Janissary at the English Palace Constantinople
Watercolour
1816-1824 (painted)
1816-1824 (painted)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Watercolour drawing
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Title | Janissary at the English Palace Constantinople (assigned by artist) |
Materials and techniques | Watercolour over pencil on paper, stuck down on brown card |
Brief description | Watercolour, `Janissary at the English Palace Constantinople', after 1822, by William Page |
Physical description | Watercolour drawing |
Dimensions |
|
Styles | |
Marks and inscriptions |
|
Credit line | Purchased with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund, Shell International and the Friends of the V&A |
Object history | According to Rodney Searight: - [SD720-738] `fr Maggs, June 1967, £100' [+ 3 others, no longer in collection]. |
Historical context | The Janissary acted as a guard at the British Embassy which at this time was still a large house in Pera. Cf. L. Dupré, Voyage A Athènes Et A Constantinople, Paris, 1825, Pl.XXXIV, Un Janissaire au Palais. The costume studies SD.720-SD740 seem to divide into two categories; those which are apparently copied from other sources (SD.728,731,733 & 734), and those which are based on on-the-spot observation (SD.720-727, 729, 730, 732, 735-740). Possibly the copies, which seem less developed stylistically, were done before Page visited the Near East. For discussions of the dating and origins of the studies, see J.H. Money, pp.13, 22 and 30; also C.W.J. Eliot, pp.424-5. For details of another set of costume figure studies by Page, some identical to these, see Searight Archive. See also C. de Brockdorff and O. Dalvimart for comparable studies. It has also been suggested (Searight Archive) that Page may well have been influenced by L. Dupré, whom he could have met in Greece or Constantinople, in 1819-20. The two artists are very close in style and format. See L. Dupré, Voyage A Athènes Et A Constantinople, Paris, 1825, in which many images bear comparison with Page. Only one of Page's costume figure studies (SD.732), seems to have been published (see SP.443A). The artist appears to have worked in two distinct styles: the first during the 1810s and early/mid 1820s, represented here by the costume studies and The Fountain of Babhoumayoun (SD.720-741); the second during the late 1820s and 1830s, represented here by the picturesque landscapes (SD.742-756). Another group of landscapes from the second period, some signed W. Page are in the BM, PD. |
Subject depicted | |
Place depicted | |
Bibliographic references |
|
Collection | |
Accession number | SD.720 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
Record created | March 14, 2008 |
Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest