A Rake’s Progress (1734-5) and An Election (1755) are the most famous of William Hogarth’s series of ‘modern moral subjects’. Hazlitt described Hogarth’s paintings as ‘A perpetual collision of eccentricities, a tilt and tournament of absurdities, the prejudices and caprices of mankind let loose’ and they still delight, interest and amuse as much today as two hundred years ago and the biting quality of their moral satire is undiminished. More
John Soane died in 1837 but his legacy lives on in his architecture. Today architects across the world are inspired by his magical interiors. Four outstanding contemporary architects explore Sir John Soane's house and museum and identify works and motifs of his that have insired them or that they have specificaly referenced. More
In the library of Sir John Soane’s remarkable house at 13, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, several volumes of Italian architectural drawings of the 16th and 17th centuries have remained until today one of London’s hidden treasures. They have never been catalogued before in detail. More
This fully illustrated catalogue brings to light a forgotten masterpiece of Regency sculpture - the beautiful and mysterious Capriccio by the Italian gem-engraver and medallist Benedetto Pistrucci (1783-1855). Thought lost since 1855, the Capriccio is an enigmatic composition of heaped-up fragments brilliantly carved from a single block of white marble. More
Wotton has been dealt many blows and survived them all. Today it is a blossoming country house with the mark of Sir John Soane's essential reconstructions. Wotton's hardships and reconstructions are described and illustrated in a variety of ways. More
“I am not a modernist but ... I agree with the modernists in every way except that I think their brand of modernism is not very good.” Raymond Erith looked to achieve what he called the true “economy of means”, using traditional means to create original buildings with progressive ideas behind them. More
John Taylor examines Soane’s cork models, most of which were made in Naples in the early 19th century by Domenico Padiglione. They record archaeological sites as they were at that time – for example, the temples at Paestum, Pompeii, the tomb of the Horatii and Curiati outside Rome, Etruscan tomb excavations – complete with miniature jars and skeletons – and Stonehenge. The collection is set in the context of others in Europe. More
The sculptor and draughtsman John Flaxman (1755-1826) is here celebrated and described in six essays followed by a catalogue illustrating the various directions of his work. More
WINNER of The Art Newspaper / AXA Exhibition Catalogue Award 2007. Francesco Xanto Avelli da Rovigo was an intriguing artist who painted some of the most beautiful and fascinating ceramics produced in Renaissance Italy. With surfaces entirely painted with scenes from classical literature, Roman history or the Bible, his dishes were much sought after by the educated elite of his time, and continue to fascinate ceramics enthusiasts today... More
The group of about one hundred French bronzes in the Wallace Collection is justly considered one of the finest such collections in the world. Fifty-one of the best are featured in this book, the first in-depth study of the subject in English. More