The Order of Ornament, the Structure of Style

Book excerpt: This survey examines the emergence of modernism in Central European art, architecture and design, and its relationship to late nineteenth-century theories of style advanced by John Ruskin, Owen Jones, Gottfried Semper, and Alois Riegl. Schafter's study views nineteenth-century visual aesthetics within a broader intellectual context that is philosophical and scientific. It contributes to a new understanding of the origins of modernism outside of the premiere centers often associated with the Modern movement.