William Kent

William Kent (born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, c. 1685 - April 12, 1748) was an English architect, landscape architect and furniture designer of the early 18th century.

Education

Kent's career began as a sign and coach painter who was encouraged to study art, design and architecture by his employer. A group of Yorkshire gentlemen sent Kent for a period of study in Rome, where he met Thomas Coke, later 1st Earl of Leicester, with whom he toured Northern Italy in the summer of 1714 (a tour that led Kent to an appreciation of the architectural style of Andrea Palladio's palaces in Vicenza), and Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, who took him back to England in 1719. As a painter, he displaced Sir James Thornhill in decorating the new state rooms at Kensington Palace, London; for Burlington, he decorated Chiswick House and Burlington House.

Related Topics:
Rome - Thomas Coke, later 1st Earl of Leicester - 1714 - Andrea Palladio - Vicenza - Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington - 1719 - James Thornhill - Kensington Palace - Chiswick House - Burlington House

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