Pugin, A.W.N.( 1812 – 1852 )
Details on the Avignon travel sketches, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 35. 33. 3 , II 16 , p. 6
sketchbook, 15 10 in., Graphite and ink on sketchbook pageExtremely prolific for his short life, Auguste Welby Northmore Pugin designed a daunting amount
of churches, along with furniture, metalwork, interior decoration and publications on gothic revival
architecture. Having very little formal education and almost none in architecture, Pugin succeeded
to learn about architecture through observation and sketching.
Born in London in 1812 , his father was an illustrator, sometime draughtsman for John Nash, and
producer of books on archaeological gothic revival. The elder Pugin also had a great influence on
the future architect, teaching him drawing and taking him on excursions to both the continent and
English medieval sites (Atterbury, 1994 and 1995). In 1835 , he met Charles Barry and subsequently
started work on the design of interiors for the Houses of Parliament, a project he would continue
most of his life. Converting to Catholicism that same year had a great impact on his architectural
career. Pugin’s zealotry concerning church liturgy lead him to his most celebrated work, the design
of religious buildings, and over thirty churches and cathedrals throughout England and Ireland that
exhibit medieval and gothic sources. A few examples include the Cathedral of St. Chad, 1839 – 1840 ,
the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Wilford, Hulme, 1839 – 1842 and the Roman Catholic Cathedral
of St. George, Southwark, 1850.
Pugin’s numerous travels to the continent were a source of inspiration to him; there he was able
to sketch, observe and find sources/models for his architecture. He produced untold sketches using
pocket sketchbooks. His publications expound practical rather than theoretical subjects, acting as
copybooks, a few of these publications being Gothic Furniture, The True Principles of Pointed or Christian
Architecture, and A Treatise on Chancel Screens and Rood Lofts.
This page (Figure 3. 8 ) from a sketchbook contains details from a trip to Avignon. The page has
been covered with pencil and ink studies of selected parts of ecclesiastical buildings. The architec-
tural elements have been carefully sketched using pencil guidelines, and the fragments of details are
randomly placed across the page. Although seemingly without an ordering system they have not
been located haphazardly; each has been oriented upright and regular to the page. As fragments of
tracery, columns, rose windows, and molding profiles they are all sketched with precision. Because
they are freehand some of the carvings are irregular, and in several instances the sketches are unfin-
ished. Where elements are repeated it was unnecessary for Pugin to draw every duplicated column.
These sketches were part of his education since he was drawing to understand. For example, the
two columns located at the center of the page have column sections inscribed in their shafts. This
suggests he wished to be reminded of their octagonal shape, a view difficult to render with an ele-
vation drawing. The carefully imitated details were teaching him the fundamentals of medieval
architecture, as if the page was a test of his comprehension.
The relatively small sketches were made with patience and with tremendous skill in observation.
It could be speculated that Pugin was interested in accurately recording the essentials of gothic and
Romanesque architecture to take home with him. Travel sketchbooks are often recording devices to
remember the sights, but these sketches appear to be made with the intention similar to a visual dic-
tionary. Pugin’s architecture used many elements of the gothic and these sketches became references
for details in his many church designs. This sketchbook resembles a medieval copybook, where
Pugin was retaining the templates for reuse.H5719-Ch03.qxd 7/18/05 10:18 AM Page 89