Global InformationA Picturesque and Descriptive View of the City of Dublin information
A Picturesque and Descriptive View of the City of Dublin is a set of 25 architectural prints of well-known buildings and views in Dublin, Ireland illustrated by the engraver, watercolourist, and draughtsman James Malton at the end of the 18th century. At the time of drawing in 1791, many of the buildings had been newly constructed and marked a high point of architecture, wealth, and political prominence of the city of Dublin. Malton's prints are arguably, the most important series of drawings of Dublin to the present day and almost all of the buildings illustrated still stand and maintain their position at the centre of Irish social, cultural, educational, political, commercial, and legal life.[1][2]
The images were influenced by and even directly reproduced earlier perspectives and views of Dublin including those by Joseph Tudor in 1753.
The drawings have been copied and reproduced hundreds of times and have become synonymous with the development and progression of the city.[3]
| Order | Illustration by James Malton | Title of print | Status | Date of construction | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Royal Exchange, Dublin | Intact | 1779 | Now usually referred to as City Hall. |
| 2 | 
|
Custom House, Dublin | Rebuilt | 1791 | Partially collapsed following a fire during the Easter Rising but was later partially reconstructed in Irish limestone rather than the original imported English Portland stone. The chimneys of the original design were not reinstated. |
| 3 | 
|
Charlemont House, Dublin | Intact | 1763 | Now houses the Hugh Lane Gallery. |
| 4 | 
|
College Library, Dublin | Intact | 1732 | The long room of Thomas Burgh's Old Library building. |
| 5 | 
|
Provost's House, Dublin | Intact | 1759 | Still functions as the residence of the Provost of the college. |
| 6 | 
|
Trinity College Dublin | Intact | 1759 | |
| 7 | 
|
Powerscourt House, Dublin | Intact | 1774 | The building now houses an upmarket shopping centre. To the right of the illustration can be seen City Assembly House which also still stands as of 2023 as the headquarters of the Irish Georgian Society. |
| 8 | 
|
Leinster House, Dublin | Intact | 1748 | Now houses the Irish houses of Parliament, more commonly referred to as Dáil Éireann. |
| 9 | 
|
Great Court Yard, Dublin Castle | Intact | 1720 | The tower of St. Werburgh's Church can be seen in the background however this was later demolished in the first half of the 19th century. |
| 10 | 
|
St Catherine's Church, Thomas Street, Dublin | Intact | 1769 | Still operating as a church building. |
| 11 | 
|
Tholsel, Dublin | Demolished | 1681 | Demolished in 1809 as the building was deemed to be structurally unsound. |
| 12 | 
|
West front of St Patrick's Cathedral | Intact | 1749 | |
| 13 | 
|
Rotunda & New Rooms, Dublin | Intact | 1791 | Now referred to as the Gate Theatre. |
| 14 | 
|
Lying-In Hospital, Dublin | Intact | 1767 | Still operating as a maternity hospital. |
| 15 | 
|
View of the Law Courts looking up the Liffey, Dublin | Rebuilt | 1786 - 1796 | |
| 16 | 
|
View from Capel Street looking over Essex Bridge, Dublin | Rebuilt | 1753 | Rebuilt in 1872 as Grattan Bridge, the Capel Street buildings remain largely intact. The Old Custom House seen to the left was demolished in the early 19th century. |
| 17 | 
|
The Parliament House, Dublin | Intact | 1729 | Since 1803 used as the flagship Dublin branch of the Bank of Ireland. |
| 18 | 
|
Royal Infirmary, Phoenix Park, Dublin | Intact | 1771 | Now houses the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. |
| 19 | 
|
Marine School Dublin, looking up the Liffey | Demolished | 1773 | It was originally called the Hibernian Marine School and soon after gained a royal charter to become the Royal Hibernian Marine School. The school later amalgamated with other schools to ultimately form Mount Temple Comprehensive School. The remains of the building were demolished in 1979 after years in use as offices of a cold-storage company. |
| 20 | 
|
Royal Hospital Kilmainham | Intact | 1687 | Now houses the Irish Museum of Modern Art. |
| 21 | 
|
St Stephen's Green, Dublin | Intact | 1664 | The green area was originally a common but was enclosed in 1663 with a permanent wall constructed in 1664 for the first time.[4]
In the background the park features a statue of King George II on horseback by John van Nost the younger, erected in 1758, until it was blown up in 1937 by Irish Republicans, the day after the coronation of George VI.[5][6] |
| 22 | 
|
Blue-Coat Hospital, Dublin | Intact | 1773 | The Blue Coat School has been occupied by the Law Society of Ireland since the 1960s. The large tower at the front was never built and instead a dome was erected in its place in 1894. The originally planned quadrangle to the rear was also never constructed. |
| 23 | 
|
View of Dublin from the Magazine, Phoenix Park | Intact | 1735 | The magazine fort itself remains in a derelict state as of 2021 with plans for it to be refurbished as a tourist attraction. |
| 24 | 
|
Barracks, Dublin | Intact | 1702 | Now operating as the National Museum of Ireland and usually referred to as Collins Barracks. |
| 25 | 
|
Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin | Intact | 1749 | The cathedral spire was added in 1749 by George Semple. |
- ^ "Recent Acquisition: Malton's Picturesque and Descriptive View of the City of Dublin (1791) – RBSC at ND". sites.nd.edu. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^
- "James Malton, Architectural Draughtsman - Irish Artists". www.libraryireland.com. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- "A PICTURESQUE AND DESCRIPTIVE VIEW OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN (COLLECTION OF TWENTY-FOUR) by James Malton (1761-1803) (1761-1803) at Whyte's Auctions | Whyte's - Irish Art & Collectibles". Whyte's. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- James Malton (1978). A Picturesque & Descriptive View of the City of Dublin. Dolmen Press. ISBN 978-0-85105-336-3.
- "A Picturesque And Descriptive View of the City of Dublin, Displayed In a Series of the most Interesting Scenes taken in the Year 1791 By James Malton With A brief authentic History from the earliest accounts to the Present Time | Books | RA Collection | Royal Academy of Arts". www.royalacademy.org.uk. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
- "Malton's A Picturesque and Descriptive View of the City of Dublin (1794) – Marsh's Library". Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- Raftery, P. J. (1964). "Who Was Malton?". Dublin Historical Record. pp. 104–114. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ Dunne, Aidan. "Art in Focus: James Malton – St Catherine's, Thomas Street, Dublin". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ Cregan, Michael. "Dublin's Commons under Colonial Rule and the Exclusion of 'Foreigners'" (PDF). Retrieved 5 January 2023.
- ^ Carpenter, Andrew, ed. (1998). Verse in English from Eighteenth-century Ireland. Cork University Press. ISBN 9781859181034. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
- ^ Chastel-Rousseau, Charlotte (2011). "Reading the Royal Monument in Eighteenth-century Europe". Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Retrieved 5 January 2023.