The Hall and Stair Case, British Museum
The British Museum was founded in 1753 and occupied, as its first home, the late seventeenth-century former private residence Montagu House. Here Rowlandson depicts the main staircase and entrance hall, with a painted ceiling by Charles de La Fosse (1636–1716) depicting "Phaeton Demanding the Chariot of the Sun." The French artist was employed to work at the property from 1690–92. The rapidly growing collection meant that Montagu House had to be gradually demolished early in the nineteenth century to make way for the present building designed by Robert Smirke (1780–1867). This print comes from a series devoted to prominent London landmarks and provides a record of one of the city's lost spaces.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Hall and Stair Case, British Museum
- Series/Portfolio: Microcosm of London, pl. 14
- Artist: Designed and etched by Thomas Rowlandson (British, London 1757–1827 London)
- Artist: Designed and etched by Auguste Charles Pugin (British (born France), Paris 1768/69–1832 London)
- Artist: Aquatint by John Bluck (British, 1791–1832)
- Publisher: Rudolph Ackermann, London (British, active 1794–1832)
- Date: April 1, 1808
- Medium: Hand-colored etching and aquatint
- Dimensions: Sheet: 11 3/4 × 9 1/2 in. (29.8 × 24.2 cm)
Plate: 11 1/16 × 9 5/16 in. (28.1 × 23.6 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
- Object Number: 59.533.1671(7)
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Thomas Rowlandson
1780–1827
Thomas Rowlandson
1780–1827
Thomas Rowlandson
1780–1827
Multiple artists/makers
January 1794
Thomas Rowlandson
late 18th–early 19th century
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