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Preliminary designs for the entrance front: D, 30 August - 4 September 1800 (3)
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Purpose
Preliminary designs for the entrance front: D, 30 August - 4 September 1800 (3)
Notes
Drawings 79 to 81 vary very little from each other and are clearly a set of progressively worked up designs, beginning with Soane's original, moving to Sword's copy and another with more shading and detail.
The two characterising features of this scheme are the very large lantern (which was apparently to have stained glass used in the pilasters) and the flint pilasters which articulate the main body of the house. Presumably the effect would have been similar to that of Pitzhanger's gated entrance that Soane later built - flint pilasters against a brick body. G. Darley suggests that the idea of making use of these materials reflects the nostalgic mood in which he bought the house: 'He explored divergent options, toying with the materials of his youth, the flints and clays of the Thames Valley and the Chilterns, a reflection of the retrospective mood in which he had bought the house'.
The two characterising features of this scheme are the very large lantern (which was apparently to have stained glass used in the pilasters) and the flint pilasters which articulate the main body of the house. Presumably the effect would have been similar to that of Pitzhanger's gated entrance that Soane later built - flint pilasters against a brick body. G. Darley suggests that the idea of making use of these materials reflects the nostalgic mood in which he bought the house: 'He explored divergent options, toying with the materials of his youth, the flints and clays of the Thames Valley and the Chilterns, a reflection of the retrospective mood in which he had bought the house'.
Literature
G. Darley, John Soane: an accidental Romantic, 1999, p.153
Level
Group
Digitisation of the Drawings Collection has been made possible through the generosity of the Leon Levy Foundation
If you have any further information about this object, please contact us: drawings@soane.org.uk
Contents of Preliminary designs for the entrance front: D, 30 August - 4 September 1800 (3)
- [79] Preliminary design for the entrance front: D, 30 August 1800
- [80] Preliminary design for the entrance front: D, 4 September 1800
- [81] Preliminary design for the entrance front: D, 30 August - 4 September 1800