John Nash

The harmony and relation between Neoclassicism and Romanticism is no better represented than by the work of one of England’s most famous architects, John Nash (1752-1835). As a young man, Nash apprenticed under the great Sir Robert Taylor. Shortly after, he started his own private practice of building houses in London, which subsequently failed. After a long partnership with Humphrey Repton building country houses, he returned in 1802 to London, where he built many works which were commissioned by the Prince Regent. An ebullient and impatient man, Nash found it hard to stick to one style. Rather, he straddled many styles, most notably Neoclassicism and Romanticism, but also Gothic, Italianate, and Palladian. His vision and creativity, not bound by allegiance to any one style, made him a modern architect.

Nash’s expertise was in the field of city and town planning. When the Prince Regent needed to plan a street to link the Prince’s city palace to his country estate, Nash was the perfect candidate. The plan, enacted in 1825, can be safely described as Neoclassical. Even though it was not merely a straight line, what some would perceive as the most rational way to get from one place to another, it had the natural, undisruptive feel of a Neoclassical building. Instead of merely plowing through whichever houses were in the way, John Nash calculated how many homes would be ruined and tried to work around them. In addition, Nash’s proposal was the alternate choice to a Baroque plan by John White showing the imposition of the Regent. White’s plan would leave many house destroyed and was merely a power-surge for the aristocracy. By planning his Regent Street, Nash was using Neoclassicism as a response to events in his time. This use of Neoclassicism, and all styles of art, is modern.

Contrary to Nash’s Neoclassical street was his Royal Pavillion in Brighton (1815-1818), a Romantic building used as a summer home. The styles Nash choose to experiment with ranged from Gothic to Chinese to Arabic to Indian. This widespread approach was typical of Romanticism, beacuse Romanticism itself did not have a unique style. Rather, a Romantic architect chose to use any style that provoked emotion in him. Nash’s building was different from anything previously constructed. In this way, Nash used Romanticism to respond to other buildings of the time. Nash’s refusal to stay within the confines of one style was a modern response to close-minded artists and art critics of the time.

Nash’s experimentation in both styles shows their similarity. If one man can employ both styles and not be paradoxical, then the two styles are not contradictory. Rather Nash, like all artists or architects, was operating on that which moved him. In the case of Regent Street, Nash was moved by Neoclassical rationale and calculations. However, on another occasion, the building of the Royal Pavillion, the free-range that Romanticism offered appealed greatly to him. Both the street plan and the building are modern because they are barrier-breakers.

John White Plan