AN OUTLINE OF EUROPEAN ARCHITECTURE

For over sixty years Sir Nikolaus Pevsner's study of Europeanarchitecture has been regarded as a seminal work which has inspiredcountless students of architecture. In this updated larger format editionwith elegant and accessible design, an extra dimension is provided throughthe integration of over 200 superb colour photographs. Pevsner reviewedthe most beautiful, dramatic and outstanding structures that represent thestyles and cultures of Europe from the fourth century onwards. His grandtour of Europe's Romanesque basilicas, Gothic cathedrals, Renaissancevillas and Baroque churches, sublimely defines ‘the changing spiritsof the changing ages'. In later chapters he considers the revival ofmedieval forms in the age of Romanticism and the Arts and Crafts Movementthrough to the radical and unsparing geometry of twentieth-centuryModernism. He concluded his survey in the post-war years and the start ofthe redefinition of so many devastated cityscapes. In a new preface andan illuminating postscript, the architect Michael Forsyth continues wherePevsner left off by bringing the review to the present day. In aconsideration of recent buildings in Europe by modern masters such asJames Stirling, Norman Foster and Frank Gehry, he identifies a naturalevolution of architectural achievement. An Outline of EuropeanArchitecture continues to be as stimulating and relevant as ever. Throughhis perceptive understanding of the heritage of past civilisations, and inthe delineation of the buildings that continue to be recognized as thegreatest symbols of artistic endeavour, Pevsner remains the essentialguide and companion.