COLLECTION NAME:
Archivision Base to Module 9
Record
Preferred Title:
Sheldonian Theatre
Alternate Title:
Sheldonian Theater
Image View:
The south front, upper portico detail
Creator:
Christopher Wren (British architect, 1632-1723)
Location:
site: University of Oxford (Oxford, England, United Kingdom)
Location Note:
Broad Street
Date:
1664-1669 (creation)
Cultural Context:
British
Style Period:
Renaissance
Work Type 1:
theater (building)
Work Type 2:
concert hall
Classification:
architecture
Material:
stone
Technique:
construction (assembling)
Subjects:
architectural exteriors; recreation and games; festivals; Performing arts; graduation ceremonies; pilaster; keystone
Description:
The ambitious Sheldonian Theatre (1664-1649) in Oxford, the gift of Archbishop Gilbert Sheldon (1598-1677) to the University, is still used for its original purpose of accommodating degree ceremonies. The Sheldonian took from ancient Roman theatres its D-shaped plan and the opened canvas awning, which was depicted in paint around the edge of its illusionistic ceiling (displaying allegorical figures arrayed in the heavens), the work of the painter Robert Streeter (1668-1669); every other aspect of the building was as unprecedented as its function. Wren's problem, in this stageless theatre designed for real, not illusory, events, was to shelter and seat a large audience whose focus would be on the Vice-Chancellor's chair. By the use of truss girders he was able to dispense with internal pillars so as to make the ceremonies clearly visible to all; the tiered and raked seating, the need for ample illumination and the provision of a ceremonial entrance determined the disparate outside elevations. The south front i
Collection:
Archivision Addition Module Three
Identifier:
1A2-E-O-ST-A7
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.
Sheldonian Theatre
