Los catálogos de piezas constructivas y ornamentales en arquitectura: artefactos modernos del siglo XIX y patrimonio del siglo XXI

Abstract

During the second half of the nineteenth century, when experience in the foundry of building components in iron had already considerably matured, the first commercial catalogues appeared for the promotion and sale of cast iron objects in a large variety of forms, sizes and functions, including architectural components, street furniture and statuary. In keeping with the international academic tradition, which made use of artists' impressions to show how a finished building would look, and at a time when the relation between architecture as artistic expression and the possibilities of modern construction was being redefined, nineteenth-century catalogues offer a clear demonstration of the mutual dependence of art and technology. While aiming to present the functional aspects of their products—dimensions and methods of installation or combination—they could only interest their potential buyers if they used traditional and esthetically convincing artistic modes of expression.