Why read The Quattro Cento and Stones of Rimini?

Book cover of The Quattro Cento and Stones of Rimini

Book description

Adrian Stokes (1902-1972) was a British painter and author whose writings on art have been allowed to go out of print despite their impact on modernism and ongoing acclaim. Tow of his most influential books, "The Quattro Cento" (1932) and "Stones of Rimini" (1934), are bought together in this volume,…

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Topics

Italy

Genres

European history

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Quattro Cento and Stones of Rimini as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Richard Weston

Author

This book opened my eyes to a neglected strand of Early Renaissance architecture.

Stokes was a supreme stylist and his elegant, idiosyncratic prose is a delight to read. His insights into what he called the ‘carving tradition’ of art and architecture are posited as a counterpoint to the mainstream ‘modelling’ tradition.

For Stokes, the architecture and art he loved grew out of reverence for the inner life of stone, of marble above all. He described the results as ‘stone blossom’ and buildings as being ‘in bloom’. If this sounds obscure, please don’t be put off: The Quattro Cento is a…

From Richard's list on that formed my understanding of architecture.