A View Across the New Gardens Towards the Fretwork Bridge and the Bagnio

Rysbrack came to London from Antwerp in 1720 and, with Rigaud and Nebot, established the fashionable genre of topographical gardenscape painting in this country. This painting is both a charming example of this genre in its own right (featuring gardeners at work and guests at leisure) and an important documentary record of Burlington's new garden. Rysbrack depicts the view from the terrace towards the bagnio at the time the wilderness was being planted, as seen from slightly to the left of the site of Burlington's cascade. The purchase considerably enhances visitors' appreciation of the early appearance of the gardens, which have been the subject of a major restoration programme.