Grinling Gibbons: aspects of his style and technique

Miriam Kramer

At the age of nineteen, however, Gibbons moved to England, which was then relatively provincial. It offered less competition for his skill as a sculptor and was undergoing a boom in construction, particularly in London, which had been largely destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666. He worked first in York, but had moved to Deptford, near London, by 1671, when he was discovered by the diarist John Evelyn (1620-1706) while working on a relief carving of the Crucifixion after a painting by Tintoretto. Evelyn was so taken by the young sculptor's work that he was determined to introduce him to the king, Charles II (r. 1660-1685). Despite Evelyn's introduction to both the monarch and to his surveyor general, Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723), who was in charge of rebuilding London, no immediate commissions were forthcoming.

In 1678 the first of Gibbons's dozen children by Elizabeth (d. 1719; surname unknown) was baptized. In 1672 he was admitted to the Drapers' Company and was living in Ludgate Hill, near Saint Paul's Cathedral. By the mid-1670s his emphasis had sifted from religious objects to non-ecclesiastic decoration, and he had supplied limewood carvings for two private houses - Holme Lacy in Herefordshire and Cassiobury Park in Hertfordshire. By 1685 Gibbons had a flourishing workshop in Covent Garden and was well established as a provider of decorative carvings. not only in wood but also in marble and other kinds of stone. In fact, a substantial proportion of his income came from stone carving (see Pl. IV), and after the accession of Queen Anne in 1702 it became the sole focus of his work, since her preference for plain interiors changed the fashion from the elaborate wood carving for which Gibbons was known.(1)

His most prestigious commissions included a marble bust (now destroyed) of the painter Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680) in Saint Paul's Church, Covent Garden; the Cosimo panel sent by Charles II to Cosimo III de'Medici (1642-1723); carvings for the refurbishment of Windsor Castle; and decorations in a substantial number of grand country houses. By the time of his death in 1721 his work could be found at Saint Paul's Cathedral, Hampton Court Palace (see Pl. I), Kensington Palace in London, and Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, as well as at Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

The foregoing is a brief summary of Gibbons's relatively long life and many accomplishments.(2) What follows is a consideration of various aspects of his work - his technique, the influences on him, and most importantly, the innovations he introduced in English carving.

Gibbons did not invent the type of carving with which he is now most closely identified, namely decorative overmantels and architectural embellishments. That type of work was well developed in England by Gibbons's time thanks to Inigo Jones (1573-1652). What Gibbons did was to release it from the restrictive formality that was so prevalent when he arrived.

One form of carving he did invent was the trophy panel - a freestanding carved tableau somewhere between a painting and a sculpture.(3) Its appeal to a wood carver is easy to understand, for it was the center of attention rather than simply the surround to someone else's work. Gibbons's greatest example, the Cosimo panel (for which he was paid [pounds]150), is full of symbols celebrating the magnificence of both its donor and its recipient (Pls. III, IIIa-c).

The key to understanding Gibbons's style and his manner of working is to be found in his early years in the Netherlands. As an apprentice sculptor there he was subjected to a number of influences that he subsequently introduced to England. Possibly the most important was his use of limewood (from the lime, or linden, tree) as his primary medium. Another was the workshop system whereby the master sculptor was in overall charge but other craftsmen produced sections of the carvings. And finally, the baroque style was in full flower in the Netherlands at the time, and Gibbons readily incorporated its curves and still lifes into his work.

Gibbons's arrival in England coincided with the introduction from the Low Countries of the fashion for avenues of linden trees on country estates. Thanks to his training in the Netherlands. Gibbons preferred limewood to oak, which was the English carvers' choice. Initially they did not like limewood's lighter color, but eventually they came to appreciate its positive properties. It is strong but soft, it can be carved against the grain and thus is very versatile, and its stability prevents warping. Most importantly, its grain favors the curves and outlines of the baroque style.(4)

Flowers, game, foliage, and musical instruments were among the most popular subjects in Dutch and Flemish still lifes of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. In his carvings, Gibbons rendered them in three dimensions (see Pl. VII) by laminating layers of wood, sometimes using three or four pieces, each about three inches thick, for a single work. Coupled with his superior technique, this meant that the carving looked natural and lifelike when viewed from any angle.

