Sketches including designs for the chimney piece at Dorchester House
Design
ca. 1862 (made)
ca. 1862 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Alfred Stevens (1817-1875) had studied in Florence and Rome. For a time he worked in the Rome studio of the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldson. He returned to England in 1844. Eventually he was given the prestigious task of decorating Dorchester House in London. The marble fireplace was rescued when the house was demolished and installed in the Gamble Room in the V&A. This lively sketch shows Stevens’s very first thoughts about the design. It shows the sculptured marble figures of the fireplace and the elaborate decoration of the rooms. The vigorous treatment of the crouching caryatids (female figures) who support the massive fireplace show an obvious debt to the sculptor Michelangelo (1475-1564).
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Sketches including designs for the chimney piece at Dorchester House (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Pencil |
| Brief description | Sheet of sketches including designs for the chimney piece at Dorchester House |
| Physical description | Pencil drawing on paper |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | Alfred Stevens (1817-1875) had studied in Florence and Rome. For a time he worked in the Rome studio of the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldson. He returned to England in 1844. Eventually he was given the prestigious task of decorating Dorchester House in London. The marble fireplace was rescued when the house was demolished and installed in the Gamble Room in the V&A. This lively sketch shows Stevens’s very first thoughts about the design. It shows the sculptured marble figures of the fireplace and the elaborate decoration of the rooms. The vigorous treatment of the crouching caryatids (female figures) who support the massive fireplace show an obvious debt to the sculptor Michelangelo (1475-1564). |
| Bibliographic reference | Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design, Accessions 1911, London, Printed for His Majesty’s Stationery Office 1912 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.2532-1911 |
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| Record created | January 31, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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