Grinling Gibbons sounds like the sort of oath Captain Haddock might roar, probably preceded by “great”, when enraged. Yesterday I pointed out his, I thought, quite rare stone font in St James’ Church, Piccadilly.
If I might digress, friends and relations have been married there because it‘s convenient for parties at the Ritz. More recently it has been the venue for memorial services: Paddy Leigh Fermor and John Julius Norwich – both corkers.
Today I got round to reading the Church Monuments Society newsletter and am better informed about GG. It is the tercentenary of his death, so you don’t need to have passed Maths “O” Level to work out he died in 1721. He was born in 1648 in Rotterdam, the son of an English draper. He came to England as a young man to work as a ships’ carver in Deptford. At least one reader will be gratified that he became a liveryman of the Drapers’ Company by patrimony (natch) in 1672.
Clive J Easter modestly calls his article “ … some thoughts on his monuments”. It is a scholarly tour of GG’s church monuments, as spectacular as his woodwork. If I might digress, I went on a school trip to Petworth and remember being impressed by the skill, quality, call it what you will, of Gibbons’ carving. I also remember feeling a bit unwell on the bus and, assuming I wouldn’t feel up to lunch, tidily got sick into my picnic bag. Unfortunate as a hungry teenager needs fodder.
I hope that won’t put you off seeing some very fine funerary monuments designed by GG. To be transparent, like Andy Warhol, Fabergé and others he had a workshop. Others brought his creations to life and the best are remarkable. Dr Easter doesn’t shy away from alluding to the lesser pieces of his workshop. I will share with you the best.
Dr Easter realistically concludes “despite some serious failings in his designs, his output as a whole sits comfortably between the baroque style of Bushnell and the arrival of the more classically mature JM Rysbrack”.