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Lot Essay
Linnell's beautifully fluent drawing offers alternative designs for a fireplace. A curving Italianate baroque side on the left contrasts with a light rococo design on the right. The different motifs adopted for the left and right sides of the mirror are also probably meant to present a choice for the client, but in this case the weight is on the right and the contrast in styles is less marked. Helena Hayward dates the drawing to circa 1755.
John Linnell's home and workshop was at 28 Berkeley Square. He and his father William (d. 1763) were among the most important furniture designers in mid-eighteenth century London, producing furniture of sensational quality for Kedleston, Osterly Park and a host of other grand country and town houses.
At Linnell's death many of these drawings passed into the hands of his cousin's son Thomas Tatham who had been employed in his workshop. One group, which included our study, entered the collection of Tatham's brother Charles Heathcote Tatham (1772-1842) an architect and landscape designer of note, and friend of William Blake. C.H. Tatham, who had himself been taught to draw by Linnell, intended to publish these drawings in honour of the memory of Linnell, but his project never materialised. Another admirer of Linnell, the architect and architectural historian John Shoppee (1823-1898) added the drawings to his considerable library some time between 1850 and 1880.
John Linnell's home and workshop was at 28 Berkeley Square. He and his father William (d. 1763) were among the most important furniture designers in mid-eighteenth century London, producing furniture of sensational quality for Kedleston, Osterly Park and a host of other grand country and town houses.
At Linnell's death many of these drawings passed into the hands of his cousin's son Thomas Tatham who had been employed in his workshop. One group, which included our study, entered the collection of Tatham's brother Charles Heathcote Tatham (1772-1842) an architect and landscape designer of note, and friend of William Blake. C.H. Tatham, who had himself been taught to draw by Linnell, intended to publish these drawings in honour of the memory of Linnell, but his project never materialised. Another admirer of Linnell, the architect and architectural historian John Shoppee (1823-1898) added the drawings to his considerable library some time between 1850 and 1880.