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Sardis, One of the Seven Churches

Clarkson RA Stanfield

1834

watercolor

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Romanticism Early 19th Century

Dominant colour

Sardis, One of the Seven Churches is a 1834 watercolor by Clarkson RA Stanfield, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Clarkson RA Stanfield
When & what style?: 1834 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This watercolor shows ruins from the Temple of Artemis at Sardis. It was made for a 1836 book of Bible scenery. The artist painted real ruins in a once-rich place now left empty. The work was part of a project by publisher John Murray. He hired top artists to draw Biblical sites. Some scenes were imagined, but this one came from what Stanfield actually saw. Look up the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The story of this work

Overview

The watercolour depicts the ruins of the Temple of Artemis at Sardis, showing only scattered architectural fragments of the once-grand structure. Based on an indirect source rather than direct observation, the work may have drawn from an 1812 sketch by architect C.R. Cockerell. Stanfield heightened the scene with dramatic elements—a thunderstorm and a startled rider—to evoke the biblical prophecy of destruction. Published in 1836 as part of *Landscape Illustrations of the Bible*, the image interprets the desolate site as a fulfillment of apocalyptic imagery.

Read the full account in the museum source.