been well known from the model made of it by Antonio Labaccoin
1539 (P1.4k).62 The commonly acceptedview, therefore,that Michelangelo'sdesign of
c. 1546 for the Capitolinesteps(P1.Ib) is crucialfor the sixteenth-century'introduction'of
the droppedbalustermust be seriouslyreconsideredin the light of the earliercontribution
of Antonio da Sangallothe Younger.63It is true that Michelangelo,Palladioand later
architectsmake frequentuse of the droppedbaluster,and that both Michelangeloand
Palladioareimportantforthislatetaste;butalthoughin RomeMichelangelo's balusters,

ratherthanSangallo's, mayhavebeentheactualmodelsforsucharchitects asVignolaand
DellaPorta,it seemsas plausiblethatthe earlierdroppedbalusters of Antoniowerethe
inspirationforPalladio.
Like the typicaldoublebalusterof the sixteenthcentury,the bulb of the dropped
balusteris almostalwaysundecorated, althoughthe shapeof both the bulb and its
customarypedestalcanvaryconsiderably.64 Thepedestalsof theSantaCasabalusters are
of particularinterest,sincebeingin profilelikethepedestalsof Romancandelabra, they
suggesta continuedawareness of theAntiqueoriginsof thebaluster itself(Pls4j andIh).
UnliketheRomancandelabrum, however,is the typeof balusterwitha singleinverted
bulb, fashionable in late sixteenth-century Florence(P1.6i). The co-existenceof these
differenttypescanperhapsbe explainedby developments in architecturaltheory,theory
whichin partfindsexpression in treatises
of theperiod.65
BeforediscussinganyRenaissance ideasaboutthebaluster,it is firstnecessary to clarify

certainaspectsof thehistoryof theworditself.TheItalianwordbalaustro (baluster)is said
to be relatedto a similarwordbalaustra meaning'pomegranate flower', which is derived
fromtheLatinwordbalaustium.66 Thiswordis definedby PlinytheElderastheunfolding
'cytinus',or bud,of thepomegranate flower.67 Thewordsbalaustra, anda variantbalausta,
are foundin Pierode'Crescenzi's earlyfourteenthcenturyTrattatodellaAgricoltura,
whichwaswellreadby Renaissance architects.68
Itis difficultto saywhenthewordbalaustro wasfirstappliedto thebaluster.A contract
fora tabernacle of 1474apparently specifiesa 'balaustra',
butit is not clearwhatis meant.69
Theonlyfifteenth-century architecturaltheoristto givea nameto a baluster-like objectis
Francescodi Giorgio,whose term 'cholonne a balaghusti'occursin the text of his late
fifteenth-century manuscripttreatise,with the differentlyspelled'cholonna a balausti'
to a
appended marginal illustration.70A Latin document of 1488 refersto thebalusters of
therailingaroundtheinsideof thedomeof GiulianodaSangallo's S. MariadelleCarceri,
Prato,with the wordsbalauschius and baluschius;71 later,Diego da Sagredo,writingin
Spanish, uses a similarword balaustrefor the baluster in his Medidas delRomano of 1526,
whileSerliousesthe wordbalausto in Book 4 (I537)of his architectural treatise.72Early
written examples of the word balaustro itself occur in documentsof 1524 for
Michelangelo's Medici Tombs ('mezzibalaustri'), andof 1535-36for the SantaCasain
Loreto;73 the word subsequently appears in the second editionof Vasari'sVite(I568).74
All this suggeststhatthe word balaustro was not in generaluse untilthe sixteenth
century,while earliera numberof related,yet different,wordswere usedto describe
balustersof similarmotifs.However,Francesco di Giorgio's'balausti'seemssufficiently
closelyrelatedto the wordsbalaustium and balaustra meaning'pomegranate flower'to
suggestthatby thelatefifteenthcenturytheconnection betweentheflowerandthemotif
hadalreadybeen made.7
In fifteenth-centurytheory, there are few clues as to what was thought about the
baluster.Following Vitruvius'sexample, neitherAlberti nor Filaretediscussesor even
mentions the baluster, but unlike Alberti's printed treatise, the Filaretemanuscripts
(c.1460) abound in marginalillustrationswhich reflect contemporaryideas about the
RENAISSANCE BALUSTERSAND THE ANTIQUE 9
balusterform.Thesedrawingsdo not actuallydepictanybalustrades, the manyparapet

railingsbeingalwayscomposed of colonnettes rather than balusters;76nevertheless, the
baluster-form doesappearon two occasions,oncein thedrawingof a circular choirwhere
double-bulb candlesticks constitute a crowningflourishaboveeightcolumnscomposedof
urnsandnumerousbulbs(P1.2j),andagainas a single-bulbed candelabrum performing
thefunction of a statue pedestal.77 By thisdate,therefore, the architectural of
possibilities
thebaluster-form hadalreadybegunto berealizedby Renaissance writers.
As alreadymentioned,Francesco di Giorgiois thefirsttheoretician to givea nameto a
baluster-like object,the 'cholonna a balaghusti' or 'cholonna a balausti'.78
WhileFrancesco
does not explainthe term,he illustrates it in the margin(P1.5a).In the accompanying
drawings,the'cholonna isjuxtaposedwithakindof candelabrum
a balausti' - the'cholonna
a chandeliere'- suggestingthat althoughdistinguishable the two types were at least
related,andthatthe 'balausti' areprobablythe prominentbulbsincorporated into their
shafts.Itis unlikely,however,thatFrancesco di Giorgioenvisagedthe'cholonna a balausti'
as being appropriate as a supportiveelementin a balustrade,since he consistently
represents parapets as colonnetterailings.79 Inthisrespecthe followsFilarete,as doeshis
use of the balusterform in unexpectedcontextssuch as a mantlepiecesupportfor a
fireplace,andasthebarrelof a cannon. 80
Inthesixteenthcentury,DiegodaSagredo's Spanishtreatiseonarchitecture, Medidas del
Romano (1526),is the first not to
only apply the word in its
'baluster' recognizable form
to thearchitectural
(balaustre) motif,butalsoto discussit in detail.Writtenin thefashionof
a lengthyplatonicdialogue,itstwo protagonists discussatthebeginningof thesecondday
'columnscalledmonstrous,candelabra andbalusters'.Sagredoapproaches the subject
etymologically,pointingout that the word balaustre derivesfrom the latin balaustium
meaning'pomegranate flower'.His useof theword,however,is ambiguous; describing
the 'balustercolumn'(P1.5b),whichcloselyresemblesFrancesco di Giorgio's'cholonna a
he statesthatit is composedof:
chandeliere',
smallcompartments, antique vases,variously formed,carvedandclothedin foliage,andother
fantastic
carvings placed theoneovertheother,andontopof everything theyplacethe'baluster',
whichis nolessdecked out,thebellywithitsantique leavesandtheneckwithitsgroovesorwith
othercarvings thathappen tofitin8"
In thisdescription the 'baluster' is a single-bulb,but sinceSagredoalsousesthe termto
referto thedoublebaluster,it maytherefore be saidthatby 1526 boththesingle-bulband
thedoublebalustercouldbedescribed by a commonterm,in Sagredo's case'balaustre'.82
Sagredointroduces a furtherideaby statingthatthe'baluster' wascalled'barycephala' by
the Greeks,andhe usesthe termwith greatprecisionin his description of the double
baluster(P1.Sc):
Thereareotherbalusters ... composed of two similarbarycephalae equalin length,width,
mouldings andallothercarved decorations,whicharestuckbaseto base.Thistypeof baluster is
moretapered, moreelegant, widerintheneckandmoreextended83
for Sagredois specificallya single-bulbmotif, unlike the 'baluster'
Thus the 'barycephala'
which can be eithersingle or double bulbed. In fact, the word barycephala
is takenfrom
Vitruvius.In a particularlyobscurepassage,which has producedsome extremelybizarre
interpretations,Vitruvius,discussingthe 'areostyle'temple, states:
io ARCHITECTURALHISTORY 26: 1983
aedium
Etipsarum suntvaricae,
species humiles,
barycephalae, latae
of thetemples
Andthetypes[orappearances] arestraddling,
themselves low and
heavy-headed,
broad84
thebaluster-barycephala
Superficially, of Sagredowouldseemto havelittleto do withthe
'heavy-headed' barycephala of Vitruvius. A glance,however,at earlysixteenthcentury
commentators on Vitruviusis enlightening,becauseit suggestshow Sagredocameto
makesucha connection.
Earlycommentators andtranslators of Vitruviusdividedintotwo campsin interpreting
thispassage.Theproblemliesin thecomprehension of thewords'aediumspecies'.Most
translatedthe phrasecorrectlyas 'typesof temple',andamongsttheseare Cesariano
(1521),Martin(1547)andBarbaro(1556).ssOthers,however,seemto haveinterpreted
thewordspecies (type)not asa building-type butasa building-part,likethe 'order'in the
modernarchitectural sense. This mistakeis easily understandable since for Italian
architecturaltheoriststhe word ordine(order)was not used until the earlysixteenth
century;beforetheearliestknownuseof thisterm,inRaphael's famousletterto PopeLeo
X, the orderscouldbe simplydescribedas types.86 FraGiocondo,in his 151Ieditionof
Vitruvius,interprets 'aediumspecies'in thisway. Althoughhe doesnot commenton the
text,hesuppliesanexplanatory illustrationwithacaptionwhichdepictsthe'barycephala' as
anorder,andtherefore apartof theareostyletemple,ratherthana description of thewhole
(P1.6a).s7
Thisis fundamental to Sagredo'sconceptionof barycephala, butthepropositionthathe
was the first to makethe connectionbetweenthe word barycephala and the baluster
containsa seriousflaw;hisuseof theVitruvianwordspecifically in relationto balusters,
seemsto be contradicted by hisstatementthatVitruviusdoesnotdiscussthem,implying
thatSagredowas unawareof thewordin Vitruvius,anauthorityhe wouldsurelyhave
citedhadit beenknownto him.88He merelystatesthattheGreeksusedit. Thereforethe
ideamusthavehadanothersource,andItaly,whichSagredohadvisitedbeforewriting
Medidas,was more thanlikely its countryof origin."9The most strikingfeatureof
Sagredo's'barycephala' is that,unlikeFraGiocondo'scolumnarorder,it is muchsmaller,
beinga partof baluster;presumably,therefore,theirsimilarityin shapehad already
a
occasionedthe application of the word barycephala to the balusterbulb- an idealater
committedto printby Sagredo.
Subsequently, thesesameideasaretakenup, althoughcriticizedby Philanderin his
shorterVitruviancommentary publishedin Romein 1544:
Hecallsthistypeoftemple'baryca' and'barycephala'.
Itseemstomethathehasexpressed whathe
wishestobemeantwhenhesays'humiles' (low)and'latae'
(broad).Foralthough mostpeoplehave
allthesewordsto theformof columns
referred whichtheycall'balustriae' beinglike
(balusters),
- I believe
balaustiae fromthesimilarity totheforestflowers ofthepomegranate - I donotjudge
themtohavelookedsufficiently, forexample, attheauthorVitruviushimself,whosaysthatinthe
thetypesofbuildings
areostyle are'baryca'and'barycephala'90
Philander
notonlynotesthesimilarity
betweenthewordsforbalusterandforpomegran-
ate flower, but suggests that this is because of their similarity in shape. He correctly
observes, however, that in Vitruvius's passage, barycephalarefers to the type of temple
rather than to the baluster. However, in Philander's enlarged commentary of 1552, he adds
that the same word may have also been used to describe certain antique columns which:
RENAISSANCEBALUSTERSAND THE ANTIQUE II
... growingroundlyin thelowermost partof thestemwhichrisestowards thehighesthead,

