1997.2: Sydney Hotel: The Garden Façade
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© The Holburne Museum of Art, Bath
| Museum number | 1997.2 |
| Title | Sydney Hotel: The Garden Façade |
| Additional title | Sydney Gardens |
| Object type | In category: Pictures » Print » Aquatint |
| Date | 1805 |
| People |
Nattes, John Claude (British painter, ca.1765-1822) (known) - Artist(s) Miller, William (known) - Publisher(s) Hill, John (London 1770 - West Nyack, New York 1850) (known) - Engraver(s) |
| Place of origin | Europe » Northern Europe » British Isles » Great Britain » England » London |
| Condition |
Fair |
| Dimensions |
26.1 cm height sight size 34.2 cm width sight size 27.3 cm height support 35.6 cm width support 39.6 cm height mount 51.4 cm width mount |
| Materials & techniques |
In categories: Pictures: Medium » Ink Pictures: Medium » Paint » Watercolour Pictures: Support » Paper |
| Description |
Hand-coloured aquatint, proof. In a modern mount with gold and watercolour border. View of the rear of the Sydney Hotel from Sydney Gardens.The first floor of the hotel building includes a semi-circular projection with canopy, on which music stands are placed.The platform is supported by Ionic columns, the two central columns framing an image of Apollo with his lyre and a putto.To either side of the building are rows of supper-boxes.The garden is peopled by elegant figures, men women and children, most notably a pair of ladies in muslin gowns with short jackets, bonnets and green parasols; a lady in a blue shawl holding a little boy by the hand; a soldier walking under the portico with a lady; a gentleman in a blue coat leaning against a tree. |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Subject |
Buildings and gardens Townscape |
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| Notes | Plate 28 from Bath Illustrated by a Series of Views, J.C.Nattes, London, 1806.
Sydney Gardens opened in 1795, and were reached via the Sydney Hotel.Among the entertainments offered by the garden, Nattes has shown the balcony from which bands performed, and the dining boxes, a series of little shelters where private groups could take refreshments throughout the day, which extended to either side of the main building. Jane Austen, who lived opposite the hotel with her parents at sister at No. 4 Sydney Place, wrote that 'There is a public breakfast in Sydney Gardens every morning, so we shall not be wholly starved.'
A second copy of this aquatint, A297 was acquired by the Museum some time before 1919. A297 is inscribed: 'J.C.Nattes del // Published 1805; by William Miller, Albemarle Street. // I. Hill, Aquatinta'. |
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| Literature |
James Lees-Milne and David Ford, Images of Bath, Richmond-upon-Thames, 1982: Cat. 268; p.44 Philippa Bishop, Holburne Museum of Art: Souvenir Guidebook, Bath, 1999, p.10. Nigel Nicolson, Was Jane Austen Happy in Bath? A Lecture Given at the Holburne Museum of Art on 27 June, 2002¸ Bath, 2002 Brenda Snaddon, The Last Promenade: Sydney Gardens, Bath, Bath 2000 |
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| Muse theme | Art and Culture in Georgian Bath 1714-1830 |
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| Muse chapter |
The History of the Holburne Collection » The Museum Building » The Sydney Hotel
The History of the Holburne Collection » The Collection » Works on Paper Art and Culture in Georgian Bath 1714-1830 » Art » The Print Market Art and Culture in Georgian Bath 1714-1830 Art and Culture in Georgian Bath 1714-1830 Art and Culture in Georgian Bath 1714-1830 » Leisure » Shopping & Fashion Art and Culture in Georgian Bath 1714-1830 » Leisure » Parades and Pleasure Gardens |
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| Gallery Labels |
J. Hill after J. C. Nattes (c.1765-1822) Sydney Hotel: the Garden Front Coloured Aquatint, 1806 Purchased by the Friends of the Holburne, 1997
This view shows the rear of the Sydney Hotel from Sydney Gardens. Projecting from the back at first floor level was a rectangular wooden Orchestra. It was lit by large windows and supported by Doric columns. From this projected a smaller semi-circular open-air orchestra and canopy. Early plans of the Gardens describe the Orchestra as 'moveable' and show it placed some distance from the hotel. It could accommodate up to a hundred musicians and is said to have been removed from the Apollo Gardens, near Westminster Bridge, London following their closure in 1793. Below the Orchestra was a wide covered loggia. With the exception of those on horseback, all visitors entered the Gardens thorough the Hotel building and the loggia. Before entering the Gardens, visitors were confronted with a large painted transparency of Apollo with his lyre and a putto set between the two central columns of the loggia. Lit from behind and initially obscuring the view, this must have provided a magical introduction to the Gardens. Extending from either side of the building were two semi-circular rows of supper-boxes. These were little shelters where private groups could take refreshments throughout the day. The central space between them was reserved promenading and for firework displays in the evenings. 6-7-2007 J. Hill after J.C.Nattes (1765-1822) Sydney Hotel: The Garden Façade Coloured Aquatint, 1805 Purchased by the Friends of the Holburne, 1997 This view from Bath Illustrated shows the Sydney Hotel, which now houses the Holburne Museum, soon after its completion by Charles Harcourt Masters in 1796. The original Hotel opened directly onto the pleasure gardens, and had rooms for coffee, card games and dancing. The semicircular balcony on the first floor was used for concerts, while dining boxes extended to either side of the building. In 1913-16, Sir Reginald Blomfield carried out major structural alterations on the building to create the present Museum. 1997 20-4-2006 |
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| Places associated with the object |
Europe » Northern Europe » British Isles » Great Britain » England » Bath
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| Method of acquisition | Gift | ||||||
| Provenance | Jonathan Potter; from whom purchased by the Friends of the Holburne, 1997 |
