Twentieth-Century Russian and East European Painting: The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection

Book Description

At the heart of this pioneering study - the result of exhaustive comparative research in Russian, European and American collections - is an illustrated catalogue which provides detailed descriptions of each work in the context of the artist's career and the broader artistic developments of the age. The condition, provenance, and previous location of the works are also detailed.

The catalogue is introduced by three essays: The Russian Avant-Garde, the Hungarian Avant-Garde, and the history of the collecting of Russian Avant-Garde art. The volume concludes with artists' biographies, bibliographical information, a glossary and index.

A catalogue of 59 works, written by two of the most eminent scholars in the field.

Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture

Average customer rating:

Just what I needed on the Dome in Florence
A Thinker's Book
Can culture be thrilling?
great read
Read this book before you go to Firenze!

Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture
Ross King
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0142000159
Release Date: 2001-10-30

Amazon.com

Filippo Brunelleschi's design for the dome of the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence remains one of the most towering achievements of Renaissance architecture. Completed in 1436, the dome remains a remarkable feat of design and engineering. Its span of more than 140 feet exceeds St Paul's in London and St Peter's in Rome, and even outdoes the Capitol in Washington, D.C., making it the largest dome ever constructed using bricks and mortar. The story of its creation and its brilliant but "hot-tempered" creator is told in Ross King's delightful Brunelleschi's Dome.

Both dome and architect offer King plenty of rich material. The story of the dome goes back to 1296, when work began on the cathedral, but it was only in 1420, when Brunelleschi won a competition over his bitter rival Lorenzo Ghiberti to design the daunting cupola, that work began in earnest. King weaves an engrossing tale from the political intrigue, personal jealousies, dramatic setbacks, and sheer inventive brilliance that led to the paranoid Filippo, "who was so proud of his inventions and so fearful of plagiarism," finally seeing his dome completed only months before his death. King argues that it was Brunelleschi's improvised brilliance in solving the problem of suspending the enormous cupola in bricks and mortar (painstakingly detailed with precise illustrations) that led him to "succeed in performing an engineering feat whose structural daring was without parallel." He tells a compelling, informed story, ranging from discussions of the construction of the bricks, mortar, and marble that made up the dome, to its subsequent use as a scientific instrument by the Florentine astronomer Paolo Toscanelli. --Jerry Brotton, Amazon.co.uk

Book Description

Ross King has a knack for explaining complicated processes in a manner that is not only lucid but downright intriguing. . . . Fascinating." (Los Angeles Times)

By all accounts, Filippo Brunelleschi, goldsmith and clockmaker, was an unkempt, cantankerous, and suspicious man-even by the generous standards according to which artists were judged in fifteenth-century Florence. He also designed and erected a dome over the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore-a feat of architectural daring that we continue to marvel at today-thus securing himself a place among the most formidable geniuses of the Renaissance. At first denounced as a madman, Brunelleschi literally reinvented the field of architecture amid plagues, wars, and political feuds to raise seventy million pounds of metal, wood, and marble hundreds of feet in the air. Ross King's captivating narrative brings to life the personalities and intrigue surrounding the twenty-eight-year-long construction of the dome, opening a window onto Florentine life during one of history's most fascinating eras.

Customer Reviews:

Just what I needed on the Dome in Florence.......2007-08-27

This slim volume contains a lot of detailed information - both on the construction of the dome, and on the politics and rivalries behind the scenes. It is well presented and makes for an absorbing read.
The drawings of the unique hoisting equipment developed by Brunelleschi showed that he was as much an engineer as an architect.
I'll be visiting the dome this fall and now have a wealth of information to make my tour more meaningfull.

