Not currently on display at the V&A

St John

Sketch Model
ca. 1862 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Between 1862 and 1865 Stevens was engaged in producing designs for the proposed redecoration of St Paul's Cathedral, London, a project that failed to come to fruition.
This figure of St John is one of a group of five models for the proposed decoration of the dome in St Paul's. On their acquisition it was noted: 'Although these are only roughly blocked out they convey an astonishing affect of impressive dignity which can hardly be matched except in the finest work of the Italian Renaissance.' The others four are St Mark and Old Testament figures - Jael, Judith and David.

A sculptor, designer and painter, Alfred Stevens (1817/18- 1875) rejected contemporary distinctions between fine art and design. From 1850 to 1857 he was chief designer to Hoole & Co., Sheffield, where he produced award-winning designs for metalwork, majolica, terracotta ornaments and chimney-pieces. Perhaps his two greatest works were the decorations for the dining-room at Dorchester House, London (about 1856), for which he made countless drawings inspired by the Italian High Renaissance style, in particular the work of Michelangelo and the monument to the Duke of Wellington for St Paul's Cathedral, London, which was completed after his death. The two allegorical groups from this monument made a lasting impact on the New Sculpture movement.
The influence of the Italian Renaissance is evident in much of Steven's work, and is perhaps best reflected in the Wellington monument.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSt John (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Plaster cast
Brief description
Sketch model, cast in plaster, of a recumbent figure of St. John, by Alfred Stevens, English, ca. 1862
Physical description
The Saint draped in flowing garments, is seated upon a couch. He leans backwards with his left hand to his head; his right hand rests upon his left knee and his left leg is bent under him. A winged eagle is at his feet looking towards him.
Dimensions
  • Height: 20.7cm
Object history
Purchased from Mrs. Townroe, 48 Gertrude Street, London, together with a range of other objects by Stevens, for £25. Transferred to the Tate Gallery in 1952; returned to the V&A in 1975.

Mrs Townroe was the widow of Reuben Townroe, a pupil of Stevens, who was also involved in a number of projects connected with the decoration of the Museum. According to Towndrow [sic! different spelling] (see: Towndrow, K. R. 1939, p. 99) whilst Stevens was at Sheffield working for Messrs. Hoole & Co Ltd as Chief Designer between 1850 and 1857, he 'invited Reuben a promising art student, to learn the craft under his own instruction at the Green Lane Works. The boy was with Stevens most of the Sheffield period and gained a faculty in modelling and an unusual insight into the decorative use of metals'. A collection of 274 studies and sketches of Stevens was also acquired from Mrs Townroe in 1911, and are held in the Department of Prints, Drawings and Paintings. They include studies of many of Steven's best-known works also represented by sketch-models, including those for St. Paul's Cathedral, the Wellington Monument and the memorial to the 1851 exhibition.

Plaster copy made in the early twentieth century probably by the V&A. NCOL. 555-2017
Subjects depicted
Summary
Between 1862 and 1865 Stevens was engaged in producing designs for the proposed redecoration of St Paul's Cathedral, London, a project that failed to come to fruition.
This figure of St John is one of a group of five models for the proposed decoration of the dome in St Paul's. On their acquisition it was noted: 'Although these are only roughly blocked out they convey an astonishing affect of impressive dignity which can hardly be matched except in the finest work of the Italian Renaissance.' The others four are St Mark and Old Testament figures - Jael, Judith and David.

A sculptor, designer and painter, Alfred Stevens (1817/18- 1875) rejected contemporary distinctions between fine art and design. From 1850 to 1857 he was chief designer to Hoole & Co., Sheffield, where he produced award-winning designs for metalwork, majolica, terracotta ornaments and chimney-pieces. Perhaps his two greatest works were the decorations for the dining-room at Dorchester House, London (about 1856), for which he made countless drawings inspired by the Italian High Renaissance style, in particular the work of Michelangelo and the monument to the Duke of Wellington for St Paul's Cathedral, London, which was completed after his death. The two allegorical groups from this monument made a lasting impact on the New Sculpture movement.
The influence of the Italian Renaissance is evident in much of Steven's work, and is perhaps best reflected in the Wellington monument.
Bibliographic references
  • Bilbey, Diane with Trusted, Marjorie, British Sculpture 1470 to 2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2002, p. 386, cat. no. 609
  • Review of the Principal Acquisitions during the year 1911, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, published under the Authority of his Majesty's Stationery Office, pp. 6-7
  • Towndrow, K. R., Alfred Stevens, London, 1939, fig. 33
Collection
Accession number
A.83-1911

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
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