Editing William Kent (section)

==Early life==
Kent was born in [[Bridlington]], [[East Riding of Yorkshire]], and baptised on 1 January 1686, as William Cant.<ref>{{cite ODNB |first=John |last=Harris |title=Kent, William (bap. 1686, d. 1748) |date=September 2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/15424 |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/15424 |access-date=22 July 2010}}</ref> His parents were William and Esther Cant (née Shimmings).<ref>{{cite web |first= Susan & David |last=Neave |title= The Early Life of William Kent |work=The Georgian Group Journal Volume VI 1996|publisher=The Georgian Group|date=1996 |url=https://georgiangroup.org.uk/journal/1996-journal/ |access-date=5 July 2021}}</ref>

Kent's career began as a sign and coach painter, and he 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, and he set sail on 22 July 1709 from [[Deal, Kent]], arriving at [[Livorno]] on 15 October.<ref>See M. I. Wilson, 1984, pp. 5</ref> By 18 November he was in [[Florence]], staying there until April 1710 before finally setting off for Rome. In 1713 he was awarded the second medal in the second class for painting in the annual competition run by the [[Accademia di San Luca]] for his painting of ''A Miracle of S. Andrea Avellino''.<ref>See M. I. Wilson, 1984, pp. 9–10</ref> 

He also met several important figures including [[Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (fifth creation)|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 Cardinal [[Pietro Ottoboni]] in Rome, for whom he apparently painted some pictures, though no records survive. During his stay in Rome, he painted the ceiling of the church of San Giuliano dei Fiamminghi ([[Church of St. Julian of the Flemings]]) with the ''Apotheosis of St. Julian''.<ref>[http://www.sangiuliano.org/geschiedenis.html Official website of the Church of St. Julian of the Flemings] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525210235/http://www.sangiuliano.org/geschiedenis.html |date=25 May 2009 }} (in Dutch)</ref> The most significant meeting was between Kent and [[Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington]]. 

Kent left Rome for the last time in the autumn of 1719, met Lord Burlington briefly at [[Genoa]], Kent journeying on to Paris, where Lord Burlington later joined him for the final journey back to England before the end of the year.<ref name=Clegg46>Clegg, 1995. p. 46</ref> As a painter, he displaced Sir [[James Thornhill]] in decorating the new staterooms at [[Kensington Palace]], London; for Burlington, he helped to decorate [[Chiswick House]], especially the painted ceilings,<ref name=Clegg46/> and [[Burlington House]].