The Perfect House: A Journey with Renaissance Master Andrea Palladio: A Journey with the Renaissance Master Andrea Palladio - Softcover

Rybczynski, Witold

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0743205871 ISBN 13: 9780743205870

Publisher: Scribner, 2003

Synopsis

"Palladio is the Bible," Thomas Jefferson once said. "You should get it and stick to it." With his simple, gracious, perfectly proportioned villas, Andrea Palladio elevated the architecture of the private house into an art form during the late sixteenth century -- and his influence is still evident in the ample porches, columned porticoes, grand ceilings, and front-door pediments of America today. In The Perfect House, bestselling author Witold Rybczynski, whose previous books have transformed our understanding of domestic architecture, reveals how a handful of Palladio's houses in an obscure corner of the Venetian Republic should have made their presence felt hundreds of years later and halfway across the globe. More than just a study of one of history's seminal architectural figures, The Perfect House reflects Rybczynski's enormous admiration for his subject and provides a new way of looking at the special landscapes we call "home" in the modern world.

About this title

Product Description

Paperback. Pub Date: 2003 08 Pages: 320 in Publisher: Scribner The bestselling author of ONE GOOD TURN pursues his most appropriate subject yet: Andrea Palladio. the Shakespeare of Renaissance architects who gave us the word 'Palladian' but about whom little is known. A journey along the enta River in northeastern Italy. just a short distance from Venice. reveals the origin of the architecture of the private house. an art first practiced by Andrea Palladio. Until Palladio began designing simple. gorgeous. perfectly proportioned villas . architectural genius was reserved for temples and palaces. Palladio not only designed and built. he wrote. His 1570 architectural treatise was read and studied by great thinkers as diverse as Thomas Jeffferson and Inigo Jones. and it proved to be critical to the design of Monticello and the White House. More than just a study of one of histor...

Review

Ross King author of Brunelleschi's Dome [A] wonderfully informative and evocative guide to both the elegant rooms of Palladio's villas and the fascinating history of how a humble stonemason from Padua became one of the most influential architects of all time.

The Philadelphia Inquirer Rybczynski has applied all his usual grace, style, and curiosity to explore an important chapter of domestic history.

Los Angeles Times Rybczynski's clear description of what he sees and his lucid explanations of Palladio's ideas and methods enable the reader to see and understand the essence of this architect's accomplishments.

The New York Times Evocative, compelling, charming, The Perfect House is the perfect traveling companion.

Edition details

• Publisher: Scribner
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0743205871
• ISBN 13: 9780743205870
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 320