F ebruary, 19 2 3 
69 
This delight j ul 
over-mantel dec¬ 
oration was 
carved out of 
limewood and 
set against an 
oaken panel. The 
primroses are ex¬ 
ceptionally fine 
pieces of work 
Summer, of The 
Four Seasons 
group, is a rich , 
luxuriant bit of 
carving, extreme¬ 
ly decorative in 
design and un¬ 
mistakably sug¬ 
gests the season 
cian. Horace Walpole appears to have 
found little information on Gibbons’ early 
life but comforted himself with the remark 
that as he was “an original genius, a citizen 
of nature, consequently it is indifferent 
where she produced him." Perhaps it is. 
We can, however, give the date of his birth 
as 1648, for his horoscope, once in his 
own possession, is extant. He died in 1721. 
The hand of Grinling Gibbons brought 
a refinement and delicacy into English 
wood carving that theretofore had not been 
found. His influence on the art of his 
own time and of his succcessors was enor¬ 
mous. A love of nature was innate 
with him, and to his ornament he brought 
a beauty and virility new and bizarre. 
Evelyn did well to enthuse over his protegee. 
No wonder he wrote in a later entry of the 
Diary than the one quoted above, "Of this 
young artist, together with the manner of 
my finding him out, I acquainted the King 
(Charles II), and begged that he would 
give me leave to bring him and his worke 
to Whitehall and that I would adventure 
my reputation with his Ma ty that he had 
never seen anything approach it, and that 
he would be exceeding pleased, and 
employ him. The King said he would 
(Continued on page 92) 
With crossed 
flails, a sheaf of 
wheat, a scythe, 
a sickle, a melon, 
and a snake, this 
panel of The 
Four Seasons is 
nicely symbolic 
of the Autumn 
