Inigo Jones

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Inigo Jones
Birthday	Sunday, July 15, 1573
Birthplace	London, England, UK
Died	Friday, June 21, 1652
Nationality	English

Jones, Inigo

Jones, Inigo (ĭnˈĭgōˌ), 1573–1652, one of England's first great architects. Son of a London clothmaker, he was enabled to travel in Europe before 1603 to study paintings, perhaps at the expense of the earl of Rutland. On a second trip to Italy (1613–14) he thoroughly studied the remains of Roman architecture and the Renaissance buildings by Palladio. At the English courts of both James I and Charles I he designed settings for elaborate masques, some of which he wrote. Besides performing various architectural services for the crown, he was also sponsored by the earl of Arundel. After renewed visits to Italy, Jones became (1615) king's surveyor of the works. In 1616 he began work on the Queen's House, Greenwich, the first English design to embody Palladian principles. He then built (1619–22) the royal Banqueting House in Whitehall, London, again adapting the classical proportions and use of architectural elements he had learned in Italy. He also made designs for St. Paul's church, Covent Garden, and its square (1631–38). He built other houses in London and in the country; especially outstanding is his advisory work on Wilton House, Wiltshire (built 1649–53). Making a clean break from the prevailing Jacobean style, he achieved a magnificent coherence of design. The work of Inigo Jones marked a starting point for the classical architecture of the late Renaissance and Georgian periods in England.

Bibliography

See study by S. Orgel and R. Strong (2 vol., 1973).

Jones, Inigo

(1573–1632)

London-born Royal Architect who introduced the Palladian style to Jacobean England and started the Palladian revival. He worked on Old St. Paul’s Cathedral, London (1631 – 1671), adding Classical elements showing the power and scale of Roman architecture, which paved the way for Sir Christopher Wren when he began rebuilding the cathedral.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Jones, Inigo

Born July 15, 1573, in London; died there June 21, 1652. English architect.

Jones studied architecture in Italy and France from 1596 to 1614. He supervised the construction of royal buildings from 1615 to 1643. A follower of Palladio, he wrote a commentary (published in 1715) on his treatise. Jones sought to eliminate medieval vestiges from English architecture and to introduce principles of classical architecture (for example, clarity of composition and nobility of proportion). He drew up a plan for a palace complex at Whitehall, London, but only the Banqueting Hall (1619-23) was built. Examples of his architecture are the Queen’s House at Greenwich (1616-35), the central part of the palace of Cobham Hall (Kent, 1620), and the entire palace of Wilton House (Wiltshire, c. 1649-52). Jones also worked as a theatrical designer.

REFERENCES

Mikhailovskii, E. V. Arkhitektor Inigo Dzhons. [Moscow] 1939.
Gotch, J. A. Inigo Jones. London, 1928.