Greek Revival architecture reproduced the forms of ancient Greek temples in new buildings from the mid 18th century, flourishing especially in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and continuing into the 1860s in some places. It took hold most strongly in Britain, Germany, the United States and Canada, and in Greece itself after its independence in 1821, while remaining far less popular in France and southern Europe. The style used the Doric and Ionic orders with thick fluted columns, pediments carrying sculpture and temple front facades, and was embraced as an expression of classical liberalism and civic virtue in preference to the ornament of French and Italian design of the period. The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the British Museum in London, the Second Bank of the United States in Philadelphia and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington are among its landmark examples.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Influenced By
A deliberate 18th and 19th century revival of Greek temple forms and orders, spurred by renewed study of Athens and antiquarian publication of Greek ruins.
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