Some notes - to be continued.
William Shakespeare.
White Marble Bust.
Peter Scheemakers (1691 -1781).
About half life size.
Height 46cms approx. with socle.
.Hagley Hall. Worcestershire.
Photographs by the author.
This bust should be compared with other busts of Shakespeare attributed to Scheemakers, Scheemakers did not repeat it on the monument in Westminster Abbey.
The busts of Shakespeare, Spenser, Dryden and Milton by Peter Scheemakers in the broken pediments of the bookcases in the Library at Hagley Hall were given to Alexander Pope by Frederick, Prince of Wales; they were bequeathed by Pope, who died in 1743 to Lord Lyttelton. They were in the Library in the new house in 1747/48.
Some time after buying Carlton House in 1732, Prince Frederick commissioned two sets of library busts from Peter Scheemakers, one set for himself - which seems to have disappeared and the second set as a gift to Alexander Pope.
A bill for £107 4s was examined by William Kent as overseer and paid 22 November 1735, included the set of busts charged at £10 each (Duchy of Cornwall Household Accounts) it is unclear whether they were for the library at Carlton House or for Kents magnificent saloon in the Rotunda in the garden, built in 1735 - (adorned with paintings and sculpture - Grub Street Journal 2 September 1735)
Prince Frederick, William Kent and the Garden Building at Carlton House has already touched on in my blog entry 12 August 2015, see -
A voucher in the Royal Household accounts, dated 8th November 1735, details 'for four small marble Busto's delivered to Mr Pope at £10-10 each 42-0-0' The bill was examined by William Kent on 22 November 1735 and paid without deduction. A receipt in the sculptors hand was added one week later (Duchy of Cornwall, Household Accounts of Frederick Prince of Wales, Vouchers October 1736 - June 1737, vol. VI, part 1, pp 307-08
Ingrid Roscoe suggest that the gift to Pope was probably prompted by George Lyttleton, the secretary to Prince Frederick, an active member of the Whig opposition, who fostered their friendship in the hope that Pope might have a democratising influence on the Prince.
The busts prompted a letter to Dean Swift dated 17 May 1739 9the Pr. shews me a distinction beyond any Merit or Pretence on my part & I have received a Present from him of some marble heads of Poets for my libraryand some Urnes for my garden' - (Correspondence of Alexander Pope ed. Shrwin 1956).
Ingrid Roscoe says - busts are ' weakly characterised frontal portraits' which I think is being rather unkind to them. I suspect that she didn't inspect them closely - compared with the portrait from the Royal collection attributed to John Cheeere (below) they exhibit a much higher degree of subtlety
Much of this information has been culled from Peter Scheemakers by Ingrid Roscoe, Walpole Society Journal, vol 61, 1999.
I am very grateful to Viscount Cobham for allowing me the opportunity to visit Hagley and to take these photographs.
I would also like to thank to Joyce Purnell of Hagley Hall who facilitated the visit for me, showed me around and made my visit so enjoyable.
Please forgive the quality of these photographs - I was very much restricted by the height of the bookcases, the availability of light and the lens on my camera. It is my intention to return to Hagley some time shortly, when the busts have been taken down and to take more photographs. In the short term these images will have to do.
Dryden.
Peter Scheemakers.
About half life size.
Height 46cms approx. with socle.
Library, Hagley Hall, Worcestershire.
..................................
Spenser.
Pieter Scheemakers.
About half life size.
Height 46cms approx. with socle.
Library, Hagley Hall, Worcestershire.
.............................
John Milton.
Peter Scheemakers.
About half life size.
Height 46cms approx. with socle.
Hagley Hall, Worcestershire.
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The Shakespeare Memorial.
Westminster Abbey.
Peter Scheemakers
Marble.
1741.
_______________________________
Peter Scheemakers
Hayman
Peter Scheemakers, Pieter Scheemaeckers II (16 January 1691 – 12 September 1781),
by Andreas Bernardus de Quertenmont (1750 - 1835).
1776,
oil on canvas,
62.9 ,m x 48.9 cm ,
National Portrait Gallery.
Behind is a model of his Shakespeare Monument in Westminster Abbey (see above).
____________________________________
William Powell (1735 - 69)
Actor and protégée of Garrick
With his bust of Shakespeare and his portrait of Garrick
engraved by Samuel Okey (fl. 1765 -80) after Robert Pyle (1761 - 66)
Mezzotint
circa 1765/70.
Royal Collection.
__________________________________________________________
William Shakespeare.
Marble Bust.
Signed Peter Scheemakers.
Trinity College Library, Dublin.
One of 14 Ancient and modern worthies which Scheemakers was contracted to supply for the Library at Trinity College Dublin. In 1743 £500 was left by Dr Claudius Gilbert, Vice Provost 'for the purchase of busts of men eminent for learning to adorn the library'
When the bust of Jonathan Swift was ordered from Roubiliac in 1749 which wasn't paid for from the Gilbert funds it was reported 'to be placed in the College Library among the heads of other men eminent for genius and learning'
________________________________________
William Shakespeare.
