Inigo Jones | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Jones painted byWilliam Hogarth in 1758 from a 1636 painting by SirAnthony van Dyck | |
| Born | (1573-07-15)15 July 1573 London, England |
| Died | 21 June 1652(1652-06-21) (aged 78) Somerset House, London |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Buildings | Banqueting House, Whitehall Queen's House Wilton House Covent Garden |
Inigo Jones (15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was an English architect who was the first significant[1]architect in England in theearly modern era and the first to employVitruvian rules of proportion and symmetry in his buildings.[2]As the most notable architect in England,[2] Jones was the first person to introduce the classical architecture of Rome and the Italian Renaissance to England. He left his mark on London by his design of single buildings, such as theQueen's House which is the first building in England designed in a pure classical style, and theBanqueting House, Whitehall, as well as the layout forCovent Garden square which became a model for future developments in the West End. He made major contributions tostage design by his work as a theatrical designer for several dozenmasques, most by royal command and many in collaboration withBen Jonson.
Beyond that he was born inSmithfield, London, as the son of clothworker Inigo Jones Snr., and baptised at the church ofSt Bartholomew-the-Less, little is known about Jones's early years. Later Welsh sources claim that the family was fromWales, and even that Inigo was originally named Ynir or Ynyr Jones,[3][4][5] but no records from his own time indicate any family ties to Wales.
He did not approach the architectural profession in the traditional way, namely either by rising up from a craft or through early exposure to the Office of Works, although there is evidence thatChristopher Wren obtained information that recorded Jones as an apprentice joiner inSt Paul's Churchyard.[6] At some point before 1603, a rich patron (possibly theEarl of Pembroke orthe Earl of Rutland) sent him to Italy to study drawing after being impressed by the quality of his sketches. From Italy he travelled to Denmark where he worked forChristian IV on the design of the palaces ofRosenborg andFrederiksborg.[7]
Jones first became famous as a designer of costumes and stage settings, especially after he brought "masques" to the stage. Under the patronage of QueenAnne of Denmark (the consort of KingJames I),[7] he is credited with introducing movable scenery and theproscenium arch to English theatre. Between 1605 and 1640, he was responsible for staging over 500 performances, collaborating withBen Jonson for many years, despite a relationship fraught with competition and jealousy: the two had arguments about whether stage design or literature was more important in theatre. (Jonson ridiculed Jones in a series of his works, written over two decades.)[8] Over 450 drawings for the scenery and costumes survive, demonstrating Jones's virtuosity as a draughtsman and his development between 1605 and 1609 from initially showing "no knowledge of Renaissance draughtsmanship" to exhibiting an "accomplished Italianate manner"[9] and understanding of Italian set design, particularly that ofAlfonso andGiulio Parigi. This development suggests a second visit to Italy,c. 1606,[10] influenced by the ambassadorHenry Wotton. Jones learned to speak Italian fluently and there is evidence that he owned an Italian copy ofAndrea Palladio'sI quattro libri dell'architettura withmarginalia that refer to Wotton. His architectural work was particularly influenced by Palladio.[11] To a lesser extent, he also held to the architectural principles of the ancient Roman writerVitruvius.
