Dulwich Picture Gallery
51°26′46″N 0°05′11″W / 51.44611°N 0.08639°W
Established | 1817 |
---|---|
Location | Dulwich London, SE21 United Kingdom |
Public transit access | North Dulwich; West Dulwich |
Website | dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
Official name | Dulwich Picture Gallery and Mausoleum |
Designated | 30 June 1954 |
Reference no. | 1385543 |
Dulwich Picture Gallery is an
The Dulwich Picture Gallery and its mausoleum are listed Grade II* on the National Heritage List for England.[1] The mausoleum is for founders of the collection, Francis Bourgeois and Noël Desenfans.
History
Early history of the gallery
Edward Alleyn (1566–1626) was an actor who became an entrepreneur in Elizabethan theatre. His commercial interests in the Rose and Fortune Theatres (a major competitor to the Globe Theatre), gave him sufficient wealth to acquire the Manor of Dulwich in 1605.[2] He founded a college at Dulwich, the College of God's Gift, and endowed it with his estate. It was a school for boys and next to it were almshouses for the local poor. The college became three separate beneficiary schools—Dulwich College, Alleyn's School, and James Allen's Girls' School, named after an early 18th-century headmaster.[3] The college, the attached almshouses and chapel survive next to the gallery on Gallery Road, although its exterior has undergone extensive renovation.
Alleyn bequeathed the college of a collection of works including portraits of the kings and queens of England. The college retained connections with the theatre and in 1686, the actor William Cartwright (1606–1686) bequeathed a collection of 239 pictures, of which 80 are now identifiable at Dulwich. In the 18th century, the collection was displayed on the first floor of the wing of the Old College. It attracted few additions during this period, and recorded descriptions of the gallery suggest disappointment and apathy from its visitors. The art historian and Whig politician Horace Walpole wrote that he saw "a hundred mouldy portraits among apostles sibyls and kings of England".
Later history – Bourgeois, Desenfans and Sir John Soane
The Dulwich collection was improved in size and quality by Sir
Bourgeois and Desenfans attempted to sell the collection but were unsuccessful. Instead, they sold small pieces to fund the purchase of other important works and kept the collection in Desenfans' house in Charlotte Street. After the death of Desenfans in 1807, Bourgeois inherited the collection. He commissioned Sir John Soane to design and construct a mausoleum at Desenfans' house, but was unable to secure the freehold. Bourgeois bequeathed his collection to the College of God's Gift on the advice of the actor John Philip Kemble, a friend of both dealers. Bourgeois left instructions in his will for the construction of a gallery in Dulwich, designed by Soane, in which to display the collection. It was next to the original college buildings by the chapel. He also left £2,000 for construction costs and £4,000 was contributed by Desenfan's widow.
The gallery was opened to students of the
Modern history
In the early hours of 31 December 1966, eight paintings were stolen, three by
Rembrandt's small early Portrait of Jacob de Gheyn III (1632) has been stolen and recovered four times and is listed in Guinness World Records as the most frequently stolen artwork in the world.[5] Last stolen in 1983, it was recovered from a left-luggage office in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1986; returned anonymously; found on the back of a bicycle; and discovered under a bench in a graveyard in Streatham, south London.[6] Since 2010, the painting has been guarded by an upgraded security system.[5] In November 2019, During the Rembrandt's Light exhibition featuring loans works from the Louvre in Paris and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, thieves attempted to steal two of the paintings. The attempt was unsuccessful.[5][6]
In 1995 a major reorganisation of the historic Alleyn's College charity resulted in the reconstitution of Dulwich Picture Gallery as an independent registered charity.[7]
The gallery marked its bicentenary in 2017. As part of the celebrations the Gallery partnered with the London Festival of Architecture to hold a competition for emerging architects to create a 'Dulwich Pavilion', a temporary events structure to be built in the Gallery's historic grounds during the summer of 2017.[8][9] The competition was won by London-based architecture practice IF_DO.[10][11]
In June–September 2019, the Dulwich hosted the first major exhibition of the works of the
The Gallery reopened in May 2021 after 14 months of pandemic closure with a complete rehang of the collection and the exhibition Unearthed: Photography’s Roots.
In spring 2023, the Gallery hosted the first major UK exhibition of the Impressionist Berthe Morisot since 1950. [13]
Donors
The gallery attracted donors from its earliest days. In 1835
The portraitist and Royal Academician William Beechey (1753–1839) donated a picture of the gallery's founder Bourgeois he had painted on the back of a picture by Joshua Reynolds in 1836 adding two images to the collection, although only one can be shown at a time. In 2012, the side of the canvas on display is by Reynolds.
