Sir John Soane’s Triumphal Bridge is part of the English Enlightenment and the picturesque vision of landscaping and architecture. In this way, the bridge, instead of being understood as a continuous linear element, could be seen as a picturesque garden. A sequence of different classic pavilions with different shapes and spatial conditions follow one another while crossing the river: the roundabout, the coliseum, the patio or the dome generate different sensations in the passer-by as they relate to the river itself, the sky, or an inner experience.

El Puente triunfal de Sir John Soane se enmarca en la Ilustración inglesa y la visión pintoresca del paisajismo y la arquitectura. De este modo, el puente en vez de entenderse como un elemento lineal continuo podría verse como un jardín pintoresco. Una secuencia de distintos pabellones clásicos con distintas formas y condiciones espaciales se suceden mientras se atraviesa el rio: la rotonda, el coliseo, el patio o la cúpula van generando distintas sensaciones en el viandante mientras le relaciona con el propio rio, el cielo o una experiencia interior.

Cover Photo: John Soane, Soane office (J.M. Gandy): design for a Triumphal Bridge, perspective view through a screen of columns with the bridge in the background. (to which the Gold Medal of the Royal Academy was awarded 1776), Photo: © Sir John Soane’s Museum, London

John Soane, Design for a Triumphal Bridge, 1778, Photo: © Sir John Soane’s Museum, London.
John Soane, Design for a Triumphal Bridge, 1778, Photo: © Sir John Soane’s Museum, London.
John Soane, Design for a Triumphal Bridge, 1778, Photo: © Sir John Soane’s Museum, London.
Soane office, design for a triumphal bridge made from original sketches of 1779, the `Parma Academy’ design: perspective. Exhib: RA 1799, no. 953, Photo: © Sir John Soane’s Museum, London
John Soane, Bird’s Eye View of a Design for a Triumphal Bridge (to which the Gold Medal of the Royal Academy was awarded 1776), Photo: © Sir John Soane’s Museum, London
John Soane, Soane office, perspective view of the design for a Triumphal Bridge made in 1776 for which Soane won the Gold Medal at the Royal Academy (to which the Gold Medal of the Royal Academy was awarded 1776), Photo: © Sir John Soane’s Museum, London
Soane office: design for a Triumphal Bridge, perspective view through a screen of columns with the bridge in the background. P91. Colour photograph after unframing in preparation for conservation (Picture Room Recess project) 2019.
John Soane, Design for a Triumphal Bridge, 1780, Photo: © Sir John Soane’s Museum, London