Gibbons also introduced a curvilinear rhythm in his work that was unknown before in England, where rigid linear forms had been the norm for several hundred years. Graceful garlands of flowers, such as those at Petworth House and Windsor Castle, became part of Gibbons's trademark. The double garland surrounding the portraits of the duke and duchess of Somerset at Petworth represents the height of his skills (see Pl. VI).

It is important to remember that Gibbons was not working in a vacuum but was part of a team of decorators called upon to embellish grand spaces. Gibbons and his colleagues were not considered artists but tradesmen.(5) Architects or their draftsmen prepared drawings for their patrons, which were added to by Gibbons and his team (see Pls. V, VIII, X). Usually only half the decorative scheme needed to be depicted on the drawing because the finished product was to be symmetrical. The drawing in Plate VIII shows two schemes, varying in both shape and proportion.

After a scheme was approved, it was drawn full size onto tracing paper (again only half), and then transferred by pouncing onto the wood. The carving was carried out under Gibbons's direction by the workers in his employ Like master painters of the day, who had different elements, such as drapery, landscape, or figures, painted by their assistants, Gibbons had carvers who specialized in elements such as musical instruments or flowering plants or even something as specific as tulips. This almost assembly-line process meant that long stretches of carved friezes and swags could be created relatively quickly and economically.

As the architect generally dealt directly with the patron, it was his name that was usually praised in contemporary accounts of the building and decoration of great English country houses. The elaborately carved embellishments were often simply ascribed to a nameless "carver," which meant that Gibbons did not generally receive the public recognition he felt he deserved. In this light it is interesting to consider the question of whether he signed his work. The only indisputable instance of his doing so is the Cosimo panel, which is clearly inscribed "G*Gibbons*Invent." However, he may also have incorporated his initials into the room decorations of two of his important commissions: the Carved Room at Petworth(6) and the frieze in the King's Great Bed-chamber at Hampton Court.(7) His monogram of intertwined Gs also appears on the back of several of his relief panels.

Historians over the centuries have been puzzled by how Gibbons achieved such a polished look in his work, since sandpaper was not invented until the nineteenth century. David Easterly, a wood carver, almost accidentally discovered that Gibbons achieved this finish by rubbing the wood with a common Dutch weed, Equisetum hyemale, which is similar in appearance to bamboo and is known as horsetail or scouring rush. Nearly imperceptible marks on Gibbons's carvings correspond to the small ridges on the plant.(8)

As with any form of art or decoration, Gibbons's work has been in and out of favor over the years, even within his own lifetime. The plainer taste initiated by Queen Anne was followed by the Georgian and neoclassical styles, again very different from Gibbons's. But by the end of the nineteenth century, renewed emphasis on craftsmanship brought renewed appreciation for Gibbons's work, an appreciation that continues to this day.

I would like to acknowledge the kind assistance of Tracy Williamson at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Stephen Astley at Sir John Soane's Museum, Hannah Hartwell at Saint Paul's Cathedral, and, of course, David Esterly.

An exhibition entitled Grinling Gibbons and the Art of Carving is on view at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London from October 22 until January 24, 1999. A book of the same title by David Esterly, who was also the curator of the exhibition, has been published by the Victoria and Albert in England and by Harry N. Abrams in the United States.

1 David Esterly, Grinling Gibbons and the Art of Carving (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1998), p. 129.

2 For a fuller account of Gibbons's life and work, see ANTIQUES, June 1989, pp. 1444-1455.

3 Conversation with David Esterly, April 11, 1998, and Esterly, Grinling Gibbons, p. 132.

4 London Times, October 22, 1990.

5 Frederick Oughton, Grinling Gibbons and the English Woodcarving Tradition (Stobbart and Son, London, 1979), p. ix.

6 Esterly, Grinling Gibbons, pp. 115-116.

7 Conversation with David Esterly, April 22, 1998.

8 Esterly, Grinling Gibbons, p. 202.

MIRIAM KRAMER is a London-based writer who specializes in art and antiques.

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