Reginald Heber, Bishop of Calcutta thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Sculpture, Room 111, The Gilbert Bayes Gallery

Reginald Heber, Bishop of Calcutta

Sketch Model
ca. 1827 (made)
Artist/Maker
Chantrey, Sir Francis (sculptor)
Place of origin
London (made)

Clays come from decomposed rocks ground down by weathering. Skill is needed in preparing wet clay to give it strength and ease of modelling, also to remove excess water and air before it is fired in a kiln. Firing fuses the clay particles and causes other structural changes that affect the colour and lead to shrinkage of about 10%. Comparatively few works in unfired clay survive because they are fragile and easily damaged. This figure is unfired and you can see the natural colour of the clay.
This is a sketch model for a large-scale marble monument in St Paul’s Cathedral, Calcutta, made by Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey in ca. 1827. It is a good example of Chantrey’s broad handling of clay, and probably his preliminary design for the figure. Reginald Heber (1783–1826) was the author of many famous Victorian hymns.

Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey (1781-1842) was an English sculptor, painter, and patron. He was probably the most successful portrait sculptor of his day. Together with Flaxman Chantrey can be ranked as England's greatest sculptor engaging in portrait busts and statues. He was particularly skilled in carving drapery. On his death he left a fortune of £150,000 which was later bequeathed to the Royal Academy to be used for the 'Encouragement of British Fine Art in Painting and Sculpture'.


Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Religion
Object type
Sketch model
TitleReginald Heber, Bishop of Calcutta (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Unfired clay
Clay
Brief description
Sketch model, clay, of Reginald Heber, Bishop of Calcutta, by Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey, England, ca. 1827
Physical description
Sketch model in clay. The robes figure kneels on a cushion, his left hand placed on his breast; his rght, holding a scroll, hangs at his side. It is roughly scratched on the base of the figure to he front is the figure 3. This model, which shows slight divergencies from the finished marble
Dimensions
  • Height: 24.5cm
Credit line
Given by Mrs Hugh Chisholm
Object history
Said by the donor to have belonged to Henry Williams Chisholm, who may have been a London art dealer, 'probably given to him by Chantrey himself'. Given by Mrs E.B. (Hugh) Chisholm, Hampstead, London in 1933.
Subject depicted
Reverend Reginald Heber
Summary
Clays come from decomposed rocks ground down by weathering. Skill is needed in preparing wet clay to give it strength and ease of modelling, also to remove excess water and air before it is fired in a kiln. Firing fuses the clay particles and causes other structural changes that affect the colour and lead to shrinkage of about 10%. Comparatively few works in unfired clay survive because they are fragile and easily damaged. This figure is unfired and you can see the natural colour of the clay.
This is a sketch model for a large-scale marble monument in St Paul’s Cathedral, Calcutta, made by Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey in ca. 1827. It is a good example of Chantrey’s broad handling of clay, and probably his preliminary design for the figure. Reginald Heber (1783–1826) was the author of many famous Victorian hymns.

Sir Francis Legatt Chantrey (1781-1842) was an English sculptor, painter, and patron. He was probably the most successful portrait sculptor of his day. Together with Flaxman Chantrey can be ranked as England's greatest sculptor engaging in portrait busts and statues. He was particularly skilled in carving drapery. On his death he left a fortune of £150,000 which was later bequeathed to the Royal Academy to be used for the 'Encouragement of British Fine Art in Painting and Sculpture'.
Bibliographic references
  • Penny, Nicholas. Catalogue of the European Sculpture in the Ashmolean Museum 1540 to the present Day. III. Oxford, 1992, p.16
  • Yarrington, A et al. 'The Chantry Ledgers', Walpole Society. LVI. 1991/2. 1994, p.223, no. 199a and fig. 137
  • Penny, Nicholas, Church Monuments in Romantic England New Haven, 1977, pp.78-9
  • Bilbey, Diane with Trusted, Marjorie, British Sculpture 1470 to 2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London: V& A Publications, 2002, pp. 236-7, cat. no. 359
  • Trusted, Marjorie. ed, The Making of Sculpture. The Materials and Techniques of European Sculpture, London, 2007, p.15, pl. 10
  • Whinney, Margaret. English Sculpture : 1720 - 1830 / Victoria and Albert Museum, London, London : Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1971, p. 152, cat.no. 50, illus. p. 153
  • Kilmurray, E, Dictionary of British Portraiture, Later Georgian and Early Victorians- historical figures born between 1700 and 1800, London, II, 1979, p. 105
  • James Stevens Curl J.S. Curl, 'Kneeling Bishops: variations on a sculptural theme by Francis Leggatt Chantrey (1781-1841)' The Antiquaries Journal, Vol. 97, 2017. pp. 261-298.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.29-1933

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Record createdApril 6, 2005
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O110859/reginald-heber-bishop-of-calcutta-sketch-model-chantrey-sir-francis/
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