Customer Reviews

Romanesque: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although I am no great architectural authority, I love the Romanesque and have had the pleasure of visiting many churches while travelling in rural France. Like a 12th century pilgrim, I even made the journey to Compostela in Spain. This book, however, made me feel like I only scratched the surface -- what amazing (and uncelebrated) Romanesque buildings there are ALL OVER Europe! I am newly amazed at how diverse the Romanesque style can be. The author and photographer undertook a daunting project, documenting hundreds of structures (practically every building of note, it seems). The quality of this book is staggering -- you would think it should sell for a lot. But as detailed as some of the academic articles can be, the book is never dull or pedantic -- partly because the photography is so terrific and compelling. This book is magical. A GREAT bargain, a great gift, and highly recommended.

Excellent, a trully work of art. This book digs down into the core of the post-classic period of the plastic arts. A delightful and resourceful acquisition of any scholar artist or architect with interest in the origins of building forms, natural lighting, and a three-dimensional space.

As the holidays approach and you find yourself entertaining more at home, it's time to start thinking about a new book to add to your coffee table, or to toss under the tree of a fellow Italiaphile. "Romanesque" is not only a substantial book with beautiful pictures it's also a complete resource for understanding the building style most representative of the Middle Ages. As Romanesque architecture, art and sculpture is not restricted to Italy, this book also extends to show examples of this style from Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Great Britan, and even Scandinavia!

This is the first volume of an originally German series about European art and architecture, covering the entire period from AD 1000 to the first half of the 19th century.

"Romanesque" deals with the High Middle Ages (minus the Gothic, covered in a separate volume), but it also digs deeper into the past, and mentions both the Carolingian and Ottonian periods in Germany, and some other pre-Romanesque styles eleswhere. Areas covered are Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Britain. (Scandinavia and Bohemia are mentioned only in passing.)

Most of the chapters deal with church arcitechture, hardly surprising since most Romanesque architecture *is* church architecture. There is also an extensive section on Romanesque art, including sculpture, painting, books, reliquaries and (of course) the Bayoux tapestry. As usual, everything is lavishly illustrated with full-color photographs.

Not being an art historian, I can't really judge the texts, but some of them seem to contain questionable interpretations about "medieval death cults" or "22 million people killed in the crusades" (sic).

The text may be hard to follow for the general reader, but the photos and the low price makes the book worth buying anyway, certainly if you're interested in the Middle Ages. Somehow, Romanesque rather than Gothic feels like the "real" Middle Ages!

Recommended. ;-)

This is a large "coffee table" size book that covers the Romansque Period to an exhaustable amount. It covers architecture, scuplture, and paintings for the professional and the layperson. This book is a bargain at $39.98. Most books of this size and contents cost over $100.00. This book will make a wonderful gift or an great addition to any library.

This is a beautiful coffee table art book for sure, but it's also a terrific post-trip debriefing source that explains in greater depth what you've seen as a traveler and maybe didn't totally absorb at the time. This has been true, at least, for my family. While the text can be a little academic at times, it is wonderfully comprehensive on architectural history for the Romanesque periods of Germany, Belgium, France, Italy and Spain. While the odds are that you won't find every beautiful church you saw on your trip and considered "comment worthy," most of the great Romanesque buildings are included in this work. The photos are also beautifully reproduced.

If you're simply a student of architecture, this is a great addition to your library.

Recommend this book for anyone who enjoys good, information about architecture and art work of the Romanesque period.