It is impossible to miss the exquisite stone carvings while visiting the centuries-old Notre Dame in Paris. Various stone-carved figures and animals can be on the columns, doorframes, doorways and door heads, and even around the windows.
But very few people know the stories behind these carvings.
"An Illustrated Dictionary of Stone Carvings in Ancient Western European Architecture," published by Beijing-based Foreign Languages Press, gives readers a glimpse of the art of stone carvings in Western Europe, and reveals a bit more about them, particularly those in France and Belgium.
"Although I've read quite a number of books on Western European architecture, I have never found one offering detailed information about these stone carvings," wrote Wang Guixiang in his review.
"The five-volume book not only provides good reference for architects, but is also a good read for those interested in art," said Wang, a professor with the Architecture School at Tsinghua University.
The book consists of five parts stone carvings on columns, doors, windows and balconies, as well as stone-carved figures and animals. The fifth volume focuses on gargoyles and chimera, and stone carvings in graveyards.
It also introduces stone carvings from some privately owned buildings. These art works bear neither political nor religious themes, being closely related to the lives of common people.
"Although the overall structure of architecture is important, I believe that it is the details that perfect the architecture," author Zou Qiyuan wrote in her preface.
Zou, a Chinese woman who has been living in Europe for more than 10 years, has captured the architecture from a different angle. Zou, who majored in art history, does not organize the book rigidly along a time-line. She explains the design and history from an artistic perspective.
The book's many photos were taken by Belgian photographer Christoph Deschryver, who presents the artistic sense of ancient Western European architecture from a European perspective.
(China Daily June 16, 2006)
