THE DRAWINGS OF IN1GO JONES 77 



attributed to him. All told, these amount to comparatively few, 

 and they exhibit curious inconsistencies. Some are almost 

 puerile, although drawn when he was mature in years. Others 

 (and these are more numerous) are strong, simple, and noble, 

 full of restraint, and depending chiefly upon proportion for their 

 effect (Fig. 42). They are large in scale, and are mainly drawn 

 with a free hand. Indeed it is characteristic of Jones to draw to a 

 large scale and 'with little aid from instruments. He appears to 

 have been impatient of petty details, and it is extremely doubtful 

 whether he could have brought his wide-sweeping hand down to 

 the working out of a complicated plan on the small scale actually 

 employed in the Whitehall drawings. 1 



In the collections of earlier date, John Thorpe's and 

 Smithson's, the bulk of the drawings may safely be attributed to 

 Thorpe and Smithson respectively ; which makes the absence 

 of drawings by Jones all the more remarkable. And it must be 

 remembered that although there are few architectural drawings 

 by him there are many of other kinds, notably of the scenery for 

 masques and of the human figure. 2 Indeed, to judge only by 

 his drawings one would regard him as a painter rather than an 

 architect. His surviving architectural drawings may be reckoned 

 by dozens ; those for masques, figure studies, and drapery by 

 hundreds. His figure studies and drapery are executed with 

 great vigour and a masterly touch. His sketches for the 

 numerous masques, of which he designed the setting, are 

 spontaneous and bold (Fig. 43). Many of them have an archi- 

 tectural character, and, needless to say, the architecture is always 

 classic in style. There is one, however, which represents a scene 

 near London ; the wings are composed of old houses, the back- 

 cloth is a distant view of London itself with old St Paul's 

 as the principal feature. 3 It is interesting to see that the 

 houses in the foreground are Jacobean in treatment, yet 

 Jacobean with a larger infusion of classic detail than houses 



1 In an article by Mr W. Grant Keith, published in the Burlington 

 Magazine of January 1913, are given some reproductions of half a dozen 

 drawings by Inigo Jones, which are among the most carefully finished 

 specimens of his handiwork that survive. They include a ceiling for Wilton, 

 1649, and some decorative work at Oatlands Palace in Surrey. 



- Mostly preserved at Chatsworth ; there are also a few at the British 

 Museum. 



3 It has not been found possible to illustrate this scene, as was intended, 

 owing to the war having rendered the drawings at Chatsworth inaccessible 

 for the time being. 



