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Kensington Palace: The King’s Gallery 1816

© Royal Collection Trust | All Rights Reserved

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Date

1816

Artist

Charles Wild (1781-1835)

Collection

Royal Collection Trust

Image Link

https://www.rct.uk/collection/922158

Description

A watercolour of The King's Gallery at Kensington, a luxury handcoloured version of one of the plates from William Henry Pyne's 'History of the Royal Residences' (1816-1819). The King’s Gallery is the principal room on the second floor of the south-facing block built at Kensington in 1695-6 as part of the first wave of William and Mary’s works. It was approached via Wren’s great staircase to the north-west (the King’s Stair), and runs east-west, lit by a line of windows on the south wall. Doors at the far end lead into closets and thence into the remainder of the King’s Apartments.
The Gallery is still used today as originally intended (and as shown here) - for the display of paintings. Wild’s view records the appearance of the Gallery following redecoration by William Kent for George I in 1725-7: the chimneypiece (surmounted by William III’s wind-dial), doorcases, ceiling (painted with scenes from the Odyssey), and crimson damask used for the wall-hangings and curtains, all date from that period.
However, by the time of Wild’s view the original picture hang - with matching Palladian frames - had been replaced by a miscellaneous assemblage. The painting on the end wall - Sebastiano Ricci’s Adoration - was acquired by George III with Smith’s collection and was later moved to Hampton Court. The image also shows Japanese cabinets between the windows which display groups of blue-and-white porcelain, likely to be from the period of George II and Queen Caroline's occupation. In 1993-4 the crimson silk was reintroduced, the woodwork was repainted, and some of the paintings which hung in the King’s Gallery at the time of Kent’s changes were returned, in their uniform architectural frames.
Catalogue entry adapted from George III & Queen Charlotte: Patronage, Collecting and Court Taste, London, 2004 and Japan: Courts and Culture (2020)
Alternate title: The King's Gallery, Kensington Palace.
Descriptive Medium: 'Watercolour with touches of bodycolour over etched outlines'

Image Licence

All Rights Reserved

Image Credit

© Royal Collection Trust

Location

Kensington Palace, London, England

Country

Medium

Tags

Interiors
Palaces
People

Category

Buildings & Architecture

Glossary
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© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform

© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform