Rustic Classicism: Origin and Evolution of the Tuscan Order - Review Questions

As you watch the video, you can browse by subject using the course outline and timestamps below. As you progress through the units, you can use the below optional (ungraded) questions to help assess your understanding of the material. Please note that these are not the summative assessment questions to be answered at the end of the course. You will also need to complete the summative assessment in order to earn course credit.

Review: Where does the general concept of the Tuscan order come from?

1. The Tuscan order is based on the architecture of the Etruscans, and is primarily modeled on surviving examples of their temples.

Incorrect. Etruscan temples were built out of wood, which means that unfortunately we do not have clear surviving precedents for the style.

2. The Tuscan order is based on the architecture of the Etruscans, and is primarily modeled on descriptions of their temples by Vitruvius.

Correct! Because Etruscan temples were built out of wood, we do not have clear surviving precedents and must rely on archaeological findings and the writings of Vitruvius. While Renaissance architects codified the Tuscan order, it is still modeled on this Etruscan idea.

3. The Tuscan order is completely the invention of Renaissance writers.

Incorrect. It is true that Renaissance writers had significant creative license in designing what we know as the Tuscan order today. However, they did not come up with a new order out of nowhere – it was based on antiquity.


27:51: Renaissance Adaptations of the Tuscan Order

Review: Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Vignola’s adaptation of the Tuscan order?

1. The use of a cyma recta in the bed molds beneath the corona.

Correct! Vignola used a cyma reversa in the bed molds, which visually supports the heaviness of the corona.

2. The column is seven diameters tall.

Incorrect. Vignola’s adaptation of the Tuscan order does follow Vignola’s prescription of seven diameters for the height of the Tuscan column.

3. The capital is slightly wider than the shaft at its base beneath the entasis.

Incorrect. Vignola did employ a slightly wider capital that did not align with the base of the column shaft. This decision goes against Vitruvius’s prescription for the Tuscan order and lends the order a more Doric character.


40:33: Differences between the Tuscan and Doric Orders

Review: Which of the following is NOT a trait that is sometimes shared between the Doric and Tuscan orders?

1. The Doric order and Tuscan order can use the same shape for the base.

Incorrect. The Doric order and Tuscan order cannot always be told apart by their base; the Tuscan base consists of the plinth, followed by a torus, and then frequently a small fillet and conge. Sometimes, but not always, the Doric also uses this base. What might be an instance where you could tell whether a building is using the Doric or Tuscan order based on the base?

2. The column shafts of both the Doric and Tuscan order can be smooth.

Incorrect. This can indeed be a shared trait of both orders. What might be an instance where you could tell whether a building is using the Doric or Tuscan order based on the column shaft?

3. The Doric and Tuscan order can both feature an ornate capital with foliage such as acanthus leaves.

Correct! This would be a trait seen in the Corinthian and Composite orders, and never in the Doric or Tuscan orders.


51:18: Examples of Precedents

Review: Which of the following is one of the earliest extant examples of the Tuscan order?

1. The Etruscan Temple of Capitoline Jupiter.

Incorrect. While the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter, along with other Etruscan temples, has been reconstructed by archaeologists as having used the Tuscan order, recall that there are no extant examples of the Tuscan order from antiquity.

2. Palladio’s Villa Saraceno.

Correct! Palladio was the first to apply the Tuscan order during the Renaissance, which he used for his villas in the Veneto region of Italy. This makes his work among the earliest examples of the Tuscan order that we are still able to see today.

3. Inigo Jones’ St. Paul’s Church at Covent Garden.

Incorrect. This church is indeed an important example of the use of the Tuscan order. However, it was completed in 1633, significantly later than the first extant use of the Tuscan order.