114 - JOHN CHEERE (ENGLISH, 1709-1787)- A BRONZED LEAD HEAD OF SENECAMID 18TH CENTURY23.5cm high, base 11.5 by 8.5cmThe present work is after Guido Reni’s (1575-1642) bust ofDying Seneca. Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger, born c. 4 BCE in Corduba (nowCórdoba Spain), was a prominent Roman philosopher, statesman, orator, andtragedian. The bronze cast of Guido Reni’s Renaissance model of Seneca wasbrought from Naples to Spain by King Carlos III, and was held in high esteem asboth an authentic ancient portrait of the philosopher and as a masterpiece ofrealism in Roman art.While Henry Cheere, John’s brother, gained recognition as a major figuremid-18th century England alongside rivals like Michael Rysbrack and LouisFrançois Roubiliac, John Cheere was largely forgotten until the 1974exhibition catalogue The Man at Hyde Park Corner. His work waspreviously dismissed as mere mass production often bought by the‘nouveaux-riche’; however reassessment reveals remarkable artistry in his leadstatues, which were cast from moulds and then meticulously hand finished. After1737, John Cheere established a monopoly in lead statuary production and becamethe largest producer of plaster statuary in Britain. His workshop employed aconsiderable workforce and occasionally subcontracted work, including leadbusts based on originals by Louis-François Roubiliac. Now most famous for hislarger garden statues, inclusive of the lead equestrian statue of William IIIfor St James’s Square, Cheere also created domestic works. A slightly largerplaster sculpture of Pseudo-Seneca, dated 1754, is currently at Temple NewsamHouse, confirming that Cheere was producing busts of this subject.