Basic Biographical Details
| Name: | Joseph Bonomi |
| Designation: | |
| Born: | 19 January 1739 |
| Died: | 9 March 1808 |
| Bio Notes: | Joseph Bonomi was born in Rome on 19 January 1739. His father who came from the Veneto was an agent to many of the Roman aristocracy. The younger Bonomi was educated at the Collegio Romano and according to his son Ignatius was a pupil of the architect Antonio Asprucci. However other sources suggest different people for his pupillage: the APSD states he was a pupil of Marchese Teodoli, a nobleman and amateur architect. He may also have been taught draughtsmanship by Clerisseau. In 1767 Bonomi went to England to work for the Adam brothers who had met him in Rome. He continued in their London office until 1781. Because he had not received any large commissions of his own he returned to Italy in 1783. He became a member of the Clementine Academy in Bologna and the Academy of St Luke in Rome. However the following year, 1784, he was back in England and established himself in London in independent practice. Through the offices of Sir Joshua Reynolds he became an Associate of the Royal Academy and Reynolds attempted to secure his election as a full Academician to qualify for the post of professor of perspective. However because of his nationality there was opposition to this and in frustration Reynolds temporarily resigned as president in 1790. Bonomi was offered the post of architect to the King of Naples in 1800 but this did not come to fruition owing to the fall of Zurlo, the minister concerned. In 1804 he received the appointment of honorary architect to St Peter’s Rome. Bonomi was a good architectural draughtsman and exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy from 1783. He secured a number of commissions for country houses and built up his practice around these. Generally these are neo-classical in style, the Diocletian window being a favourite motif. Bonomi’s decorative style was very similar to that of the Adam brothers but his interiors are more overtly antique in style and more robust and architectural in character. There is no evidence that he had seen any neo-classical buildings by Gilly or Ledoux and at Packington House the style is probably due to the taste of his patron, the Earl of Aylesford who favoured primitive Greek forms, rather than to his own inclinations. Bonomi was not an aficionado of Gothic. He believed that the Gothic style has caused the ‘total corruption’ of medieval architecture throughout Europe. In 1775 Bonomi married Rosa Florini, a cousin of Angelica Kauffman. They had four children. The second, Ignatius, became an architect while the youngest became a distinguished Egyptologist and second curator of Sir John Soane’s Museum. Joseph Bonomi died on 9 March 1808 at the age of 69. |
Employment and Training
Employees or Pupils
| The following individuals were employed or trained by this (click on an item to view details): | |||||
| Name | Date from | Date to | Position | Notes | |
 | Ignatius Bonomi | Before 1808 | Apprentice | ||
Buildings and Designs
| This was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details): | |||||||
| Date started | Building name | Town, district or village | Island | City or county | Country | Notes | |
| 1803 | Roseneath | Dunbartonshire | Scotland | |||
| 1806 | Inveraray Castle | Inveraray | Argyll | Scotland | Various unexecuted designs for works including Charry Park | |
References
Bibliographic References
| The following books contain references to this : | ||||||
| Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | |
| Colvin, Howard | 2008 | A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840 | London: YUP. 4th edition | ||