Andrea Palladio: His life and legacy

Andrea di Pietro della Gondola was discovered at about the age of 30, by poet and patron, Giangiorgo Trissino, who took his protege to Rome. There the young stonecutter took the name Palladio, and soon became hugely popular with local patrons, labourers, craftsmen and Venetian nobility. Portrait of Andrea Palladio, c. 1570–75, by Doménikos Theotokópoulos, known as El Greco (1541–1614). Oil on canvas, 116 x 98 cm Photograph: Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen/Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen

Aerial view of Palladio's Villa Rotonda, Vicenza, Italy. Palladio's working life was spent in the relatively confined landscape between his birthplace, Padua, and the scene of some his greatest triumphs, Venice. Photograph: Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Corbis

Palladio showed that it was possible to shape a form of architecture that seemed almost timeless. Informed by mathematical logic, it was highly practical, rich in ideas and lacked any over-elaborate decoration. Here, a model of the Villa Capra, known as the Villa Rotonda, 1970 is shown in lime and beech wood with porcelain biscuit details. 65.5 x 140 x 140 cm, Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio, Vicenza Photograph: Alberto Carolo/Royal Academy

Model of the Church of the Redentore, 1972. Wood and plaster. 154 x 243.5 x 89 cm. Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio, Vicenza Photograph: Alberto Carolo/Royal Academy

Project for an alternative entrance to the Rialto Bridge, Pinacoteca Civica, Vicenza, after May 1566 and before 1570. Pen, ink and wash. 55.0 x 42.8 cm Photograph: Royal Academy/Royal Academy

Palladio has arguably become the most influential architect in history. Here, his legacy can be seen through Charles Cameron's design of the Pavlovsk Palace in golden yellow and white, reminiscent of Palladio's most famous villas View of Pavlovsk, c. 1796, by Pervaleriano Angelini, Bergamo Photograph: Luca Lucchetti/Royal Academy

Stage of the Teatro Olimpico, 1579-1584, Vicenza, Italy: Palladio’s last commission was to build a theatre in Vicenza for the performance of classical dramas. The design of the Teatro Olimpico was based on the reconstruction of the ancient Roman theatre at Orange Photograph: Alfredo Dagli Orti/Corbis

The Church of San Georgio Maggiore, by Giovanni Antonio Canal (known as Canaletto) Photograph: Royal Academy/Royal Academy

After Palladio's death in 1580, British architects began to create buildings - from modest working-class terraces to magisterial country houses - that owe the essentials of their design and architectural spirit to the one-time Paduan stonecutter Photograph: Sarah Lee/Guardian

Young British architects, who came to be known as Palladians, were drawn to the crystal-clear design, free of the pomp and lavish baroque that preceded Palladio Photograph: Sarah Lee/Guardian

Example of Palladian architecture on Great James Street in Bloomsbury. The beautifully proportioned terrace reveals Palladio's influence Photograph: Sarah Lee/Guardian

Susanna and the Elders, by Paolo Veronese, c. 1585–88. Oil on canvas. 140 x 280 cm Photograph: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna