Joseph Michael Gandy (1771 – 25 December 1843) was an English artist, visionary architect and architectural theorist, most noted for his imaginative paintings depicting

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 professor ...

'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, London. Joseph was the brother of the architects Michael Gandy (1778–1862) and John Peter Gandy, later Deering (1787–1850). In 1801, he married 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 Gandy Robin Oliver Gandy (22 September 1919 – 20 November 1995) was a British mathematician and logician. He was a friend, student, and associate of Alan Turing, having been supervised by Turing during his PhD at the University of Cambridge, where ...

Early life

During the rebuilding of White's in 1787–1788, 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 Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...

, who took him into his office. Gandy entered the Royal Academy School 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 (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

'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, perhaps through Soane's influence.

Career

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 Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

for Charles Spackman (1818); and the remodelling of Swerford 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 Histor ...

, 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 typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

survives. His paintings show a dramatic use of

two-point perspective Linear or point-projection perspective () is one of two types of graphical projection perspective in the graphic arts; the other is parallel projection. Linear perspective is an approximate representation, generally on a flat surface, of ...

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

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 Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

and John Martin.

Death and legacy

Gandy died in a private asylum in

Plympton Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient Stannary, 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 riv ...

, then on the outskirts of

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, 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 Historic house museum, house museum, located next to Lincoln's Inn Fields in Holborn, London, which was formerly the home of Neoclassical architecture, neo-classical architect John Soane. It holds many drawings 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, 1805

Joseph Gandy The Rural Architect; consisting of various Designs for Country Buildings. London: for John Harding, 1805

The 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 name, derived from the Hebrew (). "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 modern-day Nordic count ...