Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 5

John Anderson Bell
John Anderson Bell King’s College Cambridge Chapel Interior c. 1840 watercolour

c.1840

About the Item

To see our many other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this seller". John Anderson Bell (1809-1865) King’s College Cambridge Chapel Interior Signed and indistinctly dated Watercolour c. 1840 53x39cm Bell was born in Glasgow; his father was James Bell, advocate and his sister Jane Cross Simpson the hymn-writer and poet. Following Edinburgh University Bell spent 1829 and 1830 in Rome as an art student, returning to the UK to serve his articles as an architect with Rickman & Hutchinson, the gothic revivalist practice in Birmingham. Subsequently he practised in Edinburgh, designing country houses, and the Victoria Buildings in Glasgow for the Conservative politician Archibald Orr Ewing in Scottish baronial style. Thirty of the engravings in John Le Keux’s magnificent 1847 book Memorials of Cambridge are from paintings by Bell; this particular painting is believed to have been painted at the same time, although not published. The Great East Window depicted in the painting was created between 1526 and 1531 by Gaylon Hone and three partners (one Flemish and two English) and – together with the other sixteen they made – represent some of the finest stained glass of their period. Here Bell has captured the colours and the light of the window in almost magical fashion. It is an interesting view as it records the chapel in the mid nineteenth century. In 1968 the installation of Rubens’ the Adoration of the Magi as an altarpiece involved the lowering of the Sanctuary floor through removal of the steps clearly visible in Bell’s view and also removal of the seventeenth century panelling around the walls. It is still felt that the chapel would have been better left ‘unimproved’ and without the Reubens, though the form recorded by Bell had itself been improved in 1906 when Detmar Blow designed a reredos. Blow’s reredos remains in storage in the College. The East window may be viewed in high resolution in the series of seven short films – accompanied by music by King’s alumnus Francis Grier – entitled Sword in the Soul.
  • Creator:
    John Anderson Bell (1809 - 1865)
  • Creation Year:
    c.1840
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 20.87 in (53 cm)Width: 15.36 in (39 cm)
  • Medium:
    Watercolor
  • Movement & Style:
    Realist
  • Period:
    1830-1839
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU79532515881
More From This SellerView All
  • Hubert Hennes New College Oxford University Cloisters sketch
    By Hubert Hennes
    Located in London, GB
    To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge , particularly suitable for wedding and graduation presents, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the view you want. Hubert Hennes (1907 - 1986) New College...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century Realist Interior Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Watercolor

    Hubert Hennes New College Oxford University Cloisters sketch

    Hubert Hennes
    Hubert Hennes New College Oxford University Cloisters sketch, 20th century

  • John Chessell Buckler 1810 Westminster Abbey Nave watercolour London Britain
    By John Chessell Buckler
    Located in London, GB
    John Chessel Buckler (1793 - 1894) The Nave of Westminster Abbey Watercolour 25 x 17 cm Signed, titled and dated 1810. John Chessell Buckler was a British architect, the eldest son of the architect John Buckler. His work included restorations of country houses and at the University of Oxford. Buckler received art lessons from the painter Francis Nicholson...
    Category

    1810s Realist Interior Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Watercolor

    John Chessell Buckler 1810 Westminster Abbey Nave watercolour London Britain

    John Chessell Buckler
    John Chessell Buckler 1810 Westminster Abbey Nave watercolour London Britain, 1810

  • Hubert Hennes New College Oxford Cloisters watercolour
    By Hubert Hennes
    Located in London, GB
    To see our other original vintage public information posters, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the poster you want. Hubert Hennes (b.1907) New College...
    Category

    Mid-20th Century Realist Interior Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Watercolor

    Hubert Hennes New College Oxford Cloisters watercolour

    Hubert Hennes
    Hubert Hennes New College Oxford Cloisters watercolour, 20th century

  • St John’s College, Oxford dining hall drawing by Bryan de Grineau
    By Bryan De Grineau
    Located in London, GB
    To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the ...
    Category

    1950s Realist Interior Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Pencil

    St John’s College, Oxford dining hall drawing by Bryan de Grineau

    Bryan De Grineau
    St John’s College, Oxford dining hall drawing by Bryan de Grineau, 1955

  • St John’s College, Oxford Canterbury Quad drawing by Bryan de Grineau
    By Bryan De Grineau
    Located in London, GB
    To see our other views of Oxford and Cambridge, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller" - or send us a message if you cannot find the ...
    Category

    1950s Realist Interior Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Pencil

    St John’s College, Oxford Canterbury Quad drawing by Bryan de Grineau

    Bryan De Grineau
    St John’s College, Oxford Canterbury Quad drawing by Bryan de Grineau

  • Charterhouse School Chapel watercolour by Meadows-Frost
    Located in London, GB
    To see our other public school pictures, scroll down to "More from this Seller" and below it click on "See all from this Seller." Meadows-Frost (possibly Sir John Meadows Frost [185...
    Category

    1890s Interior Drawings and Watercolors

    Materials

    Watercolor

    Charterhouse School Chapel watercolour by Meadows-Frost

    Meadows-Frost
    Charterhouse School Chapel watercolour by Meadows-Frost, 1894

You May Also Like

Recently Viewed

View All

More Ways To Browse

Mid Century Interior Design
Antique Style Interior
Interior Design Drawings
John Mayer
Antique Bell Bells
Antique Bells Bells
Antique Bells
Bells Antique
Antique House Interiors
Anders Anderson
Cambridge Paintings
Painted Bells
King John
Paintings With Bells
Chapel Paintings
Anderson Design
King And Country
Cambridge Glasses
View All Popular Interior Drawings and Watercolors Searches