Terracotta Relief of Handel by Louis Francois Roubiliac.
Victoria and Albert Museum.
28.6cms in diameter.
Purchased from Peel and Humphris, Bond Street, London, 1961.
Hildburgh Bequest.
Friday, 3 July 2015
Tuesday, 30 June 2015
The so called Handel Life Mask
Photographic Comparisons of the so called Life Mask with other versions of the Plaster Busts of Handel and some notes pertaining.
This blog entry edited and updated 6 Oct 2020.
The earliest mention I can find of a life (or death mask) appeared in the weekly magazine The Mirror of 19 July 1834.
Much has been made of this reference and other versions of the "life masks", particularly by David Wilson in the British Arts Journal, Vol. X no. 1; David Coke in the Sculpture Journal, Vol.16.2; and at the Ruth Rendall unveiling at the Handel House at 25 Brook Street, Mayfair, London in 2009 and then in subsequent Handel House publications.
My own belief is that none of these authors have had the opportunity to inspect the other versions of the Roubiliac Handel busts (the Grimsthorpe terracotta or the Gloucester Cathedral plaster) at close quarters and to make comparisons and that the so called "Life mask" is a cast of a version of the bareheaded and late generation and much over painted Roubiliac plaster bust of Handel.
They also appear to have been unaware of the marble version of this bust (by Heaven Inspired) sold by Sotheby's Lot 179, 9 July 2015.
It is a shame that these authors have made assertions which havn't been verified and that the facts have become skewed and then repeated by a series of "Chinese whispers".
Given that Malcolm Baker must have been aware of the marble version of this bust in an article by David Wilson, ''By Heaven Inspired': A marble bust of Handel by
Roubiliac rediscovered', The British Art Journal, vol. X, no. 1, 2009, pp.
14-29. it is a shame that no mention of it appeared in his work "The Marble Index" published in 2014.
The three quarter life size plaster bust of Handel now with the Handel Haus Museum in Halle, Germany on the left compared with a plaster mask.
For much more on this recently discovered and unpublished plaster bust of Handel see -
For a slightly different version of this plaster bust of this bust but showing the waistcoat embroidered and a turned socle with eared support ( much used by Shout of Holorn see -
http://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2015/03/
The illustration of the mask on the cover of the Sculpture Journal above was reproduced the wrong way around.
Another comparison photograph of the three quarter life size bust at Halle on the right with another of the so called life masks.
The photograph above on the left is of the so called life mask of Handel as used in the Exhibition catalogue Handel, A Celebration of his life and Times, 1685 - 1759, ed. Jacob Simon. NPG, 1986.
Photograph of the so called life mask of Handel taken at the Handel House Museum in London in 2009.
As above.
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Above the Gloucester Cathedral Plaster bust of Handel, on the left compared with the so called life mask. This to me is obvious proof that the "life mask" has been taken from a much over painted plaster cast of the Roubiliac bust of Handel.
It is plain to see that the "life mask" has lost the definition that is easily discernible on the Gloucester Cathedral Plaster.
Comparison of the eyes is instructive.
It should also be noted that the prominent mole on his right hand cheek (proper) clearly visible in the Foundling Museum terracotta and the 1738 engraving by Houbraken is missing!
If it were a life mask the eyes hair and eyebrows would have to have been reworked after a mould was taken of the sitters face
Were it really a life mask, even with the obvious over painting, which this mask has undergone, the detailing of the facial features would be much clearer. The detail of the hair on these two faces is obviously very close as are the eyes and eyebrows.
There would also be deterioration of the plaster piece mould after each pull. It is difficult to be sure how many times a piece mould could be used - probably less than twenty.
Since the first mention of any life or death mask was in the Mirror of 19 July 1834 it is my belief that this mask was produced deliberately to deceive the gullible with the intention of parting them with their money - this seems to have worked up until now, that is if anybody actually reads this.
I would welcome any comments.
George Frederick Handel.
Showing the mole on his right proper cheek - this is also visible on the Foundling Hospital Roubiliac terracotta of Handel.
Line Engraving.
by Jacobus Houbraken.
after Hubert-François Gravelot (né
Bourguignon).
1738.
35.25 x 22.22 cms.
Image above courtesey National Galleries of Scotland
Above The Handel House Mask compared with the Grimsthorpe terracotta.
