Three mural panels of painted plaster showing, in trompe l'oeil, figures leaning on a balustrade under an arcade, with open sky behind; from 44 Grosvenor Square, London

A mural in three panels painted on plaster in trompe l'oeil with three round-headed arches between fluted Composite columns, each arch painted with a low balustrade, behind which are groups of figures against an open sky. The light appears to come from the left.
(Mural panel [1]): This panel shows a hanging curtain to the left, a woman with a basket on her head and a cloaked man seated on the balustrade with his back to the viewer. The figure of an old woman is glimpsed behind.
(Mural panel [2]): This panel is painted with a woman holding a basket of flowers resting on the balustrade, with the figure of a man behind her. To the right hangs a curtain, which is draped over the balustrade.
(Mural panel [3]): This panel is painted with a fold of curtain to the upper left. In the foreground are three male figures, the two on the right dressed in 'Polish style', with fur-trimmed gowns and up-turned hats.

Given by the Duke of Westminster and the Trustees of the Grosvenor Estate

These mural panels came from the first-floor front drawing room at 44 (originally 39) Grosvenor Square, demolished in 1968. They had been discovered behind later panelling in 1908, having been covered in when the staircase was altered ca. 1752-7. This had left them marooned within a first floor room created in the place of the staircase (the main staircase function moving to what had been a secondary stair). In 1909 they were covered again until 1960.

No. 44 stood on the south side of the square. Development of the square started in about 1721 and the houses of the south side (facing north) were rather simpler in form than those on the north, east or west sides. The standard form for houses on the south side was of four bays, with three floors and an attic, above a basement.

The site of number 44 (originally no. 39) was leased to Robert Scott, a carpenter. In 1728 he found a tenant in the Irish M.P. for Dungannon, Oliver St. George (1661-1731), and in 1730 he sold the house to him. At that time some some unspecified alterations to the house were made, so it is possible that the murals date from 1730, although it seems more likely that they were made to the order of Scott. Their similarity to those at 75 Dean St., Soho, has been noted and Scott is known to have had at least one building project in the area of Dean St. When the house in Dean St. was demolished in 1919, the staircase went to the Art Institute of Chicago, where some panels survive (others were damaged in transit). Photographs of that interior survive, showing that it was topped by a trompe l'oeil dome with figures looking down over a balustrade, and it is likely that the staircase at 44 Grosvenor Square was similarly finished.

The convention of such painted decoration goes back to the Sala Regia at the Quirinal in Rome and the idea was revived for the Escalier des Ambassadeurs at Versailles by Charles Lebrun, 1674-8. In England, the two most important examples are Louis Laguerre's Saloon of c. 1720 at Blenheim Palace (directly inspired by Lebrun) and the King's Staircase at Kensington Palace, painted by William Kent before 1727. The painting at Grosvenor Square was thus in the height of fashion, completed only two to three years later. It includes the figure of a woman holding a fan to her lips, which closely mirrors one of the figures at Kensington. It is unlikely, however, that Kent would have been in a position to work for a speculative builder in the years when he was busy with commissions from Lord Burlington and other aristocratic patrons.

Edward Croft-Murray, the scholar who has done most work on decorative painting in England, considered the Grosvenor House murals to be closer to the work of Louis Laguerre. As this artist died in 1721, it is more likely that the panels were painted by his son John Laguerre, who lived until 1748. John was best known as a stage singer (who took roles in Handel's operas) but he also drew for engravings and etchings and, in later life, became a scene painter. He connections with William Hogarth. The theatrical interests of John Laguerre might suggest that the subject matter is derived from the theatre, which would explain some of the richly costumed figures of Tartars that form part of the onlooking crowd.

The date is taken from the known date of the granting of a lease to the plot in Grosvenor Square and the possibility that alterations were made at the time of the first sale in 1730. John Laguerre is also known to have painted a mural on a staircase at 48 Grosvenor Square.

This decorative painting, in three sections, was created for the upper part of a staircase at 39 Grosvenor Square (later re-numbered 44). It was probably painted by John Laguerre (c.1700-1748), the son of the more famous Louis Laguerre (1663-1721), who trained in Paris and came to London in 1683. Louis Laguerre's wall paintings can be seen at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire and Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, among other places. His son John was best known as a stage singer, who took parts in Handel operas, but he is also known to have made designs for engravings and etchings and, later in life, worked as a scene painter. The figures of Tartars to the right of the three groups may have been derived from characters in the theatre.

W.4:1 to 3-1969