The Wallace Collection – Museum Overview
Peter Paul Rubens, Frans Hals, L'Antico and Johann Fiedler on Show
Jun 13, 2009
The Wallace Collection, housed in Hertford House, London, displays a comprehensive range of 18th and 19th century art bequeathed to the nation in 1897 by Sir Richard Wallace's widow. The museum is best known for its 18th Century French furniture and porcelain. It also has one of the best collections of arms and armour, medieval and Renaissance maiolica, glass and enamels, as well as old Masters, sculptures and miniatures. Entry to all exhibitions is free of charge.
The Marquises of Hertford – A Family of Collectors
The collection was originally formed between 1760 and 1880 by the first four Marquises of Hertford, and the son of the last Marquis, Sir Richard Wallace. The family purchased only works of art that they personally liked so the collection truly reflects their individual tastes.
The Wallace Collection – an Overview
The collection is particularly interesting because, according to the terms of Lady Wallace's Will, the collection must be regarded as complete. Nothing can be added or taken away except in exceptional circumstances or to complete an item already in the collection. Over the years many changes to its presentation have been made, including the Centenary Project of 1997-2000, which created a number of new spaces thereby ensuring the museum's continued popularity in the 21st Century.
The family collection falls into several distinct sections:
- Pictures & Miniatures –The Collection features three hundred miniatures, by French and English artists, from the 16th to the 19th Centuries, as well as oil paintings from the 14th to the mid-19th Century, including pieces by Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt, Hals, Velàzquez, Poussin, Canaletto, Gainsborough, Watteau, Boucher, Fragonard, and others. Also on show are 19th-century English and French watercolours by Bonington, Turner, Gericault, Decamps, and others. One of the most significant pieces on display is The Laughing Cavalier (1624) by Frans Hals (1582-1666). Ironically, The Laughing Cavalier is neither a cavalier, nor laughing! Another important piece on display is The Rainbow Landscape, ca. 1636, by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Rubens was the subject of a recent exhibition at The Queen's Gallery.
- Ceramics – The museum has one of the world's finest collections of porcelain and the display features items from all over the world including18th-century Meissen and Chinese Celadon porcelain, French Sevres porcelain, medieval Spanish pottery, Italian and French lead-glazed earthenwares, Palissy ware, Iznik fritware, and stonewares from Germany. The collection also includes English slipware, French faience and Persian ware.
- Works of Art –This collection includes several groups of decorative art objects dating from the Middle Ages to the 19th Century. The display features gold and silver boxes, copper metalwork, jewellery, French Renaissance enamels, glass and hardstone carvings. Also on view are cuttings taken from French, Dutch and Italian illuminated manuscripts.
- Furniture –The museum has one of the world's most important collections of 18th and 19th-century French furniture. It also has some English, Italian and German pieces. On display are cabinets, seats, clocks and barometers, gilt-bronze items, mantelpieces, mirrors and boxes.
- Arms and Armour – The collection comprises several thousand pieces of arms and armour including Indian, Persian, Arabic and Japanese items from the 15th to the 19th Centuries. Also on display is a selection of European arms and armour from the 10th to 16th Centuries. One of the highlights is the equestrian armour, believed to have been manufactured by the German armourer Ulrich Rämbs, circa 1480. This exhibit shows the magnificent craftsmanship of German 'Gothic' armour.
- Sculpture – This collection comprises almost 500 pieces of sculpture from around the world from medieval times to the 19th Century. One of the finest pieces on display is a bronze sculpture of a kneeling woman created by Renaissance sculptor Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, known as L'Antico (c.1460-1528). The statue, once owned by the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collections, makes an intriguing contrast with the other bronzes displayed in the Porphyry Court. The bronze will be on view until 4th October 2009.
Vorsprung durch Technik at The Wallace
The Wallace mounts a varied programme of special displays. The current exhibition, entitled Vorsprung durch Technik: the innovative work of cabinet-maker Johann Fiedler, will be on view until 29th November 2009. The display features a single chest of drawers manufactured by the German furniture designer Johann Gottlob Fiedler, in 1786. The piece is part of a group of similar items made for wealthy patrons such as Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, later King Friedrich Wilhelm II. The display reveals previously unknown features discovered during recent conservation. Pieces by Fiedler have been known to command prices in excess of £100,000 at auction.
Public Events at The Wallace Collection
The Wallace Collection runs a wide range of public events from art classes for children and adults, to debates, discussions and gallery talks. Further details of all exhibitions and events at the Wallace can be obtained from The Wallace Collection.
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