Artwork
View of the Great Staircase
View of the Great Staircase is a print by the Romanticist artist William Kent. It is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. William Henry Pyne was an artist, writer and publisher who produced The history of the royal residences of Windsor Castle, St.
About this work
This print shows a grand staircase inside a royal palace. William Kent made it in 1816. It’s a colored print, not a painting.
The image comes from a three-volume book about royal homes. The project cost so much it nearly ruined the publisher. Kent’s work helps us see how these palaces looked long ago.
Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum for more prints like this.
Overview
The print is a hand-finished aquatint depicting the Great Staircase at Kensington Palace, executed in a single tint with additional colors applied manually.
The print is a hand-finished aquatint depicting the Great Staircase at Kensington Palace, executed in a single tint with additional colors applied manually. It illustrates the staircase as enlarged and decorated by William Kent between 1725 and 1727, featuring a trompe l'oeil balustrade adorned with figures from George I's court. The image is one of one hundred interior views commissioned by William Henry Pyne for his multi-volume survey of royal residences published between 1816 and 1819. The series serves as a detailed record of early 19th-century palace interiors, particularly their design and furnishings.
Artist & collection
Artist
William Kent (c. 1685 – 12 April 1748) was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary…
