Plasterwork: The Loves of the Gods, figures, cherubs, plant forms, swags
Dado rail
Mahogany floor with satinwood inlay
Figure 28.14 The saloon at Russborough House. The reception rooms are 6 m tall and elaborately decorated.
Discuss with your classmates both the merits and the problems with the way of life represented through the design and decoration of these large country houses.
Leinster House
Originally built in 1745 as a town house for the 22-year-old James Fitzgerald, the 20th Earl of Kildare and the 1st Duke of Leinster, Leinster House is
Curved pediment
Three-bay breakfront
Corinthian columns
basically a Palladian country mansion relocated into the city (Fig. 28.15). The entrance front on Kildare Street is built in fine Ardbraccan limestone and the simpler Leinster Lawn front is built in granite. It is set back from the building line behind its own forecourt.
Exterior
The central block is three storeys tall and 11 bays wide. The entrance is emphasised by a three-bay
Triangular pediment
Balustrade
Rusticated ground level on breakfront
String course Fig. 28.15
Leinster House (Kildare Street front), designed for the Duke of Leinster by Richard Cassels.
428 NEW APPRECIATING ART IRELAND AND ITS PLACE IN THE WIDER WORLD