British portrait art became better represented due to the benefaction of
Gallery design
Dulwich Picture Gallery's design and architecture comprising a series of interlinked rooms lit by natural light through overhead
Before Soane settled on his final design, he proposed a number of other ideas around a
On 12 July 1944, during
A modernist cafe, education rooms, disabled access and lecture theatre by
In 2023, the gallery announced plans for a £4.9 million redevelopment designed by the architects Carmody Groarke, encompassing a new sculpture garden in the southern portion of the site and a new building for school and family activities.[16]
-
Exterior view
-
Dulwich Picture Gallery exterior looking north
-
Exterior – east frontage
-
Mausoleum
-
The main gallery
-
Inside the mausoleum
-
The main gallery in 1922
-
Room 9 in 1922
-
Exterior view in 1922
Collection
- Dutch School
-
- Cuyp, Aelbert – 11 paintings;
- Dou, Gerrit – 1 painting;
- Hobbema, Meyndert– 1 painting;
- Hooch, Charles Cornelisz de– 2 paintings;
- Neer, Aernout van der– 1 painting;
- Ostade, Adriaen van – 5 paintings;
- Rembrandt van Rijn – 3 paintings;
- Ruisdael, Jacob van– 4 paintings;
- Velde, Adriaen van de – 2 paintings;
- Velde, Willem van de...the Younger – 3 paintings;
- Weenix, Jan – 1 painting;
- Wouwerman, Philip– 12 paintings;
- English School
-
- Dobson, William – 1 painting;
- Gainsborough, Thomas – 7 paintings;
- Hogarth, William – 2 paintings;
- Landseer, Sir Edwin– 1 painting;
- Lawrence, Thomas– 3 paintings;
- Reynolds, Joshua – 9 paintings;
- Constable, John – 1 painting;
- Flemish School
-
- Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger – 1 painting;
- Rubens, Peter Paul – 10 paintings;
- Teniers, David – 19 paintings;
- Van Dyck, Anthony – 5 paintings;
- French School
-
- Dughet, Gaspard – 4 paintings;
- Fragonard, Jean-Honoré – 1 painting;
- Gellée, Claude – 4 paintings;
- Poussin, Nicolas – 6 paintings;
- Vernet, Claude-Joseph – 6 paintings;
- Watteau, Jean-Antoine– 2 paintings;
- Italian School
-
- Canaletto, (Giovanni Antonio Canal) – 2 paintings;
- Carracci, Annibale – 4 paintings;
- Piero di Cosimo – 1 painting;
- Guercino, (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) – 2 paintings;
- Raphael, (Raffaello Sanzio) – 2 paintings;
- Reni, Guido – 2 paintings;
- Ricci, Sebastiano – 2 paintings;
- Tiepolo, Giovanni Battista – 3 paintings;
- Vasari, Giorgio – 1 painting;
- Veronese, Paolo – 1 painting;
- Zuccarelli, Francesco – 3 paintings;
- Spanish School
-
- Murillo, Bartolomé-Esteban – 4 paintings;
Gallery
-
Aelbert Cuyp: Cattle near the Maas, with Dordrecht in the distance
-
The Woman taken in Adultery
-
Thomas Hudson: Portrait of a Man
-
Gainsborough, Thomas: Thomas Linley the elder
-
Cristofano Allori: Judith
-
Francesco Albani, Holy Family
-
Michael Dahl: Portrait of a Lady
-
Michael Dahl: Portrait of a Man
-
Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope- The Reverend William Rogers
-
William Hogarth: Portrait of a Man
-
Bartolomé Estéban Murillo: The Madonna of the Rosary
-
Arent de Gelder: Jacob's Dream
-
Sir Peter Lely: Portrait of a Lady in Blue holding a Flower
-
Sir Peter Lely: A Boy as a Shepherd
Directors
See also
- Dulwich OnView, a blog-based magazine associated with the gallery
- Dulwich Outdoor Gallery, an associated distributed gallery of street art
References
- ^ Historic England, "Dulwich Picture Gallery and Mausoleum (1385543)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 18 December 2017
- ^ Cerasano, S. P. Edward Alleyn: 1556–1626, pp. 11–31.
- ISBN 090629018X
- ISBN 0-917990-82-X
- ^ a b c Baynes, Chris (14 November 2019). "Intruder breaks into gallery to steal priceless Rembrandt paintings". The Independent. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ a b Karim, Fariha; Simpson, John (15 November 2019). "Rembrandts left in gallery grounds as art heist thwarted". The Times. Retrieved 15 November 2019. (subscription required)
- ^ "Dulwich Picture Gallery, registered charity no. 1040942". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
- ^ "Open Call for a temporary outdoor events pavilion at Dulwich Picture Gallery". Dulwich Picture Gallery. 19 October 2016. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
- ^ Fulcher, Merlin (20 October 2016). "Contest for Dulwich Picture Gallery pavilion announced". Architects' Journal. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
- ^ "IF_DO win first Dulwich Pavilion design competition". Dulwich Picture Gallery. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
- ^ Bevan, Robert (26 January 2017). "The Dulwich Picture Gallery's summer pavilion is a cool rival for the Serpentine". Evening Standard. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
- ISBN 978-1-78130-078-7.
- ^ "Berthe Morisot, Dulwich Picture Gallery review — secrets and revelations from a female Impressionist".
- ^ "Russell Vernon". The Daily Telegraph. 7 September 2009.
- ^ Worsley, Giles (23 May 2000). "Overhauled but understated". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012.
- ^ Gareth Harris (20 July 2023), South London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery to get new sculpture park in £4.6m overhaul The Art Newspaper.
- ^ "Giles Waterfield - Home".
External links
- Dulwich Picture Gallery official website
- "Dulwich Picture Gallery, registered charity no. 1040942". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
- Russell Vernon obituary, The Daily Telegraph
- A day in the life of Ian A C Dejardin, Director of Dulwich Picture Gallery
Virtual tour of the Dulwich Picture Gallery provided by Google Arts & Culture