Building with Columns and Towers

DateProbably 1815-1840

Retailed by Faye Walters

MediumWatercolor on wove paper

DimensionsFramed: 13 1/2" X 20 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1980.301.1

DescriptionStenciled and freehand scene of a large building set in a landscape. It is executed in flat, black watercolor with large areas of exposed support, and the front steps are sponged in grey. The building sits at the horizontal center of the sheet and displays multiple architectural elements. These include two towers that project above the roofline, which is decorated with urns, and two rows of classical columns, the upper alternating with arches and the lower with rectangular openings. Five horizontal rows of small diamond shapes add further decoration to the façade. A roadway sponged in pale brown and reddish-brown leads to the building’s steps, and large trees stand on either side of the edifice on green ground, each flanked by a small, oval tree. Black strokes of grass and two small trees appear on the right, and a plant with two pink, fan-shaped flowers blooms on the left.
Label TextAn architectural design is a unique choice of subject matter for a nineteenth-century theorem artist, as the practice of painting using stencils was utilized more often when rendering still life pictures. The unidentified artist drew inspiration from the Church of Saint-Sulpice, a Parisian church included in Joseph Dufour's scenic wallpaper, "The Monuments of Paris," which began production in the 1810s. While it is unknown whether the stenciler saw and copied an American import of the scenic paper or another printed illustration of Saint-Sulpice, the watercolor subject and wallpaper detail share stark similarities.
InscribedPencil inscription between the towers at center: "Lizzie" underlined by three rows of flourishes.
On reverse: "Warren" appears three times in pencil. Sketch of block divided into nine squares with "x" or "o" in each. Three triangles added on one side.
ProvenanceGeorge Schoellkopf (New York, NY); Bert and Gail Savage (Kildeer, IL); Don and Faye Walters (Goshen, IN); Since 1980, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.