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Examples of Art Workmanship and Countries

Photograph
1867 (photographed), 1868 (published)
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 photographs were made in 1867 during Thurston Thompson's photographic campaign in Spain and Portugal.

Photographs such as these were originally collected in the National Art Library and were used as reference material and inspiration for artists and scholars. They were also available for sale to the public through a dedicated sales stall on site at the Museum.

After Thurston Thompson's death, a selection of the photographs of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostella in Spain was published in a bound volume by the Arundel Society, sanctioned by the Science and Art Department, (under the authority of which the V&A was originally established). Copies of these volumes were circulated among the national schools of art and design, and were also sold to the public. There are four copies of this volume in the V&A collection and National Art Library.

In addition to the four bound albums, the V&A also has a collection of loose plates, including many images not in the bound volumes. The various stamps and presentation formats demonstrate the multiple ways photographs circulated not only throughout the museum, but to the larger community of scholars, artists and connoisseurs.







Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Examples of Art Workmanship and Countries (series title)
  • The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostella in Spain (series title)
  • Portal of the Hospicio de los Reyes, or Pilgrims' Hospital (published title)
Materials and techniques
Albumen print
Brief description
Photograph by Charles Thurston Thompson, 'Portal of the Hospicio de los Reyes, or Pilgrims' Hospital', from the album The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostella in Spain', albumen print, 1867, published by the Arundel Society for Promoting the Knowledge of Art, London, 1868
Physical description
A mounted sepia-coloured photograph bound in a blue volume of 20 photographs with title page, essay and table of contents, showing a view of a doorway set within an elaborately carved entrance, flanked by two carved reliefs of crests, balconies and topped by a small french window . A printed label is affixed to the bottom of the mount.
Dimensions
  • Page height: 471mm
  • Page width: 380mm
Marks and inscriptions
  • '20. PORTAL OF THE HOSPICIO DE LOS REYES, OR PILGRIMS' HOSPITAL' (printed label on bottom centre of mount)
  • 'SCIENCE AND ART DEPARTMENT / DEPOSIT LOAN' (blue ink stamp on recto 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 photographs were made in 1867 during Thurston Thompson's photographic campaign in Spain and Portugal.

Photographs such as these were originally collected in the National Art Library and were used as reference material and inspiration for artists and scholars. They were also available for sale to the public through a dedicated sales stall on site at the Museum.

After Thurston Thompson's death, a selection of the photographs of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostella in Spain was published in a bound volume by the Arundel Society, sanctioned by the Science and Art Department, (under the authority of which the V&A was originally established). Copies of these volumes were circulated among the national schools of art and design, and were also sold to the public. There are four copies of this volume in the V&A collection and National Art Library.

In addition to the four bound albums, the V&A also has a collection of loose plates, including many images not in the bound volumes. The various stamps and presentation formats demonstrate the multiple ways photographs circulated not only throughout the museum, but to the larger community of scholars, artists and connoisseurs.





Associated object
62485 (Duplicate)
Bibliographic reference
Thompson, Charles Thurston. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostella in Spain: Showing especially the sculpture of the Portico de la Gloria by Mestre Matteo. A series of twenty photographs recently taken by the late Mr. Thurston Thompson. Under the Sanction of the Science and Art Department, for the Use of Schools of Art and Amateurs. London: Arundel Society for Promoting the Knowledge of Art and Bell and Daldy, 1868.
Collection
Accession number
E.107:20-2019

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Record createdMarch 6, 2019
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