Product Description

The elegant châteaux, luxurious estates, and grand private residences built in France over the past centuries are spectacularly presented in this lavish volume. Covering more than forty properties scattered throughout France, from Brittany and Normandy to Aquitaine and Provence, this volume captures their diverse architecture, rich interiors, priceless furniture, painting, and sculpture collections, and fabulous gardens in all their glory.

These historic residences, often built over long periods of time, have been expanded and redecorated according to the whims of the day, scarred by revolution and war, and restored by the best-known architects and artists of their epochs. Together they represent a tangible record of the French lifestyle of the past and the present, as many of these houses are still in private hands. Some of the most famous and beloved houses of the French nation, as well as some that are impossible to visit, are included-Château-Lafite, Vaux-le-Vicomte, Hôtel Lambert, Château d'Or, and Le Marais. The Splendor of France provides an important record of the grandeur of the French style and its contributions to the history of architecture and design through the centuries.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #758515 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-12
• Released on: 2004-06-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 420 pages

From Library Journal
Imagine a dwelling so splendid that the king of France, after spending the evening there as a guest, claps the owner in jail for the rest of his life for attempting to overshadow the monarchy! Vaux-le-Vicomte is but one of many chateaux featured in this volume that could incite the envy of royals. These timeless residences, many of which are still in private hands today, collectively depict the noble heritage of the French nation and a sense of its glory. Highest-quality photographs that often bleed off the page to fill entire spreads allow the viewer to fall into the pictures, making one feel as if one is actually living the fairy tale life depicted here rather than suffering the fate of an armchair reader. The photographs portray not only the buildings' exteriors but also their formal gardens and grounds, resplendent interior furnishings, and fabulous art treasures. A map at the beginning of the book highlights the wide geographic distribution of the chateaux, including a number of architectural marvels from Paris and environs. With 330 color illustrations, this is highly recommended as a sumptuous overview of the subject.
- Edward B. Cone, New York
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Dazzling color photos...a breathtaking tour."--Newsweek on the previous edition of The Splendor of France

"Lavish and magnificently produced."--New York Magazine on the previous edition of The Splendor of France

"Highly recommended as a sumptuous overview of this subject."--Library Journal on the previous edition of The Splendor of France
-- Review

Review

Customer Reviews

A nice picture book on France's Chateaux
I got this because I really missed France after studying architecture there for a semester. This book really captured the same feeling of many of the historical sites I visited. My favorites are Chenonceau and Vaux-le-Vicomte, the French chateaux with formal garden.

This paper back version is only 287 pages much shorter then the first hardcover that was about 400-500 pages. I don't quite remembered, but I think there were some lesser chateaux taken out. I found the hardcover for $130 at a local architectural bookstore. So, this definitely a steal at Amazon price of $28.

The pictures are very big; every other page is a full page photograph. Some pages have a smaller picture and a written summary. This is more of a picture book with very little written texts, so you can't really use it for writing a resource paper. The picture of the building or site is very clean, since most of these places are full of tourist and it is funny seeing it empty. There are photographs of Chateaux, garden, interior design with furniture, and sculpture.

If you like France and garden after the Baroque period, this is a nice book. It would be a five star if they didn't condense the book from the in-depth first edition.

The Splendor of France
This book is an absolute treasure to anyone who loves French architecture and decoration. It contains spledid photographs of French Chateaux inside and out. While expensive it is worth every cent and then some. A Must!

Splendor Indeed
This is a nice book on an amazing subject. Maybe I expected too much from this book, I don't know, but though I liked it very much indeed, it did not blow me away. Something was missing, I think it was Versailles and Fountainbleau and maybe Sceaux. I just thought most of the greatest chateaux where absent, although I loved the section on Vaux le Vicomte, now that is a spectacular chateaux by anyones definition; maybe the most beautiful in France...Louis XIV thought so. The photographs where first rate and I did enjoy the book, I just wanted more. Having said that I do recommend it to anyone who in interested in this subject; for those it really is a book worth owning.