The sculptor Joseph Nollekens (1737-1823) and his 'Venus' in his studio

In this caricature, Rowlandson depicts the eminent sculptor Sir Joseph Nollekens (1737-1823) working on a clay model of Venus. The pose of the model doesn't exactly match either his 1773 Venus tying her Sandal, commissioned by the second Marquis of Rockingham (Getty Museum, Los Angeles), or the 1778 Venus chiding Cupid, which was commissioned by Charles Anderson-Pelham, 1st Baron Yarborough in 1778 (now Usher Art Gallery, Lincoln). Nollekens' sculptures of classical gods and contemporary busts were celebrated in England and contributed to the popularisation of the Neoclassical taste. In his studio, we are shown his collection of terracotta casts and antique works of art, brought back by the artist from Rome. Depicted in his sixties, Nollekens requires spectacles for his work. His lascivious expression and flushed cheeks suggest a lack of professionalism and ability to appreciate the nude. Close by, a large sculpted head of Jupiter, a God who was infamous for his many affairs, eyes the nude and the caricature suggests the impairment of virtuous aesthetic pursuits when confronted by the model of feminine beauty. Two engravings based on the present work are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Dallas Museum of Art, USA.