Synopses & Reviews
Andrea Palladio (15081580), one of the most famous architects of all time, published two enormously popular guides to the churches and antiquities of Rome in 1554. Striving to be both scholarly and popular, Palladio invited his Renaissance readers to discover the charm of Romes ancient and medieval wonders, and to follow pilgrimage routes leading from one church to the next. He also described ancient Roman rituals of birth, marriage, and death. Here translated into English and joined in a single volume for the first time, Palladios guidebooks allow modern visitors to enjoy Rome exactly as their predecessors did 450 years ago.Like the originals, this new edition is pocket-sized and therefore easily read on site. Enhanced with illustrations and commentary, the book also includes the first full English translation of Raphaels famous letter to Pope Leo X on the monuments of ancient Rome. For architectural historians, tourists, and armchair travelers, this book offers fresh and surprising insights into the antiquarian and ecclesiastical preoccupations of one of the greatest of the Renaissance architectural masters.
Review
Shortlisted for the William M. B. Berger Prize for British Art History, as given by the Berger Collection Educational Trust and The British Art Journal
Review
Shortlisted for the 2013 Historians of British Art Book Prize in the Pre-1800 category, given by the Historians of British Art.
Review
Shortlisted for the 2013 Art Book Prize administered by the Authors' Club. 2013 Historians of British Art Short List in the Pre-1800 category - Historians of British Art
Synopsis
This engaging and beautifully illustrated book looks at the remarkable life and work of Sir John Vanbrugh (16641726)by turns businessman, soldier, playwright, and (despite lacking either training or qualifications) the architect of some of the most important country houses of his era. Architectural historian Vaughan Hart examines Vanbrughs surviving, destroyed, and unrealized buildingsamong them Castle Howard and Blenheim Palaceoutlining the contemporary political and social events that influenced their design and showing how these strikingly original buildings can be interpreted through reference to classical mythology, Renaissance fortifications, and medieval houses.
Synopsis
In this groundbreaking volume, conventional assumptions about one of Englands greatest and most influential classical architects are turned on their head. Traditionally, Inigo Jones has been looked upon as an isolated, even old-fashioned, figure in European architecture, still espousing the Palladian ideals of the 16th century when European contemporaries were turning to the Baroque. Yet an investigation of contemporary European architecture and of Joness buildings belies this impression, demonstrating that Jones must be viewed in the context of a European-wide, early-17th-century classicist movement.
Giles Worsley examines the full range of Joness architecture, from humble stable to royal palace. Worsley shows that key motifs that have been seen as proof of Joness Palladian loyaltiesparticularly the Serliana, the portico, and the centrally planned villahave a much older and deeper meaning as symbols of sovereignty. The book transforms our understanding not only of Inigo Jones but also of the architecture of his time.
Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.
Synopsis
The diverse works of architect Nicholas Hawksmoor (?16611736) ranged from small architectural details to ambitious urban plans, from new parish churches to work on the monument of his age, St. Pauls Cathedral. As a young man Hawksmoor assisted Christopher Wren and John Vanbrugh, emerging from these formidable apprenticeships to design some of the most vigorous and dramatic buildings in England. In this engaging book, architectural historian Vaughan Hart presents a fresh view of Hawksmoors built and planned work. In addition, Hart offers the first coherent explanation of Hawksmoors theory of architecture.
The book explains why Hawksmoors buildings look the way they do, what contemporary events influenced his work, and how such ancient buildings as Solomons temple and Mausoluss tomb inspired him. Underscoring the unique qualities of the architects accomplishments and aspirations, Hart establishes with new clarity Hawksmoors vital role in the development of English architecture.
Synopsis
Inigo Jones (1573-1652) is widely acknowledged to have been England's most important architect. As court designer to the Stuart kings James I and Charles I, he is credited with introducing the classical language of architecture to the country. He famously traveled to Italy and studied firsthand the buildings of the Italian masters, particularly admiring those by Andrea Palladio.and#160;
Much less well known is the profound influence of native British arts and crafts on Jones's architecture. Likewise, his hostility to the more opulent forms of Italian architecture he saw on his travels has largely gone unnoted. This book examines both of these overlooked issues. Vaughan Hart identifies well-established links between the classical column and the crown prior to Jones, in early Stuart masques, processions, heraldry, paintings, and poems. He goes on to discuss Jones's preference for a "masculine and unaffected" architecture, demonstrating that this plain style was consistent with the Puritan artistic sensitivities of Stuart England. For the first time, the work of Inigo Jones is understood in its national religious and political context.
About the Author
Vaughan Hart is professor of architecture, department of architecture and civil engineering, University of Bath. He is author of the award-winning Nicholas Hawksmoor: Rebuilding Ancient Wonders, published by Yale University Press. Peter Hicks is visiting research fellow, department of architecture and civil engineering, University of Bath, and historian, Fondation Napoléon, Paris. Hart and Hicks are the coeditors of Paper Palaces: The Rise of the Renaissance Architectural Treatise, and they are cotranslators of Sebastiano Serlio: On Architecture, Volumes 1 and 2, all published by Yale University Press.