Gottfried Semper

The German architect Gottfried Semper (1803-79) travelled extensively in Italy and Greece before taking a state position in Dresden. Like many intellectuals, he was swept up in the revolutionary fervour of 1848-49. However, in Dresden, the attempt at revolution failed. It was then that Semper's life was upended and he found himself in a years-long exile, travelling throughout Europe. This period of exile was one of continual struggle for the architect, but it brought about dramatic changes in his aesthetic ideas and led to publications in the elements of art and architecture, Style in the Technical and Tectonic Arts, Or, Practical Aesthetics. While this work has been considered a departure point for writing in the arts, it was, at its roots, a natural history treatment of style and artistic elements, and followed a similar framework to the one set up by Brongniart in Arts céramiques.