
The Villa
Form and Ideology of Country Houses
James S. Ackerman(Author)
Princeton University Press
Published on 15. August 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-0-691-25231-5 (ISBN)
Description
A classic account of the villa-from ancient Rome to the twentieth century-by "the preeminent American scholar of Italian Renaissance architecture" (Architect's Newspaper)
In The Villa, James Ackerman explores villa building in the West from ancient Rome to twentieth-century France and America. In this wide-ranging book, he illuminates such topics as the early villas of the Medici, the rise of the Palladian villa in England, and the modern villas of Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier. Ackerman uses the phenomenon of the "country place" as a focus for examining the relationships between urban and rural life, between building and the natural environment, and between architectural design and social, cultural, economic, and political forces. "The villa," he reminds us, "accommodates a fantasy which is impervious to reality." As city dwellers idealized country life, the villa, unlike the farmhouse, became associated with pleasure and asserted its modernity and status as a product of the architect's imagination.
In The Villa, James Ackerman explores villa building in the West from ancient Rome to twentieth-century France and America. In this wide-ranging book, he illuminates such topics as the early villas of the Medici, the rise of the Palladian villa in England, and the modern villas of Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier. Ackerman uses the phenomenon of the "country place" as a focus for examining the relationships between urban and rural life, between building and the natural environment, and between architectural design and social, cultural, economic, and political forces. "The villa," he reminds us, "accommodates a fantasy which is impervious to reality." As city dwellers idealized country life, the villa, unlike the farmhouse, became associated with pleasure and asserted its modernity and status as a product of the architect's imagination.
Reviews / Votes
"[A] thoughtful, thought-provoking study."---Martin Filler, New York Times Book Review "To read this stimulating book is to meet an erudite scholar who has thought a great deal about the subject, and is willing to entertain, as well as inform, to patiently explain, as well as to make pronouncements."---Witold Rybczynski, New York Review of BooksMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
213 b/w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 253 mm
Width: 201 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
670 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-25231-5 (9780691252315)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
10/2023
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€38.99
Available for download
Person
James S. Ackerman (1919-2016) was the Arthur Kingsley Porter Professor of Fine Arts at Harvard University. His many books include The Architecture of Michelangelo, Palladio, and Palladio's Villas.