expanded inamanner turningback,arethendiminished9"
Preciselywhat Philandermeansis not easilyunderstoodfrom this descriptionwhich
could, for example,applyto a columnthe shapeof a mushroom.He makesa clear
distinction,however,betweenwhatheregardsasthe'barycephala' column,andcolumns
which'mostpeople. .. callbalustriae',or colonnettesusedfor 'podia..., formedlike
two opposingbalustriae'.92Judgingfromthe contextin whichtheyarediscussedthese
'barycephala' columns appearto be relativelysmall,with shaftswhichare'expanded';
unlikeFraGiocondo'scolumnswhichbulgetowardsthebottom,Philander's areexpan-
ded at the 'head'.In his latercommentary,Philanderdoes not retracthis previous
statementthatVitruvius'swordsbaryca andbarycephalamean'low'and'broad',butearlier
theorists,amongthemSagredo,who didnotunderstand Greek,hadbeenawarethatthe
word barycephalawas derived from the Greek meaning 'heavy-headed'.93
Pflavx•gOala
The expandedheads of Philander'scolumns, therefore, would suggest that he was not
only awareof this very differentinterpretationof the word, but also able to apply it to a
type of column which, while not a 'baluster',was in some respectssimilarto it.
There is some evidence that Philander'sopinions were not thoroughly understood.
Riffs Vitruvius Teutsch(1548),theearliestrenditionof Vitruviusin German,reliesheavily
on Philander's shortercommentary, evengoingso farasto replaceVitruvius'stextwith
Philander's explanatory notes,which therebyassumea classicalauthority.94 But where
both VitruviusandPhilanderhadrelatedthe word barycephala to the areostyletemple
ratherthanto atypeof columnorcolonnette,Riffperversely thispassagewitha
illustrates
balusterbulbstandingupona thinplinth,ratherlikea droppedbaluster - theillustration,
one of the few full-pageplatesin thebook (P1.5d),suggestingthatthebalusteritselfis
sanctioned by antiquetheory.
Otherwriterstoo beganto establishthebalustermorefirmlyasanacceptable classical
architecturalelement.RatherlikeVitruviuswho gaverulesfor theorders,thesixteenth
century,in its desireto systematizeclassicalarchitecture, attemptedto regularizethe
baluster.Diego da Sagredogives a seriesof formalrequirements both for the double
baluster,andalsofor thebaseof the candelabrum, althoughhe hesitatesto extendsuch
rulesto theactualshaft,becauseof thevarietyof formswhichit cantake.95 Thetendency
to proposerulesforthebaluster,apparent alsoin Serlio'streatise,whichrecommends that
the heightof a balustrade shouldbe determinedby the widthof a facadewindow, is
indicativeof its increasingacceptanceas anall'anticamotifto whichclassicalregulations
be
might applied.96
A latecontribution to thepoolof Renaissance ideasabouttheoriginsandtheformof the
balusterappearsin I629 with the publicationof ViolaZanini'sDellaArchitettura. The
authordiscussingthe 'pulvin',or side-scroll,of theIoniccapital,criticizesa currentidea
thatthe 'pulvin'shouldbe conceived'a modobalaustrato' (inthefashionof a baluster),
andremarksthatwhileoakleafdecorationmaybe appropriate to thebaluster,it should
neverbe usedfor the Ioniccapital.97Thatthe balusterwas thoughtat allto be relatedto the
Ionic side-scroll is evidence of a very different conception of the balusterfrom that
expressedby SagredoandPhilander,althoughit is nonethelessregardedasbeing all'antica
and put into an architecturalcontext.
12 ARCHITECTURALHISTORY 26: 1983
In the sixteenthcentury,therefore,thereappearsto havebeenmuchdiscussionabout

thebaluster,andaboutitsantiquesources.Butwasthebalustrade, asopposedto thesingle
baluster,thought to have been derivedfrom ancientarchitecture? The theoristsarevague
on the subject.Diego da Sagredosuggeststhat balustersare to be foundin antique
buildings,but it is unclearwhetherhe is referringto theiruse in balustrades; Philander
statesthat balusterbulbs constitutepartsof a Romancandelabrum, noting those in
S. Agnese,Rome (P1.Ig), but he is silentas to whetherthe balustrade had any direct
equivalentin Antiquity.98To answerthis question,it is helpful,therefore,to look at
Renaissance reconstructions of Romanbuildings.
AlthoughGiulianodaSangallodepictsthebalustrade in suchdrawingsashisMarketof
Trajan(P1.5e)asif it werepartof theoriginalbuilding,hisintentions areuncertain. On the
one hand,he mayhavehelda personalconvictionthatthebalustrade couldbe foundin
antiquearchitecture, basedperhapsuponthemisinterpretation of archaeological evidence,
but, on the other,his 'reconstruction' mightsimply be a conscious reinterpretationof a
Romanruinin modemvocabulary.99
WhileGiulianowasanenthusiastic hisnephewAntoniotheYoungerwas
archaeologist,
both more scrupulousand more methodical.The illustrationsof ancientbuildings
discussedby Vitruvius,madealmostcertainlyunderAntonio'sdirectionby his brother
GiovanniBattista,suggestthathe certainlydidnot believethatthe balustrade was ever
usedin ancientarchitecture.1 00Sangallo'sinsistenceuponthe latticeparapetwallcanbe
seenas a critiqueof, forexample,thewoodcutillustrating stylobata fromFraGiocondo's
editionof Vitruvius,in whichbalustrades aredepictedbetweenthepedestals of a columnar
portico,andof his contemporaries RaphaelandPeruzziwho haddepictedbalustrades on
reconstructed ancientbuildingsin theirpaintings. 101Antonio'sview seemsto havebeen
takenveryseriously; laterin thesixteenthcenturythatmanicarchaeologist, PirroLigorio,
neverattached a balustradeto anyof hisnumerousreconstructions of ancientbuildings.102
Rathersurprisingly, however,Ligorio'scontemporary, AndreaPalladio,seemsto have
helda differentopinion,despitehis acclaimed archaeological activities.Althoughrecon-
structionsof well preservedancientbuildingsrepresented in the platesof Quattro Libri
(1570),do not havebalustrades, thosebaseduponmoreinsubstantial evidenceoftendo,
for examplehis Corinthian Atrium,metamorphosed as partof the conventof S.Maria
dellaCarit5in Venice,or theVitruvianHouseof theGreeks. 103Furthermore, theplates
designedby Palladio for the 1556edition of Vitruvius translated and annotated by his
friendDanieleBarbaroincludefourreconstructions of ancientbuildingswithbalustrades
(P1.5f).104NeitherQuattro LibrinortheBarbaroVitruvius discussesbalausters, although
Barbaromentionsthemin passingin hisremarksaboutstylobata, callingthem'colonnelle
fatti a Balaustri',and from Palladio'saccompanying illustrationit is clearthat he is
to a
referring balustrade.'05 Palladio'sreconstructions(whichby theirnatureareantique
ratherthanmodem),therefore,implythatbothhe andBarbarothoughtthebalusterand
thebalustrade to beantiquein origin,and,asFraGiocondo'splateshows,thisidea,shared
by both theorists andpractising architects
alike,wasby no meansa new one.
As has been seen, in sixteenthcenturytheory, writershad relatedthe balusterfirstlyto
the pomegranateflower, balaustra, andsecondlyto Vitruvius'sword, barycephala.o106Yet to
what extent were theseideassharedby practisingarchitectsin RenaissanceItaly?Balaustra,
as a word meaning'pomegranateflower',hadexistedin the Italianlanguagesinceatleastas
RENAISSANCE BALUSTERSAND THE ANTIQUE 13
earlyas the fourteenthcentury.Althoughthe word balaustro appearsto be etymologically

