
The Beauty of the Metropolis
August Endell(Author)
University of Toronto Press
Published on 29. July 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
198 pages
978-1-4875-5842-0 (ISBN)
Description
Originally published in 1908, The Beauty of the Metropolis is a homage to urban life, celebrating cities with a particular focus on Berlin. In this lyrical essay, German architect and theorist August Endell invites readers to perceive familiar environments in a new light, advocating for an emotional, unmediated response to the visible world inspired by Lipps's theory of Einfuehlung. He advocates seizing aesthetic ownership of urban surroundings, prefiguring our hypervisual culture. In his rhapsodic observations, Endell captures gaslight mingling with the last rays of sunshine, pedestrians moving in a ballet of unheard rhythms, and mist and rain casting fresh enchantment over familiar streets.
This new translation also features a selection of articles in which Endell introduces readers to aesthetic themes. He describes the greening of a tree with the urgency of true crime and anticipates the Bauhaus movement years before it becomes a reality. Reaching back to the close of the nineteenth century, these texts paradoxically serve as a rousing hymn to the present. With extensive notes and an afterword, this edition of The Beauty of the Metropolis offers a spirited inquiry into belonging and an engagement with culture that rejects unreflective nationalist pathos.
This new translation also features a selection of articles in which Endell introduces readers to aesthetic themes. He describes the greening of a tree with the urgency of true crime and anticipates the Bauhaus movement years before it becomes a reality. Reaching back to the close of the nineteenth century, these texts paradoxically serve as a rousing hymn to the present. With extensive notes and an afterword, this edition of The Beauty of the Metropolis offers a spirited inquiry into belonging and an engagement with culture that rejects unreflective nationalist pathos.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
12 illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
204 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4875-5842-0 (9781487558420)
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
Persons
August Endell (1871-1925) was a German architect, designer, theorist, and one of the founders of the Jugendstil movement.
James J. Conway is a Berlin-based writer and translator from German to English.
James J. Conway is a Berlin-based writer and translator from German to English.
Content
Translator's Note
The Beauty of the Metropolis
Accusing the Age
Renouncing the Present
Love of the Here and Now
The Metropolis
The City as Design
The City as Working Entity
The City as Nature
The City as Sound
The City as Landscape
On Vision and the Visible World
The Scenic Beauty of the City
The Veils of Day
The Veils of Night
The Street as Living Entity
Articles, 1897-1905
Joy in Form
Art of Forms
Letter to Die Zukunft
Originality and Tradition
Art and the People
On Vision
Evening Colours
Spring Trees
Treetops
Potsdamer Platz in Berlin
The Association of German Artists' Exhibition in Berlin
The Art of Impressions
Our Impressionists
Workers' Houses
Afterword
Notes
Further Reading
The Beauty of the Metropolis
Accusing the Age
Renouncing the Present
Love of the Here and Now
The Metropolis
The City as Design
The City as Working Entity
The City as Nature
The City as Sound
The City as Landscape
On Vision and the Visible World
The Scenic Beauty of the City
The Veils of Day
The Veils of Night
The Street as Living Entity
Articles, 1897-1905
Joy in Form
Art of Forms
Letter to Die Zukunft
Originality and Tradition
Art and the People
On Vision
Evening Colours
Spring Trees
Treetops
Potsdamer Platz in Berlin
The Association of German Artists' Exhibition in Berlin
The Art of Impressions
Our Impressionists
Workers' Houses
Afterword
Notes
Further Reading