The Mark J.Millard Architectural Collection: Northern European Books

This volume catalogues more than 140 titles in five languages, offering a fine review of sources and practices in Northern European architecture, from the Renaissance through the Baroque and into the Neoclassical period. Mallgrave’s introductory essay demonstrates how architectural developments in the German Renaissance, encompassing the Vitruvian tradition, reveal the influence of ancient Rome and Renaissance Italy, particularly in the treatises of Sebastiano Serlio, Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, and Andrea Palladio. The works of Peter Paul Rubens are but one example of the mediation of classical ideals that took place in the seventeenth century, before giving way to the Rococo themes of the eighteenth century. The Millard Collection is one of the finest private collections of rare illustrated books and bound series of prints on European architecture, design, and topography. Comprised of nearly 750 volumes now housed at the National Gallery of Art, it focuses on the most beautiful and influential books and prints published between the end of the fifteenth century and the middle of the nineteenth century. Many are rare first editions. The series, which includes volumes on British books and French books, will be completed next year with the publication of the final volume on Italian books. All of the volumes have been published by George Braziller.