James Gibbs, 1682–1754, British, Unidentified Office or Stables: Front Elevation, ca. 1720
- Title:
- Unidentified Office or Stables: Front Elevation
- Former Title(s):
- Elevation of a Design for a Stable Wing
- Additional Title(s):
- Alternative Design for an Office Wing
- Date:
- ca. 1720
- Materials & Techniques:
- Watercolor, pen and gray ink, and graphite on moderately thick, slightly textured, cream laid paper
- Dimensions:
- Sheet: 8 1/4 x 14 7/16 inches (21 x 36.7 cm)
- Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:
Watermark: fleur-de-lis within crowned cartouche
- Credit Line:
- Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
- Copyright Status:
- Public Domain
- Accession Number:
- B1975.2.224
- Classification:
- Drawing & Watercolors-Architectural
- Collection:
- Prints and Drawings
- Subject Terms:
- architectural subject | Baroque | design drawings | pediment | stable
- Access:
- Accessible by appointment in the Study Room [Request]
Note: The Study Room is open by appointment. Please visit the Study Room page on our website for more details. - Link:
- https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:10056
- Export:
- XML
- IIIF Manifest:
- JSON
This drawing is one of a pair of alternate elevations (see B1975.2.225) for an unidentified building, though the reduced ornament and layout resemble James Gibbs's designs for utilitarian structures such as stables or offices, and the design bears similarities to his work at Compton Verney (1740). The nine-bay elevation measures approximately 108 feet across and about 21 feet high from the ground level to the cornice. The central range is brought forward and articulated by a pediment. The ground floor windows are decorated with “Gibbs surrounds,” a treatment distinctive to the architect and consisting of large blocks of stone alternating with the architrave molding and crowned with a heavy rusticated keystone. Gibbs was a successful country house architect from 1714, and his architectural style shifted in the 1720s from a baroque to a more classical approach influenced by the prevailing Palladian taste of his contemporaries. This design is undated, though it probably belongs to the later part of his career. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2014
British Architectural Drawings (Yale Center for British Art) (Yale Center for British Art, 1982-04-21 - 1982-05-30) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]
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