The highlight of our stay in Derbyshire earlier this month was a long awaited visit to Chatsworth House, home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.
I'm not going to attempt to relate Chatsworth's history here on my blog as I'm sure you know there have been many books written about the house and it's occupants and this link to the wonderful Chatsworth website will tell you everything you could possibly want to know about what's happening there at the moment.
What I will share with you are photographs of some of the absolutely stunning works of art that we were able to see on our recent guided tour.
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All of Chatsworth's rooms are sumptuously decorated and furnished, the collections on display are jaw droppingly beautiful, as the above photograph shows.
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An inlaid wall panel surrounds a portrait of a gentleman.
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I'm not going to attempt to relate Chatsworth's history here on my blog as I'm sure you know there have been many books written about the house and it's occupants and this link to the wonderful Chatsworth website will tell you everything you could possibly want to know about what's happening there at the moment.
What I will share with you are photographs of some of the absolutely stunning works of art that we were able to see on our recent guided tour.
The tour began in the Painted Hall.
Perhaps the most famous (infamous) chatelaine of Chatsworth was Lady Georgiana Spencer who married the 5th Duke, William Cavendish in 1774.
Portrait of Georgiana Spencer
Duchess of Devonshire
Maria Cosway 1759- 1838
Georgiana was 25 years old
when this portrait of her portrayed as the goddess Diana
was painted in 1782
The Duchess of Devonshire
by
Thomas Gainsborough
 |
William Cavendish
the 5th Duke of Devonshire
Georgiana's husband
Lady Elizabeth Foster
by
Joshua Reynolds
Lady Elizabeth was Georgiana's best friend, she was also the Duke's lover and the three of them lived together at Devonshire House. Elizabeth bore him two children and became his second wife after Georgiana's death.
Since visiting Chatsworth I have become fascinated by Georgiana and am thoroughly enjoying reading "Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire" by Amanda Foreman.
All of Chatsworth's rooms are sumptuously decorated and furnished, the collections on display are jaw droppingly beautiful, as the above photograph shows.
An inlaid wall panel surrounds a portrait of a gentleman.
In the library a whimsical portrait of two of the current Duchess's pet dogs.
A man in oriental costume
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606 - 1669)
The oak staircase
Portrait of the Acheson Sisters (1902)
by
John Singer Sargent
These three elegant Edwardian ladies are the granddaughters of Louise, Duchess of Devonshire; wife of the 8th Duke.
As it began, our tour ends in The Painted Hall, but fret not there's so much more to see: ceramics; furniture and statues......oh my!