A coffin is carried down the stairs of a gothic church by a procession of monks, lit by the light of the full moon and the flames of the torches that some of the monks carry. They walk toward an open crypt in the foreground. The light from the crypt illuminates the monument on the wall opposite (a knight in armor) as well as two monks kneeling at the opening of the crypt and a third monk holding a thurible. A man with a red cloak stands in the shadows on the left, looking down at the scene at the crypt. The image is intended to be backlit. The light sources in the image -- the moon, the glow shining out of the gothic crypt, and the torch-bearing friars -- are enhanced when the image is held up to a light
Description:
Title and approximate date of production from dealer's description., Unsigned; artist unidentified., Drawn in the style of the painter and etcher Franz Joseph Manskirch (1768-1840), who worked in London between 1793 and 1819., and On paper watermarked "J. Whatman Turkey Mill".
Subject (Topic):
Churches, Funeral processions, Incense, Monks, Moonlight, Pointed arches, and Torches
Interior view of the ruins of Holyrood Abbey, looking down the nave towards a wall with two arched windows. The building is mostly intact but without a roof; a broken column is seen in the center foreground. Figures with torches stand beneath the windows and additional figures are visible through an arched passageway on the right. The moon in the sky above is illuminated when the print is viewed in front of a strong light
Description:
Title, imprint, and series title printed on label affixed to mount, below image. and Date of publication inferred from activity dates of publishers Reeves & Sons and William Morgan. See British Museum online catalogue.
Publisher:
Published by Reeves and Sons, Cheapside; W. Morgan, 64, Hatton Garden; T. Fisher, 1, Hanway Street, Oxford Street; J. Reynolds, 174, Strand; and W. Wilson, Jun., 16, King William Street, City
