Specialised Books

Architectural Details - Pillars

Everybody knows Athens? Acropolis, Paris? Notre Dame or the Victory Column in Berlin ? and nobody can imagine any of it without its impressive pillar constructions. Pillars always act as a symbol of grandeur and power but often they also have crucial func

200 Small House Plans

· Here’s a bold new collection proving that good things continue to come in small packages!
· In less than 2,500 square feet, each plan works hard to create a sense of place – with a measure of imagination-whatever your family’s lifestyle.

· Section headings suggest pattern of live. You’ll find plans for versatile starter homes, chic homes for moving up, distinctive homes for couples, choice homes for growing families, affordable estate design, smart empty-nester ideas and hardworking vacation homes.

· Fully one third of the designers as new to this edition.

· Complete construction blueprints are available separately.

Cairo a Life Story of 1000 Years 969 1969

Picasso (World of Art)

There have been many books about this astonishing artist, most of them written as celebrations of his creative abundance. Timothy Hilton has a more challenging purpose: to define Picasso's achievement and his place within twentieth-century art. 207 illus., 30 in color.

THE RENAISSANCE

During the Renaissance the ideals of art and architecture became unified in the acceptance of classical antiquity and in the belief that humanity was a measure of the universe. The rebirth of classical architecture, which took place in Italy in the 15th cent. and spread in the following century through Western Europe, terminated the supremacy of the Gothic style.

Read more: Renaissance art and architecture: Architecture of the Renaissance | Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/entertainment/renaissance-art-architecture-architecture-renaissance.html#ixzz3AEONJd5j

...isms: Understanding Architecture

Following the success of Isms: Understanding Art, this engaging and informative guide to the significant "isms" of architectural history spans from the ancient Greeks, Romans, and the Renaissance up to the present day. Each spread is devoted to a distinct architectural movement and explains when it first emerged, the historical period to which it applies, the principal disputes over its applicability, and illustrates important structures, practitioners, key words, and distinctive features. From Hellenic Classicism and Expressionism to Brutalism and Blobism, with many stops along the way, these sixty well illustrated and clearly defined "isms" help put all of the "built environments" of the world into context.

The Story of Western Architecture

With history rather than aesthetics as a starting point, Riseboro recounts the development of architecture in the Western World by looking at architecture as an expression of social and economic conditions. This edition contains material which brings it up to the start of the 21st century.

Mona Lisa Revealed

Giuseppe Pallanti, following Giorgio Vasari's lead, bases his work on a meticulous and in-depth review of archival materials in attributing a name to one of the most iconic faces in art history: Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo. The author looks beyond the myth enshrouding one of the absolute masterpieces of Leonardo's genius, and gives us Mona Lisa as an authentic and living woman. With his engaging and casual style, he has reconstructed her personal and historical dimension. The revelation of the mysterious identity of the model, hidden up until now and object of the most disparate and far-fetched hypotheses, certainly takes nothing away from the enigmatic quality of that "smile". It becomes even more fascinating to us after we have been immersed in the world of her affections and read her husband's will, palpably imbued with a genuine love for his "cherished wife". The beauty of her spirit now seems even more radiant than the external beauty eternalized by Leonardo.

Art and Architecture in Italy, 1250-1400

The 14th century in Italian art is a very rich one, and Professor White's book gives architecture equal weight with painting and sculpture. The story of the Gothic style and the prehistory of the Renaissance is given: all the facts are related, but also the works of art are described with insight and for their own sakes, and not simply as data for fitting into schemes and theories. Among the great names are those of Arnolfo di Cambio, the Pisani, Cavallini, Cimabue, Duccio, Giotto, Simone Martini, and the Lorenzetti; among the buildings S. Croce, S. Maria Novella, the cathedral and the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, and the cathedrals of Siena, Orvieto, and Milan, as well as churches, castles, and civic buildings from the Val d'Aosta to Sicily. The third edition of this work includes colour illustrations and incorporates textual revisions and an updated bibliography.

Masterworks of Islamic Architecture

Déserts et Poésies d'Egypte

Beautiful photographs of the Egyptian desert accompanied by text written by Hala El-Badri, Salwa Bakr, Fatma Kandil, Iman Mersil, Ibrahim Abdel-Meguid, Claude Bureau, Gamal El-Ghitany, Edouard Al-Kharrat and Baha Taher.

Painting the Middle East

The watercolours in this volume are an expression of the author's affection and fascination for the Middle East, painted during her many sojourns there starting in the mid-1950s and continuing to today. They are unashamedly romantic and the antithesis of the turmoil in the region. The 89 watercolours and photographs are woven together with a brief narrative that brings the context in which they were painted or photographed to the reader. The book is divided into four areas where the author painted: Lebanon, North Africa, Egypt and the Holy Land.