Dulwich Picture Gallery

Dulwich Picture Gallery

Location within London Borough of Southwark
Established	1817(1817)
Location	Dulwich London,SE21 England
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 Galleryis anart galleryinDulwich,south London.It opened to the public in 1817 and was designed by theRegencyarchitect SirJohn Soane.His design was recognized for its innovative and influential method of illumination for viewing the art. It is the oldest public art gallery in England and was made an independent charitable trust in 1994. Until then, the gallery was part of theCollege of God's Gift,a charitable foundation established by the actor, entrepreneur and philanthropistEdward Alleynin the early 17th century. The acquisition of artworks by its founders and bequests from its many patrons resulted in Dulwich Picture Gallery housing one of the country's finest collections ofOld Masters,especially rich in French, Italian and SpanishBaroquepaintings, and in British portraits from theTudor erato the 19th century.

The Dulwich Picture Gallery and its mausoleum arelisted Grade II*on theNational Heritage List for England.The mausoleum is for founders of the collection,Francis BourgeoisandNoël Desenfans.

History

Early history of the gallery

Entrance

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 theGlobe Theatre), gave him sufficient wealth to acquire the Manor of Dulwich in 1605.He founded a college at Dulwich, theCollege 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,andJames Allen's Girls' School,named after an early 18th-century headmaster.The college, the attached almshouses and chapel survive next to the gallery onGallery 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 actorWilliam 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 politicianHorace Walpolewrote that he saw "a hundred mouldy portraits among apostles sibyls and kings of England".

Later history – Bourgeois, Desenfans and Sir John Soane

Francis Bourgeoisand Noël Desenfans

The Dulwich collection was improved in size and quality by SirFrancis Bourgeois(1753–1811), originally from Switzerland, and his business partner, Frenchman Noël Desenfans (1744–1807). Their involvement saw the Gallery make significant steps towards its present state, and they are credited as founders of Dulwich Picture Gallery. They ran an art dealership in London and in 1790 were commissioned by the King ofthe Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth,Stanisław August Poniatowski,to assemble a national collection for Poland to encourage fine arts in his country. Desenfans had lobbied the British Government to create a similar British national collection and offered to contribute to it, but was unenthusiastically received. Touring around Europe buyingfine art,Bourgeois and Desenfans took five years to assemble the collection, but by 1795 the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had beenpartitionedand no longer existed.

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 amausoleumat 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 actorJohn 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 theRoyal Academy of Artsin 1815, two years before the official opening to the public, the delay due to a problem with the gallery's heating system. It became a popular venue for copyists from London schools of art. Its collection was frequented by many cultural figures over the next hundred years, many of whom first visited as students, includingJohn Constable,William Etty,Joseph Mallord William Turner,and laterVincent van Gogh.Charles Dickensmentions Dulwich Picture Gallery in his novelThe Pickwick Papers,asSamuel Pickwick,the novel's protagonist, is a visitor to the gallery in his retirement.

Modern history

Rembrandt,Portrait of Jacob de Gheyn III.

In the early hours of 31 December 1966, eight paintings were stolen, three byRembrandt,A Girl at the Window,a version ofPortrait of Titusand hisPortrait of Jacob de Gheyn III,a fellow artist, three byRubens,Three Women with a Cornucopia,St. Barbara and The Three Graces;and one,A Lady Playing on the ClavicordbyGerrit DouandSusannah and the EldersbyAdam Elsheimer.They were worth at least £3 million but a reward of just £1,000 was offered for their return. Within a few days all the paintings were recovered after an investigation led byDetective SuperintendentCharles Hewett, who had previously investigated suspectedserial killerDr John Bodkin Adams.Michael Hall, an unemployed ambulance driver, was the only one of the thieves caught and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Rembrandt's small earlyPortrait of Jacob de Gheyn III(1632) has been stolen and recovered four times and is listed inGuinness World Recordsas the most frequently stolen artwork in the world.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.Since 2010, the painting has been guarded by an upgraded security system.In November 2019, During theRembrandt's Lightexhibition featuring loans works from theLouvrein Paris and theRijksmuseumin Amsterdam, thieves attempted to steal two of the paintings. The attempt was unsuccessful.

In 1995 a major reorganisation of the historic Alleyn's College charity resulted in the reconstitution of Dulwich Picture Gallery as an independentregistered charity.

The gallery marked its bicentenary in 2017. As part of the celebrations the Gallery partnered with theLondon Festival of Architectureto 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.The competition was won by London-based architecture practice IF_DO.

In June–September 2019, the Dulwich hosted the first major exhibition of the works of theGrosvenor Schoolin a public art gallery outside Australia,which was critically well received.

The Gallery reopened in May 2021 after 14 months of pandemic closure with a complete rehang of the collection and the exhibitionUnearthed: Photography’s Roots.

