Gottfried Semper: Architect of the Nineteenth Century

During An Adventurous Life, The German Architect, Scholar, And Political Revolutionary Gottfried Semper (1803-79) Experienced Early Fame, Political Exile From His Homeland, International Prominence, And The Exhilaration Of Seeing European Architecture Transformed By His Influential Body Of Ideas. In This Engrossing Biography Of Semper - The First Written On This Architect - Harry Mallgrave Presents A Comprehensive Account Of The Life, Buildings, And Writings Of The Man. He Describes As A Colossus Of The Nineteenth Century. Mallgrave Weaves An Engrossing Saga Of Semper's Troubled Youth, His Fascination With The July Revolution In France, And His Daring If Somewhat Imprudent Voyage To A Greece Wracked By Civil War. He Speaks Of Semper's Glorious Design For The Dresden Hoftheater In The Mid-1830s, His Influence On Richard Wagner, And His Plummeting Fortunes After The Political Unrest Of 1848-49. Mallgrave Traces Semper's Slow But. Determined Literary Resurrection That Culminated With The Publication Of His Epoch-making Book On Style; He Follows His Artistic Resurrection With A Monumental Practice In Zurich And Vienna. By The Time Of His Spectacular Design For The Second Dresden Hoftheater In The Early 1870s, Semper Was Without Architectural Peer In The German-speaking Countries And His Ideas Had Pushed European Architecture To The Brink Of Modernism. 1. The Despondent Years: 1803-1834. Gottingen, Munich, Regensburg. Paris, Bremerhaven, Paris. The Debate On Polychromy. Italy, Sicily, Greece. Return To Rome. Preliminary Remarks ... -- 2. Royal Success In Dresden: 1834-1849. Artistic Life In Florence On The Elbe The Crisis Of Architectural Historicism In Germany. The Making Of An Architect. The Dresden Hoftheater. Setbacks In Hamburg. Assyrian Alabaster -- 3. Refugee In Paris And London: 1849-1855. The Semper Barricade The Four Elements Of Architecture. The Great University Of 1851 The Future Of Art In The Industrial Age. Professor At The Department Of Practical Art. Greek Tectonics And Ancient Missiles -- 4. The Zurich Years: 1855-1869. A New Start In Switzerland. Richard Wagner And The Munich Episode Prolegomena To A Theory Of Style. Theory Of Artistic Forms. The Masking Of Reality In The Arts. The Third Volume Of Der Stil -- 5. The Monumental Builder: 1869-1879. Overtures From Vienna. The Ringstrasse Monuments. Semper And The Birth Of Tragedy. Harry Francis Mallgrave. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [420]-433) And Index.