Boy at a Window

Rembrandt’s Girl at a Window (DPG 163) is one of the most reproduced images in Dulwich Picture Gallery.

We’ve seen her on postcards, adverts on the underground, book covers and even deck chairs (no really). She is the ultimate poster girl for the Gallery – and quite rightly, for the painting is beautiful, as is she.

But the last time I was in the Gallery I found myself looking not at the girl, but at the window itself.  In fact, it’s more of a ledge she’s leaning on, rather than any window frame that we would recognise from our houses.

And it’s interesting to note that Rembrandt, in his composition of the picture, has shed some light not only on this girl and her face, but also on the ledge as well.

It got me thinking about where this picture might be set.
What sort of building is she in? What is she looking out at?

Well, now, of course she resides in Dulwich Picture Gallery, the first public art gallery in the world. And this building – with its own, if very different windows – is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year.*

Steve Slack - Boy at a Window

Dulwich is a hotbed of architectural practice and experimentation.
Countless architects and builders have lived and worked within walking distance of DPG and their magnificent architectural legacy has been preserved in the physical history of the area. There is a long history of local building protection and preservation which means that things tend to survive here. There must be tens of thousands of windows in Dulwich alone which have been gazed through over the last 200 years.

And this got me thinking again …
what has changed around here over the last 200 years? where are the other great windows of Dulwich?

I thought it would be interesting to go and find out. There are already plenty of books and online guides to the buildings of the local area, so I’m not seeking to tell a story of local architecture. Instead I’m offering some views of buildings that have struck me as interesting either as pieces of great architecture or with interesting historical stories behind them.

So for DPG’s bicentenary year I offer a series of articles entitled Boy at a Window which will follow in the next few months.

What’s your favourite window in Dulwich? Take a picture and email it to us.

* That’s not strictly true. The building was commissioned from Sir John Soane on Sir Francis Bourgeois’ death in 1811. But it’s still pretty darn old. And here’s a good free fact for you – Soane was so keen to work on the project, he turned up at Dulwich the very day after Bourgeois died!