spaces like windows and niches and contrasting smooth wall surfaces with rusticated stone. Inside plasterwork was used to decorate and add texture to wall surfaces with symmetrical arrangements of natural forms.
In summary, Palladian architectural design includes: classical proportion, symmetry, temple fronts, Venetian windows, and the use of classical orders on columns.
Chapter Review
1. What was Palladio’s influence on Irish architecture? Use words and sketches to describe two buildings that show Palladio’s influence.
2. Describe in words and sketches a public building designed by Sir Edward Lovett Pearce. You should note features of the exterior and interior decoration of the building.
3. Richard Cassels designed a number of country and city houses. Write an account of a country house designed by him and use sketches to describe some decorative features from the exterior and the interior.
4. What were the influences that gentlemen brought back from the Grand Tour? Did it change their taste in art and architecture? Explain.
5. Compare a country mansion to a public building, noting differences in scale and decoration. Use words and sketches to make your comparisons.
6. Look at the building in the photograph opposite (Fig. 28.17) and describe its style and decoration. Use sketches to help you describe the elements of the design.
Analysis
To describe a Palladian building properly, you will need a lot of terminology. Pick one or two buildings and practise sketching them and filling in the names of the parts on your drawings.
During this period of prosperity in Ireland, architecture and design caught up with what was happening in Britain and Europe. People of means brought ideas back from their Grand Tours and tried to recreate the standards in classical art and architecture they had seen in Europe.
Figure 28.17 The Rotunda Hospital south façade by Richard Cassels.
www.russborough.ie – The official site of Russborough House. Look through the gallery to see more of the interior of this house
www.youtube.com – Search for ‘Castletown House’ (5:57) to learn more about the building and to see more of the details of the interior
www.youtube.com – Look up ‘Russborough House – Palladian Splendour in Ireland’ (5:41) to see more of the exterior and some of the rooms inside Russborough House
430 NEW APPRECIATING ART IRELAND AND ITS PLACE IN THE WIDER WORLD
