Joseph Michael Gandy (1771–1843) was an English artist, visionary architect and architectural theorist, most noted for his imaginative paintings depicting
Sir John Soane
Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neoclassical architecture, Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professo ...
's architectural designs. He worked extensively with Soane both as draughtsman and creative partner from 1798 until 1809 when he (ultimately unsuccessfully) set up his own practice.
Family
Joseph Gandy was the son of Thomas Gandy (1744–1814) and Sophia née Adams (1743–1818). His father was employed at
White's Club
White's is a gentlemen's club in St James's, London. Founded in 1693 as a hot chocolate shop in Mayfair, it is the oldest gentleman's club in London. It moved to its current premises on St James's Street in 1778.
Status
White's is the oldes ...
, London.
Joseph was the brother of the architects
Michael Gandy (1778–1862) and
John Peter Gandy
John Peter Gandy (1787 – 2 March 1850 in Hanover Square, London), later John Peter Deering, was a British architect. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1847 to 1848.
Family
Gandy was the youngest of the ten children of Thomas Gandy ...
, later Deering (1787–1850).
He married, in 1801, Eleanor Susannah Baptist née Webb (1773–1867), daughter of Thomas Webb and Catherine née Wiggington. Among their children, Mary Gandy (1810–1888) married Francis Impey (1812–?) attorney, son of Vice Admiral John Impey RN (1772–1858); and Thomas Gandy (1807–1877), portrait painter, married Catherine née Hyde (1811–1889); they were great grandparents of
Robin Oliver Gandy (1919–1995).
Early life
During the rebuilding of White's in 1787–8, Gandy came to the notice of architect
James Wyatt
James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806.
Early life
W ...
, who took him into his office. Gandy entered the
Royal Academy School
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
in 1790. In 1794 he travelled to Italy (with another young architect,
Charles Tatham) at the expense of John Martindale, proprietor of White's, and remained there until the advance of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's army in 1797.
Returning to England, he found employment as a draughtsman in the office of Sir John Soane. He practised on his own from 1801 and in 1803 was elected
ARA
ARA may refer to:
Media and the arts
* American-Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences
* '' Artistička Radna Akcija'', compilation album released in former Yugoslavia
* Associate of the Royal Academy, denoting membership in the British Royal Aca ...
, perhaps through Soane's influence.
Career
![Aerial cutaway view of Soane's Bank of England by JM Gandy 1830](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Aerial_cutaway_view_of_Soane%27s_Bank_of_England_by_JM_Gandy_1830.jpg)
Gandy built little in his career, having a reputation as a difficult individual to deal with. His work included the Phoenix Fire and Pelican Life Insurance Offices (1804–1805, destroyed ) in London; the gallery at Doric House at Sion Hill in
Bath for
Charles Spackman (1818); and the remodelling of
Swerford
Swerford is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Swere in the Cotswold Hills in Oxfordshire, England. It is about northeast of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, Chipping Norton. Swerford has two main neighbourhoods: Ch ...
Park house in Oxfordshire for General Bolton (1824–1829).
In the intervals between these works he was employed by Soane to make watercolour perspectives of his architectural designs.
Commercially he was a failure and served two terms in a
debtors' prison
A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, Lucinda"A Historic ...
, but his published and exhibited work was largely a critical and popular success. In 1821 he published two articles in the ''Magazine of Fine Arts'' on ''The Philosophy of Architecture''. He intended to expand upon this subject in an eight-volume work entitled ''Art, Philosophy and Science of Architecture'', of which his unpublished
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...
survives.
His paintings show a dramatic use of
two-point perspective
Linear or point-projection perspective (from la, perspicere 'to see through') is one of two types of graphical projection perspective in the graphic arts; the other is parallel projection. Linear perspective is an approximate representation, ...
and architectural precision, and also reflect his (and Soane's) fascination with
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
ruins. His architectural fantasies owe a clear debt to
Piranesi and play upon historical, literary and mythological themes, with a feeling for the sublime that is the equal of his contemporaries
J. M. W. Turner and
John Martin.
Death and legacy
Gandy died in a private
asylum
Asylum may refer to:
Types of asylum
* Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome
* Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute
* Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea
...
in
Plympton
Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down river to Plym ...
, then on the outskirts of
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
, where he had been placed by his family in 1839. Many of his paintings can be seen in the Picture Room of
Sir John Soane's Museum
Sir John Soane's Museum is a house museum, located next to Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn, London, which was formerly the home of neo-classical architect, John Soane. It holds many drawings and architectural models of Soane's projects, and ...
in London.
Bibliography
* Joseph Gandy, Designs for Cottages, Cottage Farms, and Other Rural Buildings: Including Entrance Gates and Lodges. London: John Harding, 1805.
* Joseph Gandy, The rural architect: consisting of various designs for country buildings, accompanied with ground plans, estimates and descriptions. London; John Harding, 1805
* 'Joseph Gandy in the shadow of the Enlightenment: The annual Soane Lecture', Brian Lukacher, 2002. .
* 'Joseph Gandy: An Architectural Visionary in Georgian England', Brian Lukacher, 2006. .
References
External links
Joseph Gandy, Designs for Cottages, Cottage Farms ... including entrance gates and lodges. London: for John Harding, 1805Joseph Gandy The Rural Architect; consisting of various Designs for Country Buildings. London: for John Harding, 1805The Tragic Genius of Joseph Michael Gandy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gandy, Joseph Michael
1771 births
1843 deaths
19th-century English painters
English male painters
19th-century English architects
People imprisoned for debt
Associates of the Royal Academy
Architects from London
19th-century English male artists
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...