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How to Read Churches: A Crash Course in Ecclesiastical Architecture
Small enough to fit in a pocket yet serious enough to provide real answers, this primer is a must-have for architecture and history buffs, tourists, and churchgoers interested in decoding the styles and symbols of religious buildings. Every building contains clues embedded in its design that identify not only its architectural style but also who designed it, what kind of congregation it was built for, and why. This practical yet charming handbook is the key to decoding the style, history, evolution, and social significance of religious buildings. Not strictly limited to churches, it also covers abbeys, chapels, and monasteries, among other structures. Organized according to architectural element (windows, domes, arches, etc.), each element is presented in chronological order. Additional chapters explore the architectural influence of geography, history, and various creeds, along with an illustrated timeline showing how, where, and in many cases why certain church features evolved through the centuries. There is also a useful introduction to naming each component of a church, from vaults to buttresses and transepts to apses. All entries are illustrated with period engravings and line drawings. This book will be invaluable for architecture buffs and anyone who has ever wondered why classic New England churches are white with little ornament, why Quaker meetinghouses have no altars, or why Episcopalians traditionally favored the Gothic style.
256 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2011
64 people are currently reading
1004 people want to read
About the author
Denis R. McNamara
5 books4 followersB.A., History of Art, Yale University; M.Arch.H. and Ph.D., Architectural History, University of Virginia.
His articles and reviews have appeared in Arris, Chicago Studies, Communio, Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Assembly, Sacred Architecture, Letter and Spirit, and Environment and Art Letter.
Dr. McNamara's academic specialties include the theology of liturgical art and architecture, classicism, and sacramental aesthetics.
He's a member of the Society of Architectural Historians, Society for Catholic Liturgy and the Institute for Classical Architecture. He serves as assistant director at the Liturgical Institute of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake / Mundelein Seminary, and as a liturgical design consultant.
His articles and reviews have appeared in Arris, Chicago Studies, Communio, Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Assembly, Sacred Architecture, Letter and Spirit, and Environment and Art Letter.
Dr. McNamara's academic specialties include the theology of liturgical art and architecture, classicism, and sacramental aesthetics.
He's a member of the Society of Architectural Historians, Society for Catholic Liturgy and the Institute for Classical Architecture. He serves as assistant director at the Liturgical Institute of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake / Mundelein Seminary, and as a liturgical design consultant.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
August 18, 2021
Great little introduction
June 6, 2014
Beautiful little book; though the line drawing would be more useful in a coffee table size. But to have close by when visiting a beautiful church, this is a wonderful resource. McNamara does a great job of briefly describing not only the architectural but also theological significance of the many various designs elements of churches. His theological explanations are descriptive and non-partisan, so that readers from various traditions will understand what the meaning was without overt value judgments being made, which allows me to make them for you now.
Hurray for the disappearance of personal chapels and rood screens. Mary, God bless her, is exhausted from putting in way to many appearances.
Very few recent churches make the cut, but this is a good thing. The few that do are usually pretty embarrassing, revealing that older churches proclaimed a much bigger and more glorious God than many churches built today. You might could argue for a shift in focus from transcendence to immanence, but immanence should not mean boring and ugly. But I suppose the cost of God-glorifying variety is a few duds on the fringe.
The most common design sin of the older churches, however, is clutter. There are many wonderful themes and people to honor from both Scripture and church history, but one church shouldn't try to honor all of them, for St. Peter's Basilican sake.
There is a wonderful aspect to church architecture as a witness to the work of God over time; there is a great danger for a church to reflect the dumbest values of its own time. Trying to capture multiple time periods in the design of one church usually ends up looking like someone made the most of a career going to architectural yard sales.
Hurray for the disappearance of personal chapels and rood screens. Mary, God bless her, is exhausted from putting in way to many appearances.
Very few recent churches make the cut, but this is a good thing. The few that do are usually pretty embarrassing, revealing that older churches proclaimed a much bigger and more glorious God than many churches built today. You might could argue for a shift in focus from transcendence to immanence, but immanence should not mean boring and ugly. But I suppose the cost of God-glorifying variety is a few duds on the fringe.
The most common design sin of the older churches, however, is clutter. There are many wonderful themes and people to honor from both Scripture and church history, but one church shouldn't try to honor all of them, for St. Peter's Basilican sake.
There is a wonderful aspect to church architecture as a witness to the work of God over time; there is a great danger for a church to reflect the dumbest values of its own time. Trying to capture multiple time periods in the design of one church usually ends up looking like someone made the most of a career going to architectural yard sales.
