Dreweatts 1759
Lot 104
Ɵ CONSTANTINOPLE PANORAMA: BARKER, Henry Aston. A Series of Eight Views forming a Panorama of the City of Constantinople and its Environs, taken from the Tower of Galata. etched key sheet with title as above (545 x 440mm.) and 8 **** etched plates (sheets 715 x 585mm.), loose and uncoloured, as issued, [1813].References: Atabey 60; Blackmer 76.RARE. If joined, these plates would produce a panorama four metres wide (each image is approx. 50 cm. in width) and provide a 360 degree view of the city of Constantinople. In 1797 Robert Barker took out a patent which gave him exclusive rights to exhibit such paintings. His first exhibition was of a painting of London and for this his friends provided him with a title sufficiently striking to gain a permanent place in the English language. 'Panorama', derived from the Greek words meaning 'all' and 'view' had its first use in 1791 in the advertisements for the picture of London. Together with his son Henry Aston Barker, Robert opened a fashionable venue in Leicester Square, 'The Panorama', where examples of this new art form were exhibited to an eager public. A form of education and entertainment, the Barkers' panoramas soon became "all the rage" according to the artist John Constable. When their monopoly ended in 1801, the Barkers realised that they had to take steps to ensure their patrons were not enticed away to rival exhibitions. As a result, views from all parts of the globe began to appear at Leicester Square and, in 1801 the first foreign city to be presented at the Panorama was Constantinople. The present plates form a reproduction of the view. Indeed, they represent the only large-scale reproduction of any of the views exhibited. Condition Report: Margins with some slight tears, slight creasing and light dust soiling, but overall in good condition. Condition Report Disclaimer
