"God is in the details" is a quote by American Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969). It means that when attention is paid to the small things it can have the biggest rewards and that the details matter. In this gallery we will view works that showcase Photography of Architecture and we'll dig into the detail the Architects, Master Builders, and Artists have put into their buildings. The details do matter and even the smallest detail can have the biggest impact and when fully appreciated one can hopefully see the beauty in attention to detail and how it can enrich the experience. (Full impact of this Gallery will need the use of the Zoom feature)
From the collection of: Delhi Photo Festival
The urban buildings seem right at home with the surrounding nature. These messy looking buildings look like they are protruding as an extension of the trees. The details found on the exterior of the buildings that are made up of windows, doors, and balconies together create a texture similar to those found on the tree tops.
The Marble Courtyard, 1623, From the collection of: Palace of Versailles
The Marble Courtyard at The Palace of Versailles is paved with black and white tile made of marble. The tile uses geometric patterns that are reminiscent of the surrounding architecture. The pattern is broken by a checkered strip in-between two of the main columns on the left and right of the courtyard walls. It is a detail that adds even more interest to the floor.
La chambre du roi, Charles Le Brun, François Girardon, From the collection of: The Château of Vaux le Vicomte
La chambre du roi’ or ‘The Kings Bedchamber’ looks fit for a king with the amazing use of gold, tapestry, and paintings by Artist Charles Le Brun. The amount of detail in the floral tapestry is beautiful. As you see the same pattern of tapestry adorns the walls, chairs and King’s bed. Every item in the room in fact takes on a similar floral pattern, creating a very unified look.
A.P. Kanvinde at home, Madan Mahatta, 1966, From the collection of: Kiran Nadar Museum of Art
Shape and texture are at play here in this Mid-Century home. Exposed brick is used throughout which plays along with the hardline shape of the other parts of the interior. If you look closely at the stars on the bottom left you can see they have a concrete quality about them, tying in with the natural exposed brick.
Untitled, M-City, From the collection of: Urban Forms Gallery
These buildings decorated by Graphic Artist Mariusz Waras aka M-City in Gdansk Poland might look like they’re just a wood grain exterior inlays but upon further inspection you see something else. If you zoom in you can see that he’s used images of what looks to be people, wheels, and various old-time machinery in the inlays. Some of which are elongated to mimic wood grain.
www.m-city.org
Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2010, Jean Nouvel, 10 July 2010 - 17 July 2010, From the collection of: Serpentine
You get a real sense of scale with the inclusion of the person at the bottom left. The tall red wall looks like it’s made of flat glass but upon further inspection you can see vertical rivets in the glass. This creates more interest and texture, when viewed up close.
From the collection of: Vancouver Art Gallery
At first you might think this is actually a brick wall with shapes and vivid colors within it. Upon further inspection, viewing it in detail, you can see each piece is a toy of a various shape, size, and color. You’ll also find it’s not a brick wall but multi-tiered shelves that the toys sit on. Each toy adds a layer of whimsy and curiosity to this work of art.
Building 3, great hall looking towards the north, Michel Marot, 1972, From the collection of: Villa Arson
The details in these glass chandeliers are reminiscent of stalactite formations you might find in a cave. The chandeliers protrude in a naturalistic way from the ceiling, giving them an organic look. If you look closely you can see that each piece is a uniform glass shape with the light source spreading from the center of each stalactite like formation.
Photograph of the interior of Vyborg Library, Gustaf Welin, 1935, From the collection of: Alvar Aalto Foundation
The Vyborg Library interior design is balanced with hard lines and curvature. One detail that gives the space it’s balance is in the round stools on the floor. This creates uniformity with the round lighting above. It also gives the hard lines in between the floor and the lighting some breathing room to the human eye.
ADG Al-Omira Building 1, Anna Kurkova, 2014, Original Source: http://www.f-in-d.com/stories/abu-dhabi-guide-2014-al-omaira-building
The exterior detail of this building is different than the surrounding buildings with its pattern of squares and rectangles. In being so different from the other buildings of close proximity it becomes unique. If you look close enough you can see a rectangle pattern continued at a smaller scale within the taller rectangles.
Credits: All media
This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.
