Andrea Palladio influenced the history of architecture more than any other single figure. His existing work includes the elegantly symmetrical villas of the Veneto, the great civic structures and palazzi of Vincenza, two magnificent churches of Venice, and the dynamic Renaissance theater, Teatro Olympico in Vincenza. In 1556 Palladio contributed drawings to the edition of Vitruvius prepared with commentary by Daniele Barbaro, his patron at Maser. In 1570 he published I Quattro Libri dell' Architettura, lavishly illustrated with wood engravings of his designs. The Four Books of Architecture became the major source book for generations of architects. The first book addressed the fundamentals of architecture and orders; the second reviewed domestic architecture; the third considered public and civic design and engineering; and the fourth dealt with religious architecture. Lyons Ltd. currently has a series of wood engravings that illustrate a rare 1646 edition of the Quattro Libri. These seventeenth century impressions are printed from the same wood blocks as Palladio's first edition and give us a clear impression of the medium through which Palladio himself disseminated his influential graphic images.
