William Beckford - Palacio de Montserrat
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We were fortunate to be permitted to photograph the remaining buildings of William Beckford. In England we entered the last standing tower of Fonthill Abbey. The first floor had been locked for decades and was filled with antiques and curiosities. The second floor contained a cluttered pile of game trophies and worm-eaten furniture and was so brittle, that we didn´t dare to step inside.
In Portugal, we were allowed a brief visit of the tumble-down Palacio de Montserrat, just before its renovation. Left uninhabited for 60 years, the rooms in the palace were covered in dust. One of the huge ornamental mirrors contained a shattered hole. It was here, where Francis Cook, the last owner of the palace, aimed his pistol and shot at his own reflection in grief after his son and heir had died.
This project would not have been possible without the enthusiastic participation and support of Kirsten Brand A big thank to Tobias Stier for digging through my archive :-)
