Design for Bishopsgate Lodge, at Windsor Castle, Berkshire 1815 - 1830

This watercolor design for Bishopsgate Lodge, at Windsor Castle, was made by Sir Jeffery Wyatville. We see the proposed building sketched in ink, with washes of color adding depth and realism. Wyatville was a master of the picturesque aesthetic, and his skill lay in evoking a sense of place. Here, the muted tones and careful brushwork create an atmosphere of tranquility and grandeur. The design itself reflects the Gothic Revival style, popular at the time, with its crenellations and pointed arches intended to evoke medieval castles and thus, an aesthetic of power. But the image is also a reminder of labor, politics, and consumption, as the construction of such a building would have required a vast amount of skilled labor, from stonemasons and carpenters to glaziers and plasterers. Wyatville's design provided a tangible link between artistic vision and the realities of material production, and this should make us question the divisions between design and craft.