BSR VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS

The drawings in the exhibition detail the actual state of the Mausoleum in 1925 (others in the collection show Cordingley reconstructions of its original appearance), when much of the ancient fabric was still encased in the 1907 Auditorium Augusteo. They are an important documentation of the urban setting around Augustus’ tomb shortly before the brutal and wholesale demolition of the historic neighbourhood and concert hall in mid-1930s. Today, as Piazza Augusto Imperatore undergoes another renovation and the Mausoleum an extended restoration, Cordingley’s architectural study presents a fascinating record of this now vanished part of Rome.
This section drawing shows the interior of the Auditorium from North to South. Parts of the ancient structure can be seen in basements, including a stretch of wall showing impressions of the robbed-out travertine blocks that once faced the rotunda. Cordingley’s attention to architectural details is evident in the ornament of Auditorium as well as the various elements – railings, tiles, chimneys – of the surrounding buildings. Indeed, while ostensibly an architectural study with an added archaeological purpose, both in this and the previous drawing he adds scene of daily life – people, pets, hanging washing. The human element moves the drawings beyond mere documentation and adds an unforeseen poignancy given that a decade later the neighbourhood would be gone.

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