A useful exercise this, examining the resources deployed by the topographical artist in depicting the single building - a literary shrine, from its creation and celebration to its demise (ending with Turner's regretful farewell). Compare the conflicting visions of the grandiose and the intimate, the staffagedotted around the river bank, the temper of the weather and the time of the day. Heavily recommended is Morris Brownell's catalogue for the exhibition Alexander Pope's Villa, Marble Hill, London, 1980 which adds considerably to my own puny collection of battered prints. |