Monumental buildings, 1909-1912

The Works > Cultural Roots > Monumental buildings, 1909-1912

Monumental buildings, 1909-1912

There is in the Monumental buildings series of 1909 to 1912 an evident reworking by Sant’Elia of the stylistic repertoire of the architects of the Wagnerschule, with particular regard to the work of Emil Hoppe, Marcel Kammerer and Otto Shöntal.
The monumental effect is achieved by the use of the worm’s eye view of the structures, the choice of daring diagonal perspectives and the recurrent appearance of very steep flights of steps before the buildings. These spectacular expedients bestow a real dynamism upon the compositions that itself powerfully impacts on the spectator emotionally. Taking his cue from Emil Hoppe, Sant’Elia draws only a part of the building up to the edges of the sheet which has the effect of forcing the imagination to go beyond the limits of the page while conveying a sense of the impossibility of embracing the whole project in a single view, as if faced by an immeasurable grand complex.

Edificio monumentale con torri