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*Townley (Charles (1737-1805)). Three original portraits of Paolo Veronese, Anibale Caracci and A

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*Townley (Charles (1737-1805)). Three original portraits of Paolo Veronese, Anibale Caracci and A
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*Townley (Charles (1737-1805)). Three original portraits of Paolo Veronese, Anibale Caracci and Antonio Caracci, drawn by Charles Townley from the original paintings in the Medici Collection, 1776, fine original drawings on paper, each with caption written to lower margins, occ. minor spotting, portrait of Anibale Caracci slightly damp stained, image approx. 355 x 310mm; 330 x 290mm & 355 x 290mm Charles Townley was a major collector of classical antiquities and marble sculptures, who made a number of long tours to Rome, as well as extended journeys to southern Italy, Naples and Sicily during the 1760s & 70s. In Rome he collected antiquities, especially marble sculptures. He established himself as a serious collector with purchases from the printmaker Giovanni Battista Piranesi and other Roman dealers, and especially from the English dealer in art and antiquities Thomas Jenkins. Over a period of more than twenty years Townley bought at some of the most important public sales of antiquities, among them those of Henry Constantine Jennings (1778), the Duchess of Portland's museum (1786), Lord Cawdor (1800), and Lord Bessborough (1801). Townley was elected fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1786 (and to its council in 1798) and fellow of the Royal Society in 1791. In 1786 he was also elected to the Society of Dilettanti, and from 1799 served on a committee appointed to publish engravings and descriptions of Specimens of Antient Sculpture (drawn largely from his own collection and that of Richard Payne Knight), which eventually appeared in 1809. In 1791 he was elected a trustee of the British Museum, where he influenced the design of the extension planned to house the museum's growing collection. It was not until 1984 that the British museum created a gallery dedicated to the Townley marbles. (3)
*Townley (Charles (1737-1805)). Three original portraits of Paolo Veronese, Anibale Caracci and Antonio Caracci, drawn by Charles Townley from the original paintings in the Medici Collection, 1776, fine original drawings on paper, each with caption written to lower margins, occ. minor spotting, portrait of Anibale Caracci slightly damp stained, image approx. 355 x 310mm; 330 x 290mm & 355 x 290mm Charles Townley was a major collector of classical antiquities and marble sculptures, who made a number of long tours to Rome, as well as extended journeys to southern Italy, Naples and Sicily during the 1760s & 70s. In Rome he collected antiquities, especially marble sculptures. He established himself as a serious collector with purchases from the printmaker Giovanni Battista Piranesi and other Roman dealers, and especially from the English dealer in art and antiquities Thomas Jenkins. Over a period of more than twenty years Townley bought at some of the most important public sales of antiquities, among them those of Henry Constantine Jennings (1778), the Duchess of Portland's museum (1786), Lord Cawdor (1800), and Lord Bessborough (1801). Townley was elected fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1786 (and to its council in 1798) and fellow of the Royal Society in 1791. In 1786 he was also elected to the Society of Dilettanti, and from 1799 served on a committee appointed to publish engravings and descriptions of Specimens of Antient Sculpture (drawn largely from his own collection and that of Richard Payne Knight), which eventually appeared in 1809. In 1791 he was elected a trustee of the British Museum, where he influenced the design of the extension planned to house the museum's growing collection. It was not until 1984 that the British museum created a gallery dedicated to the Townley marbles. (3)

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