The definitive book on the decorative arts in Rome from the sixteenth century to the eighteenth century, by Alvar Gonzáles-Palacios, the greatest authority on the subject.
[Furnishings and Ornaments at the Rome Court 1560-1795]. This volume brings together a series of writings by Alvar Gonzáles-Palacios on the decorative arts in the capital of the Papal State during the crucial centuries of the modern age, which saw the birth of Baroque and the development of Neo-Classicism in this very city. Twenty years’ research on the masterpieces of Roman decoration are finally linked together here, updated in the light of recent discoveries and completed with new additions that give a picture of the most comprehensive findings on this subject.
The book is arranged in a sequence of monographic descriptions of individual furnishings and objects, interspersed with essays on broader themes. The chapter on the eighteenth century includes some of this expert’s most important discoveries, which culminate in the reconstruction of the life and works of Luigi Valadier, really and truly a monograph of the artist in its own right. This extremely fine volume with its precise and exhaustive documentation is indeed an essential reference book for antique dealers, collectors, scholars and art lovers.