Talk:William Thornton

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[edit] Inspiration

Is there a reference for this edit [1] Giano 18:33, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

Comparing Thornton's design with the elevation of Palladio's Villa Barbaro at Maser, from Palladio's Quattro Libri reveals no relationship that I can detect. We can ignore Thornton's domes in making the comparison, and we can be sure the model will have come from an engraving, so differences in the actual result at Villa Barbaro at Maser needn't occupy us. The prototype for the wings should occupy us more than the familiar pedimented octastyle central portico, like many many neo-Palladian buildings. The facts that the competition had already officially closed and that Thornton's drawings have been lost should appear in the article. And it might be noted that Dr. Thornton's elevations did not match his plans; the runner-up, Stephen Hallet, was called upon to make necessary adjustments. --Wetman 19:36, 7 July 2007 (UTC).

Thanks Wetman, it seems others agree too [2] I suspect that Palladio via Palladianism had a hand in the design but so too did the idealised municipal architecture of half the civilized world. Giano 21:39, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

The only villa inspiration would have to be confined to a model for the central block: by the end of the C18, the portico-with-low-dome theme is no longer just a "Pantheon"-type, in spite of "direct antecedent" talk. Thornton's dome was altered in 1806 and burned in 1814. The wing pavilions are more interesting, with their wider central bay with a blind arch framing the window, and the doubled pilasters at the ends. --Wetman 04:29, 8 July 2007 (UTC)