Resumen de The revised design for St Paul's Cathedral, 1685-90: Wren, Hawksmoor and Les Invalides
The writer proposes a secure chronology for the design of St. Paul's cathedral in London up to about 1690. Until the 1950s it was thought that during construction Wren gradually modified the Warrant design of 1675 and only prepared what has since been called the Definitive design during the reign of James II. While there are no dated drawings from the 15 years until 1690, analysis of techniques and inscriptions shows that Wren worked with at least four draftsmen over this period. When their drawings are compared with the phases of building, it becomes obvious that major elements of the design were not fixed until several years after work began, and that between 1685 and 1688 Wren revised his designs significantly. The engravings of Les Invalides in Paris of 1683 were important stylistic sources for this revision, although another set of engravings of 1687 prompted further revisions before work started on the upper transept fronts in spring 1688.
