Trinity's Chapel Art

In the mid-nineteenth century, when the mania for reproducing copies of European Old Masters paintings was at its height, Raphael’s Madonna della seggiola was arguably one of the most frequently reproduced works. 

Prominent landowner and patron of Trinity College, Sir William Clarke, purchased seven copies of Old Master paintings while in Florence in February 1875, among them a Madonna della seggiola.

Trinity College acquired its version of the painting as a gift from Alexander Mollison around 1880. Following his death five years later, Alexander’s sister Elizabeth donated £2,000 (approximately $4,000) to the College Library in his memory, establishing the Mollison endowment in 1889.

The painting was a much-valued addition to the fledgling collection. It was hung in the original temporary Chapel in the ground floor of the Leeper Building, now the Warden's office. 

Trinity’s Madonna della seggiola is an important part of the College’s rich heritage and offers an intriguing insight into the mid-nineteenth century artistic fashion for Old Master copies in colonial Australia.

Find out more information about the Trinity College Chapel and Trinity's Art Collection.