"The enduring influence of the architect Gottfried Semper (1803-79) derives less from his monumental buildings in Dresden, Zurich, and Vienna than from his Style in the Technical and Tectonic Arts (1860-63). Semper's landmark survey of the motives giving rise to the technical arts (textiles, ceramics, carpentry, masonry) explores the symbolic and material preconditions of style. An extended inquiry into the inner principles of artistic form, this work radically altered the intellectual field for aesthetics and art history and stands as a vital document in the consolidation of modern architectural theory."--BOOK JACKET.