No one understands and writes about Classical design like Steven W. Semes, Academic Director of Notre Dame School of Architecture’s Rome Program, and author of the recent The Future of the Past Norton, 2009.
“The central images of Michelangelo’s frescoes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling are so familiar that they are now almost never seen as architectural decoration. We often overlook the extraordinary way the tableaux depicting the story of the Creation are framed by supporting figures and painted architecture. The composition of the ceiling is governed by the architecture of the room and the figures are rendered as either “real” or “ornamental,” depending on their role in the composition.”
~ Steven Semes, The Architecture of the Classical Interior Norton, 2004.
See also: The View From Rome
Caput Mundi
The Classicist
Traditional Building Magazine
Pure Ornament
Mural Guild