John Nost (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: Jan van Nost) (died 1729) was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium ...

sculptor who worked in England in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

Life

Originally from

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

in what is now

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, he moved to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

in the second half of the 17th century, gaining employment with the sculptor Arnold Quellin as a foreman. After Quellin's death in 1686, Nost married his widow, and established his own sculptural works business in the Haymarket district of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He was prolific and received many commissions, including at

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chief ...

Melbourne Hall Melbourne Hall is a Georgian style country house in Melbourne, Derbyshire, previously owned by William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, British Prime Minister from 1835 to 1841. The house is now the seat of Lord and Lady Ralph Kerr and is open to the ...

Castle Howard Castle Howard is a stately home in North Yorkshire, England, within the civil parish of Henderskelfe, located north of York. It is a private residence and has been the home of the Carlisle branch of the Howard family for more than 300 years. ...

, Buckingham Palace, and Chatsworth. Many of his statues were cast in

lead Lead is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metals, heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale of mineral hardness#Intermediate ...

. Van Nost died at his home at Hyde Park in London on 26 April 1729.

Apprentices and Collaborators

Van Nost was heavily involved with other well known sculptors of the day. He trained Andrew Carpenter, and his own nephew

John van Nost the younger John van Nost the younger (1713-1780) was the nephew of the noted Flemish-born British sculptor John Nost, John van Nost and a noteworthy sculptor in his own right. Life He was born around 1712 in Piccadilly, London and was apprenticed to Hen ...

, his nephew moved to Ireland following his uncle's death and became a leading sculptor there. Several well known sculptors had their premises near Nost at the Haymarket and it is known that he collaborated with many of them. For example he worked on a commission with Richard Osgood for Hampton Court in 1701.

Notable works

Tomb of Mary, wife of the 2nd Duke of Queensberry

SourceDictionary of British Sculptors, 1660–1851, Rupert Gunnis *Statue of Sir

Hugh Wyndham Sir Hugh Wyndham SL (1602 – 24 December 1684), of Silton, near Gillingham, Dorset, was an English Judge of the Common Pleas and a Baron of the Exchequer. Origins He was born at Orchard Wyndham, Somerset, the eighth son of Sir John Wyndham ...

(judge) at

Silton Silton is a small village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale northwest of Gillingham. In the 2011 census, the civil parish had 57 households and a population of 123. In 1086, Silton was recorded in the ...

, Dorset (1692) *Figures of a Boy and Girl,

Chatsworth House Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the Cavendish family since 1549. It stands on the east bank of the ...

(1698) *Monument to

John Digby, 3rd Earl of Bristol John Digby, 3rd Earl of Bristol (1634 – 18 September 1698) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1675 to 1677 when he inherited the peerage as Earl of Bristol. He was styled Lord Digby from 1653 to 1 ...

Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish includes the hamlets of Nether Coombe and Lower Clatcombe. T ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

(1698) *Pair of amorini,

(1699) for his patron, Thomas Coke *Fireplace for Thomas Coke's London house on St James Place (1699) *Various mythological figures for the gardens of

(1700) *Coat of Arms on entrance piers, fireplaces and marble tables,

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

(1700) *Flower Pot Gates,

(1700) *Statues of King William III and Queen Mary,

Royal Exchange, London The Royal Exchange in London was founded in the 16th century by the merchant Sir Thomas Gresham on the suggestion of his factor Richard Clough to act as a centre of commerce for the City of London. The site was provided by the City of London C ...

, (c.1700) *Fountains at

(1701–2) *Multiple fireplaces for

(1701–7) *The Crouching Venus,

Umberslade Hall Umberslade Hall is a 17th-century mansion converted into residential apartments situated in Nuthurst near Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire. It is a Grade II* listed building. The Archer family were granted the manor of Umberslade by Henry II ...

(1702) *Multiple garden figures for

(1703–10) *Statues within the pediment of Buckingham Palace (1705) *Vase of the Seasons,

(1705) *Font at

Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick The Collegiate Church of St Mary is a Church of England parish church in Warwick, Warwickshire, England. It is in the centre of the town just east of the market place. It is grade I listed, and a member of the Major Churches Network. The church ...

(1705) *Fountains and figures for

Stonyhurst Stonyhurst is the name of a rural estate owned by the Society of Jesus near Clitheroe in Lancashire, England. It is centred on Stonyhurst College, occupying the great house, its preparatory school Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall and the parish c ...

House (1705–1716) *Monument to

James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry and 1st Duke of Dover (18 December 16626 July 1711) was a Scottish nobleman. Life He was the eldest son of William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry and his wife Isabel Douglas, daughter of William Dougla ...

