Online film series showcases treasured artworks at Chatsworth House

Described by the current Duke of Devonshire as “probably the most beautiful thing at Chatsworth”, Lucian Freud’s painting of the Duke’s mother Duchess Deborah, ‘Woman in a White Shirt’ is the first in a series of short films featuring some of the most treasured artworks at Chatsworth House.

Filmed in the magnificent setting of Chatsworth’s library and posted on the website, the Duke charts his family’s close friendship with Freud and how a painting that left many people “shocked and pretty upset” when it was first unveiled in the late 1950s came to be commissioned.

Exploring the diverse works of art in the Devonshire Collections with insight into their history and significance, each episode features a mix of archive footage, rare photographs and contemporary correspondence, as well as interviews with members of the Devonshire family, art experts, and artists including Michael Craig Martin and Jacob van der Beugel.

Other films focus on Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing ‘Leda and the Swan’, part of Chatsworth’s extensive collection of Old Master Drawings, Thomas Gainsborough’s painting of the notorious Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and the 17th century Mortlake Tapestries.

Among the many beloved pictures at Chatsworth, one in particular stands out: Jan Van Der Vaardt’s Trompe l’oeil Violin. Episode six reveals the mysterious history of this all-time favourite.

‘Treasures of Chatsworth’ is a series of 13 short films that will be posted at regular intervals.

Originally made in 2016, the films are being highlighted on Chatsworth’s website to keep visitors informed and entertained while the house, garden and farmyard, gift shops, restaurants, car parks, and public toilets are closed until further notice.

As a vital food service outlet, the Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop remains open.

See the ‘Treasures of Chatsworth’ videos online now at www.chatsworth.org.