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A woodcut showing the Emperor Maximilian in a triumphal chariot.
This large woodcut, over 2 metres in length, was originally planned as part of a huge printed frieze. The work, undertaken by a team of designers and woodblock cutters, was to show a triumph
Highlights from the print collection

An introduction to the print collection of the Royal Collection

JAMES BARRY (1741-1806)

The Conversion of Polemon

first published 4 April 1778 (this state c.1790)

RCIN 813697

The Conversion of Polemon was produced by Barry in 1778 in support of the Whig politician Charles James Fox, whom Barry identified with Polemon, an Athenian youth who abandoned his hedonistic ways to become a philosopher on hearing the discourse of Zenocrates (the standing figure, associated by Barry with Edmund Burke). This impression dates from a later reworking of the plate by Barry; it was in the collection of George III, perhaps a surprising acquisition for a king whose collecting of contemporary prints generally demonstrates more of a sympathy for Tory politics.


    The income from your ticket contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Royal Collection Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational activities.