related,in literatureno specific connectionbetween the balusterand the pomegranate
flower is made until the 152os, and even then only in one Spanishtreatisein which the
author,Sagredo,no doubtwishedto stresstheiconographicimportanceof the pomegran-
ate (granada),and by implicationthe baluster,for the Kingdom of Granada.107 While
Sagredo was conversantwith currentItalianarchitecturalthought, this alone does not
prove thathis statedpositionis representativeof contemporaryopinionin Italy.Thereis,
however, some evidencethatit was. Discussingthe Ionic capitalCesarianoremarksthat
the swollen form of the leaf-coveredpulvinresembles'a rosebud,the shaftof a poppy or
more particularlya pomegranatewhen it hasput out its flower',a point of view reiterateda
little laterin Caporali'sedition of Vitruvius(1534).108To say that the shapeof the Ionic
pulvin resembles a pomegranateflower would seem to be very similar to the claim
dismissed by Viola Zanini that Ionic pulvins resemble balusters.Cesariano'sanalogy
between the Ionic pulvin and the pomegranateflower dependsupon their similarityof
shape, andit is easy to see thatsuch an analogycould have been applicableto the baluster
which in many respectsdoes resemblethe Ionic pulvin. Furthermore,in the so-called
'Menicantonio'Sketchbook (c.1520), there are two drawings of flowers, seemingly
pomegranate flowers (P1.5g); these are the only non-architecturaldrawings in the
manuscriptsand theirpresencemight haveseemedinexplicablebut for the factthaton the
verso of one therearedrawingsof candelabra,composedof baluster-likebulbs (P1.5h).109
It would appear, therefore, that the question 'what is a baluster?'was here being
considered.The balusterbulb is certainlyvery similarin shapeto the openingbud of the
pomegranateflower (P1.5i); and although the foliate decorationof the balusterbulb
derivesfrom, for example,the bulb of the Romancandelabrum,it canbe ratherdifferent:
the bottom of the bulb may be ornamentedwith leavesor petalsof more simpleform, or
between the leaves might sproutmotifs similarto stamens,giving the balustera flower-
like appearance(P1.5jand4d).ll
It is probable,therefore,that the balusterwas calledbalaustro preciselybecauseof its
supposed resemblance to the pomegranate flower. It is possible,furthermore,thatthe bulb
of the Roman candelabrumitselfhad at some stagebeen thoughtof, not as the bowl of an
acanthus-likeplant,but as the flower of the pomegranate.In the light of theseconjectures,
it is conceivablethatthepomegranatesmentionedin Biblicaldescriptionsof the Temple of
Solomon might havebeeninterpretedas balusters."'The redevelopmentof St Peter'sand
the VaticanPalacewas, in the fifteenthcentury, very much equatedwith the building
works of King Solomon, and the BenedictionLoggia was an importantpart of this
enterprise.12 The Biblicalpomegranates,which aresaidto 'cover'the capitalsof columns
and to be arrangedin 'two rows', might have suggestedto the designersof the Loggia
railings of double balustersfor the parapetabove the lower storey (Pl. 3i).113This is
especiallylikely if an earlyconnectionhad been madebetween the word balaustra and the
balusterbulb, a connectionlater suggested by Francescodi Giorgio's term 'cholonnaa
balausti';it might even be that the Biblicalreferenceswere actuallyinstrumentalin the
inventionof the balustrade.
Although it can be said thatit is the bulb of the baluster,ratherthanthe balusteritself,
which resemblesthe pomegranateflower, at the sametimeit is truethatwords resembling
the word balaustra were appliednot only to balusterbulbs, but also to double balusters.
14 ARCHITECTURALHISTORY26: 1983
Francesco di Giorgiomaybe referring to thebulbsof hisunusualcolumnshaftswithhis

words 'balaghusti' and 'balausti',but the singlebulb decorativemotifsin the Medici
Chapel(P1.6j)aredescribed in documentsas 'mezzibalaustri', or halfbalusters.114 Later,
however,Sagredo used the word balaustreto denote the singlebulbas well as theentire
doublebaluster,andPhilander describes boththebaluster bulbanda 'typeof column'with
thewordbalustria. Theterm'baluster' wastherefore ambiguous,butthisambiguitymay
havestimulatedthe growthin popularityof the droppedbaluster,for, in the rigorous
theoreticalatmosphere of the sixteenthcentury,the use of the singularword mayhave
encouraged itsinterpretation asa singularform.
Barycephala, priorto the connectionwith the balustermadeby Sagredo,had been
interpreted by FraGiocondo,who asmentioned aboveenvisaged it asa full-sizecolumnar
orderappropriate to a templefacade(P1.6a).Vitruvian justification for suchcolumnsis
probablycontained in thewords'humiles'and'latae'(lowandbroad),forFraGiocondo,
ratherlikePhilander afterhim, mayhaveunderstood thesewordsto be the parenthetic
explanations of themoreobscureword'barycephala' whichimmediately precedesthem,
so thathe understoodthe barycephala as beinga 'low andbroad'column-type."This
typeis differentiated fromotherordersnot by its capital,whichis eitherDoricor more
probably Tuscan, but by thecolumnshaft;notonlydoesit expandtowardsthebottomto
a muchgreaterextentthanis usual,butit alsocurvessharplyinwardsat thebase,so that
thediameter atthelowestpointof theshaftandthatattheverytopareroughlyequivalent.
In shape,however,thistypewas by no meansinventedby FraGiocondo.It appearsin
fifteenth-century architecture, althoughalmostexclusivelyin Lombardy, forexample,at
the ColleoniChapel,Bergamo,in the 1470s,anda decadelaterat S. MariadelleGrazie,
Milan(Pls6bande). ThissuggeststhatFraGiocondoeithertookanexistingcolumn-type
as his own interpretation of barycephala, or thathe illustrateda specificallyVitruvian
column-type alreadyproposedby Milanese theorists.A thirdpossibility is thatheknewof
antiqueprototypesamong ruinsthe of ancient Rome, such as those conserved todayin the
Capitoline Museum or
(P1.6c), verylarge shaft-like
bulbs of candelabra of theS. Costanza
type(P1.Ih) which may have been thought to be of
parts antique columns.
The barycephalae areall columnar,andarealsodistinguishable frombalusters in that
theyalwayshavecapitalsandbases.Thebarycephala column,however,is rarelyusedas
the main structuralorderof a building,but for smaller-scale, essentiallydecorative,
purposes:at Bergamoas the free-standing columnsaroundthe drumof the chapel,at
S. MariadelleGrazieas mullionsfor thehigh-levelwindows.116Furthermore, although
barycephalae areusuallymuchbiggerthanbalusters, theirr61les canbe seento overlap-
particularlyin northernItaly;forinstance,thesmallatticloggiasof theDomusNova, the
fifteenth-century additionto thePalazzoDucale,Mantua,employlargedoublebalusters
for supportsinsteadof columns(P1.6d).117For the interlockingbiforeof the Colleoni
Chapel,the balusteris conceivednot so muchas a colonnettebut moreas a column
(P1.6e), andindeed,thesebalusters canbe viewedaspartof a hierarchy of supports;each
bay is flankedby largecolumnswhich riseup througha colonnetteparapetandsupportan
arch, which is divided into a type of biforaby a double balusterresting on top of the
parapet.Thus herethe balusteris usednot as a colonnettesubstitute,but as an architectural
member midway between the colonnetteand the column. Moreover, being the central
supportsof bifore,thesebalustersareanalogousin theirusageto the barycephalamullions
RENAISSANCEBALUSTERSAND THE ANTIQUE 15
of S. MariadelleGrazie,and this very interchangeability may have suggestedto later

