Baroque in Britain
To coincide with Radio 3's Baroque Spring season and the series of programmes on Baroque in Britain on Radio 4, a list of prints highlighting some of the great names and achievements of this style and period:
King Charles I played a key role in bringing continental artists to Europe. During his reign the likes of Rubens and Orazio Gentileschi spent time in London executing major commissions. This engraving was made from van Dyck's famous 'triple portrait' of Charles (now in the Royal Collection), itself executed to send to Italy as the basis for a marble bust of Charles by another great baroque artist, Bernini:
Charles The First, King of Great Britain, &c. &c. &c.
Antonius Vandyck Eques pinxit. Aug.t 12.th 1817. W. Sharp, Member of the Imperial & Royal Academy of Vienna, sculpsit.
London: Pub.d 1.st Feb.y, 1815 for the Select Work of Celebrated Portraits and Illustrious Characters, after Pictures of the Great Masters of the various Schools of Painting, under the direction of W.m Buchanan Esq.r By Mr. Dixon Jun.r at the Historick Gallery, 87, & also at 60, Pall Mall.
Engraving on india. Plate 470 x 368mm. 18½ x 14½". Occasional surface damage.
[Ref: 24232] £160.00 (£192.00 incl.VAT)
The starting point for the Radio 4 series is the execution of Charles I at Whitehall, right next to another Baroque masterpiece, Rubens' celebrated ceiling in the Banqueting House. That moment is graphically depicted in this Dutch print:
Karel de I. Koning van Engelandt, onthoofd te Whitehal den 30 January des Jaars 1649. [Below:] D. Men breekt het standbeeldt van Karel den I. af.
B. Picart del. et sculp. 1730.
Covens et Mortier excud. [n.d. c.1730.]
Etching and engraving, rare. Sheet 173 x 190mm. 6¾ x 7½".
[Ref: 27305] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)
Another representation of Charles I discussed in the Radio 4 programme is Hubert Le Sueur's bronze statue from 1638, which the metalsmith John Rivet was instructed to have melted down following the Civil War. However, it was kept by Rivet and sold to Charles II following the Restoration, where it can still be seen between Trafalgar Square and Whitehall:
Place Trafalgar Londres. Trafalgar Square london.
Dessine et lith. par Jules Arnout. Imp. Lemercier, a Paris.
Paris, Bulla Freres et Jouy, Editeurs. London, E. Gambart & Co. 25 Berners St. Oxf. St [n.d., c.1840].
Coloured lithograph, sheet 340 x 455mm. Slightly trimmed.
[Ref: 8749] £290
Following the Great Fire of 1666, Christopher Wren played an important part in the rebuilding of London:
Christophorus Wren Eques, Aedificiorum Regalium per totam Angliam Praefectus, Basilicae Paulinae, Templorum, Operumqe Publicorum Urbis Londinensis Post fatale Incendium Ao. Dni. MDCLXVI, Architectus, Curatorqe. Generalis. A.D. 1713, Aet. 81.
G. Kneller S.R. Imp. et Angel. Eques Aur. Pinx.
Sold by J. Smith at ye Lyon & Crown in Russell Street Covent Garden. [n.d. c.1711] Sold by M. Hennekin at the Corner of Hemmings Row, in St. Martins Lane.
Fine mezzotint. Mounted on an album page. 340 x 251mm. 13½ x 10". Cut and laid on sheet. Some glue staining to the corners.
[Ref: 12847] £350
He was one of several intellectuals to propose new layouts for the London- this was Wren's proposal for rebuilding the city:
A Plan for Rebuilding the City of London...
Sparrow sculpt. [c.1800]
Engraving with hand-colouring, 205 x 380mm
Laid on board
£120
while the diarist John Evelyn was another to put forward his suggestions:
London Restored or Sir John Evelyn's Plan...
