Greek Design & Decoration: Three Centuries of Architectural Style (Library of Art)

Large-format & heavy cloth hardcover, 28 x 24.5cm, English language, 288 pages, illustrated throughout (475 colour & 36 b&w illustrations), glossy paper, NOT ex-library. Weight 2kg. Gentle handling wear, book is clean and bright with unmarked text, free of inscriptions and stamps, firmly bound. Dust jacket shows regular shelfwear, a bit of edgewear. -- This book captures the beauty and variety of Greek architectural decoration over three centuries. Glorious color photographs reveal exquisite murals and reliefs, painted and tiled interiors and exteriors, and a wealth of rich, vibrant color. The close-up photographs - many previously unpublished - of facades, doors, windows, floors, and furnishings, offer a tour averagely decorated mansions and public buildings of the 18th and 19th centuries, in both neoclassical and vernacular styles, as well as of rural homes, churches, and other structures. The informative text guides readers through the riches of Greek architectural decoration while the photographs offer a wealth of ideas for incorporating Greek style into today's homes. -- Dimitris Philippides is an architect and a professor at the School of Architecture of the National Technical University, Athens. His professional work has included urban planning. He has written extensively on Greek traditional and modern architecture and planning. -- Contents: Part 1 Limits and Definitions -- Five Myths [New Cultural Departure; Collecting and Exhibiting; Stability; Scholarly Approach; Authenticity and Survival]; The Boundaries [Difficulties of Definition; Need for Order; Proposed Categories; Contemporary Criteria; Craftsmen and Artists]; Part 2 In the Stream of Time -- Historical Continuity and Rift [Vernacular and Official Art; Creative Blend; Century of Transition]; Stability and Change [Intermingling and Reconstitution; Social Role of Decoration Through Time; Naturalism and Abstraction; Simplicity and Complexity; Standardization and Innovation; Signs of Decline]; Part 3 Interpretation -- Location [Role of Decoration; Form and Use of Furniture; Trompe-l'oeil; Media of Expression]; Content [Function and Symbolism; Losing the Meaning]; Selected Plans of Mansions; Bibliography; Map of Greece; Index.…