architectural models in miniature

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Architectural Models in Miniature

Author(s): Charles Fabens Kelley

Source: Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago (1907-1951), Vol. 31, No. 5, (Sep. - Oct., 1937),

pp. 65-68

Published by: The Art Institute of Chicago

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4119283

Accessed: 31/05/2008 03:47

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BULLETIN OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO 65

ARCHITECTURAL MODELS IN MINIATURE

THROUGHthe kindness of Mrs.

James Ward Thorne we are veryfortunate n beingableto present ora periodof six monthsa collectionof archi-tectural models in miniature that is notduplicated lsewhere. It is a collectionofsmall rooms,completely urnished, crupu-louslyexactto periodand accurate n scale.The rooms are small in actual dimensionsonly, for one inch representsa foot inmeasurement, ut the illusionof spacious-ness and real size is uncanny.The rooms shouldnot be confusedwithdoll-houses,nor consideredas toys in anysense of the word. They are, to be sure,located in Gallery I, which is the usualhabitat of the Children'sMuseum,but onaccount of the great interest manifestedandthe greateraccessibility f thisgallery,the sponsorsof the Children'sMuseum,Mr. and Mrs. CharlesA. Worcester,havegraciouslyconsented o the Institute'stak-ing over the space for this purpose.The productionof these architecturalmasterpieces as requiredno endof patientresearchand skilful craftsmanship. Mrs.Thorne has had a corps of expertcrafts-men to carryout her ideas,and has foundit necessaryto look to Europevery fre-quentlyfor the type of work that cannotbe donehere. In someinstances he roomsare actualcopiesof existing examples;inothers they are composites,constructedwith fineregardfor the spiritof the times.Let us take for example heTudorRoomillustrated on page 66. The walls arefashioned after a very famoushall, Par-ham Castle, in Gloucestershire,and thegalleryis fromWadhamCollege,Oxford.They are bothof the sameperiod,but thegallery was introduced nto the hall be-causeit was a customaryeaturecalledthe"minstrel's"gallery, where musiciansas-sembledto entertainthe guests, and thisparticulargallery is considered o be thefinestexampleof its type. The room here-fore is moretrulyrepresentativef thebestarchitectural nteriors of its period thanthe originalwas when, about1575, it was

reconditioned or the receptionof QueenElizabethon one of her progresses hroughthe country. It is difficult o find a roomthat is furnishedexclusively in its ownperiodand onlywith examplesof the bestdesigning,but this ideal has been rigidlyfollowed in all the models. The littlesuits of armor,about five incheshigh, oneachside of thefireplace, re of trueTudordesign,and the portraitson the wall andthe very candlesticks re just what wouldhave been used in an up-to-dateTudorhouse. The molded plaster cornice andceilingare unusuallyfine.One of London's most famous housesis illustratedon page66. It is still stand-ing,occupiedby the Courtauld nstituteofthe Universityof London. It was designedbyRobertAdamfor the Countessof Homewho gave him the commissionwhen shewas seventyyearsold. The housewas com-pleted and furnished our years later, andwe are happyto know that the Countesslived in it for six years after that. Thisroom is patternedcloselyafter one of thehandsomerooms on the groundfloor.

Adamis said to have beenthe first Eng-lish architectwho made a practiceof de-signingall the furnishingsand accessoriesof hishouses. The rughereshown s madefrom one of his cartoons and the silverchocolate-potson the dumb-waiterby thefireplacewere executedafter his designs.The originalfurniturewas madeby Hep-plewhite romAdam'sdesignsand the ceil-ing panels were painted by AngelicaKaufmann.The roomis a true shrineofeighteenth-century lassicism,and in allprobabilityookedverymuch ike thiswhenthe goodCountesssweptin to takeposses-sion.The exhibition s almost evenly dividedbetweenEnglish and Frencharchitecture,and thesequence f developmentromearlyto late is happily hown.One of the most distinct architecturaldistricts n France ies alongthe Loire,andthe choicestbuildings n the district datefrom Francis I who ruled from 1515 to


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66 BULLETIN OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY ROOM BY ROBERT ADAM. MINIATURE ARCHITECTURAL MODEL BY MRS.JAMES WARD THORNE, ONE OF THIRTY SUCH MOIELS ON LOAN FOR SIX MONTHS IN GALLERY I.

