The Banqueting House as an Example of Palladian Influence Mohadeseh Sadat Moein Shirazi Stage 2 AR544 Renaissance to Neoclassicism 5 December 2015
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Italian architect Andrea Palladio’s (1508-1580) principles and designs have been exported and adapted in countless buildings throughout Europe. One of these buildings is the famous English Banqueting House which introduced many fresh and new ideologies, although very classical, to architecture in England. This essay will discuss the influence of Palladio’s style in the design of the Banqueting House, and how it may have paved the way for an abundance of classical buildings in England. The current Banqueting House in London, standing as the only remaining component of the Whitehall Palace, was built in 1622 and designed by Inigo Jones, under the commission of King James I. Before it stood a temporary structure used by Queen Elizabeth for marriage negotiations. King James I made this into a permanent building in 1606, however, it was burnt down after 13 years. A second fire on site happened in 1689, burning down the rest of the Whitehall Palace with it, yet leaving the Banqueting House undamaged. (Historic Royal Palaces, 2015; Moffatt, 2003) Inigo Jones, the son of a cloth worker from East London, born in 1573, and mostly selftaught, was one of the most influential English Architects of all time. He travelled numerous times to Italy, and was particularly inspired by Palladio’s architecture which made use of Vitruvian principles and proportions, for example the use of the five Roman orders. Employed by James I’s wife, he first began designing costumes and sets for the masques held at the court by the nobles. Masques were “...elaborate performances. Something between a play and a ball”. (Historic Royal Palaces, 2015; BBC Historic Figures, 2014) On arrival to the site of the building in Whitehall, the most visible feature of the Banqueting House is the exterior west façade (figure 1). There is a symmetrical arrangement of fourteen large windows spread across two floors. The façade is bordered with two pilasters on each side, repeated on both upper levels. There is one more pilaster on both sides before a central row of four unfluted columns. On the first level is the Ionic order, and on the second is the Composite (figure 2). This is a correct arrangement of the orders according to Palladio.
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Figure 1: An elevation view sketch of the Banqueting House in modern day
Figure 2: On the left- Details of Palladio’s drawings of the Composite and the Ionic order, from the first book of his Four Books (1997 p. 49, p.33). On the right- Column details of Thomas Forster’s elevation drawing of the Banqueting House. (undated)
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Palladio describes the 5 types of columns used by the ancients, Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite (listed in order of quality), in his treatise The Four Books on Architecture [I quattro libri dell'architettura]1. In the first book summarising the early stages of the building such as material selection and foundations, he talks about the correct distribution of these columns corresponding to their quality as well as their strengths. “They must be distributed… with the strongest at the lower point because it will be most capable of carrying the load”. This is just one of the many examples of the pragmatic approach Palladio took with his interpretation of designing all’antica (in the ancient manner of the Greeks and Romans), which made classical design accessible to the rest of the world through his treatise. The Banqueting house façade respects this arrangement as the Ionic capitals, being the simpler, more matronly order (as personified by Vitruvius), is placed below, and the Composite, which is a blend of Ionic and Corinthian (personified as maidenly) and described by Palladio as “the best composed and most beautiful” is placed above. This creates a hierarchy of simplicity to pure beauty from the bottom to the top. There is a noticeable avoidance of the more plain orders such as the Tuscan or Doric, the lack of which, one may argue, is completely justified as they are not appropriate for a royal building of such grandeur. (Palladio, 1997 p.17, p.48) Another element of the façade is the pediments used above the windows. On the ground level there are alternating segmental and triangular pediments, which can also be seen in some of Palladio’s palaces, such as the Palazzo Barbarano (figure 3) or the Palazzo Thiene (figure 4). It can be said that this serves an aesthetic function rather than structural, because structural pediments were originally used above entablatures held up by columns. This is also illustrated and supported by Laugier’s (1713-1769) theory of The Primitive Hut, outlined in his book An Essay on Architecture [Essai sur l'Architecture] where the pediment, entablature and columns form the basis of all architecture ever conceived. Jones’ initial design (figure 5) did feature a large pediment for the central, four-columned component of the façade, though this was later omitted. (Laugier, 1977; Cowie, 1972)
Before this, the same orders were introduced by Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472), who was “the first Renaissance architect to write an architectural treatise”, but without the inclusion of the Tuscan. Vitruvius (born long before the renaissance) on the other hand, mentions the Tuscan in his On Architecture [De Architectura] treatise but does not include the Composite as it was first introduced by Alberti. (Palladio, A. (1997), vii) 1
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Figure 3: Andrea Palladio, Palazzo Barbarano, 1570-1575, Vicenza. Elevation
Figure 4: Palazzo Thiene
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Figure 5: Inigo Jones’ initial design featuring a pediment (Cowie, 1972 p.27)
The interior space of the Banqueting house consists of a double cube which was “planned to resemble an antique Roman basilica deriving from Vitruvius via Palladio… 110 by 55 feet” according to Watkin (1986 p.239). The plan consists of an undercroft (a portion of which can be seen in the rusticated ground level of the façade), the banqueting hall upstairs and an upper gallery level forming a balcony which borders the hall (figure 6).