theoristssomeconnection betweenbarycephala andthebaluster.
Apartfrom theoryalone,did any connectionbetweenthe more usualsupporting
balusterand the barycephala exist beforeDiego da Sagredo?Many fifteenth-century
balusterbulbsareclothedin foliatedecoration, andthischaracteristicalonewouldseemto
excludethem outrightfrom the plain-shafted of
category barycephala. One sedileat
has
Urbino,however, supports which are very similarin shapeto FraGiocondo'scolumns
(P1.6f), curvingsharplyinwardsatthebasebutotherwisehavingstraightsides,unlikethe
more common balusterbulb which curvescontinuouslyalong its entirelength."8
Althoughthistypeis veryexceptional, it is possiblethatit wasconsidered to beVitruvian,
andthatSagredomayhavederivedhismuchsmallerbarycephala fromexampleslikethis.
Thebarycephala columnwasconceivedverydifferently by Philander. Suggestingthat
thewordbarycephala couldhavebeenusedto describe a certainsortof antiquecolumn,he
addsthatthistype'existsin TuscanSienain thestoneworkshop,thatis wherethestones
arecutandsquaredforthemosteminentbuilding'.'19Inotherwords,sometimebefore
1552 Philandercame acrosswhat he thoughtwere 'barycephalae' in the cathedral
workshop in Siena, and it is reasonable to assume, therefore,that thesecolumns, or more
probably colonnettes, can today be found in Siena Cathedral. Although made of wood,
the unusualcolonnettesof thechoirstalls madeunderthedirectionof 'I1Riccio'(Neroni)
and ultimatelyassembledin the i560s fit Philander's descriptionvery well (P1.6g). 20
They bear all the hallmarks of a conceptual cross betweenVitruvius,the antique
candelabrum andthebaluster; theirscaleandfunctionis thatof thebaluster,theirfoliate
decorationandespeciallytheirhanginggarlandsderivefrom candelabra, and they are
Vitruvianin being'heavy-headed'. Theirmoststrikingcharacteristic, however,is their
resemblance to anupside-downversionof FraGiocondo'sbarycephala column,or to an
inverteddroppedbaluster.
It might be a coincidence,but this inversionis anticipatedby earlierVitruvian
commentators.A platein Fra Giocondo'seditionillustratingthe Doric columnis,
mysteriously,printedupside-down,and appearsas thoughthe columnshaftwidens
towardsthetop.'21Moreover,in Caporali's edition,thewoodcutactuallyillustrating the
areostyletemple is thewrongwayup, whether or
accidentally deliberately. in
122Later the
sixteenthcentury,the SpanishVitruviologist Urreaillustrates theareostyletemplein his
1582 editionwith a woodcutderivedfromFraGiocondo's,but whichis nothingother
thana conventionalDoric facadedeliberately turnedupside-down,with columnsno
longer Fra Giocondo's low and broadtype but with invertedshaftswideratthetop thanat
thebottomwhichcouldbe saidto be 'heavy-headed' (P1.6h).123
This aside,if the colonnettesof Il Riccio'schoirstallscould be regardedas 'bary-
cephalae',it mightbewonderedwhetherupside-down droppedbalusters, suchasthoseof
the singinggallerycloseby, whicharea similarshape,wereeverthoughtof in thesame
way; it is possible,for example,that Buontalenti's balustersin S. Stefanoal Ponte,
Florence(1574),arenot simply typicallymanneristinversionsof the more usualdropped
baluster(P1.6i).124The issue is ratherconfused, however, becausea model for Buon-
talenti'sbalusterscanbe foundin the smallinvertedbaluster-likemotifsabovethe tombs in
Michelangelo'sNew Sacristy (P1.6j), the 'mezzi balaustri'.Michelangelohimself had
alreadyused this motif for the legs of the papalthronein earlydesignsfor theJuliusTomb,
alludingto all'antica-typefurniturelegs of the sameshape.125 A similarallusionis probably

intended in the New Sacristy,although the baluster-likemotifs are now in a different
setting.126Being notoriouslyanti-Vitruvianin his approachto architecture,Michelangelo
is hardly likely to have regardedthese as 'barycephalae'; but later in sixteenth century
Florencea more Vitruvianapproachto architecturecame into being largely due to the
effortsof the FlorentineAcademy, so thatBuontalenti'sbalustersmight easilyhave been
describedas 'barycephalae' irrespectiveof Michelangelo'sintentionsor opinions.
The connectionbetween the word barycephala and the baluster,which can be seen as a
move towardsprovidingthe balusterwith a more solid theoreticalbackground,seems to
have beenforged,or at leastto havebeenaccepted,only in the earlysixteenthcentury.Yet
while the word barycephala is relatedby SagredoandPhilanderto a balusterbulb and to a
of
type 'column', it is never usedto describethe doublebaluster.The formalimplications
of this usage of the word may have been one otherimportantfactorin the declinein the
earlier undisputed pre-eminenceof the double baluster. For there is an undeniable
similaritybetweeneven FraGiocondo'sbarycephalaandthe droppedbaluster,and, unlike
the double baluster,it might have been possible to call the dropped balustera 'bary-
cephala'.
In conclusion,one may concedethatkey buildingsandmajorarchitectswere important
influenceson taste, with differenttypes of balusterbeing more fashionableat particular
times for purelyaestheticor stylisticreasons.Neverthelessit is clearfrom thisinvestigation
that in the Renaissancetherewere a numberof distincttheoreticalattitudestowards the
baluster. Early applicationsof the baluster-formtended to reflect the uses of their
prototypes: legs of Roman furniture, Roman candelabraand funerary objects, and
decorativemotifs in late medievalTuscanart and architecture.Gradually,however, the
balustercameto be regardedas a substitutefor the medievalcolonnette,leadingultimately
to the invention of the balustrade,perhapsin projectsfor the BenedictionLoggia of St
Peter's.There are many differenttypes of balusterjust as thereis much diversityin their
models;even the droppedbaluster,which laterbecomes the predominanttype, was well
establishedin the fifteenthcentury.
As the origin of the word 'baluster'suggests, the balusterbulb, like the bulb of the
candelabrum,seems to havebeenthoughtto resembletheflowerof the pomegranate.But
the desireto find classicaljustificationfor the baluster,which perhapsoccasioneda belief
that the balustradewas derivedfrom Antiquity,broughtabout a confusionbetween the
baluster and the word 'barycephala'mentioned by Vitruvius. While it may be true,
therefore,that the widespreaduse of the balusterled to its discussionby Renaissance
theorists,theory itself played a majorpartin its formal development,for differencesin
balustertype canbe seento reflectnot simplythe arbitrarywhims of designers,but a more
profoundtheoreticalgrounding.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It is not possibleto thankall thosewho havecontributedso muchto this articlealthoughthe authors

wish to acknowledgein particularthelateProfessorBlunt,MrHowardBurns,Mr PaulGodfrey,Dr
John OniansandMr CharlesRobertsonfor theirhelpandtheiradvicein problemsof approachandin
the interpretation of the texts discussed.
RENAISSANCEBALUSTERSAND THE ANTIQUE I7
NOTES
I Renaissanceexampleswherethe colonnetteis usedfor a railingarethe Loggiadel Consiglio,Verona(c.1480),

