Architectural Drawing
1824-1835 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The elevation of the entrance façade was designed by Sir John Soane and this drawing by Charles James Richardson is a final study for the lithograph made for a plate in Soane's book published in 1835. Richardson was Soane's assistant in 1824-1837 and may have altered the original design as no known Soane scheme corresponds with the elevation as shown here.
The origins of the project stretch back to the summer of 1779 when Soane was in Parma. While there, he decided to enter the prize competition to be staged the following spring by the academy of that city. The prescribed subject for this open student competition was Castello d'Aqua, or waterworks. With the help of his friend, the amateur architect Thomas Pitt, Soane picked his way through a welter of different plan types and elevations, some al antica some in 'modern' vein. In the winter the form crystallised in along the lines shown in the Richardson's plan.
A Pantheon-domed water tank fed outlying reflecting pools and corner fountains. The plan derived from Soane's own James King Mausoleum. Richardson's rusticated elevation is faithful to the spirit of Soane's but altered the architectural order. Soane employed a baseless Doric because of its primitive overtones and Richardson's are encrusted with an exaggerated vermiculation that gives the shafts the appearance of being fur-jacketed in an almost Mannerist fashion.
The origins of the project stretch back to the summer of 1779 when Soane was in Parma. While there, he decided to enter the prize competition to be staged the following spring by the academy of that city. The prescribed subject for this open student competition was Castello d'Aqua, or waterworks. With the help of his friend, the amateur architect Thomas Pitt, Soane picked his way through a welter of different plan types and elevations, some al antica some in 'modern' vein. In the winter the form crystallised in along the lines shown in the Richardson's plan.
A Pantheon-domed water tank fed outlying reflecting pools and corner fountains. The plan derived from Soane's own James King Mausoleum. Richardson's rusticated elevation is faithful to the spirit of Soane's but altered the architectural order. Soane employed a baseless Doric because of its primitive overtones and Richardson's are encrusted with an exaggerated vermiculation that gives the shafts the appearance of being fur-jacketed in an almost Mannerist fashion.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pencil, pen and ink with brown, grey and blue wash. |
| Brief description | Elevation of the entrance façade of Castello D'Aqua by C.J. Richardson; a copy of a drawing and design by Sir John Soane; 1824-1835. |
| Physical description | Elevation of the entrance façade. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Object history | Historical significance: This drawing must be one of the final studies by Richardson for the lithograph made for a plate in Soane's book published in 1835. This drawing was pasted into a copy of John Soane’s book Designs for Public and Private Buildings owned by Soane’s assistant Charles James Richardson. Richardson built up a large collection of originals and copies (many of which he executed himself) of his master’s designs, and distributed the bulk of them into two folio volumes, interspersed with the printed pages of the book. These volumes were bought by the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) in 1863. |
| Production | A copy of a drawing by Sir John Soane with a certain amount of Richardson's artistic license as no known Soane scheme corresponds with this elevation. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Associations | |
| Summary | The elevation of the entrance façade was designed by Sir John Soane and this drawing by Charles James Richardson is a final study for the lithograph made for a plate in Soane's book published in 1835. Richardson was Soane's assistant in 1824-1837 and may have altered the original design as no known Soane scheme corresponds with the elevation as shown here. The origins of the project stretch back to the summer of 1779 when Soane was in Parma. While there, he decided to enter the prize competition to be staged the following spring by the academy of that city. The prescribed subject for this open student competition was Castello d'Aqua, or waterworks. With the help of his friend, the amateur architect Thomas Pitt, Soane picked his way through a welter of different plan types and elevations, some al antica some in 'modern' vein. In the winter the form crystallised in along the lines shown in the Richardson's plan. A Pantheon-domed water tank fed outlying reflecting pools and corner fountains. The plan derived from Soane's own James King Mausoleum. Richardson's rusticated elevation is faithful to the spirit of Soane's but altered the architectural order. Soane employed a baseless Doric because of its primitive overtones and Richardson's are encrusted with an exaggerated vermiculation that gives the shafts the appearance of being fur-jacketed in an almost Mannerist fashion. |
| Bibliographic reference | du Prey, P. de la Ruffinière. Sir John Soane: Catalogues of Architectural Drawings in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1985, p. 31, cat. 13 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 3307:19 |
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| Record created | February 5, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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