Richardson (William)

, F. Rutledge, c.1850. an interesting view, not so much for the well-known primary subject, beautiful as it is being centred on St Peter’s Basilica as seen along the Tiber from beyond the Ponte Sant’Angelo and adjacent Castel Sant’Angelo, but from it being taken from a presumably very large painting on display at the Royal Surrey Zoological Gardens. This hugely popular attraction was founded in Walworth, a district in South London, by Edward Cross, the ex-keeper of the menagerie at Exeter-Change in the City, London’s largest animal emporium, and Henry Phillips, a landscape gardener, botanist and author. The extensive gardens included statues and ornamental buildings, a large lake with islands, as well as a rich population of exotic trees, shrubs, birds, reptiles and animals. It was also a regular venue for special events like flower shows, balloon ascents, and a succession of ‘Splendid New Spectacles’, not least what were called the ‘Colossal Pictorial Typorama’. Staged between 1837 and 1856, these painted canvas and low relief scenes included views of Naples, Vesuvius an Pompeii, the Great Fire of London, and the Rock of Gibraltar. Whether this view of Rome was on that scale we can’t be sure, but its predominant perspective suggests it was intended to draw the viewer in to the majestic charm of the Eternal City, as if floating on one of the covered gondolas seen along the riverbanks and under the famous bridge.. 245 by 305mm (9¾ by 12 inches).