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Lot Essay
Richard Bateman (1705-1773) was the fifth child and third son of Sir James Bateman (d. 1718), at one time Lord Mayor of London and one of the original Directors of the Bank of England. Little is known of Bateman's early life, but it is clear that he travelled extensively amassing a vast collection of treasures from across Europe, which he displayed at Grove House, his new residence at Old Windsor visible in the four watercolours in the present lot.
Bateman bought the estate in 1730, and these commissioned views show the house at a very early stage before rebuilding in a Chinese style, as recorded in his portrait by Robert Levrac de Tournières, 1741. Bateman was a pioneer of rococo gardening, his garden an early ferme ornée. Thomas Robins the Elder painted the estate in its final transformation shortly before 1748. Bateman's chinoiserie facade can be dated by the Chinese porch shown in his portrait by Levrac de Tournières dated 1741 (when Bateman was depicted wearing Chinese costume), now in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Horace Walpole described Dickie's garden as a 'kingdom of flowers'.
The four views in the present lot depict various views and aspects of the estate. The first shows his house, once an inn, before alterations, with the Thames on the right, a wooden chinoiserie bridge and conduit house (or gazebo) in the background. The second illustrates the Flower Garden; an ionic temple set in a grove with a circular flower bed on an axis, a smaller circular bed and a circuit of flowers grown around the boles of trees. The third view shows the India House, sometimes known as the Chinese Farmhouse. This extraordinary building was an eccentric amalgamation of ideas; the walls were covered in mussel shells set in the plaster, the panels of the interlace window were filled with stained glass, the porticoes with their sitting areas in antis were decorated with blue and green plasterwork, and the conical cupola was designed in mohgul Indian style. The final watercolour depicts the long view along the Thames towards Remnans, the seat of the family of Sir Frederick Henry Thynne, later rebuilt for the Duchess of Kent in 1746, and today know as Beaumont Lodge.
We are grateful to John Harris for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.
Bateman bought the estate in 1730, and these commissioned views show the house at a very early stage before rebuilding in a Chinese style, as recorded in his portrait by Robert Levrac de Tournières, 1741. Bateman was a pioneer of rococo gardening, his garden an early ferme ornée. Thomas Robins the Elder painted the estate in its final transformation shortly before 1748. Bateman's chinoiserie facade can be dated by the Chinese porch shown in his portrait by Levrac de Tournières dated 1741 (when Bateman was depicted wearing Chinese costume), now in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Horace Walpole described Dickie's garden as a 'kingdom of flowers'.
The four views in the present lot depict various views and aspects of the estate. The first shows his house, once an inn, before alterations, with the Thames on the right, a wooden chinoiserie bridge and conduit house (or gazebo) in the background. The second illustrates the Flower Garden; an ionic temple set in a grove with a circular flower bed on an axis, a smaller circular bed and a circuit of flowers grown around the boles of trees. The third view shows the India House, sometimes known as the Chinese Farmhouse. This extraordinary building was an eccentric amalgamation of ideas; the walls were covered in mussel shells set in the plaster, the panels of the interlace window were filled with stained glass, the porticoes with their sitting areas in antis were decorated with blue and green plasterwork, and the conical cupola was designed in mohgul Indian style. The final watercolour depicts the long view along the Thames towards Remnans, the seat of the family of Sir Frederick Henry Thynne, later rebuilt for the Duchess of Kent in 1746, and today know as Beaumont Lodge.
We are grateful to John Harris for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.