A Thinker's Book.......2007-07-23

Some books are for cruising,easy reading with the mind in overdrive, even serious books like King's Judgement of Paris, the reading of which brought me to this book. Yes I know it should have been the other way around. I had picked this text up a few times in my bookstore strolls, but always was tempted elsewhere. Then I read that fine work on the birth of Impressionism and its Hercules like incunabula strangulation of the python of Beaux Arts . It was a wowser!! and I wanted a bit more of this author's breezy erudition. Kind of like a great graduate class with that perfect professor; so I went back and bought the "Dome." Well, it was no smoothie. Yes this earlier book has the artists achieving grand feats, there is the rivalry of big egos, there is even the conflict(inevitable) of creative minds mostly in agreement. But it does not have all the same zip as Paris. Maybe because with the passage of time the bits and pieces of these rivalries have been obscured , darkened like Michaelangelo's chapel by all the years smudges and wisps of smoke until when we clean them up, they no longer are what we have come to treasure. The physical difficulty, the inventiveness, the sheer bravado of construction at great height are a big part of this book. To me the tools are so many large ratchets and socket wrenches. Then too, there is the amor loci of architecture. How many copies of the Parthenon have we seen, and yet they are just not the Acropolis. So the Duomo. It is difficult to envision the redtiled Florentine skyline elsewhere. But the objects of Manet, Degas, Cezanne are transportable and have become loved items. Certainly the physical achievement of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Flowers far surpasses that of The Alba Madonna, but Raphael is after all with us and as has been said the near dear drives off the distant beloved. So I guess the subject cannot carry all the discussion of the mechanical wow. I am glad I took the course, learned a lot, but would be cautious in whom I would tell to just go ahead, you'll love it.

Can culture be thrilling?.......2007-06-27

I find books about engineering, art and architecture more interesting when they are written as cliff-hangers. 'Brunelleschi's Dome' by Ross King is one of them. As are his 'Michelangelo and the Pope's ceiling' and King's latest 'The Judgement of Paris'.
Superbly documented and written with great speed, they kept me reading instead of looking at the real thing. Coming back to the real things I find myself looking through different eyes!
If you like this type of reading, be sure to look for 'The Lighthouse Stevensons' by Bella Bathurst (HarperCollins, 1999) and 'St Peter's' by Keith Miller (Profile Books, 2007)!

great read.......2007-05-14

a well researched and very readable account of a staggering masterpiece, which at the time was considered impossible to build and of its creation and creator.

Read this book before you go to Firenze!.......2007-05-13

I often give a copy of this book to friends planning a trip to Italy... A quick read and a marvelous story about the intrigue...everything about renaissance Italy was an intrigue!... and history surrounding the building of the dome for il Duomo...I could almost feel Brunellschi climbing the stairs to the top dome with me...
This, and "Michaelangelo, The Popes Ceiling" also by Ross King, ought to be required reading for any student of history or anyone going to Italia... they breath life into Italian history.

Average customer rating:

Sumptuous and inspiring
One of our favorites
Family houses - eclectically by the sea
A Classic
Seaside Fantasies Brought to Life

Family Houses by the Sea
Alexandra D'Arnoux , and Jerome Darblay
Manufacturer: Clarkson Potter
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0517591650
Release Date: 1993-07-27

Book Description

With its unforgettable images of oceanfront vistas and creative decorating details, Family Houses by the Sea invites us to sample the gracious possibilities of living within reach of a gentle offshore breeze. The book's beautiful photographs capture the varied but always engaging personalities of seaside homes around the world. Illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Sumptuous and inspiring.......2000-12-22

I received this book for my birthday last year and still enjoy looking at it. In fact, I was getting ready to order it for a friend for the holidays when I saw an earlier review of this book that also mentioned another vacation home book called Second Home, I bought it, too. I highly recommend both books. This is wonderful dream book, as is Second Home. Second Home also includes pointers (throughout the book) on deciding where you might want to have a second home, real estate shopping tips, and ideas on building and decorating, too. Second Home is as inspiring as Family Houses by the Sea, but it offers the bonus of being practical and talking directly to me about what I can do to actually realize my dream of having a weekend house.

One of our favorites.......2000-11-17

We are accumulating a wonderful little stack of books related to second homes as we plan a getaway of our own. This one is a favorite because of its dreamy photography. I also highly recommend SECOND HOME: Finding Your Place In The Fun, which is a new book that mixes dreamy photos of real homes with some helpful tips on finding a location as well as buying, building, remodeling, or decorating a second home. Like Family Houses, Second Home is a larger hardback book. Gorgeous.