May 17, 2016
Good little reference book, clear and well illustrated - snippets of writing rather than pages and pages which is helpful when you want to flick through or check up on something. Nearly pocket-sized so easy to take out and about.
Only downside for me was that it read a little art-historian-y.
Only downside for me was that it read a little art-historian-y.
March 9, 2022
I just finished "How to Read Churches: A Crash Course in Ecclesiastical Architecture," by Denis R. McNamara.
I know. I thought it sounded goofy too. I was having a beer with a co-worker (who can speak up if he likes) who is well educated in Architecture and told me about some of his classes he took that deal with the philosophy of Architecture. Fast forward four months and I wonder if they have one on sacred spaces. Yes. And this is the least philosophical book covering it.
This has to be the pinnacle of symbology.
What we see and experience in a church buildings Architecture: what are the worshipers there trying to communicate to others by it? This will probably be disjointed.
When Herod rebuilt the temple he incorporated a lot of Greco-Roman architectural influence which wasn't there before but which has been rolled into later places of worship.
Columns reflect abstracted human bodies bearing great weight.
Post reformation Architecture began to reflect house-churches or meeting houses similar to apostolic use rather than grand cathedrals.
The onion domes popularized in Russian Orthodox architecture come in groups of five domes which represent Christ and the four evangelists.
One motif to look for is that of the floral variety. In Architecture this is eschatological and points to a renewed earth, a re-doing or righting of the garden.
Baroque was a Roman revolt in Architecture to the Reformation. Key attributes of this were the ellipse. This shape represents the movement of the universe and thus the mind of God. Another was chaining motifs together working from outside to center. Lastly was the volute which was a spire and once jacked by Brit architects we ended up with a steeple.
Romanticism was an architectural approach to building an emotion. The result was often asymmetrical unlike the movements that preceeded it.
Ceilings are the one place where the distinction between earth and heaven is loudly proclaimed. This can be done with paintings or just with height and shape.
Octagonal geometry often represents eternity. This octagonal form was often seen in the shape of baptismal rooms which pointed to the future life of the candidate. God created in six, rested on the seventh and resurrected Jesus as Glorified on the eight. This resurrection is prototypical of our resurrection prefigured in baptism. So eight sides equal the eschatological eighth day.
The nave (where the pews are) was to represent the Christians journey through life which ended at the sanctuary. Historically the plan view of the church was "cruciformed."
Stop the presses: regardless of the direction the altar-end of the church faces it is called "liturgical east" and the other three cardinal points correspond directionally. So a cruciformed plan would have liturgical east at the head of the cross and one of the arms is the Epistle side while the other is the gosple side.
Domes like ceilings represent the heavens. They can have multiple windows in them and if twelve this represent the Apostles as bringing light to the world. Often the dome will rest on four pillars or columns which represent the evangelists.
Portals while functionally just a transition into a room or from the outside to the inside represent one's transition into the heavenly realm. They are often adorned with Christ Pantocrator, or Divine ruling Christ, the garden and new heavens. This perpetuates the sacred and secular divide between us--safe now inside--and them, the profane.
Windows: Reading a church building gets a bit easier when one knows that after the Reformation Protestant church buildings were less "where heaven meets earth" and more "this is where we meet together." One way this theological statement was made was eschewing the Roman round or elliptical windows or oculi for rectangular ones. The aforementioned round or elliptical windows often had tracery, came, and stained glass in them (St Peter's in Rome dove Oculi...its nice, Google it). Luther seemed not to have much of an artistic streak, but that's a guess; Calvin had less and no sense of humor.
Gargoyles?--yeah, here's the scoop. They represent those unhappy sould outside the Kingdom. But for a Gargoyle to be a Gargoyle and not a chimera the Gargoyle has to funnel water (gurgle) water off the roof. A chimera doesn't funnel but is still an unhappy soul who rejects God.
After reading this I have concluded that the Architecture of my low church upbringing is the equivalent to the grey, drab, concrete apartments in the former U.S.S.R: sure they get the job done but there is no soul to them, "hang your head, you've nothing to be proud about." Function has two siblings: Fit and Form. For a stretch let's contemplate the "This is where heaven meets earth" once more. Sure, that can be done anywhere but do we do this just anywhere or do we sometimes require a catalyst, a thin place?
Fun book.
