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1 of 253523 objects
Paul Sandby (1731-1809)
Windsor, view of the Castle taken on a rejoicing night c. 1768
Watercolour and bodycolour, with traces of gold | 24.0 x 35.3 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 914585
Paul Sandby (1731-1809)
Windsor, view of the Castle taken on a rejoicing night c. 1768
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A watercolour and bodycolour drawing of Windsor Castle at night, with fireworks on the right, and the Round Tower illuminated. A large tree on the left, and the river in the foreground with moonlight reflected in its surface. Several horses and a figure are walking along the path at the centre. With a black ink and gold painted border on the drawing, and a green wash and black ink mount of a type associated with works acquired at the sale of the collection of Sir Joseph Banks in 1876. Inscribed on the verso 'Windsor, View of the Castle taken on a rejoicing night from the King's Engine House', in a hand also associated with the Banks sale.
A larger bodycolour of the same subject is also in the Royal Collection (RCIN 914584), dated 1768. Dated works by Paul Sandby are uncommon, and it may be that the work was intended to record an actual event. The year 1768 saw George III’s thirtieth birthday on 4 June and the birth of his sixth child, Princess Augusta Sophia, on 8 November; Guy Fawkes Night on 5 November was commonly marked at the time with a bonfire in the Middle Ward. That the trees are in full leaf would suggest it is the King’s birthday that is being celebrated here. On 23 June the King’s birthday was marked on Tower Hill in London with ‘fireworks ... [that] were the grandest that have been played off for many years’, though how the occasion was observed at Windsor is not recorded.Provenance
Sir Joseph Banks; Christie's, 23 May 1876, lot 9; purchased by William Seabrook, £1 10s; purchased locally in 1925 from the family of William Seabrook, Inspector of Windsor Castle 1861-83
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Medium and techniques
Watercolour and bodycolour, with traces of gold
Measurements
24.0 x 35.3 cm (sheet of paper)
29.3 x 40.3 cm (mount)
Category
Object type(s)
Other number(s)
RL 14585
