The People of Gibraltar
1780 - The Unknown Artist - A Set of Five

Charles Holloway


The Gibraltar Museum owns a set of five rather naive pictures of various places on the Rock. The name of the artist is unknown but they were almost certainly drawn by a military man stationed in Gibraltar. At least one of the pictures is dated 1782 which means they may all have been painted during the Great Siege (see LINK) – which also makes me wonder how the artist found either the time or the inclination. All of them seem to concentrate on a relatively small area perhaps close to a military barracks in the southern district of the Rock. Here are the pictures.


View of the Pass leading to Europa from the north east


Europa Pass


Europa Pass Gates – 24th June 1782


View of the Devil’s Bowling Green with the pass leading to Europa - from the south


Untitled

The first painting looks south, the second probably north. The rather crude “gateway” was later improved upon and made into an arch a decade or so later by Colonel Charles Holloway (see LINK) the Chief Engineer of Gibraltar at the time.

The third I find hard to interpret - presumably the pass entrance lies just out of the picture to the left. The fourth shows an area just above what is today known as Camp Bay. The Devil’s Bowling Green no longer exists. (See LINK)

The fifth must refer to somewhere in the south west perhaps close to where the other ones were painted – but I am not entirely sure where.