Sir John Soane’s museum can be found tucked away from the main streets of Holborn. The museum is a labyrinth of Georgian architecture, filled with a vast number of antiquities and artworks.
In 1986, Horst de la Croix and Richard G. Tansey defined the use of excessive ornamentation as a fear of empty spaces, ‘horror vacui’ which has been continuously attributed to Soane’s decoration of the museum. And this is definitely applicable once you step inside.
It is worth noting that although well preserved, the museum also raises questions regarding the ethics of imperial-era acquisitions and offers a perspective into the 19th-century obsession of collecting for amassing items, rather than for interpretation.
This commentary adds to the experience as when you visit you can easily distinguish the difference between our expectations of a modern museum and the perspective of the Georgian architect, frozen in time.
As there are no signs, you may wish to do some research if there is something particular that you’d like to see - or happily enter and discover as you peruse.
The top pieces that you might wish to find, include Hogarth’s A Rake’s Progress, housed among numerous paintings in The Picture Room. A tiny room that makes use of innovative architectural features to maximise the potential of the space. Another highlight is Angelo Campanella’s coloured engraving from the Villa Negroni, found in The Breakfast Room.
Most visitors spend time in Sir John Soane’s museum to explore the artefacts, a deeper understanding of the museum is found by considering the visionary architecture of Soane himself.
Soane’s reputation as a revered Neo-Classical British architect is evident in his legacy of designing prestigious buildings, such as the Bank of England and Dulwich Picture Gallery.
Built between 1792 and 1824, the museum itself expands over three original buildings, Number 12, 13, and 14 Lincoln’s Inn Fields which Soane purchased and rebuilt.
Soane’s choices demonstrate a continued exploration of the forms of Classical architecture combined with light and space. The Picture Room is perhaps the best example of this, found in the extension of number 13, the 13-by-12-foot room is filled with hidden secrets.
As the story goes, in 1824 Soane wanted to show off his collection in a gallery that was more impressive than the newly-opened National Gallery. This led to the making of The Picture Room which uses innovative techniques to display 188 paintings in an exceptionally tiny space.
Even the doors were changed into extra wall space by using hidden hinges to turn walls into doors to maximise the hanging space. One of the most interesting features of this room is the moveable panels. Every hour, these panels are opened, revealing their hidden counterparts. This architecture also reveals the overwhelming abundance contained within the museum.
Similar innovative features can be discovered throughout the museum, from Soane’s use of convex mirrors to distort the boundaries of the space and canopy domes to seemingly add an expansive feeling to the rooms constrained by low ceilings.
Whilst the museum may feel overwhelming to the modern eye, it offers an unfiltered glimpse into the minds of collectors who were driven by the need to constantly grow their collections for social prestige, when the value of an object was often found in its possession, rather than its context.
Images: Sir John Soane’s Museum, Conde Nast
