William James Müller

Fountainebleau: The Court of Honour

published 1841

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Artist: William James Müller 1812–1845
Medium: Watercolour on paper
Dimensions: Support: 297 × 432 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Presented by Lady Weston as part of the Sir Joseph Weston Gift 1908
Reference: N02361

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In the summer of 1840 Müller travelled in France, sketching the great sixteenth-century chateaux in preparation for a volume of lithographs, Müller’s Sketches of the Age of Francis 1st, published the following year. This shows the courtyard at the heart of Francis I’s favourite palace, Fontainbleau.

Such historical subjects had traditionally been the topic of dry written histories and dull antiquarian illustration. But in the early nineteenth century a market for popular history emerged. Vivid and romantic illustrations like this brought the ‘Olden Times’ to life.

Gallery label, August 2004

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