The English Journey: Journal of a Visit to France and Britain in 1826 (Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art) - Hardcover

Schinkel, Karl Friedrich

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300041179 ISBN 13: 9780300041170

Publisher: Paul Mellon Centre, 1993

Synopsis

In 1826 the great German architect Friedrich Schinkel traveled to England and Scotland, visiting not only the usual tourist attractions but also the factories, bridges, and warehouses that were under construction at the time. He kept a journal in which he mused about Britain, its inhabitants, and its architecture, and he sketched the buildings and machinery he found interesting. This book contains the first complete translation into English of Schinkel's journal as well as the drawings he made while he was traveling.

The journal is important for several reasons. It marks a crucial point in Schinkel's career, for it represents the beginning of his serious involvement with the new technologies that provided him with ideas for his later architecture. At the same time the journal gives a unique picture of Regency Britain as seen by a foreign architect. Sites that no longer exist in London, Oxford, Edinburgh, as well as in the potteries, the Menai straits, and the industrial towns and workshops of northern Britain, are recreated here through Schinkel's discussions and drawings, among the very few surviving records of the face of Britain at that time.

The journal, which is accompanied by a full introduction and critical and explanatory notes, is part travelogue and part cultural critique. It sheds new light on British life during an important phase in the country's history.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

In 1826 the great German architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel made a tour of France, England, Scotland and Wales. It was a technical mission, undertaken on behalf of the Prussian State, with the purpose of seeing the factories, bridges, warehouses and museums that were under construction at the time. He kept a journal in which he recorded the new buildings he saw in Paris as well as his busy social life there; he mused about Britain, its inhabitants and its architecture, and sketched the workshops and machinery that interested him. This book contains the first complete translation into English of Schinkel's journal, as well as the drawings he made while he was travelling. The journal marks a crucial point in Schinkel's career, for it represents the beginning of his serious involvement with the new technologies that he later employed in the buildings he designed on his return to Berlin. At the same time the journal gives a unique impression of Regency Britain as seen by a foreign architect. Sites that no longer exist in London, Oxford and Edinburgh, as well as the potteries, the Menai straits and the industrial towns and factories of northern Britain are recreated here through Schinkel's discussions and drawings, among the very few surviving records of the face of Britain at the time of the Industrial Revolution. Part travelogue and part cultural critique, the book will appeal to students of the architect himself it will also be invaluable for all those interested in early nineteenth-century Britain. The text, which is augmented by Schinkel's long descriptive letters to his wife, is accompanied by numerous illustrations of drawings and pages from the journal, and contemporary engravings ofthe places mentioned, as well as a full introduction and explanatory notes.

About the Author:

David Bindman is professor of the history of art at University College, London. Gottfried Riemann is a curator of the Nationalgalerie, Berlin.

About this edition

• Publisher: Paul Mellon Centre
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0300041179
• ISBN 13: 9780300041170
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 216
• Editor: Bindman David, Riemann Gottfried