The home of Sir John Soane, among the greatest English architects, has been kept as it was at the time of his death in 1837. It’s a multi-story monument to his curiosity and study expressed in his collection of antiquities, furniture, sculptures, paintings, models and parts of buildings.
What appears to be a lovely house on Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London is actually three houses in which Soane built a warren of rooms packed with his collection. It's a series of spaces in which one could easily become disoriented and lost while enjoying the discoveries that await around every corner and on each level.
Join us to learn more about this impactful figure and develop an appreciation for this unique place we hope you’ll add to your list of places to visit the next time you’re in London!
The John Soane Museum may be the most simultaneously interesting and confusing museum (you could get lost in it) you'll ever visit. The following images give you a sense of the property yet don't convey the importance of Soane in the history of architecture or how the world nearly lost his entire collection during the Second World War.
ABOVE: Soane's home was a townhouse in the Holborn area of central London. He eventually acquired the townhouses on each side of his residence.
ABOVE: The library looks out onto the street below. In this room, the books aren't the only treasures.
ABOVE: The ceiling of the dining room has details you might be notice in other areas of the home... if you look closely.
ABOVE: The furniture collection in the home includes beautiful pieces like this buffet in the dining room. Do you know what's in the wood containers on each side of the trophy case? You may have noticed these containers in many American homes as well.
ABOVE: Soane's collection of paintings is displayed in a small, purpose-built room at the back of his townhouse though the natural lighting rivals that of major galleries.
ABOVE: The axis Soane created across the back of the three townhouses he acquired and combined is a literal treasure trove of collected works you'd never expect.
ABOVE: In addition to creating an axis across the back of his three townhouses, he also opened the interior floors to one another through creative designs that allowed natural light into the lowest level of the houses.
ABOVE: The axis across the back of the houses and the vertical openings make dramatic spaces with room for Soane's collections. Many of the pieces he collected were examples of architecture details from or inspired by ancient works we still study and are inspired by today.
ABOVE: No museum is complete without a gift shop. The gift shop in the John Soane Museum doesn't disappoint. We'll show you some of the many items you may be interested in purchasing or ordering to add to your collection.
We'll further explain the images above, share many more and provide context to help you appreciate why the John Soane Museum is both easy to visit and well worth your time.
Enroll now for this virtual tour and plan to join us for a live meeting!
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You need an account to view a course. Setting up an account is free and easy to do - just click the "Enroll Now" button below. If you're not currently signed in yet have an account, click the "Enroll Now" button and enter the email address you used for your account. The LMS will recognize your email address, prompt you for a password. Enter your password, click "Continue". The LMS will add the course to your account and open your dashboard to display all of your available courses. If you're signed into the LMS, clicking the "Enroll Now" button will launch the course.
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