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拍品專文
The sculptor Peter Scheemakers was born in Antwerp and apprenticed to his father who headed a sculpting workshop in the city. However, it was in England where Scheemakers found fame becoming one of the most successful sculptors of his generation alongside fellow Continental talents John Michael Rysbrack (1694-1770) and Louis-François Roubiliac (1702-1762). His output was prolific and includes 18 funerary monuments for Westminster Abbey and around 70 others for churches across the British Isles (Roscoe, 1996-7, op. cit. p.1 ) He was also commissioned to create public sculptures of William III, Thomas Guy and Edward IV alongside portraits of royal and aristocratic patrons. His best known work today, however, is the monument to William Shakespeare in Poet’s Corner, Westminster Abbey, completed after designs by William Kent and erected in 1741.
Prince Frederick of Wales, depicted in the present bust, was the eldest son of George II but predeceased his father, the crown instead passing to his son, George III. Despite his premature death at the age of 44, he is considered the first great Hanoverian art patron and collector. He was a patron of Scheemaker himself, commissioning busts of Dryden, Milton, Shakespeare and Spenser in 1732 for his residence at Carlton House and as a gift for the poet Alexander Pope. Another version of this bust of Prince Frederick by Scheemakers forms part of the Royal Collection and is today housed in St George’s Hall, Windsor Castle (RCIN 31169) having been acquired by the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother at auction in 1941. It was originally commissioned by the Whig Party member Viscount Cobham (1675-1749) for his Temple of Friendship in the garden at Stowe, Buckinghamshire, intended as a meeting place for Cobham and his friends. The sculptural decorations included a series of ten busts depicting Cobham’s political circle of which Scheemakers is known to have completed three: Cobham himself, Lord Chesterfield and the Prince of Wales, receiving payment in 1741.
Comparison between the present lot and the Royal Collection bust shows very similar treatment of the face and hair with Scheemaker’s characteristic bushy eyebrows apparent on both. The overall composition of the armour is also very close with drapery clasped over the proper left shoulder. However, in the Royal Collection bust, there is additional detailing on the armour and the Lesser George rests on top of the drapery and does not feature an inscription around the edge. No other busts of the Prince by Scheemakers are known to exist and it is likely that the present lot was executed shortly after Lord Cobham’s.
Prince Frederick of Wales, depicted in the present bust, was the eldest son of George II but predeceased his father, the crown instead passing to his son, George III. Despite his premature death at the age of 44, he is considered the first great Hanoverian art patron and collector. He was a patron of Scheemaker himself, commissioning busts of Dryden, Milton, Shakespeare and Spenser in 1732 for his residence at Carlton House and as a gift for the poet Alexander Pope. Another version of this bust of Prince Frederick by Scheemakers forms part of the Royal Collection and is today housed in St George’s Hall, Windsor Castle (RCIN 31169) having been acquired by the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother at auction in 1941. It was originally commissioned by the Whig Party member Viscount Cobham (1675-1749) for his Temple of Friendship in the garden at Stowe, Buckinghamshire, intended as a meeting place for Cobham and his friends. The sculptural decorations included a series of ten busts depicting Cobham’s political circle of which Scheemakers is known to have completed three: Cobham himself, Lord Chesterfield and the Prince of Wales, receiving payment in 1741.
Comparison between the present lot and the Royal Collection bust shows very similar treatment of the face and hair with Scheemaker’s characteristic bushy eyebrows apparent on both. The overall composition of the armour is also very close with drapery clasped over the proper left shoulder. However, in the Royal Collection bust, there is additional detailing on the armour and the Lesser George rests on top of the drapery and does not feature an inscription around the edge. No other busts of the Prince by Scheemakers are known to exist and it is likely that the present lot was executed shortly after Lord Cobham’s.