The Age of Sinan

Book excerpt: "In this work, Gulru Necipoglu convinces us that Sinan's rich variety of mosque designs sprang from a process of negotiation between the architect and his patrons, rather than from the restless, unrestrained formal experimentation previously attributed to him. The author is the first to use a broad range of published and unpublished primary sources specifically in order to illuminate the cultural setting in which Sinan's monuments were produced and 'received'. She describes how Sinan created a layered system of mosque types, reflecting social status and territorial rank, shaped by ideas of identity, memory and decorum. Seen from this perspective, Sinan's monuments, with their highly standardized forms, used in ingeniously varied combinations, acquire dimensions of meaning that have not been recognized hitherto." "Illustrated with hundreds of specially commissioned photographs and architectural drawings, The Age of Sinan is unlikely ever to be superseded."--BOOK JACKET.