The history of Hampton Court Palace in Tudor times . of Verrios largest and mostgorgeous, if not most important works ; and though, inthe opinion of Horace Walpole, he painted it as ill as if hehad spoiled it out of principle, we cannot, for our own part,see that it is much worse than most of his other efforts—unless, indeed, that being larger, there is more of it, and wehold the view that the less of Verrio the better. In his own day, at any rate, his performances were heldin very high esteem. Evelyn thought his design andcolouring and exuberance of invention comparable to thegreatest old mas
The history of Hampton Court Palace in Tudor times . of Verrios largest and mostgorgeous, if not most important works ; and though, inthe opinion of Horace Walpole, he painted it as ill as if hehad spoiled it out of principle, we cannot, for our own part,see that it is much worse than most of his other efforts—unless, indeed, that being larger, there is more of it, and wehold the view that the less of Verrio the better. In his own day, at any rate, his performances were heldin very high esteem. Evelyn thought his design andcolouring and exuberance of invention comparable to thegreatest old masters, or what they do in France ; whileothers grew so enthusiastic as to give vent to their feelingsin verse :— Great Verrios hand hath drawnThe gods in dwellings brighter than their own.^ * Thomas TickeUs Poems, f j 70 History of Hampton Court Palace. [1699 1 His fame, however, was short-lived, and Popes couplet:— On painted ceilings you devoutly stare Where sprawl the saints of Verrio and Laguerre, has given the cue to all criticism The Kings Great Staircase. The painting of this staircase, which is 43 feet long, 37feet wide, and about 40 feet high, affords us a charac-teristic and glaring example of the tasteless exuberance of 1699] King s Great Staircase painted by Verrio, 71 Verrios pencil: Gods and Goddesses, Nymphs and Satyrs,Bacchanalians and River Deities, Virtues and Attributes,Zephyrs and Cupids, Apollo and the Nine Muses, yEneasand the twelve Caesars, Juno and her peacock, Diana andthe rainbow, Ganymede and the eagle. Fame blowing hertrumpet, Fate slitting the thread of life, Ceres with awheatsheaf, Peace with an olive branch. Pan with hisreeds, Hercules with his club, Romulus and the wolf,Julian the Apostate, with Mercury as his secretary, all jostleone another in amazing confusion, in impossible attitudes andwonderful attire, sitting on reeds, floating on clouds, sailingbetween columns, and reclining beneath canopies of rain-bows, flowers, and zephyr
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjecthampton, bookyear1885
