The display of painting and sculpture in the country house in the eighteenth century is now being increasingly considered within the context of the overall scheme for decoration, such as the use of Rococo plasterwork. In spite of this it is rare to see an exhibition which focuses on this intricate form of decoration: this small exhibition fills that gap.

The exhibition title Lines of Beauty takes its inspiration from William Hogarth’s Analysis of Beauty which was published in 1753, and which entered into the debate on aesthetics and sought to influence taste through an innovative and accessible combination of art and text. In particular he expounded on the ideal value of the S-shaped curve, found everywhere in nature. Rococo decoration was founded in this theory, and wall panels and ceiling designs flowed with the serpentine line with a three dimensional effect which allowed the creation of shadows. The exhibition was inspired by the elaborate Rococo decorations in the Court Room at the Foundling Museum, and draws on the work of Geoffrey Preston who is one of the country’s leading contemporary architectural sculptors.

Preston founded a workshop in Devon in 2000, and is involved both in the restoration of historic houses and the creation of new schemes in Palladian interiors. He is probably best known for his part in the re-creation of the interiors at Uppark in West Sussex, built in about 1690, and with elaborate eighteenth-century interiors which were devastatingly destroyed by fire in 1989. The exhibition also charts his work on less well-known projects such as at Thornhill in Dorset and Great Fulford in Devon as well as private commissions at a house built in Palladian style in 2009 and in a cinema. The exhibition details these commissions through the display of photographs and copies of some of the reliefs. It also shows the tools used and explains the process of the creation and design of plasterwork reliefs, to enable an understanding of the practicalities involved.

Stuccowork was a method from Italy which enabled eighteenth century sculptors to work in the fine detail which suited the taste of the period for intricate decorative detail. In the accompanying exhibition pamphlet, Preston explains that stucco is a lime mortar with the addition of gypsum, and its use in moulds allows for the repetition of motifs such as leaves and flowers in decorative borders. The exhibition shows some of the tools used for intricate manipulation of the medium which relies on the skills of the sculptor working before the plaster sets, and shows how Preston has managed to employ similar techniques to his predecessors. His own mastery of this skill gives a more immediate insight into the craft than might otherwise be possible.

The Foundling Museum is an ideal venue for this exhibition due to the presence of the elaborate Rococo ceiling and decorations in the Court Room upstairs, the place where the Governors would have conducted Committee business and entertained. The ceiling was a gift from craftsman and entrepreneur William Wilton in the 1740s, and it formed part of the wider collection of art donations by artists for display in the Foundling Museum. William Hogarth had begun this trend with the donation of the first painting in an innovative move to support and promote the work of the Foundling Hospital.

The Museum has dedicated a room to the current exhibition, and visitors are also able to see the elaborate ceiling and wall decorations in the Court Room upstairs. Having understood the complexities of producing these decorative reliefs, it is all the more incredible to discover that the Court Room decorations were removed from their original site nearby when the Foundling Hospital was demolished in the 1920s, and painstakingly recreated in the current location.

This exhibition highlights decorative plasterwork as a sculptural art form in its own right, and it is an interesting insight into the process of creating these sculptural forms from the eighteenth century to modern day.

Lines of Beauty is at the Foundling Museum from 4th June to 6th September 2015.

Image courtesy of the Foundling Museum.