Charles Wild (1781-1835)
Windsor Castle: The Queen’s Audience Chamber c. 1818
Pencil, watercolour and touches of bodycolour | 21.0 x 25.3 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 922100
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A watercolour view of the interior of the Queen's Audience Chamber, Windsor Castle, prepared for one of the plates in William Henry Pyne's 'History of the Royal Residences' (1816-1819). Engraved by W. J. Bennett, the print published 1.2.1818.
The Audience Chamber is at the south-west corner of the Queen’s Apartments, between the Presence Chamber and the Ballroom. The ceiling painting by Antonio Verrio depicts Catherine of Braganza (Queen Consort of Charles II) being pulled in a chariot by swans towards the Temple of Virtue, and there is an original cornice and overmantel frame by Grinling Gibbons. The decoration of the room is very similar to that in the Presence Chamber. However, in 1807 the original overmantel was replaced with Edward Wyatt’s remarkable carved panel, intended at once to blend with and to emulate the seventeenth-century work. Edward Wyatt was a cousin of the King’s architect, James Wyatt, through whose influence he was in 1798 appointed carver and gilder to the Office of Works.
All the paintings visible here can be identified: the overmantle is Vansomer’s portrait of Anne of Denmark (401177); its is flanked by portraits of Henrietta Maria (studio of Van Dyck, 405663, left) and Anne, Duchess of York (after Lely, 403268, right). The two overdoors facing us are Honthorst portraits of Princes of Orange: William II (404406, left) and Frederick Henry (404407, right). The final overdoor (partially visible at the extreme right) is a full-length of James II by Henri Gascar (now in the National Maritime Museum). Two large Zuccarelli landscapes face each other on the side walls, his Isaac and Rebecca (401454, left) and Italian Scene (401001, right); these were acquired by George III with Consul Smith’s collection and hung at Hampton Court before being transferred to Windsor, before 1813.
Pyne's 'History of the Royal Residences' was a three-volume publication which encompassed a number of royal residences, including Windsor Castle (vol. 1) and Buckingham House (vol. 2), presenting 100 hand-coloured engravings of exteriors and interiors accompanied by descriptive texts. The 100 watercolours which were engraved for the publication survive in the Royal Library; these watercolours are exactly the size of the image on the printed plates, and may perhaps have been intended as colour guides for the artists responsible for hand-painting the monochrome prints.Provenance
Probably acquired by George IV
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Pencil, watercolour and touches of bodycolour
Measurements
21.0 x 25.3 cm (sheet of paper)
Other number(s)
RL 22100Alternative title(s)
The Queen's Audience Chamber, Windsor Castle.