Family houses - eclectically by the sea.......2000-10-07

And therein lies the beauty of this book. Yes, some of the homes are older & some are rustic-but there's the sleek & contemporary too. In other words, something for everyone who loves to live by the water (or wishes they did). Buy this book to appreciate the different ways to express loving the natural light & atmosphere in a home that is reflective of the sea. You may not get Decorating Lessons 1-100 - but thats not the point. You can escape thru this book, dream thru it, share it, admire those who have created beautiful spaces in beautiful places - without displaying every obvious "seaside" nic-nac but with much good taste & class. Buy it for those pleasures & of knowing that kind of life does exist & can be lived by those to whom it means the most. To the authors - a beautiful volumn - thank you for seeking these places out & creating an arm chair trip to some incredibly beautiful spots by the water.

A Classic.......2000-09-08

A beautiful book that captures what it feels, smells and looks like to live by the sea. If you want glitzy resort style houses then this book is not for you. The houses shown are not show cases for a glossy magazine but places filled with memories and life. It's my favourite beach house book.

Seaside Fantasies Brought to Life.......2000-06-30

This book was my inspiration for a beach house I just finished completely cosmetically rehabilitating. The book took me all the way through the process by stimulating me with the beautiful visuals of its photos. I would look through it repeatedly, looking one time at flooring, another at windows, and so on, depending on where I was in my rehab process. I can't imagine it not being a superb stimulus for anyone.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Mediterranean Inspiration: 125 Home Plans Inspired by Southern European Style (Inspiration (Homeplanners))

Average customer rating:

Mediterranean Inspiration
Affectation In-A-Box
Jolene's Reviews

Mediterranean Inspiration: 125 Home Plans Inspired by Southern European Style (Inspiration (Homeplanners))

Manufacturer: Home Planners
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1931131090

Book Description

Mediterranean inspiration Bringing the allure of the sunkissed Mediterranean directly into readers hands, all 125 home plans are inspired by the traditional Southern European style.

Customer Reviews:

Mediterranean Inspiration.......2007-05-15

Title should be "Mediterranean Lack of Inspiration".
This book will appeal to those with too much money, too few brains and absolutly no taste
Although America, rightly so, lays claim to some of the finest examples of Mediterranean Revival in the world, this book does nothing to bring the reader into the understated elegance created by those homes. Instead it continues the trite and tasteless habit of ostentatious behavior we Yanks have become known for the world over. The designs are thinly vieled examples of the MacMansions found on converted corn fields, complete with corn fed owners, throughout America. Bigger is better and gaudy is better still.
The book should not be used for reference material or even a coffee table book unless you need something on which you may rest your Bud while watching Monster Truck episodes.
Using this book for reference will not supply any insight into the Mediterreanean style, but it will demonstrate just how good we are at commandeering a style that has been perfected over hundreds of years and "fixing" or "improving" it.
If you are interested in the Mediterranean style in America, try "Red Tile Style" by Aroll Gellner or "Santa Barbara Style" by Kathryn Masson.
There are also many books covering he work of Addison Mizner and George Washington Smith in Florida and giants such as Julia Morgan in the West.
This book MIGHT be good to line the cat's litter box, but be forwarned, the cat may object.

Affectation In-A-Box.......2006-09-26

.
gauche: Lacking social polish; tactless

gauche --Synonyms inept, clumsy, maladroit; coarse, gross, uncouth

This offers the reader All of the above and more.

Several issues are immediately apparent. First, is the lack of congruity it seems, of a philosophy (or budget) that would purchase plans from a mass-marketed stylebook on the cheap, only to have designs embellished with an excess of budget-busting ornamentation, inordinate angles, appliqué, unnecessary fictitious details, fatuous decoration and curves upon curves.

Anyone expecting to save money on this type of approach to building is setting himself or herself up for a HUGE awakening. One is well advised to consult a designer, building designer, or architect prior to purchasing such plans and proceeding with wise professional counsels.

Essentially what the reader is purchasing is a catalog of 125 cookie-cutter, in your face track home plans, from which they can select the one design on which to spend another thousand dollars (give or take depending on the plan) to secure the foundation plans, detailed floor plans, cross sections, structural plans, exterior elevations, and electricals.

These ersatz, eclectic "Mediterranean Inspiration" designs "steal and borrow" (the word begins with a "B" and will not pass the filter although a legitimate clean word) from Neoclassical, Story Book Style, Norman, Gothic, Tudor, doghouse. They brim with ostentatious details that betray the very fundamental standards of taste and refinement that the purchaser hopes to transmit.

