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Utility & Beauty
Gottfried Semper’s Artistic education and applied arts.

The first International Exhibition, London, 1851, highlighted the strong bond between utility and beauty to guarantee a future for Art, which was going to succumb because of the growing technique affirmation. Gottfried Semper (1803-1879), one of the most relevant German designers of XIX century and precursor of the industrial design, testified this sensibility with his theoretical and practical studies. Semper was convinced that the architect’s job embraces both the constructive and the design aspects. For this reason, the artistic training cannot preclude the knowledge of the different areas of the applied arts.

Nicola Squicciarino is Professor at Florence University and at Rome University “LUISS”. He has published many books on art, architecture and fashion.