Product Description

Trained as both architects and historians, Andrew Zega and Bernd H. Dams are skilled artists known for their expert restitutions of historic buildings, rendered in a realistic watercolor technique that has become their trademark. Originally published as a limited-edition collector’s item that sold for $1,100, this affordable reprinted edition presents fifty charming images, the results of more than a decade of study of historic European and American architecture and garden ornament. Thirty-six of the works presented here delve into the past, reconstructing exceptional historical structures from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century with a predominately French style. The remaining are the authors’ original designs, beautifully detailed works inspired by these exotic and whimsical structures. Hubert de Givenchy, in his preface to Chinoiseries, describes these images as "precious documents [that] retrace an époque when taste, extravagance, and a sense of fantasy were an essential part of the way in which parks and gardens were embellished, by perfectly inscribing them in nature, then furnishing them with dreams."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #615957 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-22
• Released on: 2008-04-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 164 pages

Review
The long awaited gently- priced version of Bernd Dams and Andrew Zega's Chinoiseries book is finally here! Highly detailed paintings of 42 pavilions and garden follies are captured in exquisite detail from 17th and 18th Century French fancies. These structures are no longer standing and many were never built, making them that much more exciting to study on the printed page. I am thinking about getting a series framed to hang in a quadrant on the wall. The highly decorated surfaces of the chinoiserie-inspired structures harken back to a gilded world, where an outbuilding could serve the sole purpose of delighting the owner's eye. Intricate frettework, climbing floral vines and curving roof lines are captured down to the smallest detail. Available now from RizzoliBlanc de chine with lattice texture and figural relief capture the essence of chinoiserie. Place these on your mantel or as a decorative element on shelves. Make them stand out by placing them against a bright background. Find out where you can purchase from Vellum New YorkThis charming Quadrille print captures the idylic chinoiserie landscape, palm fronds and a folly. The soothing tropical melon color would look right on a sun porch wicker chair. -- STYLEBEAT - CHINOISERIES: PAVILIONS AND GARDEN FOLLIES Posted: 01 Apr 2008 09:12 PM CDT

Review
"This is a truly handsome volume with its front embossed cover, colorful end papers, and elegant artwork." ~Chicago Botanic Garden

"Like pinned butterflies, each finely rendered specimen floasts vulnerably on the page, completely decontextualized." ~I.D.

"This spring, if you are dreaming of building a summerhouse in the country, here is the perfect book to inspire you to get out the tape measure and drafting paper." ~The New York Observer

About the Author
Bernd H. Dams and Andrew Zega have co-authored and co-illustrated four books, including Pleasure Pavilions & Follies: In the Gardens of the Ancient Régime (Flammarion, 1995) and Palaces of the Sun King: Versailles, Trianon, Marly (Rizzoli, 2002). The artists’ work is regularly featured in numerous periodicals, as well as major architectural journals.

Customer Reviews

Absolutely beautiful!
If you're into Chinoserie at all, this is a beautiful addition to your design library- that is, if you can refrain from cutting up the book to hang the pages on the wall. I couldn't, and now I have a beautiful graphic collection of framed panels from this book over my living room sofa. I'm buying a second copy of the book just so I can keep one to read. The text accompanying each structure is great reading- I especially loved seeing Marie Anoinette's merry-go-round from Versailles.

Chinoiseries So Chic!
Chinoiseries This book is full of so many architectual chinoiseries that I never knew existed. One wants to remove the print pages from the book for framing. I stayed transfixed on the illustrations of each page and it is as if I were transplanted into a chic fantasy world. The style and the colors are awesome. I found it difficult to read about each particular structure as my eyes kept being diverted to the illustrations. I had some reservations about ordering this book as I did not need another coffee table book; however, the quality that is found among the pages makes this a must-see for the artist in all of us.

DETAILED AND INFORMATIVE
This remains the essential guidebook to Chinoiserie. I only wish that there were more photos of how Chinoiserie is being used today in fresh, new and inventive ways. But the historical images and text are superb.