Main entry:

Esterly, David, author.

Title & Author:

Grinling Gibbons and the art of carving / David Esterly.

Publication:

New York : Harry N. Abrams, 1998.

Description:

223 pages : illustrations (some color), facsimiles, plates (some color), portraits ; 29 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (page 220) and index.
Foreword / Alan Borg -- Introduction -- Part one. Origins. ('In an obscure place ... by meere accident' ; 2. The years before Deptford ; 3. A new discovery, a new style) -- Part two: The forms of Gibbons's carving. (4. The carved surround [1675-1682 ; 1683-1686 ; 1687-1711] ; 5. The trophy ; 6. Embellishment) -- Part three: Gibbon's techniques. (7. Form follows workshop ; 8. Making a Gibbons carving) -- Conclusion -- Chronology of Grinling Gibbons's life.

Summary:

In this new study, the work of the greatest of decorative woodcarvers is seen from a new perspective - through the eyes of a fellow carver. Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721) is famous for giving wood "the loose and airy lightness of flowers." His flamboyant cascades of lifelike blossoms, fruits, foliage, birds, and fish dominate English interiors of the late seventeenth century. They are among the glories of Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace, and St. Paul's Cathedral, as well as Badminton, Burghley, Petworth, and other great country houses.
After setting Gibbons in historical context, David Esterly's groundbreaking approach allows us to understand what until now has been shrouded in mystery: the process by which these exuberant carvings were created and how their forms reflect the organization of Gibbons' workshop. Esterly, a professional woodcarver who has restored some of Gibbons' most important carvings, shares his unique knowledge of the layering process by which Gibbons built up such masterpieces as the Cosimo panel or the elaborate overmantels at Hampton Court Palace. Specially commissioned photographs show these carvings for the first time in a disassembled state, revealing how they were constructed.
Esterly also discusses Gibbons' formidable carving techniques, and his tools, workshop practice, materials, and finishing are described in detail. This generously illustrated volume will have a special appeal for carvers as well as for those interested in seventeenth-century interiors and the decorative arts.

ISBN:

0810941422 (hardcover)
9780810941427 (hardcover)

Subject:

Gibbons, Grinling, 1648-1721 Criticism and interpretation.
Gibbons, Grinling, 1648-1721.
Gibbons, Grinling.
Wood-carving England.
Sculpture sur bois (Arts décoratifs) Angleterre.
Wood-carving
Holzschnitzerei
Holzplastik
England

Form/genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Added entries:

Gibbons, Grinling, 1648-1721, wood engraver.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 205500
Call No.: NK9798.G5 E8 1998
Status: Available