Styles of the 18th century - rules cramp the genius

To the Whigs who came to power on the accession of George I in 1714, the Baroque was inextricably linked with the authoritarian rule of the Stuarts. A new style was needed for a new age, and the new ruling class, which aspired to build a civilisation that would rival that of ancient Rome, looked for a solution in antiquity.

Or so it thought. Actually, the solution was found in an antiquity which had been heavily re-interpreted by the 16th century Italian architect Andrea Palladio (1508-80). Palladio's Four Books of Architecture methodically explored and reconstructed the buildings of ancient Rome. They also provided illustrations, in the form of its author's own designs for villas, palaces and churches, of a way in which the early Georgians might adapt those rules to create an architecture of the classical tradition - the yardstick by which all civilised activity was measured.

By the end of the 18th century, the idea of a single national style of architecture had had its day.

But architects soon found the Palladian search for an ideal architecture pointlessly limiting. Whilst the buildings of the ancients should 'serve as models which we should imitate, and as standards by which we ought to judge', a more eclectic approach was called for. In the words of the later 18th century's greatest architect, Robert Adam, 'Rules often cramp the genius and circumscribe the idea of the master'.

By the end of the 18th century, the idea of a single national style of architecture had had its day. Austere neo-classical masterpieces were still being produced; but so too were huge mock-abbeys, battlemented castles, picturesque sixteen-bedroomed cottages and even, as the 19th century dawned, oriental palaces such as John Nash's Royal Pavilion at Brighton. The Cult of Styles had arrived.

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Date: 2014-12-29; view: 1117