The Tower of the Winds
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
James Stuart (1713-1788) and Nicholas Revett (1720-1804) (editors/after) |
These architectural studies, from Volume I of Stuart & Revett’s The Antiquities of Athens, resulted from on-site surveys of various Greek buildings made in 1751-54. Both authors were British artists, architects, and archaeologists. They are part of the four-volume work, considered the first accurate survey of ancient Athenian architecture. This set is considered one of the foundations of the Grecian Revival style in England in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today these plates also document these monuments prior to later damage, excavations and restorations. The prints shown above illustrate the Octagon Tower of Andronicus Cyrrhestes, a structure variously known as the Tower of the Winds or the Horological Monument of Andronicus Cyrrhestes. Still standing in the Roman agora today, this 40-foot-high octagonal marble tower served as an enormous weathervane and timekeeper. Each of the eight sides bears a figure in relief representing the direction of the wind that blows against that side. According to an early description by the ancient Roman architect, Vitruvius, on the conical top of the tower a bronze figure of the Greek sea deity Triton once turned in the wind, and where he stopped, the wand in his right hand pointed toward the sculpture of the wind blowing at that time. Restoration of the Tower of the Winds was carried out in 1915-19 and 1975-76. Both James Stuart and Nicholas Revett began their careers as painters. Having each independently made their way to Rome, they met there in 1742, and in 1748 the two went together to Naples to study Greek monuments. Stuart felt that contemporary architecture should be modeled on that of ancient Greece, as opposed to Roman examples, and the two men issued proposals to raise funds undertake a "new and accurate description of the Antiquities &c. in the Province of Attica." Under the auspices of the Society of Dilettanti, and with funds raised from other patrons, Stuart and Revett completed the initial survey for The Antiquities of Athens between 1751 and 1754, taking accurate measurements and making drawings of the ruins of Athens, especially the Acropolis, which became the subject of Volume II. Stuart contributed the topographical views and text, Revett the measured drawings. Stuart was among the first accomplished English architects to execute neoclassical designs for garden buildings and interiors, directly relying on the Greek architecture illustrated in The Antiquities of Athens, which earned him the nickname "Athenian Stuart." These include his garden pavilion "The Temple of the Winds" at Mount Stewart, Northern Ireland, based on the Tower of the Winds, and his designs for a candelabrum based on the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates. After Stuart left Greece in 1754, Revett attempted to continue his research in other parts of the country under dangerous conditions -- at one point pirates kidnapped him. He stayed in London from 1755 to 1764, when he agreed to accompany another British expedition sponsored by the Dilettanti to Ionia, where he spent two years drawing the antiquities, the results of which were eventually published as The Antiquities of Ionia in 1769 and 1797. He also published Balbec and Palmyra. His major architectural design was the Church of Ayott St. Lawrence, Herts, which was influenced by the early architecture of Asia Minor. The first volume of The Antiquities of Athens was published by John Haberkorn in 1762 and was the only one to be published while both Stuart and Revett were living. John Nichols in London published the second and third volumes after Stuart's death, Volume II in 1789, Volume III in 1794. Volume IV was compiled using Stuart’s papers and published by J. Taylor in 1816. A final supplemental volume was released in 1830 after much delay. Four generations of Basires were engravers; three were named James. The elder James Basire (1730-1802) became known as an engraver of architecture and was employed on the first volume of James Stuart and Nicholas Revett's classic book The Antiquities of Athens (1762). He traveled in Italy the following year, and around that time became Engraver to the Society of Antiquaries. He also became Engraver to the Royal Society in 1770. He produced many fine prints for the Antiquaries and other publications as well as separately-issued prints after paintings for publishers such as John Boydell. His print Champ d'or, 1520, executed for the Antiquaries, was exhibited in 1775 as "the largest plate engraved in England." He exhibited at the Society of Artists from 1761 to 1783. William Blake served as one of his apprentices from 1772 to 1779. Basire's eldest son, also named James (1769-1822), succeeded his father as Engraver to the Antiquaries and to the Royal Society. The younger James Basire is known for his plates of English cathedrals after John Carter, and for a set after the Bayeux Tapestry. He also engraved the annual Oxford Almanacks for several years. References: "Basire." The Grove Dictionary of Art. New York: Macmillan. 2000. Artnet.com. http://www.artnet.com/library/00/0067/T006725.asp (4 February 2003). Bénézit, E. Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs. France: Librairie Gründ, 1966. Vol. 7, p. 197 (Revett); Vol. 8, p. 165 (Stuart). “James Stuart.” The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed.New York: Columbia University Press: 2001-2005. Bartleby.com. http://www.bartleby.com/65/st/StuartJ.html (31 August 2004). Redgrave, Samuel. A Dictionary of Artists of the English School: Painters, Sculptors, Architects, Engravers and Ornamentists. London: Longmans, Green, and Col., 1874. p. 336. Skinner, Robin. "Unpacking Ruins: architecture from antiquity: Stuart – Athens v1-4." University of Otago (New Zealand) Library. 15 January 2003. http://www.library.otago.ac.nz/exhibitions/ruins/case_three.html (6 January 2006). "Threat to Site of Greek Temple." Originally published in Guardian Newspapers. 31 January 2005. Buzzle.com. http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/1-31-2005-65039.asp (9 January 2006). |