the PazziChapel,Florence(dated1461),andthe courtyardof the Doge's Palacein Venice(I48os).The faqadeof
S. Marco,Rome (c.1470),is anexamplewherethesolidparapetwallis used,whilethelatefifteenth-century barco
insideS. Michelein Isola,Venice,is anotherexampleof thelatticeparapetwall.
2 H. Siebenhiiner,'Docke',in ReallexikonzurDeutschen 4 (1958),102-07.
Kunstgeschichte,
3 R. Wittkower,'The RenaissanceBalusterandPalladio',reprintedin PalladioandEnglishPalladianism (1974),
pp. 41-48.
4 L. Heydenreich,'BalusterundBalustrade.Eine"Invenzione" derToskanischenFriihrenaissancearchitektur',
in
Festschrift
WolfgangBraunfels(1977),PP. 123-32.
5 N. Llewellyn,'Two Notes on Diego da Sagredo,2, The BalusterandthePomegranateFlower'in ournalofthe
Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 40 (1977), 294-300.
andHeydenreich,no convincing
6 Althoughantiquefurniturelegs aresuggestedas sourcesby bothSiebenhiiner
examples are offered. However, there are several good examples in the plates of G. M. A. Richter, The Furnitureof
theGreeksEtruscans andRomans(1966),e.g. ills 485, 514, 529, 565, 566.
7 Thelargesculptedchariotin theVaticanMuseumhasstrutswith foliateends,seeG. Lippold,Die Skulpturen des
Vaticanischen Museums (1956),platesvol. 3.2, pl. 29. Bulb-likechariotwheel strutsarecommonplacein Roman
reliefs,see S. Reinach,Repertoire deReliefsGrecsetRomains (1912), III,47, 183, 187, 360, 368, 376.
8 Such reliefsare illustratedin S. Reinach,op. cit., m1,39, 43, 186, 240, 268, 381, 391. Cassianodal Pozzo's
drawingsafterthe Antique,conservedin the BritishMuseumand the Royal Library,WindsorCastle(photo-
graphsin the ConwayLibrary,CourtauldInstituteof Art), providemanyfurtherexamples.
9 CodexEscurialensis (ed. H. Egger, 1905)fol. 56 recto.Forantiqueexamplesof this motif, see G. M. A. Richter,
op. cit., ills 487, 488, 562.The motifwasassimilatedinto Renaissance artatanearlydate,appearingin Donatello's
S. CroceAnnunciationtabernacle,andlaterasthelegs of thethronein Raphael'sMadonnadelBaldacchino,andas
the supportsof the BertrandoRossi tomb (c.1535)by BartolomeoSpaniin the churchof the Steccata,Parma.
GiulianodaSangalloemployeda similarmotifforthearmsof hischoirstallsin theMediciPalaceChapel,Florence.
io G. Lippold,loc. cit., pl. I15. The candelabrum is cataloguedas Galleriadei Candelabri,III,no. 25. A similar
candelabrum stillexistsin S. Agnese,andthesecandelabra arementionedin Philander'scommentson thebaluster,
see below p. II; they were also admiredby Vasari,see G. Vasari,Le Vitede'piz'EccellentiPittoriScultoried
Architettori (ed. R. BettariniandP. Barocchi,1966-),II, 15.
I I Ibid., pl. 88;cataloguedas Galleriadei Candelabri,II,no. 44.
12 For reliefsof double-bulbcandelabraand similarmotifs, see S. Reinach,op. cit., II, 67, and mII,425; also
G. Bovini, I Sarcophagi Paleocristiani
(1949),p. 73.
13 SeeN. Dacos, LaDecouverte dela DomusAureaetla Formation desGrotesques a la Renaissance
(1969).
14 The candlestickis discussedin R. Krautheimer,'A ChristianTriumphin 1597',in Essaysin theHistoryofArt
Presented toRudolfWittkower (1967),pp. 174-78.It is knownthatthe candlestickwas installedin the churchin the
late sixteenthcenturyby CardinalCesareBaroniowho remarkedthat it was Roman.AlthoughKrautheimer
doubtsthisandbelievesit to datefromthe fifteenthcentury,therearein thechurcha furthersix bulbs,identicalto
the two bulbsconstitutingthe candlestick,butusedas tablesupportsandornamentalfinials.As some of theseare
somewhat damaged,it seems likely that all the bulbs have been adaptedfrom larger, presumablyRoman
candelabraperhapsresemblingthe S. Agnesecandelabra.Traditionholds thatthe porphyrybaseof the church
pulpitcameoriginallyfromthenearbyBathsof Caracalla,whencethebulbsmayalsohaveoriginated.
15 E.g., G. Lippold,loc. cit., pl. 92. The gabledlid is alsoa sourceforthepedimentswith similarflankingmotifs
of Florentinetabernacles,portalsandwall tombs,see H. W.Janson,16Studies(1973),p. 257.
16 This usageof the urnwas knownin the Renaissance; they areplacedabovethepilastersin one of Donatello's
S. Lorenzopulpits.Legs of Romanfurniture,too, can be urn shaped,see E. Panofsky, TombSculpture (1964),
fig. 123.
17 Thatthesewere known in the Renaissancecanbe illustratedby Donatello'sCantoria,andby the antefixaein
Mantegna's'CameradegliSposi'.
I8 See, for example,R. Brilliant,RomanArtfromtheRepublic to Constantine (1974),fig. 11.30.Thereare other
motifsin Romanor EarlyChristianartandarchitecture suggestiveof theshapeandtheusageof thebaluster.Bulbs
dividing Roman reliefsas, for example,on the archat Benevento,arelike balusterswhich separatescenesin
Renaissancepainting,as in Uccello'sUrbinopredella;the unusualblocks,in profilelike the balusterbulb, above
the columns in the crossingof S. Salvatore,Spoleto, are drawnin Francescodi Giorgio'streatise, Trattatidi
Architettura,Ingegneriae Arte Militare(ed. C. Maltese, 1967), I, fol. 16 recto (pl. 27).
19 There are, however, notable exceptions where the baluster form is found, especially in metalwork, see e.g.
J. Braun, Der ChristlicheAltar (1924), 1, pl. 96. More specific revivals of the form include the all' anticacandelabra
above the Coronation of the Virgin relief (c. 1400) in S. Maria del Popolo, Rome, see R. Cannata et al., Umanismoe
Primo Rinascimentoin S. Maria del Popolo (1981), ill. O102,and the colonnettes composed of pairs of bulbs of the
baptismal font in Massa Maritima Cathedral, see M. Salmi, ArchitetturaRomanicain Toscana(1927), pl. 274. The
archsupportsof the openingsin the Carolingiantower of SS. QuattroCoronati,Rome, see R. Krautheimer,
CorpusBasilicarum ChristianarumRomae,4 (1970),34, maywell recallantiqueprototypes,althoughnonehasbeen
suggested;as they arefour-facedratherthanturned,thereis probablyno connectionbetweenthem andAnglo-
Saxon 'balusters'(see above p. 3). The balustersformingpartof the eleventh-centuryiconostasisin S. Leone,
Capena,arelikelyto belongto the sixteenth-century renovation(inscription).
20 The colonnetteis occasionallyemployedin Antiquity,for example,the mosaicdepictionof the palaceof
Theodoricin S. ApollinareNuovo, Ravenna.
21 The 'balusters'at St Albansare discussedby H. M. andJ. Taylor, Anglo-Saxon Architecture (1965),II, 528.
Severalotherexamplesarementioned,e.g. at EarlsBarton(1,224)andJarrow(I, 348).
22 For furtherillustrationsof this type of decoration,see M. Salmi, op. cit., and I. Moretti and R. Stopani,
Architettura Romanica nelContado
Religiosa Fiorentino (1974).Urn motifsseemrelatedto antiquedepictionof urns
on funeraryplaquesandreliefsof localorigin,see, e.g. D. Manacorda,Un'Officina sullaViaAppia(I979),
Lapidaria
ills 21, 33.
23 As the crowningfinialof thrones,the motif is commonin both Florenceand Siena,for example,Duccio's
RucellaiMadonna.InGiotto'sExpulsionofJoachimin theArenaChapel,Padua,similarmotifscrowna pulpit.
24 For Siebenhiiner,Wittkowerand Heydenreich,the 'baluster'is a formalmotif 'invented'by Donatelloand
laterappliedto the balustrade.Thereis no evidence,however,of whatDonatellomighthavecalledit, or thathe
everassociatedit with the balustrade.ApartfromDonatello'sJudithandhis Marzocco,Heydenreichhasalready
drawnattentionto the 'balusters'of Castagno'sNiccol6 daTolentino,someof thesediliat Urbino,andthealtarof
CappellaCardini,discussedbelow.
25 Donatello seems to have been particularlyinterestedby Roman furniture;the throne of his Madonna
Enthronedis relatedto antiquechairs,see H. W. Janson,op. cit., p. 262, a Romanchairlegmotif appearsin his
Annunciationtabernacle,see abovenote 9. Althoughit is agreedthatthe largegranitebaluster-likeobjectuntil
recently supporting theJudith, was not originally intended for this sculpture, its provenance remains uncertain, see
L. Heydenreich,op. cit., n. 17. It is mentionedby Vasariwho callsit a 'baluster',see G. Vasari,op. cit., III,210,
althoughthepossibilitythatit mightbe Romancannotbe excluded.
26 It is reasonableto assumethatthe sediliin the 'Iole'roomsof the PalazzoDucale,Urbino,arecontemporary
with the rest of the decorationin thatpartof the palaceanddatefrom the yearsaround1460,see P. Rotondi,II
PalazzoDucaledi Urbino(1950),pp. 8I ff. LucadellaRobbiahadalreadyemployeda double-bulbmotiffor theleg
of a stool in one of his Cantoriareliefs,c.1435. SeeJ.Pope-Hennessy,LucadellaRobbia(I980),pl. 16.
27 Theremaywell be a specificRomanmodelforthesocle,suchasthefunerary urnof Trophimusin Bologna,see
S. Reinach,op. cit., III,7, with its inscriptionplaquebetweentwo handlelessurnscontainingearsof barley.
28 Baluster-likebulbsareoccasionallyfoundon the faces,ratherthanon the lids, of antiquefuneraryartifacts.
Thereareseveralexamplesof candelabrum motifsflankingthe inscriptionplaquesin the MuseoArcheologico,
Florence;on eithersideof the framedplaqueof anurnnow in theMuseoCivico,Perugia,a singlebulbsupportsa
putto,W. Altmann,Die Roimanischen derKaiserzeit
Grabaltiire (1905),ill. 87.
29 The thronesin FraAngelico'sAnnalenaaltarpiece,andthatin S. Domenico,Fiesole,havesimilarfinials.
30 Therearealmostidenticalcandleholders on topof a screenin thecourtyardofPalazzoDavanzati,Florence,and
aroundthe tabernacleof Or SanMichele,Florence.
31 This particularreliefwasnot knownin the Renaissance, beingonly discoveredin 1937,see D. Strong,Roman
Art(1976),p. 20;the candelabrum motif, however,is not uncommonin Romanart,seeaboven. 28.
32 The generalsimilaritybetweenthecathedral lanternandthetopof St Louis'scrozierhasalreadybeensuggested
in L. Heydenriechand W. Lotz, Architecture in Italy, 14oo-16oo(1974),P. 330, n. 49. In Giulianoda Sangallo's
drawingof thelantern,thepinnaclesarerepresented asbeingsingle-bulbcandelabrum-like motifs,seeE. Battisti,
Brunelleschi TheCompleteWork(1981),ill. 286.
33 For the choirscreen,see G. Morelli, 'Brunelleschie l'ArredoUmanisticodi S. Mariadel Fiore',in Filippo
Brunelleschi, lasuaOperae il suoTempo(paperspresentedattheConvegnoInternazionale di Studi,Florence,1977),
2, pp. 603-33. ForFilarete'sillustration,seebelow, n. 77.
34 Forthe S. MariaNovellapulpit,seeF. Borsiet al., Brunelleschiani (I979),Pp.251 f. One ofLucadellaRobbia's
Angelsof 1448carriesa candlestickwitha double-bulbshaft,seeJ.Pope-Hennessy,LucadellaRobbia(1980),pl. 46.
35 For the Cappelladel SacroCingolo screen,see F. Borsiet al., op. cit., p. 333, andG. Marchini,IIDuomodi
Prato(1957),pp. 62 ff.
36 Moreover,a row of urnsdecoratesthebalconyof BernardoRossellino'sMisericordia facade(1433),andthere
is a row of urn-shapedmotifsin the friezesof Brunelleschi's Cathedralexedrae.
37 Forthe CappellaCardini,see F. Borsiet al., op. cit. pp. 255f.
38 IllustratedinJ. Braun,op. cit., I, pl. 22.
39 See, for example,G. M. A. Richter,op. cit., ill. 497;DonatelloplacedanurnunderSt Matthew'schairin the
Old Sacristyroundel.A littlelater,urnsthemselveswereusedasthesupportsfora pairof altarsin SS. Annunziata,
Florence.In the sequenceof chapelaltartables in the Osservanza,Siena,some havesmallpiersas supports,while
othershavedoublebalusters,and, furthermore,whereasbeneathone pairtherearehousingsfor relics,beneath
RENAISSANCE BALUSTERS AND THE ANTIQUE I9
anothertherearesculptedurns.The elaboratelegs of the altartables in S. Giovanninodei Cavalieri,Florence,of
uncertaindate,incorporatebulbssimilarin shapeto theCappellaCardinisupports.Seealsoaboven. 16.
40 Anothersuchroundeldecoratesthefloorof the FlorentineBaptistry.
41 See A. Grandjeande MontignyandE. Famin,Architecture Toscane,Recueildesplusbeauxtombeaux executesen
ItaliedanslesXV et XVIsiecles(1846),ill. 7. Also publishedby B. Preyer,'TheRucellaiLoggia',in Mitteilungen des
Kunsthistorischen in Florenz21 (1977),192.
Institutes
42 The frescocycleat Spoletowasexecutedbetween1466and1469,seeG. Marchini,FilippoLippi(1975),p. 215.
43 L. Heydenreich,op. cit., pp. 129 f. TheMaianointarsia is theearliestknownexampleof therooftopbalustrade,
laterusedby Bramantein his Tempietto,andby Raphaelin thePalazzoBranconiodall'Aquila.Heydenreich,op.
cit., n. 15, also pointsout the earlybalustersin Uccello'sUrbinopredella,which arealso arrangedin a row; see
aboven. 18.
44 ForGiulianoda Sangallo'sbalustrades, see L. Heydenreich,op. cit., pp. 129 f.
45 For the datingof the 'Laurana' partsof the PalazzoDucale(c.1470),see P. Rotondi,op. cit., pp. 211 ff. The
earlybalustrades in S. Mariadei Miracoli,Venice(begun1481),resemblethosein Urbino.A specificconnection
between the two projectsis reflectedin their use of an uncommon motif - the flaming cannon ball; see
J. McAndrew,Venetian oftheEarlyRenaissance
Architecture (1980), pp. 552f.
46 Forthe datingof theBenedictionLoggia,see HeydenreichandLotz,op. cit., pp. 54 f.
47 In 1464,Pagnidi Antonioda Settignanocameto Florenceto fetchthe 'modello'of the BenedictionLoggia,
ibid., p. 55.
48 Ibid., p. 102.
49 Bramanteuses the singlebulb(severaldifferentvarieties)for the roundwindow in the 'Previdari'engraving,
see A. Bruschi,Bramante Architetto(1969),ill. 93; thereis a similarroundwindow in the sacristyof S. Maria
Maggiore,Bergamo,ibid., ill. Io6. The doublebalusteris employedas a window mullionin the drawingof the
Palaceof Caesarfromthe 'Marcanova' sketchbookin theBibliotecaEstense,Modena.
50 The balusteris usedfor a stairrailingboth in Giulianoda Sangallo'sPalazzoGondi,andin his PalazzoDella
Rovere,Savona.It appearsas a fireplacesupportin PalazzoGondiandin Francescodi Giorgio'streatise,fol. 23
recto(ed. C. Maltese,pl. 41). Francesco's candlestickin Urbinocathedralincorporates anall'anticabulb,whilethe
commonusageof the balusteras the radialstrutof a carriagewheelcanbe illustratedby Mantegna'sTriumphof
Caesarseries.
51 OtherexamplesareBenedettodaMaiano'sintarsia andCosimoRosselli'sMadonnaandChildwith the Infant
StJohnandOtherSaintsin the Uffizi.
52 Forexample,decoratingthecineraryurnin Perugia,see aboven. 28.
53 Four-faceteddoublebalusterswould seemto be relatedto Romanchairlegsof thesameshape,for example,a
statuettein the VaticanMuseum,G. Lippold,loc. cit., pl. 87 (cat.no., Galleriadei Candelabri,2, 43) or a reliefin
R. Brilliant,op. cit., ill. V.23. Sansovinouses the four-faceteddoublebalusterin the cortileof PalazzoCorner,
Venice;see below n. 117. The turneddouble balusterwith a connectingblock is specificallyconnectedwith
chairlegsby Sansovinowho uses the motif for the chairsof his seatedEvangelistsin S. Marco, Venice. For
Sansovino'sandPalladio'suse of thistypeof baluster,seeR. Wittkower,op. cit., p. 48.
54 Thereis a probablefunerarysignificancefor the singlebulbpinnacle,oftenemployedfor tombs, suchas, for
example,in S. MariadelPopolo, Rome,seeR. Cannataet al., op. cit., ills 15, 55, 59, 60, whichseemto havebeen
consciouslyconnectedwith Romancandelabraof the S. Costanzatype; likewise the candelabrum-like legs of
Riccio'sDellaTorretomb. Seealsoaboven. I9. Themotifappearson top of thefacadeof S. Aurea,Ostia.
55 The sediliin PalazzoSS. Apostoliwere kindlypointedout to us by DeborahBrown;as alreadymentioned
abovep. 4, singlebulbsupportsarefoundin eventheearliestroomsof thePalazzoDucale,Urbino.
56 For the Pinturicchiofrescoes,see R. Cannatiet al., op. cit., p. 79. These benchsediliare similarto those
supportedupondoublebalustersin the Cappelladell'Assunta,SpoletoCathedral,of aboutthesamedate.
57 ForPinturicchio'sfresco,seeE. Carli,IIPinturicchio (1960), pp. 23 ff;it is possible,however,thatPinturicchio's
balustersaremerelydoublebalusterswhich,becauseof thelow viewpoint,arepartiallyobscuredby theprojecting
cornice.Nevertheless,thismayhavesuggestedthepossibilityof thedroppedbalusterbalustrade.ForGiovannida
Verona'sintarsia,see D. Zannandreis,Le VitedeiPittoriScultori edArchitetti Veronesi(1891),p. 64.
58 For the Renaissancetribunein the basilicaat Aquileia,see A. Venturi,Storiadell'ArteItaliana,8.2 (1924),
pp. 517 f. Dropped balusters,upon tall pedestals,also supportthe lanternsof the externalsacristiesof the
fifteenth-century modelfor thePaviaCathedral,seeA. Bruschi,op. cit., ill. 121.
59 The pulpitis datedby aninscription.
6o AlthoughWittkower,op. cit., p. 44, pointsout the droppedbalustersof the top storeyof the Cortile,he is
'unableto explainthisstrangefact';Wittkowernotesthataccordingto Vasarithe faqadewas begunby Bramante
butcontinuedafterhis deathby Raphael,followinga new design.Raphaeldoesnot usethedroppedbalusterin any
other project,and, while the doublebalustersof the thirdstoreymay be his, Sangallo'sinterventionis thus a
possibility,althoughthebalustersalsoresemblethedroppedbalustersof thePaviaCathedralmodel(Bramante?),
see aboven. 58.
61 Sangallo'sdrawingis reproducedin F. Grimaldi,Loreto,Basilica,SantaCasa(1975), ill. 287; a numberof

