Bath, Art and Architecture: Portrait Sculpture at Wilton House, Part 8. The Statuette of Inigo Jones.

Tuesday, 10 September 2024

Portrait Sculpture at Wilton House, Part 8. The Statuette of Inigo Jones.

Post under construction.

The Plaster Statuette by/after Michael Rysbrack on the Chimneypiece in the Ante Room at Wilton House.

It appears to be unique - I have as yet not discovered any further examples.

Photographs of the statuette taken by the author.

I am very grateful to the 18th Earl and Countess of Pembroke for allowing me to visit Wilton House with my camera and for giving me free access to the sculptures at the house outside visiting hours.

I am also very grateful to the staff at Wilton House, Charlotte Spender, Sandie Buxcie, and in particular the House Manager Nigel Bailey and all at Wilton who made me feel most welcome.

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The first mention of a portrait in three dimensions of Inigo Jones is that of a bust by James Marshall (1598 - 1675).

Marshall whose address was Fetter Lane, according to John Aubrey made the bust for the monument to Inigo Jones in St Benets Church, Pauls Wharf. City of London which was severely damaged in the Great Fire of London and rescued by James Marshall - it has since disappeared.

St Benets was rebuilt and reopened in 1683 by Christopher Wren.There is an excellent mural monument to Baronet Sir Robert Wyseman d.1684 believed to have been carved by Grinling Gibbons with a very good portrait relief by Arnold Quellin.

see - http://www.speel.me.uk/chlondon/stbenetspaulswharf.htm

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The Plaster Statuette of Inigo Jones.

This figure follows very closely the statue by Michael Rysbrack at Chiswick House.

This very fine statuette has long been given to John Cheere but evidence of an earlier statuette of Inigo Jones from 1728 might suggest that it is an early cast by another hand.

In a letter to Sir Edward Littleton in 1758 Rysbrack stated that the casting in plaster was "a thing entirely out of my way".

For the project by Joseph van Haken to launch plaster editions of the Rysbrack's statuettes of van Dyke, Rubens and du Quesnoy mentioned in the Daily Advertiser 19 December 1743.

see - https://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-rysbrack-statuettes-of-rubens-van_7.html

George Vertue wrote in 1743 - 'Mr Van acken – whose draperys silks satins Velvets, gold & embroideryes which he dos paint for several of them painters extreamly well- and is a great addition to their works and indeed puts them so much on a Level that its very difficult to know one hand from another'

From the above news clipping it is clear that van Aken had a business relationship with Michael Rysbrack. Whilst the terracotta statuettes were clearly in his possession, the plaster reproductions were being sold from Rysbrack's business premises at Vere Street, Oxford Market.

It is unclear who cast these statuettes but it is unlikely that they were made by Peter Vanina, who was first recorded working for Rysbrack after 1753. In 1758 when Sir Edward Littleton approached Michael Rysbrack for plaster copies of his own portrait bust, Rysbrack replied that making multiples was ‘a thing Entirely out of my way’, going on to say that he had consulted ‘Mr Vannini, the Caster in Plaster of Paris. (Whom I Employ when I want). Peter Vanina owned a pair of the statuettes of Rubens and van Dyck which were disposed of from his house in Dover Street in his 2nd sale of 3 July 1770 on the occasion of 'his going abroad', (Rupert Gunnis 1951).

The crisp tool marks particularly on the back of the column illustrate that it had been cast from a piece mould taken directly from the terracotta.

Cheere did not establish his business at Hyde Park Corner until 1738.

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The Statuettes of Palladio and Inigo Jones for Henry Hoare of Stourhead

In 1727 Rysbrack sold Henry Hoare of Stourhead a bust and statuettes of Inigo Jones and Palladio, both bust and statuettes have now disappeared.

An Agreement between Rysbrack and Henry Hoare 10 October 1727 states 'a bustow of Inigo Jones in Statuary marble' £35 0 0d, a pedestal £2 10s and two figures of Inigo Jones and Palladio in plaster £ 1 10s.

In Langford's sale of 1766 for Rysbrack, p.4 First day lot 69. Two figures of Palladio and Inigo Jones the original models for the figures of Lord Burlington at Chiswick House.

