Biblical and Classical Scenes
Giuseppe Mattia Borgnis (1701 - West Wycombe, Bucks. 1761)
Category
Architecture / Features & Decoration
Date
circa 1755
Materials
Lime plaster, sand, hair, casein and pigment
Measurements
2 x 5.8 m
Order this imageCollection
West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire
NT 807701.5
Summary
Wall painting, West Wall rising to second floor level. This wall is divided into four sections. The lower left section shows a representation of ‘Ganymede and the Eagle’ which is also derived from the Palazzo Farnese and the work of Carracci and Domenichino. The lower right comprises and scrolling rinceau. In the upper left section there is a scene of ‘God presenting Eve to Adam in Paradise’ (Gen: 2. 22). This is paired with ‘The Temptation’ (Gen: 3. 1 – 7), in the upper right section. Painted by Guiseppe Borgnis c.1755, the staircase scheme includes biblical and mythological scenes. The wall painting on the west wall comprises 2 panels of figurative scenes in a landscape setting. The scenes seem to be a combination of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, just before the Expulsion, and ‘Hercules and the golden apples of the Hesperides’. The panels are framed with a yellow ochre fictive picture frame
Makers and roles
Giuseppe Mattia Borgnis (1701 - West Wycombe, Bucks. 1761), artist