as above

Pencil, brown pen, sepia, blue, raw umber and olive green washes, shaded, with single ruled border on wove paper (565 x 450)

Joseph Michael Gandy ARA (1771 - 1843)

Weatherley & Lane 1818

SM 71/2/74-76 are among the most unusual drawings in the Soane Museum's collection. All three are preparatory sketches for presentation drawings by Soane's gifted draughtsman, Joseph Michael Gandy (1771-1843). Each has elements of Gandy's distinctive sketch style - rough ornamentation and details, liberal use of wash and a highly imaginative composition. The final presentation drawings were not executed - at least, none survives in the Soane Museum.

In contrast to SM 71/2/75 and SM 71/2/76, which both show a series of connected rooms at the Royal Entrance to the House of Lords, this drawing instead shows one detail. This is the cupola over the centre of the Royal Gallery. Similarly to the previous two drawings, however, the cupola is shown surrounded by clouds in a fantastical composition that serves to raise the status of the Royal Entrance as part of Soane's ceremonial processional route and to allude to the overarching theme of the 'apotheosis' of the King (S. Sawyer, 'Sir John Soane's symbolic Westminster: the apotheosis of George IV', Architectural History, 39, 1996, pp. 54-76).

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