There's nothing radical here, but the cumulative effect is to make the whole place a lot fresher. As you would expect with Mather, it has all been subtly done. Look down the enfilade of Soane's rooms to the powerful Guido Reni painting of Saint Sebastian at the end of the sequence - its 19th century position - and things just feel right. Fitting, then, that the first temporary exhibition at the revitalised Dulwich Picture Gallery is about its own architect: not Mather, but Soane. Soane was a younger rival of Chambers: he's still ahead of the game. Dulwich is still the better building.
Soane's rooms restored at Dulwich
Photos by Morley von Sternberg, tel: +44 (0) 8989 5704.
