Roubiliac with the Model for Garrick's Shakespeare (Walpole's "Anecdotes of Painting in England," vol. 4)
Engraver James William Cook British
After Adrien Carpantiers British, born Flanders?
Sitter Louis François Roubiliac British, born France
Not on view
The leading French-born sculptor Roubiliac worked in London from 1730 and here models Shakespeare in clay. The engraving is based on a lively painting by Carpantiers (National Portrait Gallery, London and Yale Center for British Art), and versions of the model are preserved at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Folger Shakespeare, Library. In 1758, a related life-size marble was installed in David Garrick’s Temple to Shakespeare at Hampton on the Thames near Twickenham, later given to the British Museum, and is now installed at the British Library. Shakespeare’s pose is both thoughtful and dynamic, his sturdy desk indicates the lasting character of his writings, while the swirling cloak and arrested gesture convey creative genius.
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