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THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[June, 



ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS, ROYAL ACADEMY. 



A change has taken place this season in regard to the Architectural 

 Room, inasmuch as it has been removed to the "opposite side of the 

 •way," that is, instead of being on the right, it is now the one on the 

 left hand of the staircase ; but as both rooms are of precisely the 

 same size, nothing is gained by the change, in point of increased 

 accommodation, and in other respects matters continue nearly in statu 

 quo; for we perceive no improvement whatever in the system of 

 hanging the drawings, of which we have said so much on former 

 occasions, that we are sick of the subject. Neither is there, we are 

 sorry to be obliged to say, any improvement at nil in the general cha- 

 racter of this part of the exhibition — rather quite the reverse — an 

 obvious falling off; and however it may be regretted, this will hardly 

 be wondered at when we find that a very great proportion of those 

 who have hitherto generally contributed to the attractions of the Ar- 

 chitectural Room, have this year sent nothing. 



The architects want old Soane among them again, to give them a 

 fillip, for as to the present Professor of Architecture at the Academy, 

 the walls might exhibit a blank, it seems, for aught he cares. There 

 was not a single design or drawing of any kind of his last season : and 

 it is just the same now. We do not say that this is very greatly to 

 be lamented in itself, but it is rather lamentable to find that lii< 

 example is now contagious. It has been followed by Barry, Basevi, 

 Blore, Burton, Donaldson, Ferrey, Poynter, Salvin, S. Smirke, Tite, 

 Wild, ar.d many others whose names do not immediately occur to us. 

 There is very little to inform us what has lately been done, or what is 

 either actually in progress or about to be commenced. Among other 

 things of the kind we had reckoned with some confidence upon seeing 

 the design for the new Conservative Clubhouse, by Basevi and S. 

 Smirke, nor is that by any means our only or chief disappointment, 

 there being, among many others, the new Chapel Royal at Bucking- 

 ham Palace, which we are bound to suppose well worth seeing. We 

 should like, too, to have found the design for the facade of the British 

 Museum, which we are told is on the eve of being at length com- 

 menced ; — how we should like the design itself is a different matter — 

 we suspect, not very much ; yet, at all events, Sir Robert Smirke has 

 had ample time for studying it, and improving upon his first ideas ; 

 nor can he very well fail to be aware that architectural taste has un- 

 dergone some change for the better within the last twenty or five and 

 twenty years, and that consequently his once admired "classical 

 purity" is not likely to be at all relished — perhaps hardlv endured 

 now, but be in very great danger of being voted dull, frigid, and stale 

 common-place. Sir Robert Smirke may be quite as able as ever he 

 was — a rather ambiguous compliment, by the bye — but that wont suf- 

 fice: what was talent yesterday, is not always looked upon as such 

 to-day: if he has been standing still all the while, others have not ; 

 and even the public have now got a-head of him. Most numerous 

 and ample have been the opportunities afforded him during his career 

 — quite equal, with one exception, to Barry's; but he has frittered 

 [hem all away ; and instead of making, ss the latter has done, archi- 

 tectural gems out of small buildings — the Traveller's Clubhouse, ' for 

 instance — he has made large ones, very little in manner, and exceed- 

 ing meagre in taste. This, however, is a sort of par pare n thine, which 

 our readers are at liberty to skip, and we therefore go on to say that, 

 on the other hand, there are a great many subjects in the present ex- 

 hibition that we cculd very well have dispensed with altogether, they 

 being terribly stale, and withal, most unattractive as drawings. Who 

 cares to look at a frame rilled with such nothingness as a parcel of 

 Corinthian columns, merely because they are called "The Temple of 

 Jupiter Olympius"? — or at an architectural bulletin informing us what 

 was the exact state of the " Erechtheum " last summer ? What pre- 

 tensions, again, have such things as mere architectural portraits — 

 views of buildings in the metropolis, and those tolerably well known — 

 to be admitted into what professes to be an exhibition of original 

 productions, and which, if not strictly confined to them, ought at least 

 to give us only unedited subjects ? Exceptions might, perhaps, be 

 allowed in particular cases, where a building that has never been sa- 

 tisfactorily represented before, receives for the first time the attention 

 it merits, and the want of positive novelty in the subject is amply 

 made up for by tastefulness of execution as well as mere fidelity of 



2 Speaking of this small bin certainly no; least work of Barry's, the Poly- 

 technic Review says, "A chaste specimen of the Italian style, the more it 

 is examined the more it becomes the subject of admiration," and tu some al- 

 most of adoration. Barry has had the good fortune to have this monument 

 described by (he pen of one of the first architectural critics, by one who is 

 no less qualified for any task by the extent of his knowledge than the sound- 

 ness of liis judgment, and who has perhaps done more by his writings for 

 the promotion 01 sound architectural pijnciples than most men have by their 

 works. 



likeness. This, however, is by no means the case with such things as 

 No. 11S7, "Perspective View of St. Pancras Church," or No. 1284, 

 ' Interior of St. Martin's in the Fields." If we cannot have what is 

 much fresher and better, far rather would we meet here again with 

 some of the works that have delighted us on former occasions, and 

 to renew acquaintance with which would be refreshening. So impos- 

 sible is it to discover any sort of system in the management of the 

 architectural part of the Academy's exhibitions, that we fairly con- 

 clude there is no system at all, but that the whole is left to " Provi- 

 dence" and the porters. That St. Peter is not one of them, is evi- 

 dent enough, for had he the keys of the architectural room in his 

 keeping, hardly would he admit such architectural Balaam and rub- 

 bish as we have seen here hung up ; not this season more particularly, 

 but more or less every season. It would seem that any thing in a 

 frame and glass will pass muster so long as room can be found for it, 

 or it serves to fill up an obstinate gap into which no other sized frame 

 can be fitted : — which is by no means a very Jilting practice in itself; 

 at any rate we would rather encounter a few blanks on the walls, than 

 such prizes. It is really grevious to observe some of the Pecksniff 

 things that are permitted to show themselves at the Academy, and 

 there stare us full in the face, unless good luck has so well managed 

 both for them and for us, that they happen to be put out of sight. 

 We could mention more than one or even two specimens of the kind 

 in the present exhibition, but the authors of them would hardly thank 

 us for calling attention to them, or feel flattered by coming in for 

 such share of our notice. It is possible that some of the productions 

 of this stamp may be in themselves meritorious, since they may be 

 the works of mere tyros — the first essays of " tender juveniles," who 

 have just learnt to make use of pencil and compasses; but then 

 schoolboy exercises should be kept at home for home admiration, and 

 not publicly paraded, at the risk of being pelted at. 



What seems not lea<t of all strange to us is, that there should uni- 

 formly be so many things, which professing to be mere designs or 

 ideas, show themselves so barren of ideas — so devoid of any origi- 

 nality either as to conception or treatment. In such cases, it is to be 

 presumed, a design is intended as a display of talent, and to manifest 

 what its author is capable of doing, provided opportunity be afforded 

 him. To produce things of that kind merely'to show average taste, 

 and what, if quite as good, is not at all better or more striking than 

 what has been done again and again before, and may be seen almost 

 anywhere, is hardly worth while: nevertheless, we find that it is often 

 done, for be the drawings themselves ever so satisfactory as such, 

 there is very little thinking put into them. Of that description, 

 however, there are very few designs this season — very little in the 

 shape of Projects, or what professes to be merely ideal. 



Except that it is upon the whole less striking and attractive than 

 usual, it is difficult to say what is the character of the present exhi- 

 bition, or what class of designs predominate in it. Scarcely ever, 

 indeed, is it possible to form any such general conclusions, or to judge 

 which is the style in particular that seems to be best treated ; and 

 this is in no small degree owing to the very great diversity of manner 

 in execution, anil the degree of ability displayed in it; for while in 

 some instances things that are rather of mediocre quality in them- 

 selves are rendered striking by the taste or spirit with which they 

 are represented, others which are superior as designs, or at least con- 

 tain superior ideas, are so indifferent as mere drawings as to seem 

 altogether insignificant, more especially when seen along with others, 

 and hastily judged of by the " first sight" impression they make upon 

 the eye. So far, then, an exhibition room is not the very best place 

 of all for forming impartial comparisons, and for judging of the intrin- 

 sic architectural merits of the different designs. In order to do that, 

 it would in fact be requisite that they should be all upon the same 

 scale or very nearly so, all in the same style as to drawing and colour- 

 ing, and moreover, what is not the least important matter, that they 

 should all be to be seen equally distinctly. This last, it must be ad- 

 mitted, is almost an impossibility, since, in order to be so seen, they 

 must all be hung upon the same level, that is, just upon the " line," 

 and that line would require to be a very " long yam " — about as long 

 as the front of the National Gallery itself, to accommodate the num- 

 ber of subjects we here meet with. Still some little more judgment, 

 or common sense might be exercised than is done at present; and if 

 the suitable accommodation for them cannot be obtained in proportion 

 to the number of drawings, this last ought to be reduced so as to cor- 

 respond in some degree, with the accommodation. 



Of either Grecian or Rouian design there is this year very little, 

 though there is at least one of great merit, and all the more welcome 

 because intended for execution, viz. No. 12'JO, " Interior of St. 

 George's Hall, Liverpool," J. L. Elmes. It is indeed a most noble 

 specimen of Greco-Roman interior architecture, beautifully imagined 

 in its general composition and arrangement, and tasteful and well 



