The history of German architecture between the mid-1700s and the death of Schinkel (1841); a vast quantity of material, ordered and analyzed with great precision.
[German Neoclassical Architecture. 1740-1840] The history of German architecture from the mid-1700s to the death of Schinkel (1841) coincides with the appearance of formal experiences whose aspirations appear to share the ideal and political tensions that led to the founding of the German nation. Schinkel is positioned at the apex of the trajectory, as the complete expression of the fertile dialectic between the classic and the romantic; his work is inspired by the deeply rooted values of Prussianism, while it interprets the profound historical-social transformations following the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Watkin and Mellinghof give precise order to the vast historical materials involved in their research. They begin by discussing possible French and English influences, proceeding in the next chapter to examine the formation and the protagonists of the Prussian style. Two chapters are devoted to the development of the neoclassical style in the north and south of Germany, while the work of Leo von Klenze – the creator of the Walhalla and the Glyptothek of Munich – is treated separately. The second part of the book contains a guide with commentary, city by city, to the works that most clearly illustrate the characteristics of German architecture in the period.