Study for Tattersall's Repository, from Microcosm of London c. 1809

Augustus Charles Pugin sketched "Study for Tattersall's Repository" in pen and brown ink, over graphite, capturing a bustling scene framed by classical architecture. The pillars, topped with ornate capitals, echo ancient Roman forums, spaces of commerce and congregation. This architectural language elevates the mundane horse auction to a stage for social ritual, harking back to the marketplaces of antiquity, where fortunes were won and lost. Consider the posture of the figures, their collective gaze directed towards an unseen focal point. This same dynamic appears in Renaissance depictions of the Annunciation, where the Virgin's attention is captured by the divine messenger. Here, the anticipation is not of spiritual revelation, but perhaps of a prized horse, or the thrill of a winning bid. The scene, infused with a nervous energy, becomes a modern theatre of ambition and desire, played out under the solemn gaze of classical ideals.