#HowToReadChurches #Architecture #DenisRMcNamara #DenisMcNamara #Ecclesiology
I know. I thought it sounded goofy too. I was having a beer with a co-worker (who can speak up if he likes) who is well educated in Architecture and told me about some of his classes he took that deal with the philosophy of Architecture. Fast forward four months and I wonder if they have one on sacred spaces. Yes. And this is the least philosophical book covering it.
This has to be the pinnacle of symbology.
What we see and experience in a church buildings Architecture: what are the worshipers there trying to communicate to others by it? This will probably be disjointed.
When Herod rebuilt the temple he incorporated a lot of Greco-Roman architectural influence which wasn't there before but which has been rolled into later places of worship.
Columns reflect abstracted human bodies bearing great weight.
Post reformation Architecture began to reflect house-churches or meeting houses similar to apostolic use rather than grand cathedrals.
The onion domes popularized in Russian Orthodox architecture come in groups of five domes which represent Christ and the four evangelists.
One motif to look for is that of the floral variety. In Architecture this is eschatological and points to a renewed earth, a re-doing or righting of the garden.
Baroque was a Roman revolt in Architecture to the Reformation. Key attributes of this were the ellipse. This shape represents the movement of the universe and thus the mind of God. Another was chaining motifs together working from outside to center. Lastly was the volute which was a spire and once jacked by Brit architects we ended up with a steeple.
Romanticism was an architectural approach to building an emotion. The result was often asymmetrical unlike the movements that preceeded it.
Ceilings are the one place where the distinction between earth and heaven is loudly proclaimed. This can be done with paintings or just with height and shape.
Octagonal geometry often represents eternity. This octagonal form was often seen in the shape of baptismal rooms which pointed to the future life of the candidate. God created in six, rested on the seventh and resurrected Jesus as Glorified on the eight. This resurrection is prototypical of our resurrection prefigured in baptism. So eight sides equal the eschatological eighth day.
The nave (where the pews are) was to represent the Christians journey through life which ended at the sanctuary. Historically the plan view of the church was "cruciformed."
Stop the presses: regardless of the direction the altar-end of the church faces it is called "liturgical east" and the other three cardinal points correspond directionally. So a cruciformed plan would have liturgical east at the head of the cross and one of the arms is the Epistle side while the other is the gosple side.
Domes like ceilings represent the heavens. They can have multiple windows in them and if twelve this represent the Apostles as bringing light to the world. Often the dome will rest on four pillars or columns which represent the evangelists.
Portals while functionally just a transition into a room or from the outside to the inside represent one's transition into the heavenly realm. They are often adorned with Christ Pantocrator, or Divine ruling Christ, the garden and new heavens. This perpetuates the sacred and secular divide between us--safe now inside--and them, the profane.
Windows: Reading a church building gets a bit easier when one knows that after the Reformation Protestant church buildings were less "where heaven meets earth" and more "this is where we meet together." One way this theological statement was made was eschewing the Roman round or elliptical windows or oculi for rectangular ones. The aforementioned round or elliptical windows often had tracery, came, and stained glass in them (St Peter's in Rome dove Oculi...its nice, Google it). Luther seemed not to have much of an artistic streak, but that's a guess; Calvin had less and no sense of humor.
Gargoyles?--yeah, here's the scoop. They represent those unhappy sould outside the Kingdom. But for a Gargoyle to be a Gargoyle and not a chimera the Gargoyle has to funnel water (gurgle) water off the roof. A chimera doesn't funnel but is still an unhappy soul who rejects God.
After reading this I have concluded that the Architecture of my low church upbringing is the equivalent to the grey, drab, concrete apartments in the former U.S.S.R: sure they get the job done but there is no soul to them, "hang your head, you've nothing to be proud about." Function has two siblings: Fit and Form. For a stretch let's contemplate the "This is where heaven meets earth" once more. Sure, that can be done anywhere but do we do this just anywhere or do we sometimes require a catalyst, a thin place?
Fun book.
#HowToReadChurches #Architecture #DenisRMcNamara #DenisMcNamara #Ecclesiology
May 23, 2025
A darling little introductory-level book into Christian architecture. The presentation is really fabulous, but the colored pages and the light font as well as the tiny type made it kind of difficult to read. The illustrations also. Gorgeous, but so tiny.
The small size is intended to be packable, I think. But I would never take this book on a tour of any one church. There just wasn't enough info in it.
I guess the best thing that can be said for this book is that it makes a gorgeous gift, which is how it came into my hands and probably will be its fate going forward.
