Cambridge U. Pr.

Before the Bauhaus; architecture, politics and the German state, 1890-1920.

In this interdisciplinary contribution to studies of the German Second Empire (shown in a map), Maciuika (U. of Virginia School of Architecture) examines the roots of such post-World War I German architectural and design reform as Walter Gropius' Bauhaus and more broadly, the role played by architects as Germany sought and fought modernization. Period photos and illustrations include buildings featured at early 20th century German applied arts exhibits, and other new residential and commercial buildings. Appendices include — in the original German and in English translation — principles espoused in 1914 by Hermann Multesius on the future directions of the Werkbund, a design association dedicated to harmonizing German culture and work, and opposing views. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The drawings of Michelangelo and his followers in the Ashmolean Museum.

Joannides (art history, U. of Cambridge, the UK) has performed the notable and monumental task of compiling a catalogue raisonnée of all the Michelangelo drawings in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, as well as the drawings of his followers, all of them collected by Sir Thomas Lawrence and acquired by Oxford in the 1840s. Two lengthy chapters describe in detail the formation and dispersal of Lawrence's collection and the study and categorization of Michelangelo's drawings. The catalogue is a feat of serious scholarship, with each entry containing discussion of the drawing's condition, a discussion of its content, its original purpose, its provenance, a list of references and a reproduction of the drawing. Appendices contain lists of drawings attributed to Michelangelo in William Young Ottley's sales, a list of the Michelangelo and related drawings in the Lawrence Collection, a list of former owners, a concordance to major catalogues, and an exhaustive bibliography. The volume is oversized: 8.75x11.25 inches. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Eastern Christianity.

The 24 chapters of this work present thoughtful discussion of the history, culture, and theology of the Byzantine, Russian, Armenian, Ethiopian, Coptic, and Syrian Christian churches, among others. Rather than following a strictly chronological framework, the articles are thematic, with treatment of such topics as art, liturgy, contact with the West, specific theological movements, and issues associated with being a minority religion. The final three articles are on contemporary issues, addressing the impact on Russian Orthodox religion of emigration, communism's impact, and modern spirituality in the Orthodox church. With articles by noted scholars on issues, trends, and the history of the various lines of Eastern Christianity from earliest times through the present, this will be a useful reference to a wide range of readers, from the interested public and students to the scholar. Angold is emeritus, Byzantine history, U. of Edinburgh, Scotland. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Reading Greek vases.

Although earlier works have focused on the use of repetition in artistic representations on Ancient Greek vases, Steiner (classics, Franklin & Marshall College) goes beyond the typical aesthetic focus in order to theorize the meanings of repetition. She employs information theory to show how repetition helps convey meaning to the viewer through redundancies and mutual consistencies and inconsistencies, semiotics to explore the way repetitive images individually and collectively belong to wider sets of contexts beyond a particular vase and within a "all-inclusive cultural code," and narratology to consider the "syntax" of repetitive images. Among other topics, individual chapters focus on the use of repetition to create narrative paradigms, visual versions of characters and points of view, and parody. In her final chapter, she argues that the symposion, the Athenian all-male drinking party is revealed as the ideal use context for the varied purposes of repetition. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Temple decoration and cultural identity in the archaic Greek world; the metopes of Selinus.

Marconi (history of Greek art and archaeology, Institute of Fine Arts, New York U.) analyzes the Archaic metopes of Selinus, presenting a new interpretation of the use of figural decoration in Greek temples of the Archaic period. He argues against the typological approach to the study of temple decoration and the tendency in the field of Greek architectural sculpture to consider style and iconography as unrelated to cultural and social background. Therefore, he addresses these aspects and the reintegration of the figures into the fabric of buildings, the landscape of sanctuaries and cities, and related rituals. His interpretation uses semiotics, anthropology, and hermeneutics and is based on the rediscovery of the archival sources in Palermo and Rome and new fragments from the Palermo Museum and the Sala Gàbrici. The book is based on Marconi's dissertation. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)