documentsfor the balusterssurvive,seebelow n. 73.
62 For the SangalloModel, see H. Millon and C. Smyth, 'Michelangeloand St Peter's:Observationson the
Interiorof the Apses,a Modelof theApseVaultandRelatedDrawings.',in R'imischesJahrbuchfiir Kunstgeschichte,
16(1976),pp. 137ff. Antonioemploysthedroppedbalusterforbalustrades in anotherproject,seeG. Giovannoni,
AntoniodaSangalloil Giovane(I959),II,ill. I99 (Uffizi,Dis. Arch. 178).
The droppedbaluster-balustrade, however, does not seem to have becomeparticularlypopularin Rome or
elsewhereuntil c. 155o,see, for example,the illustrationsin C. L. Frommel,DerR'mischePalastbau (1973).The
gardenloggia balustradeof Giulio Romano'sPalazzodel Te, mentionedby Wittkower,op. cit., n. 10, is not
shown on the Strada-Andreasi drawingandis probablya lateraddition.Accordingto ProfessorAmedeoBelluzzi
(oralcommunication),thedroppedbalustersin thevaultof thePalazzodelT6grottowereprobablyinstalledin the
late sixteenthcentury.At S. BenedettoPo, the facadebalustradeis probablypartof the seventeenth-century
modification,see P. Piva and G. Pavesi, 'GiulioRomanoe la ChiesaAbbazialedi Polirone',in Studisu Giulio
Romano(1975), PP. 53 ff. The balustradein the courtyardof Sansovino'sVilla Garzoni,unfortunately,is
not dated.
63 This view, first expressedby Wittkower,op. cit., p. 42, has recently been modified by P.Joannides,
'Michelangelo,FilippinoLippiandtheHalfBaluster',in TheBurlington Magazine,122 (1981),pp. 153f;Joannides
notesMichelangelo'searlieruseof the'halfbaluster'in theMediciChapelwhichhe relatesto thepairedbulbsin the
friezeof the architecturalbackgroundto FilippinoLippi'sStPhilipRevealingtheDemon in the StrozziChapelof
S. MariaNovella, Florence(c.15oo).Michelangelo'sbulbs,however, areupside-down,whereasFilippino'sare
not, and are probablyrelatedto similarmotifs in the friezeof the Templeof AntoninusandFaustina,Rome.
Althoughtheremaybe someconnectionbetweenthemotifsin theMediciandStrozzichapels- botharepaired,it
might be pointedout thatbotharerelatedto Donatello'spairedurnsin the friezeof one of the S. Lorenzopulpits,
see also aboven. 16. Moreover,Michelangelohadalreadyusedthe single-bulbformas a candlestickheld by his
Angel for the Arca di S. Domenico, Bologna (c.1494). It is certain,however, that neitherMichelangelonor
FilippinoLippiinventedthe droppedbaluster.Forfurtherdiscussionof theMediciChapel,see below p. 15.
64 Wittkower,op. cit., discussestheshapeof bothdroppedanddoublebalusters.
65 One possiblereasonfor theintroductionof thistypeis discussedbelow pp. 15-I6.
66 SeeN. TommasoandB. Bellini,DizionariodellaLinguaItaliana(I929),I, p. 841,andTheShorter OxfordEnglish
Dictionary (I959),I, p. 141.FortheEnglishderivativebanister, see ibid., p. 143.
the
67 Pliny Elder, Natural ed.
History, Rackham and Jones(1938- ), 23, 60 (see also 13, 34 and23, 57 ff.). The
word is also usedby, amongothers,Columella(Io, 297), Dioscorides(I, 154)andGalen(see OperaOmnia(ed.
C. Kiihn, 1821), xi, 847).
68 See Piero de' Crescenzi, TrattatodellaAgricoltura(ed. 1805), bk. 2, ch. 9 (vol. I, p. 89) for balaustra,and bk. 5,
ch. 3 (vol. ii, p. 67) for balausta.In medical books, the word balaustiumwas in use until as late as the seventeenth
century, see e.g.J. Gerardand T.Johnson, The HerbalofGeneralHistoryofPlants (1633), p. 1451.
69 See M. V. Bandirali, 'Documenti per Benedetto FerriniIngegnere Ducale Sforzesco (1453-79), Arte Lombarda,
60 (1981), 63, n. I 18; even if correctly transcribed, the meaning of the word is here in doubt. The tabernacleis to be
made for S. Maria del Monte outside Varese.
70 Francesco di Giorgio (ed. C. Maltese) op. cit., I, fol. 15 verso (pl. 26) and fol. I5 recto (pl. 25). For a brief
treatment of the dating of the MSS (before 1482-c. 1500oo) see Heydenreich and Lotz, op. cit., p. 358, n. 12.
71 Publishedin S. Bardazziet al., SantaMariadelleCarceri
a Prato(1978),p. 318.
72 Diego da Sagredo,Medidas delRomano(Toledo,1526), chapterentitled'DelaFormaciondelascolunasdichas
monstruosas, candeleros, y balaustres'. For Serlio, see Tuttele Opered'Architettura et Prospettivadi SebastianoSerlio
(ed. G. D. Scamozzi 1619), IV, 177 recto; also vii, io8 and 214.
73 For the Medici Tombs, see L. B. Ciulich and P. Barocchi, Ricordidi Michelangelo(1970), p. I20; in another
document of the same date, the term 'mezzi balausctri'is used, ibid., p. 116. For the Santa Casa, see K. Weil-Garris,
Santa Casa di Loreto(1977); there is more than one spelling: balautsti(document 791), balaustrj(document 813),
balaustj(document 816), balausti(document 828).
74 See, for example, G. Vasari (ed. Bettarini and Barocchi), op. cit., 1mI,p. 210, p. 600 and Iv. I, p. 242.
75 It is difficult to draw further conclusions because there are so few references to balusters in published
documents: none, for example, in the documents published in C. L. Frommel, op. cit.
76 Filarete's Treatiseon Architecture(ed. J. R. Spencer, 1965); for example, ii, fol. 122 recto.
77 Ibid., 11,fol. 120 recto, fol. 122 recto; the choir seems to be based upon the octagonal choir once in Florence
Cathedral, see above p. 4; the spiral decoration of the bulbs is comparable to the balusters of the Palazzo Gondi
staircase, see above p. 6.
78 Francesco di Giorgio (ed. C. Maltese) op. cit., I, fol. 15 verso (pl. 26): 'Ancho le cholonne a balaghusti e
chandelierile qualichongientilezzadi magisteromoltehornatefero'.
79 For example, ibid., I, fol. 7I verso (pl. 130). Neither are there any balustradesas opposed to colonnette railings
in Francesco's painting and sculpture.
RENAISSANCE BALUSTERS AND THE ANTIQUE 21
80 Ibid., I, fol. 23 recto (pl.41) and fol. 59 recto (pl. Io9);comparedwith the 'cholonna a balausti',the baluster-
shapedgun might be saidto be more canonical.Althoughnot a balustrade,a row of ornamentalcolumnswith
bulgingbasesis depictedabovetheperistyleof a roundtemple,ibid., I, fol. 84 recto(pl. 155).
81 Sagredoloc. cit.: 'con buxetasy vasosantiguos,diversamenteformados:cubiertosy vestidosde follageria:y
otraslaboresfantasticas:puestosuno sobreotro:y encimade todos, assientanel balaustre:el quales no menos
ataviado:el vientrede sus hojasantiguas:y el cuellodesusestrias,o de otraslaboresque a propositole vengan';
translationtakenfromLlewellyn(op. cit., p. 296),who discussesSagredo'schapterin detail.
82 Seethe passagequotedimmediatelybelow.
83 Sagredo,loc. cit.: 'Ay otros balaustres. . . compuestosde dos baricefalasyguales,enel largo, enel gruesso,
enlasmolduras,yen todaslasotraslabores:pegadosporlos assientos.Estegenerode balaustresson masdelgados,
massubtiles,maslargosde cuello,y masestirado...'; translationfromLlewellyn,op. cit., p. 296.
84 Vitruvius,On Architecture (ed. F. Granger,1931), bk. 3, ch. 3 (p. 172);the translationis ours. There is,
however, some variationin the texts of Vitruvius availableto Renaissancetheorists.Althoughall Renaissance
editions agree that this passagebegins with the words 'et ipsarumaediumspeciessunt', the main points of
differenceareasfollows:'varicae'appearsas'barycae','barycephalae' is sometimesomitted(seen. Io6below),and
in some editionsa numberof furtherwordsareaddedto Vitruvius'slist.
85 C. Cesariano,Di L. Vitruvio PollionedeArchitettura (1521),fol. 54verso;I. MartinandJ. Goujon,Architecture ou
Art de Bien Bastirde Marc VitruvePollionAutheurRomainAntique(1547), p. 33; D. Barbaro,I Dieci Libri
dell'ArchitetturadiM. VitruvioTradutti et Commentati (1556),p. 76.
86 As pointedout by Llewellyn,op. cit., p. 295, n. 12, in thefifteenthcenturytheorderswereusuallyreferredto
simplyas Doric, Ionicor Corinthiancolumns. However,in Francescodi Giorgio'streatise,thegenericwordspezie
is used(Francescodi Giorgio,ed. C. Maltese,II, 376:'Ciascunadelledittetrespezie[di colonne]. . .'). Thisword
closelyresemblesVitruvius'sword species.Moreover,althoughCalvo'ssecondtranslationof Vitruvius(c.1515)
reads'la speziedi questitemplison baryce,baricephale,cioe bassee large',a marginalnote 'ordinedel tempio
areostylo'suggeststhatCalvomayhaveat leastthoughtVitruvius'spassageto be ambiguous;see V. Fontanaand
P. Morachiello,Vitruvio e Raffaello(1975),p. 483.
87 FraGiocondo,M. Vitruviusper Iocondum SolitoCastigatior Factus,. . . (15I1), p. 26 recto.Forfurtherdiscussion
of why FraGiocondomighthavecalledthistypeof columna 'barycephala', see below p. 14.
88 Sagredo,loc. cit.;see alsoLlewellyn,op. cit., p. 294, n. 4.
89 SagredoalmostcertainlyvisitedItalybetween1517and1526;for furtherdetails,see N. Llewellyn,'Diego da
Sagredo'sMedidasdel Romanoandthe VitruvianTradition'(unpublished M.Phil. dissertationsubmittedto the
Universityof London,1975)pp. 6 ff.
90oPhilander,In DecemLibrosM. VitruviiPollionisde Architectura Annotationes (Rome, 1544), pp. 66 f: 'Eam
