Sherborne Castle

Thomas Rackett (1757-1840) was an English clergyman and antiquary who studied drawing with Paul Sandby and Thomas Theodosius Forrest. Although he served as the rector of Spetisbury, in Dorset, for over 60 years, he found ample time to pursue his interests in natural history and antiquarian research, both locally and in London. He was a fellow of the Royal Society, the Society of Antiquaries and the Linnaean Society. His activity as a draughtsman was closely aligned with these interests, and most of his surviving drawings and watercolours depict ancient buildings, primarily in Dorset. Prints were made after a number of his drawings and reproduced as illustrations in books and articles on related subjects.

This colour aquatint was made Rackett's watercolour of Sherborne Castle in Dorset (also in the collection, D.2024.ST.6), probably in the early decades of the 19th century, by Henry Thomas Alken. The print is made in the same direction as the watercolour and, intriguingly, the palette is brighter and more varied (and in some cases, differs noticeably from Rackett’s, as in the colours used for the clothing of the small figure at right), revealing the degree of creative interpretation exercised by reproductive printmakers.

The Swan Gallery, Sherborne, Dorset, where acquired by the Spooner Charitable Trust, 2023; gifted to The Courtauld, 2024.