John Michael RysbrackFiandre, 1694–1770William Shakespeare
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Victoria and Albert Museum
Londra, Regno Unito
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- Ultimo cambio di stato
- 25 set 2026
- Fonte
- I dati di collezione del museo stesso
About the sculpture
This historicising bust of Shakespeare may well have been one of a group of British Worthies. Shakespeare, along with John Milton, Isaac Newton and other figures became important symbols in the 18th century for what were perceived as the great British traditions of independent and creative thought and action.
This particular bust is a version of one in the Temple of British Worthies at Stowe, Buckinghamshire; the bust at Stowe was carved by Rysbrack for Lord Cobham in about 1730. This version may also have been one of a set, although its original context is unknown. This terracotta bust may have been a model for the stone bust at Stowe.
Read on
John Michael Rysbrack (1694-1770) was one of the most successful sculptors working in Britain in the 18th century. Born in Antwerp, he arrived in England in about 1720, and soon established himself as a leading sculptor of funerary monuments and portrait busts in particular. Many of his monuments are in Westminster Abbey. His bust of the architect James Gibbs (1682-1754) commemorates his friendship with him (the bust was commissioned and owned by Gibbs himself); he and Gibbs worked together on a number of projects, at Stowe and elsewhere.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Scheda
- Numero di inventario
- A.6-1924
What it shows
In catalogo
Fonti
- Victoria and Albert Museum: the museum's own open data · acquisita 5 giorni fa
- Immagine: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
