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Pencil drawing of a fountain and entryway

Unknown

1750

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

18th Century Architectural

Dominant colour

Pencil drawing of a fountain and entryway is a 1750 by Unknown, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1750
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This quick sketch shows two simple scenes. The top part draws a tall fountain with steps and a vase on top. The bottom part is a doorway with two people sitting on either side, looking inward. The lines are light and rough, like a quick note to remember shapes. It feels more like a draft than a finished work. If you like rough sketches, check out cross-hatching.

The story of this work

Overview

A pencil drawing from 1750 depicts an elaborate sculptural fountain and an adjoining entryway. The fountain features a hexagonal shaft on a stepped platform, with small figures in niches near the top and a vase-shaped sculpture from which water flows. Trees appear in the background behind the fountain. The entryway consists of a central arch flanked by female figures, topped by a backward-facing male sculpture whose arms extend through windows of a watchtower-like structure above. The drawing was once part of an album of designs collected by architect Charles James Richardson and was acquired…

Read the full account in the museum source.