Thomas and Hudson

CHAPTER ONEEarly yearsSir Christopher Wren made himself into a great architect. He had no formal training and little opportunity of knowing, at first-hand, the architecture of the Continent of his own or any other age. He built nothing before he was thirty; but by the time he was seventy and still...

Introduction One of the most striking things about Islamic art is the way in which a completely definite style, a whole repertory of motifs, and a distinct architectural system became, quite early in the era of the Hegira, associated with an idea and a faith. Islamic art is, in this respect,...