Lord Elgin and Ancient Greek Architecture: The Elgin Drawings at the British Museum

by Luciana Gallo

Overview

This book analyses the rich and remarkable collection of archaeological drawings, now housed in The British Museum, drawn in Greece by a team of architects and artists in the service of Lord Elgin during his ambassadorial expedition to the Levant (1799–1803). Luciana Gallo offers a new interpretation of Elgin’s interest in antiquities and reveals the aims, innovative approach, and significant achievements of this specialised tour. She also reveals his contribution to the advancement of contemporary archaeological studies carried out by British and continental scholars, in connection to the search for original sources to promote Greek Revival architecture. This is the first time that the bulk of the Elgin Drawings collection in the British Museum has been published. The volume will thus serve as an indispensable guide to scholars and students of ancient Greek architecture and sculpture, as well as of nineteenth-century architectural revivalism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521881630
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/08/2009
Pages:	362
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 11.00(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Luciana Gallo is a RIBA chartered architect and historic building consultant. Her education and academic career started in Italy and developed in the UK where she completed a Ph.D. in History of Architecture at the Courtauld Institute of Art. She is a Research Associate within the School of Architecture, University of Liverpool, on a EU-funded project which involved extensive fieldwork in the Middle East. She now practises in London. She is the author of Il Politeama di Palermo e l'architettura policroma dell'Ottocento.

Table of Contents

1. Early expeditions to Greece; 2. Lord Elgin's eastern expedition; 3. History of the Elgin drawings; 4. Critical analysis of the Elgin drawings; 5. Conclusions.

Editorial Reviews

"And what can one say in final praise of this publication? Perhaps that if the Elgin drawings were given a first life by being included in some of the publications of the first half of the nineteenth century, so now, more than a hundred years later, they have been endowed with a second life for historians and archaeologists and architects alike, presented here as they are so generously and so carefully. "
—BCMR

"Gallo's book offers a different, broader perspective on Elgin's role with respect to the Parthenon and contributes to a deeper understanding of the Athenian monument and its reception in the 19th century....Highly recommended."
—Choice

From the Publisher