.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Only a handful of works - all topographical views – can be attributed with any certainty to this highly proficient painter, about whom very little is known. In 1751, he collaborated with John Joseph Bouttats on a bird’s-eye-view of the north front of Beningbrough Hall, York, which was bought in 2005 by the National Trust and now hangs on the Great Staircase at Beningbrough. He is also known to have exhibited at the Society of Artists and at the Royal Academy between 1772 and 1778. His precise architectural delineation and delicate treatment of light is tantamount to Samuel Scott’s and, indeed, a view of Horse Guards Parade, executed around 1760, was given to Scott when it came up for auction at Sotheby’s on 19 November 1969; it has since been attributed to John Chapman on the basis of its similarity to the present, signed painting of Birdcage Walk and is currently in the Government Art Collection, London.
The view shows the west end of Birdcage Walk with St James’s Park on the left. So called because it was built on the former site of the Royal Menagerie and Aviary, established by King James I in the early 17th century and cited in the diaries of both Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn, Birdcage Walk was part of the post-Restoration remodelling of St James’s Park in the 1660s. Morgan’s map of 1682 shows that the formal lines of trees along the north side of the street, manifest in Chapman’s rendition and still visible today, were already in evidence at that time. Beneath symmetrically planted boughs, an orderly stream of courtiers and townsfolk engage in one of the best-liked and most fashionable pastimes of 18th century London society: the promenade.
The adoption of the densely peopled urban prospect, as opposed to the already popular topographical country house view, by 18th century English landscape painters as a major component of their repertoire was prompted by the arrival in London of Venetian artists, such as Marco Ricci and Canaletto, who brought with them an enthusiasm for public and social spectacle. St James’s Park was freely accessible to all and thus provided, for painters, an ideal situation in which to observe a whole gamut of the London public. A rus in urbe (the country within the city), the park and its avenues were a place pose, take the air and catch up on the latest gossip.
The present work achieved notable figures of 23,000 gns. and 22,000 gns. when it was sold in these Rooms on 21 March 1969 and on 23 November 1973.
The view shows the west end of Birdcage Walk with St James’s Park on the left. So called because it was built on the former site of the Royal Menagerie and Aviary, established by King James I in the early 17th century and cited in the diaries of both Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn, Birdcage Walk was part of the post-Restoration remodelling of St James’s Park in the 1660s. Morgan’s map of 1682 shows that the formal lines of trees along the north side of the street, manifest in Chapman’s rendition and still visible today, were already in evidence at that time. Beneath symmetrically planted boughs, an orderly stream of courtiers and townsfolk engage in one of the best-liked and most fashionable pastimes of 18th century London society: the promenade.
The adoption of the densely peopled urban prospect, as opposed to the already popular topographical country house view, by 18th century English landscape painters as a major component of their repertoire was prompted by the arrival in London of Venetian artists, such as Marco Ricci and Canaletto, who brought with them an enthusiasm for public and social spectacle. St James’s Park was freely accessible to all and thus provided, for painters, an ideal situation in which to observe a whole gamut of the London public. A rus in urbe (the country within the city), the park and its avenues were a place pose, take the air and catch up on the latest gossip.
The present work achieved notable figures of 23,000 gns. and 22,000 gns. when it was sold in these Rooms on 21 March 1969 and on 23 November 1973.