Inigo Jones Inigo Jones was a British painter, architect and designer credited with founding the English neoclassical tradition of architecture. He was inspired by classical and Italian Renaissance architecture after visiting Italy in the early 1600s. His designs heavily influenced the design of architectural clock cases during the 1600s, including that of the Gilt-and-Silver Table Clock by Edward East and Ahasuerus Fromanteel, made around 1640, with its silver caryatids mounted around the sides of the clock’s spectacular case. Jones was born in London. Not much is known of his early life, but it is likely that he was apprenticed as a joiner. His first major work was the Queens House at Greenwich, which was built between 1616 and 1619.[1] He followed this with his design for the Banqueting House at Whitehall, which was built between 1619 and 1622. The Banqueting House is widely regarded as his finest achievement. He also designed the Queen’s Chapel at St. James Palace, which was built between 1623 and 1627. Jones enjoyed the royal patronage of King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway, as well as that of Queen Anne, the wife of King James VI and I (of Scotland and of England and Ireland, respectively). He was also patronised by Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, for whom he designed his earliest known work. This was the New Exchange on the Strand in London, which was built in 1608. Jones was also honoured with royal positions. In 1610, he became the surveyor of work for Henry, Prince of Wales, the heir to the throne. Jones then went on to become Surveyor of Work for two successive kings: King James and his son, King Charles I. He served in this royal position from 1615 to 1643. During this time, he was continuously employed in the building, rebuilding, or improvement of royal houses. The most important undertaking of Jones’s later years in office was the restoration of Old St Paul’s Cathedral from 1633 to 1642.[2] Jones was also a colleague of the reknowned Dutch engineer and inventor Cornelius Drebbel, and appears to have developed a long-standing association with him. Shortly after the outbreak of the first English Civil War in 1642, Jones was forced to relinquish his royal position as Surveyor of Works. By 1643, he had left London. After having his estate temporarily confiscated and being heavily fined by the Commonwealth in 1645, he was pardoned a year later by the House of Lords and his estate was restored. Jones died on 21 June 1652, leaving a rich architectural legacy. End Note [1] In 1937, The Queens House at Greenwich was incorporated into the National Maritime Museum. [2] Jones’ world-famous Old St Paul’s Cathedral was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The new St Paul’s was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. Image Credits Inigo Jones, after Sir Anthony van Dyck, oil on canvas, feigned oval, NPG 603 © National Portrait Gallery, London, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0, https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw03516/Inigo-Jones?LinkID=mp02456&search=sas&sText=inigo+jones&role=sit&rNo=0 Lindsey House, west side of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, designed by Inigo Jones 1640.1832 Lithograph. Museum Number: 1915,0707.8 © The Trustees of the British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1915-0707-8