Jones's first recorded architectural design is for a monument to Frances, Lady Cotton, commissioned byRowland Cotton,c. 1608–1611,[12] atNorton-in-Hales, Shropshire, showing early signs of his classical intentions.[13] In July 1606, Jones made scenery for a masque atTheobalds for theEarl of Salisbury. In the following years, Jones made drawings for the Earl of Salisbury's New Exchange in the Strand, where work commenced in June 1608,[14] and the central tower of St Paul's Cathedral, displaying a similar practical architectural inexperience and immature handling of themes from sources including Palladio, Serlio and Sangallo. In 1609, having perhaps accompanied Salisbury's son and heir,Viscount Cranborne, around France, he appears as an architectural consultant atHatfield House, making small modifications to the design as the project progressed, and in 1610, Jones was appointed Surveyor toPrince Henry. He devised the masques theBarriers and theMasque of Oberon for the Prince and was possibly involved in some alterations toSt James's Palace.[15]
On 27 April 1613, Jones was appointed the position ofSurveyor of the King's Works and shortly after, embarked on a tour of Italy with theEarl of Arundel, destined to become one of the most important patrons in the history of English art. On this trip, Jones was exposed to the architecture ofRome,Padua,Florence,Vicenza,Genoa andVenice among others. His surviving sketchbook shows his preoccupation with such artists asParmigianino andAndrea Schiavone. He is also known to have metVincenzo Scamozzi at this time. His annotated copy of Palladio'sQuattro libri dell'architettura also demonstrates his close interest in classical architecture: Jones gave priority to Roman antiquity rather than observing the contemporary fashion in Italy. He was probably the first native-born to study these Roman remains first hand and this was key to the new architecture Jones introduced in England and Wales.[1]
Jones worked as a producer and architect forMasques from 1605 to 1640, but his most known work in this field came from his collaboration with poet and playwrightBen Jonson. Having worked together for fifteen years, the two debated and had disagreements about their line of work and about what was most integral in a masque. While Jonson argued that the most important aspect of a masque was the written word that the audience heard, Jones argued that the visual spectacle was the most important aspect, and that what the audience saw was more important.[16] Jones also felt that the architect had just as much creative freedom and rights as the writer or poet of the masque.[17] In defence of this Jones stated that masques were "nothing but pictures with light and motion," making little to note of the words spoken.[18]
Jones's work on masques with Jonson is credited to be one of the first instances ofscenery introduced in theatre.[19] In his masques, curtains were used and placed in between the stage and the audience, and they were to be opened to introduce a scene. Jones was also known for using the stage and theatre space in its entirety, putting his actors throughout different parts of the theatre, such as placing them below the stage or elevating them onto a higher platform. Jones's settings on the stage also incorporated different uses of light, experimenting with coloured glasses, screens and oiled paper to create a softer source of light on the stage.[16]
Jones is also known for introducing to English audiences moving scenery through what is called 'machina versatilis', helping to create motion among a stable scene without any noticeableStagehands and of creating a representation of the ethereal.[18][16]
These elements of stage design and of theatre production would later have influence beyond the English court, as those working in the public stage would take up these ideas and apply them to the early modern stage and for its larger audience.[18]
In September 1615, Jones was appointed Surveyor-General of the King's Works, marking the beginning of Jones's career in earnest. Fortunately, both James I andCharles I spent lavishly on their buildings, contrasting hugely with the economical court ofElizabeth I. As the King's Surveyor, Jones built some of his key buildings in London. In 1616, work began on theQueen's House, Greenwich, for James I's wife,Anne. With the foundations laid and the first storey built, work stopped suddenly when Anne died in 1619.[20] Jones provided a design for the queen's funeral hearse or catafalque, but it was not implemented.[21] Work at Greenwich resumed in 1629, this time for Charles I's Queen,Henrietta Maria. It was finished in 1635 as the first strictly classical building in England, employing ideas found in the architecture of Palladio and ancient Rome.[22] This is Jones's earliest-surviving work.
Between 1619 and 1622, theBanqueting House in thePalace of Whitehall was built, a design derived from buildings byScamozzi andPalladio, to which a ceiling painted byPeter Paul Rubens was added several years later. The Whitehall palace was one of several projects where Jones worked with his personal assistant and nephew by marriageJohn Webb.[23]
TheQueen's Chapel,St. James's Palace, was built between 1623 and 1627, initially for Charles I's proposed bride, the Roman CatholicInfanta Maria Anna of Spain, and then for Charles I's wife, Henrietta Maria of France.[24] Parts of the design originate in thePantheon of ancient Rome and Jones evidently intended the church to evoke the Roman temple. These buildings show the realization of a mature architect with a confident grasp of classical principles and an intellectual understanding of how to implement them.
