Abstract
This dissertation discusses architectural drawings in the eighteenth century Dutch Republic. The drawings concerned were made and used in the context of the design and construction of architecture. The concept of architecture has been taken in a broad sense, containing a wide range of categories varying from hydraulic works to
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town halls and garden furniture. The draughtsmen’s backgrounds are similarly diverse, creating an elaborate picture of the functioning range of architectural drawings. The main questions asked are: What do the drawings look like and what was their function in the process of design and construction? Technical and formal characteristics are linked to the application and significance of architectural drawings in the design and building practice. Architectural drawings played a role on several levels in the work of designers, builders and commissioners. By studying large and diverse groups of drawings and additional sources those various functions and meanings can be charted. In the first part of the book, an image is drawn of the practical circumstances, education and the prevailing views on drawings. In part two the practical use and characteristics of architectural drawings is highlighted in ten cases. New in the eighteenth century were the specialist publications on the making of architectural drawings. In addition, the importance of architectural drawings was emphasized in specialist literature, encyclopaedic works and training books. Apart from education and specialist literature, the development of materials, such as East Indian ink and the blacklead pencil, played a large role in the improvement of drawing. The extent to which designs were detailed in drawings used for the construction process depended on the complexity and expense of the type of work (masonry, carpentry, stonemasonry), the presence of the architect at the site, the nature of the contract (work per contract or hourly pay) and the amount of freedom granted to the builders. With respect to the latter one can say that little to nothing was left to common practice when it came to larger projects. An important conclusion for the contemporary understanding and use of eighteenth architectural drawings is that the functions of drawings cannot simply be derived from the drafting techniques used and the level of the execution and finishing. When information about the function of a drawing in the design and building practice is available, its form and techniques can often be understood. However, if nothing is known about the purpose of a drawing or when it was made, great caution must be observed when drawing conclusions based on its formal characteristics. Without an understanding of the great diversity in drawings and functions, knowledge of the context of a collection, the building project and additional written sources, drawings are a far less reliable source for historical architectural research than is often suggested
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