Sir John Soane’s Museum

London’s Sir John Soane’s Museum is one of the world’s most special museums, by the Oxford Dictionary of Architecture described as “one of the most complex, intricate, and ingenious series of interiors ever conceived”. 

Visiting this house is a strange experience, one unexpected discovery after another, as the house seems to twist and turn around you. 

Many research seminars have been devoted to its peculiar structure and vast collection of antiquities, furniture, sculptures, architectural models, and paintings. 

During his lifetime, Soane was considered one of England’s greatest architects. 

After his death, his home (which he had also designed) was turned into a museum. 

As an architect, Soane specialized in the Neo-Classical Style and worked as a professor of architecture at the Royal Academy, receiving his knighthood in 1831. 

The son of a bricklayer, his upbringing was much more modest. 

After his father’s death, he moved to live with his older brother, who introduced him to a surveyor, after which he began his training as an architect (at the age of fifteen). 

His best-known work was the Bank of England (since destroyed) and Dulwich Picture Gallery; its top-lit galleries became a major influence on the planning of subsequent art galleries and museums. 

He published several books on architecture, and in 1778, embarked on his Grand Tour through continental Europe. 

During this trip, he not only saw Ancient Roman architecture for the first time, but he also became fluent in Italian.

This allowed him to truly understand the cultural context of the ancient buildings.  

Many objects are on permanent display in the museum, while others – including 30,000 architectural drawings – only can be seen by appointment (at the Research Library). 

Sir John Soane’s Museum