FDA-D.527-2010
Parts
Object number
FDA-D.527-2010
Object type
Identification
Title
The Fortress from the Vasilievsky Ostrov, St Petersburg
St Petersburgh Fortress from the Vasili Astroff Petersburgh
Whiteley
St Petersburgh Fortress from the Vasili Astroff Petersburgh
Whiteley
Title Type
Formal name
assigned by artist
collection
assigned by artist
collection
Comments
Alfred Gomersal Vickers was the son of the landscape painter Alfred Vickers (1786-1868) and during his short career showed himself one of the most spirited of the generation who emerged in the wake of Bonington, who had died prematurely in 1827. Vickers travelled to Moscow and St Petersburg in 1833, commissioned by Charles Heath to make drawings which appeared, with a text by Leith Ritchie, as Heath's Picturesque Annual for 1836.
This sketch is notable for its extreme economy and sense of space. The great height of the spire of the Church of St Peter and St Paul is accentuated by its alignment with the quayside; to the left the Stock Exchange building (now Maritime Museum) is merely blocked in. In front stands one of a pair of rostral columns, ornamented with the prows of four galleys representing the four principle rivers of Russia.
Vickers' studio sale, held at Christie's on 16 February 1837, included dozens of separate sketches from this trip, charting his progress across norhtern Europe, from Hamburg, Berlin, Danzig and Koningsberg to St Petersburg. As there are no sketchbooks, it can be assumed that an inscribed drawing such as this was made on the spot; the watercolour, which, especially in the sky, captures the intensity and clarity of the Baltic light, was probably added later.
This sketch is notable for its extreme economy and sense of space. The great height of the spire of the Church of St Peter and St Paul is accentuated by its alignment with the quayside; to the left the Stock Exchange building (now Maritime Museum) is merely blocked in. In front stands one of a pair of rostral columns, ornamented with the prows of four galleys representing the four principle rivers of Russia.
Vickers' studio sale, held at Christie's on 16 February 1837, included dozens of separate sketches from this trip, charting his progress across norhtern Europe, from Hamburg, Berlin, Danzig and Koningsberg to St Petersburg. As there are no sketchbooks, it can be assumed that an inscribed drawing such as this was made on the spot; the watercolour, which, especially in the sky, captures the intensity and clarity of the Baltic light, was probably added later.
Other number
MFW 41
Description
Dimensions
height (actual size): 228mm
width (actual size): 371mm
width (actual size): 371mm
Inscription
Inscribed, upper right, 'The Fortress from the Vasili Astroff Petersburgh' and lower right, `Petersburg'
Materials & techniques note
Graphite and watercolour
Production
Person
Date
1833
History and association
Object history note
Provenance: Collection of Martin Whiteley; by whom bequeathed to Eton College
Exhibited: 'A Genius for Watercolour', Christie’s, London, 6 to 24 January 2003, catalogue number 56
Exhibited: 'A Genius for Watercolour', Christie’s, London, 6 to 24 January 2003, catalogue number 56
Previous ownership
