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PANEL DISCUSSION: Letarouilly's The Vatican and Saint Peter's Basilica of Rome Tuesday, February 23rd at 7pm · Feb 12, 09:55 AM

PANEL DISCUSSION

Letarouilly’s The Vatican and Saint Peter’s Basilica of Rome
Tuesday, February 23
Reception at 6:30 pm; Discussion at 7:00 pm
Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America
Library at the General Society
20 West 44th Street, New York, NY

The much anticipated reprint of Letarouilly’s Le Vatican et La Basilique de Saint Pierre has been published by Princeton Architectural Press as part of the “Classical America Series on Art and Architecture.” Join Michael Lykoudis, Dean of Notre Dame’s School of Architecture; Mosette Broderick, Director of the Architecture and Urban Design Program at New York University’s Dept. of Fine Arts, and ICA&CA board Vice Chairman and co-founder, Richard Cameron, in a lively discussion about the influence and importance of this seminal publication. The event is free for ICA&CA members and employees of professional member firms; $20 for the general public. RSVP required.

Click here to register now.

Here is the catalog entry for The Vatican and Saint Peter’s Basilica of Rome:

French architect Paul Letarouilly (1795–1855), author of the masterpiece Edifices de Rome Moderne, was unequaled in his observational ability and impeccable drawing skills. He devoted many years of his life—living in austerity and refusing paying commissions—to compile and draw the intricate details and decorative elements of the most breathtaking buildings in Italy’s Vatican City, including St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Pontifical Palace, the Museo Pio Clementino, and the Villa Pia.

Published in 1882, after his death, Vatican served as an unparalleled sourcebook of everything from plans, elevations, interior room views, and perspective drawings to mosaics, wall panels, doorframes, fountains, towers, domes, cornices, and moldings. Prior to the book’s original publication, these details were not easily replicated in other parts of the world. Vatican gave access to rigorous documentation of the work of some of the most significant Renaissance architects—Michelangelo, Bernini, Bramante, Sangallo, and Peruzzi—and is now often credited as one of the primary catalysts for the American Renaissance style, the results of which can be seen in any capital city in America. The precision and attention to detail that Letarouilly demanded of his engravers advanced the art of etching in the nineteenth century. Exquisite rendering techniques and precise execution make this book as beautiful as it is useful. Originally published in three volumes, Vatican is presented as a single facsimile edition in our Classic Reprints series and includes a new foreword by architectural historian Ingrid Rowland.

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