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[3] Rough preparatory sketch of the staircase hall, c.1817
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Reference number
SM 62/5/1
Purpose
[3] Rough preparatory sketch of the staircase hall, c.1817
Aspect
Interior perspective
Inscribed
labelled (pencil): Window, 17 rises, Door, Picture, Com- / posite, Pic, Picture, Picture (I think) and some dimensions given
Medium and dimensions
Pencil on two sheets of wove paper, affixed, with two fold marks (444 x 384)
Hand
Soane Office
Notes
This rough pencil sketch was probably made in preparation for a lecture drawing. These were large drawings made by Soane's pupils and assistants to illustrate his Royal Academy lectures. The staircase was referred to in Soane's eighth lecture, wherein it was upheld as a fine example, 'worthy to form part of a royal residence' (quoted in Watkin, Enlightenment Thought, p. 608). Drawing [3] shows the staircase hall from the first landing. The upper part of the staircase is richly decorated with Composite columns, pictures, statues, overdoor ornaments and a central, coffered apse (actually a trompe-l'oeil). The lecture drawing SM 76/2/12 shows this arrangement in elevation. The staircase was designed by James Wyatt after an earlier project by Sir William Chambers and was replaced by a new staircase by John Nash in 1825 (King's Works, VI, pp. 261 & 265).
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