The Handel House Mask.
Another Photograph of the Handel House Mask.
Photograph from the National Portrait Gallery of the so called life mask of Handel as used in the Exhibition catalogue Handel, A Celebration of his life and Times, 1685 -1759, ed. Jacob Simon. NPG, 1986.
My favourite photograph of a so called life mask (with David Coke from the Times 26 June 1992).
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The David Coke life mask compared with the Gloucester Cathedral.
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For a detailed look at the Gloucester Cathdral plaster bust of Handel see my blog post -
For an in depth look at the Roubiliac terracotta of Handel at Grimsthorpe see -
http://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2015/06/comparison-photographs-of-sothebys.html
For a set of photographs at Getty images of the so called life mask at the Handel House Museum, Brook Street, London with a laughable pitch to make one purchase these expensive photographs see -
For the marble version of these busts see -
Possibly this marble bust is the ‘remarkable fine bust of [Handel], exquisitely modell’d by Roubiliac’ in a sale of 1766.
Possibly lot 35 on the second day (21 February) of the John Blackwood sale at Christie’s in 1778, ‘Roubiliac, marble busto of Handel, on a pedestal’.
In the Collection of Alfred Morrison (1821-97), at Fonthill House, Wiltshire, and 16 Carlton House Terrace, London, from c. 1860- 1897;
By descent to his widow, 16 Carlton House Terrace, London;
Prior to its sale at Christie's in 1900, the present bust
was recorded in Morrison's collection in the 1890 Handel entry in the
Dictionary of National Biography, there described as being by Roubiliac; the
attribution is likely to have been given by the then Director of the National
Portrait Gallery, Sir George Scharf, who was very familiar with Roubiliac's
work (info from Sotheby's catalogue.
Morrison sale, Christie's London, 10 February 1900, lot 107;
Acquired by S. T. Gooden (later, Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox) London, on
commission for one Charles Eley, probably the Chairman of Eley Brothers, the
well-known manufacturer of firearms cartridges.
Early 21st Century -rediscovered in Belgium by a London dealer.
The Grimsthorpe bust from their website.
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The Roubiliac Busts of Handel - the so called life mask type.
Grimsthorpe - Morrison/ Sotheby's.
Handl Haus, Halle - Gloucester Cathedral
Sunday, 28 June 2015
Plaster Cast of the Head from the Handel Monument in Westminster Abbey and the Modellos for the Monument.
The Plaster cast of the head of Handel from the Monument by Roubiliac in Westminster Abbey.
Cast by D. Brucciani. Mid - late 19th Century, in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
The current authorities at Westminster Abbey do not allow photography in the Cathedral Church.
The current authorities at Westminster Abbey do not allow photography in the Cathedral Church.
In their need to monetise their holdings - photographs of the sculpture can be purchased from them.
This of course means that they are expensive and old fashioned.
They would do well to read their bibles. Matthew 21: 12 - 17. etc etc.
Height 52 cms.
Given to the Fitzwilliam in 1906.
Below is another Brucciani cast of the same subject with rather unsympathetic magnolia repaint, at the Royal Academy of Music - there is another in the British Library.
Another version of the Westminster Abbey Head of Handel by Brucciani at the Royal Academy of Music.
These busts appear to have been taken directly from the Handel Monument in Westminster Abbey and whilst obviously related to the Roubiliac portrait busts of Handel it is also very close to the head of the Vauxhall Statue of 1738 now in the V and A.
I believe that all of the Roubiliac sculptures of Handel were originally derived from sittings - or a life mask taken in about 1736 /37 before the creation of the Vauxhall statue and Royal Collection marble and the terracotta versions of the bust with the hat of 1737/8.
Given the changes in his appearance after this time when he put on a great deal of weight, which does not show in any of these sculptural portraits I believe that Roubiliac used an earlier bust or busts in order to create the monument in Westminster Abbey.
For Brucciani family history see - http://www.quilietti.com/the-brucciani-connections/9242-2/
also for company history and much more of interest on plaster casts in the 19th century see -
The Westminster Abbey Handel Monument by Roubiliac.
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Model for the Westminster Abbey Monument by Roubiliac in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
98 cms tall.
Given by James Wyatt to Oxford University in 1848.
Slightly higher resolution photograph of the Ashmolean terracotta modello for the Handel monument by Roubiliac.
