John Locke

This portrait bust of John Locke in plaster was possibly made by John Cheere after the marble bust of Locke executed by John Michael Rysbrack in 1733-1734 for Queen Caroline's Grotto, Richmond, now in Kensington Palace.

Rysbrack (1694-1770) was born in Antwerp, and trained in the Netherlands, but spent his working life in Britain. He was one of the most important sculptors active in this country in the first half of the 18th century, and specialised in portrait busts and funerary monuments. Although he never visited Italy, many of his works are clearly indebted to classical archetypes. His terracotta models are particularly fine, and are often virtually finished pieces in their own right.