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Finished drawing for the garden (south) front of the house, executed with alterations, 1771 (1)
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Purpose
Finished drawing for the garden (south) front of the house, executed with alterations, 1771 (1)
Notes
The south front at Stowe was executed to an altered version of this design by Thomas Pitt in 1772-77. Pitt's deviations from Adam's design reduced the movement and flamboyance of the façade, and include: pavilions raised to the height of the central block; Ionic and Corinthian elements of a uniform size; Venetian windows replaced with flat-topped tripartite windows; the hipped roof flatted and hidden by the parapet; the basement arcade replaced with an external staircase; and ornamental changes such as the application of banded rustication to the basement; the inclusion of an unbroken window entablature; a parapet of sculpted panels rather than a continuous balustrade; and statues omitted from the roof.
In conversation Professor Rowan has suggested that prior to the production of this drawing Earl Temple had shown Adam Giovanni Battista Borra's design for the previous south front of the house - either in a drawing, or in G. Bickham's The Beauties of Stowe (1753) - as there are notable similarities between the two schemes.
In conversation Professor Rowan has suggested that prior to the production of this drawing Earl Temple had shown Adam Giovanni Battista Borra's design for the previous south front of the house - either in a drawing, or in G. Bickham's The Beauties of Stowe (1753) - as there are notable similarities between the two schemes.
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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