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Title:
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Louisa Baring, Lady Ashburton
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Artist: |
Baron Carlo Marochetti
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Louisa
Baring, Lady Ashburton (1827-1903) was born Louisa Stewart Mackenzie, daughter
of a politician and colonial administrator. Much of her childhood was spent in
Sri Lanka and Corfu. She had artistic aspirations, taking drawing lessons from
John Ruskin, and frequenting eminent people in the worlds of art and literature.
From 1858 until his death in 1864, she was married to Bingham Baring, 2nd Baron
Ashburton, and some of this time was spent by them in residence at Castle Ashby
in Northamptonshire. This was the home of the Compton family, Marquesses of
Northampton, but for two generations the Marquesses had preferred living in
Italy. The previous occupant of the house had been Edward Leveson Gower, whose
wife, Margaret, a member of the Compton family, had died in 1858, and whose
fine tomb in Castle Ashby church is by Marochetti. However, it was probably
through social circles in London that Louisa became acquainted with Marochetti.
He seems to have abetted her passion for collecting works of art. A letter he
wrote to her shortly before his death concerns some negotiations for the
purchase of works by Botticelli. (Letter of 13 Nov. 1867, Ashburton Papers,
National Library of Scotland) In 1860, Jane Carlyle had a rendez-vous in
Marochetti's studio with Louisa, to which she failed to show up. Marochetti however
showed her the clay bust he had done of her friend, and expatiated on the beauty
of the subject. Lady Ashburton was he said "amazingly beautiful, and her
eyes - there is in them such goodness, and a something wild that is very
beautiful!". The bust she found to be a good likeness though not
flattering. (Virginia Surtees, The Ludovisi Goddess. The Life of Louisa,
Lady Ashburton, Salisbury, 1984, p.81). The marble bust was exhibited at
the Royal Academy the following year, 1861. After this it seems to have
remained in Marochetti's possessioin, because a letter from Maurizio Marochetti
to Lady Ashburton, written five weeks after his father's death, starts: "I
have received your letter and will send your bust to Miss Bromley as you
suggest".The rest of the letter concerns some works of art - a bust by
Rinaldo Rinaldi and a Venus - for which payment was outstanding". (Letter of 7 March 1868, Ashburton Papers,
National Library of Scotland) After the death of Lord Ashburton, Louisa spent a
lot of her time travelling. For a while she enjoyed an amorous relationship
with the American sculptor, Harriet Hosmer. In her later years she dedicated
herself to philanthropic work.
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Material(s): |
Marble
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Medium: |
Unassigned |
Finish: |
- |
Technique: |
Carved |
Genre: |
Portrait Bust
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Location: |
Castle Ashby House (Northants), , ,
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Colours: |
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Year: |
1861 |
Height: |
0 metres |
Width: |
0 metres |
Depth: |
0 metres |
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Key: |
5807 |
Acc. No.: |
5807 |
Col. No.: |
5807 |
Number of views: |
2450 |
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