B. Cole sculpt [c.1800]
Engraving, platemark 215 x 355mm
£100
Although Wren's plan was not realised, he designed many of the most prominent public buildings in the generation following the fire, as listed in this tribute to his achievement:
Synopsis Ædificiorum Publicorum Di Christophori Wren Equitis Aur. Archtecti Regii.~ A Catalogue of the Churches of the City of London Royal Palaces, hospitals, and Publick Edifices; Built by Sr. Chrisstopher Wren Kt. Surveyor General of the Royal-Works...
H.Hussbergh Sculp.
Printed for Sam. Harding in St. Martin's Lane, Dan Brown near Temple Bar. & Wm. Bathoe in Church Lane near St. Martin's Church in the Strand.
Engraving. 300 x 435mm.
[Ref: 3391] £230
Amongst Wren's Baroque landmarks are the 202ft Doric column, the Monument, which commemorates the fire...
[The Monument.] In perpetuam memoriam celeberrimæ Urbis flammis prope desolatæ Anno prodigioso 1666... This famous Column eas Erected in perpetual remembrance of the dreadfull Fire of London, in the Yeare 1666...
Guli. Lodge Eboracencis delin: et fecit. P.Tempest exc.
Printed and Sold by Christop.r Browne at the Globe the West end of St Pauls Church London. [n.d., c.1690.]
Very rare engraving. 640 x 410mm. Folded near bottom, repaired tear, some creasing, laid on album sheet.
[Ref: 23244] £380
...and which carries this sculpted basso-relievo by Caius Cibber showing the King protecting the city:
Sculpture in Basso-Relievo, Executed by Caius Gabriel Cibber, on the Western Front of the Base of the Monument, in Commemoration of the Fire of London.
Wilkinson's Londina Illustrata. 1834.
Engraving. Plate 322 x 247mm. 12¾ x 9¾".
Caius Gabriel Cibber (1630-1700) was the Danish sculptor responsible for the bas-reliefs for Christopher Wren's Monument to the Great Fire of London. It displays the destruction of the City; with King Charles II, and his brother, James, the Duke of York surrounded by Liberty, Architecture, and Science giving directions for the its restoration.
[Ref: 20263] £70.00 (£84.00 incl.VAT)
...and St. Paul's Cathedral, described in the Radio 4 programme as 'the great monument to British baroque' (although Wren's original :
The North-West Prospect of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul's London.
D. Stoopendaal Fecit.
[London, originally published by Henry Overton c.1730, this impression c.1780s.]
Engraving, 485 x 690mm. 19 x 27¼". Vertical folds.
Print made by Amsterdam engraver Daniel Stoopendaal (1650 - 1740).
[Ref: 14742] £280
St Paul's features the wood-carvings of another great British Baroque figure (although he was actually Dutch), Grinling Gibbons, seen here in a mezzotint taken from Kneller's portrait in the National Portrait Gallery:
Mr. Grinlin Gibbons.
G. Kneller pinx. I. Smith fe: & exc:
[1690].
Mezzotint. 270 x 350mm. 11¾ x 13¾". Trimmed. Cut to inside platemark; false margins added.
Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721), woodcarver and sculptor.
CS: 105. I of II.
[Ref: 26939] £160.00 (£192.00 incl.VAT)
The arrival of Italian opera in England, another key Baroque event, took place in February 1711 with the premiere of Rinaldo by G.F. Handel, whose 'more of everything' approach marked a decisive break with the music of Henry Purcell:
[George Frideric Handel]
T. Hudson pinx.t J.J. Hinchliff sculp.t
Mixed-method engraving with large margins, platemark 390 x 290mm (15¼ x 11½"). Proof before title.
Portrait of George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759), engraved from a portrait by Thomas Hudson (Hamburg, State and University Library) by John James Hincliffe (c.1827-1838, fl.).
[Ref: 24557] £220
Further European innovations were incorporated by Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, Ambassador to the Prussian court in Berlin, who after purchasing Stainborough Hall in 1708 oversaw the addition of a Baroque wing between 1709 and 1715 which owed much to the style favoured by European nobility:
His Excellency Thomas Earl of Stafford Viscount Wentworth of Wentworth Woodhouse & of Stainborough. Baron Newmarch Oversley and Raby...
