The Ionic Order

Wendel Dietterlin worked as an architekturmaler, decorating the ceilings, walls, and façades of people's homes. In his heart, however, he was an architect. Proof is his remarkable book Architectura. Its absurdist and at times nightmarish inventions make it a wonder even today. Presented in the form of a pattern book, Dietterlin's opus contains 203 plates organized around the five classical orders of architecture. These two prints are elaborations on the Corinthian (left) and Ionic (right).