Nonsuch Palace from the South, Joris Hoefnagel, 1568, Watercolour © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
The Victoria and Albert Museum announced the acquisition of the earliest and most detailed depiction of Henry VIII’s famed lost palace of Nonsuch that once stood in Cheam, Surrey. This signed and dated watercolour by the celebrated Flemish painter Joris Hoefnagel was made in 1568. Subject to a temporary export ban earlier this year, it has now been saved for the nation. Purchased with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) and the Art Fund, the watercolour – the most faithful of only six surviving depictions of the palace – joins the national collection of British miniatures and watercolours at the V&A. It will go on display in the Museum’s British Galleries.
Called Nonsuch, as no other palace could compare with it, this ambitious building was commissioned by Henry VIII in 1538. Its towered façade decorated with elaborate plasterwork in a Franco-Italianate style sought to rival Fontainebleau, the residence of Henry’s arch competitor, the French king François I. Its lavish stucco reliefs and carved slate decoration, all portrayed by Hoefnagel in exquisite detail, made the palace one of the most important buildings of the English Renaissance. Still unfinished at the king’s death in 1547, it was purchased from Mary I in 1557 by Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel (1512-80), who completed the palace and most likely commissioned Hoefnagel’s watercolour. The palace was later acquired by Elizabeth I in 1592 and became one of her favourite residences. It stood for nearly 150 years, but was demolished between 1682 and 1688 by Charles II’s mistress, the Duchess of Cleveland, who sold its raw materials to pay off her gambling debts.
Mark Evans, Senior Curator of Word and Image at the V&A, said: “Painted in 1568 by the last of the great Flemish illuminators and a foremost topographical artist of the day, this is a rare and beautiful work of outstanding importance. Among the earliest surviving English landscape watercolours, it brings to life one of the greatest monuments of the English Renaissance, now lost to us. We are delighted to acquire a picture of such quality and historical importance for our visitors to enjoy.”
Sir Peter Luff, Chair of NHMF, said: “The National Heritage Memorial Fund was set-up to protect the UK’s most precious heritage at risk. And on the cusp of being lost abroad we felt it essential that this rare and beautifully detailed artwork, documenting one of our most important lost palaces, stay in the UK for us all to enjoy.”
Stephen Deuchar, Art Fund director, said: “Given the exceptional rarity of this work and its depiction of such a celebrated architectural monument, it would have been very sad to see it sold abroad. So we’re really pleased it will remain here in the expert hands of the V&A, where it can now be shared with a wide public.”
Mark Evans, Senior Curator of Word and Image at the V&A, said: “Painted in 1568 by the last of the great Flemish illuminators and a foremost topographical artist of the day, this is a rare and beautiful work of outstanding importance. Among the earliest surviving English landscape watercolours, it brings to life one of the greatest monuments of the English Renaissance, now lost to us. We are delighted to acquire a picture of such quality and historical importance for our visitors to enjoy.”
Sir Peter Luff, Chair of NHMF, said: “The National Heritage Memorial Fund was set-up to protect the UK’s most precious heritage at risk. And on the cusp of being lost abroad we felt it essential that this rare and beautifully detailed artwork, documenting one of our most important lost palaces, stay in the UK for us all to enjoy.”
Stephen Deuchar, Art Fund director, said: “Given the exceptional rarity of this work and its depiction of such a celebrated architectural monument, it would have been very sad to see it sold abroad. So we’re really pleased it will remain here in the expert hands of the V&A, where it can now be shared with a wide public.”
