The Genius in the Design

Description

The rivalry between the brilliant seventeenth-century Italian architects Gianlorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini is the stuff of legend. Enormously talented and ambitious artists, they met as contemporaries in the building yards of St. Peter’s in Rome, became the greatest architects of their era by designing some of the most beautiful buildings in the world, and ended their lives as bitter enemies. Engrossing and impeccably researched, full of dramatic tension and breathtaking insight, The Genius in the Design is the remarkable tale of how two extraordinary visionaries schemed and maneuvered to get the better of each other and, in the process, created the spectacular Roman cityscape of today.

“Entertaining . . . Morrissey finely renders the intense rivalry between these two artists.” “In clear prose and with splendid touches of drama, history and architecture are both brought wonderfully to life. “Engrossing . . . You’ll never look at an important building the same way again.” “GENIUS IN THE DESIGN reveals the dark side of 17th Century Italy with sparkling anecdotes and you-are-there immediacy” “Fascinating . . . a scintillating introduction to the Baroque. It is a splendid read “[Morrissey] succeeds. His descriptions of the men’s passions and their art and architecture make for page-turning reading.” “Morrissey illuminates the contrast between the celebrated Bernini and the anguished Borromini.” “Looks in detail at the work of two of the greatest Renaissance artists” “Thrilling”

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