Attributed to Henry Flitcroft

pen and black ink on eight matched sheets of laid paper, mounted on rough canvas, stained and damaged, in its original grained and moulded frame

Richard Boyle, 3^rd Earl of Burlington (1694-1753);
Thence to his son-in-law, William Cavendish, 4^th Duke of Devonshire (1720-1764)

Possible Chiswck Inventory, 1863, p.109. Hanging in Mr. Curreys' Office

There are holes and losses to the surface. There is also acute paper discolouration and staining with other defects throughout. Held in a plain wooden frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This unusually large drawing for the entrance front for the Villa at Chiswick may well have been a presentation drawing by Henry Flitcroft, Lord Burlington's protégé and architectural draughtsman.

Given the importance of the building it is frustrating that so little in the way of accounts documenting its genesis survive. However it is possible to be relatively precise as to the date of this drawing given the survival of a reasonable number of other drawings relating to the project. It shows the elevation as of late 1726/early 1727, prior to the addition of  the obelisk chimneypots which appear in Rysbracks painting of the villa from circa 1728/30. The central part of the drawing offered here is also virtually identical to two other surviving Flitcroft drawings from this date; Chiswick, Elevation of the Entrance Front (Trustees of the Chatsworth Settlement) and another of the same (R.I.B.A). Both these later drawings are on a very much smaller scale and omit altogether the indications of garden on either side of the building.

Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork (1694-1753) inherited the Chiswick estate on the death of his father who had acquired the large Jacobean house there, set in grounds overlooking the river Thames in 1682. The idea of adding to the earlier house seems to have come to Lord Burlington circa 1719 and a drawing by Colen Campbell (R.I.B.A.) has been associated with this. However Campbell, who had worked for Lord Burlington on Burlington House, Piccadilly, was not employed. Rather the Earl himself, fresh from a second visit to Italy and therefore well versed in the Villas of Palladio and Scamozzi, became his own architect. The evolution of the building can be traced in the drawings by Flintcroft who acted as his draughtsman. The building rose between 1725 and 1730. By 1727 it had advanced sufficiently to attract comment. Sir John Clerk of Peniculk commenting, he (Lord Burlington) is building a new house 70 foot square all in the ancient manner... which succinctly captures the revolutionary nature of the building; one that was highly rational in its proportions and looked to the Antique prototypes of Palladio and his school. To achieve this synthesis Burlington had to hand his large collection of Palladio's drawings and Harris points out 'No preliminary or exploratory studies of Chiswick exist. It is as if he studied all the printed sources and his drawings by Palladio, Jones & Webb, given his instructions to Flitcroft & Saville and that was that' (John Harris, The Palladian Revival - Lord Burlington his Villa and Garden at Chiswick, 1994, p. 107.)

Henry Flitcroft's (1697-1769) career started badly, falling off scaffolding whilst working as a carpenter in Burlington House in his early 20's. However it turned out to be a lucky break as the Earl took an interest in his welfare and discovered he had a talent for drawing. Taking him into his service in the early 1720's he prepared Burlington's drawings for Tottenham Park, Wiltshire which the Earl had redesigned for his brother in law Lord Bruce. During that decade he also worked at Chicheley, Ditchley and Thoresby. In 1726, almost at the same time that he commended his work at Chiswick, he was given the post of Clerk of Works at Whitehall, Westminster and St . James through Burlington's influence. His career would continue well into the 1760's remaining in Howard Colvin's words 'faithful to the Palladian cause throughout his life'