Figure 6: Plans of the Banqueting House
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Within the main hall, the spectator is met with a set of four ionic columns marking the entrance. This use of columns is most likely a decorative statement rather than a literal following of Palladio’s logical use of the element derived from Vitruvian concepts of the ancients’ comfortable proportions. Intercolumniations, the spacings between columns, are clearly described in Palladio’s Four Books. He mentions that the ancients did not use spacing of less than a column’s diameter and a half, and that if “thick columns are put in narrow spaces, the narrowness and tightness of the interval will make the columns look swollen and graceless” (1997 p. 18-19). Since the pairs of columns at each side of the main hall entrance are less than a diamater and a half distance apart, it is evident that Jones has not used the proportional approach on this particular arrangement (figure 7). On the other hand it may be argued that they are arranged in such closeness to give the illusion of larger columns and physically emphasise the magnificence of the journery through this part of the building, although, according to Palladio it could also be described as simply “graceless”.
Figure 7: Close up of the column base in front of the main entrance. The chair illustrates just how large the scale of the column is
Figure 8: Close up of the ionic capitals of the columns in front of the entrance and a pilaster behind, echoing the same forms.
Similar to the exterior of the building, the interior is composed of the Ionic order at lower level (figure 8) and the Corinthian order above, although the second order is Composite on the exterior, perhaps to exude more elegance and dominate over the repetitive surrounding Elizabethan structures at the time it was built. These interior orders are expressed through a series of pilasters on both levels, with the bottom ones extruding semi-spherically and the top ones being flat. The interior pilasters are fluted unlike the exterior ones, possibly as a play with light and shadow. 6
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Walking thorugh the main hall, one is immediately drawn to the ceiling totally adorned in allegorical paintings from one corner to the other. These ceiling paintings were nonexistent at the start of the Banqueting House design, but were added by James I’s son, Charles I who commissioned them to be eventually installed 13 years after the completion of the building, in 1636. Charles I was devoted to the arts, and was known for compiling one of the greatest art collections of his age. Therefore it is no surprise that he asked one of the most celebrated Flemish painters of the time, Sir Peter Paul Rubens (2577-1640), to paint the ceiling which came to be named after Rubens himself, as the Rubens’ Ceiling. Today it is the only surviving in-situ ceiling painting by Rubens. (Historic Royal Palaces, 2015; The National Gallery)
Figure 9: Ruben’s Ceiling. Photo by Miles Willis
The central canvas is intended to be the focal point of the room as it conveys important messages about how Charles I viewed the monarchy (figure 10). Looking at the building from the viewpoint of the entrance, Charles’ father, James I is dressed in a red robe with his foot resting on an imperial globe at the bottom of the composition. He appears to be ascending into heaven. James I, and his son firmly believed in the devine right to rule, meaning that, in the words of James I himself: “A state of monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth to have.” Therefore kings were guaranteed a place in heaven. There are other figures within the paintings, some as personifications of intangible virtues. For example Justice, who is leading James to heaven, is shown with a scale in her hand. The
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embodiement of Faith and Religion are a pair of female figures opposite Justice, one holding an altar flame, and the other holding a bible. Winged babies are shown awaiting the King’s arrival to heaven. One is holding a crown and the others are playing music. There is also a female figure personifying the goddess of wisdom, her feet appearing to come out of the canvas. Overall this may be seen as a provocative painting with a bold statement. (Historic Royal Palaces, 2015)
Figure 10: Close up of the central canvas on Rubens’ ceiling. View of painting as one enters the room (left). View of painting standing from the opposite side of the room (right)
During the Italian Renaissance painters and architects enjoyed creating architectural and pictorial illusions with realistically rendered frescos in their interiors.
