St Paul's Cathedral: Sir Christopher Wren

by Vaughan Hart

St Paul's Cathedral is one of the most magnificent buildings ever constructed. With arches modelled on those in the ancient Basilica of Maxentius and a huge dome rivaling that of St Peter's, Wren's Cathedral reflects the glory of ancient and modern Rome. In structure, form and detail the design exemplifies Wren's principle of natural beauty, which he justified with reference to the history of architecture and the hidden truths of nature as cultivated by seventeenth-century science. Wren advised the architect 'to think his judges...those that are to live five centuries after him, as (well as) those of his own time', and St Paul's represents Wren's own attempt to set in stone an architecture of eternal validity.

60 pages, Paperback

First published November 5, 1995

About the author

Vaughan Hart is a leading architectural historian, and Professor of Architecture in the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering at the University of Bath.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a short book about 57 pages. There were a few good photographs of this magnificent cathedral but the text was boring.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I can't go to London to see it for myself, this is the next best thing.