G: Kneller Eques pinxit 1714. Geo: Vertue Sculpsit.
Fine engraving. Mounted on an album page. Image 382 x 274mm. 15 x 9¾". Cut and laid on sheet.
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (1672-1739) was a diplomat and First Lord of the Admiralty.
From the Belton House Collection assembled in the 18th Century by the Rt. Hon. John Ld. Brownlow, Baron Charleville, & Viscount Tyrconnel in the Kingdom of Ireland. Ex: Collection of The Hon. C. Lenno
[Ref: 12863] £230
By the time Wentworth was succeeded by his son William in 1739, Baroque was falling from fashion, so William had a Palladian wing added to keep up with the architectural taste then sweeping the nation.
The BBC Radio 4 programmes on Baroque in Britain are available to listen to on BBC iPlayer.
King Charles I played a key role in bringing continental artists to Europe. During his reign the likes of Rubens and Orazio Gentileschi spent time in London executing major commissions. This engraving was made from van Dyck's famous 'triple portrait' of Charles (now in the Royal Collection), itself executed to send to Italy as the basis for a marble bust of Charles by another great baroque artist, Bernini:
Antonius Vandyck Eques pinxit. Aug.t 12.th 1817. W. Sharp, Member of the Imperial & Royal Academy of Vienna, sculpsit.
London: Pub.d 1.st Feb.y, 1815 for the Select Work of Celebrated Portraits and Illustrious Characters, after Pictures of the Great Masters of the various Schools of Painting, under the direction of W.m Buchanan Esq.r By Mr. Dixon Jun.r at the Historick Gallery, 87, & also at 60, Pall Mall.
Engraving on india. Plate 470 x 368mm. 18½ x 14½". Occasional surface damage.
[Ref: 24232] £160.00 (£192.00 incl.VAT)
The starting point for the Radio 4 series is the execution of Charles I at Whitehall, right next to another Baroque masterpiece, Rubens' celebrated ceiling in the Banqueting House. That moment is graphically depicted in this Dutch print:
B. Picart del. et sculp. 1730.
Covens et Mortier excud. [n.d. c.1730.]
Etching and engraving, rare. Sheet 173 x 190mm. 6¾ x 7½".
[Ref: 27305] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)
Another representation of Charles I discussed in the Radio 4 programme is Hubert Le Sueur's bronze statue from 1638, which the metalsmith John Rivet was instructed to have melted down following the Civil War. However, it was kept by Rivet and sold to Charles II following the Restoration, where it can still be seen between Trafalgar Square and Whitehall:
Dessine et lith. par Jules Arnout. Imp. Lemercier, a Paris.
Paris, Bulla Freres et Jouy, Editeurs. London, E. Gambart & Co. 25 Berners St. Oxf. St [n.d., c.1840].
Coloured lithograph, sheet 340 x 455mm. Slightly trimmed.
[Ref: 8749] £290
Following the Great Fire of 1666, Christopher Wren played an important part in the rebuilding of London:
G. Kneller S.R. Imp. et Angel. Eques Aur. Pinx.
Sold by J. Smith at ye Lyon & Crown in Russell Street Covent Garden. [n.d. c.1711] Sold by M. Hennekin at the Corner of Hemmings Row, in St. Martins Lane.
Fine mezzotint. Mounted on an album page. 340 x 251mm. 13½ x 10". Cut and laid on sheet. Some glue staining to the corners.
[Ref: 12847] £350
He was one of several intellectuals to propose new layouts for the London- this was Wren's proposal for rebuilding the city:
Sparrow sculpt. [c.1800]
Engraving with hand-colouring, 205 x 380mm
Laid on board
£120
while the diarist John Evelyn was another to put forward his suggestions:
B. Cole sculpt [c.1800]
Engraving, platemark 215 x 355mm
£100
Although Wren's plan was not realised, he designed many of the most prominent public buildings in the generation following the fire, as listed in this tribute to his achievement:
H.Hussbergh Sculp.