Info here from Roman Splendour ..... Jervis and Dodd, pub. 2014.

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The Preliminary Drawings by William Kent.

for the Statues of Palladio and Inigo Jones for Burlington House.

Victoria and Albert Museum.

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The Rysbrack Statue of Inigo Jones and Palladio at Chiswick House.

c. 1720/23.

Life Size - Portland Stone.

The Statue of Inigo Jones Paired with a statue of Palladio.

They were installed initially on the main façade of Burlington House, Piccadilly designed by Colen Campbell and completed in 1720 shortly after the return of Burlington from his Italian Grand Tour .

They are described by Cambell in his third volume of Vitrivius Britanicus of 1725 standing in "two niches in flank fronting each other where the noble patron has prepar'd the statues of Palladio and Jones in honour to an art of which he is the Support and Ornament".

They were shortly after moved to Chiswick House. In 1728 and were recorded by a French visitor as standing in one of the pavilions "in one of those buildings two rather good figures of Inigo Jones and of Palladio".

A pair of marble busts by Guelfi were also supplied to Burlington in 1729 - it has been suggested in the past that these are the busts at Chatsworth but I find this difficult to believe given the quality of his known busts. If these busts are not copies of the top sections of the Rysbrack figures by Guelfi -then they are missing.

See the article by Richard Hewlings the Architectural Historian Formerly with English Heritage.

The English Heritage Historical Review, Vol II. 2007. Publication of this journal has sadly ceased.

For nearly everything one needs to know about Kent see the excellent William Kent Designing Georgian Britain Edited by Susan Weber, pub. Yale 2014. Expensive but worth the price of entrance.

For more and the complete article The Statues of Inigo Jones and Palladio at Chiswick House by Richard Hewlings in The English Heritage Historical Review, Vol II. 2007.

see my post.

https://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2017/08/soane-museum-5-bust-of-inigo-jones.html

I am extremely grateful to Richard Hewlings and his wife for their warm welcome and generosity on my visit to their home and for providing me with this article.

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The Royal Institute of British Architects Statuette of Inigo Jones.

This Statuette is entirely different from the Wilton House version.

with the figure here supported by a round column.

Photograph from the RIBA Journal Vol 38. 7th Feb. 1931.

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The reproduction of the RIBA plaster cast of the Statuette of Inigo Jones.

This statuette is a cast of a plaster cast believed to have been taken from the terracotta statuette in the RIBA collection.

This statuette was cast from a plaster cast of the original terracotta by Mark Latrobe of Plasterworks in Cross Street in Islington, for the late Ben Weinreb in about 1995.

The story told to him was that the RIBA terracotta was damaged in the Blitz of WWII and had been restored and cast by staff at the British Museum although Charles Hind of the RIBA casts doubt on this.

The original at the RIBA and a 4 or 5 of these 1990's plaster casts are to my knowledge the only versions of this statuette extant.

Katherine Esdaile published on the statuette in the RIBA Journal Vol 38 of 7 Feb 1931.

I'm afraid that very little of what Mrs Esdaile wrote can be entirely relied upon. She states the RIBA statuette is of plaster when I am reliably informed by Charles Hind that it is of terracotta. She also states that the figure of Inigo Jones on the Walpole Cabinet is the same as this statuette (see below).

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The Lead Statue at Holker Hall.

From the English Fireplace by L.A.Shuffrey. pub. Batsford. 1912.

M Webb in Michael Rysbrack 1954 notes that this statuette was gilded.

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The Kirkleatham Plaster Statuette of Inigo Jones.

Supplied in 1749 by John Cheere to Chumley Turner of Kirkleatham Hall.

One of a series of 19 Bronzed Plaster Casts - 10 statuettes and 9 busts

each statuette approx. 40 - 46 cms tall.

The Art UK website whilst it has some excellent multi views of these objects it does not have this statuette of Inigo Jones but shows a statuette of Spencer.

Illustrated below is a very low resolution image of the York Museums, Kirkleatham figure supplied by John Cheere.

Milton inscribed Cheere Ft 1749.

