In this ground-breaking volume, the first book-length study for forty years on one of England's greatest and most influential classical architects, conventional assumptions about Inigo Jones are turned on their head. Traditionally, Jones has been looked upon as an isolated, even old-fashioned, figure in European architecture, still espousing the Palladian ideals of the sixteenth century when his European contemporaries were turning to the Baroque. Through a wide investigation of contemporary European architecture and a detailed examination of Jones's buildings, Giles Worsley shows this impression to be false and demonstrates that Inigo Jones must be understood within the context of a European-wide, early seventeenth-century classicist movement. A broad-ranging survey of contemporary architecture in Italy, Germany, France and the Netherlands reveals how many powerful parallels there are on the Continent with Jones's work in England. This is followed by a close study of Jones's buildings, looked at in terms of both their chronological development and the growing complexity of different building types. By focusing on the importance of the classical ideal of decorum, in which the richness of a building's decoration depends on the status of its owner and function, Worsley shows how Jones can be understood only by examining the full range of his architecture, in which the humble stable is as revealing as a royal palace. At the same time key motifs that have long been seen as proof of Jones's Palladian loyalities, particularly the Serliana, the portico and the centrally planned villa, are shown to have a much older and deeper meaning as symbols of sovereignty. By taking this approach Giles Worsley not only transforms our understanding of Inigo Jones but also forces us to look with fresh eyes at early seventeenth-century European architecture as a whole.
About the Author
Giles Worsley is Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Historical Research, University of London, and the architecture critic of the Daily Telegraph. He was architectural editor at Country Life from 1988 to 1994, and editor of Perspectives on Architecture from 1994 to 1998. He is the author of "Architectural Drawings of the Regency Period 1790-1837", "Classical Architecture in Britain: The Heroic Age", "England's Lost Houses" and "The British Stable".
Reviews
"For the many who knew and admired him, Giles Worsley's huge intelligence and capacity for invention, as well as his dynamism and charm, live and breathe on every page of this brilliant work" – David Watkin, Literary Review
"This book is a remarkable contribution to architectural history based on wide scholarship, impeccably organised and beautifully written... [it] is an important addition to the literature of Inigo Jones, and is also an appropriate monument to its author" – John Martin Robinson, The Spectator
"'Inigo Jones and the European Classicist Tradition' is a must for anyone with more than a passing interest in English architectural history, not least because Worsley resurrects Jones from neo-Palladian has-been to cast him as a key figure in the development of a contemporary European classicism. A wealth of written and illustrative documentation lends weight to Worsley's compelling argument, the culmination of which is a reading of the largely unbuilt scheme for Whitehall Palace as a political project" – Architecture Today
"Worsley liked a good argument, and in this masterly book he fairly lets rip. Conventionally, Jones has been depicted as a meteor, trailing light but blazing a lonely path across the Stuart sky. Worsley does not dispute the dazzling impact he must have made; but shows that he was not so isolated as we thought" – Clive Aslet, The Daily Telegraph
"By taking a holistic view of the architectural scene, and releasing himself from the shackles of referring only to written documentary evidence, Worsley has been able to develop a much richer and more credible picture of the context and influences on Jones's architecture. Given the loss of so much of Jones's written archive, this is investigative architectural history at its best" – Ptolemy Dean, Building Design
"Giles Worsley breaks new ground by considering Jones in his European context" – Kerry Downes, Times Literary Supplement
"This is exemplary architectual history – shot through with insight, a sharp eye for the unexpected or overlooked detail and an eagerness to re-examine evidence" – Gillian Darley, Cornerstone
"We all knew Worsley was good: I'm not sure I appreciated just what an accomplished scholar he was. This biography makes it abundantly clear" – Hugh Pearman, Sunday Times 'Culture'
"In this ambitious book, and in his typically well-argued manner, Dr. Worsley has created a veritable march through Jones's career... Anyone who has an interest in the Classical tradition of architecture, or the history of England in the 17th century – a period which defined so many of our national institutions – should read this thoughtful and well-argued study" – Jeremy Musson, Country Life
"...vastly informative, engaging and full of persuasive enthusiasm" – Neil Cameron, Architect's Journal
"The European sweep of the book is as impressive and valuable as it's concentration on Jones: we see both the European classicist tradition, and Jones in a new light. Worsley has introduced us to the unknown, and has enriched the familiar. We are the poorer for no longer being able to argue and develop the ideas stimulated by this book with a scholar as original and cosmopolitan as Giles" – Edward McParland, Apollo Magazine
