WORKSHOP OF MICHAEL RYSBRACK (1694-1770), BRITISH, 18TH CENTURY | BUST OF KING GEORGE II (1638-1760)

Christie's, London, 7 July 1998, lot 98

This beautifully carved bust of George II is a reduced version of Rysbrack's portrait, which he modelled from life in 1738. The original terracotta is in the Royal Collection (inv. no. RCIN 1412) and is paired with a bust of Queen Caroline (1683-1737; inv. no. RCIN 1411). Vertu, in his diaries from 1738, records that ‘the KING … sat to [Rysbrack] at Kensington twice. to have his picture modelled in Clay. the likeness much approvd on – and with a good Air. – also a Moddel of the Queen vastly like. Tho’ not done from the life’ (as quoted in Webb, op. cit., p. 155). Rysbrack executed marble versions of the pair for George II, which are almost certainly the prime marble versions and are in the Royal Collection at Kensington Palace (inv. nos. RCIN 31322 and 31317). The fact that Rysbrack kept the terracotta models indicates that he was given permission to execute further versions. A lifesize marble version of the George II from the collection of Howard Hodgkin was sold in these rooms on 24 October 2017, lot 193. The present bust is carved with a level of finesse worthy of Rysbrack himself, evidenced particularly in the very fine medusa mask. However, it is a simplified version of the original (note the absence of the lace bow at the collar) and the reduced size is unusual, which indicates that the present marble was probably produced in the workshop.

RELATED LITERATURE

M. I. Webb, Michael Rysbrack, London, 1954; J. Kenworthy-Browne, 'Portrait Busts by Rysbrack', National Trust Studies 1980 (1979), 67; R. Williams and K. Eustace. "Rysbrack." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 11 May. 2014. ; Katharine Eustace, ‘Rysbrack, (John) Michael (1694–1770)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2009