Robert Adam was one of the most celebrated architects of his day. In 1768, he was commissioned to refurbish part of Saltram House in Devon, and he created a suite of rooms in the Neo-classical style to update the house.
As one of the most influential of the architects at the time, it was he who introduced the Neo-Classical style to Britain in the late 1750's. He combined a brilliant talent as an architectural decorator with active self-promotion.
Adam was particularly skilled in the design of ornament and in the use of colour. He worked with a limited range of small classical motifs taken from ancient Roma and Renaissance sources. He used them to decorate walls and ceilings and adapted them for furniture, carpets and silver.
From 1773 he published his designs and those of his brother James in four volumes. Other designers and manufacturers took up the style in competition with Adam, maintaining it as the leading British design for more than two decades.
Robert Adam was one of the most celebrated architects of his day
In 1768, he was commissioned to refurbish part of Saltram House in Devon
Adam created a suite of rooms in the Neo-classical style to update the house
He controlled all aspects of the design of the room
The ceiling was always a key feature of Adam's decorative schemes
He chose pastel shades rather than white for the background
This makes the plasterwork relief stand out
Many of Adam's ceilings incorporated paintings by fashionable artists
The ceiling roundels are by Antonio Zucchi
Adam designed the carpet to compliment the ceiling
It echoes the ceiling without quite matching it
This is a visual device often used by Adam
He frequently repeated motifs as variations on a theme
Adam collaborated on the furnishings with many other artists and designers
Most of the furniture was supplied by the firm of Thomas Chippendale
It was all designed by Adam, even this picture frame
The motifs reflect those used elsewhere in the room
The large mirrors reflected candlelight into the room
Manufacturer Matthew Boulton made the Candelabra to Adam's design
The saloon at Saltram is one of the finest surviving examples of Adam's work
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The rivalry of Robert Adam & William Chambers
Robert Adam and his architect rivals often designed furniture and other objects, not only for their architectural clients but also for general production by manufacturers. The distinctive style of Sir William Chambers, based in part of French prototypes, can be seen in many of the objects.
The early Adam style was based on a system of densely applied ornament, but a trend towards a simplicity of ornaments and a purity of form had begun by about 1780. Ten years later this was seen in all fields, from architecture to household objects.
NARRATOR: In this room are works by two rival architects, who worked in the Neo-classical style. Robert Adam, represented by the panelling next to you, was seen as a breath of fresh air in the late 18th century, while William Chambers, who designed the large chimney-piece nearby, was more traditional in style. Both were studying in Rome in 1755. Adam's letters to his brother display the professional rivalry driving the young Scottish designer:
ADAM: Chambers who has been here six years is superior to me at present … but damn my blood but I will have fair trial of it and expect to do as much in six months as he has done in as many years.
NARRATOR: Eager to build patronage, Adam needed to win over the nobility. Here he felt Chambers was at an advantage:
ADAM: He despises others as much as he admires his own talents which he shows with a slow and dignified air, conveying an idea of great wisdom which … I find sways much with every Englishman… . Time alone can determine whether I am meet to cope with such a rival…
NARRATOR: Chambers took a more lofty view of the Adam brothers' growing popularity, especially after they published their designs in 1773:
CHAMBERS: They have lately published a book of their ornaments… in which they boast of having first brought the true Style of Decoration in England and that all the Architects of the present day are only servile copiers of their excellence. I do not agree with them in the first of these propositions and can produce many proofs against the last.
NARRATOR: Let us leave the last word to someone who knew both men, the engineer Thomas Telford.
TELFORD: I became known to Sir William Chambers and Mr. Robert Adam, the former haughty and reserved, the latter affable and communicative; and a similar distinction of character pervaded their works, Sir William's being stiff and formal, those of Mr. Adam playful and gay… ..
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