Description
'Rybczynski proves 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'
Ross King, bestselling author of BRUNELLESCHI'S DOME
'THE PERFECT HOUSE is a pleasant book, part travelogue, part architectural guide' MONTREAL GAZETTE
'The author's observational and writing skills and his enthusiastic respect and affection for his subject add up to an enlightening and interesting book' THE TORONTO SUN
'An unaffected and charming account of one man's journey around Palladio's villas' THE SUNDAY TIMES
"But as a kind of diary - often written on the spot, in the houses - it provides a vivid insight into the mind of Palladio and his clients. It has warmth, and it rings true" THE SUNDAY TIMES
'His clear descriptions 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 even if the reader does not happen to be in Italy looking at a Palladian villa' LOS ANGELES TIMES
'The miracle of Palladianism is its marriage of imposing presence and real intimacy. In a thoughtful and subtly argued book, Rybczynski searches for the secret of the style's success and finds it in Palladio's unswerving pursuit of practical convenience' THE SCOTSMAN
'It manages to be both relaxed and filled with detail...there is pleasure to be had from it simply because of Rybczynki's love of what he is looking at, and his ability to picture it for us within the context of the life of an artist who literally changed the world we live in' THE HERALD (GLASGOW)
'Evocative, compelling, charming, THE PERFECT HOUSE is the perfect travelling companion' NEW YORK TIMES
'this personal quest for Palladio's secrets makes a stimulating and in many ways an original book...THE PERFECT HOUSE has a lot to offer those who have already had the privilege of studying the villas: they may find, as I did, that they understand Palladio better from this author's enthusiastic descriptions and disciplined verbal analyses...THE PERFECT HOUSE...does make one think about the architecture of the individual buildings in a way that other books do not. I will certainly carry it with me next time I visit the Veneto' TLS
‘A book that combines a journal of architectural discovery with informal biography to create a convincing portrait of the man’
Guardian, Book of the Week 2/11
'Simple but rewarding...The result is a book that combines a journal of architectural discovery with informal biography to create a convincing portrait of the man' SUNDAY TIMES
Ross King, bestselling author of BRUNELLESCHI'S DOME
'THE PERFECT HOUSE is a pleasant book, part travelogue, part architectural guide' MONTREAL GAZETTE
'The author's observational and writing skills and his enthusiastic respect and affection for his subject add up to an enlightening and interesting book' THE TORONTO SUN
'An unaffected and charming account of one man's journey around Palladio's villas' THE SUNDAY TIMES
"But as a kind of diary - often written on the spot, in the houses - it provides a vivid insight into the mind of Palladio and his clients. It has warmth, and it rings true" THE SUNDAY TIMES
'His clear descriptions 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 even if the reader does not happen to be in Italy looking at a Palladian villa' LOS ANGELES TIMES
'The miracle of Palladianism is its marriage of imposing presence and real intimacy. In a thoughtful and subtly argued book, Rybczynski searches for the secret of the style's success and finds it in Palladio's unswerving pursuit of practical convenience' THE SCOTSMAN
'It manages to be both relaxed and filled with detail...there is pleasure to be had from it simply because of Rybczynki's love of what he is looking at, and his ability to picture it for us within the context of the life of an artist who literally changed the world we live in' THE HERALD (GLASGOW)
'Evocative, compelling, charming, THE PERFECT HOUSE is the perfect travelling companion' NEW YORK TIMES
'this personal quest for Palladio's secrets makes a stimulating and in many ways an original book...THE PERFECT HOUSE has a lot to offer those who have already had the privilege of studying the villas: they may find, as I did, that they understand Palladio better from this author's enthusiastic descriptions and disciplined verbal analyses...THE PERFECT HOUSE...does make one think about the architecture of the individual buildings in a way that other books do not. I will certainly carry it with me next time I visit the Veneto' TLS
‘A book that combines a journal of architectural discovery with informal biography to create a convincing portrait of the man’
Guardian, Book of the Week 2/11
'Simple but rewarding...The result is a book that combines a journal of architectural discovery with informal biography to create a convincing portrait of the man' SUNDAY TIMES
Présentation de l'éditeur
Renaissance master Andrea Palladio's architectural DNA can be seen on modern-day icons from Buckingham Palace to the White House, from numerous English stately homes to Virginian plantation houses. In THE PERFECT HOUSE Witold Rybczynski travels along the Brenta River in north-eastern Italy to experience the surviving original Palladian villas for himself. He sets out to discover how a rustic sixteenth-century stonemason, born Andrea di Pietro, first had to become 'cultured' before he could be one of the most respected architects of all time, and how Palladio managed to bring the elegance of Ancient Rome to the Venetian countryside.
Out of the chaos of hired cars and cheap flights, towns packed with 'Ristoranti Palladio' and herds of tourists, Rybczynski savours moments of epiphany as he contemplates Palladio's perfect houses. Part travelogue, part historical biography, part architectural guide, THE PERFECT HOUSE is a delightful and enlightening exploration of the birth of domestic architecture and the man who spawned it.
Out of the chaos of hired cars and cheap flights, towns packed with 'Ristoranti Palladio' and herds of tourists, Rybczynski savours moments of epiphany as he contemplates Palladio's perfect houses. Part travelogue, part historical biography, part architectural guide, THE PERFECT HOUSE is a delightful and enlightening exploration of the birth of domestic architecture and the man who spawned it.
