Balmes House
1855
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1855
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Balmes House is a 1855 watercolor by E. H. Matthews, a Biedermeier work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This watercolor shows a quiet scene in front of a large brick house with a red-tiled roof. A tree-lined path leads to a gate, and a few people are walking or riding horses nearby. One couple stands near the path, while others move farther away. The trees are tall, with green leaves and a soft sky behind them. The artist used light colors and gentle brushstrokes to make everything look calm and natural. The painting feels like a snapshot of everyday life from a long time ago. Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum to see more works like this.
The drawing depicts the south front of Balmes House in Hoxton, featuring figures in 18th-century attire walking and riding horses in front of the gates. Part of the John Edmund Gardner collection of London topographical prints and drawings, it later passed through several owners before portions related to Hoxton and surrounding areas were acquired by the Hon. Arthur Villiers and donated to the Bethnal Green Museum.
Read the full account in the museum source.
E. H. Matthews painted quiet watercolours in the 1800s. In “Balmes House” (around 1855) they captured a single building with spare, careful brushstrokes—no crowd, no drama, just the home itself against a soft sky.…
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
