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1 of 253523 objects
The Opera House: the Auditorium c.1787
Watercolour, bodycolour and gum arabic with pen and ink over pencil | 66.5 x 54.0 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 917079
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A watercolour of the interior of the auditorium of the King's Theatre (the Opera House) as seen from the stage. Michael Burden (Burlington Magazine, May 2019) has connected this watercolour with the rebuilding of the theatre in 1793, after a fire. The large scale of the drawing may indicate that it was a design by Biagio Rebecca for painted decoration on the interior. Rebecca was an Italian artist who had also worked at Carlton House. George IV, who acquired this drawing, was involved in the plans for the building, but purchased this drawing on the London market some years later. A watercolour of the Concert Rooms is 917080.
Provenance
Purchased by George IV when Prince of Wales from Colnaghi and Co, 9 July 1804 (Royal Archives GEO/MAIN/27269): 'A Drawing of the Inside of the Opera House, £7 7s'
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Watercolour, bodycolour and gum arabic with pen and ink over pencil
Measurements
66.5 x 54.0 cm (sheet of paper)
Other number(s)
RL 17079Featured in
ExhibitionGeorge IV: Art & Spectacle
A lavish exhibition looking at the monarch's life through the art that enriched his world