Stripped Classicism

For the Art Deco style sometimes called “stripped classical”, see Greco Deco.

The German Imperial Embassy (designed 1911–12) on Saint Isaac's Square in Saint Petersburg is considered the key template for Stripped Classicism. It was stripped still further when the large statues originally placed on the plinth on the roof were removed during World War I
Victoria Palace, Bucharest, Romania, 1937–1944, by Duiliu Marcu

Stripped Classicism (or "Starved Classicism" or "Grecian Moderne")[1] is primarily a 20th-century classicist architectural style stripped of most or all ornamentation, frequently employed by governments while designing official buildings. It was adopted by both totalitarian and democratic regimes.[A] The style embraces a "simplified but recognizable" classicism in its overall massing and scale while eliminating traditional decorative detailing.[3][4][5][6] The orders of architecture are only hinted at or are indirectly implicated in the form and structure.[B]

Despite its etymological similarity, Stripped Classicism is sometimes distinguished from "Starved Classicism", the latter "displaying little feeling for rules, proportions, details, and finesse, and lacking all verve and élan".[5][7] At other times the terms "stripped" and "starved" are used interchangeably.[8][9]

Stripped Classicism was a materialistic manifestation of 'political' modernism. Recent historiography has explicitly linked this architectural style – and its relationship with modernist thinking – to political projects arising in the 1920–1930s, which utilised artistic dexterity to articulate – in built form – a powerful political ethos orientated towards the future.[10]

Other writers have noted the need to read the impact of avant-garde movements such as the Italian Futurists, who extolled the innumerable possibilities of the modern world, on this unique style (and the futurism it espoused).[11] It was popularised by the French-born Paul Philippe Cret, among others, and employed in Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the Soviet Union and New Deal America.

  1. ^ Willingham, William F. (Spring 2013). "Architecture of the Oregon State Capitol". Oregon Historical Quarterly. 114 (1). Oregon Historical Society: 94–107. doi:10.5403/oregonhistq.114.1.0094. JSTOR 10.5403/oregonhistq.114.1.0094. S2CID 164151091. Jstor (subscription required)
  2. ^ Bryant 2011.
  3. ^ Sennott, Stephen, ed. (2004). Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century Architecture. New York: Fitzroy Dearborn. p. 269. ISBN 1579582435.
  4. ^ "Stripped Classical 1900-1945". Essential Architecture. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Curl was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Post War Stripped Classical". Archipaedia-archive. Archipaedia world architecture. November 23, 2009. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  7. ^ Cf, Curl, James Stevens (2000). "Starved Classicism". A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  8. ^ "Return To Classicism". chicagotribune.com. June 9, 1985. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  9. ^ "Frist Center for the Arts, former US Post Office in Nashville". wordpress.com. October 4, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  10. ^ Patterson, Samuel, "'Problem-Solvers': The Modernist Ethos Behind Architecture in Stalinist Russia and New Deal America"[1], 2019.
  11. ^ Patterson,"'Problem-Solvers'"[2], 2019.


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