Paintings for Exhibition

gouaches, greece, croatia, pola, james, athenian, stuart, neo-classical

  • View of the Arch of the Sergii at Pola, James Stuart

    View of the Arch of the Sergii at Pola, James Stuart, 1750s–60s, © RIBA Library Drawings Collection

    View of the Arch of the Sergii at Pola
    James Stuart
    1750s–60s
    Gouache
    © RIBA Library Drawings Collection
    www.ribapix.com

    On his way  to Athens, Stuart and Revett visited Pola (now Pula) in Croatia. At the Arch of the Sergii (Porta Aurata), Stuart depicted himself taking notes while Revett measured the monument. Both of them, with an assistant, are perched precariously on top of the arch.

  • View of the Ionic temple on the River Ilissus near Athens, James Stuart

    View of the Ionic temple on the River Ilissus near Athens, James Stuart, 1750s–60s, © RIBA Library Drawings Collection

    View of the Ionic temple on the River Ilissus near Athens
    James Stuart
    1750s–60s
    Gouache
    © RIBA Library Drawings Collection
    www.ribapix.com

    The Ionic order, one of the three styles of classical architecture, of the temple on the River Ilissus was considered to be one of the finest in existence. It was later widely imitated by Greek Revival architects. Stuart’s paintings are of particular importance as the Turks destroyed the building in about 1778. By the time he visited, the temple had been converted to a church.

  • Gouache view of the Theatre of Bacchus, Athens James Stuart

    Gouache view of the Theatre of Bacchus, Athens James Stuart, 1750s–60s, © RIBA Library Drawings Collection

    View of the Theatre of Bacchus, Athens
    James Stuart
    1750s–60s
    Gouache
    © RIBA Library Drawings Collection
    www.ribapix.com

    In the foreground of his view of the interior of the Theatre of Bacchus, Stuart depicted Nicholas Revett sketching. This was one of the devices Stuart used in several of his views to call attention to his and Revett’s actual presence in Greece. Revett is shown in Turkish dress, showing his immersion in the Ottoman culture that dominated 18th-century Athens.

  • View of the Tower of the Winds at Athens, James Stuart

    View of the Tower of the Winds at Athens, James Stuart, 1750s–60s, © RIBA Library Drawings Collection

    View of the Tower of the Winds at Athens
    James Stuart
    1750s–60s
    Gouache
    © RIBA Library Drawings Collection
    www.ribapix.com

    Wherever possible, Stuart and Revett excavated around monuments before sketching and measuring. Here, they got permission to remove flooring within the tower and to pull down a house that abutted the structure so they could gain access to all eight sides of the building. The tower would become one of the most imitated of all of their Athenian monuments.

  • View of the Monument of Philopappus at Athens, James Stuart

    View of the Monument of Philopappus at Athens, James Stuart, 1750s–60s, © RIBA Library Drawings Collection

    View of the Monument of Philopappus at Athens
    James Stuart
    1750s–60s
    Gouache
    © RIBA Library Drawings Collection
    www.ribapix.com

    This view shows Stuart and Revett with two British travellers, Robert Wood and James Dawkins, who visited Athens in 1751. Stuart depicted himself and Revett wearing Turkish caftans, talking to Dawkins while Wood took down inscriptions. Dawkins’s financial support was essential to Stuart and Revett’s Athenian project.

  • View of the Caryatid Porch, the Erechtheion

    View of the Caryatid Porch, the Erechtheion, the west end of the Temple of Minerva Polias and the Pandrosium on the Acropolis, Athens, James Stuart 1750s–60s, © RIBA Library Drawings Collection

    View of the Caryatid Porch, the Erechtheion, the west end of the Temple of Minerva Polias and the  Pandrosium on the Acropolis, Athens
    James Stuart
    1750s–60s
    Gouache
    © RIBA Library Drawings Collection
    www.ribapix.com

    In this complex view, Stuart depicted himself sketching in the foreground while his labourers excavated the base of the monument under the watch of Turkish spies from the porch. According to Stuart, the two pipe-smoking men were high-ranking Turkish officials who policed the site so that Stuart and Revett would not carry away treasure.