THE ROSE SATIN DRAWING-ROOM, CARLTON HOUSE, LOOKING SOUTH-WEST - William Henry Pyne

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THE ROSE SATIN DRAWING-ROOM, CARLTON HOUSE, LOOKING SOUTH-WEST (SOLD)

William Henry Pyne (1769-1843)

The superb development of aquatint in England after 1770 enabled the multiplication of watercolours in popular form by WH Pyne (1769-1843) in his uniquely British History of the Royal Residences (1817-20). The three-volume set of Pyne's publication is a complete visual record of Carlton House, Windsor, Hampton Court, St James's Palace, Kensington Palace, Buckingham and Frogmore Houses. He achieved unrivalled magnificence on the printed page with the vital approbation of the Royal Family and Household. Volume one was dedicated to Queen Charlotte, the remaining two to The Prince Regent and his brother Frederick, Duke of York, respectively.

Carlton House was remodelled for the Prince of Wales by Henry Holland ( 1783-96), adorned until 1814 and demolished (1827-28) when, as King George IV, he employed Nash to transform Buckingham House into his Palace. Twenty-four plates depict Carlton House and this is one of two showing the same room, based on a watercolour by Charles Wild (1781-1835) now in the Royal Collection. It underlines The Prince Regent's genius in guiding the design of the magnificent parade rooms; the carpet running through three rooms had gold fleurs-de-lys on a blue ground reflecting his sympathy for the ancien regime. The red satin damask was an appropriate background for the Prince's Dutch and Flemish paintings, some here came in May 1814 from the collection of Sir Thomas Baring. The large painting to the right of the door is 'Village Festival' by David Teniers the Younger and below are pieces from the Prince's collection of Sèvres, reflecting his enthusiasm for the style of the Bourbon monarchy, typified by the eighteenth century combination of Oriental porcelain, Dutch and Flemish paintings. The pair of Empire candelabra, bought in Paris from the Paris workshop of Pierre-Philippe Thomire (July 1813), have pedestals veneered in amboyna and mahogany adorned with ormolu mounts based on the frontispiece of the fifth book of Percier & Fontaine's Palais, Maisons, et Autres Édifices Modernes, Dessinés à Rome (Paris 1798).

Aquatint

Dimensions: 267 x 337 mm (10 1 /2 x13 1 /4 inches)

(From vol 3 of the complete set exhibited). See: WH Pyne’s The History of the Royal Residences (3 vols), London, 1819

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