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Seminar
Royalty and Architecture
Visions and Ambitions of European Monarchs and Nobility.
It is well known that, throughout history, kings and queens have commissioned castles, palaces, and even entire cities, to showcase their power. Less consideration has been given, however, to monarchs whose interests in architecture were so close that they might actually be called architects. Recent research on King Gustav III of Sweden (1746–92) reveals that he was in fact the architect of a number of important building projects and gardens. Similarly, a relative of the Swedish royal, His Majesty King George III of Great Britain (1738–1820) was knowledgeable in the field and a skilled draughtsman. At this seminar that was held at Hatfield House on 18 March, leading international scholars delved into the engagement of these and other European monarchs in addition to members of the nobility with architectural practice from the 17th century to present day.
Participants
Prof. Barbara Arciszewska
Professor at the Institute of Art History, University of Warsaw
Prof. Clive Aslet
Visiting Professor of Architecture at University of Cambridge
Dr Julius Bryant
Keeper Emeritus of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London
Dr John Goodall
Architectural Editor of Country Life Magazine
Prof. Elisabeth Kieven
Formerly co-director of the Bibliotheca Hertziana, at the Max Planck Institute for Art History in Rome
Dr Jarl Kremeier
Berlin-based Art and Architectural historian, contributor to Macmillan’s Dictionary of Art
Dr Rebecca Lyons
Director of Collections & Learning, at the Royal Academy of Arts in London
Dr Magnus Olausson
Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow at Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, formerly Director of Collections 2011–2023
Dr Emily Roy
Curator at the National Trust, UK
Dr Frank Salmon
Director of the Ax:son Johnson Centre for the Study of Classical Architecture at the University of Cambridge
Dr Ian Thompson
Formerly Reader in Landscape Architecture in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, at Newcastle University
Dr Simon Thurley
Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research in London
Svante Tirén
Curator of Collections at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm