Inscribed
Inscribed in ink on drawing 17verso inscribed in ink in a contemporary hand Cela Suffit/ That is enough That is enuff there is enough
Signed and dated
- Undated, probably 1755 - 56.
Medium and dimensions
Pencil311 x 203
Hand
recto Laurent-Benoît Dewez (attributed to) verso Robert Adam
Verso
Three sketch elevations in black chalk of tiered mausolea or temples, one with a spire and on a rusticated basement, the other two with shallow, stepped domes above arcades. The mausolea may be compared with a more original Adam scheme in Adam volume 55/150. Also shown is a centralised plan, possibly for a mausoleum, of the Greek Cross type, and, in pen, is an outline landscape with conifers, a bridge and a building. These drawings are certainly in Robert Adam's hand and may be compared with his tower drawings in Adam vol.55/20. The inscription is likely to be one of Adam's two copyists trying their English, spelt phonetically, or Dewez himself, who spoke little English before coming to London (see J. Fleming, Robert Adam And His Circle in Edinburgh & Rome, London, 1962, p.216).
Watermark
C.& I. Honig
Notes
There are other exercises on this theme of a semi-circular court and pavilions in Adam vol.9/51, 52, 62; also in 9/241 in the later section of this volume. The scale of the composition relates it to the large designs in Adam vol.9/43 and 44 that resemble the Roman Baths. While the drawings on the verso are in Robert Adam's hand, the scheme here may be attributed to Laurent-Benoít Dewez (1721-1813).
Level
Drawing
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