Dundee Art Galleries & Museum: 272-1987-24
Artist: Brunet-Debaines, Alfred-Louis
Date: 1877
State: 1/1
Size: 22.2 x 17.2 cm
Medium: Etching
| Details | Etching. Brown ink on wove paper. The New York Times, 30th July 1877 carried an advert for a series of works by Brunet-Debaines; ‘M. Brunet Debaines has undertaken a collection of Etchings of London which will be issued only to subscribers. The first series will include the Interior of the Temple Church, Fountain Court, Temple [although identified as separate prints Fountain Court and Temple are likely to be the single print Fountain Court, Temple], Temple Bar, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, St. Pauls from the River and Corn-Barges on the Thames and its completion will depend upon the number of subscriptions. Messrs. Seeley & Co., No. 54 Fleet-street, London, have consented to receive subscriptions, and the first series of six etchings will be sold for 2 guineas. Artist’s proofs to the number of 100 will be issued on Japanese paper.’ Orchar owned a complete set of Etchings of London therefore it seems likely he was one of the subscribers and purchased them during 1877. |
| Description | Designed by Sir Christopher Wren, and built between 1669 and 1672, Temple Bar originally stood where Fleet Street and The Strand combined just south of Lincoln’s Inn Fields. By 1800 it was the last remaining gateway to London but by the late 1860s its existence too was becoming detrimental to modern traffic. In contrast to the quiet street scene of Lincoln’s Inn Fields here Brunet-Debaines captures something of the busyness and congestion of this major thoroughfare. Indeed in 1878 shortly after Brunet-Debaines captured this scene Temple Bar was demolished, piece by piece, before finally being rebuilt next to St. Paul’s Cathedral in 2003. It is likely that Brunet-Debaines was aware of the proposed demolition of Temple Bar and took the opportunity to capture a soon to be lost London landmark. |
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