Skip to main content

Descriptions of the 'Chamber of Ancient Paintings'; 'Chamber of Medals modern and antique'; 'Chamber of Gems'; Portico: 832/5.f.9

Object information

Awaiting location update

Titles

Descriptions of the 'Chamber of Ancient Paintings'; 'Chamber of Medals modern and antique'; 'Chamber of Gems'; Portico
Continuation of recto: description of marble and terracotta statuary, bas reliefs and two portraits, including Cosmus by Vasari

Maker(s)

Draughtsman: Flaxman, John

Categories

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1916-12) by Murray, Charles Fairfax

School or Style

British

Materials used in production

Brown ink

Components of the work

Support composed of laid paper
Leaf Size Height 213 mm Width 150 mm

Techniques used in production

Handwriting : Pen and brown ink on laid paper

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: 9
  • Location: Upper right
  • Method of creation: Brown ink

Inscription present: [i] preceding two words crossed through in brown ink; [ii] preceding two words appear above the line

  • Text: Chamber of Ancient Painting / contains specimens / of the Ancient[i] old paintings / from the old Greeks before Cimabue to the time of Massaccio, & sculpture of the same / ages particularly of a St. John & David / with the head of Goliah[sic] at his feet statues / in marble the size of nature by Donatello / Chamber of Medals modern & Antique / Chamber of Gems exceedingly numerous / & valuable, amongst others a head of Tiberius / in Turquoise Stone 3 Inches long / A Portico containing many funeral monuments / consisting of[ii] / Etruscan bas re- / leifs in marble, & Terra Cota with in- / scriptions / A Gallery which unites this building to the / Palace Pitti pitti contains Gothic pictures & / Portraits of the Medici family / In the Vestibules are fine antique / bas releifs[sic] on Sarcophagi, one a Bacchana- / -lian subject with. Centaurs / Another
  • Location: Recto
  • Method of creation: Brown ink

Inscription present: [i] preceding two words crossed through in brown ink; [ii] preceding three words crossed through in brown ink; [iii] preceding word crossed through in brown ink; [iv] preceding two words crossed through in brown ink

  • Text: the fall of Phaeton into the Po / the basrelief from which Raffaele copied / the Sacrifice of the Ox to Paul & Barna- / -bas, several Processions (copied by / Perrier) figures between 4 & 5 ft high / two Dogs nearly the [i] alike with scarce / any difference, the stands on each side of / the door as your[sic] enter the vestibule / they are the same as that sold at / Mr: Jennings's sale for a 1000£ / 2 of the[ii] as we know there are 3 it is / not impossible there were others, which is / the original? / In the Gallery are 2 fine portraits on of / Lawrence the Magnificent the other of / Cosmus father of his country painted by Vasari the singular eccellence / of these portraits prove, the historical painter / will always produce the best portraits / Vasari had great skill in the human figure which / he used extravagantly in history because he trusted / to his own invention, but in portraits the skill he possessed enabled him to copy nature the better / but the man who can go no farther the likeness is un...[?] will[iii] / to show a[iv] represent any of the contours or accidents of the human / figure
  • Location: Verso
  • Method of creation: Brown ink

Identification numbers

Accession number: 832/5.f.9
Primary reference Number: 37954
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Thursday 20 May 2021 Last processed: Tuesday 13 June 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Paintings, Drawings and Prints

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Descriptions of the 'Chamber of Ancient Paintings'; 'Chamber of Medals modern and antique'; 'Chamber of Gems'; Portico" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/37954 Accessed: 2024-07-08 06:56:06

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/37954 |title=Descriptions of the 'Chamber of Ancient Paintings'; 'Chamber of Medals modern and antique'; 'Chamber of Gems'; Portico |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-07-08 06:56:06|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-37954

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...