-
Articles/Ads
Article Untitled Article ← Page 3 of 11 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
his younger years , to study the arts of design , and to ' " converse with the great masters thereof in Italy , " where he assiduously applied himself to " search out the ruins of those ancient buildings which , in despite of time itself and violence of barbarians , are yet remaining . " It is not quite clear when he abandoned landscape painting as a
profession , an art in which he acquired considerable skill ; but he himself tells us that on his return to England he applied himself more particularly to architecture . A small landscape from his hand , in the possession of the Burlington family , is criticized by Walpole as well conceived , but in the colouring indifferently executed .
There appears to be considerable doubt as to the exact period when Jones embraced architectural drawing as his future profession ; and even "Webb , his kinsman and pupil , falls into error on the subject ; . for in his vindication of Stonehenge he asserts that Jones returned to England in the train of Christianus IV ., king of Denmark , whereas he is proved to have been resident and professionally
engaged in this country prior to that monarch ' s visit , which did not take place until July , 1606 . It is evident , however , that his stay in Denmark had been long , and although it has not been positively stated what was the nature of his employment there , we are justified in assuming it to have been architecture . It has been said , that
while in that country he rebuilt part of the royal palace of Fredericksburg ; and there would appear to have been some truth in the report , from the striking resemblance of design that exists between the principal court of that building and that of Heriot ' s Hospital in Edinburgh , another building attributed to Jones .
Jones had reached his thirty-second year when we first hear of his being employed at the English court in 1604-5 . At this time Anne of Denmark , the sister of Christianus IV ., and queen of James L , ordered the first of a series of masques , a kind of entertainment not common in this country , to be performed on Twelfthnight ; and although the poet ( Ben Jonson ) and the painter ( Jones ) engaged in its production were equally inexperienced in such
matters , both the conception and execution appear to have been satisfactory . The title of this revel was the " Masque of Blackness ;" and Jonson's description of the bodily part of it is the first notice we possess of the use of scenery in stage performances . The production of those princely entertainments , which mainly owed their origin to the taste of the queen consort , afforded ample scope for the exercise of pen and pencil , and generally led to an enormous
expenditure of money . The style of magnificence in which they were got up may be gathered from the fact that the one we have just alluded to cost about £ 10 , 000 of our present money . In executing his part of the work , the exertions of Jones were no doubt greatly aided by the knowledge and practice he had acquired of landscape painting , as much of the scenery introduced belonged to that department of art .
Inigo ' s pencil was from time to time employed in the composition of various masques and other dramatic representations ; sometimes
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
his younger years , to study the arts of design , and to ' " converse with the great masters thereof in Italy , " where he assiduously applied himself to " search out the ruins of those ancient buildings which , in despite of time itself and violence of barbarians , are yet remaining . " It is not quite clear when he abandoned landscape painting as a
profession , an art in which he acquired considerable skill ; but he himself tells us that on his return to England he applied himself more particularly to architecture . A small landscape from his hand , in the possession of the Burlington family , is criticized by Walpole as well conceived , but in the colouring indifferently executed .
There appears to be considerable doubt as to the exact period when Jones embraced architectural drawing as his future profession ; and even "Webb , his kinsman and pupil , falls into error on the subject ; . for in his vindication of Stonehenge he asserts that Jones returned to England in the train of Christianus IV ., king of Denmark , whereas he is proved to have been resident and professionally
engaged in this country prior to that monarch ' s visit , which did not take place until July , 1606 . It is evident , however , that his stay in Denmark had been long , and although it has not been positively stated what was the nature of his employment there , we are justified in assuming it to have been architecture . It has been said , that
while in that country he rebuilt part of the royal palace of Fredericksburg ; and there would appear to have been some truth in the report , from the striking resemblance of design that exists between the principal court of that building and that of Heriot ' s Hospital in Edinburgh , another building attributed to Jones .
Jones had reached his thirty-second year when we first hear of his being employed at the English court in 1604-5 . At this time Anne of Denmark , the sister of Christianus IV ., and queen of James L , ordered the first of a series of masques , a kind of entertainment not common in this country , to be performed on Twelfthnight ; and although the poet ( Ben Jonson ) and the painter ( Jones ) engaged in its production were equally inexperienced in such
matters , both the conception and execution appear to have been satisfactory . The title of this revel was the " Masque of Blackness ;" and Jonson's description of the bodily part of it is the first notice we possess of the use of scenery in stage performances . The production of those princely entertainments , which mainly owed their origin to the taste of the queen consort , afforded ample scope for the exercise of pen and pencil , and generally led to an enormous
expenditure of money . The style of magnificence in which they were got up may be gathered from the fact that the one we have just alluded to cost about £ 10 , 000 of our present money . In executing his part of the work , the exertions of Jones were no doubt greatly aided by the knowledge and practice he had acquired of landscape painting , as much of the scenery introduced belonged to that department of art .
Inigo ' s pencil was from time to time employed in the composition of various masques and other dramatic representations ; sometimes