Francis Cranmer Penrose

Francis Cranmer Penrose

Francis Cranmer Penrose (born October 29, 1817 in Bracebridge , Lincolnshire , † February 15, 1903 in Wimbledon ) was a British architect and archaeologist .

Penrose studied at Magdalen College of the University of Oxford . During his student days he took part in the Boat Race against the University of Cambridge three times (1840, 1841, 1842).

As one of the first researchers he recognized and examined the entasis (the slight swelling of column shafts) and the curvature (the uniform curvature of horizontal lines) in the temples of the Greek classical period . His individual observations, some of which other researchers had already arrived at, he brought together into a comprehensive theory on the architectural refinements of Greek architecture, which was published in 1851. Since then, these different refinements have been a core theme of ancient building history.

As inspector of St Paul's Cathedral , he created several pieces of equipment for the church from 1852 onwards and carried out excavations to examine the dimensions of the previous medieval building.

When the founding of the British School at Athens in Athens was decided in 1882 , he designed the building in Athens. From 1886 to 1887 he was the first director of the British School at Athens, and a second time he headed the institute from 1890 to 1891. From 1894 he was a member of the Royal Society for his services to astronomy .

Fonts (selection)

• Two Letters from Athens, on Certain Anomalies in the Construction of the Parthenon. London 1847.
• An Investigation of the Principles of Athenian Architecture, or, The Results of a Recent Survey Conducted chiefly with Reference to the Optical Refinements Exhibited in the Construction of the Ancient Buildings at Athens, edited by the Society of Dilettanti . London 1851
  • 2nd edition: London 1888 digitized version (HEIDI) .
• Περί τῶν ἀναγκαῖων τοῦ Παρθενῶνος ἐπισκευῶν (Peri tōn anagkaiōn tou Parthenōnos episkeuōn). In: Praktika tēs en Athēnais Archaiologikēs Hetaireias 1895 (1896). Digitized version (Heidi)
• On the Orientation of Greek Temples, being the Results of some Observations taken in Greece and Sicily in the Month of May, 1898. In: Proceedings of the Royal Society 65, 1899, pp. 370-375.

literature

• Paul Waterhouse: Francis Cranmer Penrose. In: Dictionary of National Biography Second Supplement, Vol. 3, London 1912, pp. 101-103 ( full text ).

Web links

• Dictionary of Art Historians : Francis C. Penrose