£15 members/£18 non-members

The architect, collector and teacher John Soane (1753–1837) did not mince his words. During his tenure as Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy in London, he was openly critical or complimentary of other architects as he saw fit. The work of the playwright-turned-architect John Vanbrugh was quite at odds with Soane’s own output, and yet Soane admired Vanbrugh enormously for his dynamic and inventive compositions, lauding his ‘genius’, ‘his bold flights of irregular fancy’, and hailing him as ‘the Shakespeare of architects’.

It is perhaps unsurprising that Soane should so venerate Vanbrugh’s dramatic flair, given that Soane cherished the theatre, and even owned four volumes of Vanbrugh’s plays. Subtle layering and hanging pendentive arches in Soane’s own work allude to his fascination for the physical construction of the theatre, notably the proscenium arch and stage legs. And so to find an architect whose work so eloquently married Soane’s twin passions for architecture and theatre was sure to result in his admiration.

This lecture will focus on Soane’s devotion to Vanbrugh. We will consider Soane’s own words on the subject from his Royal Academy lectures, and we will peruse the ten exquisite Royal Academy lecture drawings made by Soane’s office to illustrate Vanbrugh’s best-known works.

The talk starts at 6.30pm, doors open from 6.15pm.

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