Der Palast von Sans-Souci in Milot, Haiti / The Palace of Sans-Souci in Milot, Haiti - Das vergessene Potsdam im Regenwald / The Untold Story of the Potsdam of the Rainforest

Über der kleinen haitianischen Stadt Milot thront noch heute eines der mysteriösesten Gebäude in der westlichen Hemisphäre: König Henry Christophes opulenter klassizistischer Palast im Regenwald. Weniger als ein Jahrzehnt nach der haitianischen Unabhängigkeit (1804) von Amerikas erstem schwarzafrikanischen König begonnen, wurde dieses massive Monument errichtet, um Haitis Macht und Selbstbewusstsein in einer feindseligen Welt aus übergriffigen Monarchien zur Schau zu stellen. Trotz seines Status als UNESCO-Welterbe und Touristenattraktion war das außergewöhnliche Gebäude nie zuvor Gegenstand einer konzentrierten wissenschaftlichen Studie. Auf Grundlage unveröffentlichter Archivquellen und einer exakten fotografischen Dokumentation wird in diesem Band erstmals Genaueres über die Entstehungsgeschichte und die Erbauer dieser außergewöhnlichen Architektur veröffentlicht. Das Buch entstand im Rahmen der Panofsky-Professur am Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte München, die Gauvin Alexa nder Bailey im Jahr 2017 innehatte.

Rezension:

"This short book is as fascinating as it is original. [...] Gauvin Alexander Bailey has served his subject wonderfully well. By dint of painstaking research, his meticulous scholarship has stripped away the many layers of myth, exaggeration and downright falsehood that accreted around King Henry's life and times. [...] A very good impression of what remains of the academy of Sans-Souci, and also of the Citadelle and other contemporary buildings, can be gained from the 30 high-quality and well-chosen illustrations that adorn this beautifully produced book."
Tim Blanning in: The Art Newspaper 10.08.2018 https://www.theartnewspaper.com/review/frederick-the-great-and-the-royals-bonbons

"Thanks to the depth and detail of Bailey's historical, cultural and architectural analyses and the copious illustrations, the palace has now found its place in scholarship and been set into the context of its time and the people involved, from royalty to architectural engineers and bric klayers. Bailey reveals Sans-Souci to be a treasure worthy of its designation in 1982 as a World Heritage Site."
Legrace Benson in: The Burlington Magazine 161 (2019), 615

Klappentext:

One of the most mysterious buildings in the Western hemisphere, King Henri Christophe's lavish neoclassical palace in the rain forest, enthrones the small Haitian town of Milot. Begun less than a decade after the Haitian Revolution for independence (1804) by the first black African king in the Americas, this massive monument was built to showcase Haiti's power and self-confidence.

Despite its status as UNESCO World Heritage and a tourist attraction, the unusual building has never before been the subject of a study. On the basis of unpublished archival sources and exact photographic documentation, this book is the first to publish detailed information about the genesis this extraordinary architecture and the story of its builder.