#James “Athenian” Stuart

[uwmspeccoll]

Athenian Architecture

The Antiquities of Athens by Scottish archaeologist James "Athenian" Stuart (1713-1788) and British architect Nicholas Revett (1720-1804), originally published 1762-1830, contains five volumes. Printed in London by German-born John Haberkorn, this was to be his best-known work.

James Stuart and his friend Nicholas Revett embarked on a journey to Greece in 1751. Their mission was to record and measure antiquities, a task no one had accurately accomplished before. Despite facing numerous challenges, including threats from Turkish gangs, their unwavering dedication led to the first accurate survey of ancient Greek architecture completed between 1751 and 1754. 

The illustrations in the volumes are not merely decorative; they consist of meticulously etched and engraved plates featuring buildings, maps, plans, and friezes. These illustrations are instrumental in providing a comprehensive visual survey of ancient Greek architecture, allowing readers to appreciate the precision and scale of the antiquities documented.

The particular building featured here is the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates, commonly called the Lanthorn of Demosthenes. It was built around 334 BCE and is the only surviving example of a choragic monument. This monument is situated near the eastern end of the Acropolis, one of Athens's most significant archaeological sites. In ancient Greece, a choragus was a wealthy citizen who financed a production at one of the city's festivals. The monument was originally surmounted by a bronze tripod commemorating Lysicrates’ sponsorship of the chorus that had won first prize at the City Dionysia festival.

Stuart and Revett were the first to recognize the story depicted on the frieze. It is the story of Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry, and the Tyrrhenian pirates. In the Hymn to Dionysus in the Homeric Hymns, the god is kidnapped by pirates who fail to recognize him as a god. The pirates attempt to bind him but are unsuccessful. Instead, Dionysus drives them to jump overboard. Once they’re in the water, he uses his divine gifts to turn them into dolphins, as illustrated here in the depictions of the monument's friezes.

View another post from The Antiquities of Athens.

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-- Melissa, Special Collections Undergraduate Classics Intern

[thefollyflaneuse]

The Temple of Theseus, Exmouth, Devon

In the early decades of the nineteenth century Lord Rolle of Bicton House in Devon, developed land by the sea in Exmouth in a bid to attract tourists. He made ‘commodious gravel walks’ and created gardens with rustic benches, as well as building elegant marine residences. Lord Rolle also granted a lease on a plot of land to one William Kendall, who in 1824 built a ‘very pretty’ house modelled on…

[m1male2]

Spencer House, London

The Painted Room is renowned for being one of the first neoclassical interiors in Europe, decorated with exquisite wall paintings inspired by contemporary excavations of the Roman ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. It is furnished with its original set of armchairs and sofas designed for the room by James "Athenian" Stuart.

This Painted Room was conceived around 1759 and completed in 1765. It served as a drawing room and probably also during large receptions.

(Video and photo©️spencerhouse/ig)

[emvidal]

Spencer House, Westminster, London.

A recent guided tour allowed access to the interior of this magnificent aristocratic palace built for Lord Spencer in 1756.

Stuart, James 'Athenian' (designer).

This set of seat furniture was made for the Painted Room at Spencer House, London. The design is exceptionally bold, with lion legs at both back and front. James Stuart, the architect who designed the house and many of its furnishings was one of the first architects in Britain to work in the new Neoclassical style.

For the Painted Room he had the walls painted with arabesques and oval panels, imitating the style of decoration found during the archaeological excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii. His design for the seat furniture probably took its inspiration from Greek and Roman thrones in stone. These often showed seats with legs and arms as mythical beasts.

[qquigley]

[dutzervonmezzenbrau]

  Antiquities of Athens ➳ Tower of the Winds [Horologium]       (c.1752)

~ James 'Athenian' Stuart, architect.

[steliosagapitos]

               Spencer House located in London in England.

