1848.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



991 



present fettered by prejudices — in reality the merest cobwebs, but 

 twisted together till they become as bulky as cables. If my views and 

 opinions are erroneous, let them be opposed; yet no one it seems 

 cares either to oppose or to second me. Well ! if I am not 

 flattered, even by contradiction, neither am I discouraged. Happy 

 are those who expect nothing, for they shall not be disappointed; 

 and that state of beatitude is mine. 



II. As it is now too late to protest against the barbarism of 

 stripping the Quadrant of its colonnades — and they have assuredly 

 contributed not a little to the architectural character of Regent- 

 street, the Quadrant being by far the most scenic part of the whole 

 line, — let us hope that the columns themselves will be preserved, 

 that is, re-erected, so as to form some ornamental structure else- 

 where, — on some spot where they will not give any umbrage to 

 shops and shop-keepers — and the latter show themselves to be some- 

 what unreasonable, because it was they who came to the colonnades, 

 and not the colonnades to them. Their removal would be less 

 matter of regret, were we but assured that the columns would now 

 be so applied, that ample amends would be made to us for what we 

 shall lose in Regent-street. If no better and more utilitarian pur- 

 pose can be suggested for them, they might be employed to form an 

 open screen of two lines of columns, inclosing the court-yard in front 

 of the British Museum. Sir Robert Smirke's building itself would 

 gain materiallythereby, inasmuch as it would be seen from the street 

 very pietures<iuely through the range of Doric columns in front, 

 which being, besides, on a lesser scale, would serve to give greater 

 importance to the Ionic colonnades behind. To the very excellent 

 suggestion here volunteered, it will be objected — and objections 

 are always as cheap as suggestions themselves — that the Quadrant 

 columns are only Roman-Doric, while the facade of the Museum 

 is pure Greek-Ionic That ultra-Grecianism is affected for it, 

 is not to be denied ; but there is even now a great deal in the 

 general design that is anything but pure Greek in physiognomy. 

 Neither the wings, with their homely and ordinary house look, 

 nor the two little bits between them and the main building, would 

 be able to reproach the Quadrant columns with being too undigni- 

 fied and unclassical to bear them company. Still, one thing may 

 be confidently predicted : I therefore prophecy that my idea will 

 not be adopted, nor even so much as taken into consideration. 

 Happy the prophet whose predictions are sure to be verified, and 

 such state of beatitude, I repeat, is mine. 



THE NATIONAL GALLERY. 



Whatever general truth there may be in the paragraph which 

 appeared in last month's Art-Journal, informing us that the present 

 National Gallery is to undergo extensive alteration by Mr. Barry, 

 its correctness as to particulars may be questioned. AVhat seems 

 to vouch for such piece of intelligence being more than a mere 

 vague, unauthorised report, is the express statement of the sum 

 to be expended — viz. £50,000 ; to which the architect is to be 

 limited. And for that the entire facade is to be altered, and 

 another story added to the building. How the latter can be ac- 

 complished without destroying the lantern lights in all the rooms 

 now constituting the upper-floor, puzzles both ourselves and 

 others to conceive. There appears to be no other alternative or 

 mode of alteration in that case, than that of lighting the pre- 

 sent rooms from their sides, or rather their two ends, in the front 

 and back of the building ; which would hardly be any improve- 

 ment as far as they are concerned, nor perhaps much, if any at 

 all, to the exterior. 



It has all along been the fashion — we can call it nothing else — to 

 decry and abuse the National Gallery, more especially its facade, 

 as if that were not merely the chief, but the sole disfigurement 

 of Trafalgar-square, — as if St. Martin's Church, and tlie other 

 buildings on the east and west sides of the " Square," were abso- 

 lute paragons of architectural taste and excellence. Even those 

 who affect excessive admiration for the " Church," affect to be 

 scandalised at Wilkins's facade of the " Gallery. ' Ask them, 

 why ? and they soar upwards — fly into a towering passion, — and 

 from that altitude, look down upon you with scorn most supreme. 

 Even that lump of architectural cockneyism and dulness, the 

 " College of Physicians and Union Club-house," if it does not 

 obtain admiration, at least escapes censure, which is levelled 

 exclusively against that scape-goat of Trafalgar-square, the 

 National Gallery. However, the latter is to become a " Deformed 

 Transformed ;" and poor St. Martin will need the whole of his 

 cloak to spread over and shelter the insignificance of his Church. 



