On 24 May 1813, Jane Austen visited an important and
much-talked-about art exhibit at the British Institution in Pall Mall, London.
The show was a retrospective of the works of Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792),
England's celebrated portrait painter.
No visual record of this show is known to have survived, although it attracted hundreds of daily visitors during its much-publicized three-month run. However, many details of the exhibit can be reconstructed from the original 1813 "Catalogue of Pictures," a one-shilling pamphlet purchased by visitors as a guide through the three large rooms where hung 141 paintings by Reynolds. Armed with surviving copies of this pamphlet, narrative accounts in nineteenth-century newspapers and books, and precise architectural measurements of the British Institution's exhibit space, this website reconstructs the Reynolds show as Jane Austen (as well as any Jane Doe) saw it.
Enter the museum dear reader and friend......HERE....and try to find the painting you see above....:)
1 comment:
Dearest, I am enjoying this tour, this visit with one of literature's giants in story telling. This is what many of live for, to tell the stories of joy and sorrow, humor and intrigue. THANK YOU for this special gift today and visual feast of this video! Nita
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