File:Design for the west wall (second project) RMG PY3348.tiff

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Author
James Thornhill  (1675–1734)  wikidata:Q1681192
 
James Thornhill
Description British painter, politician and court painter
Date of birth/death 25 July 1675 Edit this at Wikidata 13 May 1734
Location of birth/death Malcombe Regis (Dorset) Thornhill Park near Stalbridge, Dorset
Work location
London, Greenwich, various English country estates
Authority file
creator QS:P170,Q1681192
Description
English: Design for the west wall (second project)

An unexecuted design post-dating PAH9660 for the 'great west front' in the Upper Hall, but containing a number of elements which appear in variant form in the final version. These include the flanking piers of quadri-style Corinthian columns (eventually executed as a symmetrical pair based on the pattern on the left here, including its flying figure group drawing back the curtain to the left); the seated figure of George I and the standing figures of his son George II as Prince of Wales (in armour, but here turned with back to viewer) and of Prince Frederick standing by the King.

The urn on the right was discarded but the trophies of arms below the pillars were retained as were, in differing forms, the allegorical figures behind the King (including Justice) and the pyramid, signifying the stability of the dynasty (positions reversed in the final scheme). The curved arcade seen in the background was replaced by a view of the dome of St Paul's Cathedral beneath a less billowing sky. The addition of the cathedral dome was a nice self-referential detail: in 1715 Thornhill had won the competition to paint its interior. The pavilion on the right was retained at a lower level. The most important addition would be Mercury who gestures towards an inscription from virgil's Eclogues added to the wall's fictive cornice in the final scheme: 'Iam Nova Progenies Coelo' (a new generation has descended from the heavens). For the final version see, for example, John Bold, 'Greenwich; An Architectural History ... (London, 2000), pls. 197, 198, facing p.150. 'Sir James Thornhill' is inscribed in pencil on the pillar base, lower left.

An earlier design for the entire west elevation or 'great front' is in the V&A collection, E.4262-1920.

Strasbourg lily watermark.

The Painted Hall, Greenwich Hospital (Old Royal Naval College); design for the west wall
Date between 1717 and 1718
date QS:P571,+1717-00-00T00:00:00Z/8,P1319,+1717-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1326,+1718-00-00T00:00:00Z/9
Dimensions Primary support: 248 mm x 330 mm; Mount: 483 mm x 635 mm
Notes Box Title: Greenwich Box 4 James Thornhill (2).
Source/Photographer http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/143295
Permission
(Reusing this file)

The original artefact or artwork has been assessed as public domain by age, and faithful reproductions of the two dimensional work are also public domain. No permission is required for reuse for any purpose.

The text of this image record has been derived from the Royal Museums Greenwich catalogue and image metadata. Individual data and facts such as date, author and title are not copyrightable, but reuse of longer descriptive text from the catalogue may not be considered fair use. Reuse of the text must be attributed to the "National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London" and a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA-3.0 license may apply if not rewritten. Refer to Royal Museums Greenwich copyright.
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Identifier
InfoField
id number: PAH3348
Collection
InfoField
Fine art

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This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason:
Public domain

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This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1929.

The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation is that "faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain".
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Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current11:46, 26 September 2017Thumbnail for version as of 11:46, 26 September 20173,800 × 2,510 (27.29 MB) (talk | contribs)Royal Museums Greenwich Fine art (1718), http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/143295 #3455-1

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