They
differentiated between painted architectural elements (called quaddratura) and painted pictorial figurative elements. Many of them collaborated on these projects and admired each other’s fields of work. For example, Semes mentions how Palladio referred to Franco Battsita as “one of the greatest artists of all time”. In regards to the English interpretation of interior paitings, Semes mentions the following:
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“Inigo Jones’s Banqueting Hall at Whitehall Palace features a ceiling decorated by Ruben, and Edward Pierce’s ceiling in the Double Cube Room at Wilton (also designed by Jones) is based on Palladio’s volta a conca type... Wren and Sir John Vambrugh embraced painted decoration… such as Sebastiano Ricci at Chelsea Hospital Chapel. The later Neo-Palladians… abandoned the quadrattura...” (2004, p. 130-131).
This is an interesting passage which manifests where Palladianism was directed after Inigo Jones introduced his Italian findings to Britain. It is also highly likely that, even though the Renaissance movement already made use of Frescos before Palladio, Inigo Jones would have taken his inspiration directly from Palladio regardless as his treatise was one of the main things he purchased, studied and travelled with. The Double Cube Room at Wilton House shares many similarities to the Banqueting house. Not only is it a double cube shape, which is highly favoured in the proportional approach of Palladian design, it also features embellishments with swags of fruit and flowers, which was previously seen on the surfaces of the Banqueting House. The ceiling paintings are arranged in a different compostition because of the curve of the ceiling however the central oval painting, being the focal point of the room, still exists. (MontgomeryMassingberd & Simon-Sykes, 1994)
Figure 11: The Double Cube room in the banqueting house
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One room in Italy that also bears a resemblance to Inigo Jones’ ceiling is the Sala del Collegio, in the Doge’s Palace, Venice. Although not originally designed by Palladio, he was given the responsibility of restoring elements of the building after a fire in 1574. The ceiling in this room also features a central oval for the most important painting. This may have served as a precedent for Inigo Jones as he seems to have repeated this element more than once in his designs.
Figure 12: Sala del Collegio
Overall it is evident that through the treatise of Palladio and the trips Inigo Jones took to Italy, the Italians’ revival of the ancient methods of architecture has travelled well throughout England, and consequently played an influential role in the design of the Banqueting house as one of the first of its kind on English soil. This is witnessed through Jones’ adoption of the basic orders, principles and proportions outlined in Palladio’s treatise as well as his use of these Palladian elements in his future designs.
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Images Cover image: Moein Shirazi, Mohadeseh Sadat. October 2015 Figure 1: Moein Shirazi, Mohadeseh Sadat. November 2015 12
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Figure 2: Palladio, A. (1997). The Four Books on Architecture [I quattro libri dell'architettura]. Trans. Travernor, R. and Schofield, R. Massachusetts: The MIT Press; Forster, T. (undated) Banqueting House,
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ak0.pinimg.com/originals/56/9c/fa/569cfa6d90e90387e314788a249d3ba3.jpg. [accessed 5 December 2015] Figure
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Longare20070705-03.jpg [accessed 5 December 2015] Figure 5 : Cowie, L. W. (1972). The Banqueting House, Whitehall. History Today 22.1 (1 January 1972) available
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747/images/figure0747-020.gif http://www.british-history.ac.uk/sites/default/files/publications/pubid-747/images/figure0747021.gif [accessed 5 December 2015] Figure 7: Moein Shirazi, Mohadeseh Sadat. October 2015 Figure 8: Moein Shirazi, Mohadeseh Sadat. October 2015 Figure 9 and figure 10: http://www.mileswillis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/BH_002.jpg [accessed 5 December 2015] Figure
11:
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[accessed 5 December 2015] Figure 12: http://www.wga.hu/html_m/v/veronese/08/collegio/ [accessed 6 December 2015]
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