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Black and White photograph of the modello at the Foundling Hospital Museum noted to have been recently discovered in Bath, in Early Georgian Portraits by Kerslake. NPG. 1977.
Photographs of the Modello taken in very poor light at the Foundling Hospital Museum.
12 - 15" tall approximately.
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Flaxman Senior and a Cast of Handel 1764.
It is possible that there were plaster copies made of the Roubiliac model for the monument although none have come to light so far. John Flaxman senior, father of the more famous sculptor offered casts from the original mould of the monument in The Gazetteer and London Advertiser of 13 January 1764. probably lot 61 on the 2nd day of the sale of the contents of the Roubiliac Studio in St Martins Lane, 13 May 1762.
John Flaxman I (1726 -1803) at New Street Covent Garden from 1763,
He was at King Street, Covent Garden from 1773 -76.
In 1776 he moved 420 The Strand (opposite Durham Yard).
In 1792 he bought several moulds formerly belonging to John Cheere, He is believed to have been employed by both Scheemakers and Roubiliac. (see Dict. of Sculptors in Britain....).
Above - snippet from The Gazetteer and London Advertiser of 13 January 1764.
Vauxhall Statue of Handel and the Sotheby Bust.
Vauxhall Statue at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Sotheby's bust of Handel for Comparison.
Comparison Photographs of the Gloucester Cathedral Plaster and the Sotheby's Marble busts of Handel.
Comparison Photographs of the Gloucester Cathedral Plaster and the Sotheby's Marble busts of Handel.
Also illustrated: The Grimsthorpe Terracotta, the Haendl Haus Plaster and the Royal Collection MarbleBusts.
This Post updated 20 October 2020.
Gloucester Cathedral Plaster - Sotheby's / Morrison marble bust.
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Grimsthorpe Terracotta - Sotheby's Marble.
Handel Haus Museum (probably a Micheli cast or later copyof the Micheli Bust - Gloucester Cathedral
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The Royal Collection Marble Bust of Handel.
71.0 x 58.0 x 26.0 cm (whole object).
The socle is unlikely to be original unless this bust is a copy - it appears that some of the busts in the Royal Collection had new turned socles to replace the originals
Handel's most important patron was George III, who placed this
bust of his favourite composer in a position of honour in Buckingham House, on
top of the organ in Queen Charlotte’s Breakfast Room.
Provenance:
Possibly acquired by George III ????
Photograph Courtesy the Royal Collection website.
https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/27/collection/11909/george-frederick-handel
The Royal Collection Marble Bust of Handel.
The Bare Head version -
The bust with soft hat which has a firmer provenance is not illustrated here.
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More recent photographs of The Grimsthorpe Castle Terracotta Bust of Handel from their website
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The Aurelio Micheli Plaster Bust of Handel c. 1870.
Height 72 cms.
Gipsformerei (Plaster Workshop), Staatliche Museen, Berlin.
Copies available to order priced at a very (un)reasonable 3216.81 euros.
It is a slightly truncated version of the Grimsthorpe terracotta.
- it has been slightly shortened at the bottom.
Image courtesey:
This was the master from which the bust at the Handel Haus
Museum in Halle Germany was cast from (see above). It was made for Handel-Haus
in 1997 by the Gipsformerei (plaster workshop) of the Stiftung Preutgischer
Kulturbesitz in Berlin, and that plaster was cast after a bust in their
collection bearing the signature of the German sculptor, Aurelio (Mark
Aurelius) Micheli (1834-1908, fl 1860-70), who specialised in portraits of
notable Germans, many of them composers, and whose works appear to have been
issued in multiples produced by the plaster workshop of the Micheli Brothers in
Berlin.
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Comparison Photographs of the Sotheby's Marble and the Grimsthorpe Terracotta Busts of Handel by Louis Francois Roubiliac.
Photographs of the Sotheby's Marble Bust and the Grimsthorpe Castle Terracotta Busts of Handel.
All by Roubiliac - Illustrated here for Comparison.
Malcolm Baker had problems with this bust but I can find no reason to doubt the authorship of the Sotheby's bust.
My blog entries on the subject should be enough to convince any doubters!
Above The Grimsthorpe Terracotta, and the Sotheby's Marble,
Below the Handel Haus Plaster and The Gloucester Cathedral Plaster.
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