Il Mobile A Roma Dal Rinascimento Al Barocco

From the Renaissance to the Baroque, this new book by art historian Alvar González-Palacios traces the history of Rome through its furniture and decorative arts, from the sober elegance of the 16th and early 17th century to the post-Berninian Baroque furniture.

González-Palacios' work has evolved from archival research to direct analysis of different families of furniture over the centuries: from those destined for Paul V and the Barberini to the work of Bernini, to which are linked - and from which derive - sculpted furniture, chairs, beds, stools, frames... The book includes the night clocks that Rome exported throughout Europe and furniture that belonged or once belonged to Palazzo Colonna, including "La macchina di Polifemo e Galatea", a harpsichord designed by Michele Todini (1616-1689), which is now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

This comprehensive and richly illustrated volume offers a profound scientific reflection on Roman furniture and decorative arts; it collects, updates and integrates, with an interdisciplinary approach, the numerous studies already produced by the author on the subject and his reflections on this branch of Baroque art, which evolves between metamorphoses, transgressions, inventions and astonishing artifices.