ClassicismÕs prehistory begins in the Middle East in the 4th Millennium; from this point developing Ð via oral resurgences Ð in Egypt, Crete, Greece, Rome and Europe where it dominates Ð if challenged by the Picturesque Ð until the middle of the 19thÊcentury, when it slides into becoming a costume from when a new way, called Modernism, emerges; the two competing over the next century in a sort of peace, based on the failure of theÊtabula rasaÊand on discovering the vitality of the city as a beneficent chaos.ÊÊThere follows a sort of free-for-all, the weak and the strong embraced in a sort of dance.Ê
Buried in this overview are passions of great intensity: LeonardoÕs ÒVitruvian manÓ, Bugs Bunny and DuchampÕs Òbottle-rackÓ.ÊÊ
Enough time has elapsed to review this development, to understand this long tradition, to see how this tradition re-emerges as Modernism within Post-Modern Classicism at the end of the 20thÊcentury.Ê
In the 21stÊcentury, all bets are off!