Sir John Soane's Museum
Sir John Soane's Museum is a museum in London that consists of the three former homes of Sir John Soane that were merged. The museum was founded in the 19th century. The foundation of the museum is indicated on April 20, 1833 by an "Act of Parliament to settle and preserve the house and collection for the benefit of 'amateurs and students' in architecture, painting and sculpture". However, the law only covers the determination of the use of the Soanes house after his death. The houses were only converted into a museum after his death in 1837 .
history
The three houses that Soane gutted and rebuilt are on the north side of Lincoln's Inn Fields in the Borough of London Borough of Camden . First, house number 12 was redesigned, which happened between 1792 and 1794. It is a simple black brick house . After being appointed professor at the Royal Academy in 1806, Soane bought house number 13. The newly purchased house was rebuilt in two phases, 1808-09 and 1812. During the first renovation, the rooms at the rear facing the stables were redesigned. In 1812 the front of the house was redesigned, including the Portland stone facade . After the renovation of the house and Soane moved in, house number 12 was rented out. After his death, house number 12 was also bequeathed to the state to cover the ongoing running of the museum. After house number 13 was completed, Soane turned the house into a kind of architectural test laboratory by continuously redesigning the interior.
In 1823 the seventy-year-old Sir John bought another house next door, number 14, which he began to renovate in the same year. The work was completed the following year. The renovation work should allow Soane to design a gallery. The front part was sold by Soane.
House number 12 has been used since 1969 as a research library, for offices and since 1995 as the "Soane Gallery" with changing exhibitions. Between Soane's death and 1947, the museum foundation could only fall back on the original Soane donation. Since then, the museum has received an annual grant from the UK government. The museum is now a national center of architecture. In 1997 house number 14 was bought with the help of the "Heritage Lottery Fund" (non-profit lottery foundation). In 2006 the restoration work was completed, the house is intended to be used for educational purposes.
According to Soane's will, a male curator and a female inspector should run the museum. For example, from 1945 the curator was Sir John Summerson , who was assisted by Dorothy Stroud. Summerson was replaced by Peter Thornton , who came from the Victoria and Albert Museum . Margaret Richardson became the museum's first director. First, since 1985, she was Mrs. Stroud's successor and followed Peter Thornton as curator until 2005.
Tim Knox is currently director of the museum, which abolished the title of curator. William Palin, Michael Palin's son , is the assistant curator.
architecture
The former house and later museum building was converted into a neo-classical style, for which Soane was known. Today's main entrance is at Lincoln's Inn Fields No. 13. All rooms of the museum can be reached from here.
The most famous rooms of the museum are in the rear part, which are mostly illuminated with daylight by ceiling lights. The gallery has wings that can be folded in and out, providing a larger area for hanging pictures. The wings allow a three-fold area for placing pictures. This part of the museum is gladly shown to visitors.
Buildings 12 and 13 have half a dozen rooms, many of them in very unusual styles, e.g. B. the dome-shaped ceiling in the breakfast room, in which a convex mirror is inserted, inspired architects around the world. The library shows the Gothic influence and is decorated in a lush, pompous red. The study room contains a collection of Roman artifacts and two courtyards. These courtyards are called Monument Court and Monk's Yard and, like the study, house other architectural fragments. The Monument Court is classicistic with a central column, while the Monk's Yard represents the Gothic style and shows medieval stone work from the Palace of Westminster .
collection
Soane's collection includes approximately 30,000 architectural drawings, including original drawings by Robert Adam and a book of drawings by John Thorpe . The collection of original Adam drawings is the largest of its kind. There are also architectural exhibits. The collection of neoclassical sculptures includes plaster and terracotta works by John Flaxman .
The collection includes two of the most famous series of pictures by the socially critical English painter William Hogarth : the eight paintings about the life of a libertine (" A Rake's Progress ") and the four satirical oil paintings about the methods of bribery used in the election of the Oxford MP from 1754 ( "The Election").
An alabaster sarcophagus of Seti I is exhibited in the "Sepulchral Chamber" ("burial chamber"). In honor of the arrival of the exhibit, a three day festival was held when the sarcophagus was erected.
Another fascinating room is the "Monk's Parlor" ("Monk's Parlor"), which is a bit morbid.
Web links
- Official website of Sir John Soane's Museum
- Sir John Soane's Museum Foundation website
- Sir John Soane's Museum - unlike anything familiar . In: Archaeologie-Online.de, June 19, 2014
Coordinates: 51 ° 31 ′ 1.1 ″ N , 0 ° 7 ′ 1.1 ″ W.