Book Description
The Renaissance architect and builder Andrea Palladio is arguable the most influential architect in Western history, and certainly the most beloved. His sixteenth-century villas in the Italian Veneto revolutionized the course of architecture, and the principles on which he based his work are still felt today. For the past several years, Italian watercolorist Giovanni Giaconi has devoted his talents to creating exquisite large-format pen-and-ink watercolor renderings of all thirty-two of Palladio’s villas. Each drawing captures the timeless beauty of Palladian architecture and provides a detailed record of these masterpieces. Together with brief descriptions of each villa, samples of Giaconi’s preparatory sketches, and where available, Palladio’s own woodcuts, these works of art leave a deep impression of Palladio’s oeuvre and give the reader an opportunity to compare the original designs with the actual buildings and their present state of conservation. This beautiful book is a must-have and the perfect gift for architects, travelers, and lovers of Italy and Palladio’s architecture.
About the Author
Kim Williams is an architect living outside of Florence. Giovanni Giaconi is an artist and designer living in Vicenza.
The Villas of Palladio FROM THE PUBLISHER
The Villas of Palladio is a collection of large-format pen-and-ink watercolor renderings of all of Palladio's villas. The meticulous paintings capture the timeless beauty of Palladian architecture and provide a detailed record of these masterpieces. Including a brief description of each villa, samples of artist Giovanni Giaconi's preparatory sketches, and Palladio's own woodcuts reproduced for comparison, this comprehensive book offers a deep understanding of Palladio and the splendors of his work.
SYNOPSIS
An artist and designer who grew up in the northeastern Vicenza district of Italy, Giaconi has long been interested in and has often portrayed the nearby buildings designed by Andrea Palladio (1508- 80). Here he renders 32 of them. Kim, an architect who has also studied the villas, describes the features and history of each; and introduces the architect, his work in general, and the villas in particular. No index is provided. The format is landscape: 12.5x9.5". Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
This handsomely produced volume is yet another tribute to stonemason-turned-architect Andrea Palladio (1508-80). Covering 32 villas, the book highlights the pencil-and-watercolor elevation drawings of Giaconi, who chose to illustrate the buildings in their current condition. Arranged chronologically by the construction date of each villa, the drawings are presented in two stages: the preliminary in pencil, with color to indicate the depth of openings only, and the final in watercolor, carefully illustrating the texture and surface of the stucco or masonry. Palladio's own woodcut plans and elevations from the Four Books of Architecture (1570) appear unpredictably beside the watercolor renderings. It is not clear why both stages of Giaconi's drawings are included, nor does one stage provide information measurably different from the other. The result is a somewhat gratuitous exercise in technique. Perhaps more valuable are architect Williams's introductory essay and commentary on each villa, presenting the perspectives of both the historian and the practitioner in polished yet highly accessible prose. Unfortunately, because Giaconi's renderings are limited entirely to exterior elevations, they fail to illustrate Williams's important observations on the plans and features of the interiors. Nevertheless, this makes an excellent companion to photographer Philip Trager's The Villas of Palladio; Trager's photographs are more informative than Giaconi's renderings, but Vincent Scully's anecdotal commentary is less informative than Williams's analyses.-Paul Glassman, New York Sch. of Interior Design Lib., New York Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Art & Photography
Book Info
