Main Drawing Room

18th C Dutch Style

Wall and Ceiling Paintings

If you didn’t know….
In our project pages we have

  • mouldings and ornaments
  • exquisite patinas
  • a mouldmaking service
  • painted copies and originals
  • beautifully sculpted frames
  • and rather a lot more….
If you didn’t know….
In our project pages we have

  • mouldings and ornaments
  • exquisite patinas
  • a mouldmaking service
  • painted copies and originals
  • beautifully sculpted frames
  • and rather a lot more….
Project

For this project our client had in their possession  three large 18th Century oil paintings depicting scenes from the Greek myth of “Dido and Aeneas”, around which they wished to design an entire room.

 
The Work –
  • to create four new wall paintings to be displayed around the three existing originals.
  • to re-create a large ceiling painting, 5.3 x 4.6 meters,  based on a small oil sketch by Jacob de Wit  entitled “The Apotheosis Of Aeneas”.
The Ceiling Painting
The Wall Paintings

The Subject

An outline of the scene which is depicted in the original work

The Process

Discover how we took a sketch and re-created the original lost painting
 

The Subject

A short description of the subject of the series of wall paintings
 

The Process

Discover how the paintings were composed and painted

The Subject

An outline of the scene which is depicted in the original work

The Process

Discover how we took a sketch and re-created the original lost painting
 
The Wall Paintings

The Subject

A short description of the subject of the series of wall paintings
 

The Process

Discover how the paintings were composed and painted
 
The Ceiling Painting
Ceiling Subject

The ceiling painting is a 5.3 x 4.6 meter re-creation of an original oil sketch, shown opposite, by Jacob de Wit, entitled “The Apotheosis Of Aeneas”. The original painted ceiling was lost in a fire several hundred years ago.

As such, the only information available on which to base the composition of the re-creation of the painting was this small sketch which resides in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

The scene depicts the moment Venus annoints Aeneas in the heavens.

The Ceiling Process

In the first instance, all the figures were researched to find out which mythological characters they were most likely to be. This was achieved by considering which positions the figures occupied in the heavens; their actual pose; what tools, objects or weapons they carried; what helmets they wore; and by the colour and types of clothing.

Once we had all the characters established, they were then sketched on paper to scale and taped to the ceiling so we could check their scale and disposition.

The ceiling was then painted in oil directly on the primed plaster ceiling.

The Ceiling Painting
The Ceiling’s Subject

The ceiling painting is a 5.3 x 4.6 meter re-creation of an original oil sketch, shown opposite, by Jacob de Wit, entitled “The Apotheosis Of Aeneas”. The original painted ceiling was lost in a fire several hundred years ago.

As such, the only information available on which to base the composition of the re-creation of the painting was this small sketch which resides in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

The scene depicts the moment Venus annoints Aeneas in the heavens.

The Ceiling Process

In the first instance, all the figures were researched to find out which mythological characters they were most likely to be. This was achieved by considering which positions the figures occupied in the heavens; their actual pose; what tools, objects or weapons they carried; what helmets they wore; and by the colour and types of clothing.

Once we had all the characters established, they were then sketched on paper to scale and taped to the ceiling so we could check their scale and disposition.

The ceiling was then painted in oil directly on the primed plaster ceiling.

The Wall Paintings
The Paintings’ Subjects

Four wall paintings were realised to depict pivotal moments from the narrative of the Greek myth of “Dido and Aeneas”.

  • Two side panels were created to extend the largest existing painting; one to the left with additional soldiers, and one to the right depicting a group from Dido’s entourage.
  • Another two paintings, independent of the main-painting-with-side-panels, were realised portraying seperate events in the narrative. The first painting shows Iris cutting a lock of Dido’s hair as she sleeps, and the second we see Mercury gifting Aeneas a hoard of arms.
Creating The Paintings

The designs for the four new wall paintings were original compositions based on the pictorial language and aesthetic of the artist of the three original 18th C paintings in the owner’s possession, around which the roomed was designed. The artist, or artists, of the originals were unknown to us.

The three original paintings were the only resource available.

The four wall paintings were executed in oil on linen canvas.

Two of the paintings were designed to have doors open through them.

The Wall Paintings
The Paintings’ Subjects

Four wall paintings were realised to depict pivotal moments from the narrative of the Greek myth of “Dido and Aeneas”.

  • Two side panels were created to extend the largest existing painting; one to the left with additional soldiers, and one to the right depicting a group from Dido’s entourage.
  • Another two paintings, independent of the main-painting-with-side-panels, were realised portraying seperate events in the narrative. The first painting shows Iris cutting a lock of Dido’s hair as she sleeps, and the second we see Mercury gifting Aeneas a hoard of arms.

Creating The Paintings

The designs for the four new wall paintings were original compositions based on the pictorial language and aesthetic of the artist of the three original 18th C paintings in the owner’s possession, around which the roomed was designed. The artist, or artists, of the originals were unknown to us.

The three original paintings were the only resource available.

The four wall paintings were executed in oil on linen canvas.

Two of the paintings were designed to have doors open through them.

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