The Plaster Sculpture at Stourhead House, Wiltshire. 2.
Alexander Pope - The Library, Stourhead, Wiltshire, Plaster.
Height 22"
Barber Institute life size terracotta by Louis Francois Roubiliac, c. 1738
The Barber Institute life size terracotta of Alexander Pope by Roubiliac of c. 1738.
These two busts are so close and of such quality that the plaster must be a reduced copy of the Roubiliac terracotta.
The Plaster has a pronounced forward lean and the hair is slightly cruder than the Barber Roubiliac terracotta, but the modelling of the face, neck and clothing is of excellent quality(note the second smaller fold on the edge of the chemise).
The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, Volume 95, Part 2, 1825 with reference to Stourhead mentions "a most spirited bust of Pope by Roubiliac which is generally admired".
The attribution to Harris of the Strand of c 1780 by various authors, I think should be questioned.
My current opinion is that it is a reduced version from the Roubiliac workshop