The other project in which Jones was involved is the design ofCovent Garden Square. He was commissioned bythe Earl of Bedford to build a residential square, which he did along the lines of the Italian piazza ofLivorno.[25] It is the first regularly planned square in London. The Earl felt obliged to provide a church and he warned Jones that he wanted to economise. He told him to simply erect a "barn" and Jones's oft-quoted response was that his lordship would have "the finest barn in Europe". In the design of St Paul's, Jones faithfully adhered toVitruvius's design for a Tuscan temple and it was the first wholly and authentically classical church built in England. The inside ofSt Paul's, Covent Garden was gutted by fire in 1795, but externally it remains much as Jones designed it and dominates the west side of the piazza.[26]
Jones also designed the square ofLincoln's Inn Fields, and a house in the square, the Lindsey House built in 1640, is often attributed to Jones.[27][28] Its design of a rusticated ground floor with giantpilasters above supporting theentablature andbalustrade served as a model for other town houses in London such asJohn Nash'sRegent's Park terraces, as well as in other English and Welsh towns such asBath'sRoyal Crescent.[29]
Another large project Jones undertook was the repair and remodelling ofSt Paul's Cathedral. Between the years of 1634 and 1642, Jones wrestled with the dilapidated Gothicism of Old St Paul's, casing it in classical masonry and totally redesigning the west front. Jones incorporated the giant scrolls fromVignola anddella Porta'sChurch of the Gesù with a giant Corinthian portico, the largest of its type north of the Alps, but the church would be destroyed in theGreat Fire of London in 1666. Also around this time, circa 1638, Jones devised drawings completely redesigning thePalace of Whitehall, but the execution of these designs was frustrated by Charles I's financial and political difficulties.[30]
More than 1000 buildings have been attributed to Jones but only a very small number of those are certain to be his work. According to architecture historianJohn Summerson, the modern concept of an architect's artistic responsibility for a building did not exist at that time, and Jones's role in many instances may be that of a civil servant in getting things done rather than as an architect. Jones's contribution to a building may also simply be verbal instructions to a mason or bricklayer and providing an Italian engraving or two as a guide, or the correction of drafts.[31] In the 1630s, Jones was in high demand and, as Surveyor to the King, his services were only available to a very limited circle of people, so often projects were commissioned to other members of the Works.Stoke Bruerne Park in Northamptonshire was built by SirFrancis Crane, "receiving the assistance of Inigo Jones", between 1629 and 1635. Jones is also thought to have been involved in another country house, this time inWiltshire.Wilton House was renovated from about 1630 onwards, at times worked on by Jones, then passed on toIsaac de Caus when Jones was too busy with royal clients. He then returned in 1646 with his student,John Webb, to try and complete the project.[26]: 130–132 Contemporary equivalent architects included SirBalthazar Gerbier andNicholas Stone.[32]
One of Jones's designs is the "double cube" room at Wilton, and it was also the foundation stone of his status as the father of British architecture. Jones, as the pioneer in his era, had strong influence during their time. His revolutionary ideas even effect beyond the Court circle, and today, many scholars believe that he also started the golden age of British architecture.[33]
On 16 February 1621, in a by-election caused by the ejection of an existing member SirJohn Leedes, Jones was elected M.P. in theParliament of England forNew Shoreham in WestSussex, a borough constituency controlled by the Earl of Arundel, and sat till the dissolution of that parliament in February 1622. He was named to a committee to improve lighting and increase seating in the House of Commons' chamber, resulting in a new gallery being erected inSt Stephen's Chapel during the summer recess and was also responsible for a new ceiling put in the House of Lords chamber in 1623. He also served as a Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for the county ofMiddlesex and borough ofWestminster from 1630 until at least 1640. He was made a freeman of the borough ofSouthampton in 1623[34] and in 1633 was offered, but declined, a knighthood by Charles I.[35]
Jones's full-time career effectively ended with the outbreak of theEnglish Civil War in 1642 and the seizure of the King's houses in 1643. Jones was captured at the third siege ofBasing House in October 1645.[36] Unfortunately, as one of the last great strongholds to the Cavaliers, the great mansion inside was destroyed by Cromwell's army and even the walls were broken into many pieces.[37] His property was later returned to him (c. 1646) but Jones ended his days, unmarried, living inSomerset House. He was, however, closely involved in the design ofColeshill House, in Berkshire, for the Pratt family, which he visited with the young apprentice architectRoger Pratt, to fix a new site for the proposed mansion. He died on 21 June 1652 and was buried with his parents atSt Benet's, Paul's Wharf, theWelsh church of theCity of London.John Denham and thenChristopher Wren followed him as King's Surveyor of Works. A monument dedicated to him in the church, portraying St Paul's Cathedral and other buildings, was destroyed in theGreat Fire in 1666.
Jones was an influence on a number of 18th-century architects, notablyLord Burlington andWilliam Kent. There is an Inigo Jones Road inCharlton, southeast London (SE7), nearCharlton House, some of whose features were allegedly designed by him.
A bridge inLlanrwst, North Wales, built in 1636 and named "Pont Fawr" is also known locally as "Pont Inigo Jones" (Inigo Jones's Bridge).R. F. Gould said he was responsible for the Masonic"Inigo Jones Manuscript", from around 1607, a document of theOld Charges ofFreemasonry.[38][39]
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