Design for Chimney-Piece with Urn
Creator(s): Grinling Gibbons 1648-1721
Date: Undated, but datable 1689-94
Accession Number: SM 110/47
Dimensions: 403mm x 222mm
Materials: Pen and brown ink over graphite under-drawing, with yellow ochre, pink, green-grey and grey washes, and ruled graphite over the wash on the framed panel; base line of design redrawn in black ink; on laid paper
Location: Sir John Soane's Museum
Credit Line (copyright notice for material) : © Sir John Soane's Museum
Online Catalogue Entry : http://collections.soane.org/OBJECT289
NOTES ON THE ARTWORK
The design for a chimney-piece with an urn is the only one to include the dado of the adjoining walls. Gibbons has also run the cornice across the top of the sheet and drawn the architrave fixings for the yellow wall covering on both sides of the overmantel. No alternatives are shown, and the drawing is as much a part-wall elevation as a design for a chimney-piece. The design is a skilful essay in illusionistic display. The monumental urn appears over-scaled and impractical, but could have been truncated at the back, as there is insufficient depth for a complete urn. No cast shadow is indicated on the background panel and only narrow bands of shadow are applied to the left of the pedestal and fire surround, suggesting a relatively shallow projection overall. The word Mosaick inscribed by Gibbons in graphite in the right-hand wall area probably refers to a mosaic-effect, through the use of trellis- or lattice-work, rather than a tessellated coloured glass finish. This inscription appears to relate to the ruled graphite over-drawing on the grey-pink wash of the overmantel panel. Taken as a whole the chimney would have brought together, in a continuous ensemble, white and grey marble for the fire surround, gilded wood for the urn, limewood for the festoons, a trellis-like finish for the panel, painted timber for the frames, and a background wall covering of yellow damask extending from the floor to the underside of the cornice.
Literature: Thurley (2003), p. 179 and fig. 164; Wren Society, IV, pl. 34, top.
Digitisation of the Drawings Collection has been made possible through the generosity of the Leon Levy Foundation.
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Design for Chimney-Piece with Urn © Sir John Soane's Museum
