The Stones of Venice: Volume I. The Foundations [Hardcover]

John Ruskin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 2005 | Series: Stones of Venice (Book 1)

Ruskin surveys the great buildings of Venice, applying the principles enunciated in his The Seven Lamps of Architecture in a three-volume treatment. Volume I, The Foundations, presents a short history of the city and discusses architecture's functional and ornamental aspects. There is no better guide to the spiritual and aesthetic pleasures of architecture. Hardcover edition. 21 plates. 72 figures.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (September 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486443175
• ISBN-13: 978-0486443171
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,713,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The very foundation of architecture, December 26, 2006

By 

Ande Rychter (Bellevue, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Stones of Venice: Volume I. The Foundations (Hardcover)

No architect ignorant of "The Stones of Venice", or incapable of understanding the message which it carries, should ever be issued a diploma, or allowed in any way to ply his trade. Regrettably, few architects have heard of it, fewer still read it, and one wonders how many out of those have actually grasped its message. Yet, the root cause of the emotional desolation and the essential depravity of modern architecture lies, without a doubt, in the ignorance of this great work. Let us hope the return of the complete edition of The Stones after a century-and-a-quarter of absence engenders the long overdue change. So far as the layman, these volumes will teach him a new language, so that he will be able to hear the stories the great buildings are eager to tell him. Unfortunately, he will also hear so much more clearly the incomprehensible gibberish of those countless stillborn, crippled, and otherwise malformed edifices that should have never seen the light of the day in the first place.