In the first half of the nineteenth century the ‘London Improvements’ were urban works testifying to a new European attitude towards the city, in the new post-war settlement after the trauma of the Napoleonic wars. These projects can be attributed to the creative skills of John Nash, to whom we owe the pioneering works of Regent’s Park and Regent Street, which consecrated him as ‘architect of the Picturesque.’ Here, the Picturesque goes beyond the definition of an aesthetic category, enters the discipline of architecture, and finds scenographic application in urban planning. How and at what stage does John Nash adopt the picturesque and, above all, what are the reasons for this choice?
Keywords: John Nash; Picturesque; London Improvements