Printed for Sam. Harding in St. Martin's Lane, Dan Brown near Temple Bar. & Wm. Bathoe in Church Lane near St. Martin's Church in the Strand.
Engraving. 300 x 435mm.
[Ref: 3391] £230
Amongst Wren's Baroque landmarks are the 202ft Doric column, the Monument, which commemorates the fire...
Guli. Lodge Eboracencis delin: et fecit. P.Tempest exc.
Printed and Sold by Christop.r Browne at the Globe the West end of St Pauls Church London. [n.d., c.1690.]
Very rare engraving. 640 x 410mm. Folded near bottom, repaired tear, some creasing, laid on album sheet.
[Ref: 23244] £380
...and which carries this sculpted basso-relievo by Caius Cibber showing the King protecting the city:
Wilkinson's Londina Illustrata. 1834.
Engraving. Plate 322 x 247mm. 12¾ x 9¾".
Caius Gabriel Cibber (1630-1700) was the Danish sculptor responsible for the bas-reliefs for Christopher Wren's Monument to the Great Fire of London. It displays the destruction of the City; with King Charles II, and his brother, James, the Duke of York surrounded by Liberty, Architecture, and Science giving directions for the its restoration.
[Ref: 20263] £70.00 (£84.00 incl.VAT)
...and St. Paul's Cathedral, described in the Radio 4 programme as 'the great monument to British baroque' (although Wren's original :
D. Stoopendaal Fecit.
[London, originally published by Henry Overton c.1730, this impression c.1780s.]
Engraving, 485 x 690mm. 19 x 27¼". Vertical folds.
Print made by Amsterdam engraver Daniel Stoopendaal (1650 - 1740).
[Ref: 14742] £280
St Paul's features the wood-carvings of another great British Baroque figure (although he was actually Dutch), Grinling Gibbons, seen here in a mezzotint taken from Kneller's portrait in the National Portrait Gallery:
G. Kneller pinx. I. Smith fe: & exc:
[1690].
Mezzotint. 270 x 350mm. 11¾ x 13¾". Trimmed. Cut to inside platemark; false margins added.
Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721), woodcarver and sculptor.
CS: 105. I of II.
[Ref: 26939] £160.00 (£192.00 incl.VAT)
The arrival of Italian opera in England, another key Baroque event, took place in February 1711 with the premiere of Rinaldo by G.F. Handel, whose 'more of everything' approach marked a decisive break with the music of Henry Purcell:
T. Hudson pinx.t J.J. Hinchliff sculp.t
Mixed-method engraving with large margins, platemark 390 x 290mm (15¼ x 11½"). Proof before title.
Portrait of George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759), engraved from a portrait by Thomas Hudson (Hamburg, State and University Library) by John James Hincliffe (c.1827-1838, fl.).
[Ref: 24557] £220
Further European innovations were incorporated by Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, Ambassador to the Prussian court in Berlin, who after purchasing Stainborough Hall in 1708 oversaw the addition of a Baroque wing between 1709 and 1715 which owed much to the style favoured by European nobility:
G: Kneller Eques pinxit 1714. Geo: Vertue Sculpsit.
Fine engraving. Mounted on an album page. Image 382 x 274mm. 15 x 9¾". Cut and laid on sheet.
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (1672-1739) was a diplomat and First Lord of the Admiralty.
From the Belton House Collection assembled in the 18th Century by the Rt. Hon. John Ld. Brownlow, Baron Charleville, & Viscount Tyrconnel in the Kingdom of Ireland. Ex: Collection of The Hon. C. Lenno
[Ref: 12863] £230
By the time Wentworth was succeeded by his son William in 1739, Baroque was falling from fashion, so William had a Palladian wing added to keep up with the architectural taste then sweeping the nation.
The BBC Radio 4 programmes on Baroque in Britain are available to listen to on BBC iPlayer.