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Catalogue of the Effects etc belonging to Francis Cotes by Langford and Sons, on the premises South side of Cavendish Square 21 February 1771 and the following three days.

Page 13, on Saturday the third day of the sale in the Pupils Room continued from page 10

Lot 35. Three fine casts from Rysbrack of Fiamingo, Inigo Jones and Palladio.

The Fiamingo presumably the cast first available from Rysbrack and van der Haken along with Rubens and van Dyck which were advertised in the Daily Advertiser 19 December 1743.

The Inigo Jones could be one of the two versions, but I am so far unaware of the survival of any statuettes of Palladio (another was supplied to Henry Hoare at Stourhead along with a plaster statuette of Inigo Jones and a marble bust of Inigo Jones all three pieces have gone missing.

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A Statuette of Inigo Jones is listed in the 1777 Plaster Sculpture Catalogue of Charles Harris of the Strand.

Size 1' 10".

They also sold busts of Inigo Jones 'Large as Life' and 24" which could be paired with busts of Palladio.

see - http://english18thcenturyportraitsculpture.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/charles-harris-catalogue.html

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There is no mention of plaster casts of either the figure or the busts of Inigo Jones in the Catalogue of Robert Shout of c. 1815.

This does not mean that Shout and Co did not produce earlier versions the company was in existence by 1785.

see my blog entry for the Shout printed Catalogue and the bust of Palladio at the Soane Museum and its earlier variants.

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/702151177689238318/6621006501656627815

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The Rysbrack Busts at Stowe and Chatsworth Compared.

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of Tangential Interest.

The Bust of Inigo Jones at Carpenters Hall. City of London.

c. 1780. Ref. Dictionary, Rupert Gunnis.

A bust of Inigo Jones was provided to the Carpenters Hall, City of London

by John Bacon the Elder (d.1799).

There is an extremely fine terracotta bust of Inigo Jones at the Royal Institute for British Architects.

It is attributed to Matthew Noble (1817 - 76) on the Art UK website.

I suggest that this bust of Inigo Jones is in fact by John Bacon the Elder.

Images of it are available online -

https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/inigo-jones-15731652-275409

and the RIBA website - https://www.ribapix.com/Inigo-Jones_RIBA138811

which describes the bust as 18th Century.

They say acquired from James Noble (1794 -.1875) in 1873.

It has an almost illegible painted inscription - Noble 1873.

H 45 x W 20 x D 25 cm

James Noble Fellow of the RIBA was the principal assistant to CR Cockrell.

Nobles address in 1843 was 45, Half Moon Street, Piccadilly

As far as I can tell the two Nobles were not close relatives.

I would suggest that this inscription refers to when it was presented to the RIBA and not the sculptor and that this very fine bust was modelled by John Bacon the Elder.

Another pointer to Bacon is the use of a buff coloured clay - Bacon was long associated with the Coade Manufactory in Lambeth and the clay used here has the appearance of the Coade type buff terracotta.

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Again of Tangential interest -

The Bust of Inigo Jones by John Bacan I on a Keystone above the Entrance Gateway to Carpenters Hall.

William Jupp the elder (d. 1788), architect, exhibited two designs for gentlemen's seats at the Society of Artists in 1763 and 1764. He rebuilt the London Tavern, Bishopsgate Street Within, after the fire in 1765. In 1780 he designed the new entrance hall and staircase of Carpenters' Hall, London Wall, for which the stucco decorations were executed by Bacon. It is richly decorated in basso-relievo with emblematic figures and implements used in Carpentry, curiously and prettily grouped, and with headsof Vitruvius, Palladio, Inigo Jones, and Wren, designed by Bacon.

https://www.ribapix.com/design-for-the-entrance-to-carpenters-hall-london-wall-and-throgmorton-street-city-of-london_riba36894

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Historical Account of the Worshipful Company of Carpenters …… by Edward Basil Jupp 1848

https://ia601907.us.archive.org/30/items/historicalaccoun00jupp/historicalaccoun00jupp.pdf

For a very useful overview see

https://www.londonlives.org/static/CarpentersCompany.jsp