The designs are a miscellany of plans intended to impress; yet lack the grace, elegance, and fundamental standards of good taste.

The reader should recognize that they will need to float their furniture on all those curves that are so beguiling on paper. The reader needs to identify 12-foot living room space as too small, or a 10-foot circular breakfast room that looks better on paper than the Gestalt of its reality. Consider all those eyebrow, and Palladian curved windows that look great on the exterior elevations will also require window treatments. Curved arches, arch-over-standard, circles, octagons, hexagons, trapezoids, angled top or bottom, and cutout shades are all going to require custom solutions that are not only far more costly than standard windows, but they also frequently detract from the interior surroundings they are supposed to enhance.

This book might be useful to free up creative blocks for those persons collecting ideas for their building projects. Nonetheless spare yourself the troubles of buying the actual plans without professional counsels.

Jolene's Reviews.......2006-07-04

This book has beautiful photos and sketched home plans for luxurious living. If you are looking for ideas to build an estate or a waterfront home, this is a good choice. It has home plans from designers like Sater.

Average customer rating:

Great addition to my references
Not over the top
PRIVATE TUSCANY
Beautiful Book
Gorgeous book!

Private Tuscany
Elizabeth Helman Minchilli
Manufacturer: Rizzoli International Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0847821781
Release Date: 1999-06-12

Amazon.com

Tuscany's hill towns and countryside have enthralled inhabitants and visitors for centuries--the golden light in the afternoons, the grape arbors, and the rolling hillsides dotted with rustic farmhouses and villas. Private Tuscany invites us into these dwellings, giving us a glimpse of how life is lived in this warm, inviting place.

The homes featured in this gorgeous volume are as enchanting as the Tuscan towns and hillsides they're built on. Many embody a style we've come to associate with Tuscany: dark-timbered kitchens with dried herbs and garlic ropes hung from the rafters, original terra-cotta tile floors, large-windowed living rooms, and artfully frescoed walls. There are centuries-old furnishings crafted by skilled Italian artisans and elegantly manicured gardens containing hidden grottos and classical statuary. But the homes also reflect the special touches of the people who occupy them. For instance, a theater lover displays his exquisite collection of miniature theaters in the salon; the daughter of a villa owner paints traditional murals on the walls and mosaic patterns on the floors.

Simon McBride's photographs skillfully capture the magic of these Tuscan homes and feature a variety of residences, from simple farmhouses to grand villas and palaces. The book's four chapters divide the homes into types: rustic, classic, grand, and modern. An index at the back serves as an introduction to Tuscany's pleasures, providing contact information for sampling the region's wine and produce, fine dining, hotels and houses, gardens, and crafts.

Several of the homeowners featured in Private Tuscany have gone to painstaking lengths to restore these buildings after decades, or even centuries, of neglect. The results, from the simplest farmhouse kitchen to an elaborately frescoed dining room, are breathtaking. --Kris Law

Book Description

Tuscany has long exerted a magnetic pull over visitors to this most romantic of Italy's provinces. From Lord Byron and Henry James to contemporary writers, designers, and artists, everyone is charmed by the rolling Tuscan landscape, its magical light, its rich artistic and visual culture, and above all, its highly sensuous way of life.

Private Tuscany reveals the interior style of some of the area's most charming homes--the pared-down beauty of a film director's farmhouse retreat; the refined elegance of an aristocrat's seventeenth-centry palazzo high in the hills; the Gothic mood of a winemaker's medieval fortress; the modern chic of a designer's country house; or the earthy character of an architect's villa, drenched with color and light.

Whether it is the ancient terra-cotta floors, gardens fragrant with herbs, or candlelit dinners on outdoor terraces, the spirit of living in Tuscany is alive in these pages in brilliant color.

Customer Reviews:

Great addition to my references.......2007-05-31

I am an Interior Designer and I am always searching for new references and inspiration. This is a beautiful book

Not over the top.......2007-04-07

With this book you can get a good idea of the warm ranges of wall colors that create a Tuscan mood. This book focuses more on color and neutral tones as opposed to some that go for the white tones. The decor shown is generally not over the top and focused on the grandiose villas that are out of reach of most everyone. There are many modest but lovely homes shown and you can pull fabric inspiration and accessory inspiration. I would give the book 3.5 stars due to some of the rooms being a bit sparse in design and lacking in real life things such as television/stereos, etc. That however is typical of most design books.

