ORThe Open Room
Digital gallery
Back to the NGA collection
The image features a nighttime scene from an elevated viewpoint. It shows an ornate architectural setting resembling a garden or courtyard surrounded by colonnades. The background includes dense, dark trees, a light sky with a pale moon and clouds. The brushstrokes are precise and detailed, emphasizing architectural elements and human figures. The color palette consists of muted earth tones blending into the surroundings. In the foreground, elegantly dressed figures are interacting, while the architectural features create a symmetrical pattern extending into the distance.
Read the visual description

The image features a nighttime scene from an elevated viewpoint. It shows an ornate architectural setting resembling a garden or courtyard surrounded by colonnades. The background includes dense, dark trees, a light sky with a pale moon and clouds. The brushstrokes are precise and detailed, emphasizing architectural elements and human figures. The color palette consists of muted earth tones blending into the surroundings. In the foreground, elegantly dressed figures are interacting, while the architectural features create a symmetrical pattern extending into the distance.

National Gallery of Art · Drawing

A Design for Illuminations to Celebrate the Birthday of King George III

Robert Adam(?), after Giovanni Battista Cipriani

Date
1763
Medium
watercolor over graphite heightened with white on laid paper
Dimensions
overall: 42.3 x 57.5 cm (16 5/8 x 22 5/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Accession number
1990.100.1
Credit line
Anonymous Gift in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art
Time span
1751 to 1775
Department
CG-E
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • British
  • exterior
  • architecture
  • Palace
  • London
  • Buckingham House
Provenance

Acquired 1936 by J. Leslie Wright [1862-1954]; by descent to Mrs. Cecil Keith; (sale, Sotheby's, London, 27 April 1988, no. 416); John Davidson. Anonymous gift 1991 to NGA.

Inscription

by later hand, lower center verso in graphite: Rejoicing for the King's Birthday, 1762 / Drawing by Clariceau

NGA object ID 71664. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.