Colen Campbell

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

Born 15 Jun 1676
Died 13 Sep 1729
Activity 1696-1729

Places

Born in Scotland
Active in England; Scotland

Activities

Primary

Architect

Resources

Campbell's Works

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Preliminary entry

A rationalist and a Whig, Campbell recognised Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) as a genius but also considered him misled by the continental baroque. He also admired Hawksmoor and Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) but urged a more austere style, shorn of ornament and closer to the great example of Andrea Palladio and his earlier English disciple Inigo Jones (1573-1652). Campbell argued that Palladio’s great example had grown corrupt in France and Italy where it was so overloaded with “capricious ornament, which must at last end in the Gothick”. He argued instead for an “antique simplicity” which would express classical virtù. His major publication, Vitruvius Brittanicus (3 vols., 1715-1725), was dedicated to the new king, George I (who came to the throne in 1714)

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248 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Colen Campbell". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 May 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5913, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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