A Marble Bust of Alexander Pope
at The Higgins Gallery, Bedford.
In my view this bust is an inferior quality copy of one of the ad vivum Mansfield / Milton / Fitzwilliam bust of Alexander Pope by Roubiliac or of a later copy by Nollekens.
The inscription on the back of the shoulder is not of a form used by Roubiliac and has probably been added later. The quality of the carving of the hair is very poor in comparison with the Roubiliac and Nollekens busts.
Several busts after Roubiliac or Rysbrack including the 4 busts of Oliver Cromwell see -
In my view this bust is an inferior quality copy of one of the ad vivum Mansfield / Milton / Fitzwilliam bust of Alexander Pope by Roubiliac or of a later copy by Nollekens.
The inscription on the back of the shoulder is not of a form used by Roubiliac and has probably been added later. The quality of the carving of the hair is very poor in comparison with the Roubiliac and Nollekens busts.
Several busts after Roubiliac or Rysbrack including the 4 busts of Oliver Cromwell see -
http://english18thcenturyportraitsculpture.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-busts-of-oliver-cromwell-part-22.html
and busts of Francis Bacon, John Locke and Milton all appear to have come from the same 19th century workshop. It is possible that they are all early works by Hodges Baily see -
http://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2018/02/bust-of-francis-bacon-magdalen-college.html
and busts of Francis Bacon, John Locke and Milton all appear to have come from the same 19th century workshop. It is possible that they are all early works by Hodges Baily see -
http://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2018/02/bust-of-francis-bacon-magdalen-college.html
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The Nollekens Bust of Alexander Pope
Metropolitan Museum, New York.
Dimensions:Overall (confirmed): 21 1/2 × 12 × 9 × 7 5/8 in.
(54.6 × 30.5 × 22.9 × 19.4 cm)
Paired with a bust of Lawrence Sterne
Lord Leslie Hore-Belisha , Stafford Place, London (in 1937)
; his bequest to Hilda Sloane , London (until 1965; sale, Sotheby's, London,
June 18, 1965, no . 81; sold to Lee); [ Ronald A. Lee , London (in 1965; sold
to Humphris) ] ; [ Cyril Humphris , London (after 1965; sold to Sonnenberg) ] ;
Benjamin Sonnenberg , New York (until 1979; sale, Sotheby Parke Bernet, New
York, June 6, 1979, no. 392; sold to MMA)]
Another pair of these Nollekens busts of Pope and Sterne were sold by Mealleys
Auctioneers in Ireland. Lot 487. 28 March. 2000
This pair of busts were resold at Sotheby's London in Autumn, 2000.
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The Milton Fizwilliam bust of Alexander Pope
by Roubiliac
Signed and dated 1740.
Formerly in the Collection of William Murray, Lord Mansfield at Kenwood House
Marble, 14 ins.Eyes cut, Undraped , Square veined, black
marble socle, Earl Fitzwilliam Collection, Milton, Peterborough.
Inscribed on the back. A. Pope Ae is 52, L.F.Roubiliac, Sc
it, ad vivum 1740.
Now confirmed as the bust of Pope originally at Kenwood,
belonging to Lord Mansfield.
Inscribed on front edge - Uni Aequus Virtuti Atque ejus
Amicus.
The Milton bust of Alexander Pope
formerly in the Collection of Lord Mansfield at Kenwood House.
Now at Milton House near Peterborough
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Alexander Pope
Bust
Bronze.
With an old circular inventory label
to the rear numbered in ink C651 and mounted on a dark red veined marble socle.
46.5cm., 18¼in.
These photographs above from Sothebys website
The photographs above kindly supplied by the Sculpture department Sotheby's, London.
This bronze version of this bust was sold at Sotheby's 6 July
2007, Lot 136. Sold £66,000.
Current location unknown.
The catalogue states - Reputedly the Plowden -Wardlaw family at Castle Craigie,
Ayrshire; by descent to Margaret Spurway, née Plowden - Wardlaw; by descent to
the present owner.
The Sotheby's catalogue entry states
"This apparently unique bronze bust of Pope is of the same
type as Roubiliac's signed marble version dating to 1740 at Milton Hall,
Peterborough in the collection of the Earls of Fitzwilliam. It conforms very closely not only in the
undraped narrow truncation and incised pupils but also in the treatment of the
hair, which replicates the same distinctive curls and loops resting over the
ears and to the back of the head which is unique to this type amongst the
numerous variations.
Only a few surviving bronzes are known by Roubiliac, who is
principally remembered as a marble sculptor, which makes the present discovery
of great interest. That he worked in bronze is attested to by a gilt-bronze
high-relief of David Garrick, which is set on to an oval backplate to create a
medallion portrait. The relief, now in the Garrick Club, is signed
L.F.Roubiliac Sct. ad Vivum 1758 and belongs to a group of associated bronze
medallions which includes a portrait of Pope. These medallions can probably be
identified as the 'Three ditto of Mr. Handel, Sir Isaac Newton, and Mr. Pope'
which appear as lot 93 under the heading 'BRONZES, etc' on the second day of
Roubiliac's posthumous sale held on 13th May 1762.
They were probably the same
works re-sold in an early Christie's sale in 1766, when they were described as
'Sir Isaac Newton, Pope and Handel in bronze finely repaired [i.e. finished] by
the late ingenious Mr. Roubiliac'. The suggestion here is that Roubiliac
himself took part in the finishing of his bronzes.
The most relevant comparison to the present portrait of Pope
can, however, be made with Roubiliac's bronze bust of Philip Dormer Stanhope,
4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773), of which three casts are known: in the
V&A (A.17-1959), in Dublin Castle, and as sold in these rooms 16th
December, 1998, lot 150. Comparison with
the version in the V&A reveals just how similar the present bust of Pope
appears in both facture and finish. The patina of deep dark brown with a thick
black laquer is almost identical and has aged in the same way. There is the
same finely stippled texture to the hair and the cast itself is of comparably
expert treatment, with an even thickness, if some minor pitting.
Furthermore
the V&A cast, which has been remounted, was formerly attached to its socle
by an armature that connected at three points: to the back of the shoulders on
each side, and centrally to the front lower chest. This format is analogous to
the mounting technique employed on the present work, which has been expertly
crafted to raise the bust just forward and above its socle while remaining
invisible from the principle frontal and three-quarter veiwpoints. It may well
prove that while most of Roubiliac's socles are of the square waisted type,
that the present example is in fact also original.
I have written extensively on the bronze Roubiliac Chesterfield busts - see
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The Hughenden Manor Plaster bust of Alexander Pope after Roubiliac
Height 18inches - 457 mm.
National Trust
Very poor low resolution photographs taken by the author under very difficult circumstances.
This appears to have been cast from the original Milton/Fitzwilliam marble.
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Miniature bust of Pope after Roubiliac
Victoria Art Gallery, Bath.
