The Visual Evolution of Vitruvius' De architectura (16th–18th centuries): Representing the Origins of Architecture

This study examines the visual construction of architecture’s foundational moment in illustrated editions of Vitruvius’s De architectura from the 16th to the 18th century. Through comparative analysis of twenty-two editions, it identifies three early iconographic models of the gathering around the fire and traces a later shift from a social conception of architectural origins towards one centred on building, construction, and codified architectural knowledge.