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The Keep at Kenilworth

Watercolour
1856 (painted)
Artist/Maker
William Callow (artist)
Place of origin
Britain (painted)

Watercolour entitled 'The Keep at Kenilworth'. Signed and dated by the artist.


Object details

Categories
Paintings
Drawings
Watercolours
Object type
Watercolour
TitleThe Keep at Kenilworth (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Watercolour
Paper
Watercolour
Paper (Fiber Product)
Watercolour (Paint)
Watercolour
Watercolour Painting (Technique)
Brief description
Watercolour, 'The Keep at Kenilworth' by William Callow, 1856.
Physical description
Watercolour entitled 'The Keep at Kenilworth'. Signed and dated by the artist.
Dimensions
  • Height: 13in
  • Width: 9.5in
Marks and inscriptions
  • W. Callow (Signed)
  • Keep at Kenilworth / July 30th / 1856 (Inscribed with title and dated)
Credit line
Bequeathed by Bernard H. Webb
Object history
Originally numbered E.3937-1919 prior to being renumbered as P.71-1919.
Subjects depicted
Castles
Keep
Norman
Tudor
Places depicted
Kenilworth
Warwickshire
Bibliographic references
  • The visitor to Kenilworth today is greeted with ruins that give a hint of the castle's former splendor. The oldest fortification on the site dates back to Norman times and is the large blocky keep. The castle was enlarged and modified through and past the reign of Elizabeth I but fell into ruin after the English Civil War. One turret of the old Norman keep had a clock in Elizabethan times, and some of the markings can still be seen. The building did not originally have so many windows, as they were added in Tudor times when the castle ceased to be a structure for defense. The addition of the large windows would have allowed much more natural light into the keep. The forebuilding of the keep was altered in 1570 to make a loggia (an arcaded gallery) which led from the Inner Court to a garden in the Outer Court. In medieval times, the forebuilding would have served as protection for the main entrance to the keep, but this would not have been a necessity in the relative peace and stability of the 16th century. A reconstructed Tudor garden was added next to the keep in 1970.
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design & Department of Paintings, Accessions 1919, London: Printed Under the Authority of His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1921
Other number
E.3937-1919 - Previous number
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
P.71-1919

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Record createdJuly 12, 2011
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1225616/the-keep-at-kenilworth-watercolour-william-callow/
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