PRIVATE TUSCANY.......2007-01-04

I WAS LOOKING FOR A GRANDER INSPERATION AND IT WAS NOT THERE. SOME NICE SHOTS BUT NOT WORTH BUYING.

Beautiful Book.......2006-11-10

Something that I will enjoy over and over with a cup of coffee on a Sunday morning.

Gorgeous book!.......2006-03-26

This book is so enjoyable! The pictures are beautiful...just looking through it takes me back to my favorite place in the world!
--Vicki Landes, author of "Europe For The Senses - A Photographic Journal"

Floating Cities: Venice, Amsterdam, Leningrad-And Moscow

Average customer rating:

Brilliant
Floating Cities
A savant at work!
The Wrong Description
The Wrong Description

Floating Cities: Venice, Amsterdam, Leningrad-And Moscow
Stephen Wiltshire
Manufacturer: Summit Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0671755684

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant.......2002-08-09

Stephen Wiltshire's pen and ink drawings are fantastic. He captures each subject perfectly and in incredible detail...sometimes having only seen the subject for a few minutes. Incredible drawings made even more incredible by the fact that Stephen is autistic.

Floating Cities.......2001-11-30

Reading this book was an inspiration.The intricate detail and elegance of each drawing is breath-taking.
As an autistic individual he is able to capture the beauty an essence that a normal person with their eye would not see.
His work seems effortless, and takes him no time to do at all, but yet he is a perfectionist, right down to the last detail.
I am not an art critic, but certainly now I do appreciate the architecture that surrounds me and realize how beautiful it really is, and although Autism is not really understood and how it is actually caused.
Stephen, no matter what level of autism he seems to possess, he has truly mastered and captured the gracefullness of each buillding that he draws.
In a word he is an "Artistic, Autistic Genius."

A savant at work!.......2001-05-06

This man's pictures have to be seen to be believed. Stephen Wiltshire actually is Autistic,operating on a six year old level for most of his adult life. He has a very rare talent of being able to visually process all that he sees and reproduce these images on paper. I have seen him on a TV show being flown around London on a helicopter and reproducing a image of 4 square miles, including 11 London landmarks and over 600 buildings with perfect perspective and scale in less than three hours.

This book has to be appreciated for what it is, a work of a genius!

The Wrong Description.......2000-06-24

I agree that this is not the correct description of the book. Floating cities is actually a series of drawings done by a young english autistic boy. They are absolutely fantastic renditions of famous buildings, made more incredible by the fact that Stephen himself has this overwhelming disability, and many of them were done by memory. This book will make you realise that disabilities are by no means disabling, and can open up worlds unaccessable to the rest of society.

The Wrong Description.......2000-06-24

Classical Swedish Architecture and Interiors: 1650-1830

Average customer rating:

An excellent acquisition any library serious about world architectural styles will want.
Classical Swedish Architecture gets a rave review from me.
An amazingly beautiful book. Full of great information and pictures.

Classical Swedish Architecture and Interiors: 1650-1830
Johan Cederlund
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0393731723

Customer Reviews:

An excellent acquisition any library serious about world architectural styles will want........2007-08-07

Any college-level holding specializing in world architectural history should have Classical Swedish Architecture & Interiors as part of its collection: art historian John Cederlund covers the foundations of Swedish architecture and interiors and covers the major sites and representations of Swedish style, from stoves to architecture for the monarchy. An excellent acquisition any library serious about world architectural styles will want.

Classical Swedish Architecture gets a rave review from me........2007-03-12

This is an excellent survey of Swedish architecture and interiors of the most influential historical period and the photographs are splendid.

An amazingly beautiful book. Full of great information and pictures........2007-02-20

I have bought several books on Swedish architecture and design. This book truly is an important addition to any fan of neoclassical design, although the segments on the baroque, rococco and empire periods are also outstanding.

The sketches, floorplans, photographs and engravings are of an extremely high quality, and the sheer breadth of buildings covered is astounding.

