ABSTRACT
Kahn was quite explicit in explaining what he meant by monumentality: Monumentality is enigmatic. Kahn's first contribution to the topic in 1944 was reiterated in 1950 in the first issue of Perspecta, founded and edited by none other than George Howe. The approach taken by the teachers at Yale was of crucial importance both for the cultural climate that was being created, and also for the influence it had on Kahn. In fact, many later comments by Kahn seem to echo Wittkower's analysis of Palladio, such as the idea of a synergy between spatial proportions and music. Kahn's thoughts concerning the revolutionary rediscovery of wonder seem to be glorifying the state of affairs at the time, yet sometimes appear to hide deeper fears and contradictions that the crisis is accentuating: It is incredible to think of light as white and shadow as black.