     ~ “From its inception, Spencer House has been recognised as one of the most lavish private residences ever built in London. Designed by John Vardy and James 'Athenian' Stuart, it was one of Europe's first neoclassical buildings.The Seventh Earl of Spencer and his wife were the last members of the family to reside in the majestic London house until 1926. While the family still own the house, Lord Rothschild, who founded RIT Capital Partners, leased the residence in 1982 for a period of 125 years. At the end of the 20th century, the house underwent an extensive, decade-long renovation. Princess Diana was the chief guest at her inauguration.” ~

[aloneinstitute]

Spencer House, localizada em Londres, Reino Unido

Desde a sua concepção, a Spencer House foi reconhecida como uma das residências particulares mais suntuosas já construídas em Londres. Projetada por John Vardy e James 'Athenian' Stuart, foi um dos primeiros edifícios neoclássicos da Europa .

O sétimo conde de Spencer e sua esposa foram os últimos membros da família a residir na imponente casa de Londres até 1926. Embora a família ainda seja proprietária da casa, Lord Rothschild, que fundou a RIT Capital Partners, arrendou a residência em 1982 por um período de 125 anos. No final do século 20, a casa passou por uma extensa reforma de uma década. A princesa Diana foi a principal convidada em sua inauguração.

[chigley-six]

JAMES “ATHENIAN” STUART (1713-1788) WAS AN ARCHAEOLOGIST, ARCHITECT AND ARTIST BEST KNOWN FOR HIS PIVOTAL  ROLE IN PIONEERING NEOCLASSICISM. 

[dry-valleys]

“ My much-respected friend, the late Thomas Anson, Esquire, preferred the still paths of private life, and was the best qualified for its enjoyment of any man I ever knew; for with the most humane and the most sedate disposition, he possessed a mind most uncommonly cultivated. He was the example of true taste in this country; and at the time that he made his own place a paradise, made every neighbor partaker of its elegancies. He was happy in his life, and happy in his end” Thomas Pennant.

In the gardens of Shugborough, largely sculpted according to the design of Thomas Anson, MP for Lichfield and owner of the hall, which we’re going to in later posts.

Thomas was buoyed by a fortune earned by his brother George, who built a successful career as an admiral and- despite their differences in style- the two got on famously and if you go to the hall you can find out about how they both shaped Shugborough as it is now. 

If you start by weaving through the garden you can find a great number of 18th century features installed by the men Thomas commissioned, notably James “Athenian” Stuart, whose European travels in 1748-55 inspired his vision and put him in the best place to work with Thomas.

He designed features such as (1) the Dark Lantern, a Grade I listed building of 1765, (based on the Monument of Lysicrates, built in Athens in 335-334 BC) (3) Hadrian’s Arch- (2) is Stuart’s drawing of the Arch in Athens, which he made in 1748 and took as his inspiration for the work at Shugborough which he begun in 1761 and which evolved into a memorial for George, who died in 1762, the work being completed in 1763.

Through the parkland to (5) the Tower of the Winds, another Stuart design built in 1765, the gardens, which I also visited in (6,9) December 2017, and to the River Sow (9,10) as it prepares to flow into the Trent near Essex Bridge.

Then inside the hall where Pennant was proven very right: “ it is more difficult to enumerate the works of art dispersed over this Elysium; they epitomize those of so many places “

[noritual]

Antiquities of Athens

James Stuart, Nicholas Revett

James "Athenian" Stuart and Nicholas Revett's monumental Antiquities of Athens was the first accurate survey of ancient Greek architecture ever completed. Based on precise measured drawings done at the sites of the ancient ruins between 1751 and 1754, these books set a new standard for archaeological investigation in the eighteenth century. In doing so, they also transformed our understanding of Greek architecture and by pointing up differences between Greek and Roman examples fundamentally challenged prevailing notions about a universal classical ideal and fueled the Greek Revival movement that dominated British, European, and American architecture and design for over a century.

Originally published in four volumes that appeared between 1762 and 1816, Stuart and Revett's masterwork is presented here in its entirety as part of our Classic Reprint series and features a new introduction by scholar Frank Salmon. With its many images of buildings, plans, sculpture, friezes, and decorative objects such as vases, it remains the logical starting point for anyone interested in Athens, Greece, and its influence on the history of Western architecture.

