Sullivanesque: URBAN ARCHITECTURE AND ORNAMENTATION [Hardcover]

Ronald E. Schmitt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 11, 2002

Highly regarded in architecture for inspiring the Chicago School and the Prairie School, Louis Sullivan was an unwilling instigator of the method of facade composition--later influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright, William Gray Purcell, and George G. Elmslie--that came to be known as Sullivanesque. Decorative enhancements with botanical and animal themes, Sullivan's distinctive ornamentation mitigated the hard geometries of the buildings he designed, coinciding with his "form follows function" aesthetic.

 

Masterfully framed by the author's photographs of Sullivanesque buildings in Chicago and throughout the Midwest, Ronald E. Schmitt's in-depth exploration of the Sullivanesque tells the story of its evolution from Sullivan's intellectual and aesthetic foundations to its place as a form of commercial vernacular. The book also includes an inventory of Sullivanesque buildings.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Louis Sullivan, strangely enough, is still being discovered. As important as he was, most of the earlier books concentrated on the high points, the popular dramatic photos, and were less rigorously scholarly. Ronald E. Schmitt's documentation in breadth and depth is highly effective. The diaspora of Sullivan's work is finally being addressed."--Ben Weese, Weese Langley Weese Architects, Chicago

"This book is the first of its kind and fills a wide gap in our understanding of the architecture of the early twentieth century. It is time to recognize that Louis Sullivan had an even greater influence over a wider area than anyone previously realized. Not only has Ronald E. Schmitt written an interesting book, he has written an important one."--Wilbert R. Hasbrouck, architect and restoration consultant, Chicago

"Sullivanesque: Urban Architecture and Ornamentation is a beautifully written and illustrated book, offering a wide variety of new insights. It reveals the extent of Sullivan's influence on American architecture, one that reached far beyond his superb buildings. . . . Effusive praise is due to the author for his wonderful addition to the steadily growing body of terra-cotta literature."--Susan Tunick, author of Terra- Cotta Skyline

About the Author

Ronald E. Schmitt is a professor emeritus in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (September 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252027264
• ISBN-13: 978-0252027260
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,263,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Louis Sullivan's Vernacular Influence, October 24, 2003

By 

Edward J. Shannon, AIA (Elgin, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sullivanesque: URBAN ARCHITECTURE AND ORNAMENTATION (Hardcover)

This is an excellent, scholarly work by University of Illinois professor Ronald Schmitt. This book is a study in which the author traces the development of ornamentation influenced in nature patterns. The book shows how Sullivan's ornamentation was passed down to his former employees (an excellent study in its own right). And finally how terra cotta ornament became massed produced and used by lesser-known architects for the development of a Chicago "Sullivanesque" Vernacular.

This is a very thorough book that will appeal to students of The Arts & Crafts/Prairie School and "vernacular urban architecture" which has all but been ignored by architects and academics. The book contains numerous photographs. There is a great chapter on Sullivan's disciples, and, as mentioned before, the work of lesser-known "blue collar" architects whose background buildings are great contributions to the city of Chicago. There is also an appendix which contains an exhaustive, state by state inventory of Sullivanesque buildings.