Head

The secure, detailed and vivid modelling and the fact that there is no direct sculptural source for the Laughing Child, indicate that it was specifically modelled to be produced in Chelsea porcelain and Louis-François Roubiliac is the obvious candidate for the attribution of this work. He would have modelled the head directly in clay, and the resulting model was then used to create the plaster moulds which could be used to make multiple copies in porcelain. The subject is elusively enigmatic: does it represent a boy or a girl, or possibly an angel? Is it a portrait or an ideal head? It has Italianate qualities, and is reminiscent of the work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), as well as recalling French and even Dresden sculpture. Roubiliac’s roots and training on the Continent, in both France and Dresden, as well as his knowledge of Roman baroque sculpture, mean that he is the most probable author.