[emvidal]

Spencer House, Westminster, London.

A recent guided tour allowed access to the interior of this magnificent aristocratic palace built for Lord Spencer in 1756.

Stuart, James 'Athenian' (designer).

This set of seat furniture was made for the Painted Room at Spencer House, London. The design is exceptionally bold, with lion legs at both back and front. James Stuart, the architect who designed the house and many of its furnishings was one of the first architects in Britain to work in the new Neoclassical style.

For the Painted Room he had the walls painted with arabesques and oval panels, imitating the style of decoration found during the archaeological excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii. His design for the seat furniture probably took its inspiration from Greek and Roman thrones in stone. These often showed seats with legs and arms as mythical beasts.

[thexerrant]

Visit to the Old Royal Naval College.

I recently visited the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London. A World Heritage Site, it forms the centrepiece for Maritime Greenwich, with the Queen’s House, the National Maritime Museum, and the Royal Observatory near it.

The ORNC was originally constructed as a hospital, The Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich, in the 17th Century to cater to the wounded sailors returning from the Battle of La Hogue. Constructed by Christopher Wren, the hospital consisted of infirmaries, chapel and the famous Painted Hall, currently undergoing an ambitious restoration project. The hospital closed in the middle of the 19th Century and was converted in to the Royal Naval College, a training establishment for the Royal Navy, providing advanced training for officers. In the years leading up to the Second World War, the Royal Naval College began admitting women officers, in efforts to expand the Navy. During the War, a German bombing raid led to the bombardment of the building, destroying much of the magnificent courts and the Admiral’s House.  In the years after the War, the size of the Navy began to decrease and it was decided that the Royal Naval College would be decommissioned. Finally in 1998, the Royal Navy left the site and it was transferred to the Greenwich Foundation. 

Since its transfer to the Greenwich Foundation, the site has become a must-see location for tourists, and has leased some buildings to the University of Greenwich and the Trinity College of Music, creating an eclectic mix of culture and education.  Much of the English Baroque architecture has been left untouched with constant restoration efforts, helping the site remain an intimidating reminder of the history it has seen and helped create.  My favourite bit of architecture at the site was the Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul, a neo-classical building by James ‘Athenian’ Stuart and William Newton. Featuring one of the finest 18th Century interiors, it consists of a Samuel Green organ and an altarpiece by Benjamin West. The walls are adorned with beautiful naval motifs such as anchor ropes and fish, reaffirming the original purpose and theme behind the construction of the ORNC. 

[ivisitlondon]

iVisit.... Spencer House

Spencer House is London’s most magnificent eighteenth-century aristocratic palace Built between 1756-1766 for John, first Earl Spencer, an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-1997) it is London’s finest surviving eighteenth-century town house.

From its conception the House was recognised as one of the most sumptuous private residences ever built in London and a building of unique importance in the history of English architecture.

Designed by John Vardy and James ‘Athenian’ Stuart, the State Rooms are amongst the first neo-classical interiors in Europe.

[tynatunis]

Thanks @archmusicman Spencer House, 27 St James’s Place - began by John Vardy in 1756, and continued by James ‘Athenian’ Stuart from 1758. The house is one of the earliest examples of the Neoclassical style in London. I have still yet to go inside! @spencer.house (at London, United Kingdom)

[aloneinstitute]

Spencer House, localizada em Londres, Reino Unido

Desde a sua concepção, a Spencer House foi reconhecida como uma das residências particulares mais suntuosas já construídas em Londres. Projetada por John Vardy e James 'Athenian' Stuart, foi um dos primeiros edifícios neoclássicos da Europa .

O sétimo conde de Spencer e sua esposa foram os últimos membros da família a residir na imponente casa de Londres até 1926. Embora a família ainda seja proprietária da casa, Lord Rothschild, que fundou a RIT Capital Partners, arrendou a residência em 1982 por um período de 125 anos. No final do século 20, a casa passou por uma extensa reforma de uma década. A princesa Diana foi a principal convidada em sua inauguração.