John Michael Rysbrack, 1693 – 1770

BOZZETTO FOR A DECORATION WITH TWO PUTTI FOR THE SALON FIREPLACE IN BEDFORD-HOUSE LONDON Height: 39 cm. Width: 24 cm. Depth: 10 cm. Terracotta. Sculptural bozzetto in the form of a triglyph, the cornice of which is held by two putti in the pose of caryatids. Fully sculpted, in light-colored terracotta, painted marble white. The bozzetto is similar in design to the marble version. The Flemish sculptor worked mainly in England, commissioned for monuments, architectural decorations and portraits. The son of a landscape painter and brother of two painters, he studied under Michiel van der Voort the Elder, became a member of the Antwerp Sculptors' Guild in 1714/15 and soon had two apprentices. He rose to become London's leading sculptor around 1740, celebrated for works such as the monument to Isaac Newton, the statue for Marlborough or the bust of Walpole or George Hamilton in 1733. In the same year, he created the bronze equestrian statue for William III in Bristol. Many of his works can be found in Westminster Abbey. Literature: Two further examples, illustrated in: Diane Bilbey, British Sculpture 1470 to 2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, p. 137 ff. There with illustration "Putti supporting an architrave", c. 1730, in marble, height: 133 cm, inv. no. A.4-1990, documents enclosed. (1402101) (11)