Many people turned to drawing as a solace during the long days of lockdown, but nobody perhaps will have rivalled George Saumarez Smith for specialist skill. George is celebrated for the elegance of his work as one of Britain’s foremost classical architects. As a student at Edinburgh University, he belonged to the last year group to be taught the skill of measured drawing as part of the core syllabus and it would become a passion for him. Sketchbooks: Collected Measured Drawings and Architectural Sketches presents a selection of the drawings that he has made in the last twenty-five years in a series of sketchbooks each of which is named after one of the Roman emperors.
George’s drawings display a supreme mastery that goes beyond technique and assumes the status of art. They constitute a series of concentrated observations on buildings from different parts of the world which unlock the secrets of their design and give insight into the minds of their creators. Simply by applying pencil to paper, aided only by a tape measure and a ruler to measure the building in front of him, George pursues an adventure in the world of built form whose aesthetic beauty will both amaze and delight.
Through the exceptional quality of its design and production values, this unusually handsome book reflects the quality of George’s drawings.
'These glorious sketchbooks remind one what it means to be properly civilised. George Saumarez Smith’s exquisite, educated eye, his draftsmanship, his subject matter, the sheer beauty of his drawings, make one long to have just a sliver of his remarkable talent and to earnestly hope that future generations might be able to draw even half as well as he does’. - Nicholas Coleridge
'This beautiful book reminds us of a vanished truth, that the glory of architecture can lie in detail and decoration as much as in proportion'. - Simon Jenkins
Reviews:
“This volume, beautifully produced by Triglyph Books, will suit not just students of architecture and armchair travellers, but all who love places and buildings, detail and beauty…..” House & Garden by Ben Pentreath. Click here to read the full review.
“The sensitivity with which Saumarez Smith wields his pencil is apparent on every page. …..” The Critic by James Stevens Curl. Click here to read the full review.
Click here to buy your copy from Triglyph, or from Amazon
Format: Hardcover 240pp
Dimensions: 25 x 2.7 x 31cm
Published by Triglyph Books
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