The small size is intended to be packable, I think. But I would never take this book on a tour of any one church. There just wasn't enough info in it.
I guess the best thing that can be said for this book is that it makes a gorgeous gift, which is how it came into my hands and probably will be its fate going forward.
October 8, 2024
I'd never really thought about why we build churches the way we do or what anything might mean until I read this book. It made me want to visit more old churches and see what I can learn. I only wish there were some actual pictures, not just line art.
July 3, 2025
A very pretty little book that I wish I'd read before my trip to Europe, explaining why so many details are the way they are (the answer is usually engineering or symbolism).
April 25, 2018
Short and highly-illustrated companion to visiting old churches. It's the illustrations that make this book the prize it is.
February 23, 2017
This was not the most exciting cover to cover read but I'm thankful to have it for future reference and have a much greater desire to get back to Europe and see some great cathedrals. The overwhelming theme repeated over and over in different parts of Christian architecture is the intersection of heaven and earth.
April 19, 2022
A fascinating look at church architecture, focusing on European churches. A few images are given of churches in other places, especially where they demonstrate a blend of styles. How to Read Churches is a more pictorial and less spiritual version of Heaven in Stone and Glass by Robert Barron, which is one of my personal favorites. While Barron walks you through churches indicating how they are designed to facilitate worship, McNamara points out the details, indicating how church architecture changed over time. This would be a great book to tuck in your bag next time you traipse through cathedrals. Why are gargoyles called gargoyles? (As rain spouts, they make gurlging noises.) Why are saints often depicted in stained glass or shiny mosaics? (It's a way of showing them radiating heavenly light.) Why are altar spaces so small, with ceilings so high? (The square footage looks back to the holy of holies, while the ceilings speak of a connection to heaven.)
Sometimes, the historical information was inaccurate (early Christians did not worship in catacombs, that's where they buried their dead) but enough of it was accurate to make this a largely trustworthy source. It made me want to pick up more research on ecclesiastical architecture, and McNamara serendipitously provided resources for doing so at the end. A glossary and index are also included.
Sometimes, the historical information was inaccurate (early Christians did not worship in catacombs, that's where they buried their dead) but enough of it was accurate to make this a largely trustworthy source. It made me want to pick up more research on ecclesiastical architecture, and McNamara serendipitously provided resources for doing so at the end. A glossary and index are also included.
March 29, 2015
McNamara could only have written this deceptively simple little book with complete mastery of his material, which covers everything even remotely structural in church architecture and ornament. He not only identifies the architectural features and design elements of churches, but explains their symbolism.
His writing is beautifully clear. Unusual or specialist terms are explained briefly and defined in a glossary at the end. Line drawings, mostly from the Western European traditions illustrate the features under discussion. Most seem to come from the Catholic tradition, but it has much more elaborate and continuing reference to decoration than the Protestant, which consciously dispensed with imagery during and after the Reformation.
I would have liked to see proper acknowledgement of the sources for the images. It's a disappointing lapse. I also found the faded out section headings difficult to read - a design misfire in a book where design is central.
Nevertheless, it has been a pleasure to read and will be a continuing reference.
His writing is beautifully clear. Unusual or specialist terms are explained briefly and defined in a glossary at the end. Line drawings, mostly from the Western European traditions illustrate the features under discussion. Most seem to come from the Catholic tradition, but it has much more elaborate and continuing reference to decoration than the Protestant, which consciously dispensed with imagery during and after the Reformation.
I would have liked to see proper acknowledgement of the sources for the images. It's a disappointing lapse. I also found the faded out section headings difficult to read - a design misfire in a book where design is central.
Nevertheless, it has been a pleasure to read and will be a continuing reference.
February 6, 2014
Part field guide, part wide ranging lesson on architecture and the built Christian environment, this is an excellent resource for a beginner or a fun read for an expert. I enjoyed the pocket format and enjoyed the fact it had hundreds of small illustrations—the point, I thought, wasn’t so much to be able to study one at length, but to show you numerous examples and variations and force readers to notice patterns and evolutions between styles. My only complaint was that the ending was a tad abrupt, but overall an great book.
July 15, 2014
The book suffers the absence of logic. Different terms are all messed up. Jesus, saints, iron bars, wooden doors, domes and roofs... everything goes as an architecture. The major problem is that you don't get start to read the churches after reading this book. You will get some clue to some things, but you don't really understand them. I would call this book a comics, but comics have a narrative at least. And this is just a poor attempt of a visual handbook. I can hardly understand how a PhD in Architecture History could produce such crap.
