Palladio Made in Italy Hand Carved White Wash Mirror.

Tag on reverse reads "Feb.73, Palladio, M4000." Rectangular mirrored glass encases by a carved wood frame. Wood has a distressed painted surface, bead course fillet, and topped with pediment comprised of leaf, horn, and barrel motifs. Louis XVI style. 

Condition: Distressed paint throughout. Small scratches on mirrored glass. 

Overall Size: 49 x 26 in. 
Mirror Size: 31 x 21 1/2 in. 
Thickness: 3 in. 
#2275 . 

Andrea di Pietro della Gondola (1508-1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect born in Padua who was active in the Venetian Republic. Influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, he is widely considered to be the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture. While he designed churches and palaces, he was best known for country houses and villas. The 23 buildings and 24 villas of the Veneto in and around the city of Vicenza are listed by UNESCO as part of a World Heritage Site. After apprenticing as a stonecutter, he traveled extensively with the humanist poet and scholar Gian Giorgio Trissino, who introduced him to Roman literature, architecture, and philosophy, and bestowed upon him the moniker he became known for: “Palladio,” meaning “Wise One,” an allusion to the Greek goddess of wisdom Pallas Athene and a character in a play by Trissino. His designs, often comprised of a central block flanked by two wings with a main floor opening onto a loggia with a central staircase and a garden in the back, were ornamented with columns, and although all his works were confined to a small corner of Italy their style became popular around the world, particularly in France, Germany, Britain and America. His most famous work was "I Quattro Libri Dell’Architettura" (The Four Books of Architecture) published in 1570, which established the Orders of Architecture followed to this day: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Composite, and Tuscan. The books included studies of decorative styles, classical orders, and materials, illustrations of columns, classical reconstructions, bridges, and even plans for the reconstruction of ancient Roman temples. The books were translated into many languages, and went through many editions, still in print in the 21st Century. His style influenced Neoclassical works ranging from furniture to clothing to painting, with a brand simply called Palladio appearing in Italy some time after World War II, dedicated to hand carved mirrors, tables, wall ornaments, and more. His name has become shorthand for a classic, functional, elegant aesthetic whose effect on design is equivalent to Shakespeare’s effect on theater.

Distressed paint throughout. Small scratches on mirrored glass.