speciemvocatBarycam,Barycephalamque. Verbishis quidsignificarivellet,videturmihiexpressisse,cuminquit
(humiles lataeque.)Nam quod pleriqueomnes ad columnarumformam retulerunt,quas Balustrias,quasi
Balaustiasvocant(credoa similatudincflorismalipunici)no satisvidisseexistimo,vel ipso auctoreVitru.qui ait,
in Areostylis,aediumspeciesesseBarycas,Barycephalasque'.
91 Philander,M. VitruviiPollionisdeArchitectura LibriX. . . (Lyons, 1552),p. 91: 'Balaustiorumvero more in
imum scapumorbiculatecrescentes,sursumversus in summum caput resupinateexpansumimminuuntur'.
Whetherthecolumnsarethoughtto resemblebalusters(balustriae) or pomegranate flowers(balaustiae), is not clear,
sincein thephrase'balaustiorum veromore'a differentword (balaustius/balaustium) is introduced.The complete
text of Philander'slongercommentaryis published,althoughnot analysed,by Heydenreich,op. cit., p. 125.
92 Ibid.:asin n. 90oabove,and:'Inpodiisdeformantur columellaevelutiduarumobversarumbalustriarum, liceat
enim mihihoc nominetantisperuti, dummeliusinveniatur'.
93 Sagredo,loc. cit.; CesarianoandBarbaroproducesimilarderivations.
94 G. H. Rivius, Vitruvius Teutsch (1548,republisheded. E. Forssman1973)PP. 113f.
95 Sagredo,loc. cit.
96 Serlio, op. cit., 4, p. 177 recto. AlthoughSerliouses the word 'parapetto',the illustrationshows it to be a
balustrade.
97 G. ViolaZanini,DellaArchitettura (1629),p. 360:'11pulvinodi questocapitello,come si e mostratocosi e da
farsi,che appaiaquasi1 modo balaustrato,non perbs'intenderl,che habbia del balaustroperesserquello, come
cosadura,e fattasenzaragione,se benalcunil'hannofatto,e intagliato' fogliedi rovere,non essendocappaciche
questovocabuloPulvinosignificacoscino,chee cosamollee tenera,e questoavvienedallalor pocascienza'.For
Renaissancearchitectslike BiagioRossetti,the Ionicpulvinis indeedverylike the doublebaluster.
98 Sagredo,loc. cit.; Philander(1544and1552)loc. cit.
99 ApartfromtheMarketof Trajan,C. Huelsen,IILibrodiGiulianodaSangalloCodiceVaticano Barberiniano Latino
4424(1910),fol. 5 verso,GiulianodrawstheTempleof PortumnusatPorto,fol. 37recto,andtheTempleof Vesta
at Tivoli, fol. 42 recto, with attachedbalustrades; the ruinousconditionof the buildingsdepictedmight suggest
thatGiulianothoughthis drawingsto be genuinepartialreconstructions, althoughtherearesuchpurelyfanciful
detailsas the circularstepplatformin frontof Trajan'sMarket.
Ioo The drawings are in a copy of Sulpitius's edition of Vitruvius (1486), conserved in the Biblioteca Corsiniana,
(photographs in the Conway Library, Courtauld Institute of Art).
101 Fra Giocondo, op. cit., p. 28 recto. The round temple in Raphael's Sacrifice at Lystra tapestry cartoon is
crowned with a balustrade, and there is an ancient building with a balustrade in Peruzzi's Presentation of Mary in
S. Maria della Pace, Rome.
102 See, for example, E. Mandowsky and C. Mitchell, PirroLigorio'sRomanAntiquities(1963), ills 25, 26. Both
Antonio da Sangallo and Ligorio make frequent use of the balustradein their modernbuildings.
103 A. Palladio, I QuattroLibridell'Architettura (1570), 11,31 and 42. There are, however, schematic balustrades
depicted on the imagined porticoes attached to the Basilica of Maxentius (iv, 13) and the Temple of Venus and
Rome (Iv, 37 f).
104 D. Barbaro, op. cit., pp. 85 and 87, 136, 152 and 153, 169. A circular temple with roof-top balustrade also
appears in the preliminary plate, although this was not designed by Palladio.
105 D. Barbaro, op. cit., p. 84. In the Latin version of the Barbaro Vitruviuspublished in 1567, the phrase 'con
colonellefattia Balaustri'is translatedas 'columelliset balaustiis'.
Io6 Not all Renaissance editions of Vitruvius even include the word barycephalaein the text; in Sulpitius's,
Cesariano's and Barbaro's it is omitted although Cesariano and Barbaro discuss it in their commentaries. With
regard to the two Calvo translations, it is included in the second but omitted in the first although Calvo adds it as a
marginal annotation (Fontana and Morachiello, op. cit., pp. 152 and 483). As Philander notes, in some texts the
word urniles(perhaps a corruption of humiles)occurs along with barycephalae; the connection between barycephala
and the baluster could have been strengthened if urniles,which resembles the word urnula,was thought to mean
'urn' since the baluster and the urn were often regarded as interchangeble ornaments.
107 Llewellyn, op. cit., (1977), p. 297; Sagredo, however, was published in Lisbon (I54I), in French in Paris
(1539) and in Flemish in Antwerp (1539).
Io8 C. Cesariano, op. cit., p. 58 verso: '. . . vestito di folie sia tanto constricto che facia una imbuitone tumida
como uno botone di rosa vel de uno papaverino scapo aut de uno pomo granato quando ha emisso il flore'; G. B.
Caporali, Architetturacon il suo Commentoet Figure Vetruvioin VolgarLingua Raportatoper G. B. Caporali(1536),
p. 84: '. . . di foglie vestito, gonfiato come un bottone o polzuolo di rosa o di papaverino scapo. O vero d'un pomo
granato quando ha fuore messo il fiore'.
Io9 The flowers, opening 3 and opening 73 (illustratedhere); the candelabra,opening 74. The sketchbook is now
in the Pierpont Morgan Collection, USA (photographs, the Conway Library of the Courtauld Institute of Art).
The candelabraare similar to one drawn by Leonardo, see C. Pedretti, LeonardoArchitetto(1978), ill. 176.
I 0 The balusters of the balustrade in the Bode Museum, Berlin, illustrated by Heydenreich, op. cit., ill. 14, are
ornamented with both simple leaves or petals and stamen-like motifs which give them an appearancevery like a
pomegranate flower.
III As suggested by Llewellyn, p. 298, who cites some interesting sixteenth-century representations of the
Temple with prominent balustrades. The Biblical references are: I Kings 7. 15-22; I Kings 7. 41-42; II Kings 25.
16-17; II Chronicles 3. 15-17; II Chronicles 4. 12-13; Jeremiah 52. 20-23.
112 See J. Onians, 'Style and Decorum in Sixteenth Century Italian Architecture' (unpublished Ph.D. thesis
submitted to the University of London, 1968), pp. 205 ff, and T. Magnusson, Studies in Roman Quattrocento
Architecture (1958), pp. 351-62 and 55-214.
I 13 The illustration of the Temple Gate in Luca Pacioli's De Divina Proportione(i509), mentioned by Llewellyn,
op. cit., p. 298 n.29, is of particularinterest here since double balusters stand directly on top of capitals.
114 See above p. 8 and below p. 15.
S15 Also made explicit by Calvo, see above n. 86. Like Heydenreich, op. cit., p. 124, according to J. B. Bury,
'The Stylistic Term Plateresque' in the Journal of the Warburgand CourtauldInstitutes,39 (1976), 215 n. 56, Fra
Giocondo took the word barycephalato mean the baluster columns; these columns, however, are quite different
from the real balusters in Fra Giocondo's stylobata plate, see above p. 12.
116 In the church of S. Maria della Croce, Crema, however, this type of column is used as a large scale order.
Examples of the column are even found in the late sixteenth century, for instance, inside Palazzo del Banco di
Chiavari, Genoa, see F. Poleggi, StradaNuova unaLottizzazione del Cinquecentoa Genova (I968), ill. 68.
117 There are similarly used four-faceted balusters in the high-level courtyard loggia of Palazzo Giusti, Vicenza.
I 18 The sedile, which is in the Duchess's apartment, is thought by P. Rotondi, op. cit., p. 238, to date from the
'Laurana'phase of the Palazzo Ducale (c. 1470). In shape, the supports resemble Francesco di Giorgio's fireplace
supports, see above n. 50.
II9 Philander, op. cit. (1552): 'Quod genus visitur Senis Ethrurum, in officina lapicaedina, id est, ubi ad
praecipuae aedis structuram caeduntur et quadrantursaxa'.
I20 A preparatory drawing for the choirstalls by II Riccio, with conventional double balusters as alternatives,
exists in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Siena. It is possible that the colonnettes are also related to Roman
furniture legs: Peruzzi draws a sarcophagus with couch legs of the same shape, see C. L. Frommel, Baldassare
Peruzzi als MalerundZeichner(1968), ill. 13a.
RENAISSANCEBALUSTERSAND THEANTIQUE 23
121 Fra Giocondo, op. cit., p. 33 recto. In the second edition (1513) the mistake is rectified.
122 G. B. Caporali, op. cit., p. 77 verso.
123 M. de Urrea, M. VitruvioPollion De Architectura(1582), p. 39 verso.
124 Formerly in S. TrinitY.
125 See above n. 120.
126 Apparently entire thrones with legs of this shape were originally intended at this level, see P.Joannides,
'Michelangelo's Medici Chapel: Some New Suggestions', in The BurlingtonMagazine, 114 (1972), 548 ff.
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Renaissance Balusters and the Antique