September 30, 2019
I picked this book up at Kentuck Knob, Frank Lloyd Wright's Eusonian home that's near Fallingwater. As a minister's son and architecture buff, I thought it might be uninteresting to me, but when I leafed through it, I decided it might be a handy reference work, after all.
For our recent trip to Italy, I chose to take it along, and to read it cover-to-cover. Glad I did.
One does not want to try reading too much of this at once, because it is, in fact, a reference book with illustrations. It is not unlike reading brief encyclopedia entries, one after another. One or two chapters per day, would be my suggestion, if actually trying to read it. Keep it handy on church, cathedral, temple, mosque and synagogue tours.
I like that a variety of examples are used for illustrating his points, and that he repeatedly reminds the reader that there is all sorts of cross-fertilization between places and times and movements. I like that there are few judgmental remarks about different movements and styles. (I began to suspect that the most neutral descriptions revealed personal dislike by the author, but that is only a hypothesis.)
The explanations are simple, but cumulatively there's a lot of technical vocabulary in here. (Another reason to limit the number of chapters read per day.)
So, a good, handy, portable (if you have the physical edition) reference book, that does its intended job well.
For our recent trip to Italy, I chose to take it along, and to read it cover-to-cover. Glad I did.
One does not want to try reading too much of this at once, because it is, in fact, a reference book with illustrations. It is not unlike reading brief encyclopedia entries, one after another. One or two chapters per day, would be my suggestion, if actually trying to read it. Keep it handy on church, cathedral, temple, mosque and synagogue tours.
I like that a variety of examples are used for illustrating his points, and that he repeatedly reminds the reader that there is all sorts of cross-fertilization between places and times and movements. I like that there are few judgmental remarks about different movements and styles. (I began to suspect that the most neutral descriptions revealed personal dislike by the author, but that is only a hypothesis.)
The explanations are simple, but cumulatively there's a lot of technical vocabulary in here. (Another reason to limit the number of chapters read per day.)
So, a good, handy, portable (if you have the physical edition) reference book, that does its intended job well.
April 13, 2024
(#28)
Genre & Format: Architecture | Print
Title: How to Read Churches
Author or Creator: Denis R. McNamara
Publisher: Herbert Press
Number of pages: 250
Year of publication/release: 2011
I have heard from multiple people closest to me that if I wasn’t in the field of library sciences, or an artist, or an author, I should have been an architect. Not an interior designer, but someone who designs buildings from the studs--transpets, piers, and flooring. I purchased this book when my partner and I honeymooned in Europe and I had to get it. This course made me actually sit down and read it thoroughly. Not only was it small enough to fit in my suitcase, it’s an excellent source and reference material for my writing. This book even goes into detail about the symbolism of stained glass and what each color represents. In fact, I recommend this book for anyone studying design, architecture, or in need of the right vocabulary to enrich their writing.
Genre & Format: Architecture | Print
Title: How to Read Churches
Author or Creator: Denis R. McNamara
Publisher: Herbert Press
Number of pages: 250
Year of publication/release: 2011
I have heard from multiple people closest to me that if I wasn’t in the field of library sciences, or an artist, or an author, I should have been an architect. Not an interior designer, but someone who designs buildings from the studs--transpets, piers, and flooring. I purchased this book when my partner and I honeymooned in Europe and I had to get it. This course made me actually sit down and read it thoroughly. Not only was it small enough to fit in my suitcase, it’s an excellent source and reference material for my writing. This book even goes into detail about the symbolism of stained glass and what each color represents. In fact, I recommend this book for anyone studying design, architecture, or in need of the right vocabulary to enrich their writing.
November 14, 2017
A handy little guide to all the nuances of church architecture. If you love the symbolism inherent in religion and in the great churches of Europe especially, this guide elucidates a lot of meaning the casual observer or tourist might miss. It’s always been impressive to me how the skilled artisans of a millennium ago expressed their devotion so brilliantly through media which have stood the test of time and stand today as a witness to a time when faith was at the center of life.
One suggestion for improvement might be to identify the location of more of the examples precisely, instead of things like “this church in rural England,” for example.
One suggestion for improvement might be to identify the location of more of the examples precisely, instead of things like “this church in rural England,” for example.
December 26, 2017
Un ghid ilustrat, cu informații de bază pentru cei care vor să înțeleagă mai bine elementele alcătuitoare ale bisericilor.
