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Monastery of Batalha, Portugal, Capilla Imperfeita, view of Towers above Archway from the North

Photograph
1867 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Charles Thurston Thompson was the V&A's first Official Museum Photographer, in charge of the Museum's photographic operations from 1856 until his death in 1868. In addition to photographing museum objects and objects on loan, he also photographed great works of art and architecture on dedicated photographic campaigns abroad. These views were made during a 1867 campagn to Spain and Portugal.

This is one of seven sets of Thurston Thompson's series of photographs of the Monastery of Batalha, Portugal in the V&A collection. The series was published shortly after his death by the Arundel Society, sanctioned by the Science and Art Department, (under the authority of which the V&A was originally established). Available to artists, amateurs and collectors, these volumes were also circulated by the Science and Art Department for the use of schools of art.

Of these seven volumes, five are bound, the other two sets are composed of loose plates, with some additional plates not included in the bound volumes and marked as proofs. The various stamps and presentation formats demonstrate the multiple ways photographs were circulated not only throughout the museum, but to the larger community of scholars, artists and connoisseurs.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Monastery of Batalha, Portugal, Capilla Imperfeita, view of Towers above Archway from the North (assigned by artist)
  • The Sculptured Ormanent of the Monastery of Batalha in Portugal (published title)
  • Examples of Art Workmanship and Countries (series title)
Materials and techniques
Albumen print
Brief description
Photograph by Charles Thurston Thompson, 'Monastery of Batalha, Portugal, Capilla Imperfeita, view of Towers above Archway from the North', albumen print, 1867
Physical description
A sepia-coloured mounted photograph of the top of two ornately carved arched openings crowned by two tower structures.
Dimensions
  • Mount height: 505mm
  • Mount width: 378mm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'MONASTERY OF BATALHA, PORTUGAL. Capilla / Imperfeita, view of Towers above Archway from the North' (printed label affixed to bottom of page)
  • 'SCIENCE AND ART DEPARTMENT / NATIONAL ART LIBRARY' (blind stamp, centre top of mount)
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
Charles Thurston Thompson was the V&A's first Official Museum Photographer, in charge of the Museum's photographic operations from 1856 until his death in 1868. In addition to photographing museum objects and objects on loan, he also photographed great works of art and architecture on dedicated photographic campaigns abroad. These views were made during a 1867 campagn to Spain and Portugal.

This is one of seven sets of Thurston Thompson's series of photographs of the Monastery of Batalha, Portugal in the V&A collection. The series was published shortly after his death by the Arundel Society, sanctioned by the Science and Art Department, (under the authority of which the V&A was originally established). Available to artists, amateurs and collectors, these volumes were also circulated by the Science and Art Department for the use of schools of art.

Of these seven volumes, five are bound, the other two sets are composed of loose plates, with some additional plates not included in the bound volumes and marked as proofs. The various stamps and presentation formats demonstrate the multiple ways photographs were circulated not only throughout the museum, but to the larger community of scholars, artists and connoisseurs.
Associated objects
Bibliographic reference
Thompson, Charles Thurston. The Sculptured Ornament of the Monastery of Batalha in Portugal: Twenty Photographs by the late Charles ThurstonThompson with a Descriptive Account of the Building. Under the Sanction of the Science and Art Department, for the Use of Schools of Art and Amateurs. London: Arundel Society for Promoting the Knowldege of Art and Bell and Daldy, 1868.
Collection
Accession number
58371

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Record createdJuly 1, 2009
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