Funny looking house.

[canuck]

This reminds me a bit of the mannerist houses you find in renaissance Italy with
human features with a Looney Tunes edge. I always get a kick out of this one when I drive by. I dont even know if the effect was intended but I suspect it was. The funny thing is I never heard mention of it in any media in Montreal. Anyways, this is the culprit:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?client=sa...35.41,,0,-14.1

[Gistok]

Canuck.... when I think Mannerist... I think more of this [[as you described with the Looney Tunes)...
http://www.globopix.de/fotos/baden-w...hlosses32.html

But what you're showing reminds me more of the "Jugendstil" Art Nuveau... especially as found in Munich....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwwuppertal/3086306709/#

Now that looks whimsical!!

[canuck]

Yes, I was thinking of a really amazing doorway on the Palazzo Zuccari in Rome. The painter Zuccari designed his own palace begun in 1591, unfinished at his death. I always liked that building.

The detail in that Munich house is fascinating. I'm reading a book on the life and work of Mackintosh the scottish architect, painter and designer. He spent some time in Vienna and designed some houses that were related to the Vienna secessionist school also. Strong stuff. There was a time when architects learned the vocabulary and the freehand drawing skills to use elements in a new way. That era at the dawn of the 20th century had just the right balance of the decorative and structure.

http://traveldk.com/rome/dk/palazzo-zuccari