Home > Catalogue > Venezia Arti > 27 | 2018 > A Lucky metaphor by Cesare Brandi: The "Crystal Churches" of the Armenians

Venezia Arti | Vol. 27 | December 2018

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Research Article

A Lucky metaphor by Cesare Brandi: The "Crystal Churches" of the Armenians

Marco Ruffilli    Université de Genève, Suisse    

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abstract

The expression ‘chiese di cristallo’ (crystal churches) appeared in the title of an article written by Cesare Brandi in 1968 for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, which reviewed a photo exhibition on Armenian architecture. This definition for Armenian churches met some success in critical studies and it is often used in non-academic literature. The aim of this brief essay is to explain Brandi’s metaphor of crystal in light of earlier theoretical considerations – such as the ones of Alois Riegl and Wilhelm Worringer – and in relation to additional examples of this expression found in Italian art critics of the first half the 20th century.

Published
Dec. 13, 2018
Accepted
Aug. 23, 2018
Submitted
July 30, 2018
Language
IT

Keywords: Wilhelm Worringer • Metafora del cristallo • Alois Riegl • Architettura armena • Cesare Brandi

permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/VA/2385-2720/2018/27/008

Copyright: © 2018 Marco Ruffilli. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.