Francesco Sleter (1685 – 29 August 1775) was an Italian painter, active in England. He was born in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. He is believed to have studied under Gregorio Lazzarini. He was in England by 1719 when he designed the stained glass windows for

James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, (6 January 16739 August 1744) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1698 until 1714, when he succeeded to the peerage as Baron Chandos, and vacated ...

in the chapel at Cannons, these are now in the church at Great Witley. Other work at Cannons involved painting the staircase ceiling with the ''Triumph of Victory'', the anteroom ceiling with an allegory of ''Eternity and Fame'' and the ''Best Bedchamber'' with an

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

of ''Love and Marriage''. At Grimsthorpe Castle for Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven in the mid-1720s he is attributed with painting the dining room ceiling with ''Liberal Arts'' and the staircase ceiling with ''Triumph of Cybele''. At

Mereworth Castle Mereworth Castle is a grade I listed Neo-Palladian country house in Mereworth, Kent, England. This source attributes the plasterwork to Francesco Bagutti, but Giovanni Bagutti would appear to be more likely. History Originally the site of ...

for

John Fane, 7th Earl of Westmorland John Fane, 7th Earl of Westmorland (24 March 1685 – 26 August 1762), styled The Honourable John Fane from 1691 to 1733 and Lord Catherlough from 1733 to 1736, of Mereworth Castle in Kent, was a British Army officer and politician who sat in t ...

he painted the gallery ceiling with Rococo ornament and various mythological subjects and also the East Bedroom ceiling with panels of playing cupids. At Moor Park he worked with

Sir James Thornhill Sir James Thornhill (25 July 1675 or 1676 – 4 May 1734) was an English painter of historical subjects working in the Italian baroque tradition. He was responsible for some large-scale schemes of murals, including the "Painted Hall" at the Ro ...

and painted the four inset paintings in the gallery of the hall of ''Sileno and Amazzone'', ''Baccanale and Zingara'', ''Flora and Ercole'' and ''Iside and Apollo'' he also contributed to the mural paintings in the saloon and staircase hall. At the now demolished Moulsham Hall he painted the dining room. At

Stowe House Stowe House is a grade I listed country house in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of Stowe School, an independent school and is owned by the Stowe House Preservation Trust who have to date (March 2013) spent more than £25m on th ...

he worked with the architect William Kent for Viscount Cobham and was active in both the house and several of the temples in the gardens during the 1730s & 1740s, including the ceiling and the now destroyed murals of the ''Grand Staircase'' the ceiling of the ''State Dining Room'', the ''Temple of Venus'', The ''Temple of Friendship'', the ''Imperial Closet'' and ''The Queen's Temple'' none of the work in the garden survives apart from ''The Chinese House''. He was also responsible for the mural paintings at St. Lawrence church,

Whitchurch, London Little Stanmore was an ancient parish of Middlesex which is today the residential area of Canons Park in the London Borough of Harrow, England. Toponymy The name 'Stanmore' means "pond made of stone". Little Stanmore was named to distinguish i ...

, for the 1st Duke of Chandos, the ceiling was painted by

Louis Laguerre Louis Laguerre (1663 – 20 April 1721) was a French decorative painter mainly working in England. Born in Versailles in 1663 and trained at the Paris Academy under Charles Le Brun, he came to England in 1683, where he first worked with Anton ...

. He retired to Mereworth where there is a memorial tablet to him in the church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sleter, Francesco 1685 births 1775 deaths 17th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 18th-century Italian painters 18th-century English painters English male painters Painters from Venice Italian muralists Italian emigrants to the Kingdom of Great Britain 18th-century English male artists 18th-century Italian male artists