Dr Hugh Chamberlen

This is one of Scheemaker’s most lively works. He modelled the composition in damp clay, then worked over the surface with fine tools to add crisp detail and to give expression to the face. Dr Chamberlen (1664–1728) was a midwife and famous for his early use of forceps. He is shown in the robes of the Royal College of Physicians. This is a model for a marble monument in Westminster Abbey, London.

Peter Scheemakers (1691-1781) is one of the leading sculptors working in Britain in the mid-18th century, and was renowned for his tombs and portrait busts in particular. His training in the Netherlands would have included the modelling of terracottas.