In spring 2023, the Gallery hosted the first major UK exhibition of the ImpressionistBerthe Morisotsince 1950.

Donors

The Judde Memorial,Cartwright Bequest, 1686

The gallery attracted donors from its earliest days. In 1835William Linley(1771–1835)—last ofa musical and theatrical family(many of whom had connections to Dulwich College) and brother-in-law to playwrightRichard Brinsley Sheridan—bequeathed his collection of family portraits to the gallery. Among these paintings were works byThomas Gainsborough,Archer James Oliver,James LonsdaleandSir Thomas Lawrence.

The portraitist and Royal AcademicianWilliam Beechey(1753–1839) donated a picture of the gallery's founder Bourgeois he had painted on the back of a picture byJoshua Reynoldsin 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 ofCharles Fairfax Murray,aPre-Raphaelitepainter, collector and dealer. A group of 40 pictures were donated by Murray in 1911 and others followed in 1915 and 1917–18.

Gallery design

Audio description of the gallery byChristoph Vogtherr

Dulwich Picture Gallery's design and architecture comprising a series of interlinked rooms lit by natural light through overheadskylightshas been the primary influence on art gallery design ever since. Soane designed the sky lights to illuminate the paintings indirectly. Soane's design was unrelated to traditional architectural practice or schools of architecture. Instead of constructing a facade with thestuccoporticosfavoured by many contemporary architects, he opted to use uninterrupted raw brick, a feature subsequently adopted by many 20th-century art galleries. The architectPhilip Johnsonsaid "Soane has taught us how to display paintings".

Interior of the gallery

Before Soane settled on his final design, he proposed a number of other ideas around aquadranglebelonging to the Alleyn's charitable foundation to the south of the college buildings. The schemes proved too ambitious and only the gallery was built, conceived as one wing of the quadrangle. The mausoleum was Soane's idea, as Bourgeois had merely indicated a desire to be buried in the college chapel. Soane recalled Bourgeois' desire to construct a mausoleum in Desenfan's home and his design was axiomatic to that of the Charlotte Street house. Bourgeois and Desenfans, along with Desenfans' wife, who died in 1815, are buried in the gallery's mausoleum.Alms housesconstructed by Soane along the west side of the gallery were converted into exhibition space byCharles Barry Jr.in 1880 and an eastward extension was built to designs by E. S. Hall between 1908 and 1938.

On 12 July 1944, duringWorld War II,the mausoleum and west wing galleries were badly damaged by a German V1 flying bomb and bones were scattered across the lawn in front of the gallery. The threesarcophagiin the mausoleum now contain approximately askeletoneach. The buildings were refurbished by Austin Vernon and Partners and re-opened bythe Queen Motheron 27 April 1953.

A modernist cafe, education rooms, disabled access and lecture theatre byRick Matherwere added in 1999. At the same time parts of Soane's original design were restored and the latest refurbishment was opened byQueen Elizabeth IIon 25 May 2000.

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.

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  Exterior view
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  Dulwich Picture Gallery exterior looking north
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  Exterior – east frontage
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  Mausoleum
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  The main gallery
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  Inside the mausoleum
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  The main gallery in 1922
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  Room 9 in 1922
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  Exterior view in 1922

Collection

Adam Pynacker,Bridge in an Italian Landscape.

Walter Charles Horsley:Old-time Tuition at Dulwich College

Gerrit Dou:A Woman playing a Clavichord

Nicolas Poussin,The Nurture of Jupiter.

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

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  Aelbert Cuyp:Cattle near the Maas, with Dordrecht in the distance
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  Guercino:The Woman taken in Adultery

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  Thomas Hudson:Portrait of a Man
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  Gainsborough, Thomas:Thomas Linley the elder
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  Cristofano Allori:Judith
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  Francesco Albani,Holy Family
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  Michael Dahl:Portrait of a Lady
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  Michael Dahl:Portrait of a Man
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  SirArthur Stockdale Cope- The Reverend William Rogers
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  William Hogarth:Portrait of a Man
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  Bartolomé Estéban Murillo:The Madonna of the Rosary
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  Arent de Gelder:Jacob's Dream
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  Sir Peter Lely:Portrait of a Lady in Blue holding a Flower
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  Sir Peter Lely:A Boy as a Shepherd

Directors

Jennifer Scottbecame Director of Dulwich Picture Gallery in April 2017, followingIan A.C. Dejardinwho had been director since 2005. From 1996 to 2005,Desmond Shawe-Taylor,laterSurveyor of the Queen's Pictures,was the Director.Giles Waterfieldwas Director of the Dulwich Picture Gallery from 1979-1996.

See also

• Dulwich OnView,a blog-based magazine associated with the gallery
• Dulwich Outdoor Gallery,an associated distributed gallery of street art

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 Galleryprovided byGoogle Arts & Culture