A Young ALLIGATOR drawn from the Life in LONDON, October. 1739.

1739

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Dominant colour

A Young ALLIGATOR drawn from the Life in LONDON, October. 1739. is a 1739 by Lampriere, C., a Baroque work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Lampriere, C.
When & what style?: 1739 · Baroque
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This print shows a young alligator lounging in shallow water, its head turned slightly toward us. Behind it, a tree branch juts into the scene from the left, and in the far distance, a small town or castle sits on a hill. The water has tiny ripples, and the animal’s scaly skin is detailed with sharp lines. The title tells us this was drawn from a live alligator in London in 1739. That’s unusual—most people in Europe hadn’t seen one up close before. Next, look up Lampriere, C. to see how other artists handled strange animals in prints.

The story of this work

Overview

A young alligator is depicted in profile, facing right, against a background featuring a fortified stone building situated on a cliff overlooking the sea. The work was created in London in October 1739 by C. Lampriere. The print was likely included in Thomas Astley and John Green’s *A New General Collection of Voyages and Travels*, published around 1745–47.

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Artist

Lampriere, C.

London in 1739 needed to see a croc or gator like this. C. Lampriere drew two lifelike prints that month: *A Young ALLIGATOR drawn from the Life in LONDON* and its twin *A Young CROCODILE drawn from the Life in LONDON*.…

See the richer artist page