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Heavenly Vaults

From Romanesque to Gothic in European Architecture
Princeton Architectural Press By David Stephenson

11 x 11-1/2 in; 192 pp ; 125 color and 15 b/w images
Hardcover
Published in September, 2009
ISBN 9781568988405
ISBN10 1568988400

$65.00  

Heavenly Vaults -- The Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages are among the world's greatest architectural achievements. Looking up at the soaring vaulted ceiling of a Gothic church, it is impossible not to marvel at the seemingly unending design variations of these transcendent structures. Photographer David Stephenson, author of our best-selling book of dome photography Visions of Heaven, continues his exploration of the architecturally sublime by focusing his camera on the amazing vaulted ceilings of the medieval churches, cathedrals, and basilicas of Europe. Stephenson presents more than eighty Romanesque and Gothic vaults in kaleidoscopic photographs that reveal their complex geometrical structures, decorative detailing, and ornamental painting in ways they have never before been seen.

From simple arched stone tunnels, or so-called barrel vaults, to quadripartite and sexpartite rib vaults, to intricate tierceron and lierne vaults with their added decorative ribs, to complicated net, fan, and diamond vaults of the late Gothic period, Stephenson's visual taxonomy of this ancient structural form is strikingly beautiful and showcases numerous varieties across time and location. In an accompanying essay, the author charts the history of the vault and explains its technological developments. A foreword by photography curator Isobel Crombie puts Stephenson's work in context.

Dr. David Stephenson is an associate professor at the School of Art, University of Tasmania, Hobart. His work has been exhibited throughout the world and published in numerous publications. Stephenson is the author of Visions of Heaven.