As to one material point connected with the purposed alteration 

 we are left in entire doubt, not being informed whether the whole 

 of the additional story is to be appro])riated to the " Gallery," or 

 the portion of it at the east-end of the plan, bestowed upon the 

 Royal Academy. 



Whatever may be done to it, the building can never, in our 

 opinion, be rendered adequate to the now greatly-increased, and 

 henceforth likely to become still greater, requirements for the 

 national collection of pictures, unless the whole of it be given up 

 to the " Gallery," and the Academy turned out to provide for 

 itself elsewhere. For exhibition rooms, the Academy needs only 

 longitudinal extent of plan at the rear of a very moderate-sized 

 front towards the street, for the walls being invariably covered 

 from top to bottom with pictures, the rooms themselves might be 

 of the very plainest description, — both in construction and ap- 

 pearance not at all superior to ordinary show-rooms, auction- 

 rooms, and similar places. Therefore, if the space now required 

 for the " Gallery " demands it, we should say, turn the Academy 

 adrift to shift for itself. It does not throw open its doors gra- 

 tuitously to the public : w hy then should it e.xpect to be in any 

 way supported by the public, — or, what is just the same thing, by 

 government .' At any rate, there is no necessity for the Academy's 

 continuing to occupy so considerable a portion as it does of the 

 building in Trafalgar- square, now that the whole of it is required 

 for the national collection of pictures. 



The paragraph in the Art-Journal does not speak at all doubt- 

 ingly, as of rumour that requires confirmation; therefore, unless it 

 should be contradicted, we may presume that thei'e really exists a 

 definite intention of enlarging and otherwise altering Wilkins's 

 edifice ; and that, consequently, government do not entertain any 

 idea of erecting a new National Gallery, as has been talked of by 

 many, and by some fully expected. There have been various 

 rumours on the subject, one of them being that a structure 

 for the pupose was to be built upon the inclosed area in 

 Leicester-square. In what is now stated, there is far more of 

 probability and likelihood, although the Art-Journal speaks 

 only upon a " we understand." Let it be based upon what it 

 may, that " understanding" assumes some degree of shape and 

 colour, several particulars being distinctly touched upon. Mr. 

 Barry's design has been " submitted to the proper authorities," 

 and not only approved of, but, as it would seem, actually deter- 

 mined upon before the public were aware that anything of the 

 kind was in contemplation. It is not, indeed, very easy to recon- 

 cile this with what is said in another page of the same publication, 

 where we are told that IMr. Pennethorne being directed to examine 

 the lower rooms of the present Gallery, with a view to the Vernon 

 Collection being deposited there, reported their total unfitness for 

 such purpose, and recommended that a plain temporary building, 

 calculated to last about a dozen years, should be erected, and that 

 in the interim parliament should make an annual grant of from 

 £15,000 to i.'20,000 for a permanent edifice. One tale contradicts 

 the other : either Mr. Barry's design, or Mr. Pennethorne's sug- 

 gestion, is thrown out. If there is to be a new building in some 

 other situation, the present Gallery will remain untouched ; and 

 vice versa, if the latter is to be greatly enlarged, and to have 

 £50,000 expended upon it, another structure will not be erected. 

 Between the two schemes lies doubt : error there is as to one of 

 them, and error there may be as to both. Still, something appears 

 to be in agitation or contemplation ; therefoi'e, it is not at all 

 amiss that public attention should be directed to it at an early 

 stage of proceedings. 



Most may be of opinion, and some are or have been in full ex- 

 pectation, that let be done whatever might — whether a new 

 National Gallery is to be built, or the present building enlarged, 

 the work would, like the " Houses of Parliament," be made the 

 subject of competition. The occasion itself is a public one, and 

 of a kind to exercise talent in no ordinary degree ; a structure 

 for the purpose being something altogether sui generis. Of almost 

 every other kind of buildings the examples and instances are so 

 numerous, that general conventional ideas may be taken from 

 them ; but with respect to Picture Galleries the case is quite 

 different. For them there are no models; neither have any 

 studies been provided, or aught of any moment on the subject 

 been written and published. Some of the most celebrated public 

 collections of pictures in Europe are in buildings which, besides 

 being tasteless or in exceedingly bad taste themselves, are so 

 badly arranged and devoid of all contrivance, that they do not 

 seem to have ever been intended for the purpose to which they 

 are applied. Besides accommodation with regard to actual space, 

 effective lighting the rooms, and other obvious matters of that 

 kind, the providing for a judicious arrangement of the pictures is 