Balusters, in general, are defined as the distinctive supports of balustrades(P1. Ia).

understandingof Renaissanceideas about the baluster.In particular,actualand

support.Urns or vases,themselvesresemblingthe shapeof the baluster,were often

Whether one should describeearly applicationsof the baluster-likemotif as 'balus-

of GiulianodaSangallo'spredilectionfor the balustrade

connectingtorusof the doublebalusterby a cubic,or cuboid,block,an earlyexample

Palladioareimportantforthislatetaste;butalthoughin RomeMichelangelo's balusters,

BeforediscussinganyRenaissance ideasaboutthebaluster,it is firstnecessary to clarify

balusterform.Thesedrawingsdo not actuallydepictanybalustrades, the manyparapet

... growingroundlyin thelowermost partof thestemwhichrisestowards thehighesthead,

In the sixteenthcentury,therefore,thereappearsto havebeenmuchdiscussionabout

earlyas the fourteenthcentury.Althoughthe word balaustro appearsto be etymologically

Francesco di Giorgiomaybe referring to thebulbsof hisunusualcolumnshaftswithhis

of S. MariadelleGrazie,and this very interchangeability may have suggestedto later

alludingto all'antica-typefurniturelegs of the sameshape.125 A similarallusionis probably

It is not possibleto thankall thosewho havecontributedso muchto this articlealthoughthe authors

I Renaissanceexampleswherethe colonnetteis usedfor a railingarethe Loggiadel Consiglio,Verona(c.1480),

61 Sangallo'sdrawingis reproducedin F. Grimaldi,Loreto,Basilica,SantaCasa(1975), ill. 287; a numberof

P1.3a AltartableoftheCappellaCardini,S. Francesco,

P1.4a Falconetto'sVilladeiVescovi,Luvigliano. Detailofbalustrade.

P1.Sa DrawingfromFrancesco diGiorgio's onarchitecture.

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