Banqueting House

Commentary

Inigo Jones was the first person to introduce classical architecture from Rome, to England. He inspired a critical appreciation of antiquity into English architecture. He had the opportunity to travel to Italy and to visit the various ancient Roman sites, where (equipped with the resource of Palladio’s Quattro libri dell’architettura), he gained a first-hand, in-depth knowledge and understanding of this architecture and sculpture. In addition to Jones’ personal preoccupation with ancient Rome, the influence of the Renaissance was finally being felt in England and there was a general move towards change. (Architecture In Britain 1530 – 1830, John Summerson, pages 110 – 117) (Western Architecture, Ian Sutton, page159)

Perhaps Jones was impressed how these ancient buildings expressed a sense of strength and solidity, a feeling of stability, and wanted to convey this in English architecture. The function of the Banqueting House was to host state banquets and ambassadorial receptions; therefore surely it would make sense for the architecture to convey a sense of the power and importance of England?

The designing of the Banqueting House was completed within 3 months. Two surviving preliminary designs tell us that Jones originally had two very different concepts for this building. One of these concepts was to build a hall on the model of a Roman basilica, whilst the other concept originated in a domestic design by Palladio. (Architecture In Britain 1530 – 1830, John Summerson, pages 110 – 117)

The result (the building that we see today, except for the modern window sashes) is a fusion of these original concepts – whereby the design has assumed its unique character: no pediment; the entablature breaks over all the columns; the facade does not converge to an emphatic centre, but rather flows rhythmically from bay to bay; the proportions of window bays to their heights. (Architecture In Britain 1530 – 1830, John Summerson, pages 110 – 117)

Although the details are Palladian, the building is not a mere Palladian imitation, thus making the building a distinctly personal work. The unique character of this building tells us that Jones was not unquestioning to Palladio’s approach, but that he was rather intuitive and sought to achieve the ideal balance for his buildings. (Architecture In Britain 1530 – 1830, John Summerson, pages 110 – 117) (The Penguin Dictionary Of Architecture, Fleming Honour Pevsner, pages 182 – 183) (Western Architecture, Ian Sutton, page159)

Messages that he may have been trying to convey:

To appreciate and be inspired by the antiquity of ancient Rome and Greece, to create designs that assume their own unique character, and not to imitate. To express how “...classical architecture is more important as an idea, as an inspiration to future ages...” (Western Architecture, Ian Sutton, page10)

To show how this architecture can be used to convey a sense of power, importance and functionality?

Two aspects of Jones' work on the BH perhaps need to be stressed: firstly the extent to which he reinterprets and reinflects the formal and stylistic lessons which he learns from Palladio, so as to create a distinctive architectural aesthetic of his own; and secondly the sheer innovacy of his neo-Classical style as seen against the context of the English vernacular architecture of his day (which was essentially a late Gothic / ornamental hybrid of second-hand neo-Classical design elements culled from imported 'pattern books'). Perhaps a more vivid impression of this startling innovacy can be glimpsed from this antique engraving, which shows the Banqueting House as it would originally have appeared amidst the confused tumble of medieval buildings which made up the old Whitehall Palace...

Inigo Jones’ Banqueting House was a deliberate move away from the medieval, a demonstration of his knowledge of Palladio (use of a variety or orders, correct proportions), ingenuity, expertise, as well as a display of wealth. As Sutton states, Jones’ style was different to other styles of large houses of the time, in that it did not simply rely on the use of huge windows, as at Kirby Hall, for example (Sutton, 159). Jones was the only architect in England working in this style at this time (as far as I'm aware), and therefore had the market for something new and unique, if not yet entirely fashionable.

Jones was unique amongst the English architects and designers of his generation in having had the opportunity to travel to Italy, armed with a (heavily annotated) copy of Palladio, and actually study Classical and Renaissance architecture at first hand. This enables him to produce, for the first time in England, an example of coherent, fully-fledged neo-Classical architecture. This has significance given the nature of Jones' commission: the Banqueting House is a royal commission, intended by Charles I to act as a powerful symbolic indicator of his ardent desire to be seen as a wealthy, secure, sophisticated Renaissance prince, at ease on the European cultural stage. Hence his approval of Jones' use of contemporary Italianate neo-Classical styling in this project: here was a means for Charles to announce the fact of his own wealth and cultural sophistication before the widest possible public (hence also his employment of Rubens, the star painter of Baroque Europe, to provide the interior ceiling panels).

The Banqueting House in History

Banqueting House is the last remaining part of the Palace of Whitehall, it’s the ceremonial building where the King received guests. It is where Charles I was executed. It has a painted ceiling by Peter Paul Ruebens of the apotheosis of James I