Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level E , Case A, Shelf 229, Box D

Drawing

18th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This modest drawing was made either for potential clients or as academic drawing exercises.

Chambers was born in Sweden and died in London. He travelled widely, visiting China, and studied architecture at the Ecole des Arts, Paris, from 1749 and in Italy from 1750 to 1755. Many of his drawings from this period are contained in his important 'Franco-Italian' album, held in the V&A. Chambers moved to London in 1755 and published his influential Treatise on Civil Architecture in 1759. Chambers demonstrated the breadth of his style in buildings such as Gower (later Carrington) House and Melbourne House, London, in such country houses as Duddingston, Scotland, and in the garden architecture he designed for Wilton House, Wiltshire, and at Kew Gardens. He became head of government building in 1782, and in this capacity built Somerset House, London.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Pen and ink, pencil and watercolour
Brief description
Elevation of a small Doric gateway; William Chambers.
Physical description
Elevation of a small Doric gateway. On the verso, a small pencil sketch of an unidentifiable subject. The Doric archway, drawn in an office hand, has frieze ornamented with paterae beneath a plain pediment. The watercolour has been used to suggest a weathered building. The drawing has had a dark wash line frame drawn around it; all but a thin, uneven line of this has been removed when the sheet was trimmed.
Dimensions
  • Height: 318mm
  • Width: 339mm
Style
Object history
Bought from C.J. Richardson, 1864.
Historical context
This modest drawing was made either for potential clients or as academic drawing exercises.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This modest drawing was made either for potential clients or as academic drawing exercises.

Chambers was born in Sweden and died in London. He travelled widely, visiting China, and studied architecture at the Ecole des Arts, Paris, from 1749 and in Italy from 1750 to 1755. Many of his drawings from this period are contained in his important 'Franco-Italian' album, held in the V&A. Chambers moved to London in 1755 and published his influential Treatise on Civil Architecture in 1759. Chambers demonstrated the breadth of his style in buildings such as Gower (later Carrington) House and Melbourne House, London, in such country houses as Duddingston, Scotland, and in the garden architecture he designed for Wilton House, Wiltshire, and at Kew Gardens. He became head of government building in 1782, and in this capacity built Somerset House, London.
Bibliographic reference
Snodin Catalogue Number: 773
Collection
Accession number
3385

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
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