Textul este redus doar la informațiile esențiale, iar ilustrațiile sunt copii făcute din creion în alb și negru. Autorul acoperă o gamă largă de elemente arhitectonice ale bisericilor, precum și de câte tipuri sunt, din ce materiale sunt construite, semnificația unor simboluri etc.
Textul este redus doar la informațiile esențiale, iar ilustrațiile sunt copii făcute din creion în alb și negru. Autorul acoperă o gamă largă de elemente arhitectonice ale bisericilor, precum și de câte tipuri sunt, din ce materiale sunt construite, semnificația unor simboluri etc.
April 23, 2018
I very much appreciated this "crash course in ecclesiastical architecture." Some things that would have made it better for me...the pages that were dark in color were hard to read as the black print was not enough of a contrast from the dark colored page, the font was thin and harder to read, I would have enjoyed actual photos of more churches, rather than the sepia styled renderings. Still, I learned quite a bit and enjoyed the book.
April 29, 2021
Glosario maravillosamente ilustrado para entender mejor la arquitectura eclesiástica. A ratos un poco esclavo de su propio formato, rellenando algunas páginas con banalidades o anécdotas para cumplir con la paginación. Me ha llamado la atención el uso de muchas referencias de iglesias estadounidenses y reformadas, que en clases de historia de la arquitectura, al menos en España, se pasan de largo.
En todo caso, muy recomendado.
En todo caso, muy recomendado.
December 15, 2023
A very informational book about church architecture. If you ever wanted to know the difference between a spire and a steeple, learn about different types of buttresses (including the famous flying buttresses), or know the difference between a gargoyle and a chimera - among many, many more features and terms - this book is for you! It's compact and very well illustrated, so it's an approachable introduction to the world of church architecture.
September 18, 2025
I don't speak or read Spanish,but this book stil caught my attention.The images are really interesting on their own, and with the help of some translations I managed to follow parts of the text too. It works almost like a visual guide, and even with the language barrier, it gave me a better appreciation of ecclesiastical architecture and the details hidden in church design. Definitely a book I'd love to revisit in full if I can find an English version.
September 8, 2022
El libro hace un análisis detallado de cada uno de los elementos que conforman las iglesias, además de crear líneas de tiempo narrativas de materiales, estilos, complejidad y representación. Me gusta que se toma el tiempo de explicar significados que se encuentran en las iglesias y que se han adaptado al mundo, además del apoyo gráfico.
January 5, 2023
2.5 ⭐
Look, it's fine. It does give an overview of the different features of ecclesiastical buildings, but there is a lot to be desired and clarified. I think a more thorough and clearly explained guide to reading churches was sacrificed in the interests of creating a semi-pocket-sized book on the matter.
Look, it's fine. It does give an overview of the different features of ecclesiastical buildings, but there is a lot to be desired and clarified. I think a more thorough and clearly explained guide to reading churches was sacrificed in the interests of creating a semi-pocket-sized book on the matter.
April 6, 2018
Really interesting and accessible book, great for those for no to moderate knowledge of Christian architecture. Only complaint is all the images are etching style line drawings which gives a nice aesthetic but would be more informative if it used actual photograph
October 10, 2018
A good reference guide, clear drawn illustrations with summary text. Not all of the churches shown say where they are which is a shame, not that it would be humanly possible to visit them all!
Handy little book.
Handy little book.
December 8, 2018
I had a lot of fun with this little book. It's accessible to those who haven't studied art history, and the illustrations are excellent. Examples are drawn chiefly from England and the Continent, but there are a handful from the New World, as well.
August 9, 2019
I found this book absolutely fascinating. The layout was clear and simple with lots of nuggets of information about all kinds of aspects of church design, many of which I'd never even noticed before. I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in architecture.
September 9, 2019
I found the information fascinating and the pictures looked amazing. However they were dark and it was not always easy to see the detail they were demonstrating. It will make my visits to churches and cathedrals more interesting.
April 15, 2022
The size is convenient for carrying around and line drawings well done but I feel like it doesn’t cover the basics thoroughly, devoting only a two page spread to styles such as Renaissance or Baroque or Gothic. Much more time is spent on specific things such as types arches, windows, screens, etc.
March 5, 2023
Informative introductory read for those with an interest in church architecture, theologically, artistically, and structurally. All the visuals are drawn, but fortunately many of them are identified, so the reader can find online photos for closer inspection.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews