The Bust of William Shakespeare c. 1736.
by Peter Scheemakers (1691 - 1781).
and it's three Companion Busts of Dryden, Spenser, and Milton
at Hagley Hall, Worcestershire.
This would seem like a good place to add some information on the various busts of Shakespeare by Scheemakers, Rysbrack and Roubiliac to this blog, and although only tangentially relevant to the understanding of Rysbrack's statuettes of van Dyck, Rubens and du Quesnoy, this page and the following pages should hopefully assist in adding to the knowledge of the creation of the statuettes and their relationship with other historicising portrait sculpture of the mid 18th century.
_________________
William Shakespeare.
White
Marble Bust.
Peter Scheemakers (1691 -1781).
c.1736.
About
half life size.
Height
46cms approx. with socle.
Hagley
Hall. Worcestershire.
The
busts of Shakespeare, Spenser, Dryden and Milton by Peter Scheemakers in
the broken pediments of the bookcases in the Library at Hagley Hall
were given to Alexander Pope by Frederick, Prince of Wales; they
were subsequently bequeathed by Pope, who died in 1743 to Lord Lyttelton. They
were in the Library in the new house at Hagley in 1747/48.
Some
time after buying Carlton House in 1732, Prince Frederick had commissioned two
sets of marble library busts from Peter Scheemakers, one set for himself - which seems
to have disappeared and the second set as a gift to Alexander Pope.
A bill
for £107 4s was examined by William Kent as overseer and paid 22 November 1735,
included the set of busts charged at £10 each (Duchy of Cornwall Household
Accounts) it is unclear whether they were for the library at Carlton House or
for Kents magnificent saloon in the Rotunda in the garden, built in 1735
- (adorned with paintings and sculpture - Grub Street Journal, 2
September 1735)
Prince
Frederick, William Kent and the Garden Building at Carlton House have
already been touched on in my blog entry of 12 August 2015, see -
A
voucher in the Royal Household accounts, dated 8th November 1735, details 'for
four small marble Busto's delivered to Mr Pope at £10-10 each 42-0-0' The bill
was examined by William Kent on 22 November 1735 and paid without deduction. A
receipt in the sculptors hand was added one week later (Duchy of Cornwall,
Household Accounts of Frederick Prince of Wales, Vouchers October 1736 - June
1737, vol. VI, part 1, pp 307-08
Ingrid
Roscoe (Walpole Society Journal) suggest that the gift to Pope was probably prompted by George Lyttleton,
who was the secretary to Prince Frederick, an active member of the Whig opposition, and who
fostered the friendship of Pope and Prince Frederick in the hope that Pope might have a democratising
influence on the Prince.
The
busts prompted a letter to Dean Swift dated 17 May 1739 9 'the Pr.
shews me a distinction beyond any Merit or Pretence on my part & I have
received a Present from him of some marble heads of Poets for my libraryand
some Urnes for my garden' - (Correspondence of Alexander Pope ed. Sherwin 1956).
Ingrid
Roscoe says - that the busts are ' weakly characterised frontal portraits' which I
think is being rather unkind to them. I suspect that she hadn't inspected
them closely - compared with the portrait in the Royal collection attributed
to John Cheere (to follow on the next page) they exhibit a much higher degree of subtlety.
Much of
this information has been culled from Peter Scheemakers by Ingrid Roscoe,
Walpole Society Journal, vol 61, 1999.
I
am very grateful to Viscount Cobham for allowing me the opportunity to visit
Hagley and to take these photographs. I would also like to thank to
Joyce Purnell of Hagley Hall who facilitated the visit for me, showed me
around and made my visit so enjoyable.
Please forgive the
quality of these photographs - I was very much restricted by the height of the
bookcases, the availability of light and the lens on my camera. It is my
intention to return to Hagley some time shortly, when the busts have been taken
down and to take more photographs. In the short term these images will
have to do.
Dryden
Peter
Scheemakers.
White Marble Bust.
c.1736.
About
half life size.
Height
46cms approx. with socle.
Library,
Hagley Hall, Worcestershire.
..............................
Spenser.
Peter
Scheemakers.
White Marble Bust.
c.1736.
About
half life size.
Height
46cms approx. with socle.
Library,
Hagley Hall, Worcestershire.
The use of the van Dyck collar should be noted. I believe this is its first appearance on an 18th century bust.
..............................
John
Milton
by Peter
Scheemakers.
White Marble Bust.
About
half life size.
Height
46cms approx. with socle.
Hagley
Hall, Worcestershire.
__________________________________
William Shakespeare.
by Peter Scheemakers.
White Marble bust
c. 1743.
Trinity College Library, Dublin.
One of
14 Ancient and modern worthies which Scheemakers was contracted to supply for
the Library at Trinity College Dublin.
In 1743 £500 was left by Dr Claudius
Gilbert, Vice Provost 'for the purchase of busts of men eminent for learning
to adorn the library'.
I will write about the Trinity College Library busts in the near future made by Scheemakers with the assistance of Roubiliac from 1743.
Scheemakers Monument to Shakespeare of 1740 in Westminster Abbey.
