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Sir Christopher Wren (1632–1723) is now mostly remembered as a genius of architecture – but he was also an accomplished polymath, who only came to architecture quite late in life. Most famous as the mastermind behind the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral and more than fifty parish churches after the Great Fire of London, among his countless other projects Wren also designed the Royal Hospital at Chelsea, the Royal Naval Hospital at Greenwich, and much of Hampton Court Palace. Replete with colourful images of his buildings, this concise biography tells the story of a man whose creations are still popular tourist attractions to this day, but also casts light on Wren's credentials as an intellectual and a founding member of the Royal Society.
A biography of Sir Christopher Wren from one of Britain's best writers and historians
A fresh look at the Eastern origins of Christopher Wren's architecture In this revelatory study of one of the great architects in British history, Vaughan Hart considers Christopher Wren's (1632-1723) interest in Eastern antiquity and Ottoman architecture, an interest that would animate much of his theory and practice. As the early modern understanding of antiquity broadened to include new discoveries at Palmyra and Persepolis, Wren disputed common assumptions about the European origins of Classical and Gothic architecture, tracing these building traditions not to the Greeks or Germans but to the stonemasons of the biblical East. In a deft analysis, Hart contextualizes Wren's use of classical elements--columns, domes, and cross plans--within his enthusiasm for the East and the broader Anglican interest in the Eastern church. A careful study of diary records reappraises Wren's working relationship with Robert Hooke (1635-1703), who shared in many of Wren's theoretical commitments. The result is a new, deepened understanding of Wren's work. Distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
Wren's "Tracts" on Architecture and Other Writings is the first scholarly examination of the theoretical work of one of the most important architects of early modern Europe. From his study of ancient buildings, he posited a new version of the origins and development of the Classical style, thereby becoming one of the first to challenge theoretical principles of architecture that had been upheld since the Renaissance. Rejecting the idea of beauty as absolute and innate, Wren formulated an empirical definition, based on visual perception and custom.
Described as the best architectural biography ever written, this is a highly authoritative and readable account of Britain's finest architect since Wren.
Christopher Wren (1632-1723) was the greatest architect Britain has ever known. But he was more than that. A founder of the Royal Society, he mapped the moon and the stars, investigated the problem of longitude and the rings of Saturn, and carried out groundbreaking experiments into the circulation of the blood. His observations on comets, meteorology and muscular action made vital contributions to the developing ideas of Newton, Halley and Boyle. His Invention So Fertile presents the first complete picture of this towering genius: the Surveyor-General of the King's Works, running the nation's biggest architectural office and wrestling with corruption and interference; the pioneering anatomist; the mathematician, devising new navigational instruments and lecturing on planetary motion. It also shows us the man behind the legend. Wren was married and widowed twice, he fathered a mentally handicapped child, quarrelled with his colleagues and fell foul of his employers. He scrambled over building sites and went to the theatre and drank in coffee-houses. The book explores what it was like to be at Oxford during the Commonwealth, as a generation struggled to make sense of a society in chaos; it recreates the tensions which tore apart the court of James II; it brings to life the petty jealousies that formed an integral part of both the building world and scientific milieu of the Royal Society. Above all, His Invention So Fertile makes clear to the general reader and the art historian just why Wren remains a cultural icon - both a creation and a creator of the world he lived in.
Definitive, concise, and very interesting... From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures - people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time. Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. -
The book takes as its starting point the argument that the only way to understand fully a building such as Hampton Court is to set it in the political and social context of its time and to explore the lives and motivations of its builders. The picture that emerges is on the one hand intensely personal - one of architects and builders fulfilling the whims of kings and princes. On the other hand, it is bureaucratic: Hampton Court is revealed first as the royal household, then as a palace claimed by grace-and-favour residents and finally, by visitors and tourists as their own. The history of the building is taken right up to the beginning of the twenty-first century. The twentieth-century story of Hampton Court is one of conservation and of changing attitudes towards opening up the complex to the public - it covers everything from the agonising discussions as to whether to build public lavatories to an account of the private enterprise that caused an octogenarian to make a personal fortune out of opening the maze to the public. It includes also the story of the terrible fire of 1986 and its aftermath. Social history and architectural history sit side by side in this intriguing account. New and important attributions are made to the architects Hugh May, Nicholas Hawksmoor, William Talman, Colen Campbell and Edward Blore amongst others. Moreover, the palace and its setting are placed in their European context and their long-term architectural significance is gauged. The book is lavishly illustrated with original paintings, prints and drawings, while a specially commissioned suite of plans and reconstructions reveals the evolving form of the buildings.