The Fitzwilliam Museum

The Fitzwilliam Museum is a museum of international stature and houses world-class collections of works of art and antiquities spanning centuries and civilisations. It was designed by Basevi and is housed in a magnificent modern Grecian building, of fine Portland stone, in the Corinthian style.

The Fitzwilliam was built on a plot of ground purchased of Peterhouse in 1823 for £500. The funds for the building, together with his valuable collection of pictures, engravings, books, etc., making a princely bequest, were left in 1816, by Richard Viscount Fitzwilliam, formerly of Trinity Hall. It was begun in 1837 and carried out, after the death of Basevi in 1845, by Cockerell.

The capitals of the Corinthian columns and pilasters, and the figures on the pediments representing the nine muses, are from designs by Eastlake, and the lions at the foot of the steps on the north and south sides were executed by Nicholl.

The completion was delayed for want of funds, the sum expended on it in 1848, when the pictures were moved into it, having been £91,500. The entrance hall was completed and decorated from the designs of F. M. Baily in 1875 at the cost of £23,030, which makes the total cost of this Museum to have been nearly £115,000.

Here are busts of former members of the University, and one of Home Tooke by Chantrey. In the twelve niches around are plaster casts of antique statues, most of them presented by Sanders. The door into the chief picture gallery is ornamented with white marble Caryatids.

The noble front, with its splendid portico and exquisite columns, deserves a more spacious surrounding. Still it is one of the greatest ornaments of Cambridge, and its contents are gradually becoming worthy of it.

The contents consist of specimens of most of the great masters, among which may be mentioned the "Portrait of an Officer" by Rembrandt; "Venus and Cupid" by Palma Vecchio; "Hermes, Herse and Agraulos" by Paul Veronese; and "A Gentleman and his Mistress," in which the hand of Titian is thought to be traceable.

These three of the Venetian School are from the Gallery of the Duke of Orleans; and they, together with the "Schoolmaster" by Gerard Douw, and various paintings by Teniers and others of the Dutch and Flemish schools, are in the principal gallery. The other picture galleries, the library and the sculpture galleries are also fine apartments.

On the ground floor is a collection of antique marbles, eighty-three of which were presented by John Disney, Esq., who also founded the Disney Professorship of Archaeology in 1851, and many other treasures, among which are collections of ancient glass from Cyprus, Grecian vases, etc.

In the northern room of this floor is a model in ivory, on a scale of a quarter of an inch to a foot, of the Taj Mahal, or Mausoleum, at Agra, E. I., presented by Richard Burney, M.A., of Christ's College, in 1847.

On the ground floor is a Library containing rare and valuable books and also illuminated manuscripts and missals. Among other treasures is the identical volume sent by Henry VIII. to Leo X. which procured for our sovereigns the title of "Defender of the Faith."

The Museum contains in addition:

Artefacts - from Ancient Egypt and Sudan, Greece, Rome, Cyprus and the Ancient Near East.

Manuscripts & Printed Books - Medieval and Renaissance illuminated manuscripts, manuscript and early printed music, fine printed books, literary autographs and archives. Highlights include engravings by Rembrandt and the early German and Netherland Masters; the bulk of the collection is in the Library, but selections, changed from time to time, are exhibited in the galleries;

Paintings Drawing and Prints - Paintings, drawings and prints of European, American and Asian schools, from the thirteenth century to the present day.

Applied Arts - European and Oriental sculpture and decorative arts, including pottery, porcelain, glass, textiles, fans, furniture, lacquerwork, clocks and watches, metalwork, jewellery and armour. Includes

a collection of ancient Phoenician, Greek and Roman glass from tombs in the island of Cyprusand a collection of vases presented by Sir Henry Bulwer

Coins and Medals - Ancient, medieval and modern coins, medals, tokens, banknotes and other forms of money from all parts of the world. Includes a valuable collection of Greek coins, made by Colonel Leake

Opening Times

Tuesday-Saturday: 10:00-17:00

Sunday: 12:00-17:00

Closed Mondays (except Bank Holidays, when open 12:00-17:00)

Admission to the Museum's collections and to exhibitions is free. Visitors' donations help keep the galleries open and are much appreciated.

Website: The Fitzwilliam Museum Website