Homer

Francis Harwood (born about 1727; died 1783) spent 30 years working first in Rome and then in Florence. He specialised in carving busts and figures after the antique, including the Venus de' Medici and the Apollo Belvedere. The sculptor Joseph Nollekens (1737-1823) wrote in a letter from Rome in 1769 in his idiosyncratic style: 'there is F.H. at Florence who is knocking the marbil about like feway, & belive he as got more work to do than any One Sculptor in England'.

Materials & Making

Marble busts were among the most prestigious types of portrait commissioned in Britain during the 18th century. Harwood was able to obtain the material relatively easily in Italy, probably from the quarries at Carrara. He may also have learned the skills needed to carve marble in Florence, or more probably Rome, which was the most important artistic centre for an aspiring artist at this date, partly because of the rich collections of antique sculpture, and partly because of the concentration of both artists and patrons.