Durisdeer Durisdeer is a small village in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland, and in the historic county of Dumfries-shire. It lies north of Thornhill, above the Carron Water, a tributary of the Nith. History A Roman road once passed through t ...

Church, Dumfriesshire (1711) *Garden figures,

Stourhead Stourhead () is a 1,072-hectare (2,650-acre) estate at the source of the River Stour in the southwest of the English county of Wiltshire, extending into Somerset. The estate is about northwest of the town of Mere and includes a Grade I listed ...

House (c.1714) *Garden figures for

Moulsham Moulsham is a suburb of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It is located to the south of the city centre and has two distinct areas: Old Moulsham and Moulsham Lodge. History Moulsham is located on the south side of the River Chelmer. Moulsham Street foll ...

Hall (1717) (for Humphrey Mildmay) *

Equestrian Statue Of George I The Equestrian statue of George I, by John van Nost the Elder,Dictionary of British Sculptors, 1660–1851, Rupert Gunnis is a statue that stands outside the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham, England. The bronze statue was commissi ...

for

Essex Bridge, Dublin Grattan Bridge () is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland, and joining Capel Street to Parliament Street and the south quays. History The first bridge on this site was built by Sir Humphrey Jervis in 1676. It was nam ...

(1717) (moved to

Barber Institute of Fine Arts The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham. The Grade I listed Art Deco building was designed by Robert A ...

, Birmingham 1937) *Garden figures for

Rousham House Rousham House (also known as Rousham Park) is a country house at Rousham in Oxfordshire, England. The house, which has been continuously in the ownership of one family, was built circa 1635 and remodelled by William Kent in the 18th century in a f ...

(c.1719) *Statue of Queen Mary for

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

(1720) *Garden figures for

Seaton Delaval Seaton Delaval is a village in Northumberland, England, with a population of 4,371. The largest of the five villages in Seaton Valley, it is the site of Seaton Delaval Hall, completed by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1727. In 2010 the armed robbery ...

Hall (c.1720) *Garden figures for

Chirk Castle Chirk Castle ( cy, Castell y Waun) is a Grade I listed castle located in Chirk, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. History The castle was built in 1295 by Roger Mortimer de Chirk, uncle of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March as part of King Ed ...

(c.1720) *Statue of Sir

Robert Geffrye Sir Robert Geffrye (also spelled Geffrey) (1613–1703) was an English merchant, slave trader, and Lord Mayor of London in 1685. "Geffrey, Robert", ''Dictionary of National Biography'', 1885–1900, Volume 10 (wikisource). Life Geffrye was born ...

for the almshouses at

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

(1723) (original now at

Mottingham Mottingham is a district of south-east London, England, which straddles the border of both the London Borough of Bromley and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is located south of Eltham, southeast of Charing Cross. It is within the historic ...

with a replica at the almshouses) *Statue of George II for Cannons House (c.1724) (moved in 1753 to create a centre-piece for

Golden Square Golden Square, in Soho, the City of Westminster, London, is a mainly hardscaped garden square planted with a few mature trees and raised borders in Central London flanked by classical office buildings. Its four approach ways are north and so ...

) *Two large vases for

Wrest Park Wrest Park is a country estate located in Silsoe, Bedfordshire, England. It comprises Wrest Park, a Grade I listed country house, and Wrest Park Gardens, also Grade I listed, formal gardens surrounding the mansion. History Thomas Carew (1595 ...

(1725) for the Duke of Kent *Statue of George I for

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was developed for fashionable ...

(1726) (stolen 1838) *Garden figures for

Boreham House Boreham House is a Grade I Listed mansion set in of Boreham, Chelmsford, Essex, England. Boreham House was built from 1728 to 1733 for Benjamin Hoare and from 1931 to 1997 the House was owned by the Ford Company and used as a College. Location ...

(c.1728)

Notes

References

Rupert Gunnis Rupert Forbes Gunnis (11 March 1899 – 31 July 1965) was an English collector and historian of British sculpture. He is best known for his '' Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851'', which "revolutionized the study of British sculpture, p ...

, ''

Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851 The ''Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851'' is a biographical dictionary of sculptors active in Britain in the period between the Restoration of Charles II and the Great Exhibition of 1851. It has appeared in three editions, published in 1 ...

'' (1968 revised edition), pp. 279–282 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nost, John 1729 deaths Flemish Baroque sculptors Artists from Mechelen English people of Flemish descent English male sculptors Year of birth unknown