Volume 20, Number 19 · November 29, 1973
Dream Houses
By Ernst Gombrich
On Adam's House in Paradise: The Idea of the Primitive Hut in Architectural History
by Joseph Rykwert
The Museum of Modern Art, New York Graphic Society, 224, 87 illustrations pp., $4.95 (paper)
The title of these architectural meditations is attractive. It is pleasant to think of Adam, the perfect man, living in a perfect house in Paradise. Not a primitive hut to be sure, but a well-appointed residence with plenty of labor-saving devices for Eve. Alas, like so many other pleasant fantasies this one must be heretical. Adam no more had a house in Paradise than Eve had a dress. In those balmy regions, the perfect pair before the Fall were in need neither of shelter nor of garments.
Review, 2054 words
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