The Cowdray engravings comprise five 18th-century engravings of 16th-century wall-paintings, originally commissioned by Sir
Anthony Browne. The original paintings were destroyed by fire in 1793.
History
The Cowdray engravings are based on five paintings produced for Sir
Anthony Browne, King
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
's
Master of the Horse
Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today.
(Ancient Rome)
The original Master of the Horse ( la, Magister Equitu ...
.
They were probably produced between 1545 and 1548 and were painted onto the walls of Browne's hall in
Cowdray House
Cowdray House consists of the ruins of one of England's great Tudor houses, architecturally comparable to many of the great palaces and country houses of that time. It is situated in the Parish of Easebourne, just east of Midhurst, West Sussex s ...
.
[; ] They showed key scenes in his life and might have been used by him when recounting stories during formal events. The painting included ''The Departure of King Henry VIII from Calais'', ''The Encampment of King Henry VIII at Marquison'', ''The Siege of Boulogne by King Henry VIII'', ''The Encampment of the English forces near Portsmouth'' and ''The riding of King Edward VI from the Tower of London to Westminster''.
, the
Earl of Hardwick and a keen antiquarian, proposed producing engravings of the paintings in the 1760s. His colleague, the antiquarian Sir
Joseph Ayloffe, was spurred on by his interest and convinced the
Society of Antiquaries to record them as engravings, as part of a longer series of historical prints produced by the society. The ''Encampment of the English Forces near Portsmouth'' was rendered as a watercolour by
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
and Charles Sherwin and then engraved by
James Basire
James Basire (1730–1802
London), also known as James Basire Sr., was a British engraver. He is the most significant of a family of engravers, and noted for his apprenticing of the young William Blake.
Early life
His father was Isaac Basire ...
.
Samuel Hieronymous Grimm copied the remaining four paintings which Basire then engraved.
The engravings were published in 1788 with a print run of 400 copies, distributed to fellow of the society and sold to the public.
[; ]
Cowdray House burnt down on 24 September 1793 and the paintings were mostly destroyed as the rendering came away from the walls, although some fragments may have survived for a few years after the fire.
This left the engravings as the only record.
The historian Bernard Nurse considers them to be "an important
record of the sixteenth-century originals".
watercolour
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...
version of ''The Encampment of the English forces near Portsmouth''
File:The Siege of Boulogne by King Henry VIII black-and-white.jpg, ''The Siege of Boulogne by King Henry VIII''
References
Bibliography
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External links
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{{Authority control
1788 works
18th-century engravings
English art