White Marble Bust.
a fairly loose copy after the Peter Scheemakers bust in the Library at Trinity College, Dublin.
71.0 x 48.0 x 24.0 cm (whole object).
Attributed to John Cheere?
Royal Collection.
They suggest an attribution to John Cheere (1709-1787), which seems reasonable, given the somewhat generalised features - it lacks the subtleties of the busts of Roubiliac, Rysbrack and Scheemakers (see above), but seems to have been the most reproduced version - probably because of the multiples emanating from the Cheere Workshop at Hyde Park Corner.
Given that there is no provenance prior to 1806, it could well be a later copy.
The inscription and socle is very similar to other busts in the Royal Collection such as Alexander Pope and Lord Ligonier. It seems these were added later.
__________________________________________
Marble bust of Shakespeare after the Trinity College Dublin version by Roubiliac.
Art Market 2015.
Another version of the Royal Collection bust of William Shakespeare.
Similar to other versions.
52 cms including socle.
Currently with Historical Portraits.
Philip Mould Ltd, 18-19 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5LU
..................
William Shakespeare.
Fine quality Marble Bust after Scheemakers.
On a later circular marble socle
16 in. (40.7 cm.) high; 20 in. (51 cm.) high, overall
Christie's Lot 103, 2 December 2014.
They say 2nd half of the 18th Century.
____________________________
The Garrick Club Plaster Bust of William Shakespeare.
The Garrick Club Plaster Bust by Shout of William Shakespeare.
Another version of the Trinity College, Dublin Shakespeare by Roubiliac.
Almost certainly a cast either from a John Cheere bust or Moulds from the Cheere Workshop.
Library Photograph provided by Marcus Risdell, Curator at the Garrick Club.
Inscribed Shout on the back.
Height 64 cms, Socle 14.5 cms.
Presented to the Garrick Club sometime in the 1830's - it is not yet clear by whom.
For the Shout (1778 - 1827) family of plaster statuary manufacturers see -
This bust is very close to marble of Shakespeare in the Royal Collection (above) attributed to John Cheere.
For a later version see the Sarti bust of Shakespeare at the Athenaean Club.
Note particularly the base of the bust above the socle.
I am again very grateful to Marcus Risdell curator of the Garrick Club Collection for his help in providing images of the Garrick Club Portraits.
_____________________________________________________________
The Atheneum Club Bust of William Shakespeare
Plaster Bust
Supplied by P. Sarti.
A plaster bust presented to the Garrick Club in 1834-36 bears the impressed signature of ‘Shout’ (Ashton, no. S.30).
Robert Shout of Holborn (active 1778-1827) made marble monuments and plaster casts.
see above for the earlier plaster bust by Shout of Holborn in the Garrick Club.
The Committee of the Athenæum Club.
£ s d
| |
Jany 26th Figure of Diana Dressing
|
8. 8. 0
|
Ditto Venus Victorious
|
8. 8. 0
|
Feby 2 Moving repairing & painting to grecion archer
|
1. 4. 0 4
|
Bust of Sir Isac Newton
|
1. 10. 0
|
Ditto Shakespere
|
1. 10. 0
|
Ditto Milton
|
1. 10. 0
|
Ditto Lock
|
1. 10. 0
|
Ditto Dr Johnson
|
1. 1. 0
|
Ditto Dr Harvey
|
1. 10. 0
|
Ditto Lord Mansfield
|
1. 10. 0
|
Ditto Pope
|
1. 10. 0 [inserted]
|
Ditto Bacon
|
1. 10. 0
|
Moulding & casting Sir J. Reynolds
|
3. 3. 0
|
Adding drapery to ditto
|
1. 0. 0
|
Putting pedestal to the Bust of Burke
|
7. 0
|
Repairing & painting the Bust of Sir C Wren
|
12. 0
|
Painting the Names in the above Busts
|
19. 6
|
For taken down & putting twice the Apollo and altering four times the leaf
|
3. 10. 0
|
Bust of Garrick
|
1. 10. 0
|
All the Articles in this Bill
are correct. C Daly £42. 2. 6
Certified to be correct
Decimus Burton
24 April 1830
[Endorsed:] 1830
Casts Ordered for payment
Sarti Building Committee
26 April
Received 30 April of the Trustees of the
Athenæum the sum of Forty two pounds two
shillings and sixpence being the amount of
my Bill for Casts supplied to the New
Building to this time – £42. 2. 6 P. Sarti
The photographs and text above from
_________________________________________________
Oil on canvas
Copy of the Chandos Portrait
Possibly mid 18th century
Oil on canvas
57.2 x 45.1 cm.
Provenance -The North family, the Earls of Guilford, and by descent.
This portrait is also currently with Philip Mould Ltd.
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