William Gell

Cornelius Varley: William Gell , 1816. National Portrait Gallery

Sir William Gell FRS (born April 1, 1777 in Hopton Derbyshire , † February 4, 1836 in Naples ) was a British archaeologist .

Life

William Gell came from a long-established family in the English county of Derbyshire , which dates back to 1209 during the reign of King John . After training at the school in Derby , he enrolled in 1793 at the Emmanuel College of Cambridge University , where he earned a master's degree in 1804. He traveled to mainland Greece and the Greek islands, where he carried out examinations in Olympia and the Temple of Apollo on the island of Aegina , as well as Asia Minor .

In 1814 he accompanied Princess Caroline as Chamberlain ( Chamberlain ) to Italy. That same year he was named a Knight Bachelor . From 1820 until his death he lived in Rome , where he worked as a painter. For some time he worked there with the archaeologist and topographer Antonio Nibby . He was a close friend of Keppel Richard Craven, traveled with him to Italy and bequeathed all of his personal property to him after his death. In Naples he owned a second home, where he received guests such as Lady Blessington and Walter Scott .

Gell died in Naples in 1836 and was buried in the English cemetery there. Although he was by nature a dilettante , his topographical works have gained recognition. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Society of Antiquaries of London , as well as a member of the Institut de France and the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences . His numerous drawings of classical ruins and locations, executed with great care, are in the British Museum .

Works

• A Tour in the Lakes Made in 1797 . Edited by W. Rollinson, 1986
• The Topography of Troy and its vicinity illustrated and explained by drawings and descriptions etc. London 1804
• The Geography and Antiquities of Ithaca . London 1807
• The Itinerary of Greece, with a commentary on Pausanias and Strabo, and an account of the Monuments of Antiquity at present existing in that country, compiled in the years 1801, 2, 5, 6 etc. London 1810; 2nd edition 1827
• The Itinerary of the Morea, being a description of the Routes of that Peninsula . London 1817
• Vievs in Barbary - taken in 1813 . London 1815
• Pompeiana. The Topography of Edifices and Ornaments of Pompeii . 2 volumes. London 1817-18.
• Narrative of a Journey in the Morea . London 1823
• Le Mura di Roma disegnate da Sir W. Gell, illustrate con testo note da A. Nibby . Rome 1820
• Samples of city walls from ancient Greece ... Translated from English . Munich 1831
• The Topography of Rome and its Vicinity with Map . 2 volumes, London 1834. Expanded edition by Edward Henry Banbury. London 1846
• Analisi storico-topografico-antiquaria della carta de 'dintorni di Roma secondo le osservazione di Sir W. Gell e del professore A. Nibby , Rome 1837. 2nd edition 1848

literature

• Edith Clay (Ed.): Sir William Gell in Italy. Letters to the Society of Dilettanti , 1831-1835 . Hamilton Books, London 1976, ISBN 0-241-89467-0 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Le Mura di Roma disegnate da Sir W. Gell, illustrate con testo note da A. Nibby . Presso V. Poggioli stampatore, Rome 1820, ( digitized from Google Books ).