BOOK - Willibald Sauërlander, collection "l'univers des form - Lot 856

BOOK - Willibald Sauërlander, collection "l'univers des formes" created by André Malraux. Gallimard 1989, 28 x 22 cm, 464 pages + folding maps, bound in cloth / hardback with dust jacket. LE MONDE GOTHIQUE, LE SIECLE DES CATHEDRALES 1140 - 1260. In the 100 years between the construction of the Choir of Saint Denis and that of the Sainte Chapelle, the modernization of the art of building was accelerated by an uninterrupted series of innovations. Project preparation was modified by the introduction of drawings and sketches; the division of labor on building sites was reorganized; building materials were standardized and mass-produced. New machines were invented to lift the loads required for ever-higher buildings; iron was used to reinforce ever-slimmer pillars, window grids and roses. It was a veritable Industrial Revolution. All these material innovations were put to spiritual use. Walls were thinned and windows enlarged, lending the saints a mysterious splendor through the brilliance of stained glass. In these resplendent edifices, saints' reliquaries were placed.... Gothic art is a new vision of the sacred. In the eyes of posterity, Gothic cathedrals were the only medieval edifices that could compare with the 7 wonders of antiquity. Architecture, great sculpture cycles, stained glass magnificence, new style in France, Reign of Saint Louis: refinements and conventions - England, Spain, Holy Roman Empire, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe - Castles, towns and courtly life - Plans and renderings, bibliography, index dictionary, Maps.