Date of Birth: 1684-85
Date of Death: 1748
Nationality: English
Notes: Born as William Cant in Bridlington, Yorkshire, in the late 17th century, the future William Kent, who would be known in later life as "Il Signore," began as an apprentice coach painter in Hull, where his talent was soon noticed by a local squire, who, together with a number of the local Yorkshire gentry, raised the money to send Kent to Italy to study painting and architecture (he accompanied the collector John Tellman). Kent was "discovered" in Italy by Lord Burlington and became his protégé as an apostle of Palladian design. Burlington had big plans for Kent: he wanted to make him England's greatest history painter. Though this did not come to pass (his painting today is considered mediocre), Kent did become a very successful arbiter of taste. He was an architect and furniture designer, a painter, and an incredibly important landscape architect (he was one of the originators of natural landscape design and is considered by many historians to be the father of modern garden design). He was ahead of Capability Brown, Robert Adam, and Horace Walpole in setting new styles and began the trend toward controlling every aspect of architectural design. Among his followers were Matthew Brettingham the Elder, Henry Flitcroft, Isaac Ware, Stephen Wright, John Vardy, and Thomas Ripley. Though famous as an evangelist of Palladian design, his training in Italy, specifically the influence of the Italian Baroque, never left Kent's work (he was trained as a Baroque painter). The design of his famous console tables can be traced directly to Roman Baroque examples, and even some of interiors are Baroque, most notably his magnificently over-the-top staircase at 44 Berkeley Square in London. Little known is that Kent also designed for the theater, a result, very likely, of his admiration of the work of Inigo Jones.

Date of Birth: 1697
Date of Death: 1769
Nationality: English
Notes: Henry Flitcroft was an assistant and protégé of Lord Burlington and was a follower of William Kent, whom he succeeded as Master Mason and Deputy-Surveyor. Flitcroft became Comptroller of the Works in 1758. His first building was Bower House.

Date of Birth: 1790
Date of Death: 1867
Nationality: British

Date of Birth: Apr 25, 1694
Date of Death: Dec 4, 1753
Nationality: English
Notes: Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, was entranced by the Grand Tour and brought back to England a collection of Palladio's drawings that he purchased from the Bishop of Verona and from the Manin family (who had inherited the Villa Barbaro, also known as the Villa di Maser). Another discovery Burlington made in Italy was the young Yorkshireman William Kent, for whom he had great plans - he wanted to make him England's great history painter. Though this did not come to pass, Kent did become a successful architect and garden designer and is considered by many historians to be the father of modern gardening. Another protégé was Isaac Ware, who put together Palladio's drawings of Roman imperial baths and published them in 1730. Lord Burlington, known as the "Apollo of the Arts," was made a Knight of the Garter and became an extremely powerful patron, supporting poetry, architecture, and music (he was the benefactor of an Italian opera company and Handel was his pensioner). Howard Colvin on Burlington: "For more than thirty years he was the acknowledged arbiter of English architectural taste." The discovery that Burlington designed buildings, and was not simply an arbiter of taste, was made in the early 20th century by Fiske Kimball, director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Chiswick House is considered Lord Burlington's masterpiece.

Date of Birth: Apr 25, 1694
Date of Death: Dec 4, 1753
Nationality: English
Notes: Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, was entranced by the Grand Tour and brought back to England a collection of Palladio's drawings that he purchased from the Bishop of Verona and from the Manin family (who had inherited the Villa Barbaro, also known as the Villa di Maser). Another discovery Burlington made in Italy was the young Yorkshireman William Kent, for whom he had great plans - he wanted to make him England's great history painter. Though this did not come to pass, Kent did become a successful architect and garden designer and is considered by many historians to be the father of modern gardening. Another protégé was Isaac Ware, who put together Palladio's drawings of Roman imperial baths and published them in 1730. Lord Burlington, known as the "Apollo of the Arts," was made a Knight of the Garter and became an extremely powerful patron, supporting poetry, architecture, and music (he was the benefactor of an Italian opera company and Handel was his pensioner). Howard Colvin on Burlington: "For more than thirty years he was the acknowledged arbiter of English architectural taste." The discovery that Burlington designed buildings, and was not simply an arbiter of taste, was made in the early 20th century by Fiske Kimball, director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Chiswick House is considered Lord Burlington's masterpiece.