ABSTRACT

The screen had greatest presence during Neoclassicism. At that time in Germany, Greek architecture came to be regarded as an exemplar–a 'perfected system'. Few Germans personally voyaged to the Greek mainland, but 'the holy terror of Greece,' in Goethe's memorable phrase, was nonetheless available more directly via Italy's Paestum. The chapter explores what Greek architecture may provide in precursors, before moving on to Italy and then into German-speaking Europe itself. Lengthy columnar facades of the Western tradition derive ultimately from Greek stoa models. Italian Renaissance stoa-like colonnades also point toward the screen. The Greek and Italian precursors underscore how none of the components originated in German-speaking Europe nor were first placed into interaction there. The painting shows peripheral oriels that bracket regular rows of 13 austere punches along a smooth wall. The oriels recall the Ottheinrichsbau as at Coburg, they are unquestionably integral, not expeditiously incorporated.