Ferdinand Boberg, architect

Ferdinand Boberg (1860-1946) was the preeminent architect of Sweden at the turn of the century, and judged the dominant architectural force not only in his country but by international standards as well. His many-faceted work was an elegant expression of European civilization at its zenith. This is the first comprehensive, scholarly work to place Boberg's contributions within an international context. The text and several hundred illustrations, including a considerable number in full color, cover the entire range of his output, from architecture and interiors to his especially noteworthy designs for major expositions in Turin, Chicago, and Paris.Boberg, one of the most widely traveled architects of his time, was instrumental in transmitting the contemporary designs of the American innovators H. H. Richardson and Louis Sullivan into Swedish architecture. A large number of his important buildings remain in central Stockholm. They are designed in what might be called the "Queen Anne" style, with a great sense of three-dimensional form, classicizing details, bold massing, and symbolic as well as whimsical decorative details—a manner that is much in vogue among contemporary architects.In collaboration with his wife, painter Anna Boberg, his approach to domestic architecture in terms of an overall integration of plan, design, and crafts can be seen as a precursor to the vital Scandinavian modern design traditions. Boberg was also a talented artist, which is reflected not only in his architectural renderings, many of which are reproduced here in color, but also in a very large production of charcoal and pencil drawings and etchings.Distributed for The Swedish Museum of Architecture