Leliman, Museum King Willem III, Elevation, Dutch Architecture Print, 1865, Paper

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Antique dutch architectural print of the front elevation and section of j. H. Leliman's design for a national museum, 'muzeum: … Read more Antique dutch architectural print of the front elevation and section of j. H. Leliman's design for a national museum, 'muzeum: koning willem de derde', a lithograph printed in full, saturated colour from his album of 1865 to 1866. The plate is the companion to plate 29, again signed by leliman and titled 'muzeum: koning willem de derde' (museum: king willem the third). The upper half gives the full front elevation: a long polychrome brick and stone facade in the dutch renaissance revival manner, a central pavilion rising to a tall, scrolled and stepped gable crowned by a dome, stepped-gable end pavilions, an arcaded ground floor, sculpture groups along the roofline, and a lettered panel over the main entrance reading 'muzeum gesticht willem iii', worked in bands of red brick, buff stone and blue-grey slate. Below, a longitudinal section, 'doorsnede over de lengte', reveals the top-lit galleries behind the facade: a tall central hall with clerestory glazing and sculpted busts in niches, lower colonnaded side galleries hung with paintings, and grand double staircases at either side. At the centre is a large inscribed panel reading 'hulde aan het roemrijk voorgeslacht van oranje' (tribute to the glorious forebears of the house of orange) with the dates 1813 and 1863, which appear to tie the design to the fiftieth anniversary of the restoration of dutch sovereignty under the house of orange in 1813. Together with plate 29, this sheet represents leliman's most ambitious design in the album, a design for a national museum. It is printed in full colour throughout, without uncoloured passages, the most richly printed sheet in this part of the album. Jan hendrik leliman (1828 to 1910), an amsterdam architect and a founder of the architects' society architectura et amicitia, edited the album, gathering in it his own designs and those of fellow dutch architects. His name and plate number 30 head the sheet, the editorial credit runs lower left and the imprint of the lithographer s. Lankhout of the hague lower right. This spectacular antique architectural lithograph would make a striking framed piece, and it will interest museum historians and collectors of the house of orange. The sheet is in fair to good condition for its age. There is creasing, with small chips and short tears along the upper edge, light soiling, a crease in the lower left corner and wear to the edges. Please see the images for further detail. This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed. See less