C.D.E. Fortnum and the Collecting and Study of Applied Arts and Sculpture in Victorian England

by Ben Thomas

Book by Thomas, Ben

152 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1999

Reviews

[Monica]

I started a lot of these British books (i.e. Roy Strong) after an ISB tour and packed everything away in an attic to do some construction. Many of them I haven't seen for two years. While I scrape off little bits of chestnut-black asphalt from the new roof I'll point out that patrons , donors and collectors can be as interesting as the work they sponsored. The Chigi brothers must have been interesting, judging from the Farnesina and their chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo. Lady Lever's collection is wonderfully excessive. The acquisitiveness borders on sickness but the 'things' are irresistible. A Scholar In His Study explains how hundreds of years ago people traveled great distances to visit people and enjoy their collections. Often their studies were filled with their most precious things so were located on the top floor of their home, far away from the entrance to help insure the collection's safety. Books, sculpture, gems and the allegorical paintings on the cabinet doors in Francesco de Medici's Studiolo attest to the fact that he was quite an interesting man. Instead of traveling to someone's home to enjoy the things in their sudy, now we travel to museums. The essays in this book look dry but I expect to find some treasures. and learn about Fortnum, the man who collected so many things for the Ashmolean, the man who in his way made my trip to Oxford a tad more enjoyable. Sorry. You can all wake up now.