Drawing
18th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Chambers was born in Sweden and died in London. He travelled widely, visiting China, and studied architecture at the Ecole des Arts, Paris, from 1749 and in Italy from 1750 to 1755. Many of his drawings from this period are contained in his important 'Franco-Italian' album, held in the V&A. Chambers moved to London in 1755 and published his influential Treatise on Civil Architecture in 1759. Chambers demonstrated the breadth of his style in buildings such as Gower (later Carrington) House and Melbourne House, London, in such country houses as Duddingston, Scotland, and in the garden architecture he designed for Wilton House, Wiltshire, and at Kew Gardens. He became head of government building in 1782, and in this capacity built Somerset House, London.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pen and ink, pencil and yellow wash |
| Brief description | Plan of a triumphal arch; William Chambers |
| Physical description | Plan of a triumphal arch. The plan, probably made in Italy, shows a colossal arch of complicated plan, an imaginative scheme for an almost unbuildable project. The arch is flanked at each side by a pair of detached columns. The opening at the front is wider than the openings on the other three sides. All four of the main legs of the arch are decorated with numerous attached pilasters and niches. In the centre of the archway is a smaller arch. This is square in plan. Each of the four corner legs is flanked by a pair of detached columns. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'Plan of a Triumphal Arch' (in ink) |
| Object history | Bought from E. Parsons, 1869. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Chambers was born in Sweden and died in London. He travelled widely, visiting China, and studied architecture at the Ecole des Arts, Paris, from 1749 and in Italy from 1750 to 1755. Many of his drawings from this period are contained in his important 'Franco-Italian' album, held in the V&A. Chambers moved to London in 1755 and published his influential Treatise on Civil Architecture in 1759. Chambers demonstrated the breadth of his style in buildings such as Gower (later Carrington) House and Melbourne House, London, in such country houses as Duddingston, Scotland, and in the garden architecture he designed for Wilton House, Wiltshire, and at Kew Gardens. He became head of government building in 1782, and in this capacity built Somerset House, London. |
| Bibliographic reference | Snodin Catalogue Number: 752 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 7076:40 |
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| Record created | June 30, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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