English Regency

1. English Regency 1800 - 1840 Exotic Eclecticism Rational Classicism Technological Advancements Celebration of Light

2. history King George III loses sanity in 1780

3. history King George IV Prince Regent—power hungry son • interested in architecture and furniture—not in politics • antithesis of Napoleon • doesn’t have to prove himself to anyone

4. history dapper man—”dandy”

5. architecture The Brighton (Marine or Royal) Pavilion Henry Holland (1790s) • English roots with classical feel • where all Prince Regent’s friends from parliament spend their down time

6. history Oriental Scenery Thomas and William Daniell, 1795 - 1808 • like a published journal—watercolors • inspired pavilion to be middle eastern

7. architecture Royal Pavilion façade, John Nash, 1800 - 1820 what it looks like today—example of exotic eclecticism

8. architecture hindu/mogul architecture—horseshoe arch & minarets

9. architecture Nash added the Music Room and the Banqueting Room to Holland’s plan doubled square footage by adding two large rooms—used for parties

10. architecture onions—not useable space; could not see onion domes inside

11. interiors structure • embedded modular, prefabricated cast-iron construction • decorative structural component—all about theater

12. interiors saloon design details: horseshoe arch; tassels; massive occulus, trompe l’oeil sky

13. interiors Royal Pavilion Kitchen • advancement in gas lighting—frosted globes on pulleys • Nash contracted out the interiors to Krase & Jones firm

14. interiors Royal Pavilion - Hall structure structure always hiding structure

15. interiors Royal Pavilion – Hall – Current View

16. interiors Royal Pavilion – Music Room • almost every surface is reflective • ceiling does not need to be supported from above

17. interiors dragons writhing

18. interiors dragons holding up drapery

19. interiors dragon Prince wants to feel like he is living the life of a sheik

20. furniture A Rare Pair of Regency 'Brighton Pavilion' Style Bamboo End Tables Of wonderful colour and proportion. Each with an octagonal caned top, bordered by bamboo above six bamboo trellised sides. Decorated, with shredded bamboo, in the Chinoiserie taste which is repeated on each panel. Bamboo furniture was considered appropriate for interiors in the Chinoiserie taste. It became the vogue in the Regency period with the creation of Brighton pavilion and continued through the first quarter of the nineteenth century. English, Circa 1830

21. motifs • wallpaper—Chinese influence • birds/blossoms • not perspectively accurate

22. furniture Settee in the Egyptian Taste from the Egyptian Room, Duchess Street, London, 1802, Thomas Hope

23. furniture

24. furniture

25. furniture Regency Chair Aburra wood with carved and gilt decoration from Northumberland House, 1823.

26. architecture • from very exotic to extremely rational • stripped classicism • really experiments with space, materials (honesty) • enamored with light—rarely used gas light Rational Classicism: looks at its essence, rationalizes it and strips it down

27. architecture • blind arch—windows are just punched out • classical entry

28. architecture • no added ornamentation • showing masonry construction throughout

29. architecture Bank of England - Facade • 1788-1830—originally designed by Robert Taylor • neo-palladian style • bank was financing the Napoleonic war

30. architecture

31. architecture Sloane completely gutted it for fire retardant reasons

32. architecture • bank needs to make you think your money is safe • decorative corners/severity

33. architecture

34. architecture original section

35. architecture Soane realized that ruins communicated like construction documents

36. architecture Rotunda • shows you how it is made • Greek key motif incised into the dome • caryatids reference to classicism • requires light for appreciation of detail

37. interiors Soane often referred to “the poetry of light”—all the things light can do for his interiors

38. architecture Soane’s romantic image of light

39. interiors Stock Office • pendentive arch—just resting on corners • classical figures • just a rectangular room with a series of dropped ceilings over it—groin vault

40. interiors

41. interiors Bank of England Dividend Office • domes are thin masonry • creates a new material—a brick and tile morphed into one • extreme abstraction of a classical column

42. interiors Soane: use of light; abstraction of classicism; gives you some clue as to its construction

43. interiors Soane: use of light; abstraction of classicism; gives you some clue as to its construction

44. architecture Soane House – Museum - Facade rents rents lives in • balustrade is classical renaissance • tripartite composition • roman arch • bumps out façade of his own row house • abstracted column

45. architecture Soane House Plan • lightwells • side hall/party wall construction • each house has 3 openings—door, window, window

46. architecture classical column capitals next to abstracted column

47. interiors Soane House – Dining Room design details: compartmentalized ceiling, 2D roman swags shows construction—not masonry; appears to be exterior window—actually on a light well

48. interiors

49. interiors Soane House – Dining Room • convex mirror • meticulously placed throughout the house

50. interiors Soane House Gallery/Crypt • earliest at bottom, latest at top • no floor—very picturesque