Sevilla, Torre del Oro 

Sevilla, Torre del Oro  

Richard Ford, 1832 

Pencil sketch 

This sketch depicts Seville’s Torre del Oro (Golden Tower), which is located on the bank of the Guadalquivir river. The tower was built under Almohad rule in the twelfth century and served as one of two anchor points for a chain that could be stretched across the river to prevent access. The second upper level, also 12-sided, was added in the fourteenth century, and the third, cylindrical, level formed part of the restorations made in 1760 following damage caused by the Lisbon earthquake five years earlier.  

Ford makes the tower appear slightly shorter than it is and appears to give it a slight lean. The sketch is dated 24 August 1832, when Ford and his wife Harriet were based in Seville. Harriet was convalescing at the time.  

The Golden Tower is one of the most emblematic buildings of Seville. It became a favourite motif of artist-travellers. Images of it proliferated in different media: drawing, watercolour, engraving, lithograph and painting, and later photography. It was also one of the motifs chosen for reproduction on Spanish-themed ceramics.  

Title: Sevilla, Torre del Oro. 

Author/Artist: Richard Ford (1796-1856). 

Technique and Material: Pencil on paper.  

Size: 135 x 210 mm.  

Published: n/a 

Date: 1832. 

Marks and Inscriptions: none. 

Institution: Ford Family Collection.