Product Description

In the early 1950s, John Szarkowski photographed the major buildings of turn-of the century Chicago architect Louis Sullivan. Now, in presenting his photographs with excerpts from Sullivans writings and contemporary sources, he captures the mind, the spirit, and the time of this great architect.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #925927 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 184 pages

About the Author
John Szarkowski is Director Emeritus of the Department of Photography, the Museum of Modern Art, and the author of Looking at Photographs.

Customer Reviews

A visual treat and treatise on early 20th century architecture
The Idea of Louis Sullivan was first published in the 1950s and highlights the architecture of one of the mavericks of skyscraper architecture. The text gives a brief biography of Mr. Sullivan's life. The rest of the book consists of excerpts from various texts dealing with architecture and the challenges of leaving the mainstream. This text is interesting, but sometimes in is a bit too removed from the original text, leaving the reader trying to understand what the text is saying. However, the photography is amazing. The viewer is treated to crystal clear black and white photography which gives us insight into Sullivan's work. The pictures are both close ups and overviews. They show us the detailed work of an architect who understood that function really does determine the form of a building. He also understood that height is what makes skyscrapers special and emphasized this in strong vertical lines, as we can see from the more distant views. Sullivan fought the classical revival, which was all the rage of his times, and used a combination of heavy and solid Romanesque architecture with art nouveau decoration. The result is both stunning and unique.

This volumes makes a great coffee table book since it's considerable strength is visual.