Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case 92, Shelf D, Box 60B

Design

18th Century (Made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The drawing represents the façades of two palaces.

The drawing was part of the collection assembled by John Talman (1677-1726). Talman was the son of the celebrated architect William Talman. From about 1698 he was employed by his father to help assemble material for his extensive collection of architectural drawings, prints and books. A keen traveller, he went to the Continent twice in search of acquisitions. He visited the northern Netherlands, France, Germany and Italy, and he made numerous watercolour copies of altarpieces and churches in Rome.

Talman was back in England in 1715. He was a founder-member of the Tavern Society, London, which later became the Society of Antiquaries, and he was appointed its first director. Like his father, Talman believed in the elevating purpose of art and in the use of art collections for the public good. Although his will indicates that he had wanted his vast collection (which contained over 32,000 prints and drawings), to go to Trinity College, Cambridge, he later changed his mind and instructed that it should be sold for the benefit of his children. A portion of the collection was nonetheless given outright to the Society of Antiquaries, who acquired further items from the auction in London on 19 April 1727.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
ink, pencil and watercolour on paper
Brief description
Drawing from an album by John Talman (1677-1726) and other artists. Antiquities and architectural details, volume II.
Physical description
The drawing shows the façades of two palaces. Upper part of the sheet: monochrome baroque façade with niche and a statue in it. Lower part: façade of a palace (possibly the interior wall of a palace or a theatre stage). Some architectonic elements as well as the sky are coloured in watercolour.
Dimensions
  • Approx. height: 550mm
  • Approx. length: 428mm
The sheet is irregular.
Style
Summary
The drawing represents the façades of two palaces.

The drawing was part of the collection assembled by John Talman (1677-1726). Talman was the son of the celebrated architect William Talman. From about 1698 he was employed by his father to help assemble material for his extensive collection of architectural drawings, prints and books. A keen traveller, he went to the Continent twice in search of acquisitions. He visited the northern Netherlands, France, Germany and Italy, and he made numerous watercolour copies of altarpieces and churches in Rome.

Talman was back in England in 1715. He was a founder-member of the Tavern Society, London, which later became the Society of Antiquaries, and he was appointed its first director. Like his father, Talman believed in the elevating purpose of art and in the use of art collections for the public good. Although his will indicates that he had wanted his vast collection (which contained over 32,000 prints and drawings), to go to Trinity College, Cambridge, he later changed his mind and instructed that it should be sold for the benefit of his children. A portion of the collection was nonetheless given outright to the Society of Antiquaries, who acquired further items from the auction in London on 19 April 1727.
Collection
Accession number
E.318-1940

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
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