Architectural Representation in Victorian England Available to Purchase

Victorian architectural theorists believed that buildings were capable of conveying meanings in a direct and precise way, rather like books, paintings, or even orators. These meanings were understood to refer to things outside the building: architecture was thus conceived to be a representational form of art. This essay explores some of the consequences of this view. What subjects did Victorian buildings represent, and how did they do so? What criteria determined a building's adequacy as a representation? How, finally, did the demand for representational content shape the central Victorian concept of architectural truth?