Stair Parts Fig 42 Elevations of a House
In the collections of earlier date, John Thorpe's and Smithson's, the bulk of the drawings may safely be attributed to Thorpe and Smithson respectively; which makes the absence of drawings by Jones all the more remarkable. And it must be remembered that although there are few architectural drawings by him there are many of other kinds, notably of the scenery for masques and of the human figure. Indeed, to judge only by his drawings one would regard him as a painter rather than an architect. His surviving architectural drawings may be reckoned by dozens; those for masques, figure studies, and drapery by hundreds. His figure studies and drapery are executed with great vigour and a masterly- touch. His sketches for the numerous masques, of which he designed the setting, are spontaneous and bold (Stair Parts Fig. 43).
Stair Parts Fig 43-Masque by Inigo Jones
Many of them have an architectural character, and, needless to say, the architecture design of the staircase (stair parts ) is always classic in style. There is one, however, which represents a scene Tear London; the wings are composed of old houses, the backcloth is a distant view of London itself with old St Paul's as the principal feature.3 It is interesting to see that the uses in the foreground are Jacobean in treatment, yet Jacobean with a larger infusion of classic detail than houses of the period actually exhibited. The artist's hand instinctively sought a classic expression. Jones, indeed, designed most of the masques presented at court during the reigns of James I. and his son, and collaborated with several of the different poets who wrote the words of these fanciful plays; with Ben Jonson, Samuel Daniell, Thomas Campion, George Chapman, and Aurelian Townshend. One of his efforts was less successful than could have been wished, although it was for an occasion when expectation was particularly high-the masque on Twelfth Night 1618, when the prince was to take a part for the first time. Gossiping letters dubbed it poor, said that Inigo Jones had lost reputation, and that it was indeed so dull that the poet, Ben Jonson, ought to return to his old trade of brick making.
But in spite of the gossips Jones was a skilful scene-painter, and owed much of his facility in the art to the months he had spent in Italy conversing, as he says, with the great masters in design. To him we owe the first introduction of movable scenery into English theatres. He was also a practical surveyor of some ability; already in 1613 he had been appointed surveyor of his majesty's works, and although in those days it was not necessarily a practical man who was appointed to such a post, yet a clever man, even if ill-equipped at first, would soon acquire experience. The State Papers show that he was kept busy with the duties of his office, duties which included many matters of dull routine.
It is perhaps worthy of note that in matters requiring detailed reports and estimates he was generally commissioned along with one or two others who may (or may not) have had more practical knowledge than himself. It is also interesting to find that in several cases where repairs or alterations were under consideration, special stress was laid in the reports upon the probable result on the beauty of the staircase (stair parts) in the buildings they affected. This particular and uncommon touch may certainly be credited to Jones.
In order fully to understand the subject of the so-called Inigo Jones drawings and their influence on English architecture, it will be advisable to set out again what and where they are. firstly, there are those for the palace at Whitehall. Of these the finished designs, utilised by Kent, are at Worcester College, Oxford, and the preliminary drawings are at Chatsworth. These, as already shown, must be credited to Webb. There is also at the British Museum another and much scantier set, utilised by Campbell.
Secondly, there are at Worcester College a number of miscellaneous drawings, mostly by Webb, but including a few by Jones.
Thirdly, there are in the library of the Royal Institute of British Architects a large number of miscellaneous drawings, also mostly by Webb, but also including a few by Jones. The most important of these are the series of designs utilised by Kent in his " Designs of Inigo Jones," and the drawings for the Charles II. block at Greenwich Hospital. Practically all these are by Webb.
These drawings were unknown to the public until Kent published the " Designs " in' 1727. His two volumes comprise, as already mentioned, the designs of staircases (stair parts ) in the Whitehall Palace, and a series of houses, large and small. It was not until they were published that the public generally knew anything about them, and it was accordingly not till then that they affected architectural design. Walpole snakes this quite clear: " It was in this reign," he says that of George II.-"that architecture resumed all her rights. Noble publications of Palladio, Jones, and the antique recalled her to true principles and correct taste; she found men of genius to execute her rules, and patrons to countenance their labours."
But apart from their effect upon the public, the insight which these drawings give into the inner working of the designers' minds is of great interest. Besides the finished drawings there are innumerable sketches for plans, elevations, and details, as well as many scraps copied from Italian books on architecture, notably from Serlio. Comparing these and Jones's own sketches with similar memoranda and sketches by Italian architects of the period, it is curious to find how thoroughly he adopted their particular methods of work, and after him Webb likewise. Everything is classic in style, all the proportions are carefully worked out. The lengths and heights of buildings are not the result of caprice, or chance, or even primarily of convenience, but of systems of proportion. So also in the plans: these are largely adaptations of Italian models, not only in their formality and symmetry, but also in the disposition of the rooms. There is nothing haphazard, fortuitous, or rambling about them: they are the result of carefully considered proportion. Every house was complete in itself, and to be altered or enlarged afterwards was to be spoilt.
This sort of precision had a natural tendency to become mechanical, and in later years, notably in thec rarly part of the eighteenth century, the tendency asserted itself strongly. But it is interesting to find that the foibles of Campbell, Gibbs, and their contemporaries had their justification in staircase ( stair parts) design in the work of Jones and Webb.