.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
拍品專文
This bust, of absolutely staggering size, is surely one of the grandest of Grand Tour 'souvenirs' brought home from Italy in the early 19th century. And while little is known of Prosperi -- and the identity of the sitter remains unconfirmed -- it was clearly an important commission at the time. And the power of this bust to impress has not diminished over the past two hundred years.
The figure does bear a close resemblance to William Pitt, the younger (1759-1806), the celebrated Prime Minister and politician. And especially to the heavy-lidded bust of Pitt by Joseph Nollekens of circa 1810 -- whose workshop is said to have produced over seventy replicas of this bust. And Pitt does appear slightly older, with a more conservative haircut than in the present bust -- so there is a plausible chronology between the present bust and the slightly later Nollekens.
Prosperi was also know to have done a marble bust of Sir John Throckmorton, 5th Baronet (1754-1819), in 1800, after the model by Hewetson. The marble by Hewetson of Throckmorton remains at the family seat on the staircase at Coughton Court, Warwickshire. And it may be that Prosperi did a terracotta after Hewetson and then subsequently the present marble version which is the present lot.
The figure does bear a close resemblance to William Pitt, the younger (1759-1806), the celebrated Prime Minister and politician. And especially to the heavy-lidded bust of Pitt by Joseph Nollekens of circa 1810 -- whose workshop is said to have produced over seventy replicas of this bust. And Pitt does appear slightly older, with a more conservative haircut than in the present bust -- so there is a plausible chronology between the present bust and the slightly later Nollekens.
Prosperi was also know to have done a marble bust of Sir John Throckmorton, 5th Baronet (1754-1819), in 1800, after the model by Hewetson. The marble by Hewetson of Throckmorton remains at the family seat on the staircase at Coughton Court, Warwickshire. And it may be that Prosperi did a terracotta after Hewetson and then subsequently the present marble version which is the present lot.