This sumptuous book presents 541 beautiful full-color illustrations of a distinctive architectural style that enlivened the cities and countryside of Europe in the Victorian era. Widely considered the book on brickwork; and unavailable elsewhere; it documents the ways in which that style incorporated imaginative brickwork and terra-cotta appliqués into its bold aesthetic.Reprinted from a rare portfolio of architectural drawings by the well-known nineteenth-century French architect and illustrator Pierre Chabat; the large-format illustrations depict many actual buildings of the 1870s and 1880s; among them villas; town houses; churches; railroad stations; restaurants; and schools. Most of the structures; ranging in inspiration from every type of Victorian style to very functional designs; are shown in front and side elevations; floor plans; and detailed sections. Illustrations of individual tile designs and the exterior uses of brick and tile in decorative patterns are included as well.Among the buildings shown are town houses in Paris; row houses in Brussels; a two-family home in Rotterdam; and the Palais des Beaux-Arts built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris. The architects and builders represented include such well-known figures as Gabriel Davioud; Auguste-Joseph Magne; and the illustrious Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel.Complete with new English captions and a new introduction; plus alphabetical lists of architects; builders; decorators; and artists represented in the book; this magnificent work offers professionals; students; and enthusiasts of architecture and its history a rare contemporary visual record of a building style now recognized as one of the supreme achievements of the Victorian era. The exceptionally handsome plates may be removed for mounting; they are also a valuable source of full-color copyright-free designs for artists.
#2238353 in eBooks 2012-08-02 2012-08-02File Name: B00A73B0M2
Review
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating bookBy L. RobinsonI read this book in college and loved and bought it again so that I could use parts in a high school class Im teaching...15 of 15 people found the following review helpful. An essay on sexuality and ethnography with a literary bentBy A CustomerAccording to Torgovnick; the modern quest for ecstasy began during the upheavals of World War I; with a dread that Western civilization had taken the demonic turn. She tells the stories of culture icons such as Carl Jung; Isak Dinesen; D. H. Lawrence; and Georgia OKeeffe as they discovered-whether with horror or relish-the primitive as a medium for soul-searching and personal change. Such persons have become role models; rousing people today who ache to experience what they sense to be humanitys primary meaningful link to the universe. It is this yearning; the desire to transcend the limitations of the body and western culture; as Torgovoick contends; that motivates an astonishing variety of contemporary practices stimulated by the primitive-such as genital piercing; New Age rituals ; and the mens movement.Torgovnick explores the psychology of our profound attraction to cultures we call "primitive." Whether located in Africa; the South Pacific; or the American Southwest; the primitive has become synonymous in the Western imagination with a range of emotions and experiences thought to be lost in modern life: reverence for the land and for nature; strong communal bonds; sexual plenitude; and; perhaps most intriguing; an ecstatic sense of connection to the universe and the life force. Torgovoick investigates the numerous ways we have turned toward the primitive out of spiritual hunger for such deeply human experiences-a hunger that could once be satisfied within the Wests own mystical traditions but that often no longer can be.Written in a flowing; page-turning style. this tour of early twentieth century infatuation with the primitive utilizes many sources to offer a cultural history that is entertaining despite its lack of theoretical insight into our cultural dilemmas. The volume consists of a laundry list of aspects of our culture. Religion; art; psychology; and literature are exploited for their insight into our ideas of spirituality and gender; and; ultimately; into the hidden but vital parts of ourselves.