The Beauty of the Metropolis

August Endell, James Conway

$49.99

Paperback

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English

University of Toronto Press
29 July 2025

Originally published in 1908, The Beauty of the Metropolis is a homage to urban life, celebrating cities with a particular focus on Berlin. In this lyrical essay, German architect and theorist August Endell invites readers to perceive familiar environments in a new light, advocating for an emotional, unmediated response to the visible world inspired by Lipps's theory of Einfhlung. He advocates seizing aesthetic ownership of urban surroundings, prefiguring our hypervisual culture. In his rhapsodic observations, Endell captures gaslight mingling with the last rays of sunshine, pedestrians moving in a ballet of unheard rhythms, and mist and rain casting fresh enchantment over familiar streets.

This new translation also features a selection of articles in which Endell introduces readers to aesthetic themes. He describes the greening of a tree with the urgency of true crime and anticipates the Bauhaus movement years before it becomes a reality. Reaching back to the close of the nineteenth century, these texts paradoxically serve as a rousing hymn to the present. With extensive notes and an afterword, this edition of The Beauty of the Metropolis offers a spirited inquiry into belonging and an engagement with culture that rejects unreflective nationalist pathos.

By: August Endell
Translated by: James Conway
Imprint: University of Toronto Press
Country of Publication: Canada
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 13mm
Weight: 220g
ISBN: 9781487558420
ISBN 10: 1487558422
Pages: 198
Publication Date: 29 July 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

August Endell (1871–1925) was a German architect, designer, theorist, and one of the founders of the Jugendstil movement. James J. Conway is a Berlin-based writer and translator from German to English.

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The Beauty of the Metropolis

August Endell, James Conway

$49.99

Paperback

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