COMPOSITE ORDER
Composite (from the Latin conpositus: to put together). Vitruvius did not recognize the Composite order, but Sebastiano Serlio diffidently proposed its inclusion in 1537 as "almost a fifth style, a mixture of the said 'pure ones," and it has since been universally accepted. Serlio argued that since the Greek columns had represented men (Doric), women (Ionic), and virgins (Corinthian), and since Rome had triumphed over the rest of the known world, it could rightly create its own order as a combination of the classic orders.
Taking the width of the column at its base as one unit, the Composite column is ten units high, including capital and base. The capital is one unit high, the base half a unit. Though it is taller and more slender than the Corinthian column, its capital is not easily distinguished from its Greek cousin, except by the larger volutes.
These are some architectural vocabulary knowledge cards by Gwyn Headley.
