Heart of Europe

Name: Heart of Europe
Author: Ralph Adams Cram

By Ralph Adams Cram

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Architecture Art History - European History - Warfare

About This Book

A richly illustrated study of the cultural and architectural heartland between the Seine and the Rhine that traces medieval developments through cathedrals, civic buildings, sculpture, painting, tapestry, and allied arts. It surveys the political and social forces that shaped medievalism—communal institutions, burgher patronage, and the influence of crusading ambitions—while examining regional schools in Flanders, Brabant, the Rhineland, and Picardy. Chapters combine art-historical description and architectural analysis of major Gothic cathedrals and town monuments, profiles of fifteenth-century painters and sculptors, and accounts of industrial change and wartime damage that altered the built heritage.

About the Author

Ralph Adams Cram

Ralph Adams Cram was an American architect and author, known for his contributions to both literature and the architectural landscape of the early 20th century. He is particularly recognized for his ghost stories, as exemplified in his collection "Black Spirits and White: A Book of Ghost Stories," which showcases his flair for the supernatural. Cram's literary work often reflects his philosophical musings on society and culture, as seen in titles like "The Decadent: Being the Gospel of Inaction." His writings explore themes of existentialism and the human condition, making him a notable figure in American literature.