Divine Wisdom presiding over the Liberal Arts
Antonio Verrio (Lecce c.1639 – Hampton Court Palace 1707)
Category
Art / Wall paintings
Date
1698 (before)
Materials
Oil on plaster
Measurements
2520 x 2820 mm
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Ham House, Surrey
NT 1140134
Summary
Oil painting on plaster, Divine Wisdom presiding over the Liberal Arts by Antonio Verrio (Lecce c.1639 – Hampton Court Palace 1707). A ceiling painting set within a trompe l'oeil central oval surround depicting Divine Wisdom presiding over the Liberal Arts.Two putti apparently clambering over the edge of an oval opening in the ceiling to where a group of figures is seated on clouds. Wisdom presiding over the Liberal Arts points above to an eye which perhaps represents Divine Providence. In style, the ceiling, one of the most elaborately decorated in the house, closely resembles that in the Charles II Dining-room at Windsor Castle.
Provenance
Painted for John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale (1616-1682); in 1911 catalogue and thence by descent until acquired in 1948 by HM Government when Sir Lyonel, 4th Bt (1854 – 1952) and Sir Cecil Tollemache, 5th Bt (1886 – 1969) presented Ham House to the National Trust, and entrusted to the care of the Victoria & Albert Museum, until 1990, when returned to the care of the National Trust, and to which ownership was transferred in 2002
Credit line
Ham House, The Dysart Collection (purchased by HM Government in 1948 and transferred to the National Trust in 2002)
Makers and roles
Antonio Verrio (Lecce c.1639 – Hampton Court Palace 1707), artist
