James Thornhill's Sabine Room
Chatsworth House, Derbyshire
I’m researching the painter Sir James Thornhill at the moment: the creator of surely the finest painted Baroque interior in England (namely the Painted Hall at Greenwich, which I wrote about here). I’ve been looking at his early work, and thought a trip to Chatsworth House might be a good idea. It was here, in Derbyshire, that Thornhill created the Sabine Room, and worked alongside his mentors - the painters Verrio and Louis Laguerre. He also - presumably on a day off - sketched the Devil’s Arse in nearby Buxton.
Prior to this visit, I had only seen Chatsworth during its Christmas extravaganzas, which is to say, I hadn’t seen Chatsworth at all. (You can read my extended moan about Christmas in stately homes here.) Anyway, we went on a weekend, which did mean a certain amount of influncer-posing on the grand staircase (see above) but it was otherwise not too crowded.
If, like me, you spend a lot of time thinking about the Revolution of 1688, you can’t fail to be impressed by the entrance hall with its Apotheosis of Caesar by Laguerre (for Caesar, read William III). The chapel (below) is also an incredibly well-preserved example of English Baroque interior decoration.
All of this was very exciting, until we got to the Sabine Room, which had its curtains closed and a contemporary white bed blocking our view. I know that Chatsworth is a living house, and that Thornhill’s paintings need to be protected from light etc. - but I was more than a little disappointed not to be able to see the work properly. For some reason, they were not inclined to turn on the lights.1
On a more cheerful note, we did enjoy House of Stories: Tales from the Chatsworth Library, which included letters from the likes of Charles Dickens and Charlotte Bronte, as well as some very rare books. The exhibition runs until October 4th 2026 and is well worth a visit.
Charles Saumarez Smith has written a blog (with much better pictures than mine) about Thornhill’s paintings for the Sabine Room.