Highly, highly, highly recommended. A beautiful book that is a necessity for anyone with an interest in architecture or interior design.

Average customer rating:

Bert Teunissen: Domestic Landscapes
Saskia Asser
Manufacturer: Aperture
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 159711040X
Release Date: 2007-05-01

Book Description

Over the past decade, the noted Dutch photographer Bert Teunissen has documented hundreds of old European homes and the dignified, often elderly people who inhabit them. He seeks out rudimentary, yet cultured settings aglow with a warm, timeless atmosphere; spaces with a very particular quality of natural light. Old World details crowd the frame of each image: ornate wallpaper, ancestral portraits, home-cured hams hung from exposed beams and decorative dishware proudly displayed on mantels. These homes were built before the World Wars, before electricity was a standard feature, a time when sunlight played a pivotal role in the conception of architecture. Teunissen renders these last vestiges of old Europe with a palette and a sensitivity to light that recalls, with astonishing sensitivity, Dutch masters like Vermeer and Rembrandt. At first glance, one might easily mistake any one of them for a Renaissance painting. They are certainly some of the most remarkable and intimate architectural portraits of recent years. The body of work captured in Domestic Landscapes, Teunissen's first monograph, dovetails with two traditions: the use of the camera to record cultural vestiges and a strain of portraiture that looks at subjects in their own environs. Made in numerous countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, Great Britain, Spain, and Portugal, Teunissen's poignant photographs capture and record an architecture--and a way of life--that is quickly disappearing.

History of Interior Design and Furniture: From Ancient Egypt to Nineteenth-Century Europe

Average customer rating:

History of Interiors
A definitive must for ID Students studying the History
Outstanding Book -Dont miss it
Underwhelming and overpriced
Better for furniture/antiques dealers than designers

History of Interior Design and Furniture: From Ancient Egypt to Nineteenth-Century Europe
Robbie G. Blakemore
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0471286761

Book Description

This book is the only current publication of a dedicated history of interiors and furniture. For designers who need stylistic information regarding historic periods, this book is very well organized and thorough. For students, this book offers the possibility of owning a history text without purchasing a general text that makes history only a small part of the information. —Marianne Beecher, Assistant Professor, Iowa State Robbie Blakemore has undertaken a monumental and ambitious project. She has accomplished her goal with zeal and good organization, along with excellent research and scholarship. —Joseph Braswell, Interior Designer, New York City

Customer Reviews:

History of Interiors.......2007-09-14

This book is very helpful for students and professionals seeking to further knowledge on the history of architecture and interior design. Very detailed information.

A definitive must for ID Students studying the History.......2007-01-26

Well, I youre thinking between this and Piles' History of ID then this is a much better book. Each style is explained with great details, and black and white photos and sketches are really helpful, and in the middle of the book is about a dozen of color photos of interiors.
I used this book a lot for my studies of the history of id.
If you're looking for a book full of photos of interiors and fancy words then just don't bother buying it since you wont find them in this book

Outstanding Book -Dont miss it.......2003-06-10

This is an outstanding book, with plenty of pictures - great insider material on furniture and architecture. And I already have a design MA with my own firm.

Underwhelming and overpriced.......2002-02-02

The text of this volume is decent and well organized but in the area that most designers are interested in, visual examples, it is sorely lacking. A very minimal section of color photographs (which jump from Roman to the Renaissance. No sign of the Gothic)and a series of low contrast black and white ones are augmented with a series of uninspired drawings. All of this might still be helpful and useful were it not for the price. There are many volumes on furniture and decor that have come on the market recently which are superior in their content and priced more reasonably.

Better for furniture/antiques dealers than designers.......2001-03-27

This book is a good encyclopedia of the history of interior design going back to ancient era- it catalogues the general overview for each period chronologically, explaining the function and materiality of a space or piece of furniture. The book is particularly nice for classifying particular styles of furniture and may be more suited to an antiques dealer or furniture dealer than a professional interior designer. The major problem i have with the book is that most if not all of the photographs are black and white, and it completely skips the modern era of design, pretty much ending with the turn of the 19th century. No mention of my favorites like Mies van der Rohe or Mr. Wright. This absence somehow makes this book seem incomplete.

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