A TERRACOTTA BUST OF JOHN LOCKE BY MICHAEL RYSBRACK (1694-1770), 1755 AND A LETTER FROM RYSBRACK TO HIS PATRON DATED 31 JULY 1756, DISCUSSING THE DELIVERY OF THE BUST The sitter facing slightly to dexter and with drapery about the shoulders, signed to the reverse 'Mich...Rysbrack 17..5'; minor firing cracks, damages and old restorations The letter inscribed: Sir./ I am heartily Sorry to Acquaint Your Honour, that I have not been able to do anything for you this Summer, having been so Extreamly busied, and really Sir when I am in my Room, I am always Indisposed, which makes me Chuse Excercise. The bust of Lord Bacon is not burned yet but I Shall Send it with that of Mr. Locke as Soon as it can be Spared, the Statue not being yet finished; I Shall have a Great Pleasure in Seeing you before I send any of the Other Busts, that You may give your Approbation Concerning them..... When I can possibly have an Opportunity to Begin the head of Sir Walter Raleigh I will take it in hand, but it is one of the Most Difficult in your Whole list to make it do well. I am Sir London With the Greatest Respect Vere Street Your Honour's Oxford Chapel most Obedient July 31st. 1756. humble Servant Mich: Rysbrack
minor staining and damages to the letter 23 1/8 in. (58.8 cm.) high, the bust 8 7/8 x 7 1/8 in. (22.5 x 18.2 cm.) the letter
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE: K. Esdaile ed., The Art of John Michael Rysbrack in terracotta: illustrated catalogue, Spink and Son, London, 1932. M. I. Webb, Michael Rysbrack - Sculptor, London, 1954, pp. 117, 169, 193-197 and 220. K. Eustace, 'The politics of the past - Stowe and the development of the historical portrait bust', in Apollo, July, 1998, pp. 31-40.
Provenance
Executed as part of a series of busts of historical figures for Rysbrack's patron Sir Edward Littleton in 1755. By descent until sold at Spink and Son, London, 1932. Purchased in the above sale by William, 6th Duke of Portland (1857-1943), and by descent.
Notes
PROPERTY FROM THE PORTLAND COLLECTION
Michael Rysbrack was born in Antwerp and had his early training there. Although today no work from his Flemish period is known, when he arrived in London in 1720 he had a fully developed style and was able to secure aristocratic patronage from individuals such as the Earl of Oxford and the Duchess of Marlborough.
Rysbrack's reputation grew rapidly, and for 20 years he was the most sought after sculptor in England. Even after his supremacy was challenged by sculptors such as Louis Fraçois Roubiliac, Rysbrack never lacked commissions and in his later career collaborated on several projects with Robert Adam. He stayed in regular contact with clients, often over a period of decades, and obviously had an easy and confident relationship with them.
Although active in a number of branches of the sculpture industry, and a sought-after draughtsman as well, Rysbrack is best known for his numerous portrait busts. These include members of the royal family, aristocracy and wealthy members of the mercantile class. However, the 18th century also saw the emergence of a fashion for busts of historical figures, as Kate Eustace demonstrates in her article on the subject (1998, op. cit.).
The present bust of Locke originally formed part of a series of 'worthies' created for one of Rysbrack's most loyal patrons, Sir Edward Littleton. Littleton had torn down his family seat, Pillaton Hall, and built a new one called Teddesley Hall near Stafford. In a series of letters written by Rysbrack to Littleton first reproduced in 1932 and subsequently published in 1954 (Webb, op. cit., pp. 194-209; one of the letters is that included in the present lot), the creation of this series for Teddesley is described in detail. In a letter dated 12 February 1756, Rysbrack says that he has completed busts of Milton, Sir Isaac Newton, Locke and Sir Francis Bacon, although they have not been sent because the Bacon '...must be Dried first, and afterwards burned which cannot be done till summer, it not Being half Dry Yet. (ibid, p. 195).' In July of that year the letter included in the present lot shows that the Bacon had still not been fired, but Rysbrack promised to send it along with the bust of Locke, as soon as the latter could 'be spared'. The reason he was unable to send the Locke, although finished, was that he used the bust as the model for his full length marble of Locke, commissioned for Christ Church, Oxford (in situ). The terracotta model for this statue is in the Victoria and Albert Museum. In a letter dated 21 June 1757 Rysbrack informs his patron that 'I have according to Your Desire sent three Busts Yesterday by the Waggon namely, My Lord Bacon, Mr. Lock and Milton's, they are carefully packed up and I hope you will receive them Safe which will give me much satisfaction to hear...' (ibid, pp. 196-197).
The series of busts would eventually include Bacon, Sir Walter Raleigh, Shakespeare, Milton, Pope, Newton and Locke. These were supplemented by portraits of Sir Edward and Lady Littleton, Cromwell and the Duke of Cumberland, along with a terracotta model for Flora, and the terracotta model for the goat Rysbrack designed for Chiswick House, today in the gardens of Chatsworth, Derbyshire. The busts, along with the letters relating to them, remained at Teddesley until 1931, when Littleton's collateral descendant, Lord Hatherton, had them removed to London for cleaning. They were sold at Spink and Son in 1932, at which point the bust of Locke was acquired by the Duke of Portland.
John Locke was the son of a country lawyer who became one of the most influential philosophers of his day. Widely known as the Father of Liberalism, his notion of the social contract would inspire many figures of the 18th century enlightenment including Voltaire, Rousseau and Thomas Jefferson. In fact, the effect he was to have on the founding fathers of America was so profound that passages of his writing were included verbatim in the American Declaration of Independence. However, Locke was equally as important in the field of epistemology and has been credited by some with the invention of the modern western conception of the self.
The appearance of this bust at public auction marks an unprecedented opportunity to buy a fully documented bust by one of the greatest portraitists of Georgian England, working at the height of his powers. This lively portrait of one of England's greatest thinkers was created for one of Rysbrack's most important patrons, and has been in only two private collections since its creation. When the series of busts of 'worthies' to which the Locke belonged was dispersed in 1932, most of the busts entered public collections including the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, and the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. The fact that the present bust is accompanied by a letter from Rysbrack's own hand discussing the terracotta portrait makes this a unique occurrence in our time.
