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Description: This hand coloured original antique print, a view of Hampton Court Palace was published as part of the Vues d’Optique in 1760.
Hampton Court Palace: is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London, in the historic county of Middlesex, and within the postal town East Molesey, Surrey. It has not been inhabited by the British Royal Family since the 18th century. The palace is 11.7 miles (18.8 kilometres) south west of Charing Cross and upstream of central London on the River Thames. It was originally built in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII. In 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the King seized the palace for himself and later enlarged it. Along with St. James's Palace, it is one of only two surviving palaces out of the many owned by King Henry VIII.
In the following century, King William III's massive rebuilding and expansion project was intended to rival Versailles. Work ceased in 1694, leaving the palace in two distinct contrasting architectural styles, domestic Tudor and Baroque. While the palace's styles are an accident of fate, a unity exists due to the use of pink bricks and a symmetrical, if vague, balancing of successive low wings.
Vues d' Optique or Perspective Views: Perspective views, or "vues d'optique," are a special type of popular print published in Europe during the 18th century. These prints provided a form of entertainment when viewed through a device called an "optical machine" or an "optique." The most characteristic feature of the perspective views is their emphasized linear perspective, done to further intensify the enhanced appearance of depth and illusionistic space in the prints when viewed through an optique. When displayed in the optique, the prints might transport the viewer into a far away place---an unknown city, or perhaps into the midst of a dramatic bit of contemporary history. Another attribute of these prints is their bright, often heavy hand coloring, applied boldly so as to show the tints when viewed through the lens.
A number of perspective prints depicted American scenes at the time of the Revolution for a European audience hungry for news of the events in the British colonies. As documents of American history and European printmaking, these are unusual and appealing eighteenth-century prints.
General Description: Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy & stable Paper color: - Off white Age of map color: - Original Colors used: - Blue, yellow, green, red General color appearance: - Authentic & bright Paper size: - 19in x 12 3/4in (480mm x 325mm) Plate size: - 14 1/2in x 9 1/2in (370mm x 240mm) Margins: - Min 2in (50mm)
Imperfections: Margins: - Light soiling Plate area: - Small smudge & toning to sky Verso: - Small repair, no loss