Chiswick House from the Cascade Terrace

This view from the Cascade Terrace records the appearance of Chiswick House and gardens in the 1740s, by which time Lord Burlington had largely completed the design of the gardens he had begun, in conjunction with William Kent, in the 1720s. The painting is of importance as an early example of the fusion of prospect painting with the picturesque, combining topographical detail with a keen observation of light and atmosphere. The artist was a close friend and collaborator of William Hogarth by whose pencil his landscapes were often enriched, either with groups of figures from history or with rustic characters. The attribution of the figures in this landscape to Hogarth is consistent therefore with Lambert's practice and with Hogarth's style.