Figure 30.8 (left) Gothick façade of Slane Castle.
the century. He supplied designs for the renovation and alteration of many houses, and schemes for the decoration of others. He designed Castle Coole in Co. Fermanagh for the Earl of Belmore in 1793 (Fig. 30.7). The house is nine bays wide and is simply finished, with no window mouldings and little decoration. Four Ionic columns reach over two storeys to support the plain pediment over the entrance. Straight Doric colonnades make the connection to the end pavilions. Wyatt was also responsible for the design and furnishing of the elegant interior.
The Gothick style
Wyatt designed a renovation of Slane Castle in Co. Meath in 1785, which demonstrates a new romantic fashion in Gothic decoration (Fig. 30.8). Towers and battlements were added to a classical building in a style known as ‘Gothick’, with a ‘k’ to differentiate
444
it from the more serious Neo-Gothic of the next century.
Art Elements and
Design Principles There was a movement away from Baroque and Rococo in favour of classical design. New ideas came directly from buildings seen on the Grand Tour and from books of engravings showing classical buildings.
Form and outline were considered to be the primary elements in good Neo-Classical design. This can be seen in the clean lines and simple decoration of the front of Charlemont House, which was designed as a centrepiece for the north side of Parnell Square, bringing symmetry to that block of buildings.
NEW APPRECIATING ART IRELAND AND ITS PLACE IN THE WIDER WORLD
