The Seven Lamps of Architecture

A classic work by the great Victorian expresses his deepest convictions about the nature and role of architecture and its aesthetics. Though Ruskin himself later called it "a wretched rant", this book really paved the way for modern architectural history and criticism, laying down criteria by which to judge buildings which were not simply those of Vitruvius or Alberti dressed up in 18th-centtury tasteful finery. He puts forward an eloquent case, among other things for the preservation of historic buildings. This edition includes reproductions of the 14 original plates of Ruskin's superb drawings of architectural details from such structures as the Doge's Palace in Venice to the Cathedral of Rouen.