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  • image SM 45/1/20

Reference number

SM 45/1/20

Purpose

[6] Variant design

Aspect

Elevation of variant design and (feint pencil) part elevation

Scale

bar scale of 1/20 in to 1 ft

Inscribed

(on a tablet) JACOBUS INFANTA DI PARMA and pedestal to fountain labelled 40:0

Medium and dimensions

Pen, sepia and light blue washes, shaded, pencil additions within single ruled border on laid paper (352 x 518)

Hand

Soane and ? Carlo Labruzzi (P. du Prey's attribution)

Watermark

fleur-de-lis, crowned cartouche with GR below

Notes

du Prey (1982, op.cit., p.365, fn. 24) identifies the finishing touches added to this variant elevation as being made by Carlo Labruzzi, 1748-1817, a landscape painter who drew and painted views for foreign tourists. These set the Castello d'acqua in a piazza (a requirement of the Parma Academy's competition). Here, the dome is slightly steeper and plain masonry replaces the rustication shown in SM 45/1/21, the order is now Roman rather than Greek Doric and, rather strikingly, six naked figures sit on the parapet above the entablature holding a festoon; the seven standing figures with urns shown in SM 45/1/21 are omitted.

Literature

P. du Prey, John Soane's architectural education 1753-80, 1977, pp.274-8
P. du Prey, John Soane: the making of an architect, 1982, pp.184-6

Level

Drawing

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