This book is Michel Comtes personal analysis of the neoclassical style. Employing an eclectic approach including original photos, reproductions of neoclassical treasures, and reworked images of masterpieces such as Michelangelos Pietà and Jacques-Louis Davids The Coronation of Napoleon, Comte traces the classical aesthetic and its rebirth as the neoclassic throughout the ages. From the Parthenon to Gianni Versaces designs, from Bernini to Albert Speers Reich Chancellery, the style has persisted and transformed itself again and again, as empires rose and fell around it. In Comtes words, the neoclassic demonstrates a dream of perfection, one we are seduced by even as we know its danger: History tells us that grandeur is destined to fail.

Born in Zurich in 1954, Michel Comte trained as an art restorer before turning to photography. His editorial work has appeared in publications including Vogue Italia, L'Uomo Vogue, Interview and Vanity Fair; and he has created advertising campaigns for brands including Armani, Moschino, Mercedes and Jaguar. In recent years Comte has ventured into reportage photography, documenting war and famine in the service of the International Red Cross; in 2004 he founded a foundation to provide drinking water to the Third World. Comte's books with Steidl include Aiko T (2000), Light (2016) and the upcoming One Night in Wien.