The Language of Architectural Classicism - by Edward McParland (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Classicism is ubiquitous, from the facade of Selfridges to the letterhead of The Times, to the pedimented porches of neo-Georgian housing estates. This book invites readers to discover in their surroundings a rich language of form which is there to be revealed.

It discusses the pleasures and problems of post-medieval architectural classicism, both its rigour and flexibility, its perfections and incompleteness, its continuities and innovations, and its expressiveness - from the camp to the sublime, and from originality to plagiarism. Abandoning conventional chronological, biographical or stylistic arrangements, the book makes connections between familiar art historical periods, focusing on looking closely at the buildings and their details, from which useful generalisations emerge.

The book discusses how Renaissance architects, when faced with the bewildering variety of classical antiquity, produced canonical versions of the orders and thus a systematic method of designing in the antique manner. It asks how the highly regulated language of classicism can sustain the originality of a Michelangelo, a Soane or a John Simpson and looks at the human body in relation to classical architecture. It examines the various treatments of the wall and of lettering on classical buildings, before concluding with a chapter on architectural backgrounds in Quattrocento art, revealing how this can lead to a different kind of looking at painting and sculpture.

Review Quotes

'refreshingly wide-ranging, fun to read and thoughtfully illustrated' - John Goodall, Country Life

'His command of classical architecture--across a range of geographies and time periods--is impressive. His book's ample illustrations allow him to move fluidly between both well-known references and more obscure ones, from the Erechtheion in Athens, for example, to a Lubetkin and Tecton apartment building, featuring caryatids, in London.' - Cammy Brothers, Wall Street Journal

'Our surroundings, as McParland observes, are still permeated through and through by the Classical tradition, and he is absolutely right to point out that those surroundings are in fact a vast source for design freely available for us to use, if only we can be bothered to look and see' - James Stevens Curl, The Critic

'This is a very important book and one which is beautifully produced. It is hard to do justice to a work of a lifetime in a short review. Each chapter in this book could stand alone as a short monograph there is so much information crammed into each page and so many illustrations (over 300 of them) to help address the many questions the author poses. The author's scholarly rigour is impeccable, his arguments and discussions clear and easy to follow, and his sources referenced in an extensive bibliography but it is his enthusiasm and love of his subject that shines through... Readers of the book will find themselves far better equipped in future to look for themselves and understand what they are seeing.' - Karen Latimer, Perspective

'This must be one of the most enjoyable and enlightening books on architecture ever written. McParland has an enviably broad knowledge of the subject, and writes entertainingly and readably.' - Peter Howell, The Art Newspaper

About the Author

Edward McParland is an Irish architectural historian and author of several books, including James Gandon (1985) and Public Art in Ireland, 1680-1760 (2001). He was elected as Pro-Chancellor of University of Dublin, Trinity College in 2013. McParland is the co-founder of the Irish Architectural Archive which was established in 1976, and he has contributed extensively to architectural conservation in Ireland.