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The Buckingham Palace Summerhouse Story
as drawn from letters and other sources
From Chambers Edinburgh Journal Link
to dissertation about
Ludwig Gruner, Art Adviser to Prince Albert From a study of the letters
to the Aglios it becomes apparent that in 1841 Agostino became involved
with a number of artists in fresco work relating to Buckingham Palace.
The names that cropped up at the bottom of letters included: It seems that Eastlake was a significant figure within the Art Establishment and so was acting as an organiser but Aglio had a key role to play as he was the expert in Fresco work and some of the others had no experience in the field. There was an awareness that Aglio had been responsible for work at Buckingham Palace particularly in the context of Encaustic work in the Pompeii Room of the "Pavilion" and with a little research it became apparent that this was part on the new Summer House built in the grounds of the Palace during the 1840's.
Fortunately further searching on the internet revealed a fantastic dissertation about Ludwig Gruner, Art Adviser to Prince Albert produced by by Daniel Boeckmann in 1996. This work gives a detailed account of the origination of the Summerhouse and the Artists involved including references to Agostino Aglio and his role in the whole project. Quoting from the dissertation
it seems that at first eight artists were invited to paint frescos on the 8
walls of the Octagon Room. These artists were: Charles Eastlake, the secretary of the Royal Commission, obviously directed the fresco-painting in the cottage, as Gilchrist recorded: "After applying to Mr Eastlake for particular instructions Mr Etty made sketches of two or three compositions from Comus, the play by Milton The frescoes in the garden pavilion were begun in June 1843. Queen Victoria, very much involved in the development of the garden-pavilion decoration, wrote in her diary on 13 June:
Prince Albert decided in November 1843 on "alterations to the cottage", and in December he discussed "necessary alterations with Mr Blore". Initially the intention had been to decorate only the Octagon Room. Alterations had to be made because Albert decided to have the two side-rooms decorated as well. On 29 December 1843 Queen Victoria notes
But Etty "being unwilling to execute the Fresco on the wall", "the Prince was obliged to employ somebody eise". In July, William Dyce, who had a practical knowledge of fresco-painting was ordered to execute a Substitute for Etty's fresco.The payment to Etty, 40 Pounds, was harshly criticized. In February 1844, the German engraver
Ludwig Gruner - was commissioned by Prince Albert to deliver designs for the
decoration of the Octagon walls. For the Scott Room he commissioned the architectural modellers Bemasconi and Riddell to present models for the plaster works.The Prince was present when Landseer brought his fresco on 7 July to the pavilion and on 30 August Gruner arranged with the Italian painter Aglio, that he should paint one of the side-rooms in Pompeian style in encaustic and that his payment should be 100 Pounds. Taken from:
Mrs. Jameson, who wrote the introduction to Gruners book called:
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/landseer-the-defeat-of-comus-n00605 The Defeat of Comus By Sir Edwin Henry Landseer Even from this short introduction it can be seen that Agostino was very much involved for a few years with the Summerhouse Project although it seems that other artist are given the credit for the original ideas and sketches and he is treated as the skilled artisan. Within the dissertation written by Daniel Boeckmann one can pick up some idea of the relationships between the artists involved in the project and become aware of the various frustrations that must have developed with eight independent artists on the job. Daniel Boeckmann's dissertation is definitely worth reading as it give real insights into the activities of the time. It is interesting to note that life nowadays is similar with artists invited to paint murals for Her Majesty the Queen.
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