Contrasts: Or, a Parallel Between the Noble Edifices of the Middle Ages, and Corresponding Buildings of the Present Day, Shewing the Present Decay of Taste

Contrasts: Or, A Parallel Between The Noble Edifices Of The Middle Ages, And Corresponding Buildings Of The Present Day, Shewing The Present Decay Of Taste by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin. This polemical work contrasts the noble medieval cathedrals and religious edifices with contemporary 19th?century architecture, arguing that true Christian art arose from Catholic faith while modern revivals of pagan and Protestant styles signify a decay of taste and faith. It traces the rise of pointed Gothic architecture, the decline under the Reformation, and the deterioration of ecclesiastical buildings under Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Cromwell. It also discusses efforts to revive Catholic art, cites Overbeck, Montalembert, Rio, and the Cambridge Camden Society, and outlines the author’s call for restoration of sacred form and sensibility in architecture.