Queen Mary's State Bedchamber, Hampton Court
13 by 10 inches
PYN108 $85
These incredibly rich, hand colored aquatints from The History of the Royal Residences by W.H. Pyne, London 1819, were by the master engravers & artists of the day including William Bennett, D. Havell, T. Sutherland, R. Reeve and J Bailey. William Bennett in particular was considered the master of the aquatint view. Born in England around 1784, he emigrated to the United States where he established the city landscape view as an important art form.
Principally of the interiors of royal residences, these prints are now an invaluable historical record of residences which are greatly changed today, or no longer exist. Time and progress have exacted their price. Carlton House in London, home to the Prince Regent (later George IV), was demolished in 1826, and other residences have seen modernization & change.
In 1992, the year Queen Elizabeth II refers to as “annus horribilis,” a serious fire destroyed or damaged more than 100 rooms at Windsor Castle, the largest and oldest occupied castle in the world. The Castle's dramatic site encapsulates 900 years of British history, much of it reflected in these beautiful aquatints. All are historically accurate & a document of the magnificent treasures held by the Crown. In fact, all the paintings and artifacts are faithful reproductions of the originals & all can be identified with careful research. For example, according to the preeminent book dealer Donald Heald, the Kings dressing room illustrates works by Holbein, Rembrandt, and da Vinci with ceiling mural of Jupiter and Danae.
The work was an ambitious and expensive undertaking, proving costly to its publisher William Pyne, who had the great misfortune to be incarcerated in debtor’s prison more than once as a result of the ruinous expense. Today, we can only look with wonder and gratitude at these beautifully hand colored, exquisitely detailed aquatints of historical surroundings that constitute the important legacy of Pyne to art lovers and historians. There is no descriptive text, but a copy of the title pages accompanies each print.
