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Design for the interior of a new House of Lords, 10 June 1825
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- Sir John Soane office drawings: the drawings of Sir John Soane and the office of Sir John Soane
Reference number
SM 51/3/47
Purpose
Design for the interior of a new House of Lords, 10 June 1825
Aspect
Section through the House of Lords looking east with part plan of the ceiling
Scale
bar scale of 1/5 inch to 1 foot
Inscribed
labelled (pencil): Col or C (10 times) and some dimensions given
Signed and dated
- 10 June 1825 - 11 June 1825
10/6/25 and 11/6/25
Medium and dimensions
Pencil, sepia, pink, blue and yellow washes, pricked for transfer on wove paper (549 x 732)
Hand
Joseph Michael Gandy ARA (1771 - 1843)
Notes
This is a counterpart to SM 51/3/54, another sectional design, and shows a section through the House of Lords looking towards the river. The hipped roof outlined in pencil on the other drawing is present here. A small detail at the top of the sheet shows part of a panelled ceiling with a rosette - presumably this is for the ceiling of the chamber. A figure in red robes is provided for scale.
"The indirect lighting above the Chamber's east end not only provided an aura of sacral mystery but also preserved the east wall as a solid, austere backdrop against which to view the throne and its ornate, Neoclassical canopy". According to Sean Sawyer, the design of the throne and other ornamentation drew inspiration from the Napoleonic tradition - especially the work of Chalgrin and Percier and Fontaine (S. Sawyer, Soane at Westminster, PhD thesis, Columbia University, 1999, p. 750).
"The indirect lighting above the Chamber's east end not only provided an aura of sacral mystery but also preserved the east wall as a solid, austere backdrop against which to view the throne and its ornate, Neoclassical canopy". According to Sean Sawyer, the design of the throne and other ornamentation drew inspiration from the Napoleonic tradition - especially the work of Chalgrin and Percier and Fontaine (S. Sawyer, Soane at Westminster, PhD thesis, Columbia University, 1999, p. 750).
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