Print

Object Type
This print is an etching. In etching, the design is marked out by drawing with an etching needle into a thin waxy layer - known as 'the ground' - coating a metal printing plate. The channels drawn into the wax expose the metal beneath. The waxed plate is then dipped in acid, which eats into ('etches') the metal not protected by 'the ground', and so creates the grooves that hold the ink from which the image is to be printed.

People
Until its sale in 1822, Fonthill Abbey was the home of William Beckford (1760-1844), the celebrated author and collector. He was immensely wealthy and enjoyed a life-long passion for collecting. Much of the contents of Fonthill Abbey were specially designed to suit the Abbey's neo-Gothic style.

Subject Depicted
This print depicts Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire, designed for William Beckford. Beckford employed the architect James Wyatt (1746-1813) to create a Gothic residence in the form of an abbey. Construction began in 1796, but plans for the building continually altered and became more and more ambitious. The Abbey was never completed. Its structure was unstable, especially the extremely tall tower, which fell down twice and had to be rebuilt. Building work ceased in 1818 and Beckford sold Fonthill Abbey four years later. After the tower collapsed again in 1825, most of the building was demolished. The remaining sections were greatly expanded later in the 19th century.

The print depicts Fonthill Abbey amidst wild, untamed nature. In fact, the grounds of Fonthill Abbey were as carefully designed as the building itself. Beckford disliked formal gardens and the grounds were planted in a picturesque manner.