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Lot Essay
On the left of the present picture is King Henry VII's Chapel which was completed in 1519 and was the burial site of many future Kings and Queens including King Henry VII, Queen Mary I, Queen Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, King James I and King Charles II. Sir Christopher Wren was Surveyor of the Abbey from 1698 to 1723 and apart from undertaking restoration work he designed the West Towers, which were subsequently modified by Nicholas Hawksmoor and completed in 1745. The present picture is depicted before the addition of Hawksmoor's two towers.
This picture of Westminster Abbey, viewed from the north, appears to derive from an undated engraving by Thomas Bowles of Westminster Abbey, which in turn derived from the view of Westminster Abbey in Sir William Dugdales's Monasticon.
As in the previous lot the artist's portrayal of contemporary street life reveals many interesting figures such as a group of young scholars from Westminster School, a waterman in blue with the badge of his employer on his sleeve, men playing knuckle-bones and a gentleman in a sedan chair preceded by three footmen. A May Day procession of milkmaids enters the picture on on the left, including the unusual appearance of a man in May Day headdress, led by a fiddler.
This picture of Westminster Abbey, viewed from the north, appears to derive from an undated engraving by Thomas Bowles of Westminster Abbey, which in turn derived from the view of Westminster Abbey in Sir William Dugdales's Monasticon.
As in the previous lot the artist's portrayal of contemporary street life reveals many interesting figures such as a group of young scholars from Westminster School, a waterman in blue with the badge of his employer on his sleeve, men playing knuckle-bones and a gentleman in a sedan chair preceded by three footmen. A May Day procession of milkmaids enters the picture on on the left, including the unusual appearance of a man in May Day headdress, led by a fiddler.