University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2019 Robert Adam's Revolution In Architecture Miranda Jane Routh Hausberg University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Recommended Citation Hausberg, Miranda Jane Routh, "Robert Adam's Revolution In Architecture" (2019). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 3339. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3339 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3339 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Robert Adam's Revolution In Architecture Abstract ABSTRACT ROBERT ADAM’S REVOLUTION IN ARCHITECTURE Robert Adam (1728-92) was a revolutionary artist and, unusually, he possessed the insight and bravado to self-identify as one publicly. In the first fascicle of his three-volume Works in Architecture of Robert and James Adam (published in installments between 1773 and 1822), he proclaimed that he had started a “revolution” in the art of architecture. Adam’s “revolution” was expansive: it comprised the introduction of avant-garde, light, and elegant architectural decoration; mastery in the design of picturesque and scenographic interiors; and a revision of Renaissance traditions, including the relegation of architectural orders, the rejection of most Palladian forms, and the embrace of the concept of taste as a foundation of architecture. In his own time, he became the second architect in European history (after Andrea Palladio 1508-80) to be associated with an eponymous style —today known as the “Adam Style,” and, in the eighteenth-century, the “Adamitic mode.” Adam further distinguished himself as one of the first professional architects in modern Britain, within an era that had only recently adopted widespread use of the term “architect.” To elevate his professional status, he freshly and sharply differentiated between the architect and builder, and undertook considerable self- promotional efforts. With his two pioneering publications (Ruins of the Palace of the Emperor Diocletian at Spalatro in Dalmatia of 1764 and his Works), he established himself as an erudite, scientific na tiquarian and as a connoisseur of buildings. Moreover, the architect-cum-marketer deftly nda innovatively composed his books to address a modern, critical, reading public (especially the emergent architectural connoisseur) and made robust arguments for the leading roles of domestic architecture and architectural decoration in shaping British identity. Drawing on a wide-range of sources, this project argues for a more comprehensive vision of the nature of Adam’s revolution and new consideration of his significance as an architect, writer, and public figure. It also builds on scholarship that seeks to contextualize Adam as a product of the Enlightenment, the Romantic era, and a rapidly-changing, modern Britain. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group History of Art First Advisor David B. Brownlee Keywords Adam, Britain, Eighteenth-Century, Picturesque, Revolution, Scenographic This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3339 Subject Categories History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/3339 ROBERT ADAM’S REVOLUTION IN ARCHITECTURE Miranda Hausberg A DISSERTATION in History of Art Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2019 Supervisor of Dissertation __________________________________ David Brownlee Frances Shapiro-Weitzenhoffer Professor of Nineteenth-Century European Art Graduate Group Chairperson __________________________________ Holly Pittman Bok Family Professor in the Humanities Dissertation Committee Members: Michael Leja, James and Nan Wagner Farquhar Professor of the History of Art André Dombrowski, Associate Professor of History of Art For my mother, my husband, and my adorable children, Gus and Marian ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Foremost, I extend deep gratitude to my advisor and mentor, Professor David Brownlee. Professor Brownlee has fundamentally shaped my identity as a scholar and as a student of art, and has inspired me to improve each day. I have had the great pleasure and privilege to learn from his command of modern European architecture and intellectual history, from his gifts for effortlessly pinpointing salient points and crafting sharp-witted and sparkling historical narratives, and from conversations, particularly during the dissertation phase, in which he broadened my ambition and imagination, compassionately and wisely advised me, and focused me on the task at hand. I am humbled and honored to be his student. I also offer tremendous thanks to Professor Michael Leja, Professor André Dombrowski, and Professor Conor Lucey. I feel unduly spoiled that they are my readers. More significantly, each has deeply enriched my intellectual life. My admiration and respect for these scholars is matched only by my desire to be more like them. Professor Lucey’s expertise in eighteenth-century architecture in Ireland and Britain is a constant source of inspiration, as are the masterful teaching and scholarship of Professor Leja and Professor Dombrowski. I must also note that Professor Leja’s book, Looking Askance , inspired me to become an academic both because of its fascinating content and the sheer power, beauty, and clarity of the expository writing. Thanks are also due to Professor Michael Cole, Professor Dalibor Vesely, and Professor David Leatherbarrow. Particularly during my coursework at Penn, each of these scholars greatly helped me to become a stronger writer and thinker and played large roles in teaching me the craft of art history. I have fond memories of listening to their iii lectures and having conversations with them about a remarkably wide-range of topics. Working with Professor Cole on a Master’s thesis was a turning point in my academic career and gave me the confidence to develop topics that are both meaningful to me and contribute to the field. I will never forget the laughter of Professor Vesely at the moment he learned (after a twenty-minute impromptu discourse, delivered in a kind effort to guide me in a paper topic) that I had not wanted to write about “Zeus,” but rather “zoos.” Professor Leatherbarrow’s artful synthesis of architectural history, form, and theory in his lecture courses, his insatiable intellectual curiosity, and his extensive reading and knowledge of the field motivated me and shaped many of my intellectual activities and goals during my early years at Penn. While writing this thesis, I was fortunate to have participated in a Georgian Group conference in London on the Adam brothers in September 2015, organized by Dr. Geoffrey Tyack and Dr. Colin Thom. It was my delight to speak on Robert Adam’s scenographic interiors in a session that was chaired by Jeremy Musson and also featured papers by Conor Lucey and Richard Ireland on Robert’s decorative work. I am thankful for the encouragement of the conference members, especially Colin Thom, Alistair Rowan, and Jeremy Musson, in pursuing my work on Adam. I must also thank the institutions, librarians, and administrators, who have helped me to complete this project. Darlene Jackson, the administrative and graduate student coordinator in the Department of Art History at Penn, in particular, has provided immediate and strong support in all of the various needs that have arisen during my time as a student, and particularly during the last stages of the dissertation. I would also like to extend special thanks to the librarians at Fisher Fine Arts and Ven Pelt Libraries at the iv University of Pennsylvania, and at the Library of the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art in London. The generous financial assistance from the University of Pennsylvania, the Paul Mellon and Kress Foundations was indispensable to completing the degree and I also extend to them my deepest thanks. The support of my family and friends has allowed me to complete this thesis despite events that slowed me during its creation. My husband and especially my mother provided me with unconditional love and encouragement and for that I am eternally grateful. I must also thank Professor Brownlee and the art history department at Penn for their unfailing support and patience while I weathered health issues that waylaid me, initially for months and then years, and a change in the topic of the thesis. At various moments while writing the dissertation, I greatly enjoyed the warm company and encouragement of friends, including Olivia Oldridge, Carolyn Brunelle, Monika Bhagat- Kennedy, John Hagood, Emily Gerstell, and Andrea Kauffman-Berry. My in-laws, Margaret and Mark Hausberg, have also been a tremendous source of joy and support. The childcare provided by Deborah Rowe and Megan Hawtree gave me the time and support needed to complete this project, knowing that my children were in excellent hands. Thank you all. Finally, profound thanks are also owed to my undergraduate advisor and mentor, Professor Eugene J. Johnson. Professor Johnson unknowingly converted me to an art historian during his first lecture of Art History 101, which I heard as a freshman at Williams College. He began the lecture with a comparison