2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly Cistercian, August 11, 2007
This review is from: Architecture of Truth (Hardcover)
This gorgeous book flawlessly demonstrates the architecture of the Cistercians, the photographs conveying the principles of asceticism which governed their monastic spaces. The continuity of pages filled with black and white photos, alongside which black text communicates wisdom from some of the greatest religious personages, is broken only by the red lettering delineating the beginning of a new section, each of which is named for the canonical hours--mirroring the shift that would have occurred in the monks' day as the bells of terce or nones called them to prayer. Throughout, Hervé's photographs marvelously capture the spirit of light so important to the aesthetic of Cistercian architecture, making it apparent that he truly understands and respects its principles. The essence of L'Abbaye du Thoronet permeates the pages, making me feel (in a way no other book has) as though I am again standing in its cloister, the scent of boxwood in the air, a specific and marked tranquility throughout...
I believe that this is a volume of which St. Bernard himself would approve.
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