280 x 210mm, paperback, 40 pages, 40 colour illustrations
PRICE: £12.95
ISBN: 9780954904128
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. The very recent emergence of this mysterious sculpture is considered to be one of the major recent reiscoveries in British sculpture.
The catalogue accompanies an exhibition at Sir John Soane's Museum and at the Waddesdon Manor in 2006. Tim Knox is director of Sir John Soane's Museum.
Susan Palmer, archivist to Sir John Soane's Museum, tells the story of the Soane family's social and domestic life. This exquisitely illustrated book looks into the tiniest detail of everyday life in the Soane household. From what meals were cooked and ow te house was heated to supper parties and the relationships of his servants, this promises to be an emotive and informative book. More
Although the life of George Scharf has not been well documented, he has left a remarkable legacy of drawings, watercolours and lithographs, which, in a most vivid and detailed manner, describe the life of London in the first half of the 19th Century. In many ways, his work can be compared to that of other great chronicler of early Victorian London – Charles Dickens. The characters that populate The Pickwick Papers or Little Dorrit can all be glimpsed in Scharf’s sketches and prints. 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
“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
The castle-style designs and picturesque landscape fantasies of Robert Adam are a much negelected aspect of his work. These paintings and sketches give a vivid scense of the beauty and allure of the landscapes and architecturally by which Adam was romantically fascinated, and which he recreated in some of his most significant commissions - or else on paper. 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
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
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
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
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