Gardens Evolving thru Time: 1729-31 Chiswick House & Gardens - 8 Views from Pieter Rysbrack (1690-1748)

Saturday, February 1, 2020

1729-31 Chiswick House & Gardens - 8 Views from Pieter Rysbrack (1690-1748)

1729-31 Pieter Andreas Rysbrack (Flemish artist, 1690-1748) A View of Chiswick House Gardens

Pieter Rysbrack was born in Paris, when his father traveled there briefly from Antwerp, looking for work as a landscape painter. When the family returned to Antwerp, 9 more children were born. Four sons became artists, including Pieter’s brother Michael, a sculptor, who also worked at Chiswick. In 1710-11, Pieter became a Master in Antwerp; but around 1720, he & Michael settled in England, later joined by another brother, still-life painter Gerard Rysbrack. In England, Pieter continued to paint Flemish-style still-life & game pieces; however, he also created a number of topographical landscapes & country-house portraits. Chiswick House & Gardens were created by the 3rd Earl of Burlington & William Kent beginning in 1717. Burlington commissioned 2 sets of paintings of his house's evolving landscape, & he was Rysbrack's most important patron. From the early 1720s, the gardens at Chiswick were in a constant state of transition. Burlington & Kent experimented with new designs, incorporating mock fortifications, a ha-ha, classical fabriques, statues, groves, faux Egyptian objects, bowling greens, winding walks, cascades, & water features. Rysbrack's paintings are full of details that no longer survive: the 2 ponds beside the canal, the elaborate gardens west of the water, garden buildings such as the Bagnio & Casina, & the Jacobean House, which was demolished in 1788.

1729-31 Pieter Andreas Rysbrack (Flemish artist, 1690-1748) A View of Chiswick House - The Pond and Temple

1729-31 Pieter Andreas Rysbrack (Flemish artist, 1690-1748) A View of Chiswick House - The Southern Pond

1729-31 Pieter Andreas Rysbrack (Flemish artist, 1690-1748) A View of Chiswick House - View of The New Villa, Old House and Stables

1729-31 Pieter Andreas Rysbrack (Flemish artist, 1690-1748) A View of Chiswick House - View of the Orange Tree Garden

1729-31 Pieter Andreas Rysbrack (Flemish artist, 1690-1748) A View of Chiswick House from the south-west seen across the cascade and canal

1729-31 Pieter Andreas Rysbrack (Flemish artist, 1690-1748) A View of Chiswick House Gardens from the West towards the Bagnio and Domed Building Alleys

1729-31 Pieter Andreas Rysbrack (Flemish artist, 1690-1748) A View of Chiswick House Gardens from the West towards the Bagnio

About this Blog

Initially mankind tries to gain some control over his constantly changing & often threatening natural surroundings by creating physical spaces to meet his basic needs for shelter, food, safety, & family. Across the Earth, prehistoric man's discovery that some plants harm & others heal was the origin searching for & eventually growing life-sustaining food & early medicines, as well as creating ancient myths about people & plants. A garden became a planned space set aside for the practical cultivation of edible & medicinal plants, and/or for the artistic display, & enjoyment of decorative plants. As centuries passed, many of the "well-to-do" transformed the gardens near their personal living spaces into art hoping to project a desired image of themselves to others - their wealth, power, refinement, & beliefs.