ROOM OF THE TUDOR PERIOD BY MRS. THORNE. THESE ARCHITECTURAL MODELS ARE EXACT IN SCALEAND COMPLETELY FURNISHED WITH REPRODUCTIONS OF FURNITURE AND DECORATION.


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BULLETIN OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO 67

AN EMPIRE ROOM. MINIATURE ARCHITECTURAL MODEL BY MRS. JAMES WARD THORNE INCLUDEDIN THE EXHIBITION.

A FRENCH ROOM FROM THE PERIOD OF FRANCIS I DESIGNED AND CARRIED OUT IN EXACT DETAILBY MRS. JAMES WARD THORNE.


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68 BULLETIN OF THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

"WOMAN LOOKING FROM A WINDOW," LITHO-GRAPH BY PAUL SIGNAC, FRENCH, 1863-1935.PURCHASED FOR THE ALBERT ROULLIER MEMO-RIAL COLLECTION AND NOW PART OF AN EXHIBI-TION OF FRENCH LITHOGRAPHS OF THE NINE-TEENTH CENTURY CURRENT IN GALLERIES 13AND 14.

1547. This brilliant and pleasure-lovingmonarch has given his name to an archi-tectural style which is seen at its best inthe chateaux that were built or remodeledduring his lifetime or shortly thereafter.Among the most famous of them we recallBlois, Chambord, Chenonceaux andAzay-le-Rideau.The Francis I room does not pro-fess to be a copy of any one room inthese chateaux of the Loire valley, but itfaithfully embodies the spirit of the period.It was an age of the court, when fair ladiesand brilliant pageants were of great im-portance, and a room such as this wouldhave been exactly the type of bedroom fora prince's mistress. The heavy luxuriance

of the color scheme would have been op-pressive were it not for the general sim-plicity of the architectural surfaces. Themantel is after the original at the Chateauof Loches, and the furniture was madeeither after furniture now in the chateauxor from specimens in the Cluny Museum.In other words, everything is authentic.It is a far cry from Francis the Firstto Napoleon, and the fourth room hereillustrated carries us to the beginningof the nineteenth century. So far as weknow, Mrs. Thorne is the first to buildthis room, but its designer, who livedduring Napoleon's lifetime, hoped to havethe commission to build it himself at fullscale. He left the drawing for it which isnow in the Muse des Arts Decoratifs inParis. Perhaps the scheme was too opulentfor the pocketbook of his client; perhapshe was indulging in day dreaming, but cer-tainly he was able to instill into his designthe grandiose aspirations of the emperor.There is much material to choose fromwhen it comes to Empire furniture. Theoriginals here followed may be found atRambouillet, Fontainebleau and Versailles.The rug was made by the Needlework andTextile Guild (which has executed all therugs for these rooms) after a cartoon fora rug which was designed for Napoleonhimself. This is the sort of room he wouldhave gloried in, imagining himself as areincarnation of a Roman emperor in thesetting of a room which is a brilliant reflec-tion of florid Roman taste. His marblebust upon the mantel is a perfect key tothe design.Lack of space prevents discussion of allthe designs, but they are of equal interestwith those here illustrated. When visitingactual historical rooms one is frequentlyoppressed by ugly cases, roped-off areas,or crowds of people who are not really in-terested in what they see, and are cer-tainly out of place in such surroundings.Here there is nothing to disturb the charmor break the spell. One feels he has eachroom to himself.

CHARLES FABENS KELLEY

architectural models in miniature

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